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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: March 17, 2000


________________ THE BURMANET NEWS _________________ 
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
_________________ www.burmanet.org _________________

Friday, March 17, 2000 
Issue # 1489


 To view the web version of this issue, go to-

http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$246


_______________________________________________________ 
NOTED IN PASSING: 

Few governments warrant isolation more than Myanmar's
military junta, one of the most brutal and repressive regimes
in the world.

The New York Times (See NYT: THE TRAGEDY OF MYANMAR)

_______________________________________________________ 

*Inside Burma

REUTERS: CONFUSED MYANMAR AIDS SIGNALS ALARM UN

SHAN: RED WA SEEK LOGGING CONCESSION

NATION: BURMA AGREES TO UNHCR MONITOR 
          
SHAN: SALWEEN DAM SURVEY CONTINUES
          
AFP: BRITAIN-MYANMAR-RIGHTS JAILED BRITISH ACTIVIST ON HUNGER
STRIKE IN MYANMAR 
          
MTBR: FRAGILE TOURISM SECTOR FINALLY ON THE MOVE 



*International


MIZZIMA: INDIA DEPORTED FOUR ARMY DESERTERS TO BURMA 

UPI: N. KOREA URGED TO APOLOGIZE FOR 1983 BOMBING IN MYANMAR



*Opinion/Editorial
     
NYT: THE TRAGEDY OF MYANMAR

THE IRRAWADDY: REAL FREEDOM

     
                   

___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________ 
     




REUTERS: CONFUSED MYANMAR AIDS SIGNALS ALARM UN

INTERVIEW-


By David Brunnstrom 

16 Mar 2000 

07:32GMT

BANGKOK, March 16 (Reuters) - Military-ruled Myanmar is
giving confused and conflicting signals about its AIDS crisis
and not diverting enough resources to essential health
programmes, UNICEF's regional director has said. 
And then you hear another part of the government at another
time saying 'it's not a big problem, it's all being
exaggerated'. 

>From Burma we are getting confused and conflicting signals on
the HIV/AIDS situation, he said on Wednesday. 
Gautam, whose becomes the U.N. Children's Fund's new deputy
executive director next month, said the Myanmar government's
estimate of HIV infections was only around 25,000 while the
World Health Organisation projected at least 440,000. 
Our own estimation is that the situation is quite critical --
that the number of cases of HIV/AIDS is certainly far in
excess of the government figures that we hear. 
I would say this -- let us not quibble about which figure is
right. The fact is that HIV/AIDS incidents are on the rise
and no effective measures seem to be taken in Myanmar that
are commensurate with the crisis. 
He said he believed the international community was eager and
willing to provide more help to Myanmar for HIV/AIDS
programmes, but added: We would like to see greater action,
greater acknowledgement, greater openness. 

GENERAL SAYS AIDS PROBLEM EXAGGERATED 

In January, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, the intelligence
chief considered the most powerful figure in Myanmar's
government, accused critics of exaggerating the country's
AIDS problem and said it was not the catastrophe they
maintained. 

He said data on AIDS sent by destructive elements to the
international community had been totally false and disparaged
Myanmar's dignity. 

He also said the military had made progress in the health
sector since coming to power in 1988, spending 3.09 billion
kyats on it in the year to March 31, 1999. 
At the free market exchange rate of about 350 kyats to the
dollar, this meant government health expenditure in a country
of 47 million totalled just $880,000. At the official rate of
six to the dollar it was about $51 million. 

According to a recent World Bank report, health spending that
year was just two percent of government spending, against 32
percent for defence. 
Gautam said Myanmar needed to treat AIDS as a serious public
health problem, adding: Far too much of a political
connotation seems to be given by the Myanmar authorities
themselves to this issue. 
I think that any underestimation or belittling of the problem
just delays more effective action. 

He said UNICEF programmes in Myanmar, including its polio
immunisation programme, had been very successful, but Myanmar
had not done enough to support them. 

Much of the progress is being achieved through external
support... the government itself is not allocating enough
funds. 

Gautam said other poor countries had taken greater financial
responsibility for such programmes. 
Let me give the example of Bangladesh -- it is poorer than
Burma in terms of national income and Bangladesh now procures
a sizeable number of vaccines with its own money. 
     

