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BurmaNet News: January 25, 2000




=============== The BurmaNet News ===============
January 25, 2000
Issue # 1446
=========================================

Noted in Passing: "Sanchai Ratchatawan" The name of the  commander of 
the 9th Infantry Divison who gave the order to shell Kamerplaw, killing 
up to 200 civilian refugees and precipitating the attack on the 
Ratchaburi hospital.  (See BANGKOK POST: WHO'S GOD'S ARMY?)


=========
Headlines
=========

THE INDEPENDENT (London): JOHNNY AND LUTHER ARE 12-YEAR-OLD TWINS. 
YESTERDAY THEIR ARMY TOOK 700 HOSTAGES

AFP: THAI HOSTAGES SAY DEAD REBELS HAD NO PLANS TO HARM CAPTIVES

WASHINGTON POST: THAIS RETAKE HOSPITAL FROM REBELS; BURMESE FOLLOWERS OF 
TWIN BOYS HELD HUNDREDS HOSTAGE

AFP: THAI GOVERNMENT SAYS MYANMAR REFUGEES CAN STAY DESPITE HOSTAGE 
CRISIS

ALTSEAN: PRESS STATEMENT ON RATCHABURI INCIDENT

NATION: SANCTITY OF HOSPITAL RAPED BY ACTIVISTS, SAY PATIENTS

NATION: GOD'S ARMY DIRECTS TV COVERAGE

FBC: FRINGE GROUP ACTION IN THAILAND "ILL-CONSIDERED, 
UNFORTUNATE"

NCGUB: 'VIOLENCE' SHOULD NOT BE OPTION IN SEEKING CHANGE

MIC: MYANMAR GOVERNMENT COMMENDS THAI AUTHORITIES FOR ITS ACTIONS 
AGAINST ARMED TERRORISM

NATION: FLOOD OF WEBSITE CRITICISM

MIC: PRODUCTION-SHARING CONTRACT ON EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OF OIL 
AND GAS SIGNED

ASIAN AGE/AFP: "TRADE UNION MEET DECIDES TO OPPOSE BURMA JUNTA"

KATHMANDU POST: MYANMAR DEMOCRACY BACKED

KATHMANDU POST: CALL TO PUT PRESSURE ON MYANMAR JUNTA

THE JAPAN TIMES: MYANMAR SUFFERS AS ITS VOICE OF REASON IS SILENCED

NEBRT: RALLY FOR THE MASS. BURMA LAW - MARCH 22

 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE INDEPENDENT (London): JOHNNY AND LUTHER ARE 12-YEAR-OLD TWINS. 
YESTERDAY THEIR ARMY TOOK 700 HOSTAGES
January 25, 2000, Tuesday 

 
James East In Ratchaburi, Thailand 
 

IT IS HARD to imagine a more bizarre hijack - 700 people held prisoner 
in a Thai hospital by about 10 gunmen who take their inspiration from a 
pair of mystical 12-year-old twins idolised by their Burmese followers 
as "God children". 

They arrived appropriately enough, in a hijacked school bus, bursting 
their way into the hospital in a blaze of gunfire. 

Throughout the day groups of terrified hostages slipped out of 
Ratchaburi hospital, 75 miles west of the capital, Bangkok, some of them 
released by their captors, others taking their chances and running for 
it. 

As darkness fell, the only reported injury was to a teacher from a 
nearby school who was wounded by a stray bullet. All day yesterday, Thai 
soldiers and police took up positions outside the hospital. Having been 
humiliated in a hostage-taking incident in October, when dissident 
Burmese students stormed their embassy in Bangkok, the government 
appeared in no mood to compromise on the hijackers' main demand of 
access to medical treatment and refuge from pursuing Burmese troops. 

For the rebels of "God's Army" and for its leaders, Johnny and Luther 
Htoo, it is hard to imagine any good coming of this. Public opinion in 
Thailand has turned against the Burmese rebels. Their seizure of the 
hospital indicates the desperation of the Karen people in Burma. Trapped 
between a relentless government and a hostile Thailand, ravaged by 
malaria and under artillery bombardment from both sides, theirs is a 
dying movement with nothing left to lose. 

The gunmen are part of a breakaway sect from Burma's Karen National 
Union (KNU) and - armed with grenades and automatic weapons and wearing 
Balaclavas - they infiltrated the sprawling hospital complex, issuing a 
warning that the front of the building had been mined. 

A team of Thai negotiators sent into secure the release of the hostages 
dashed out of the hospital amid gunfire. The gunmen released two groups 
during the day-long stand-off with hundreds of Thai police and military. 
The first group of 11 hostages, mainly the elderly, women and children, 
was released at around 11am, with the second group of about 20 hostages 
being released at around 4.30 pm. Hostages were taken to two special 
command centres for debriefing. 

The release came shortly after the Thai army chief, General Surayudh 
Julanond, said he had ordered troops to stop shelling the guerrillas' 
base on the Burmese border. General Surayudh also said Thailand would 
allow in unarmed refugees from fighting across the border for medical 
treatment. 

He said negotiations with the hijackers had been going well and tensions 
were easing, but one of the gunmen, who identified himself as "Knui", 
told Thai television that their five demands had still not been met. He 
told Reuters news agency: "We will go back when our demands are met, 
when we reach an agreement. We still don't have any definite plan on how 
to return. We don't want to stay here too long." 

The gunmen are believed to have hijacked a school bus to drive from the 
border to the hospital. The local MP, Wichet Kasemthongsri, claimed the 
gunmen had killed several Thais during a skirmish at the border. 

