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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

May 18, 2000

Issue # 1533


This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:

http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$402


NOTED IN PASSING:

(1) "[I am] not aware of any abuses in our pipeline area or of cases 
of forced labour being used in Burma."

Premier Oil CEO Charles Jamieson at the 1999 Premier shareholders 
meeting

(2) "If I said that [last year] it was not what I meant."

Premier Oil CEO Charles Jamieson at the 2000 Premier shareholders 
meeting (See GUARDIAN (UK): PREMIER OIL ADMITS ABUSES IN BURMA)



*Inside Burma

AVA NEWS GROUP: PARLIAMENT MEMBER OF NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY 
ARRESTED BY SPDC

REUTERS: MYANMAR JAILS OPPOSITION MP FOR NINE YEARS

AP: MYANMAR MILITARY WARNS MONKS, CITIZENS AGAINST OPPOSITION

AFP: MYANMAR JUNTA ARRESTS "COURIERS" IN ALLEGED OPPOSITION PLOT


*International

AFP: US ENVOY DEFENDS MYANMAR PM'S BANGLADESH VISIT

THE KOREA HERALD: JUSTICE MINISTRY TO BEGIN DELIBERATIONS ON MYANMAR 
GROUP'S ASYLUM REQUESTS NEXT WEEK  


*Economy/Business
	
GUARDIAN (UK): PREMIER OIL ADMITS ABUSES IN BURMA 

SYNAPSES: ABN AMRO PULLS OUT OF BURMA


*Opinion/Editorials

BANGKOK POST: GOVERNMENT MUST PUSH BURMA ON DRUGS

US CONGRESS: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON BURMA?DEBATE AND TEXT OF THE 
RESOLUTION


*Other

BURMANET: CORRECTION




__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
	


AVA NEWS GROUP: PARLIAMENT MEMBER OF NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY 
ARRESTED BY SPDC

Parliament Member of National League for Democracy Arrested by SPDC 
May 16, 2000

On May 7, 2000, U Kyi Lwin, a Parliament Member of National League 
for  Democracy was arrested by the SPDC. U Kyi Lwin was an elected 
official of  the Ngaphae constituency in Magwe division. Ngaphae 
Township Police  department arrived at U Kyi Lwin's residence without 
proper notification and  began searching the vacinity. Upon this 
search the officials found some hard  wood located near his house. 
The police considered this a crime and charged  U Kyi Lwin with 
illegal trafficking of wood. In addition, the police claimed  that 
the pharmacy that U Kyi Lwin owned was illegitimate so they detained 
U  Kyi Lwin. The incident was reported to Ava through a source in 
Ngaphae. 

U Kyi Lwin is a 45 years old retired teacher who ran for the National 
League  for Democracy during the 1990 election. He was also a vocal 
participant of  the 1988 uprises. He worked as the township organizer 
of Ngaphae Township  for National League.

Ava News Group May 17, 2000



____________________________________________________


REUTERS: MYANMAR JAILS OPPOSITION MP FOR NINE YEARS
  
YANGON, May 18 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers have  jailed an 
opposition member of parliament (MP) for nine years  for making 
subversive speeches in his constituency, a government  official said 
on Thursday.    Than Lwin, a member of the National League for 
Democracy  (NLD) elected for the central district of Mandalay at the  
country's last democratic polls in 1990, was found guilty of  "making 
concocted accusations and giving agitating talks" to  local people, 
government spokesman Than Tun said.    

Another seven NLD party members in Taungdwingyi Township,  about 300 
miles (490 km) north of the capital of Yangon, were  also sentenced 
to seven years each under the Emergency Provision  Act.    The 
spokesman did not give specific details of their  offences but the 
NLD said earlier this month that 37 of its  members were arrested in 
the township after attending party  meetings.    Than Tun said they 
had been arrested as "a precautionary  measure."    "We can use 
needles if action is taken in good time or we  will have to use axes 
if action is too late," he told  reporters.    