     
_______________________________________________________ 



SHAN: RED WA SEEK LOGGING CONCESSION

17 March 2000 

No: 3 - 13 

Was Applying for Logging Concession In The Salween Dam Area 
It was learned recently that the "Red Was" had applied for
logging concession in the Tasang dam project area in return
for the cost incurred in road construction in eastern Shan
State. 

Wei Hsaitang, the commander of the Wa Special Brigade in
Monghsat, had, on 25 November 1999, applied to Major general
Thein Sein, Triangle Regional Command (Kengtung), for
permission to log the forest in Mongpulong, north 
of Tasang, the projected Salween dam site, according to a
source close to the United Wa State Army. 

In his application, Wei stated that his brigade had been
spending "considerable amount of funds" for the construction
of Hsaikhao and Mongkied concrete bridges, the rehabilitation
of the Monghsat - Mongyang Nawngkhio - Mongpiang road and the
preparation to build the Loikha - Mongpulong road. 

He also stated that the brigade would need to get back some
of the funds in order to use in the development of Loisarmsao
(headquarters of the southern command) and Banhoong (Wei
Xuegarg's HQ) in Monghsat. 

Accordingly, he asked Gen Thein Sein to approve the logging
of 10,000 tons of hard wood in Mongpulong. 

According to the documents in possession of S.H.A.N., the
UWSA received permission on 20 February to cut 500 tons of
hard wood. 

Both the local people and the environmentalists fear
destruction of the remaining forests and more forced
relocations of the people in the area. 

     
_______________________________________________________ 
     

                         
NATION: BURMA AGREES TO UNHCR MONITOR 

March 17

BURMA has given a green light to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees to help monitor the repatriation of Burmese
displaced persons currently living Thailand, Geneva-based
assistant high commissioner Soren Jessen Petersen said
yesterday.                              

But Burma and the UNHCR would further discuss when and how
the UNHCR could do that job, said Petersen, who had just
returned from a trip to Rangoon. 
"I suggested to Burma that we could play a helpful role in
bringing back Burmese displaced persons from Thailand who
want to go back home, but cannot do so," he said. 
                         

It would be the first time Burma had allowed the UNHCR to
have a presence in its territory, to monitor and take care of
the repatriation of thousands of Burmese displaced persons
now living along the border.
 
Currently the UNHCR helps monitor and register Burmese from
the Thai side. 

During his visit, Petersen met the Burmese military junta's
first secretary Lt Gen Khin Nyunt and the foreign minister,
Win Aung. 

He said a solution to the plight of the Burmese refugees
would require a political solution, before the UN agency
could effectively take part in the repatriation process. 

"It will take time. It will require a political solution, a
political dialogue and then the UNHCR will come in at the
right moment," he said. 
That the junta acknowledged that it needed to work with the
UNHCR on the matter was a positive sign. Petersen said the
agency's main concern was that refugees were returned to a
safe environment with dignity, without being forced into
labour camps. 

Petersen yesterday met deputy foreign minister Sukhumbhand
Paribatra, to discuss the fate of Burmese displaced persons
in Thai camps. 

Expressing support for the UNHCR's agreement with Burma,
Sukhumbhand said the Burmese would have enough confidence to
return home if a neutral party was present in Burma's
resettlement areas. 

"Once the displaced persons have confidence they can return
home with safety and dignity, they will certainly volunteer
to go back," he said. 
"Unless and until there is a neutral presence in Burma to
build confidence among displaced persons, it's unlikely many
will volunteer to go back," he said. 

A number of requirements, including the presence of the UNHCR
on Burmese soil, should be met before the repatriation
process began, he said. "Burma must have reaffirmed a
willingness to receive the displaced persons," he said. 

Sukhumbhand said when these conditions were met, there could
possibly be a tripartite meeting of Thailand, Burma and the
UNHCR to discuss the repatriation programme. 

Thailand had discussed the need for the UNHCR to work on
Burmese soil to build the confidence of Burmese displaced
persons, so they would volunteer to go back, he said. 