The hostage-takers were believed to be acting under the orders of Johnny 
and Luther Htoo, twin brothers aged 12, who command almost mystical 
loyalty among their followers along the Thai-Burmese border. Their 
followers - believed to number about 100 - are said to believe the twins 
have supernatural power that makes their followers invincible in battle. 
The brothers are believed to have stayed in their border stronghold. 

As police took up their positions yesterday, the Government made it 
clear that it would take a strong line with the gunmen. "These people 
are terrorists who have made an incursion into Thai territory," said a 
Foreign Ministry spokesman. "After making a terrorist seizure it is 
unlikely we will comply with their demands, although it is always our 
policy to avoid unnecessary violence." 

Thailand came under fire domestically and internationally last year when 
five gunmen who stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok were given safe 
passage to the border. 

The gunmen, known as the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, are believed 
to have joined forces with the twins. Similarities in the way the 
building was stormed and the release of some of the hostages has led 
army intelligence sources to believe that the ringleaders of the embassy 
siege may have had a hand in the planning of yesterday's attack. 

Observers believe the Government, although stressing its readiness to 
negotiate, will be prepared to take a much tougher line this time to 
make it clear that the Government will not tolerate terrorist activities 
by Burmese and Karen pro-democracy groups. 

The Interior Minister, Sanan Kachornprasart, said: "Firstly I have 
ordered security forces to protect the lives of the hospital staff and 
the patients. I have also told them to take tough action against the 
attackers." 

The Deputy Prime Minister, Korn Thappharangsi, appealed to the gunmen 
not to harm any of the hostages. "I want to tell those who seized the 
hospital that it is not right for bargaining. 

The Burmese junta issued a blunt statement yesterday, saying: "It is 
about time these armed men are treated as terrorists by the 
international community." 

The list of demands issued by gunmen included medical treatment for 
rebels injured in recent fighting with Burmese troops, and a halt to 
Thai shelling in the border area. They also demanded that the Thai 
government open its border to Karen refugees fleeing Burma's military 
rule. 

In response, Lt-Gen Tawip Sukwanasing, army commander in the border 
area, said the shelling had been stopped. He denied that Karen rebels 
were targeted. "We are only concerned at insurgents coming across the 
border," he said. 

A Thai television crew which had been given access to the hospital to 
hear the hostage-takers' demands, emerged with footage showing dozens of 
trapped patients, watched over by men armed with M-16 and AK-47 
automatic weapons.


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BANGKOK POST: WHO'S GOD'S ARMY?
January 25, 2000


Boy twins Johnny and Luther Htoo lead the faction and are    said to 
have mystical powers.

God's Army known as refuge for radicals

Active in border area opposite Suan Pueng

Wasana Nanuam

God's Army is an independent Christian Karen guerrilla group that has 
split from the mainstream Karen National Union (KNU). It has been active 
in areas opposite Khao Krachom in Ratchaburi's Suan Pueng district.

The anti-Rangoon group has given refuge to a number of armed radicals 
calling themselves the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors (VBSW) who 
seized the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1 last year. However, there 
has been no report at this stage the radicals were involved in 
yesterday's hospital seizure.

The student group is known to have ties with God's Army since when the 
latter was still part of the KNU.

God's Army is led by teenage twin brothers named Johnny and Luther. Both 
have a black tongue, which in the Mon and Karen traditions is taken to 
be a sign of divinity. The twins hold the rank of colonel and are 
revered by their followers who believe the boys have divine protection.

God's Army was trained by the KNU before it broke away  from 
themainstream Karen rebel group. Its guerrillas used to have joint 
training with the KNU's Fourth Division led by Maj-Gen Oliver.

The 200-strong God's Army became an independent fighting force on Jan 4, 
1997, in defiance of the KNU led by General Bo Mya. 


The group is facing fierce suppression by Burmese government forces as 
Rangoon wants to punish the group for having given refuge to the 
radicals who seized its embassy in Bangkok. Rangoon also believes the 
group is being supported by Western powers.

Rangoon has stepped up its military suppression of the group since early 
January, forcing the guerrillas to try to flee across the Thai-Burmese 
border. However, they were immediately pushed back by the Surasi Task 
Force, which also fired warning mortar shots into their
stronghold.

This developed into a standoff on Jan 13 after four Thai soldiers on
patrol were killed by exploding booby traps planted by the guerrillas.

Maj-Gen Sanchai Ratchatawan, commander of the 9th Infantry Divison, 
yesterday said God's Army was jeopardising border peace.

Thai and Burmese border troops had "co-existed in harmony" before the 
Karen group settled in the area, he said.

 "Since the dissidents involved in the embassy seizure fled to live 
under its protection, a myriad of problems have occurred,"said Maj-Gen 
Sanchai, who described the God's Army leaders as "child bandits" who did 
not deserve any respect or credit.

 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: THAI HOSTAGES SAY DEAD REBELS HAD NO PLANS TO HARM CAPTIVES 

 RATCHABURI, Thailand, Jan 25 

 
 Hostages rescued from a day-long seige at a Thai hospital said Tuesday 
they did not fear their heavily armed rebel captors would harm them. 

"The hostage takers took good care of us, there was no harm or threats, 
they were polite. I was not afraid at all because I knew I would 
survive," said male theater nurse Dechachai Klintong. 