The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu  Kyi, won 
392 of the 485 seats contested in the 1990 election.    But the 
military, which had seized power two years earlier  after killing 
thousands of opponents during a pro-democracy  uprising, ignored the 
result and has never allowed the party to  govern.    The ruling 
generals have maintained a steady barrage of  attacks on the NLD and 
its supporters in recent years, arresting  hundreds of them and 
encouraging others to leave the party.    The U.S. embassy in Myanmar 
this week issued a statement  deploring the military's refusal to 
recognise the election  result and what it said was the arrest and 
harassment of  opposition members.    

OPPOSITION SAID LINKED TO SABOTAGE   

Than Tun said the Myanmar authorities had recently uncovered  
collusion between the NLD and an exiled group he identified as  "NLD 
(Liberated Areas)" or "NLD (LA)," which he said was  based in 
neighbouring Thailand.    Three NLD members had been arrested after 
the authorities  had found "various illegal documents, publications, 
such as  anti-government propaganda journals, flyers, computer 
diskettes  and stickers" and documents containing "false allegations  
against the government" sent by NLD (LA) to NLD headquarters in  
Myanmar.    He said NLD (LA) had been recruiting and training people 
to  commit acts of sabotage.    

"It is high time the NLD leadership realised that the  entire people, 
as they no longer like the NLD, are withdrawing  their support for 
the NLD and recalling those they elected  gullibly," Than Tun 
said.    NLD officials were not immediately available to comment on  
the jail sentences or the government accusations.    The party has 
estimated that around 2,000 political  prisoners, mostly its own 
members, are being held in the  country.    

The U.S. government has dismissed Myanmar's attempts to  associate 
the NLD with terrorist plots as "malicious  fabrication."    "We view 
these arrests as a further act of repression  against Burmese 
(Myanmar) people engaged in the peaceful  expression of their 
political beliefs," it said in a statement  on May 15.    "This 
political party has demonstrated for more than a  decade that it 
seeks non-violent political change in Burma."  


____________________________________________________


AP: MYANMAR MILITARY WARNS MONKS, CITIZENS AGAINST OPPOSITION

Thursday, May 18 7:52 PM SGT 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--The military government Wednesday acknowledged 
the arrests of opposition supporters ahead of the 10th anniversary of 
elections won by the party headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San 
Suu Kyi.  Col. Than Tun, a senior military intelligence officer, gave 
a news conference warning Buddhist clergy and ordinary people against 
falling prey to alleged incitement by Suu Kyi and other anti-
government forces to cause unrest in the country, also known as 
Burma.  

Than Tun confirmed to The Associated Press reports by Thailand-based 
student dissidents that seven members of a central Myanmar branch of 
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy were recently sentenced to 
seven years hard labor "for allegedly giving anti-government 
speeches."  
The main purpose of the news conference was for the government to 
present what it called evidence of how Suu Kyi's party, which has 
always espoused nonviolence, was communicating with a splinter group 
the government says has taken up arms along the Thai-Myanmar border.  
Than Tun also said that Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace 
Prize, was "inciting unrest using the Buddhist monks, inciting 
students and workers and putting a wedge among the ethnic minorities. 
Such preparations against Myanmar have very dastardly aims."  

Three "operatives" acting as liaisons - Kyaw Myo Min, his wife, Mya 
Kyi Kyi Min and Tint Wai - had been arrested recently in possession 
of incriminating propaganda, Than Tun said.  
Recent commentaries in state-run newspapers have suggested that Suu 
Kyi and her supporters are committing treason for such alleged ties 
and that the death penalty should be used against them.  

The NLD overwhelmingly won parliamentary elections held May 27, 1990, 
but the military, surprised that parties it had backed lost, never 
honored the result. The party's attempts to commemorate the 
anniversary every year are usually preceded by arrests.  
Asked if there had been more arrests in the run-up to this year's 
anniversary, Than Tun said that 69 members of the party who were 
elected to the parliament were in so-called "guest houses," a lighter 
form of detention than the country's prisons.  

It was unclear how long they had been there. Over the past two years, 
hundreds of NLD members have been detained in guest houses and held 
until they renounced the party.  
The military, which has stayed in power since 1962, has rejected 
holding a dialogue with Suu Kyi, viewing her as a traitor for her 
calls for economic sanctions aimed at forcing a measure of civilian 
rule.  

Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, was vaulted to 
international prominence during a 1988 uprising against military 
rule. The protests were crushed at the cost of thousands of lives. 
Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and her activities 
remain tightly restricted.  

