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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
_________September 6, 2000   Issue # 1614__________

NOTED IN PASSING:

	
INSIDE BURMA _______
*South China Morning Post: Burma--'Scores murdered in army rampages'
*SHAN: Army wiping out population in the flood area of the dam 
project, say villagers 
*AFP: Thailand's sex industry importing Myanmar virgins: report  
*Reuters: Myanmar keeps Suu Kyi hidden but says she's safe
*DVB: NLD Demands End to Occupation of Party Headquarters

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*President Clinton: "We face another test today in Burma" --Speech at 
Millennium Summit
*Madeleine Albright: Remarks at UN Summit on Burma
*Sydney Morning Herald: Burma: Downer--One Small Step Can Lead To 
Great Strides
*Sydney Morning Herald: Seminars a 'smokescreen' for Burma
*The Philippine Daily Inquirer: Burmese opposition gets Roco backing
*The Korea Herald: Gov't regrets Myanmar's crackdown on pro-democracy 
movement  
*AFP: Philippine envoy to visit Myanmar opposition leader Aung San 
Suu  Kyi 
*SHAN:  Khun Sa cronies sentenced by US court

OPINION/EDITORIALS _______
*The Hindustan Times (New Delhi): Long night of terror
*SPDC: Government Of Myanmar Regrets The Unproductive And  Negative 
Media Campaigns Waged Against Her By Certain Quarters

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


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
	


South China Morning Post: Burma--'Scores murdered in army rampages'

 Wednesday, September 6, 2000

BURMA



WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok

Marauding Burmese troops have massacred scores of men, women and 
children in the Shan state in recent months, reports from the area 
say. Former Shan rebels who have signed a ceasefire deal with the 
military Government in Rangoon have issued a rare statement 
expressing great alarm over what they said was "genocide".

Such strong words are unusual for a group that is trying to co-exist 
with the military junta and further confirmation that something ugly 
has happened. "I have no doubt that something very nasty has taken 
place. We are certain that at least one big massacre of civilians has 
happened," one refugee worker said.

Informed observers speculate the killings may be a reprisal for an 
ambush carried out by Shan rebels in early May that killed several 
soldiers and the daughter of an army major.

The Shan State Joint Action Committee, an umbrella group consisting 
of an ethnic army which has signed a ceasefire and a legal Shan 
political party, said soldiers had killed 24 farmers near the town of 
Kunhing on May 17. 
A few days later, on the 20th, another battalion had murdered 59 
civilians at another village.

Earlier, the Shan Human Rights Foundation, which interviews Shan 
fleeing into Thailand, said a column of soldiers rounded up "without 
warning" several families working on land outside Kunhing on May 23, 
and shot 64 people, including children.

Relief workers on the border also say that recent arrivals are 
talking of a massacre of 60 or more Shan who were surprised by 
soldiers while camping at the confluence of the Salween and Pang 
rivers several weeks ago. 
The Burmese army has been fighting a brutal war against another group 
of Shan guerillas, under commander Yawd Serk, which is seeking a 
measure of political autonomy. It has tried to undercut 
this "southern faction" of the Shan State Army by clearing a huge 
swathe of territory in the centre of the state of much of its rural 
civilian population - perhaps 300,000 people or more - in recent 
years.

Cleared land often appears to be treated as a free-fire zone. There 
are frequently reports of killings of relocated subsistence farmers 
trying to fend off starvation by returning to work their old land, 
even when they have written permission from local commanders.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation has reported that in January, 19 
relocated villagers were shot after trying to work their old land, 
even though they had passes.

In February, 20 people who had been hiding out in the jungle were 
caught and killed on a trip to the shrine of their village god, the 
foundation said. 
Piecing together the fate of farmers in isolated, often forbidden, 
places is painstaking work. Some of the above reports may refer to 
the same incidents. 
This is why the unusual entreaty by well-informed ex-rebels and 
members of the legal Shan National League for Democracy raised fears 
that killing in the region has reached levels not seen for two years.