Dechachai said he had been caring for a young boy who had undergone 
brain surgery Monday when the 10 God's Army rebels stormed the 
Ratchaburi hospital, 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of here, taking 
about 500 people hostage. 

Thai special forces brought the day long seige to a close in a pre-dawn 
raid, which saw commandos free all the hostages unharmed and shoot dead 
nine gunmen. One rebel escaped, military officials said. 

Nurse Orn-Anong Vimolfaramol said after her release that she did not 
believe the Myanmar dissidents would have harmed their captives. 

"The hostage-takers said they were going to do no harm," said Orn-Anong. 


"The food was good, there was lots of coffee and tea. They asked us what 
we needed, we said food and they brought it, but I just want to call 
home," Orn-Anong added. 

She said the rebels had wanted her and other medical staff to travel to 
the mountainous Thai-Myanmar border to treat Karen guerillas and 
civilians injured during a recent offensive by Myanmar troops. 

God's Army is a Christian splinter group of the Karen National Union, 
and is led by two twin 12 year-old boys, believed by their followers to 
have mystical powers. 

Rebel groups based along the mountainous border have been fighting 
Myanmar's military rulers for decades.



 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
WASHINGTON POST: THAIS RETAKE HOSPITAL FROM REBELS; BURMESE FOLLOWERS OF 
TWIN BOYS HELD HUNDREDS HOSTAGE 

BYLINE: Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post Foreign Service 

 BANGKOK, Jan. 25 (Tuesday) 

 
Thai commandos today launched a predawn raid on a sprawling provincial 
hospital west of here and retook it from members of a Burmese rebel 
group--whose leaders are preteen twins--who had seized the facility 
along with its patients and staff on Monday. 

Automatic weapons fire crackled and large explosions could be heard as 
Thai soldiers raced inside the compound in trucks and jeeps in the 
assault. 

Afterward, Thai authorities announced that nine rebels had been killed 
and several Thai soldiers and police officers were injured, while one of 
the Burmese rebels escaped and was being pursued. None of the hundreds 
of terrified patients, hospital staff members and visitors who had been 
held hostage was injured, officials said. 

The assault in Ratchaburi, about 75 miles west of Bangkok, came 22 hours 
into the dramatic takeover. The crisis began Monday when the rebels, 
wearing face masks and wielding automatic weapons and grenades, burst 
into the facility demanding treatment for their wounded comrades and an 
end to Thai involvement in their obscure insurgency on the Burmese 
border. 

The rebels involved in the seizure are said to be members of a rebel 
group called God's Army, a small Christian breakaway faction of a larger 
guerrilla force of Burma's ethnic Karen minority. God's Army is led by 
gun-toting, cigarette-smoking 12-year-old twins, Johnny and Luther Htoo, 
whose 200-odd followers are said to believe the boys possess mystical 
powers. It was not known whether the pair participated in the takeover. 

The rebels had apparently placed explosives around the hospital and had 
threatened to blow it up, along with the hostages, if their demands were 
not met. 

The Thai assault came after a day of negotiations that saw about 50 
hostages freed, mostly in exchange for food. But at nightfall Monday, 
the rebels were still holding at least 700 people. Thailand was under 
intense pressure to take a tough stand against the rebels following a 
similar hostage-taking incident less than four months ago, in which 
another Burmese dissident group seized Burma's Bangkok embassy. That 
seizure ended when the student-rebels were allowed to escape. 

The God's Army rebels who seized the Ratchaburi hospital were demanding 
that Thailand send medical teams to treat their wounded comrades at 
their mountain base in Burma, and allow the guerrillas to take refuge on 
Thai territory from a Burmese military advance. The rebels also demanded 
that Thailand stop its shelling of the border in support of the Burmese 
military operation. Thailand met some of the rebel demands. 

Little is known about God's Army, except that it is a breakaway faction 
of the main Karen guerrilla group called the Karen National Union. The 
Karen National Union has been fighting the Burmese government for 50 
years on behalf of the ethnic Karen people seeking a homeland. Karens 
comprise about 7 percent of Burma's population. 

As the negotiations progressed during the day, Thai Interior Minister 
Sanan Kachornprasart, who was directing the talks from Bangkok, hinted 
that an assault might be imminent, saying, "I do not expect the 
negotiations to be protracted." 

Thai media reported that commandos had infiltrated the facility 
disguised as medical personnel and provided intelligence on the 
situation to the gathering strike force. 

A Thai television cameraman was allowed inside the building Monday, and 
his footage, broadcast on television here, showed scores of frightened 
hostages huddled on benches, while rebels brandishing automatic weapons 
paced around them. 

Last October, five Burmese students from a group called the Vigorous 
Burmese Student Warriors seized Burma's Bangkok embassy, taking scores 
of hostages, including diplomats and tourists. That 25-hour crisis ended 
under a deal in which the student-rebels were taken to the border and 
allowed to disappear into the jungle. 

Those young hostage-takers, who said they were fighting for democracy 
against Burma's brutal ruling junta, were known to have taken sanctuary 
at the border with God's Army, the group responsible for Monday's 
hospital takeover. 

The military dictatorship in Burma--which calls the country 
Myanmar--severely criticized the October deal that essentially allowed 
the hostage-takers to go free. 

The members of God's Army are mostly Christian in the overwhelmingly 
Buddhist country (about 30 percent of Karens are Christians). The 
12-year-old twin leaders have been filmed in the past smoking and aiming 
assault rifles. Several very young soldiers also appeared among the 
ranks. 

