BurmaNet News: February 14, 2001

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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         February 14, 2001   Issue # 1736
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

INSIDE BURMA _______
*Agence France Presse: Indian foreign minister arrives in Yangon to meet 
junta leaders 
*Arakan Independence Alliance:  Eviction of Rohingyas from Akyab, regime 
forcing
them to Bangladesh border
*The Nation: Burma Makes Tit-for-tat Protest to Envoy

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Agence France Presse: Thai prime minister gets tough with Myanmar on 
drugs issue 
*Bangkok Post: Thailand Denies Supporting Shan Rebels
*The Nation: Border Closed Again as Burmese Troops Gather
*Agence France Presse: Thailand reassures tourists after border clashes 
erupt
*Chicago Tribune: a Royal Duty; Inge Sargent, a Former Princess of 
Burma, Works to Help Those Still Caught in Country's Turmoil
*The Asian Age (New Delhi): US Body Will Fund Burma, Tibet Resistance 
from Delhi

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Myanmar Information Committee [SPDC]: Burma, China build dry-dock in 
Kamayut township, Rangoon

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Thai Post: Burma must learn some moderation
*National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma: Burmese Army Urged 
to Avoid 'Thoughtless' Action


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________



Agence France Presse: Indian foreign minister arrives in Yangon to meet 
junta leaders 


February 14, 2001 

YANGON, Feb 14 

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh arrived in Myanmar's capital 
Wednesday on a visit that signals a diplomatic revival between the 
neighbours in the face of China's growing influence in the region. 

Singh, the first senior Indian leader to travel to Myanmar since 
then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1987, was due later Wednesday to 
meet with Foreign Minister Win Aung who is also to hold a dinner in his 
honour. 

He arrived in Yangon from the northern city of Mandalay, where he spent 
Tuesday evening after crossing the border overland at the Moreh-Tamu 
checkpoint, the legal gateway for border trade between the two sides. 

Singh presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony there for an Indian-built 
road that will link central Myanmar with the Indian state of Manipur. He 
also handed over vehicles and construction equipment, state television 
said. 

On Thursday, the final day of the visit, the minister is to meet with 
Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe and the junta's first 
secretary Khin Nyunt. 

The trip is seen by diplomats as a reaction to the growing influence of 
China in the region, particularly in Myanmar where Beijing seeks to 
assure its access to the Indian Ocean and its deepwater ports. 

"This rapprochement also illustrates Yangon's keenness not to put all 
its eggs in one basket," a western diplomatic source said, referring to 
Myanmar's reliance on China as it struggles to survive under 
international sanctions. 

Indian officials also said that Singh's trip will "signal New Delhi's 
interest in reviving close contacts with Yangon." 

The two nations will sign a treaty to combat cross-border drug 
trafficking and a separatist insurgency, and discuss ways to boost trade 
and transport links, they said. 

Singh is paying a return trip after India last November rolled out the 
red carpet for General Maung Aye, number two in the junta, whose visit 
stirred up controversy over New Delhi's policy towards the military 
regime. 

Both sides agreed during that trip to step up joint efforts to counter 
the threat of separatist insurgency along their common border. 

India and Myanmar, which share a 1,643-kilometre (1,018-mile) border, 
have been cooperating in fighting insurgency in India's northeastern 
states. 

Earlier this year, they carried out a joint operation in which five 
militant camps in Myanmar belonging to the Nationalist Socialist Council 
of Nagaland were destroyed. 



___________________________________________________



Arakan Independence Alliance:  Eviction of Rohingyas from Akyab, regime 
forcing
them to Bangladesh border

[Abridged]

Feb. 13, 2001


Following the racial violence provoked between
Buddhist and Muslims in Akyab (Arakan), more than three
thousand five hundred Rohingyas were evicted from
Akyab (sittwe) and forcibly sent to the Buthidaung and
Maung Daw Township of northern Arakan bordering town
with Bangladesh.

On 12th February, the ruling regime State Peace and
Development Council, SPDC, junta ordered the police
and army in Akyab to gather the Muslim Rohingya men,
women and children and forced them to board to the
government own motor vassals, Danyawadi No.1, 2,3
alleging them as Bengalis, trouble makers and rioters
in the recent racial violence in Akyab.