          

_______________________________________________________ 



SHAN: SALWEEN DAM SURVEY CONTINUES


Shan Herald Agency for News 17 March 2000

No: 3 - 11

The Salween Dam Mineral Survey Continues Since November, a
geological survey to ascertain mineral potential along the
Salween basin has been going on, said S.H.A.N. source from
the north.

Dr. Min Sway from Department of Geology, University of
Rangoon, and his team went into the Tasang area, between
Mongton Township, eastern Shan State, and Mongpan Township,
southern Shan State, on 8 November with the drilling team of
GMS Power from Bangkok.

The team of 4 led by Dr. Min Sway was reported in Nawnglurh,
a village halfway between Tasang and Mongpan again on 18
February doing survey under protection from LIB 520 (Mongpan)
commanded by Maj. Myo Kyaw.

According to the latest report, the team were up in the north
in Loisang-Namlam, south of Tangyan, under the escort of LIB
507 (Lashio) on 8 March.

Details of their findings are not in the report.

The Shan State is reported to be the richest in natural
resources in Burma. A GMS source told S.H.A.N. that it would
want to excavate all the marketable minerals in the expected
flood area before the dam is finished.

A Thai team, led by Dr. Suphorn Khuttathep from Chiangmai
University, is expected to conduct a socio-environmental
impact assessment in the coming months.

The dam project on the Salween has been facing opposition
both from the groups in the Shan State and environmental
organizations since the outset in late 1998.






_______________________________________________________ 


AFP: BRITAIN-MYANMAR-RIGHTS JAILED BRITISH ACTIVIST ON HUNGER
STRIKE IN MYANMAR 
                         

LONDON, March 16 (AFP) - A British human rights activist
serving a 17-year jail sentence in Myanmar has embarked on a
20-day hunger strike to protest his conviction by Yangon's
justice system, his father said in London Thursday. 
David Mawdsley said his son James had started a 20-day hunger
strike "because he is not getting any satisfaction from the
murderous, terrorist government junta". 

The 27-year-old Briton was jailed last September after being
arrested in the town of Tachilek, on the border with
Thailand, in possession of pamphlets denouncing the Rangoon
government. 

Mawdsley said his son was not given a fair trial and had been 
threatened with torture by uniformed officers. "James would
like a fair trial and a lawyer who could stand up for 
him and be able to speak the truth without the lawyer fearing
for his life or his family's life. 

"James was not given a trial and he wants the script of the
so-called trial. He was put in a room with people in uniform
and threatened with torture. 

"We are terribly worried for his health but the family
support him 100 percent. This is James's purpose," Mawdsley
added. 

Mawdsley said his son was in good spirits because he had
recently been visited by officials from the British embassy
in Yangon. Reports released on Tuesday by the UN and human-
rights group Amnesty International condemned a catalogue of
human rights violations in the Asian country and the
displacement and mistreatment of some ethnic groups. 
Myanmar's junta has resisted all attempts to force it to hand
power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San
Suu Kyi which won a huge election victory in 1990. 

_______________________________________________________ 



     
MTBR: FRAGILE TOURISM SECTOR FINALLY ON THE MOVE 


The Myanmar Times & Business Review 
(Myanmar*s first international weekly Journal) 
March 6-12, 2000, Volume 1, No.1, Page-4, Economis Focus 2000 


Myanmar nascent hotel and tourism sector is alive but fragile
with a lack of national promotion and big campaigning
budgets, yet interest continues to grow in visiting one of
Asia*s most unseen countries. 

But 1999 was a very lean year, said most hotel and tour
operators. 

Negative international press coverage, continuing economic
embargoes and a financially subdued Asia took its toll. Many
small hotels were unable to run because of a lack of
tourists, but numbers are now increasing. 

It can be said that the industry is rising although it has
yet to be developed. Small hotel owners and tourist service
providers realise this and are quickly adapting in an
increasingly versatile market. 

Competition for the Western tourist dollar is still very
competitive with luxury hotels offering rates as low as US$50
per night - unheard of during the boom years in the mid
1990*s. 

Mr. Arbind Shrestha, General Manager of Yangon*s most high
profile hotel, the Shangri-La owned, Traders, was upbeat
about prospects for 2000, saying that the tourists drought
was over. 

I'm not the only one to have interest in Myanmar. There are
many attractions here and business opportunities look
tremendous. 