The rebels who seized the hospital Monday had apparently stormed across 
the border and hijacked a bus, where they forced the driver to make the 
45-mile drive to Ratchaburi. They burst into the hospital compound 
firing their weapons. 

It was unknown whether any of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors were 
among the God's Army guerrillas at the hospital. 

The rebels at first herded all the doctors and nurses into the emergency 
room, but later allowed them to tend to patients. One nurse, who spoke 
on a mobile phone to Thai television, said she hid in one room with the 
door locked and the patients lying on the floor. "It's very tense," she 
said. 

The Thai army commander, Gen. Surayud Chulanond, said Thai shelling of 
the border area would be halted. The military also agreed to admit 
unarmed rebels for medical treatment in Thailand. 

12-year-old Johnny Htoo, left, and his twin brother Luther are leaders 
of the Burmese insurgent group that raided a Thai hospital Monday.



 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: THAI GOVERNMENT SAYS MYANMAR REFUGEES CAN STAY DESPITE HOSTAGE 
CRISIS 

 BANGKOK, Jan 25 

 
 Thailand will continue to host Myanmar refugees along its border with 
the military-ruled state, despite the seizure of a Thai hospital by a 
Myanmar rebel splinter group, a Thai government spokesman said Tuesday. 

Thai authorities ended the day-long siege in a pre-dawn commando raid 
Tuesday, freeing more than 500 hostages and killing nine God's Army 
rebels at Ratchaburi hospital 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of here. 

One gunman escaped, military officials said. 

Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart told AFP Thailand would not 
launch a crackdown against Myanmar refugees living near the God's Army 
jungle hide-out. 

"Although this incident has happened we still need to take care of sick 
and wounded people based on human rights and as long as they are not 
armed we are ready to take care of them," Akapol said. 

"Thailand has no plan to review our policy of accepting displaced 
persons but we will seriously review the way that we take care of those 
people." 

The 10 God's Army gunmen who took the hospital early Monday had demanded 
Thailand open its borders and provide medical help for ethnic Karen 
guerillas and civilians injured during a recent offensive by the Myanmar 
army. 

After student gunmen allied to God's Army seized Myanmar's embassy here 
last October, Thailand announced it wanted an estimated 2,000 exiled 
Myanmar students living on its soil resettled in third countries. 

Analysts predict the latest hostage crisis will harden the attitude of 
Thai authorities and the public towards the plight of more than 100,000 
Myanmar refugees sheltering along the mountainous Thai-Myanmar border. 

Most have fled persecution and fighting in their military ruled 
homeland, where the ruling junta is widely accused by the West of 
committing gross violations of human rights and democracy.



 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
RADIO THAILAND 1: NCUB LEADER SAYS THAI HAVE RIGHT TO USE FORCE
[Undated]
Translation from Thai by FBIS
 
Maung Maung Aye, secretary general of 
the National Council of the Union of Burma--a dissident group whose 
guerrilla base is along the Thai-Burmese border, today expressed his 
regret over the seizure of the Ratburi Hospital. He said the seizure of 
the hospital by the God's army is a violation of Thai sovereignty. Thus, 
the Thai Government has the right to resort to appropriate means to end 
the crisis.

[Description of Source: Radio Thailand 1-- government-run
radio]




 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
ALTSEAN: PRESS STATEMENT ON RATCHABURI INCIDENT
25 January 2000

We, the undersigned organisations, wish to express our relief that the 
siege of Ratchburi Hospital has ended safely for the hostages and their 
families. However, we are saddened at the injuries experienced by the 
authorities and at deaths of the hostage-takers. We had hoped that the 
situation could be resolved peacefully.
It is important to note that the hostage-taking was not supported by 
refugee and human rights groups from Burma. The God's Army is a splinter 
group that has worked in isolation from the policies and principles of
peace-loving groups. We note that the Karen National Union, National 
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the National Council of 
the Union of Burma (umbrella group of Burman and ethnic opposition 
groups)
promptly deplored the hostage-taking. The movement remains committed to 
a non-violent political solution to Burma's problems. It wishes to avoid 
and discourage activities that may bring harm to people from Thailand 
and Burma. 

The incident is a result of the violence that the Burmese military and 
its militias routinely inflict on innocent civilians in Burma. In the 
recent past, Thai people have also been subjected to border incursions, 
military
attack, robbery and murder by the Burmese military and its militias.

Thousands of innocent civilians continue to flee the fighting and 
atrocities in Burma, including those currently needing shelter and 
medical attention in
Suan Phung. We must not forget that they are innocent civilians needing 
our help. We hope that the Thai government and the Thai people will 
understand
that the refugees are different from the God's Army members and continue 
their valuable humanitarian support.
The possibility of spill-over problems will continue to threaten 
Thailand until there is a long-term, peaceful political solution to 
Burma's problems. This is why it is essential that the capacity of 
people to pursue non-violent means be encouraged. We need to break the 
cycle of violence. 

Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development
Friends Without Borders 
Union for Civil Liberty
Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma
Altsean-Burma

For more information, please call 276 98 46 - 7 or 275 1811


 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NATION: SANCTITY OF HOSPITAL RAPED BY ACTIVISTS, SAY PATIENTS

 
 REST and recuperation is what seriously ill patients
 require, but the experience of Vaithit Pim-akad and Kulap Klamprasert 
at Ratchaburi Hospital yesterday was
 anything but that. Weak as they were, the two men had to flee the 
hospital with their saline drips in hand after the hospital was taken 
over by Burmese rebels. 

