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


Weekend of March 25-26, 2000 
Issue # 1494

This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:

http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$270




*Inside Burma


AP: MYANMAR BANS IMPORTS OF THAI COMMODITIES AT BORDER CROSSING

DIE WELT: POVERTY IS THE BREAD FOR THE DICTATORS

MICB: DESTRUCTION OF MOSQUE, DEATHS OF FORCED LABORERS


*International


BURMANET: NIGHTLINE TO AIR TWO PART PROGRAM ON UNOCAL/YADANA PIPELINE

NATION: US WARNS LAOS AND BURMA OVER RIGHTS 

AP: JAPAN DONATING 5.5 MILLION FOR UNICEF PROJECT IN MYANMAR

SASAKAWA PEACE FOUNDATION: MOBILIZATION OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR 
DEVELOPMENT IN MYANMAR

BANGKOK POST: NSC SOFT-PEDALS ON JUNTA


*Opinion/Editorials

NATION: BURMA'S DRUG LORDS ARE WINNING THE WAR 

*Other

JOURNAL OF BURMA STUDIES: VOLUME FOUR, CONTENTS




___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________ 


AP: MYANMAR BANS IMPORTS OF THAI COMMODITIES AT BORDER CROSSING

March 25, 2000

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) _ Myanmar has banned imports of 26 key  
Thai commodities across the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in an 
apparent effort to help Yangon-based importing companies losing out 
to border traders, Thai and Myanmar merchants said Saturday. 
Under a regulation issued Friday by provincial authorities in 
Myawaddy, on the Myanmar side of the bridge, anyone found with the 
banned products will have the vehicle or house where the 
commodities are found confiscated and could face a jail term, 
merchants said. 

The banned commodities include edible oil, sugar, beverages and 
monosodium glutamate, which are imported in large quantities from 
Mae Sot in Tak province, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of 
Bangkok, on the Thai side bridge. 

The regulation has virtually halted border trade. The usually 
bustling markets of Mae Sot were quiet Saturday, and few merchants 
were crossing the bridge, although the steady flow of migrant 
Myanmar workers to Thai factories around Mae Sot continued. 
Mae Sot is one of the three main official checkpoints on the 
over 2,000 kilometer (1,250 mile) Thai-Myanmar land border. It was 
not immediately clear if the other checkpoints were covered by the 
ban. 

The border was totally closed for two months late last year 
after Myanmar insurgents protesting the Yangon military regime took 
hostages at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok. The incident fractured 
Thai-Myanmar relations. Like then, this ban will hurt the livelihood  
of hundreds of Thai and Myanmar traders and could cause shortages  
in basic commodities on the Myanmar side of the border. 

The Tak Chamber of Commerce in Mae Sot declined to comment on 
the ban. 

A Myanmar merchant, who requested anonymity, said the ban was 
requested by importers based in the Myanmar capital who ship 
commodities in by sea. 

The regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has instituted 
various import bans before, in a bid to stem the flow foreign 
currency from the cash-strapped country, which is suffering from 
prolonged economic malaise. 

Previous bans have caused an increase in smuggling along the 
Thai-Myanmar frontier. 


_______________________________________________________ 



DIE WELT: POVERTY IS THE BREAD FOR THE DICTATORS


25. 03. 2000

Burma, disappointed of Suu Kyi and of the junta, searches for a third
way

[Original in German, translation by the Burma Group Tuebingen]

By Daniel Kerstenholz

Rangoon - Once a month Burma's economic elite meets at the "Tuesday
Club", where big ranking government officials are available for
questioning - "also for uncomfortable question", the German 
businessman Jerzy Wilk asserts. A "critical dialogue" with the Nobel 
Price laureate Aung San Suu Kyi could end the international 
proscription of the junta and allowing funds of the World Bank. But 
even this advice of the Tuesday Club, the junta ignores. The patron 
of the club, the economy czar and minister David Abel can only show 
poverty, isolation and empty pockets.

"Only a change of the generation can sweep away the junta," says a
western diplomat in Rangoon. "The junta ignores Suu Kyi up to their
end." The courageous and charismatic lady gets side-tracked and more 
and more a tragic person. The people continue to hail Suu Kyi because 
they hate the army. But even within Suu Kyi's National Leage for 
Democracy (NLD), the overwhelming election winner of 1990, the 
members think on other alternatives. 

In Rangoon Suu Kyi and US diplomats are the only people which welcome
santions. "Sanctions are not harming the people," says a US diplomat.
"Why to enable jobs for a few people by investing if at the same time 
49 million people stay oppressed and the regime gets stronger?" Asked 
about the double strategy of the USA and of the British, which are 
the most sharp critics but also the main investors in Burma, he stays 
mute.

"Eleven years after imposing sanctions it is visible, that they are
useless," says an European ambassador, who calls the US delegation as
"increasing isolated colleagues". "Everywhere on the earth dictators
feed themself with poverty," says a diplomat. "The scourge had no
effect. We need a new way."

They refer on Burma's Third Force. Win Naing, the spokesman of the 
Third Force, accuses the junta of broken promises and the NLD he 
critisizes of her permanent attacks on the miltary government. The 
people are dissatisfied with both sides. "The opinions of the 
students, the politicians and of the people have changed. First, we 
should renounce to give the power to the people," says Win Naing, 
"then maybe the junta will agree with more freedom."