"Like in Thailand, vacation resorts will mushroom there is no
reason it can't happen here," he said. 

Indeed there are enormous opportunities in tourism as a
regional upswing kicks in." 

Arrivals are also picking up During Asia's economic crisis in
1997-98 tourist arrivals dropped like all in the region, but
numbers were up at the Traders by 25 per cent in 1999
compared with that in 1998. 


Fiscal Year Num. of Tourists Others Total 

1995/96 120,205 49,938 170,143 

1996/97 251,501 58,797 310,298 

1997/98 265,112 64,257 329,379 

1998/99 286,882 65,019 351,901 

Source: Selected Economics Indicators (MayOune,1999) 

Mr Shrestha and his Shangri-La Group are also planning to
extend the Traders complex and to build a new hotel at an 18-
acre site near Kandawgyi Lake, a stalled project that has
beenachieved. 

If visas are processed in a better and faster way, it will be
more convenient for tourists to travel and visit Myanmar. It
enhances tourist arrivals," Mr Shrestha said. 

"What's more hotel business will improve if more
international flight schedules and direct flights can be
arranged." There is a saying, "Only an enjoyable home is
likely to be visited and so will be prospered." 

Inevitably ' the Union of Myanmar will receive more attention
only when the tourist industry is promoted aggressively in
the region. 

Competing against neighbours like Thailand Vietnam and
Malaysia for tourism dollars is fiercely competitive and
Myanmar needs to realise this, said an overseas tour
operator. 

"This is the age of media, internet, e-mail and e-commerce -
to make the Myanmar economy boom it's time to get involved,"
he said. 







___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________ 

          
     
MIZZIMA: INDIA DEPORTED FOUR ARMY DESERTERS TO BURMA 


Aizawl, March 17, 2000 
Mizzima News Group 

Four Burma army deserters who has been detained in Champhai
police station since February 17 were handed over to Burma
authorities yesterday by the Indian authorities. Mr.
Tumsanga, Director General of Police of Mizoram State
confirmed this to our correspondent in Aizawl. 

Four private soldiers from the outpost stationed at Rid
Village in Chin State of Burma deserted the army along with
three G-3 assault rifles and 140 ammunitions last month.
However, the Mizoram police arrested them near the border
village of Kelkang in Champhai district on February 17. 

The four deserters are Tun Linn Naung, aged 13, Win Kyaw,
aged 18, Than Thun, aged 25 and Soe Aye, aged 20. All of them
are from No. 266 of Light Infantry Division of Burma army. 

Mr. Tumsanga said that the four soldiers were handed over
along with their weapons and ammunitions to the Commanding
Officer of Rid post yesterday by the Assam Rifles and the
decision to deport them to Burma was taken by the Central
Government in New Delhi. 

"Government of India has appealed to the Myanmar army to be
lenient on them. But it is up to the Myanmar authorities to
deal with them," said Mr. Tumsanga when asked on the personal
safety of deserters once they are in the hands of Burmese
authorities. 




_______________________________________________________ 
          

     

UPI: N. KOREA URGED TO APOLOGIZE FOR 1983 BOMBING IN MYANMAR


By CHARLES LEE

SEOUL, South Korea, March 16 (UPI) -- Myanmar will not reopen
diplomatic ties with North Korea unless Pyongyang apologizes
for its involvement in a 1983 bombing that killed 17 South
Korean officials visiting the Southeast Asian country,
Myanmar's official was quoted as saying in a Seoul press
report Thursday.

Myanmar's Vice Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win made the
remarks during a meeting with a visiting group of South
Korean journalists last week, Yonhap News Agency said.

"North Koreans are approaching us (for rapprochement), but
they first must admit that their involvement in the
incident," Khin was quoted as saying. "Otherwise, we cannot
re-establish relations with North Korea."

On Oct. 9, 1983, a powerful bomb exploded minutes before
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan was to visit Myanmar's
Martyr's Mausoleum in Yangon. Chun was unhurt but 17 top
officials, including the country's foreign
minister, were killed and 14 others were injured.

Three North Koreans were arrested and confessed that the
bombing was made by the North's intelligence authorities in
order to assassinate the South Korean president.