 Vaithit and Kulap were among about 700 people who
 were in the hospital in the border town of Ratchaburi when a group of 
armed men from the Burmese God's Army
 rebel group took it over. 

 Vaithit, 23, who was hospitalised on Jan 19 for a cut
 intestine, said he realised something was wrong after
 hearing a volley of shots early in the morning. 
 Then a hospital official rushed into the ward that Vaithit was sharing 
with 24 other patients and told them that the Burmese had occupied the 
hospital. The official asked them to lock the door and stay inside the 
room. 
 Vaithit said the doctor came to tell them to stay calm and be patient. 

 But when the doctor left the ward he disguised himself in the 
hospital-issue patient bedclothes and escaped from
 the hospital. As noon approached, Vaithit and other patients began 
planning an escape with four visitors. Twelve of them struggled for more 
than two hours to escape using a ladder from the back. 

 ''It's good that the Burmese came in early. Otherwise,
 there would have been at least 50 more visitors,'' he said. Kulap, 66, 
who was hospitalised with a leaking
 gallbladder, also managed to escape unhurt. He said
 patients escaped by crawling out of the hospital. The
 patients who were less ill would check the way ahead and
 signal the rest to follow. 

 Sithichok Phumdeduang, a stretcher attendant, said he
 was about to enter the hospital for his morning shift at
 about 7.30am when he heard gunfire. He saw about six heavily armed men 
clad in camouflage, a long-haired man among them, running into the 
outpatient building and other buildings nearby. 

 ''They spoke in Karen and fired several shots in the air,'' Sithichok 
said. Many patients screamed and ran out when they saw the men swoop 
into the buildings. 
 He said that Burmese students from a holding centre in
 Ratchaburi were being treated at the hospital. ''When the gunmen 
entered the building, they distributed weapons to the Burmese students 
inside,'' he said. 

 The group then seized all the buildings in just 15 minutes, Sithichok 
said. He described one of the group as a young boy with a black 
birthmark on his tongue. The God's Army is believed to be led by twin 
brothers who have black birthmarks on their tongues. 

 He said that before escaping, he saw the gang laying
 explosives in the hospital, including at the entrance. 
 Vatchana Sudsa-nguan, 40, said she was visiting her
 husband, who was in critical condition with water in his
 lungs, when she heard gunfire. 

 Then, at about 7.30am, a doctor told her that the Burmese had taken 
over the hospital. A few hours later, she saw about 10 policemen 
standing on the terrace of the nearby school. There were sounds of 
shooting afterwards. 

 She said she was scared and tried to signal the
 policemen. The policemen saw her and pointed out a safe
 direction to escape from the hospital. 

 ''We tried to help each other. We released the saline
 feeds from some patients to help them out. But I am sorry that we could 
not let some critical patients join us,'' Vatchana said. 

 Once outside, she was seen bursting into tears. 
 The Nation 


 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BANGKOK POST: GOD'S ARMY DIRECTS TV COVERAGE 

 FOR half an hour, TV Channel 7 aired its scoop as the
 only camera allowed inside the besieged Ratchaburi
 Hospital. The footage broadcast showed a dozen armed
 and masked hostage-takers walking nervously inside the
 waiting area for outpatients. 
 Yesterday's crisis showed the skill of the insurgents,
 belonging to the ethnic Karen ''God's Army'', in using the Thai media 
to negotiate with Thai authorities. The gunmen picked TV Channel 7, 
owned by the government but
 operated by Bangkok Broadcasting Corporation, to relay
 their demands to the outside world. 
 Seven hours after the siege at the Ratchaburi Hospital, the God's Army 
insurgents allowed TV 7 cameraman Chalee
 Sripen inside the hospital to hear their demands to the
 Thai government. 

 He was guided in by a gunman named Nui, who took him
 to the second floor where he saw more than 200
 hostages. ''I saw 4 to 5 other gunmen with their faces
 painted a dark colour,'' he said. Nui has been identified as the chief 
of the insurgents' hostage-taking team. 

 Chalee said he heard Nui lamenting in Thai about how
 their men, children and women were killed. ''At one point, Nui showed 
me shrapnel from a mortar shell,'' he said. 

 During the siege of the Burmese Embassy last October,
 the hostage-takers spoke to Thai negotiators through a
 radio programme called ''Ruam duai chuai kan'' or ''Let's help each 
other''. They stated their demands and allowed their hostages to talk on 
air during the programme. 

 In yesterday's broadcast, TV 7 managed to interview a few hostages, who 
were sitting in row in the outpatient waiting area in the front section 
of the hospital. 
 One of the gunmen said that the main reason for their
 attack was retaliation for the deaths of 200 women and
 children under their protection in Thai artillery fire in past weeks. 

 Among other demands, the masked gunmen sought an end to all Thai 
cooperation with Burmese troops and opening of the Thailand-Burma border 
to allow them access to medical treatment and supplies. 

 The cameraman showed the anguished faces of the
 hostages, although some were smiling without any trace of fear. One of 
the hostages told TV 7 that the government should help solve the 
situation as soon as possible. She said that the gunmen were treating 
them very well without the use of force. 