Instead from the NLD and students the paranoid junta is now 
threatened by the resistance of the clerus [clergy or sangha] , which 
has been formerly very close to the student resistance. In November, 
Ashin Kunthalabhivamsa, an abbot of Mandalay, demanded in a letter 
signed by 1000 monks, to Suu Kyi, the chief of the Junta Than Shwe 
and to the former dictator Ne Win, "to work together for the 
prosperity of the nation". Since them the old man gets
surveiled by military intelligence spies, he seems to be very 
anxious. 

The generals are afraid of the wrath of the clerus since the biggest
humiliation of the Buddhism: in 1990 monks in Mandalay turned their 
rice dishes upside down, when Generals wanted to offer them their 
donations. Would the monks go on the streets, the people would follow 
- like at the bloodshed of the 8th August 1988. However, observers 
exclude the possibility of another revolutions as long as the prices 
for rice are no more rising and as long as the soldiers are not 
mutinying.

Meanwhile, the SPDC junta (State Peace Development Council) is 
watching the events in Jakarta. The constitution of Indonesia, which 
ensures a political role for the army, was a template for the regime 
in Rangoon. Former president Suharto worked similar like former 
dictator Ne Win. But Indonesia experienced an astonishing change from 
a military regime to a civilian regime. "Now, the generals of Rangoon 
are checking how much power they can give away without loosing all," 
says a diplomat.

"Asia's economic boom can solve the political crisis of Burma," says 
the Australian Ross Dunkley, who is publishing the english-lanhuage 
"Myanmar Times", which is in circulation since one month. It is 
Burma's first independent newspaper, that's a small sensation. He is 
practising self-censorship, says Dunkley, but he got no restrictions.

The junta get also praised by the Red Cross, since they have been
allowed to visit prisoners. The Red Cross visited 25,000 prisoners 
and recently even a labour camp. "In China, Laos or Viet Nam such 
visits are impossible," says Léon de Riedmatten, the leader of the 
delegation of the Red Cross in Burma. "In China there are more bad 
circumstances," confirms Richard Dickins of the UN Narcotics Control 
Programme in Rangoon. "There, an opposition leader like Aung San Suu 
Kyi would be disappeared long time
before."

***

[Original Text:]

Die Welt: 25. 03. 2000
Armut ist das Brot der Diktatoren

Birma sucht, von Suu Kyi und der Junta enttäuscht, nach einem dritten
Weg 

Von Daniel Kestenholz

Rangun - Einmal im Monat trifft sich Birmas Geschäftselite zum 
"Tuesday Club", wo hohe Regierungsvertreter Rede und Antwort stehen - 
"auch auf unangenehme Fragen", beteuert der deutsche Unternehmer 
Jerzy Wilk. Ein "kritischer Dialog" mit Nobelpreisträgerin Aung San 
Suu Kyi könne Birmas internationale Ächtung enden und Weltbankgelder 
fließen lassen. Doch selbst auf diesen Rat des Tuesday Club hört die 
Junta nicht. Der Patron des Klubs, Birmas Wirtschaftszar und Minister 
David Abel, kann nur Armut, Isolation und leere Staatskassen 
vorweisen. 

"Nur ein Generationswechsel wird die Junta hinwegfegen", sagt ein
westlicher Diplomat in Rangun. "Die Junta sitzt Suu Kyi aus. Die 
mutige und charismatische Frau wird kaltgestellt und zunehmend zur 
tragischen Gestalt." Das Volk verehre Suu Kyi weiterhin, weil die 
Armee verhasst sei. Doch auch in Suu Kyis Nationalen Liga f?E 
Demokratie (NLD), der ?Eerwältigenden Wahlsiegerin von 1990, habe ein 
Umdenken eingesetzt. 

Suu Kyi und die US-Diplomaten in Rangun scheinen die einzigen im Land 
zu sein, die Sanktionen bef?Eworten. "Sanktionen tun dem Volk nicht 
weh", sagt ein US-Diplomat. "Warum mit Investitionen ein paar Leuten 
Arbeit geben, wenn 49 Millionen Menschen unterdr?Ekt bleiben und das 
Regime stärker wird?" Zur Doppelstrategie der USA und auch der 
Briten, die Birmas schärfste Kritiker, aber gleichzeitig auch 
Hauptinvestoren sind, schweigt der Diplomat.

"Elf Jahre nach Verhängung der Sanktionen zeigt sich, dass sie nichts
bringen", sagt ein europäischer Botschafter, der die US-Gesandten als
"zunehmend isolierte Kollegen" bezeichnet. "Überall auf der Welt
ernähren sich Diktaturen von Armut", so ein Diplomat. "Die Peitsche 
hat nicht gewirkt. Wir brauchen einen neuen Weg."

Verwiesen wird auf Birmas dritte Gewalt. Win Naing, der Wortf?Erer 
der Third Force, wirft der Junta gebrochene Versprechen vor, der NLD
ver?Eelt er die ständigen Attacken gegen die Militärregierung. Das 
Volk sei mit beiden Seiten unzufrieden. "Die Ansichten der Studenten, 
der Politiker und des Volkes haben sich geändert. Wir sollten vorerst 
auf die Forderung einer Macht?Eergabe an das Volk verzichten", so Win 
Naing. "Dann stimmt die Junta vielleicht mehr Freiheiten zu."