The league won 23 seats in the 1990 election that the military 
ignored. 
The umbrella committee said 73 "innocent nationals", including women 
and children, had been killed for no reason. "It is a tragedy that 
such things that could lead to genocide could happen at a time when 
peace, tranquility and development are being built in the 
country . . . at a time when national unity is being focused on," the 
statement said.

"We urge the State Peace and Development Council [the Government] to 
take appropriate action against the perpetrators."


____________________________________________________


SHAN: Army wiping out population in the flood area of the dam 
project, say villagers 


6 September 2000

No: 9-4

The Burma Army is wiping out the population of areas to be flooded by 
the Salween dam project, say villagers in southern Shan State.  
Villagers in southern Shan State, in a letter to S.H.A.N., have 
accused  Rangoon of exterminating the population in the flood areas 
of the projected  dam on the Salween.

The letter, written on 10 July, that took more than a month to reach  
S.H.A.N, said: Since 1997, villages in Kunhing Township, along the 
banks of  the Salween and its tributary, Nampang, have been 
depopulated and  relocated. And since 9 May, when the Shan State 
Army "South" of Yawdserk  and the SPDC army clashed between Kali and 
Hpanglang (east of Kunhing), the  offensive launched by the LID 99 
has not let up.

Altogether 12 tracts consisting of 175 villages, 4,018 houreholds and 
3,312  acres of fields in Kunhing township alone are in fear of 
inundation when  the dam is being built, According to the list 
provided, they are Hsaimong,  Wanhpai, Wantong, Kenglom, Wianghpui, 
Hoyarn, Kengkham, Nawngkham,  Mongkhong, Pakuey, Takaw and Hsenmawng.

Altogether, 11 townships are reported to be in the flood area, 
namely,  Kunhing, Monghsu (Gemland), Mongpan, Tangyan, Mongyai and 
Hsenwi on the  west bank, and Kunlong, Manhpang, Pangyang, Mongpiang 
and Mongton on the  east bank.

The damsite is in Tasang, north of the newly inaugurated Tasang 
Bridge,  between Mongton and Mongton and Mongpan townships. "Final 
studies" are  being conducted by the GMS Power, a Thai company


____________________________________________________


AFP: Thailand's sex industry importing Myanmar virgins: report  

BANGKOK, Sept 6 (AFP) - Thailand's sex industry has begun importing 
Burmese and ethnic minority virgins from Myanmar to serve foreign 
customers in Thai cities, a report said Wednesday.   "The 
transnational trafficking of women and girls between Myanmar and 
Thailand ... is not a new development. What's novel ... is that these 
women must be virgins," said a paper presented by David Kyle, a 
sociologist, at a UN conference on migration here.   

"Virgins -- particularly Burmese or ethnic Shan virgins -- command 
top dollar in many areas of Thailand. Most of the demand seems to be 
coming from Chinese tourists and businessmen."   "Virgins are highly 
valued not only for the reduced risk of their having HIV, but also 
because in some cultures, deflowering a virgin is considered to 
bestow upon the perpetrator youthful potency."   "Burmese and Shan 
girls are exoticized as special virgins, in part due to the relative 
isolation of Myanmar for several decades."   In some cases, the 
brothel owners will "re-virginize" girls surgically by reattaching 
their hymens in order to make them more desirable after they have had 
sex, his paper said.   Kyle further charged that Thai and Myanmar 
authorities are tacitly encouraging the shipment of virgins.   

"Men and women from Myanmar concentrated in Thai refugee camps along 
the border have reported ... that local Thai officials forced them 
upon threat of being repatriated to serve as recruiters for organised 
human smuggling groups," his paper said.   And brothel owners in 
Thailand pay Thai and Myanmar police to ignore the importation of 
young girls, he said.   The virgin girls are rarely aware of the kind 
of work they will be doing in Thailand.   "While some girls are 
vaguely aware of the nature of the work they will doing, they are not 
aware of the working conditions," the paper said.   A United Nations 
report due to be released in late September will reveal that sexual 
exploitation of children is increasing significantly throughout Asia, 
UN sources previously said.   