 In the evening, an iTV reporter posed as a visitor looking for a 
relative who was recuperating in the hospital. He managed to interview 
Nui, who said that he wanted to see his friend, Tuttu, who is living in 
the Maneeloy Holding Centre. ''I have no intention to harm anyone. I 
have released many hostages,'' he told the reporter. 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
FBC: FRINGE GROUP ACTION IN THAILAND "ILL-CONSIDERED, 
UNFORTUNATE"


F R E E B U R M A C O A L I T I O N


Washington DC -- January 24 -- A hospital takeover in Thailand by a 
small, isolated rebel group from inside Burma has resulted in the deaths 
of nine rebels. Apparently no hostages were wounded. The Free Burma 
Coalition (FBC), an international grouping of community and university 
activists, categorically rejects the tactic of targetting innocent 
citizens. 

"This ill-considered action by a desperate few, should not deflect 
attention from the humanitarian and political crisis in Burma," says Dr. 
Zarni, founder of the FBC. "There are more than 130,000 refugees living 
in squalor along Burma's borders, and at least one million internally 
displaced people who are used as forced labor by the junta. Education 
has been systematically de-funded, and only about one quarter of Burmese 
children even receive primary education. Non-Burman ethnic minority 
groups are under fierce attack by brutal Burmese Army units."
"The United Nations and Thailand itself must make greater efforts to 
solve Burma's crisis by confronting its fundamental cause: The 
illegitimate miltary regime running the country against the will of the 
Burmese
people," adds Zarni. "The UN Security Council must send a delegation 
immediately to Bangkok and Rangoon, to address the root causes of rising 
terrorism in the region."

Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD), overwhelming victors in 
national elections but denied their right to rule by the army, have 
always emphasized peaceful strategiess for political change. NLD leader 
and
Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi continues to stand for 
non-violence despite the fact that more than 1000 NLD members are 
political prisoners subject to torture and abuse.

"It is unfortunate that this action by a small, marginal armed group has 
overshadowed the daily sufferings of thousands of Burmese citizens of 
the Karen, Mon, Shan, Chin and Rohingya ethnicities," says Zarni. "It 
will be
even more unfortunate if this group's action strengthens the hand of a 
small number of politically influential Thais, who seek profit through 
dirty business with Burma's generals, despite their record of human 
rights
abuse and narcotics trafficking. Let us say it unequivocally: Burma's, 
Thailand's and the region's long-term security will never be achieved 
until good governance is restored in Rangoon."

The armed men also reportedly targetted the Ratchaburi power plant, 
where piped-in Burmese natural gas is to be used for electricity 
generation. Los Angeles based Unocal is a partner in the pipeline 
project, and is
being sued in US federal court for human rights violations and forced 
relocations alleged to have taken place along the pipeline route. That 
case goes to trial early this year.

END
Contact:	Dr. Zarni, Free Burma Coalition (312) 621-9650, Ext. 3138
Larry Dohrs, Free Burma Coalition (206) 784-5742

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NCGUB: 'VIOLENCE' SHOULD NOT BE OPTION IN SEEKING CHANGE
January 24

T
he National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma is deeply 
concerned by the armed seizure of a Ratchaburi hospital in Thailand by 
members of the "God's Army." No action that endangers innocent lives is 
pardonable, not even when it is meant to highlight suffering of innocent 
civilians. We call on the "God's Army" to release all hostages unharmed 
and to resolve the problem without any bloodshed.

We praise the Royal Government of Thailand for allowing the Karen people 
hurt in the shelling of the "God's Army" areas at the border to cross 
into the country for medical treatment and for maintaining its 
traditional calm and patience in dealing all forms of terrorism.

This deplorable incident coupled with the influx of methamphetamine 
drugs into neighboring countries only bring to mind the concern that we 
have been expressing for so long: that the consequences of the 
oppressive military rule in Burma, if left unchanged, will spill over to 
the region. Taking the opportunity at hand, we call on all parties 
concerned to endeavor toward bringing peaceful change to Burma.

Dr. Sein Win, prime minister of the National Coalition Government of the 
Union of Burma, said "When oppression is severe, there will be parties 
that succumb to the temptation to resort to violence. We oppose the use 
of violence which is detrimental to the goal of setting a precedence for 
peaceful change in the country and diverts the attention of the world 
away from peaceful efforts to bring democracy to Burma."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
MIC: MYANMAR GOVERNMENT COMMENDS THAI AUTHORITIES FOR ITS ACTIONS 
AGAINST ARMED TERRORISM

Myanmar Information Committee
 Information Sheet
 No.B-1231 (I) 25th January, 2000



 The Government of Myanmar is appalled and saddened to learn that the 
same armed terrorist group that stormed the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok 
in October of the last year taking the embassy staff and their families 
including some foreigners as hostages, has held the sick and the entire 
medical staff as hostages after storming a hospital, west of Bangkok in 
Ratchaburiyesterday.

 It is also very disheartening to know that this armed terrorist group 
called ?God?s Army? is
exploiting the simple local ethnic people along the Thai-Myanmar border 
by staging 2 twelve- year old children as immortals and supernaturals 
and by manipulating locals to join its group in the service of the 
manipulators? interests. It is also quite shocking to see a scene on one 
ThaiTV Channel where a lot of very young children being recruited and 
trained as soldiers for this terrorist army.

 It is a definitely well-imaged concern for the World Community where 
terrorism is becoming a choice- weapon in this new millennium for all 
extremists and radicals around the world. In this regard, Myanmar would 
like 
to commend the Thai Government for its decisive way in handling and 
protecting its citizens from the perils of terrorism and making it a 
glaring example that under no pretext of guise can terrorism be 
accepted. 
 
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NATION: FLOOD OF WEBSITE CRITICISM
25-Jan-20000



 SEVERAL visitors to a popular community Internet portal
 site yesterday blasted the God's Army guerrilla group for seizing the 
hospital in Ratchaburi.