Of the 485 representatives - 392 of them from the NLD - who were 
elected in 1990, only 169 are still considered valid members, Than 
Tun said. Thirty-four have died, 97 have resigned and 185 have been 
disqualified.  

The remaining 169 include 110 members of the NLD - of which 69 are 
being detained at guest houses - and 39 independent candidates and 20 
from other parties.  
Thursday, May 18 7:06 PM SGT 

____________________________________________________


AFP: MYANMAR JUNTA ARRESTS "COURIERS" IN ALLEGED OPPOSITION PLOT

May 18 (AFP)  


Myanmar's junta said Thursday it had arrested two "couriers" for the 
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and a party official 
allegedly involved in a plot to destabilise the government. 

The arrests came as the military ratcheted-up the pressure on Nobel 
peace laureate Aung San Su Kyi's opposition ahead of the 10th 
anniversary of her May 27, 1990 election win which was ignored by the 
junta.  "Daw (eds: honorific) Suu Kyi and the NLD while shouting at 
the top of their voice that they are a legitimate political party on 
the one hand, are, on the other, observed collaborating with 
different anti-government groups (aiming) to destroy Myanmar," a 
senior official said at a press conference at state TV and radio 
headquarters. 

Colonel Than Tun, who heads the political department of the Office of 
Strategic Studies (OSS), said those arrested were smuggling messages 
and party materials in and out of the country and held them up 
as "concrete" evidence of a plot to destabilise the military 
government. 
The OSS comes under the direct authority of powerful military 
intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. 
The arrests also come amid widespread rumours here that Buddhist 
monks are planning an anti-government demonstration for the 
anniversary. 

Opposition radio based in Olso earlier Thursday reported 29 monks 
were arrested this week at a peaceful demonstration in the southern 
city of Mergui. 

Exiled student groups said Wednesday the junta had arrested 32 
members of the NLD. 
Last month the party said Aye Tha Aung, one of Myanmar's top 
opposition politicians, was arrested and transferred to military 
custody. It was the first time a member of the NLD's representative 
committee was arrested. 

Than Tun said the couriers' arrests was "concrete" evidence that the 
opposition were working with illegal organisations and dissidents in 
an ongoing plot to destabilise the country. 
"When these people were apprehended they were caught together with 
hundreds of anti-government publications, propaganda flyers, 
journals, computer diskettes and hundreds of stickers," he said. 

He identified two of them as husband and wife team Kyaw Myo Min and 
Ma Kyi Kyi, who live in Mon State near the Thai border. The couple 
have been accused of running materials between the NLD and exiled 
dissidents in Thailand.  The third person was an NLD township 
secretary identified as Tint Wai. 

Three young students detained at the same time were returned to the 
custody of their parents, while three other suspects remain on the 
run, Than Tun said.  "What is important is not whether legal action 
should or should not be taken, but that the people have come to see 
that the NLD, who they had voted for, had deviated from the national 
cause." 

The NLD won a landslide election victory in the 1990 polls. 

Ten years of firm repression, which included more than half a decade 
of house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi, meant many opponents of the 
government fled to neighbouring Thailand and other countries. 

According to figures released by the junta, more than 
50,000 "disillusioned" NLD members have left the party to date.  Only 
110 elected MPs out of 382 remain, most of whom are "guests of the 
government," meaning they are being detained.  According to many 
observers, the NLD has been largely marginalized from Myanmar 
politics through oppression. 

The military has been in control of Myanmar, formerly Burma, in 
various guises since 1962. 



__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
		

AFP: US ENVOY DEFENDS MYANMAR PM'S BANGLADESH VISIT

DHAKA, May 18 (AFP)  

The United States Thursday defended Myanmar's Senior General and 
Prime Minister Than Shaw's state visit to Bangladesh, saying it could 
help resolve the country's refugee problem. 
US Ambassador John Holzman told members of the Dhaka Reporters' Unity 
in reply to a question about the military junta leader's trip, 
that "the visit could solve the problem of some 22,000 Rohingya 
refugees who have been living in camps in (southeastern) Cox's Bazar 
for eight years." 

The US is among countries that worked with Bangladesh to aid the 
refugees and this visit could "contribute in return wonderfully," he 
said. 