The financial crisis forced more children onto the margins of 
society, pushing down the price for a child and encouraging foreign 
paedophiles to stream into the region, they said.   In many cases, 
child molesters go free even after they have been tracked down and 
arrested, child sex tourism expert Muireenn O'Briain had said.   More 
than 20 countries have laws which enable nationals who abuse children 
overseas to be tried at home, but these statutes are difficult to 
implement.   In order to be prosecuted in America, for example, 
authorities must prove that US citizens trav 


____________________________________________________


Reuters: Myanmar keeps Suu Kyi hidden but says she's safe

By Aung Hla Tun 

 YANGON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military insisted on 
Wednesday that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was safe and sound, 
but she remained padlocked inside her Yangon residence and cut off 
from the world despite mounting international protests.   A 
government spokesman said Suu Kyi was in her residential compound 
along with 12 members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) who 
accompanied her during a nine-day roadside protest forcibly ended by 
the authorities on Saturday.   

``They are all fine,'' the spokesman said, adding that relatives of 
some of the NLD members in Suu Kyi's compound had been allowed to 
visit them.   But diplomats in Yangon said they remained barred from 
visiting or contacting Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 
in 1991 for her struggle for democracy in Myanmar.   Myanmar told 
Britain on Tuesday it might allow diplomatic access to Suu Kyi within 
two weeks.   Suu Kyi and senior NLD members have been confined in 
their homes since Saturday, when the authorities brought Suu Kyi back 
to Yangon and launched a crackdown on her party.   The Myanmar 
government has denied Suu Kyi and her senior colleagues are under 
house arrest, but has said they have been asked to stay at home while 
it investigates reports that some NLD members had been involved in 
``terrorist activity.''   

Myanmar's treatment of Suu Kyi has sparked a war of words between the 
government and its international critics, particularly Britain and 
the United States.   State-run newspapers on Tuesday quoted Myanmar's 
powerful head of military intelligence, Lieutenant-General Khin 
Nyunt, as saying ``two big western countries'' were meddling in 
Myanmar's affairs.   The government also attacked Britain's 
ambassador in Yangon, John Jenkins, after he tried to visit Suu 
Kyi.   

John Battle, a junior British Foreign Office minister, summoned 
Myanmar's London ambassador Kyaw Win on Monday to protest at the 
crackdown and demand information about Suu Kyi.   He said the 
ambassador told him diplomatic access to Suu Kyi may be allowed 
within two weeks.   Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has 
expressed ``grave concern'' for the safety of Suu Kyi and other NLD 
leaders.   (With additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok)  
2000-09-06 Wed 02:39 


____________________________________________________


DVB: NLD Demands End to Occupation of Party Headquarters

Democratic Voice of Burma radio

OSLO, Sep 4 (DVB) -- Reliable sources have reported that NLD members 
from Rangoon Division have collectively signed and sent a letter to 
SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe this morning. 

The letter demanded the immediate wthdrawal of SPDC riot police from 
the occupied NLD headquarters and the mmediate release of NLD leaders 
from house arrest. 

At the same time, the letter strongly condemned the SPDC's use of 
force on
a legally standing political party. The letter also called on the 
authorities not to interfere in the political party's routine 
activities and to allow freedom of
movement to NLD party members. 

It has been reported that over 30 SPDC riot police are still 
occupying the
NLD headquarters and Military Intelligence personnel are said to be 
still searching for documents and other evidence. Furthermore, NLD 
members from various states and divisions are also prevented from 
going to Rangoon.  












____________________________________________________











___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				

President Clinton: "We face another test today in Burma" --Speech at 
Millennium Summit

        REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
        IN ADDRESS TO THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT
        OF THE UNITED NATIONS
        General Assembly Hall
        United Nations
        New York City, New York

        9:55 A.M. EDT

                Madam President, Mr. Secretary General, my fellow 
leaders,let me begin by saying it is a great honor to have this 
unprecedented
gathering of world leaders in the United States.