Statt von der NLD und Studenten droht der paranoiden Junta neuerdings
von den Mönchen Widerstand, die fr?Eer eng mit dem  
studentenwiderstand liiert waren. Ashin Kunthalabhivamsa, ein Abt in 
Mandalay, forderte im November in einem von 1000 Mönchen 
unterzeichneten Brief an Suu Kyi, Juntachef Than Shwe und Altdiktator 
Ne Win, "gemeinsam f?E das Wohl der Nation zu arbeiten". Seither wird 
der Greis von Militärspitzeln beschattet, er wirkt verängstigt.

Die Generäle f?Echten den Zorn der Mönche seit der größten 
Erniedrigung, die es im Buddhismus gibt: Mönche in Mandalay drehten 
1990 ihre Reisschalen um, als Generäle Opfergaben reichen wollten. 
Gingen die Mönche auf die Straße, das Volk w?Ede folgen - wie beim 
Blutbad am 8. August 1988. Beobachter schließen eine Revolution 
jedoch aus, solange der Reispreis nicht weiter steigt und die 
Soldateska nicht meutert. 

Die SPDC-Junta (Staatsrat f?E Frieden und Entwicklung) beobachtet
derweil die Vorgänge in Jakarta. Indonesiens Verfassung, die den
Streitkräften eine politische Rolle zusicherte, galt dem Ranguner 
Regime als Modell. Altpräsident Suharto arbeitete ähnlich wie Birmas
Altdiktator Ne Win. Indonesien erlebte jedoch einen erstaunlichen 
Wandel von einer Militär- zu einer Zivilherrschaft. "Ranguns Generäle 
pr?Een, wie viel Macht sie abgeben können, um nicht alles zu 
verlieren", sagt ein Diplomat.

"Asiens Wirtschaftsaufschwung kann Birmas politische Krise lösen", 
sagt der Australier Ross Dunkley, der seit diesem Monat die 
englischsprachige "Myanmar Times" herausgibt. Sie ist Birmas erste 
unabhängige Zeitschrift, das ist eine kleine Sensation. Er ?Ee 
Selbstzensur, sagt Dunkley, erhalte aber keine Auflagen. 

Lob erhält die Junta auch vom Roten Kreuz, seit Gefangenenbesuche
erlaubt wurden. Das Rote Kreuz besuchte 25 000 Gefangene und k?Ezlich
erstmals Arbeitslager. "In China, Laos oder Vietnam wären solche 
Visiten undenkbar", sagt Léon de Riedmatten, der Chefdelegierte des 
Roten Kreuzes in Birma. "In China herrschen schlimmere Zustände", 
bestätigt Richard Dickins vom Drogenkontrollprogramm der UNO in 
Rangun. "Dort wäre eine Oppositionelle wie Suu Kyi längst 
verschwunden."

_______________________________________________________ 


MICB: DESTRUCTION OF MOSQUE, DEATHS OF FORCED LABORERS


No.005
March, 24, 2000

MUSLIM  INFORMATION CENTRE OF BURMA(MICB)
P.  O. Box  96, Chiangmai  50000, Thailand:   P. O. Box  85, Maesot, 
Tak
63110, Thailand.
 
Destruction of mosque and deaths of forced labourers

  Tha Khwet Phoe Village in Hlaing Bwe township comprised (400) 
houses, over(2000) villagers and a mosque more than 300 years old.  
In 1997, SPDC and DKBA officers seized a plot of land belonged to the 
mosque, built a pagoda near it and ordered all the houses to go away 
from the pagoda. 15/ 3/ 99, some SPDC and Democratic Buddhist Army 
(DKBA) officers ordered the villagers to destroy their mosque. 
However, the villagers have been requesting the authorities to have 
sympathy and spare their mosque from destruction. On February, 2, 
2000,   some officers of SPDC and DKBA led by Captain Na Khan Mhwe 
and Captain Rambo  arrested five Muslim villagers  {(1) Siddiq Meah, 
35  (2) Salim, 20  (3) Abdul, 25 (4) Suleiman, 23 and (5)
Soe Naing, 25 } of the village with an accusation that they are in 
contact with the insurgents  and brought them  to their army camp and 
shot them dead there at about 8.00 P.M. the same day.  The families 
of the deceased and some villagers left the village for refugee camps 
along the Thai-Burma border. On  5/ 2/2000, some SPDC officers and 
one Bo Bya, a  DKBA  officer, again ordered the Muslims to destroy 
the mosque or to pay Kyats 15 millions  to the SPDC authorities as 
extortion money. Many villagers left the village for the refugee 
camps near  the Thai border.


  Phone No. (01)472 8933

       Muslim Information Centre of Burma ( MICB)

  
___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________ 



BURMANET: NIGHTLINE TO AIR TWO PART PROGRAM ON UNOCAL/YADANA PIPELINE

March 25, 2000

ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel is scheduled to air an 
extended piece on Unocal's involvement with the Yadana 
pipeline project in Burma.  The first part is set to air on 
Tuesday, March 27th at 11:30PM in the US.  The schedule 
is subject to change should some major news event occur 
between now and Tuesday.



AP: JAPAN DONATING 5.5 MILLION FOR UNICEF PROJECT IN MYANMAR

March 24, 2000

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Japan is donating dlrs 5.5 million for a  
UNICEF program to improve health care services for mothers and  
children in Myanmar. 
 