Than's three-day state visit from May 29 will make him the first top 
military junta leader to visit Bangladesh. The trip follows an 
invitation from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed. 
Relations between the two neighbours were strained in the early 1990s 
with an influx of some 250,000 nationals of Myanmar into Bangladesh 
alleging atrocities commited by the military. 
Most of the refugees were repatriated home under a UN agreement, but 
more than 20,000 are still living in Bangladeshi camps. 

On President Bill Clinton's visit to Bangladesh in March this year, 
Holzman said the president "was not motivated by any grand strategic 
design. Rather he came to Dhaka because Bangladesh matters to 
America." 

It is the eighth most populous country in the world and "more 
importantly we want Bangladesh to succeed," he said. 
"Bangladesh is in the midst of a difficult passage from a turbulent 
past, marked by dictatorship and despotism, to constitutional 
democracy (and) Americans understand this never-ending struggle to 
achieve democracy, because it is our struggle too," the outgoing 
ambassador said. 
"At peace with its neighbours, Bangladesh is a stabilising element in 
the subcontinent which President Clinton called the most dangerous 
place in the world, as India and Pakistan pursue their nuclear 
programs" he said. 

Holzman said he believed Bangladesh shared that assessment and has 
acted on its convictions of being the only country in South Asia to 
ratify the anti-landmine treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty. 

Sheikh Hasina's fall visit to Washington, the first such official 
visit by any Bangladeshi leader, would help to strengthen bilateral 
ties. 

He rejected some newspaper reports and charges by leftwing political 
groups that Washington was seeking to set up a military base in 
Bangladesh.  Holzman also refused to answer questions on the security 
threat that marred Clinton's maiden trip to Bangladesh, 
reiterating "there was a serious security threat and I hope the 
people of Bangladesh will understand the situation." 
"No one can take risk when the president's life was in threat," he 
added, referring to the outcry after Clinton became the first visitor 
not to visit the martyrs' memorial outside Dhaka. 
He praised Dhaka's international role, saying it had become 
a "responsible international citizen" and "a voice for reason and 
moderation in international organisations -- an increasingly 
influential voice." 

Total financial assistance to Bangladesh from the US since 
independence in 1971 stood at 4.5 billion dollars.

____________________________________________________


THE KOREA HERALD: JUSTICE MINISTRY TO BEGIN DELIBERATIONS ON MYANMAR 
GROUP'S ASYLUM REQUESTS NEXT WEEK  

May 18, 2000


by Chang Jae-soon Staff reporter 


     The Justice Ministry said yesterday that it would start 
deliberations next week on whether to offer refugee status to 20 self-
proclaimed pro-democracy activists from Myanmar who sought asylum 
here Tuesday.  

     "We are going to interview them individually and examine their 
documents from next week to confirm their activities," said a 
ministry official who asked not to be named. "We also plan to verify 
their claims through our channels in Myanmar."  

     He said the applicants range in age from 24-49 and entered Korea 
between 1991 and last year. Citing the applicants' right to privacy, 
the official refused to give any further information.  

     The 20 asylum seekers, who are technically illegal residents 
here, are reported to be members of the Korean branch of the National 
League for Democracy (NLD). All of them said they would face 
political persecution if sent back to their home country.  

     The NLD is Myanmar's main opposition party and is led by Nobel 
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, long in the vanguard of the pro-democracy 
movement in the military-controlled country. The military regime in 
Myanmar refuses to accept the results of the 1990 general election, 
which the NLD won in a landslide. The NLD's Korean branch was 
established early last year.  

     Local human rights groups were surprised by the ministry's 
acceptance of the refugee applications, pointing out that Korean 
Immigration Law allows asylum seekers to apply for refugee status 
only within their first 60 days in the country. All of the applicants 
have been in Korea for much longer. The ministry official said 
exceptions to the 60-day regulation are possible under 
certain "unavoidable" circumstances.  

     Last week, the ministry accepted a refugee application from 
another member of the NLD's Korean branch named Sharlinn, who was 
detained at an immigration office for overstaying his visa.  

     Like his compatriots, Sharlinn claimed he would face persecution 
if deported to Myanmar.  Human rights groups voiced hopes that 
the "first Korean government-recognized refugee" would emerge from 
the pending cases.  