             We come together not just at a remarkable moment on the 
calendar, but at the dawn of a new era in human affairs, when 
globalization and the revolution in information technology have 
brought us closer
together than ever before.  To an extent unimaginable just a few 
years ago, we
reach across geographical and cultural divides.  We know what is 
going on in
each other's countries.  We share experiences, triumphs, tragedies, 
aspirations.

             Our growing interdependence includes the opportunity to 
explore and reap the benefits of the far frontiers of science and the 
increasingly interconnected economy.  And as the Secretary General 
just reminded us,it also includes shared responsibilities to free 
humanity from poverty,
disease, environmental destruction and war.  That responsibility, in 
turn, requires us to make sure the United Nations is up for the job. 
         Fifty-five years ago, the U.N. was formed to save succeeding 
generations from the scourge of war.  Today there are more people in 
this room with the power to achieve that goal than have ever been 
gathered in one place.  We find today fewer wars between nations, but 
more wars within them. Such internal conflicts, often driven by 
ethnic and religious differences, took five million lives in the last 
decade, most of them completely innocent victims.

        These conflicts present us with a stark challenge-are they 
part of the scourge the U.N. was established to prevent? If so, we 
must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, but still find a 
way to protect people as well as borders.

        The last century taught us that there are times when the 
international community must take a side, not merely stand between 
the sides or on the sidelines.  We faced such a test and met it when 
Mr. Milosevic tried to close the last century with the final chapter 
of ethnic cleansing and slaughter.  We have faced such a test for 10 
years in Iraq, where the U.N.  has approved a fair blueprint spelling 
out what must be done.  It is consistent with our resolutions and our 
values, and it must be enforced. 

        We face another test today in Burma, where a brave and 
popular leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, once again has been confined-with 
her supporters in prisons and her country in distress-in defiance of 
repeated U.N. resolutions.

        But most conflicts and disputes are not so clear-cut. 
Legitimate grievances and aspirations pile high on both sides.  Here 
there is no alternative to principled compromise, in giving up old 
grudges in order to get on life.  Right now, from the Middle East to 
Burundi to the Congo to South Asia, leaders are facing this kind of 
choice, between confrontation and compromise.

             Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak are with us 
here today.  They have promised to resolve the final differences 
between them this year, finally completing the Oslo process embodied 
in the Declaration of Principles signed seven years ago this month at 
the White House.

             To those who have supported the right of Israel to live 
in security and peace; to those who have championed the Palestinian 
cause these many years:  let me say to all of you, they need your 
support now, more than ever, to take the hard risks for peace.  They 
have the chance to do it. But like all life's chances, it is fleeting 
and about to pass.  There is not a moment to lose.

             When leaders do seize this chance for peace, we must 
help them. Increasingly, the United Nations has been called into 
situations where brave people seek reconciliation, but where the 
enemies of peace seek to undermine it.  In East Timor, had the United 
Nations not engaged, the people would have lost the chance to control 
their future. 

             Today I was deeply saddened to learn of the brutal 
murder of the three U.N. relief workers there by the militia in West 
Timor, and I urge the Indonesian authorities to put a stop to these 
abuses. 

             In Sierra Leone, had the United Nations not engaged, 
countless children now living would be dead.  But in both cases, the 
U.N. did not have the tools to finish the job.  We must provide those 
tools-with peacekeepers that can be rapidly deployed with the right 
training and equipment, missions well-defined and well-led, with the 
necessary civilian police. 

             And we must work, as well, to prevent conflict; to get 
more children in school; to relieve more debt in developing 
countries; to do more to fight malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS, which 
cause a quarter of all the deaths in the world; to do more to provoke 
prevention and to stimulate the development and affordable access to 
drugs and vaccines; to do more to curb the trade in items which 
generate money that make conflict more profitable than peace-whether 
diamonds in Africa or drugs in Colombia. 

             All these things come with a price tag.  And all 
nations, including the United States, must pay it.  These prices must 
be fairly apportioned, and the U.N. structure of finances must be 
fairly reformed so the organization can do its job.  But those in my 
country or elsewhere who believe we can do without the U.N., or 
impose our will upon it, misread history and misunderstand the future.