 The visitors to Pantip.com left messages on the site's
 CafÈ or message board, saying Thailand had been too
 kind to the guerrilla group and should take drastic
 measures against them.

 Several also criticised the Thai government for inefficient security 
measures allowing the guerrilla group to storm the hospital.

 ''Who on earth are they to demand this and that from us?
 Don't you think we are too kind to them?'' one message
 said.

 Another visitor, under the alias of ''people'', said: ''This was an 
inhumane act because they threatened the life of doctors and patients. 
They should not be forgiven. Anyone behind this should be regarded as 
the lowest class of criminal.''

 Several messages called for the shutdown of the
 Maneeloy holding centre for Burmese students and for all
 Burmese political activists to be expelled from Thailand.

 ''First, we should hold those at Maneeloy centre as
 hostages to exchange for our people at the hospital,'' one of these 
messages read.

 It then added: ''We don't have to worry about humanity
 anymore because they took patients as hostages.'' one of
 these messages read.

 ''We have to demand them to release the hostages as
 soon as possible or else we won't guarantee the safety of their friends 
at Maneeloy centre,'' another message read.

 ''What were the National Intelligence Agency and Security Council doing 
to allow this kind of thing to happen again and again? They should show 
responsibility by bringing those guerrillas to justice and expelling 
those Burmese people at Maneeloy from our country.''

 Another visitor to the site said: ''I think the calls of these 
guerrillas are nonsense. I think they just want to draw attention. But 
this is Thailand and they should not be allowed to do this.''

 Yet another person said the government should
 ''eliminate'' the guerrillas as soon as they have negotiated to release 
all the hostages.

 ''Wasn't it embarrassing for the government to let these guerrillas to 
take over our hospital?'' asked one message.
 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
MIC: PRODUCTION-SHARING CONTRACT ON EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OF OIL 
AND GAS SIGNED

Myanmar Information Committee
 Information Sheet
 No.B-1231 (I) 25th January, 2000

 The production-sharing contract on inland block No. EP4 
(Myanmar-western 
Pyay region) for oil and gas exploration and production in Shwedaung and 
Padaung township was signed by Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise of the 
Ministry of Energy and Prime Resource Management (Cyprus) Ltd of Canada 
at Yadana Hall of the Ministry of Energy in Yangon on 24 January. 
Present on the occasion were ministers, the Attorney-General, deputy 
ministers, directors-general, 
managing directors and managing director Mr. David Stelck of Prime 
Resource Management (Cypurs) Ltd and officials.

 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
ASIAN AGE/AFP: "TRADE UNION MEET DECIDES TO OPPOSE BURMA JUNTA"

"The Asian Age" newspaper
Date-January 24, 2000.

Kathmandu, Jan. 23: Trade Unions must play a leading role in opposing
Burma's military junta and help pave the way for democracy in the
country, union representatives from 29 countries agreed here on
Saturday.

 The 60 delegates adopted the Kathmandu Declaration at the end of a
three-day conference organized by a number of national and international 
unions, including the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 
and Nepal Trade Union Congress.

They called for the country to respect human rights, and said political 
and economic pressure should be exerted on the military junta. Their 
declaration also called for the lunch of a postcard campaign to demand 
the release of imprisoned Burma trade union leaders--Myo Aung Thant and 
Khin Kyaw.

Federation of Trade Unions of Burma delegate Maung Maung said at the end 
of the conference that he expected the country to become democratic 
soon.

The head of the NTUC, Mr. Laxman Basnet, told the delegates that worker 
rights could only be exercised in a democracy. (AFP)

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
KATHMANDU POST: MYANMAR DEMOCRACY BACKED

By a Post Reporter
Kathmandu Post, January 21, 2000

Kathmandu, Jan 20 - President of the ruling Nepali Congress Girija 
Prasad Koirala toady extended his "wholehearted" support for the 
struggle for democracy in Myanmar. Koirala lauded the effort made by the 
Burmese leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to restore 
democracy in her country.

"The heroic struggle that Suu Kyi has been waging deserves a global 
applause and our wholehearted support," said Koirala. "I salute her for 
her great courage and tenacity..."

Attributing Myanmar as "a very old friend" of Nepal, Koirala said "When 
I think of Myanmar, it makes my heart heavy with profound agony," said 
Koirala who remembered the historic Nepal-Myanmar ties established in 
the 1940s.

He was addressing a two-day international conference on "Democracy for 
Burma" organised by International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 
(ICFTU)/ITS.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
KATHMANDU POST: CALL TO PUT PRESSURE ON MYANMAR JUNTA

By a Post Reporter
Kathmandu Post, January 23, 2000

Kathmandu, Jan 22 - An international conference organised here to 
explore ways to support the restoration of democracy in Myanmar 
concluded here today with the participants stressing the need to 
politically and economically pressurise the military junta in Myanmar.

At a press conference organised here to highlight the outcomes of the 
three-day conference, participants said unless economic and political 
sanctions are imposed against Myanmar's military rulers, democracy 
cannot be restored. The participants also expressed commitment to impose 
the sanctions, and called on the trade unions to extend solidarity for 
the cause of restoration of democracy in Myanmar.

"We are prepared to take initiatives," said the participants. More than 
60 participants from 25 countries participated in the conference 
organised by International Confederation of Free Trade Union 
(ICFTU/ITS). General Secretary of the confederation, Noriuky Suzuki said 
that the trade union members have plan to circulate a "Call for Action" 
to 144 trade union offices in 29 countries so as to garner supports for 
the cause.