     Fifty-four people have sought refugee status in Korea since 
1994, all of whom were denied asylum here. According to the Justice 
Ministry, 41 of them had their applications rejected because they did 
not meet government requirements and 10 withdrew their claims. The 
nation joined the International Convention on Refugees in 1992.  

     The examination of an application for refugee status takes about 
six months on average.  
US renews call for democracy in Myanmar 



______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ___________________
 
GUARDIAN (UK): PREMIER OIL ADMITS ABUSES IN BURMA 

Executive denials crumble under pressure from rights groups and UK 
government  

Terry Macalister 

Tuesday May 16, 2000 

Human rights abuses have been taking place inside an area of Burma 
controlled by Premier Oil, the British company conceded yesterday, 
despite previous denials from top executives.  Last month ministers 
asked the oil company to abandon its petroleum interests to 
pressurise the country's repressive military junta. Burmese 
opposition leader and Nobel prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi has also 
called on Premier to withdraw, and yesterday's admission by the 
company will intensify pressure on it to pull out of the country.  

Chief executive Charles Jamieson told the company's annual meeting 
last year that he was "not aware of any abuses in our pipeline area 
or of cases of forced labour being used in Burma."
  
But at yesterday's annual meeting he was asked how he could remain 
unaware of such issues when an environmental assessment report by oil 
group Texaco had warned from 1996 there were likely to be problems. 
It had looked at the impact of a proposed pipeline - which has now 
been built - from the offshore Yetagun field to the Thai border, 
which was protected by the army.   Following the meeting Mr Jamieson 
admitted his company had raised with the government examples of 
continuing abuses in its controlled areas. "It is not just human 
rights but environmental [abuses], too," he volunteered.  

But he insisted they were only isolated incidents. Asked how this 
tallied with contrary statements in the past, he replied: "If I said 
that [last year] it was not what I meant."  
In April the government said it had taken the unprecedented step of 
asking Premier Oil to withdraw from its 27% interest in the Yetagun 
gas project as part of an attempt to increase pressure on the 
authorities.  

The Confederation of British Industry criticised the government's 
call, saying that "in the absence of clear legal sanctions from the 
UK or UN, it should be left up to companies to make decisions about 
where they do business".  

It also emerged yesterday that Premier might become the target of a 
legal action seeking compensation for human rights abuses associated 
to its relationship with Myanmar's military government, according to 
Kate Wredford (SIC*), a US attorney and the director of EarthRights 
International.  

Ms Wredford said that it was "a possibility" that Premier Oil could 
face legal action as its involvement with Burma's military government 
had been no different from a US oil group, Unocal, , which is 
involved in a legal action against Ms Wredford's organisation and 
other groups over claims that hundreds of Burmese citizens were used 
as forced labour on a Unocal gas pipeline project.  

She said the "crux" of such a case was that Premier "should have 
known that human rights abuses were occurring" in its infrastructure 
in Burma.  

Mr Jamieson reiterated Premier's commitment to "constructive 
engagement" in Burma, arguing that pulling out would lead to huge 
contractual problems, and would not solve political or social 
problems there.  

Premier was one of the independent oil exploration and production 
firms founded in the 1980s to develop the North Sea fields. In recent 
years it has moved into Asia. Its main projects are now in Pakistan 
and Indonesia as well as Burma.  

The stock has performed badly over the same period but a 25% 
stakeholding by US oil group Amerada Hess has protected the company 
from a takeover. Last September Premier strengthened its defences and 
financial muscle by bringing in Petronas of Malaysia as another big 
stakeholder.  

The company came under ferocious attack from shareholders at its 
London meeting over its commitment to Burma, its sagging share price 
and breaches of governance standards. The shares last night were 
unchanged at 12p, against 55p in 1997.  

***

[BurmaNet adds?the Kate Wredford named in this article is Katie 
Redford of EarthRights International]


____________________________________________________

SYNAPSES: ABN AMRO PULLS OUT OF BURMA

May 18, 2000

[Abridged]

ABN AMRO, a Dutch multinational bank and owner of Chicago's LaSalle 
Bank,  has closed its operation in Burma.  For two years and eight 
months the  LaSalle Bank Out of Burma Coalition, formed by Synapses 
Project Burma, has  conducted a campaign to educate ABN AMRO, its 
employees and the general  public about the horrendous human rights 
situation in Burma. 