             Let me say to all of you, this is the last opportunity I 
will have as President to address this General Assembly.  It is the 
most august gathering we have ever had, because so many of you have 
come from so far away.  If I have learned anything in these last 
eight years, it is, whether we like it or not, we are growing more 
interdependent.  We must look for more solutions in which all sides 
can claim a measure of victory and move away from choices in which 
someone is required to accept complete defeat. That will require us 
to develop greater sensitivity to our diverse political, cultural and 
religious claims.  But it will require us to develop even greater 
respect for our common humanity.

             The leaders here assembled can rewrite human history in 
the new millennium.  If we have learned the lessons of the past, we 
can leave a very different legacy for our children.  But we must 
believe the simple things-that everywhere in every land, people in 
every station matter. Everyone counts, everyone has a role to play, 
and we all do better when we help each other.

             Thank you, and God bless you all.

____________________________________________________


Madeleine Albright: Remarks at UN Summit on Burma

Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
Remarks by At UN Millennium Women's Summit, United Nations
New York, New York, September 5, 2000
As released by the Office of the Spokesman
U.S. Department of State


[Abridged] 

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I just wanted to express my solidarity and 
support for your efforts. This is a good way to kick off the 
Millennium Summit. 

It is certainly a sign of progress. If a similar gathering of women 
heads of state and international organizations had been held in 1900, 
it would have consisted of Queen Victoria talking to herself...

I congratulate you all for the great work you are doing. I remember 
in 1993, when I first came to the UN, I was told the General Assembly 
would never agree to establishing a High Commissioner on Human 
Rights. Then I was told they'd never appoint anyone with the guts to 
ruffle feathers. 

But then, if the conventional wisdom were always right, none of us 
would be here.

The Women's Millennium Summit has an agenda as comprehensive as the 
UN itself, ranging from the role of women in peacekeeping operations, 
to the importance of women in development, to the protection of human 
rights, to the special challenges faced by female refugee... 

I am proud of the U.S. record, under the Clinton-Gore Administration, 
in bringing women's issues into the foreign policy mainstream. We 
have been especially active on trafficking, putting more emphasis now 
on AIDS, making progress on children's issues. We are still 
struggling with Congress over matters such as family planning and the 
Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women. 

I am personally proud of the collaboration with Hillary Rodham 
Clinton and the Beijing process. It is not just a position I've 
taken; it's a commitment to women and girls I expect to pursue as 
long as I live.

Before closing, I want to note that the Beijing Conference began with 
a video from Burma's Nobel prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi expressing 
solidarity with the women's movement worldwide. She needs our 
solidarity now. 

Burma's democratic forces are under increasing siege. Aung San Suu 
Kyi is being held incommunicado; her party subject to extreme 
harassment and intimidation. Efforts are being made by military 
authorities to smear her. 

The truth is that Aung San Suu Kyi and her party have followed a path 
of nonviolent support for democracy. The authorities should not be 
allowed to get away with Iron-Boot, Big Lie techniques. Aung San Suu 
Kyi is being prevented from having her voice heard. We must speak for 
her. And I hope we will all speak out as publicly, urgently and 
effectively as we can in support of Aung San Suu Kyi and democratic 
change in Burma.

It's good to have allies. You're my role models. Thanks again for the 
chance to come, participate and listen.



____________________________________________________


____________________________________________________

 
Sydney Morning Herald: Burma: Downer--One Small Step Can Lead To 
Great Strides

September 6, 2000, p.16


Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer Is Minister For Foreign Affairs.

Australia has taken a human rights initiative with Rangoon because a 
sanctions-based policy has so far failed, writes Alexander Downer.

THAT there has been so much discussion recently on human rights in 
Burma is a very good thing. I am disappointed, though, that there 
appear to be some misconceptions about what Australia is doing and 
what we are trying to achieve. There can be no argument about the 
extent of human rights abuses in Burma. The events over the past 10 
days have reinforced the need for democratic reform and respect for 
human rights.

The challenge facing the international community is what we should do 
about it.

Over 10 long miserable years for the Burmese people, isolationist and 
sanctions-based approaches have led to no change whatsoever in the 
political situation, neither have they contributed to any improvement 
in the very grim human rights picture that is Burma today.