Myanmar, which forged formal ties with North Korea in 1975, severed
relations and officially censured Pyongyang at the United
Nations. But the North's government has never officially
admitted its involvement or apologized.

The Yangon incident was followed by another bombing by the
North of a South Korean civilian airliner near Myanmar four
years later. All 115 people on board the Korean Air 858 plane
died.

The bomb attacks caused the United States to put North Korea
on its list of countries that sponsor terrorist activities.

North Korea has demanded it be removed from the list, which
analysts say
has blocked Washington-led international financial bodies
from providing
North Korea with loans it desperately needs. The United
States and North
Korea had talks in New York this week to discuss the demand.

The Myanmar's remarks came amid the North's diplomatic
overture to improve
ties with Southeast Asian countries. 



________________ OPINION/EDITORIALS __________________ 
          
          
New York Times Editorial 
March 16, 2000 

The Tragedy of Myanmar 


Few governments warrant isolation more than Myanmar's 
military junta, one of the most brutal and repressive 
regimes in the world. But the cruelty of Myanmar, 
formerly Burma, is increasingly a regional 
problem that threatens to destabilize its Southeast 
Asian neighbors with refugees, narcotics and now AIDS. 
Unfortunately, Myanmar has faded from attention at a 
time when the need for concerted action has never 
been greater. 

The latest disturbing news is that Myanmar's booming 
heroin trade is contributing to the spread of AIDS in 
nearby countries, notably India, China and Vietnam. 
Myanmar is the world's second-largest source of 
opium and heroin, after Afghanistan. It also has its 
own exploding epidemics of drug use and AIDS. 

The courageous opposition leader and 1991 Nobel peace 
laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, an advocate of 
nonviolent resistance, remains under strict government 
control in the capital, Yangon, formerly called 
Rangoon. The government continues with a campaig of 
harassment and imprisonment of her party, the National 
League for Democracy, which won 80 percent of the 
parliamentary seats in a 1990 election that the 
junta then annulled. 

In recent years South Korea, the Philippines and 
Thailand have replaced authoritarian regimes with 
fledgling democracies. Now Indonesia has done the 
same. The changes present a fresh opening for action 
on Myanmar, but the world has been slow to seize 
it. The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, 
has yet to appoint a new special envoy for Myanmar to 
coordinate international efforts to bring pressure on 
the junta. 

The White House took the lead in isolating Myanmar, 
imposing sanctions on new investment there in 1997. 
But the problem has not been high on Washington's 
agenda for many months. The Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, will meet in 
July, and the Group of Eight leading industrial 
nations will gather in Japan the same month. Tokyo 
continues to do business with Myanmar's leaders. 
Washington should use the occasion of this summer's 
meetings to persuade its democratic friends in the region to
shun Myanmar and 
make clear that normal trade and diplomatic relations 
cannot be sustained as long as the government abuses 
its people


     
_______________________________________________________


THE IRRAWADDY: REAL FREEDOM

 Vol. 8 No.2, February 2000 Ye Min Aung learns about the real
meaning of freedom from his friend and fellow activist, James
Mawdsley, who is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence
in Burma In early January 1997, a car carrying two white men
and a white woman drove into our camp in the jungle. 

It was a rare sight, so I followed the car out of curiosity
and to see if they needed help with their luggage. A camp
executive introduced one of the white men to me. This was my
first meeting with James. At the time, James was just 24
years old, and like a lot of young western guys, he seemed to
be curious about our life in the jungle. When I met him, he
had a shaved head that he covered with a cowboy hat. He
explained that he had come to teach us English. He didn''t
seem to know much about why we were out there in the jungle,
but it didn''t matter: we were just happy to have a chance to
study English for the first time since 1988, when we were
forced to end our studies after the crackdown on the pro-
democracy movement. That night, I was responsible for
preparing the beds of our guests. I took three blankets and
mosquito nets and showed them the way to the bamboo hut where
they would be staying. Being quite tall, James hit his head
on the roof of the hut. Later he asked where he could find
the toilet. I was embarrassed to tell him that we didn''t
have a proper water closet  just an uncomfortable bamboo
toilet. I also explained that our small old generator, our
only source of electricity in the camp, stopped running at
nine every night. I thought that like most foreigners who
came to visit us, James wouldn''t stay long. At that time, I
had just returned from the front lines, where most student
soldiers spent six months to two years before returning to
the rear camp. 

