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

June 28, 2000

Issue # 1565


The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com


NOTED IN PASSING:





	
*Inside Burma

AFP: MYANMAR DRUG TRAFFICKERS PLAN TO CHURN OUT CHEAP ECSTASY: SOURCE

SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: A TRIP TO THE BORDER

MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE: THE JUDICIARY LAW, 2000 PROMULGATED

DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR: MYANMAR JUNTA DEMANDS SURRENDER OF CORDLESS 
PHONES 


*Regional

BANGKOK POST: CHUAN TO VISIT REFUGEES 


*International

REUTERS: U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO VISIT MYANMAR

FREE BURMA COALITION: BONO OF U2 PENNED WALK ON, A SONG ABOUT AUNG 
SAN SUU KYI'S STRUGGLE



*Economy/Business

SYNDICALISME HEBDO (FRANCE): [ARTICLE ON TOTALFINAELF, YADANA]

REUTERS: POLL-THAI OIL FIRM PTTEP A STRONG BUY

			








__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
					


AFP: MYANMAR DRUG TRAFFICKERS PLAN TO CHURN OUT CHEAP ECSTASY: SOURCE 

BANGKOK, June 28 (AFP)  Drug warlords accused of churning out heroin 
and amphetamines from their factories inside Myanmar are poised to 
begin mass production of cheap ecstasy, narcotics control sources 
told AFP. 

 The United Wa State Army (UWSA), stung by Thai military strikes 
against its opium poppy plantations and offensives to stamp out the 
new trade in amphetamines, are now being forced to diversify again. 

 "They have had to act because Thai officials have taken serious 
action on the border to fight against drugs," the source said. 

 Within weeks they are expected to begin producing ecstasy, and move 
it out of Myanmar along effective new smuggling routes currently used 
to flood Thailand with amphetamines, he said. 

 The Wa plan to slash the price of an ecstasy pill by more than half 
to about 200-300 baht (5-8 dollars) to reach a much wider market. But 
it is feared cost-cutting will make it much more poisonous than pure 
ecstasy. 

 "Hundred percent pure ecstasy is not so harmful but these pills will 
not be pure and could be very dangerous," said the expert, who is 
familiar with Thailand's anti-drugs program on the northern border. 

 The poor quality, however, is expected to largely prevent the Wa 
from trafficking their ecstasy into third countries, he said. 

 Instead, they will send millions of pills over the southern border 
with Thailand and target the growing numbers of teenagers here who 
are experimenting with illegal drugs. 

 At the current price of 800 baht (20 dollars), ecstasy brought in 
from Thailand's southern neighbour Malaysia and sold in Bangkok's 
ritzy nightclubs is out of the reach of most Thais. 

 Nevertheless, ecstasy is fast catching on in Thailand -- authorities 
seized 24,205 tablets last year, up from 4,517 tablets in 1998. 

 But while ecstasy may be the business of the future, and the battle 
against heroin is yesterday's war, authorities say amphetamines are 
without doubt the most serious drugs problem now facing Thailand. 

 The Wa Army does a roaring trade in the stimulant -- Thailand 
estimates that 600 million tablets of "ya baa" or "crazy drug", as it 
is known here, were trafficked over the border last year. 

 More than forty amphetamines factories are believed to be operating 
along the stretch of Myanmar's border that runs along Thailand's 
three north-eastern provinces. 

 But since Thai authorities began clamping down on amphetamines, now 
regarded as the top national security threat, traffickers have had to 
blaze a new trail to get their product across the border. 

 To bypass the Thai military's heavy presence in the northern 
provinces, the gateway to the overland route to Bangkok, the UWSA is 
now sending shipments by plane or boat over the Andaman Sea, the 
source said. 

 They arrive in Ranong, a town on the southern-most border between 
the two neighbours, and are then trucked up north to the Thai 
capital. 

 Alternatively, the traffickers travel east and slip into Laos before 
moving south and crossing into Thailand, he added. 

 The new air and sea routes are also proving more effective by 
minimising losses caused by the bone-shaking overland journey. 

 The source told AFP that up to half of every shipment was arriving 
smashed and unusable, forcing the traffickers to sometimes smuggle in 
component chemicals and cook them up inside Thailand. 

 "Amphetamines are extremely easy to make. You can mix the chemicals 
in a space as small as a van, which is very hard for us to detect," 
another anti-narcotics expert said. 

 The United States has identified Myanmar, and fellow rogue state 
Afghanistan, as the world's "headquarters for the heroin business". 

 And it has also expressed concern over the growing threat of 
amphetamines manufactured by the Wa, the most feared of Myanmar's 
rebel insurgencies. 

 The UWSA, cobbled together from the remnants of the Communist Party 
of Burma, has become the most powerful of several ethnic rebel 
groups, allegedly thanks to profits from the drugs trade. 