For precisely this reason, fresh, innovative approaches to Burma are 
needed. The Australian Government's human rights initiative aims in a 
small, incremental way, to try a different approach to help improve 
human rights in Burma.

In July 1998 I suggested to the then Burmese Foreign Minister, U Ohn 
Gyaw, that Burma should consider setting up an independent human 
rights institution. This approach held out the promise of a path for 
Burma to work to guarantee human rights within its own jurisdiction.

An obvious model that we considered would be acceptable to the 
Burmese was that of Komnas HAM the State-funded but independent 
national commission on human rights which was set up in Indonesia 
under President Suharto's rule.


The Australian Government was not alone in this thinking. Australia's 
then Commissioner for Human Rights, Chris Sidoti, saw merit in the 
initiative. His visit to Burma in August 1999 identified, as an 
initial step, the potential for human rights training. Through co-
operation at government level, the first two workshops in July this 
year provided an introduction to human rights for middle-level 
Burmese civil servants. A third workshop is planned for October. 

This approach is consistent with the practical measures we have 
adopted with many other states in the region, including those which 
have established, or are in the process of establishing, national 
institutions of their own. It is also consistent with the Asia 
Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.

As in China and Vietnam, training is an important first stage in 
building an environment of greater understanding and respect for 
human rights. The Burmese Government also announced at the New 
Zealand meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights 
Institutions on August 10 that it was moving to set up a Human Rights 
Commission of its own. Naturally, we will follow very closely how the 
Burmese do this.

These are the only positive developments in human rights in Burma 
over the past decade.

Judgments by some commentators that recent events in Rangoon are 
evidence of the failure of the Australian Government's approach are 
premature and simplistic.

In the light of a decade of failed approaches to bring about change 
in Burma, to suggest that our small-scale efforts to provide human 
rights training have failed soon after it started is either very 
naive or highly disingenuous.

Our approach has also been falsely characterised as turning a blind 
eye to the abuses of the Burmese Government. We do not tolerate human 
rights abuses. Our approach is not appeasement or ``cosying up'' to 
the Burmese Government. We have never
hesitated to criticise human rights abuses in Burma as we have done 
in relation to current events in Rangoon.

We have always strongly supported United Nations' efforts to 
influence change in Burma. Our human rights initiative complements UN 
processes, such as the efforts of the Secretary-General's Special 
Representative for Burma. We work with other like-minded countries in 
multilateral forums such as the United Nations General Assembly and 
the Commission on Human Rights to produce tough consensus resolutions 
on Burma. On June 14 this year Australia voted in favour of a strong 
resolution on forced labour at the International Labour Conference in 
Geneva.

Assertions that Australia is the only country engaging with Burma are 
pure myth. Burma is now a member of ASEAN, and as a member, Burma 
talks with the United States, with the EU, and with Australia, all 
ASEAN dialogue partners.

Nor should we pretend that Australia is the only developed country 
engaging Burma through education programs. A number of countries, 
such as Japan and some major European nations, are engaged with Burma 
through the provision of scholarships and training, including for 
Burmese government officials.

Australia's policy is not an endorsement of the Burmese regime. We 
are in total agreement with the United States, European Union and 
many in Asia in our campaign to see significant political reform and 
an improvement in the human rights situation in Burma. Significantly, 
we have chosen to engage the Burmese Government on the specific issue 
of human rights.

That said, we know our human rights initiative is a very small first 
step. We also know that it will not be an easy process, and most of 
all we know that results will take a considerable time. The choice 
before us is to do something, or to do nothing.


____________________________________________________


Sydney Morning Herald: Seminars a 'smokescreen' for Burma

Sept 6

By CRAIG SKEHAN, Herald Correspondent in Bangkok

Academics and lawyers involved in Australia's controversial human 
rights seminars for officials of the Burmese military regime are 
under fire from people who would usually be their allies.

"I know that I am going to be accused of supping with Satan," said 
senior law lecturer Professor David Kinley. "The Burmese may be 
acting cynically, but I think there is at least a possibility of 
change.