The conference has also decided to launch a postcard campaign for the 
release of Burmese trade union leaders, Myo Aung Thant and Khin Kyaw. In 
a bid to pressurise the military junta, the participants have planned to 
mail the cards to Burmese Embassies based in various countries around 
the world.

Laxman Basnet, President of Nepal Trade Union Congress said the 
organisation will launch signature campaign next week to support the 
restoration movement and hand it over to Burmese Embassy.

 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE JAPAN TIMES: MYANMAR SUFFERS AS ITS VOICE OF REASON IS SILENCED

January 25, 2000, Tuesday 

 
 Touching portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi, who gave up her family for her 
country 

THE LADY: Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, by Barbara Victor. Chinag Mai: 
Silkworm Books, 1999, 200 pp., 425 baht, Dollars 11. 

Reviewed by JOHN HAYLOCK 

Barbara Victor is a seasoned journalist, writer of novels and other 
works. After publishing "A Voice of Reason," the biography of Hanan 
Ashrawi, the prominent Palestinian, she turned to another reasonable 
voice: Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Hers is another reasonable voice crying out for democracy that the 
military junta (once known as the State Law and Order Restoration 
Council, now as the State Peace and Development Council) that rules 
Myanmar longs to stifle. 

Undaunted by deprivation (she was confined to her family home on Lake 
Inya outside Yangon for six years), Suu Kyi, known locally as "The 
Lady", is the leader of the National League for Democracy and the 
daughter of the Burmese hero and patriot Aung San. 

He struggled for the independence of his country first against the 
British colonists and then against the Japanese occupiers after a short 
alliance with them. 

Suu Kyi is now allowed to meet her two deputies and to address her 
followers from her garden wall. She is, though, restricted, and always 
under the watchful eye of the ruthless regime. 

Victor paints a touching portrait of this indomitable woman, who gave up 
family life with her English husband and their two sons in order to work 
for freedom in her country. 

At the same time she gives an informative account of conditions in 
Myanmar, its leaders and its recent history. She had permission from 
SLORC to visit Myanmar and gather material for this book. 

When Aung San realized that the Japanese, whom he had helped capture 
Rangoon in 1942, did not plan to grant then Burma its freedom, he joined 
the British Allied Forces, and was recognized as a principal leader in 
the movement for Burmese independence. 

After a period of confused political activity following World War II, a 
constituent assembly was elected and met in June 1947, but in July of 
that year Aung San was assassinated with seven of his ministers by U 
Saw, a rival. Suu Kyi was then 2 years old, her father 32. 

U Nu, a colleague of Aung San in the struggle for independence, became 
prime minister, but there were difficulties over the rights of the 
minorities, in particular the Shans and the Karens - the latter are 
still fighting against the government. 

U Nu, unable to cope with the unrest, asked Gen. Ne Win, another 
colleague, to take over. This he did, ruling the country despotically 
for 26 disastrous years. 

Ne Win managed to turn Myanmar, a country with vast mineral and natural 
resources, and potentially rich, into a slum. 

Meanwhile Suu Kyi was being educated first at Delhi University (her 
mother was ambassador to India) and then at Oxford University, where she 
met the man who would later become her husband, scholar Michael Aris. 

In 1988 Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon to nurse her dying mother. 

At the same time, Ne Win was forced to retire by the army after being 
unable to quell ethnic disturbances that had sprung up across the 
country. 

Desperately trying to win some credibility, the government held 
elections in 1988 that it expected to win handily. Instead, it was 
handed a 

stunning defeat by the NLD, led by Suu Kyi. The military refused to hand 
over power to the party and unrest followed. SLORC nullified the 
election results and clings to power to this day, even though it has 
changed its name. 

Suu Kyi was arrested for attacking SLORC and Ne Win, and in 1990 was put 
under house arrest. 

Today "The Lady," who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is in 
much the 

same situation - she is under around-the-clock observation, her contacts 
with the outside world guarded, her movements restricted - but her voice 
has not been silenced. 

Ne Win lives in retirement on the other side of Lake Inya. He is 86 and 
still a power behind the scenes. He is steeped in superstition and 
astrology. Sitting on a wooden horse in his plane, he is flown nine 
times round his birthplace. Nine is his lucky number.


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NEBRT: RALLY FOR THE MASS. BURMA LAW - MARCH 22

New England Burma Roundtable

On March 22 at 10am, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in 
the case against the Massachusetts Burma selective purchasing law. 

There will be a rally in front of the Supreme Court in support of the 
Massachusetts Burma Law starting at 9am that day. The DC-Burma Action 
Network (DC-BAN) is coordinating the rally. The rally will focus 
attention on how multinational corporations have used the U.S. federal 
courts and the World Trade Organization's dispute mechanisms to strike 
down citizen-sponsored initiatives in support of human rights, such as 
the Massachusetts Burma Law.

If you can attend the rally in Washington DC. contact Dan Beeton 
<danbeeton@xxxxxxxxxx> and Ted Hobart <hobiecat37@xxxxxxxxxxx> of DC-BAN 
for updates. 

Please post this message to as many friends and listserves that you can.

I hope to see you in Washington DC on March 22!

Simon Billenness
*for the New England Burma Roundtable*
Trillium Asset Management
711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 423-6655, x225
(800) 548-5684
(617) 482-6179 - fax
sbillenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.trilliuminvest.com/



 *END-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*


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