According to an eyewitness account and some newspapers
reported in Banglasdesh daily Dainik Dinkal dated
5-7-8, it is now strongly suspected the SPDC regime's
involvement in the crisis. It is widely believed in
Arakan that, before creating the riot, the SPDC
through their paid agents in the border business
community, bribed some law enforcing agencies,
especially a few corrupts police officials at Cox's
Bazzar district, Bangladesh, and carried-out a
defamatory campaign in a section of the
press against the local Rohingya community. As soon as
the Rohingyas were cornered and faced embarrassment,
the SPDC regime jumped the opportunity to create
communal riot in Arakan.  In no time the junta
resorted to manoeuvre attacks on the Muslim community.


Racial riots have been reported in six illage/quarters
of Akyab and Rathidaung township  and a mosque on the
Lamro river  has been razed  to the ground.

Since February 5, at least 2 Rohingya Muslim collage
student and hundreds of young people were missing,
with reports of loss of lives and destruction of
property.


Meanwhile, The Arakan Independence Alliance (A.I.A)
which was formed political alliance by Arakan Rohingya
National Organization (ARNO) and National United Party
of Arakan (NUPA) have appealed to both of the
communities in Arakan to exercise maximum restraint
and not to be used as a tools of the SPDC design.

In the meantime, Muslim Rohingya  are not allowed to
enter Akyab since a week. The town is still kept under
curfew and the telecommunication service in only those
Rohingyas area has been snapped since then.




___________________________________________________



The Nation: Burma Makes Tit-for-tat Protest to Envoy

Wednesday, February 14, 2001



IN a tit-for-tat move, Rangoon has summoned a Thai envoy to protest at 
damage it alleges was caused by Thai shelling during this week's border 
clash.

Ambassador Oum Maolanon was summoned to receive a protest letter from 
Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win on Monday, the Foreign 
Ministry's director general of the East Asian Affairs Department, 
Surapong Jayanama, said.

The meeting took place an hour after Thailand handed the Burmese 
Ambassador to Thailand, U Hla Maung, a protest letter about the exchange 
of gunfire over the weekend, which resulted in the death of two Thai 
civilians and the injury of dozens of military personnel and civilians.


A source said the Burmese were demanding compensation for damages caused 
in the weekend clash.

While both sides have agreed to observe a truce, and to use diplomatic 
channels to air their respective differences, the two armies remain 
engaged in a war of words.

In a lengthy press briefing yesterday, Burmese government spokesman 
Colonel Kyaw Thein accused the Thai army of assisting Shan rebels in 
attacking Burmese posts and of firing shells from heavy weapons into the 
border town of Tachilek.

Kyaw Theing said the Thai shelling had killed three civilians and 
injured 15. He said the Thai army's press briefing on the border 
incident gave the impression that the Burmese army alone had launched 
the attacks. 
The Thai army has accused Burmese troops and their ethnic ally, the 
United Wa State Army (UWSA), of firing stray shells near the Thai town 
of Mae Sai on Sunday.

According to the Burmese Army, its troops were responding to fire from 
rebel Shan State Army (SSA) positions inside Thailand.

Kyaw Theing has denied that the attack near Mae Sai was carried out by 
Burmese troops.
A junta spokesman blamed the clash on the SSA, saying it had 
deliberately taken up a position between Thai and Burmese troops to 
provoke an artillery spill-over on both sides.

"The conclusion can be drawn that it was the deliberate intention of the 
Shan to cause a misunderstanding between two neighbouring countries," 
Kyaw Theing told a press conference in Rangoon.

Lt-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong has reportedly accused Burma of 
using ethnic rebel forces to wage a proxy war with Thailand.

He said Burmese officers along the border were also pocketing kickbacks 
from drug traffickers.
Wattanachai also accused the military junta of acting "behind the 
scenes" in the lucrative border drug industry, which is expected to 
flood Thailand with as many as 500 million
methamphetamine tablets this year.