He said the Australian human rights lecturers might not be willing to 
go to
Burma if the security situation in which soldiers had cordoned off 
the headquarters of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy did 
not improve.

Ms Janelle Suffin, a Labor Member of the NSW Upper House and an 
activist on
Burma issues, said the Australian Government had distanced itself 
from Ms Suu Kyi to strengthen diplomatic links with the military 
regime. "These human rights seminars should be scrapped immediately," 
she said. 

"The Australian taxpayers' money being used would be better spent 
supporting
the democracy movement if we want to effect change in Burma. 


____________________________________________________


The Korea Herald: Gov't regrets Myanmar's crackdown on pro-democracy 
movement  

September 6, 2000

The government yesterday expressed regret over the Myanmar 
government's crackdown on the pro-democracy movement led by 
opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is an act in violation of the order of democratic politics that 
the Myanmar government restricted her political activities and shut 
down the headquarters of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for 
Democracy (NLD)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Nam-soo said in a 
statement.

He also said South Korea hopes the Myanmar government will retract 
its closing of the NLD headquarters and promote dialogue with 
opposition leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for the sake of 
reconciliation.

In its latest act of oppression against the opposition camp, the 
Myanmar government Monday kept Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 
Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her pro-democracy efforts, isolated at 
her home in the capital of Yangon. (SYB)

____________________________________________________


The Philippine Daily Inquirer: Burmese opposition gets Roco backing

September 6, 2000, p.3



SEN. Raul Roco yesterday filed a resolution expressing the support of 
the Philippine Senate to Burma's opposition symbol Aung San Suu Kyi 
in her latest ordeal with Burmese authorities. 
Roco, himself an opposition leader, filed Senate Resolution No. 859 
after Suu Kyi was placed anew under house arrest on Sept. 3 and 
prevented from receiving visitors in her Rangoon compound. 

"This latest wave of repression makes it imperative for the Senate of 
the Republic of the Philippines in behalf of the Filipino people to 
reiterate its support for Suu Kyi and the National League of 
Democracy in their struggle for democracy in Burma," Roco said in his 
resolution.

Burmese police reportedly stopped Suu Kyi from proceeding to 
Kungyangon on Aug. 24 where she was to meet with NLD leaders. After a 
three-day standoff, Suu Kyi and her followers were reportedly 
forcibly brought back to her house in Rangoon and placed under severe 
house arrest.

____________________________________________________


SHAN:  Khun Sa cronies sentenced by US court

6 September 2000


3 people arrested in November, 1994, by a joint Thai-US operation, 
were  sentenced by a court in New York on 18 July, said a letter from 
the United  States.

They were       
Chang Yuenlong,                 6 years;
Li Jiajeng                      5 years; and,                  
Chao Yu-an aka Zai Long 5 years.

As for Asafa, who was released earlier, "he has not arrived home 
yet," said  the source.


____________________________________________________


AFP: Philippine envoy to visit Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi 

 September 6, 2000


MANILA, Sept 6 (AFP) - The Philippine ambassador to Myanmar will 
visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in her home where she is 
under house arrest, a senior foreign department official here said 
Wednesday.

Ambassador Phoebe Gomez's visit will complete her assessment of the 
stand-off between the opposition leader and Myanmar security forces 
in a Yangon suburb two weeks ago, the official, who asked not to be 
identified, said.

The timetable for the visit was not disclosed.

Last month, Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were stopped by 
Myanmar forces while travelling by car on their way out of the 
capital to meet with allies in the countryside.

The opposition group set up a makeshift camp around their vehicles 
before they were forcibly sent back to the capital.

The Philippines, which joins Myanmar in membership of the Association 
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), did not comment on the issue at 
the time except to say it was an "internal matter."  Earlier this 
week, Yangon lashed out at the West for allegedly interfering in the 
country's internal affairs, citing an attempt by the British 
ambassador to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Although Aung San Suu Kyi has received support from some legislators 
in the Philippines, Manila has kept its distance from the issue in 
line with the ASEAN principle of non-interference in other members' 
internal affairs.