 Many Western nations have accused the country's military rulers of 
condoning drug trafficking by armed ethnic groups such as the Wa Army 
in return for ceasefires. 

 However, the junta claims it is doing its best, and accuses the 
international community of offering only criticism, and no help or 
financial assistance, in fighting the drugs trade. 










____________________________________________________


SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: A TRIP TO THE BORDER

28 June 2000

No: 6-12



I was up in Chiangrai 26-27 June. And here are a few things I learned 
there  that I would like to share with you.

Bribing To Pass Exams

There in Maesai, I ran into a girl I once knew 15 years ago. She got  
married and has a 6 year old daughter who is at school in 
Laikha. "Before I  left for Tachilek some months ago, I asked my 
daughter what she would like  me to buy for her," she said. "And 
could you imagine what a 7 year old  replied? She said she didn't 
want anything for her, but she would like me  to buy something for 
her teacher, because she's afraid without a present to  sweeten up 
her teacher, she wouldn't pass her exams. That's how our  education 
system has deteriorated."

It was in Maesai also that I received a letter form one of my old 
friends,  Liangsy (not his real name). He wrote that he wasn't 
worried much about his  son not passing his exams, because he's a 
member of the Union solidarity  and Development Association and also 
a member of the school's musical band  (he plays a flute). Still, he 
had to bribe K.15,000 to the headmaster so  his son could continue 
studies in his school (in Taunggyi) that boasted the  highest turnout 
in the 10th standard exams.

Wa on the border

Many friends I saw there spoke about oeve Wa cousins.
Moengzay told me that the Was had just acquired license to buy  300-
automobiles from Thailand. "They'll be spending at least B.150 
million,  but nobody's complaining," he said.

An old friend from the Shan State Army South, who is active in the 
area  opposite Chiangrai, spoke about Wa relocations affecting the 
local people  who were there first. "They don't force out the people 
from their homes and  lands like the Burmese do," said he. "But they 
take all unoccupied pieces  of land. They are also buying up the 
local girls as wives." 
Another friend from the ex-Mong Tai Army who is now a businessman 
told me  he saw about 2,000 families in Ho Talang, a village bitween 
Monghsat and  Tachilek, alone. "That's as many as the number of new 
Wa families in  Mongton Township," he said, adding that he wasn't up 
in Mongyawn, so he  wouldn't try to estimate how many Wa settlers 
were there.

S.H.A.N. received reports earlier that 50,000 households i.e. almost 
the  whole population from the Wa region near the Chinese border, 
would be  relocated in Mongton and Monghsat townships, opposite 
Chiangmai and  Chiangrai provinces.

Wa Taking up Road Construction Security

The friend, who was in Mongton recently, confirmed Wa troops 
replacing  Burmese unit at Loihtwe, a strategic mountain opposite 
Muangna village,  Chiangdao District, Chiangmai. "Some of them even 
wandered into Thai  territory one time, but were believed to be 
pushed back by the Thai  security forces," he said.

One Wa officer he met was reported to have said the Wa fighters would 
be  responsible for the security of road construction from Mongton to 
Homong,  about 120-150 km distant. "He said he hoped he didn't 
encounter any  disturbances from Yawdserk, because if he did he would 
nave no choice but  to retaliate," he said. "I'm sure this is the 
ploy the Burmese are using to  create hostility between Wa and Shan."

So far there is no comment from the SSA. (Sao Sengsuk, leader of the 
Shan  Democratic Union, commented: "It is also to create hostility 
between the Wa  and the world community and eventually to use it to 
crush the Wa.") 
Killings and Drugs

A monk in Ban Thoedthai, Mae Faluang District, Chiangrai, confirmed 
his  meeting with a Shan monk from Kunhing about the killings in the 
township.  "More than 60 of them were killed at the same spot," he 
said. "It's a pity  I couldn't  remember the exact location and 
further details for you." 
However, he told me he was in southern Shan State during the dry 
season and  saw thousands of people engaging in poppy cultivation. 
Vast poppy fields  from Phra Kaohsu (Nine Buddha Images) to SanLoiMaw 
in Hopong and in  Loima-Loiyay, between Mongpawn and Loilem, were 
seen by him and other  fellow travelers.

The quality, as reported earlier by S.H.A.N., does not match to that 
grown  along the Thai-border. Whereas 10 kg of opium in the 
hinterland could  produce only 1 kg of heroin, it needs just 6-7 kg 
of border opium to  produce the same amount of heroin, according to 
informed sources.
  
BY: KHUENSAI JAIYANE
 
( Khuensai Jaiyane is Director of the S.H.A.N)

____________________________________________________


MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE: THE JUDICIARY LAW, 2000 PROMULGATED

Information Sheet
No. B-1425 (I)           28th   June, 2000 

    
    The State Peace and Development Council has promulgated The 
Judiciary  Law, 2000 as The State Peace and Development Council Law 
No 5/2000, on 27  June, 2000.