I was happy to have a chance to use my time learning English
and speaking with James. He asked me about the events of
August 8, 1988, when our nationwide movement to restore
democracy in Burma started. After learning about our struggle
in detail, he expressed his sympathy for the student
political prisoners and those who had left their families to
join the All Burma Students'' Democratic Front (ABSDF) in the
jungle. But he did not really seem interested in hearing
about students taking up arms and fighting in battlefields.
He said the best way to achieve democracy was through non-
violence. He also said that since all men all over the world
are brothers, Burmese affairs are also his affairs. I will
never forget these words. Our camp, Regiment No. 1 of the
ABSDF, was called Minthamee, and was located beside the
Tenasserim River. 

Usually there were just a few student soldiers, women and
children staying there. Life in the jungle was hard, and at
first we doubted that James could stand our diet of rice,
fish paste, and chili. According to Burmese custom, we served
our guest the best that we could offer: noodles and fresh
vegetables from our riverside garden. But one day, he
followed me back to my quarters after I served him his lunch.
When he saw my comrades and me eating plain rice and dried
fish paste, he scolded us, saying he was also our comrade, so
he should be given the same food as everybody else. So from
then on, he started eating the same food as the rest of us. I
remember one day some comrades came back from a hunting trip
with three monkeys.

 We all looked forward to a meal of monkey curry, which we
made by cooking the stomachs with some herbs and spices. When
we offered some to James, he asked us what part of the monkey
we had used. When I accidentally said that it was the
monkey''s shit, James jumped back in surprise. After he
realized that I had really meant to say stomach, he decided
to give it a try. He really liked it. The last time we met in
Bangkok, just before his third arrest in 1999, he joked that
he had come back to Thailand to have some monkey stomach
curry. Sometimes James also joined families at the camp for
dinner, eating food with just his bare hand, Burmese-style. 

He became friendly with the children in our regiment compound
and said that he was concerned about their future. He worried
that they would grow up to become child soldiers without any
education. Later he learned that many children inside Burma
are also deprived of even the most basic education, because
the country''s military dictators believe that it is more
important to strengthen the army than the minds of future
generations. To help the orphans and the children of our
married comrades to have a better future, James spent a lot
of time teaching them English at our small school, called Pyo
Pan Wai, which means, ""growing flowers are blooming"". James
seldom became angry, but I was surprised one time when I
asked him what he would think if we Burmese students started
using terrorism like the IRA in Britain. I was not serious,
but he did not think it was a joke to even suggest such an
idea. He said that the Burmese students were fighting for
human rights and democracy, so they should never resort to
terrorism. I reassured him that we would never do such a
thing. I realized then how strongly he opposed the use of
violence. How ridiculous it is that the military dictators in
Burma call him a ""mercenary terrorist""! James was not a
soldier, but he always showed solidarity with our struggle.
Every day at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., all members of our regiment
gathered in the parade field to salute the Fighting Peacock
flag, and James was always there without fail. 

In the third week of February 1997, our camp and Karen
National Union (KNU) Brigade No. 4 came under fierce attack
from Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 55 and 56 under the
Rangoon regime''s Southeastern Military Command. A platoon
was immediately ordered to go to the front line to take
defensive action. James and I watched as a motorboat carrying
about 20 students singing marching songs made their way to
the battlefield. Later that night, we sat in front of James''
hut discussing the offensive as we listened to the sound of
mortar shells, grenades and rockets exploding in the
distance. When I was given an order that same night to
prepare to go into action, James offered me a pair of army
boots that he had bought in Australia. I was very happy to
accept them, because unlike most soldiers, we students did
not have a complete set of battle gear. 

But it saddened me to see tears in James'' eyes when our
commander told him that he would have to leave our camp and
return to Thailand. The enemy troops were quickly advancing,
but James said he did not want to leave his students and
comrades. At dawn the next day, I saw James again as my
platoon patrolled the camp. He was sitting in front of his
hut looking very exhausted. Later he told me that he wanted
to stay and surrender to the government troops so that he
could negotiate with their commander to prevent further
casualties. 