___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				

Agence France Presse: Thai prime minister gets tough with Myanmar on 
drugs issue 


February 14, 2001, Wednesday 2:14 AM, Eastern Time 



DATELINE: BANGKOK, Feb 14 

BODY: 
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Wednesday adopted a tough 
new stance against Myanmar, bluntly criticising its failure to stamp out 
massive drugs production within its borders. 

In an unprecedented attack over the drug issue by a Thai leader, Thaksin 
vented frustration at the military regime's tolerance of the ethnic 
minorities who send heroin and amphetamines flooding into Thailand and 
across the world. 

"We are not pleased at the way Myanmar has allowed ethnic minorities to 
produce drugs along the border area and we have to be decisive on this 
issue," Thaksin told reporters. 

Thaksin, who has said he wants to pay an official visit to Myanmar soon, 
warned that if the problems could not be solved amicably Thailand would 
be forced to take unnamed unilateral measures. 

"We must discuss the issue as neighbours, but if the talks do not settle 
the problem we will have to deal with it in our own way, and this is an 
assertive policy," he said. 

Thailand's main border crossing with Myanmar at the town of Mae Sai 
remained closed for a second day Wednesday after weekend clashes between 
the two national armies that left two Thais and three Myanmar civilians 
dead. 

Armoured vehicles patrolled the streets of the frontier outpost, largely 
abandoned now except for a few curious tourists and some local girls who 
offered Valentine's Day roses to the soldiers guarding the streets. 

Army commander Lieutenant General Wattanachai Chaimeunwong said that 
three days after a ceasefire was declared, the Thai side was still 
waiting for Myanmar officials to come to the negotiating table. 

"They are just buying time by refusing to agree on the venue of the 
talks," he said in a radio interview. 

Wattanachai said Myanmar had built up its troops opposite the Mae Sai 
checkpoint, which he ordered shut Tuesday to hamper Myanmar's logistics 
and pressure it to start discussions. 

The Thai army has blamed Myanmar and its ethnic ally, the United Wa 
State Army (UWSA), for sending stray shells into Mae Sai Sunday as they 
bombarded rebel Shan State Army (SSA) forces. 

Thai troops retaliated against the border intrusion, sparking bitter 
fighting that ended Sunday evening when a ceasefire was declared. 

Military authorities in Yangon have denied that the attack was carried 
out by its troops and blamed the SSA for plotting to cause trouble 
between the neighbours. 

The UWSA, also known as the "Red Wa", has been named by international 
anti-narcotics officials as one of the world's biggest drug producers. 

Critics of the Myanmar regime accuse it of turning a blind eye to the 
UWSA's illicit activities and giving it the nod to attack Shan bases. 
The SSA is one of a handful of armed factions yet to agree to a 
ceasefire with Yangon. 

Thaksin said Wednesday that the current uneasy state of relations 
between Thailand and Myanmar stemmed from a lack of trust, as well as 
the problem of widespread drugs trafficking. 

He said his coalition partner Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is tipped to 
become defence minister, planned to use his personal contacts with 
Myanmar's top brass to try to settle the problem. 

"From now on his main duties will be to help me on the issues of 
security, the border, and the military," he said, tacitly confirming the 
former prime minister and army chief would be named defence minister. 

The premier admitted that the relationship with Myanmar was the most 
problematic of all Thailand's neighbours, but expressed hopes the two 
sides could work out their problems. 


___________________________________________________



Bangkok Post: Thailand Denies Supporting Shan Rebels

Wednesday, February 14, 2001


Rangoon says it kept our army informed

Post Reporters And Ap

Thailand has not helped Shan rebels who are targets of a Burmese 
offensive along the northern border, the Foreign Ministry said 
yesterday. 
It was Thai policy not to interfere in other countries' affairs and to 
deny any parties use of Thai soil for sabotage, said Pradap 
Pibulsonggram, the ministry spokesman.

On Monday, Col Kyaw Thein, of Burma's Office of Strategic Studies, said 
the Thai army was helping the Shan rebels, and one Thai military camp 
provided them with heavy weapons.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar said: "On 11 February, Royal Thai 
Army blocked the Friendship Bridge between Tachilek and Mae Sai, and not 
only assisted Sura [Shan United Revolution Army] in attacking E-7 
hillock but also fired heavy weapons into Tachilek."