____________________________________________________





_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________


The Hindustan Times (New Delhi): Long night of terror


September 6, 2000

PERHAPS NO autocratic regime in the world today is more brutal than 
the military Government in Myanmar. In 1986, the 'People Power' 
movement toppled the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the 
Philippines. In 1998, a vigorous student movement in Indonesia led to 
the collapse of another tyrant of South-East Asia. African and Latin 
American countries have vied with each other in recent years in 
shedding autocracies and embracing democracy. However, Myanmar's 
military regime has defied the global trend and continues to maintain 
itself ruthlessly in power. Only Aung San Suu Kyi has kept the flame 
of freedom burning. The recent crackdown on the leaders of the 
National League for Democracy (NLD) and the reported house arrest of 
Ms Suu Kyi have evoked sharp reaction from the West.

Neither economic sanctions nor a policy of constructive engagement 
pursued by Myanmar's ASEAN neighbours has had an impact on the junta. 
With the might of the armed forces ranged against her, the odds are 
stacked against the Burmese Opposition leader. Her political 
organisation has been worn down by years of repression. However, she 
has the force of her moral authority, which no other modern leader 
except Nelson Mandela enjoys. The only prisoner of conscience in 
today's world, Ms Suu Kyi is a symbol of courage against tyranny. She 
has shown remarkable resilience despite long years of repression, the 
death of her husband and separation from her children. The military 
regime knows only too well how popular the pro-democracy leader is.

The junta's objective has been to weaken Ms Suu Kyi and to erode her 
support base. Unfortunately, the regime's pariah status too is fading 
and it is all set to join the region's economic grouping. The only 
way to deal with Myanmar is for the regional and Western powers to 
insist on the restoration of democracy. India can play a leading role 
in this regard. Only then will Myanmar's long night of repression end.


____________________________________________________


SPDC: Government Of Myanmar Regrets The Unproductive And  Negative 
Media Campaigns Waged Against Her By Certain Quarters

MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON

Infromation  Sheet
No.B-1519 ( I )                6th September, 2000



It is to our amazement to read in The Times newspaper of 4th 
September  claiming that the British Ambassador to Yangon was 
manhandled as he tried to  get into U Tin Oo's house by a Myanmar 
plain-clothes security official  standing in front of the entrance 
gate.The Ambassador was in no way  manhandled but requested by the 
security official to turn back and the  entrance was blocked to 
prevent the diplomat from forcing his way in. 
Secondly, it is difficult to understand why a foreign ambassador was 
so  adamant to intrude into the internal affairs of an independent 
and sovereign  nation.

Logically, the incident that has recently taken place in Yangon is 
utterly  between the Government of Myanmar and one of its political 
parties. The  people who are involved are purely Myanmar citizens and 
not British at all.  Obviously, the British diplomat has overstepped 
the universal diplomatic  norms. It is interesting to know how U.K. 
will handle such an incident if the  role is reversed and a foreign 
diplomat attempts to interfere in Britain's  internal affairs.

In the Times newspaper of 5th September, an NLD Source was quoted 
saying that  Daw Su Kyi was safe and well. But in the Sun newspaper 
of 6th September, the  Amnesty International came out with a 
statement claiming''The Myanmar  Government should immediately reveal 
the whereabouts of Su Kyi and her  colleagues, .......increasing 
fears for their welfare''.

In reality,U Hla Pe, one of the NLD's Senior Members, who has been 
requested  to stay at home during the course of investigation went to 
see an  ophthalmologist in downtown Yangon on 5 September at 4:30 pm 
while the  relatives are also visiting the other Senior NLD members 
at their repective  residences.The parents of the NLD youth members 
who are staying in Daw Su  Kyi's compound are also visiting their 
sons there and one of the attendants  of Daw Su Kyi manages the daily 
shopping while her personal physician Dr. Myo  Aung is staying with 
her to ensure her maximun comfort and welfare. 
Special Feature

Interesting Photographs of People In Action at-

http://www.myanmar-information.net/infosheet/2000/000906.htm 








____________________________________________________

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