I replied that they would never respect his attempts to
engage in negotiations if they could easily overrun the camp.
But at last I agreed that it might be worthwhile to try a
non-violent approach. Finally, however, our camp commander
rejected the idea. The next day, I had to go to the front
line without having a chance to say goodbye to James. When we
were later forced to retreat back to the camp, James and the
regiment''s women and children had already left for the
border to stay at a refugee camp. As a member of the superior
command, I had to help burn down our camp before the
advancing enemy troops arrived. Although I considered myself
a battle-hardened soldier, I cried when we set fire to
James'' hut. I thought about his proposal to surrender
himself to the enemy troops, believing that he could end the
fighting through non-violence. 

I am not sure that he would have succeeded, but perhaps he
could have drawn the world''s attention to the situation in
Burma. When I learned later of his plans to go into Burma to
protest against the military regime''s human rights
violations, I was not surprised. After our first encounter, I
could clearly see that he was determined to open people''s
eyes to what was happening inside Burma. I met James again in
late August 1997, after the fall of Minthamee camp. We met in
Bangkok, where I had gone because I could no longer stay on
the border. At that time, I told James the sad news that our
commander and some other freedom fighters had been killed in
battle. His face showed inexpressible sorrow, but he said we
must never give up our non-violent struggle to achieve
democracy and human rights in Burma. A few days later, James
told me about his plan to make his first trip to Burma on a
tourist visa. The next month I heard about his arrest in
Rangoon for protesting against military rule. He had
handcuffed himself to the school gate of State High School
No. 6 in Botataung, located opposite the Prime Minister''s
Office, and started shouting pro-democracy slogans. 

A few days later he was back in Bangkok with a wrist injury
caused by his rough handling by agents of the Military
Intelligence Services (MIS). When I saw him, I made a joke
about the warm reception he had received from the military
dictators in Rangoon. We thought that he would be satisfied
with the publicity his protest had attracted to our cause,
but he insisted that he would return to Burma again to
further raise people''s awareness. When I met James again, on
April 10, 1998, I was the one behind bars. The Thai police
had arrested me for illegal entry, and James came to bring me
some food while I was in custody. 

He looked upset when he saw the living conditions of Burmese
students in the detention center, but when I reminded him
that there were still many students in Burma''s notorious
prisons a decade after the pro-democracy uprising of 1988, he
understood that we had no desire to complain about our
present circumstances. Then he confided to me that he was
planning to return to Burma again soon. When I was released a
few weeks later, I heard that he had been arrested again,
this time in Moulmein, in southern Burma, for distributing
pro-democracy pamphlets. Ninety-nine days later, after
effective pressure from the British and Australian embassies
in Rangoon, he was once again deported and sent straight back
to Britain. I did not have a chance to meet him again until
later in the year, when he returned to Bangkok after working
for several months in Australia. 

He was sunburned from working hard to raise money to support
refugees on the Thai-Burma border. I also noticed that he was
wearing the same old clothing that he had when he first came
to stay with us in the jungle. When I asked him jokingly how
he had enjoyed the dictators'' hospitality during his latest
visit to Burma, he could not stop talking about the life of
political prisoners in Insein jail. He also told me how he
had been tortured during his second prison experience. But he
still wanted to return to Burma again to continue his non-
violent protests against the regime. This time, however, he
could not get back into the country, so he decided to write
an account of his experiences working with the orphaned
students of Pyo Pan Wai, hoping to raise money to establish a
new school for his former students and other refugees
stranded on the border. 

In the last week of July 1999, James was back in Bangkok to
attempt another entry into Burma. He stayed with me in my
apartment, bringing with him many copies of Real Freedom, his
book about his experiences in the jungle. A few days later he
set off to the border to try to re-enter Burma. I joked that
this time he would probably be in prison until Burma achieved
democracy, so I asked him to meet us at the airport in
Rangoon when we returned. He replied that he believed that
day would come soon. Although we joked about these things, I
still worried about James and tried to convince him not to
return to Burma. But I could not change his mind, and I
admired his courage and his desire to reveal the true
situation in Burma to the international community through
acts of passive resistance. Ye Min Aung contributed this
article to The Irrawaddy. 





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