Ministry sources said E-7 was a disputed hillock but the forward base at 
Ban Pang Noon, in Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai, which Burmese 
troops seized on Friday, was Thai.

Burma on Monday summoned the Thai ambassador to protest against Thai 
shelling of Tachilek that left three Burmese dead and damaged property. 

Oum Maolanond, the envoy, said he received the protest from Khin Maung 
Win, deputy foreign minister, 90 minutes after Hla Maung, Burma's 
ambassador, received a similar note from M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, 
deputy foreign minister.

Mr Oum said Khin Maung Win maintained that Bumese troops did not intend 
to harm the Thai military.

Col Kyaw Thein said Burma launched a military operation on Thursday 
against the Shan near Tachilek and kept the Thai army informed of its 
progress. 
The target was the "drug smuggling terrorist" Ywet Sit and 150 men of 
the Shan United Rebel Army, he said, apparently referring to Yawd Serk, 
leader of the Shan State Army (South).

Kyaw Thein said the rebels had set up nine base camps along the border 
in southeastern Shan State, threatening security in the region. He 
suggested the rebels may have attacked Mae Sai.
"We intended to dislodge Ywet Sit's rebel camps and had no intention to 
encroach upon Thai territory," he said.

He said three Burmese civilians were killed and 15 others wounded by 10 
mortar shells launched by the Shan rebels from a hill on Thai territory, 
and the shells also damaged a church, a Buddhist monastery and seven 
houses. 
Kyaw Thein said 12 Burmese soldiers had been killed and 15 wounded in 
clashes between Thursday and Sunday. Burmese forces captured two enemy 
camps and found the bodies of two Shan rebels, he said.

Burma's exiled goverment blasted the junta for resorting to violence and 
reminded it that Feb 12 is the day on which an agreement marking the 
unity of the nationalities of Burma was signed.

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma said: "For the 
generals to choose this particular time to attack the Shan State is not 
only wrong but also against the spirit of national unity." 

___________________________________________________



The Nation: Border Closed Again as Burmese Troops Gather

Wednesday, February 14, 2001



JEERAPORN CHAISRI and
DON PATHAN

MAE SAI - The Army closed major border checkpoints in the North 
indefinitely yesterday amid growing fear of renewed fighting, senior 
army officials said.

The move followed heavy Burmese troop movements toward the northern 
border on the Burmese side, officials and residents said.

The decision to seal the checkpoints, including the border crossing 
between Mae Sai and Tachilek, was a preventive measure, Third Army 
deputy commander Maj General Chamlong Phothong said.

Chamlong said hundreds of Thai troops from Keng Tung had been sent to 
the area following clashes with Burmese troops on Sunday.

Maj General Somboonkiert Sithideja, commander of the Khun Pha Muang Task 
Force, said the border will stay closed until the two sides had cleared 
the air over the clashes.

"The situation is very unpredictable. The Burmese Army has sent about 
400 to 500 additional troops to the area," Somboonkiert said.

The border town of Mae Sai was deserted last night. There were reports 
that Burmese troops were poised to launch another attack last night or 
early today on the Shan rebel base at Ban Pang Noon, opposite Ban Praya 
Fai of Mae Fa Luang district.

Ban Pang Noon, seven kilometres from Mae Sai, was the scene of the 
clashes between Thai and Burmese soldiers. The latter launched an 
assault on the Shan, trespassing on Thai territory as they did so.

The order to close the Mae Sai border checkpoint came at 7am yesterday. 
It had been re-opened on Monday following the weekend incidents. 
"I was scared for my life. I saw Burmese soldiers coming from all 
directions," said Mah Boonchui, 29, a Thai who runs a fruit stall on the 
Tachilek side. She abandoned her goods and ran back across the border, 
thinking more fighting was about to erupt.

"I hollered to the other Thai women vendors to get back over to the Thai 
side," Mah said.