____________________________________________________


DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR: MYANMAR JUNTA DEMANDS SURRENDER OF CORDLESS 
PHONES 

June 20, 2000, Tuesday, BC Cycle


Yangon



The Post and Telecommunications Department of Myanmar (Burma) has 
announced that all users of non-registered cordless phones in the 
country will face three years imprisonment or a fine of 30,000 kyats 
(3.50 dollars) or both, local newspapers reported Tuesday.

On Monday the department ordered all illegal users of the cordless 
phones to surrender the devices within 30 days.




___________________________ REGIONAL ___________________________
				
BANGKOK POST: CHUAN TO VISIT REFUGEES 

W E D N E S D A Y, J U N E 2 8, 2000 


Bhanravee Tansubhapol

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will on Sunday inspect the country's 
largest Burmese refugee camp to find ways to help the estimated 
120,000 displaced Burmese living in Thai camps, a government source 
said yesterday. 

Mr Chuan will visit Mae La camp in Tak's Tha Song Yang district, 
which houses more than 30,000 Burmese refugees. 

He would assure the refugees, mostly Karen, that Thailand was 
concerned about their plight and would encourage the international 
community and Rangoon to work together to find a solution to the 
problem. 

Mr Chuan will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and 
Jahanshah Assadi, chief representative in Thailand of the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

Last March, Deputy Foreign Minister MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra led 
Bangkok-based diplomats to visit three refugee camps in Mae Hong Song 
and Tak provinces.  

The European Union said it would extend more help to NGOs who look 
after the refugees, the source said. 

	
__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________
		

REUTERS: U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO VISIT MYANMAR

YANGON, June 28 (Reuters) - The new U.N. special envoy to Myanmar, 
Razali Ismail, is to begin a three-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday 
to hold talks with the ruling military and the opposition, diplomats 
said Wednesday. 

 ``He is arriving here tomorrow and is expected to meet both the 
representatives of the ruling State Peace and Development Council 
(SPDC) and opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) during his 
stay here,'' an Asian diplomat told Reuters. 

 Razali Ismail, a former U.N. representative from Malaysia, was 
appointed in April as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's special 
envoy to Myanmar with a mandate to promote human rights and to 
restore democracy in the country which has been ruled by the military 
since 1988. 

 Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung said in May he was optimistic 
about Razali's visit. 

 ``Mr Razali is from the same region, Asia, and so he has an 
opportunity to understand more about the region, the problems and the 
mentality of the people,'' Win Aung said at the time. 

 He said Razali Ismail's predecessor, Alvaro De Soto, was not so 
familiar with the Asian region and did not understand Asian ways 
because he was from the Latin America. 

 Alvaro de Soto visited Myanmar several times to mediate between the 
SPDC and the NLD but his visits produced no tangible success. 

 ``We can hope to have a better understanding and communication 
between us. We can see eye to eye with each other and also discuss 
(in a) more friendly way,'' Win Aung added. 

 But there appears to be little common ground between the ruling 
generals and the NLD, which won the country's last general election 
in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern. 

 The SPDC has said several times it will not talk with NLD 
representatives as long as they were led by Nobel Peace Prize winner 
Aung San Suu Kyi. 

 The NLD has repeatedly declared it will not go to the negotiating 
table without Suu Kyi.


____________________________________________________


FREE BURMA COALITION: BONO OF U2 PENNED WALK ON, A SONG ABOUT AUNG 
SAN SUU KYI'S STRUGGLE

Tuesday, June 27, 2000

We have some good news to share.  According to Beaudee Zaw Min of 
Euro-Burma Office, lead singer Bono of U2, the world famous Irish 
Band has composed a song about Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi.  It will be included in their forthcoming album.  The band was 
also the co-winner of awards from Dublin City Council back in March 
of this year.  U2 was originally known for their political 
consciousness and anti-consumerist philosophy of its members.  
Whoever pulled this off, FBC concert organizers take our hats off!! 