ABN AMRO entered Burma in 1996, the same year two other Dutch firms, 
Heineken and Philips Electronics, decided to leave.  It is the 6th 
largest  bank in the world and the foreign bank  with the most 
holdings in the U.S.   LaSalle Bank is its American flagship 
operation and Chicago is its North  American headquarters.

Over twenty five Western firms have exited Burma as a result of 
campaigns by  human rights organizations or the passage of selective 
purchasing laws.   Included are Amoco and Motorola from Chicago.  ABN 
AMRO is the first bank to  do so.

Synapses Project Burma is affiliated with Christian Peacemaker 
Teams.  CPT  is a program of active peacemaking supported by the 
Church of the Brethren,  Mennonite Church of Canada, Mennonite Church 
USA, and Friends United  Meeting.


_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________


BANGKOK POST: GOVERNMENT MUST PUSH BURMA ON DRUGS

May 17, 2000 


Crawling along the mountain ridge line straddling the Thai-Burmese 
border in the northwest of the Kingdom in a Royal Thai Army humvee, 
one realises that the Border Patrol Police and the RTA face an 
impossible task if their mission is to seal our border against the 
flood of methamphetamines coming from the United Wa State Army-
controlled area down in the valleys below. 

The terrain is too rugged, the drug smuggling routes too numerous. 
The number of deployable suppression units are too few and 
intelligence assets not sufficient.  Perhaps most importantly, the 
drug-fuelled boom in the Wa-controlled territory is terribly 
seductive. Thousands of Thai workers are helping to build drug-funded 
infrastructure there, and local Thai businessmen, government 
officials and villagers all want a piece of the action. 

So while many Thai lives are being devastated by this seemingly 
unstoppable flood of ya ba, many other Thais are being seduced by the 
money generated by these drugs-in just the same way the Burmese junta 
is being seduced. 

So what is the price we are willing to pay to stop this remorseless 
flood? 

Too often in the past we have been unwilling to pay any price at all. 
We love to have our cake and eat it too. We want to be friends with 
everybody, even if some of our so-called friends are stabbing us in 
the back. 

The price we are willing to pay to halt the flood of methamphetamines 
is the central issue presently confronting the National Security 
Council, which is responsible for setting strategic policy guidelines 
to manage our bilateral relations with our cross-border neighbours. 
The same question is confronting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 
Royal Thai Army, the Border Patrol Police, the Office of Narcotics 
Control Board and the National Narcotics Suppression Centre, to name 
just some of the government agencies involved with this nightmare 
problem. 

The price we are willing to pay was the main, unspoken consideration 
at last Friday's informal inter-agency meeting chaired by Deputy 
Foreign Minister M. R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra to review the ya ba 
problem in the broad context of all involved agencies' opinions.  
According to the deputy minister: "The meeting went well and 
everybody involved now has a better understanding." 

A follow-up meeting is planned although the timing is yet to be set.  
Probably what the meeting participants gained was a clearer sense of 
the Royal Thai Army's growing sense of frustration.  The RTA appears 
to feel that Burma is playing Thailand for a fool. Rangoon mouths 
empty promises while the flood of drugs continues unabated. This view 
is strongly shared by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.  So is 
it time for the government to consider a substantial hardening of its 
bilateral relations with Burma, with the immediate focus being on 
drug suppression activities?  Quite clearly the answer must be yes.

According to senior military sources, Thailand needs to push Burma to 
establish joint-patrol activities which have the firepower and 
authority to destroy drug production centres in Burma. 
Unfortunately, Rangoon is very unlikely to agree to such actions. 

In this event, the Thai government must seriously consider its other 
options. 

These might include unilateral, cross-border, surgical strikes 
against drug production facilities, closing the entire border with 
Burma, relocating large numbers of Thai villages close to the border, 
asking China for help to pressure Rangoon and the Wa to curtail their 
activities, and downgrading our bilateral ties with our good Asean 
neighbours.  So what price are we prepared to pay to protect our 
citizens? 