Japanese Ambassador Kazuo Asaki on Friday handed over a note of  
intent for the grant aid to Carroll Long, UNICEF deputy director  
for the East Asia and the Pacific, at a ceremony in Yangon, also  
attended by the Myanmar health minister, Maj. Gen. Ket Sein.  
Long said that with the new grant, 319 townships in Myanmar  
would receive essential drugs and basic medical equipment, to be  
distributed to township hospitals and rural clinics with the help  
of the Myanmar government. 
 
Japan hopes to benefit over four million children under five in  
the impoverished military state. Last year, Japan gave dlrs 2.7  
million for the same project. 
 
Major donor nations maintain an embargo on most foreign aid to  
Myanmar, also known as Burma, because of the human rights record of  
the country's current military regime that came to power after a  
bloody crackdown against pro-democrats in 1988. 
 
Humanitarian assistance is allowed under the embargo but not  
much is forthcoming. The Myanmar regime devotes around a third of  
its budget to the military, and little to health care. 
 
According to UNICEF, out of the 1.3 million children born in  
Myanmar every year, 92,500 die before their first birthday.  



_______________________________________________________ 



NATION: US WARNS LAOS AND BURMA OVER RIGHTS 

March 25, 2000

A senior American official yesterday praised Indonesia's handling of 
the postSuharto crisis, but gave stern warnings to Laos and Burma 
about possible fallout with Washington over deteriorating political 
and human rights situations. 
US Assistant Secretary of State Stanley Roth said Laos was unlikely 
to get mostfavourednation (MFN) trading status if the government 
failed to cooperate fully in accounting for two naturalized US 
citizens, Houa Ly, 56, of Wisconsin, and Michael Vang, 36, of 
California, both members of the Hmong ethnic minority, who went 
missing last year. 

"Unfortunately, I think that until we can resolve the matter of the 
two disappeared, it's going to be virtually impossible to envision 
Congress extending MFN status," Roth said. 
"Furthermore, if it becomes apparent the authorities in Laos are 
either not cooperating with the investigation, or are impeding it, I 
think that could have a spilledover effect to other aspects of the 
relationship," he said. "The burden really is on the government in 
Laos." 

Vientiane says it knows nothing of the men's whereabouts, and has 
blamed the uproar on the Hmong community in the US. 
On the issue of political reform in Burma, Roth accused the Rangoon 
military government of using dirty tactics by arresting opposition 
members to contain their movement. 
The next step for the UN Security Council was to name a replacement 
for special representative Alvaro de Soto and continue the dialogue 
with Burma, he said. 

"The big picture was laid out in the first mission (by de Soto) that 
there is a different world out there that Burma can choose. A 
political reform could lead down the path of greater economic 
cooperation," he said. 

But since the "grand bargain didn't fly" during de Soto's first trip 
to Rangoon, the question of how to achieve desirable change remains. 
Roth also blamed the junta for ongoing drug trafficking. 
"When you invite a major drug trafficker to live in Rangoon, nothing 
you say about your desire to fight narcotic trafficking is 
convincing," Roth said, in reference to former opium warlords Khun 
Sa and Lo Hsingsan, both of whom surrendered in return for amnesties 
from Rangoon. 

Meanwhile, Roth praised President Abdurrahman Wahid for his 
"impressive start" to consolidate Indonesia after a troubled period 
of major change postSuharto. 

Indonesia had pulled no punches, Roth said, against a wide range of 
people, from senior military officials to former armed forces 
commander General Wiranto, in its ongoing official investigation into 
massacres in East Timor. The killing spree took place after an 
overwhelming vote by East Timorese for selfrule to end 24 years of 
Indonesian occupation. 


_______________________________________________________ 




_______________________________________________________ 


SASAKAWA PEACE FOUNDATION: MOBILIZATION OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR 
DEVELOPMENT IN MYANMAR

 
===================================================
Internationalization of the Yen

Keynote Address
Delivered at the International Symposium
"Mobilization of Financial Resources for Development in Myanmar"
on 17-18 December, 1999
Yangon, Myanmar
By
Mr. Setsuya Tabuchi
Chairman, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Co-sponsored by
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and
Myanmar Institute of Strategic and
International Studies (MISIS)  With the support of
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation


E xcellencies,Distinguished Participants,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed my great privilege and pleasure to address you in this
distinguished gathering here this morning. At the outset, I wish to 
thank the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and Myanmar Institute 
of Strategic and International Studies for organizing on this timely 
and highly relevant subject. At the same time, I also wish to express 
our highest appreciation for the support provided by the Myanmar 
government, represented here by the Minister of Finance, Minister of 
the Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

 The information revolution is in full swing.

In 1995 there were half a million Internet users in the world. In 
1999 there are 200 million users and in 2005 there are likely to be 1 
billion. The scale of US e-business in 1998 was 50 billion dollars, 
in 2003, it is estimated, it will reach 1,400 billion. These numbers 
suggest that the world economy will be enormously changed by the 
information society - in other words, the Internet society.

Here in Myanmar what I just said may not seem real to you yet. Sooner 
or later you will be using personal computers to play your role in 
the midst of the war of information. I feel that you will be able to 
apply yourself much faster than I was to the information society. You 
will be able, much better than I, to see clearly the future of the 
information society.  Having said that, I believe there are things 
that change and things that do not change in our society. The 
Internet will most certainly change the world economy, and I will 
talk about this later in more detail. Let me first talk
about something that does not change, and that is the gambling mind 
which is common to all human beings. Asians are considered to have a 
gambling mind, don't you agree?