_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________


SYNDICALISME HEBDO (FRANCE): [ARTICLE ON TOTALFINAELF, YADANA]

[Translation]

Syndicalisme hebdo is the newspaper of he CFDT (Confederation 
Francaise Democratique du Travail/ French Democratic Labour 
Confederation : one of the main french trade unions) 

8th june 2000  

The Junta who have been in power since 1988 in Burma ( renamed 
Myanmar)  have set up an obligatory system of forced labour. In this 
way, it violates the international conventions that the country has 
ratified. Faced with the persistent violations of the international 
convention, the ILO reunited at a conference on the 30th may turned 
to the 33rd article of it's constitution for the first time in its 
history. The ILO recommended to the conference to take action "that 
appeared to them appropriate to assure the fulfilment of the 
recommendations drawn up by a commission of enquiry". the later, 
lanced in 1998, established  facts on 6000 pages, after having heard 
almost 250 people. Take note that the procedure of the commission of 
enquiry had been lanced only one time before, against Poland under 
the regime of Jaruzelski.  Already last year, the conference adopted 
a resolution excluding de facto Burma. The executive council of the 
ILO had therefore taken a step forward. In fact the resolution in 
2000 risks opening up a reexamination of the relationships between 
Burma and all the other members of the ILO, the UN and other 
international organisations.  From year to year the reports on this 
country become more and more dreadful. Beside the persistence of 
forced labour (men, women, children and prisoners) the military 
conducts the displacement of population, summary executions.. the 
obligations are of all sorts : fines, imprisonments (the law 
authorizes  the conscription of work forces) beatings, rapes 
deprivation of food, water and rest....the forced labour is of 
private or public nature : porterage (mainly for the armed forces), 
building infrastructures, but also demining in combat zones.  Finger 
pointed at the investors 

France will of course be questioned during the conference. The french 
company Total Fina Elf is in fact the number one investor in Burma. 
It has built a gaz pipeline in order to exploit the gaz field in the 
Yadana region. Witnessed account of different forms of forced 
labour : land clearing, building roads, tunnels and bridges since 
1994. Total justifies itself by throwing back the responsibility on 
the national authorities. But the company could not have been 
ignorant of the rounding up, requisitions, populations relocations 
and destruction of villages. Other investors have also been accused. 
the British government have for example insisted ( without success) 
that Premier Oil company pull out of Burma. Interrogated in April at 
the National Assembly, the French government had not questioned 
Total's presence in Burma. It had only asked the oil producer "to do 
something about the conditions of its insertion" in the country. The 
CFDT, on its side, has called repeatedly to the group leadership who 
have responded : " without a banning by the United Nations, the 
company will follow its investments" according to Francois Renucci 
who is responsible for the petroleum branch inside the Chimics and 
Energy Federation (aie CFDT is a trade union divided by branches by 
sectors of activity). Furthermore, this federation has been offering 
Total for a year and a half to sign an international ethical code 
under the control of ICEM, the international union of Chimics- Energy 
and Mining.  Finally, Aung San Suu Kyi Nobel peace price winner and 
speaker of the democrats remarks that the gaz pipeline, the most 
important project undertaken in the country "has become an object of 
pride for the dictatorship and has permitted it to legitimize its 
power". This opponent never ceases to repeat that "aid and foreign 
investments only reinforce the military spirit who, only themselves 
and a small nest of business men profit from."  Philippe Roau 


____________________________________________________


 


REUTERS: POLL-THAI OIL FIRM PTTEP A STRONG BUY

By Umesh Pandey 

[Abridged]

 BANGKOK, June 27 (Reuters) - High oil prices, rising domestic 
consumption of electricity and a cheap valuation has made Thai 
upstream oil company PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) a strong 
buy, a Reuters poll of brokerages shows. 

 Eighteen of 20 brokers surveyed by Reuters recommend their clients 
buy the stock. Only one has it as a sell. 
 Seventeen brokerages surveyed by Reuters gave an average medium-term 
target price for PTTEP of 307 baht per share. 

 Based on Barra's The Estimate Directory net profit forecast for 
PTTEP in 2000 of 3.81 billion baht and of 5.54 billion for 2001, this 
would theoretically give a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.5 times for 
2000 and 18.1 times for 2001, according to Neil Semple, energy 
analyst at ABN AMRO Asia Securities.
 
 The share was unchanged at 189 baht at 0652 GMT on Wednesday. 

 
 ..Problems with one of its sources of gas, the Yadana field in 
Myanmar, has become a headache for PTTEP. 

 PTTEP's parent, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), has 
agreed to take 380 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of Yadana gas 
for the first three years and 550 mcfd thereafter. 

 But delays in building a 3,200 MW power plant at Ratchaburi in 
Thailand by state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand 
has put the Yadana gas deal on hold. 

 Under the terms of contract, PTT ought to pay about $260 million for 
the Yadana gas this year, but payments have been delayed as PTT has 
not been able to take the agreed amount. 

 ``The greatest risk associated with PTTEP is still the Yadana gas 
payments... We expect the stock to trade in a narrow range until the 
Yadana gas issue is settled once and for all,'' said Nithi Wanikpum, 
analyst at Merrill Lynch Phatra Securities. 

 HELP FROM RISING OIL PRICES 
 But despite problems with the Yadana project, analysts say rising 
oil prices are likely to help the company's bottom line. 









____________________________________________________

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