____________________________________________________


US CONGRESS: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON BURMA?DEBATE AND TEXT OF THE 
RESOLUTION

[Abridged]

BURMA'S FORCED MILITARY SERVICE (Senate - May 16, 2000) [Page: S4006]

Mr. McCONNELL. [Senator Mitch McConnell] Mr. President, on Monday, 
the Financial Times carried a story headlined `Burma Regime Has the 
Most Child Soldiers.' As Burma drives toward a goal of a half million 
man army, more than 50,000 children have been forced into military 
service, with orphans and street children the most vulnerable. 

These are the facts of life in Burma that no longer surprise any of 
us who follow the region closely. Forced labor, forced relocations, 
arrests, detention, torture, even executions are more facts--repeated 
so often that it is easy to develop a tin ear to the unreal horrors 
these words convey about daily life in Burma. Add words like hunger, 
disease, and illiteracy--add unemployment, injustice and drug 
trafficking, and you get the full picture of the misery the Rangoon 
regime has created.  As acute as Burma's pain is, this is not a day 
of mourning. Today is a celebration of wisdom and courage--a tribute 
to Burma's citizens who 10 years ago defied all risks and elected Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy [NLD] to lift 
the nation from a deep swamp of poverty, brutality and repression to 
the solid ground of democracy and prosperity. 

The army may have stolen Burma's elections and her rightful past, but 
they will not be allowed to diminish our faith nor discourage our 
service to her future--to Burma's freedom. 
For 10 years, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has honored the wisdom and courage 
of her constituents through countless acts of self-discipline, heroic 
judgment and profound humility. Treated with cruelty, especially 
during her husband's final days, her compassion has not withered. 
Imprisoned, isolated by house arrest, she finds strength to reach out 
for a peaceful, political dialog with her captors. Wounded with each 
report of a follower's detention or death, she does not scar with 
bitterness, she does not retreat from her destined course--
democracy...


SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 113--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE 
CONGRESS IN RECOGNITION OF THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FREE AND FAIR 
ELECTIONS IN BURMA AND THE URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE THE DEMOCRATIC AND 
HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE OF BURMA (Senate - May 16, 2000)


Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Lott, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Feingold, Mr. Ashcroft, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Helms, Mr. Lugar, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Wellstone, and Mr. Sarbanes) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations: 

S. Con. Res. 113

Whereas in 1988 thousands of Burmese citizens called for a democratic 
change in Burma and participated in peaceful demonstrations to 
achieve this result; 

Whereas these demonstrations were brutally repressed by the Burmese 
military, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives;  Whereas 
despite continued repression, the Burmese people turned out in record 
numbers to vote in elections deemed free and fair by international 
observers; 
Whereas on May 27, 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led 
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won more than 60 percent of the popular vote 
and 80 percent of the parliamentary seats in the elections; 

Whereas the Burmese military rejected the results of the elections, 
placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of members of the NLD under 
arrest, pressured members of the NLD to resign, and severely 
restricted freedom of assembly, speech, and the press; 

Whereas 48,000,000 people in Burma continue to suffer gross 
violations of human rights, including the right to democracy, and 
economic deprivation under a military regime known as the State Peace 
and Development Council (SPDC); 

Whereas on September 16, 1998, the members of the NLD and other 
political parties who won the 1990 elections joined together to form 
the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP) as an 
interim mechanism to address human rights, economic and other 
conditions, and provide representation of the political views and 
voice of Members of Parliament elected to but denied office in 1990; 

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly and Commission on Human 
Rights have condemned in nine consecutive resolutions the persecution 
of religious and ethnic minorities and the political opposition, and 
SPDC's record of forced labor, exploitation, and sexual violence 
against women;  Whereas the United States and the European Union 
Council of Foreign Ministers have similarly condemned conditions in 
Burma and officially imposed travel restrictions and other sanctions 
against the SPDC;  Whereas in May 1999, the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) condemned the SPDC for inflicting forced labor on 
the people and has banned the SPDC from participating in any ILO 
meetings; 