The United States of America dominates the world economy at present. 
This is symbolized by high stock prices and the prosperity of the 
securities markets. In other words, it enjoys prosperity based on 
speculation. It is my feeling that the weight of speculation is 
shifting from the paper market of stocks and bonds to the spot market 
of raw materials...


Let me now turn to the main subject of my talk, the 
internationalization of the yen. What have we learned from Asia's 
financial crisis that started in July 1997? The first lesson was that 
a financial crisis can occur even in a strong macro-economy. As for 
the other lesson, wasn't it that an exchange rate system that is 
excessively dependent on the dollar does not function in
Asia? If that is true, in order to prevent another Asian financial 
crisis I wish to propose the establishment of a Yen Economic Bloc. In 
other words, if we wish to avoid recurrence of the crisis we must 
renounce the dollar-pegged system. As an alternative, I believe Asia 
should adopt a basket of many currencies pegged heavily on the yen. 
Let me explain why I have reached this conclusion by analyzing policy 
measures taken so far to cope with the crisis...


Ladies and Gentlemen, 
Let me ask you a question: "Who can name all the currencies of the 
member states of ASEAN?" We all live in Asia but few of us can name 
the currencies of Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos. How many Asians do you 
think know the name of the currency in Myanmar? I would think very 
few. I can name all the Asian currencies because I checked before 
coming to Myanmar! I must confess, however, that I don't know some of 
the European ones such as the Greek, Turkish and Rumanian.

As for Europeans' knowledge of Asian currencies, they may only be 
familiar with the Japanese yen and perhaps the Chinese yuan. Among 
the 15 member states of the European Union, 11 signed the Maastricht 
Treaty, abolishing their own currencies and adopting a single 
currency, the euro. The European Union was created in order to 
integrate the European Economic Bloc. The adoption of a single 
currency, the Euro, takes this process a step further.
Before the Euro was adopted the key currency for the European Bloc 
was the German mark. Euro was created around the German mark.


Let us now talk about the Asian Economic Bloc. Whatever happens, the 
Asian Economic Bloc will be the growth region of the world as we go 
forward to the 21st century. The North American Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA) and the Central and South American countries can be entrusted 
to the United States as they belong to the dollar bloc. The US 
dollar, --in other words, the United States-- should not be the only 
currency or power that dominates Asia. Asian countries should form an 
Asian economic bloc and manage it in an independent way. Only when 
Asia does that can the world have a tri-polar system that creates a 
balanced economic environment...


Last year the Japanese government issued a comment that the 
International Monetary Fund may not have functioned too well in the 
face of the Asian crisis. That is to say, because of the diversity of 
the Asian economies and the discrepancies among their respective 
levels of development, the IMF prescription, which characteristically 
uses a single measurement worldwide, and its injection of funds 
lacked the necessary sensitivity.

In other words, the IMF's uniform conditionality and policy 
recommendations emphasizing only structural adjustment were not 
satisfactory assistance. Finance minister Miyazawa announced the 
Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) Initiative, a Japanese version of the 
International Monetary Fund. Realizing that Asians knew Asia best, 
the initiative proposed to set up a financial assistance scheme in 
Asia focusing on stabilizing Asian currencies. The AMF
initiative unfortunately did not materialize since it did not receive
support of the United States and the IMF.

The Japanese government followed up, however, and at the IMF General 
meeting in 1998 Finance Minister Miyazawa announced a new initiative, 
part of which has already been implemented. This is a bilateral 
scheme with Japan providing assistance to Asian economies hit with a 
currency crisis, so as to stabilize the international financial 
market. Unfortunately, Myanmar is not a party to this scheme. Without 
going into detail, the new Miyazawa scheme offered a package of 
thirty billion dollars, 15 billion dollars for medium
and long term financial support and another 15 billion dollars to 
finance short term financing requirements.

Needless to say, the new Miyazawa scheme has as its objective the
internationalization of the yen. The Japanese government, therefore, 
is expected to increase the number of target countries and expand its 
scope. Myanmar will most certainly be included among the countries 
that are targeted. In fact, the Japanese government will not only 
increase the number of countries that benefit from this scheme but 
also the amount of financial support, in order to come close as soon 
as possible to the realization of the AMF initiative for which 
preparations are already under way in the financial market. Also, the 
government abolished the securities transaction tax, as well as 
taxation at source for foreign investors. The short-term financial 
market has grown substantially.

In other words, the Japanese financial market has become convenient 
for foreign financial institutions. That is to say, the financial 
"big bang" is proving comparable to that experienced by Western 
markets. Just the other day, three major banks, the Industrial Bank 
of Japan and Fuji and Dai-ichi Kangyo banks, completed a merger and 
now has the world's largest asset base. This was followed by an 
announcement of their intention to merge by the two major Zaibatsu 
banks, Sumitomo and Sakura. These moves are part of the preparation 
for the internationalization of the yen. It makes me think that
it is most desirable for the currency systems within the Asian bloc 
to be reorganized with the yen serving as the anchor currency. 
However, it is difficult to achieve a single currency as Europe did 
through the Maastricht Treaty. For the time being, I believe the best 
way to avoid triggering another financial crisis is to put foreign 
reserves of the Asian countries into a basket, and gradually increase 
pegging to the yen while diluting its relations with the dollar. The 
difficulty for Japan is that if it wants to internationalize the yen 
it must become a major importer. And that means Japan has to reduce 
its rate of industrialization from the present level of
25% to 20% or less.This in turn means an increase in unemployment and 
a mismatch and mobility of workers in the tertiary and fourth 
industries. This cannot be helped. Also it is not easy for Japan to 
increase imports as demanded by Asian countries. It will take some 
time...



Of course, while we say that the Japanese economy is in depression it 
still represents about 60% of Asia's GDP. The US current account 
deficit is likely to increase to nearly 400 billion dollars this 
year, while its cumulative deficit stands at about 1,600 billion 
dollars. On the other hand, Japan's cumulative debt must now be in 
excess of 1,200 billion dollars. In other words, Japan is financing 
nearly all the US current account deficit. This cannot continue 
forever. We will not say we want to be paid back soon, and
that is not a realistic proposition. If Japan were to suddenly demand 
to be paid back, the world economy itself would be destabilized. The 
US, as a key currency country, freely mints dollars today. Economic 
principles will not allow this situation to continue for long. In the 
next presidential election the US current account deficit should 
become one of the points at issue.

Ladies and Gentlemen, H
Now let me talk about Myanmar and how it is seen from the outside. 
For 26 years up until 1990 Myanmar had a Burmese-style socialist 
economic system. Any system after twenty-six years will begin to 
experience various contradictions and fail to function well. This is 
called system fatigue. So Myanmar renounced its planned economy under 
Burmese-style socialism and adopted a new system called a market 
economy and opened its doors to the outside. Incidentally, Japan is 
no exception to this kind of systemic fatigue. For example, many 
countries made fun of Japan, pointing out that it has a "capitalistic 
socialist" economy. This was because the controlled economic planning 
put in place during World War II was continued all these years by the 
bureaucrats; in particular, the finance ministry officials held the 
initiative in economic matters. In the process of the recent bursting 
of the bubble, the bureaucracy-led economy collapsed and we are just 
beginning to have a real capitalist market economy. This, I think, 
was the greatest benefit of the collapse of the bubble. But I have 
strayed from my theme.

For Japan and the Japanese, Myanmar is very close to our hearts. 
There are many reasons for this but I believe the historic background 
is the main one. Myanmar to the Japanese is in a sense a country that 
saved our lives. For the Japanese of my age, we remember very clearly 
and with great appreciation the Burmese rice that was sent as a gift 
when we were so short of food after the Second World War. For 
businessmen, Myanmar presents an attractive market
with enormous potential and abundant resources.

Your country, however, is forced to steer a difficult economic course 
due to the hard sanctions imposed by western countries against the 
present government. I admire you for acting as you do without aid 
from the international community including Europe and America. In 
particular, you deserve respect for achieving an annual average 
growth of more than 7% GDP in your four year plans since 1992. The 
contribution made by the agricultural sector to the growth is 
particularly immense. I cannot but feel that this is suggestive of 
the future of Myanmar. In other words, I believe that it is right for 
you to continue to aim at economic development based on agriculture.

As you know, our foundation is giving various grants focusing on the
development of the human resources essential for Myanmar's continued 
growth and capacity-building in policy implementation. Also, Myanmar 
occupies an important position where Asia's food, energy and security 
are considered. Without the help of Myanmar in the fields of food and 
energy, Asia's prosperity in the 21st century may turn out to be 
difficult to achieve. Although what we can give may be limited, we 
wish to continue, in fact do more, to assist in the development of 
your country.

Ladies and Gentlemen, H
Let us once more have a look around the whole world. In the last two 
to three years, what impressed me most were the mergers among many of 
the world's largest companies. Huge corporations that have no 
particular management problems have chosen to join forces to become 
even larger. This applies to banks, petroleum companies, automakers, 
information and network-related companies. There is no end to the 
list. 


For example, we have distributed to you some material listing recent
mergers. Why do major corporations merge? Is it because they want to 
be hegemonies in the global economy? Or do they do this simply to 
prevail against other big competitors? Or are companies preparing to 
survive and prosper even after countries disappear? I don't know, but 
history will give us the answer.

In the past, mainstream corporations were conglomerates with a 
pyramid structure. No one talks about this today. The term "new 
economy" is used to explain the permanence of the present American 
prosperity. It means that in the information and network society, 
past does not apply. Is this really true? I have my doubts. We shall 
await history's verdict.

_______________________________________________________ 




BANGKOK POST: NSC SOFT-PEDALS ON JUNTA

March 25, 2000
Kachadpai insists relations on track
Yuwadee Tunyasiri 

The National Security Council chief is at odds with the military's 
view that the Rangoon junta is insincere in helping Thailand stem the 
massive flood of drugs from illegal methamphetamine labs in Burma.
Army top brass also accused the junta of being unco-operative over 
the repatriation of Burmese refugees and urged a review of the policy 
of constructive engagement which delivered Burma membership of Asean.
NSC secretary-general Kachadpai Burusphat yesterday also called for a 
review of government policy to ensure the security of Thailand's 
borders, but backed away from the military's hard line. He said the 
security agency and the military always consult each other about how 
to tackle national security issues, but they also need the co-
operation of neighbouring countries.