Whereas the 1999 Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices for Burma identifies more than 1,300 people who continue to 
suffer inhumane detention conditions as political prisoners in 
Burma;  Whereas the Department of State International Narcotics 
Control Report for 2000 determines that Burma is the second largest 
world-wide source of illicit opium and heroin and that there are 
continuing, reliable reports that Burmese officials are `involved in 
the drug business or are paid to allow the drug business to be 
conducted by others', conditions which pose a direct threat to United 
States national security interests; and  Whereas despite these 
massive violations of human rights and civil liberties and chronic 
economic deprivation, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD 
have continued to call for a peaceful political dialogue with the 
SPDC to achieve a democratic transition: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of 
Congress that-- 

(1) United States policy should strongly support the restoration of 
democracy in Burma, including implementation of the results of the 
free and fair elections of 1990; 

(2) United States policy should continue to call upon the military 
regime in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council 
(SPDC)--  (A) to guarantee freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, 
freedom of speech, and freedom of the press for all Burmese 
citizens;  (B) to immediately accept a political dialogue with Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and ethic 
leaders to advance peace and reconciliation in Burma; 
(C) to immediately and unconditionally release all detained Members 
elected to the 1990 parliament and other political prisoners; and  
(D) to promptly and fully uphold the terms and conditions of all 
human rights and related resolutions passed by the United Nations 
General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International 
Labor Organization, and the European Union; and 

(3) United States policy should sustain current economic and 
political sanctions against Burma as the appropriate means-- 
(A) to secure the restoration of democracy, human rights, and civil 
liberties in Burma; and 
(B) to support United States national security counternarcotics 
interests. 

[Page: S4026]

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, the Senator from Kentucky and I rise 
today to submit, along with several of our distinguished colleagues, 
a resolution commemorating the 10th anniversary of free and fair 
elections in Burma.  On May 27, 1990, the National League for 
Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won a majority of the 
parliamentary seats in the elections. This was a great victory for 
the champions of democracy and human rights in Burma. However, the 
Burmese military arbitrarily annulled the results and arrested Aung 
San Suu Kyi and hundreds of NLD members. Others were forced to flee, 
and the people's freedoms of assembly, speech and the press were 
severely restricted. 

Today, the steady erosion of human rights continues under the heavy 
hand of the military regime known as the State Peace and Development 
Council (SPDC). This resolution calls upon the SPDC to guarantee 
basic freedoms to its people; accept a political dialogue with the 
NLD and other Burmese political leaders; and to comply with human 
rights agreements and resolutions emanating from such bodies as the 
United Nations General Assembly, the European Union, and the 
International Labor Organization.  The struggle in Burma is not over. 
The 1999 Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices for Burma identifies more than 1,300 people who continue to 
suffer as political prisoners. A recent study traced the distribution 
patterns of different HIV strains to paths of heroin traffic 
originating from the country. As a New York Times editorial wrote on 
March 16, 2000, `The cruelty of * * * Burma is increasingly a 
regional problem that threatens to destabilize its Southeast Asian 
neighbors with refugees, narcotics and now AIDS.' I urge my 
colleagues to pass this important resolution. 

______________________ OTHER _______________________

BURMANET: CORRECTION

Issue #1532 of BurmaNet incorrectly stated that the DAILY HAMPSHIRE 
GAZETTE was published in New Hampshire.  In fact, the Gazette is 
published in the state of Massachusetts.

_______________


Acronyms and abbreviations regularly used by BurmaNet.


AVA: Ava Newsgroup.  A small, independent newsgroup covering Kachin 
State and northern Burma.

KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group.  A non-governmental organization 
that  conducts interviews and collects information primarily in 
Burma's  Karen State but also covering other border areas.

KNU: Karen National Union.  Ethnic Karen organization that has been 
fighting Burma's central government since 1948.

NLM: New Light of Myanmar, Burma's state newspaper.  The New Light of 
Myanmar is also published in Burmese as Myanmar Alin.

SCMP: South China Morning Post.  A Hong Kong newspaper.

SHAN: Shan Herald Agency for News.  An independent news service  
covering Burma's Shan State.

SHRF: Shan Human Rights Foundation

SPDC: State Peace and Development Council.  The current name the  
military junta has given itself.  Previously, it called itself the  
State Law and Order Restoration Council.


________________


The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing comprehensive 
coverage of news and opinion on Burma  (Myanmar).  


For a subscription to Burma's only free daily newspaper, 
write to: strider@xxxxxxx

You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:

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Fax + (202) 318-1261

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