The time had come for Thailand to review its policies to ensure 
border security, he said, and to better its relationships with 
neighbours through the establishment of trust, friendship and 
sincerity.

The government had been trying to heighten co-operation with the 
Burmese government in combating the drug problem.
He said Rangoon was being co-operative in exchanging information and 
cracking down on drug labs in Burma, but authorities there still said 
that areas held by minority ethnic groups were beyond their control.
However, the two countries were on the right track in helping each 
other combat drug trafficking and opting for talks at local and 
national level in case of conflict.

Mr Kachadpai said security agencies were keeping a close watch on the 
United Wa State Army, accused of producing most of the 
methamphetamines smuggled into Thailand.
Drug suppression efforts along smuggling routes in the North have 
prompted the Wa to shift to shipping drugs to Thailand.
Mr Kachadpai said the government had begun using active, instead of 
passive, policies to tackle the problem.
On refugees, he said Rangoon had responded positively to the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' repatriation plan by saying 
it would allow their return after a ceasefire between its troops and 
Karen rebels.

So far, more than 3,000 Mon refugees and Democratic Karen Buddhist 
Army guerrillas have returned to their hometowns in Burma.
Mr Kachadpai also said the government has a clear policy to 
discourage Thais from entering neighbouring countries to gamble.
The opening of border checkpoints was aimed at promoting cross-border 
trade and travel. Military leaders have accused Rangoon of duplicity 
in border relations. They pointed out that whenever there is a 
dispute, Burma closes all border crossings except those which give 
Thais access to casinos.

Bangkok Post (March 25, 2000)


________________ OPINION/EDITORIALS ___________________
          


NATION: BURMA'S DRUG LORDS ARE WINNING THE WAR 

March 25, 2000

Thailand's antinarcotics agencies are getting frustrated, 
increasingly frustrated. The country seems to be losing in its war 
against drugs - ya baa or methamphetamines, to be exact. And in the 
absence on Burma's part of political will and intensified cooperation 
to suppress the production and flow of the illicit pills from the 
major sources in the Shan State, the situation in Thailand will 
continue to deteriorate. 

Quietly, Thai authorities are acknowledging the country's failure to 
stem the trafficking of methamphetamines from Burma - the key source 
of supplies for Thailand and other neighbouring states - and to keep 
track of the fastchanging pattern of trafficking routes into the 
Kingdom. Moreover, they are extremely worried about the surge in drug 
abuse, especially among young people for fun and enjoyment. 
Traditional users - truckdrivers and agricultural and factory workers 
- tend to take the drugs for performance enhancement. 
Although the authorities have yet to explain how they came up with 
their estimates of methamphetamine production by ethnic insurgents in 
Burma - about 200 million pills in 1999 and 600 million this year - 
the increase in the number of drug seizures in Thailand since 1995 
paints a gloomy picture of the ya baa epidemic in the country. 
According to Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), 541 
kilograms of methamphetamines (about 6 million pills) were seized in 
1995. The number increased to 4,250kg (about 48 million tablets) last 
year. 

Although the seizure of 28.8 million tablets in Burma last year was a 
"notable increase" over the previous year's record of 15 million, 
Thai and international antinarcotic officials believe that figure is 
just the tip of the iceberg. They concur that as long as the Burmese 
junta continues to tolerate the heavy engagement of armed ethnic 
groups, especially the Wa and the Kokang, in narcotic trafficking as 
their income source, Thailand and other regional countries will 
continue to suffer from drug problems originating in Burma. 
To suppress the trafficking of methamphetamines into northern 
Thailand, antidrug agencies - ONCB, the Police Suppression Bureau, 
the Border Patrol Police, the Provincial Police and the Army - have 
for the past two years, strictly patrolled and virtually sealed off 
several border provinces bordering Burma: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae 
Hong Son and Tak. Their efforts have paid off to a certain extent but 
still failed to deter smuggling groups, which since the middle of 
last year have been rerouting their traffic through northeastern 
Thailand. Since then the authorities have intensified their 
antinarcotic surveillance on the northeastern border with Laos. 

Thailand's strict control over its northern and northeastern border 
crossings with Burma and Laos have only forced the traffickers to 
look for new routes. Thus it came as a big shock on March 14 when the 
authorities seized a record haul of 4.35 million methamphetamine 
pills, with an estimated street value of Bt500 million, in Prachuap 
Khiri Khan province in the South. On Tuesday another two million 
tablets were seized in a house in a Bangkok suburb. 

In interviews yesterday senior government officials expressed grave 
concern over the "worsening trafficking situation". 

"The more Thailand has intensified its antinarcotic operations, the 
more the traffickers have tried to outdo the Thai efforts," said one 
official. "We are still trying to figure out what exactly is the 
cause of such a drastic surge in the production of ya baa in Burma, 
whether it's purely a financial factor or a political factor." 
Thai agencies, said the officials, are keeping a close watch on the 
changing routes through central and southern provinces and the 
pattern of trafficking. The change, one official noted, took place 
about the time when the United Wa State Army began a major relocation 
of an estimated 200,000 Wa, Akha, Lahu and Chinese from their 
villages near the SinoBurmese border to a southern area of the Shan 
State on the ThaiBurmese border. 

Thai authorities also detected the movement and limited presence of 
UWSA representatives in Myawaddy opposite Thailand's Tak province in 
the northwest and in the Three Pagodas Pass area opposite 
Kanchanaburi province in the west. 
Antidrug officials also discovered that trafficking groups were now 
employing "human couriers" to transport small amounts of 
methamphetamine tablets to certain meeting points where they were 
then collected into sizeable shipments to be smuggled into Thailand. 
"Most of these couriers are just ordinary people who are familiar 
with the area," said the official. "They travel by land or sea 
transport to the meeting point. Many groups are involved in this new 
pattern of trafficking, but we are quite certain that the Wa [UWSA] 
are involved in it." 

As it turns out, government agencies, the Army and the Navy are now 
forced to expand their antidrug operations to virtually the entire 
Thai frontier with Burma. 

In addition to the North and the Northeast, authorities are now 
strengthening surveillance and intelligence in Kanchanaburi, 
Ratchaburi, Petchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Ranong provinces. 
Discreetly, Thailand is observing the Burmese junta's pledge to 
cooperate with Thailand and international drug agencies in 
suppressing the narcotics trade. 

Although Thai authorities publicly praise their Burmese counterparts 
whenever they meet, they expect the Burmese to take action against or 
at least get tougher with key leaders of the drug groups instead of 
targeting petty traffickers. 

But as long as the ruling Burmese generals insist on cohabiting with 
major Wa, Kokang and Shan drug warlords and tolerating their 
narcotics business in exchange for their pledge of allegiance to 
Rangoon, Thailand will continue to fight a losing war against drugs 
from Burma. 

The Nation (March 25, 2000)




___________________ OTHER ______________________
          

JOURNAL OF BURMA STUDIES: VOLUME FOUR, CONTENTS


Table of Contents of "The Journal of Burma Studies," Volume 4
(subscription information at the bottom)

"THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN: Japan's Response To The Political Crisis
in Burma, 1988-1998," by Donald M. Seekins

Japan's response to the political crisis in Burma after the
establishment of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 
in September 1988 reflected the interests of powerful constituencies 
within the Japanese political system, especially business interests, 
to which were added other constituencies such as domestic supporters 
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle for democracy and those who wished 
to pursue 'Sun Diplomacy,' using positive incentives to encourage 
democratization and economic reform. Policymakers in Tokyo, however, 
approached the Burma crisis seeking to take minimal risks--a "maximin 
strategy"--which limited their effectiveness in influencing the 
junta. This was evident in the February 1989 "normalization" of 
Tokyo's ties with SLORC. During 1989-1998, Japanese business leaders 
pushed hard to promote economic engagement, but "Sun Diplomacy" made 
little progress in the face of the junta's increasing
repression of the democratic opposition.


"POTTERY IN THE CHIN HILLS," by Charlotte Reith

During my research on contemporary pottery villages in Burma, I was
given the name of one such village, Lente, by a native now living in 
the United States. Lente is located in the Chin Hills, a remote area 
of western Burma difficult to access, inhabited by many tribes 
speaking a large number of languages. Foreigners are rarely given 
permission to visit the Chin Hills, and although I obtained 
permission to travel to Lente, I was ultimately prevented by the 
authorities from going further than nearby Falam. I was
nevertheless able to collect data from Lente in three ways: first, my
guide Daw Moe Moe was able to visit Lente and take photographs of the
potters there; secondly, Daw Moe Moe was able to return to Falam with
a potter from Lente village and with enough of the proper kind of 
clay to facilitate a demonstration which I photographed and 
documented; and thirdly, I was given a copy of a videotape showing 
the potters working in Lente village. This tape was taken by a young 
man from Falam who is interested in recording local crafts processes. 
The tape allowed me to observe a process of making pots with which I 
was totally unacquainted, and which has otherwise escaped recent 
photographic or video documentation. This was a true "discovery" 
concerning the ways in which pots can be made, and still another 
indication of the imagination and ingenuity of humankind.


"LANGUAGES IN CONTACT: The Case of English and Burmese," by Julian
Wheatley, with San San Hnin Tun

This article deals with the nature and the effects of the long period
of linguistic contact between Burmese and English. Part 1 deals with
general issues of contact and borrowing; part 2 provides examples of 
English loanwords in Burmese, and considers the processes of 
phonological and semantic accommodation that they reflect.


"SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLANA IN THE GOLDEN LAND: The Relics of the
Buddha's Chief Disciples at the Kaba Aye Pagoda," by Jack Daulton

In this article, the author reconstructs and documents the story of
the relics of the Buddha's chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, 
at the Kaba Aye Pagoda in Burma.  Using previously unpublished 
archival materials, including first-hand archaeological reports and 
internal museum documents, as well as contemporary newspaper 
accounts, the author details the discovery of the relics by British 
military officers in 19th-century India, the subsequent removal of 
the relics to England where they were placed on museum exhibition, 
and their eventual reenshrinement in Burma and India 100 years later.

Purchase information:

Subscriptions to The Journal of Burma Studies are $16.00 for one
volume per year, shipping included. Paid members of the Burma Studies 
Group of the Association for Asian Studies (membership is $25 a year) 
receive the annual issue of The Journal of Burma Studies along with 
two semi-annual issues of the Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group. 
Add US$10 to ensure air mail delivery. Send subscriptions and 
memberships to: 

Center for Burma Studies, 
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb IL 60115, USA
Phone: (815) 753-0512; 
FAX: (815) 753-1776; 
E-Mail: seap@xxxxxxx 

________________


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