Chamlong said about 10 truckloads of rice crossed over to the Burmese 
side on Monday, creating concern among Thai security forces that the 
Burmese reinforcements might be staying longer then expected. The border 
closing was intended to deny Burmese troops the supplies they need from 
Thailand, he said.

"Up to now, we have appeased them and made some compromises for the sake 
of local business. But this is now a security matter," he said. 

Chamlong said it is up to the Burmese side to send a mission to 
reconvene the Township Border Committee (TBC) to address the recent 
clashes, which resulted in two deaths and scores of injuries.

"We sent a TBC group over on Sunday evening to end the shelling. Now 
it's their turn to approach us," Chamlong said. "Besides, they violated 
our territorial integrity. They should be the ones to send a team to 
settle this matter."

Thai and Burmese troops exchanged heavy fire throughout Sunday after 500 
Burmese soldiers who had occupied a Thai Rangers' base at Ban Pang Noon 
the day before refused to retreat to their side of the border. 
Fighting erupted in other areas, including Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district, 
where a Thai helicopter was hit by a bullet and forced to make an 
emergency landing.

Burmese troops wanted the hill as a base from which to shell the Shan 
State Army, a rebel outfit fighting for independence. Thai Army 
officials said troops from the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army had 
teamed up with Burmese soldiers during the attack.

The offensive has caused an influx of refugees, mostly ethnic Shan, into 
Thailand, particularly around the Mae Fah Luang district, officials 
said. 
Thai and Burmese troops have taken up positions along the Mae Sai River. 
At various points Thai and Burmese soldiers eyed one another across the 
narrow river, which serves as a natural boundary.

Dozens of army trucks transporting military hardware, including heavy 
artillery, were headed to the border from Chiang Rai province. Two armed 
Cobra attack helicopters were positioned just kilometres from the town. 
Business at this border town, normally a vibrant trading outpost, 
remained quiet yesterday, with almost all of the shops closed.

This did not stop curious residents from nearby towns and villages from 
cruising by to take a quick look at the heavily armed checkpoint. Some 
brought lunch boxes and drinks for Thai soldiers, while others hung 
garlands on the sides of their armoured personnel carriers. 
Binoculars became a prized commodity as visitors craned for a closer 
look at the Burmese troops.

About 50 Thais who had been trapped in Tachilek for the past four days 
were allowed to cross back to Thailand yesterday.

At noon and again in the evening, onlookers and residents were played 
patriotic songs over army loudspeakers. The music was followed by public 
announcements from the Army urging the public not to panic and 
reassuring them the soldiers were there to defend them.



___________________________________________________



Agence France Presse: Thailand reassures tourists after border clashes 
erupt 

BANGKOK, Feb 14 


Thailand's tourism authorities said Wednesday that visitors should not 
be deterred by fighting along the Myanmar border which they said had "no 
impact" on tourism. 

Sporadic fighting between Myanmar troops and ethnic rebels that spilled 
into northern Thailand Sunday, drawing retaliatory fire from the Thai 
army, had only resulted in the temporary closure of some isolated areas, 
they said. 

"Travel and tourism to all parts of northern Thailand is normal and 
safe, with the sole exception of a few isolated areas near the 
Thai-Burmese border," the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said in a 
statement. 

The main border crossing between the two countries, at the Thai town of 
Mae Sai, was shut down Tuesday as the Thai army warned renewed fighting 
could break out at any time. 

But it seems the disturbance has done little to dissuade travellers and 
if anything, the presence of Thai soldiers dressed for combat has become 
a roadside attraction in sunny Mae Sai. 

Local media reports Wednesday showed western tourists posing for 
snapshots in front of armoured personnel carriers and offering their 
views on the situation in front of television cameras. 

Even some local residents who stayed on despite the shelling in the 
embattled town seemed to be in good spirits, handing out Valentine's Day 
flowers to soldiers who sportingly adorned their uniforms with the 
blossoms. 

The TAT said that while the incident had affected overland tourism 
between Thailand and Myanm





___________________________________________________




Chicago Tribune: a Royal Duty; Inge Sargent, a Former Princess of Burma, 
Works to Help Those Still Caught in Country's Turmoil 


February 14, 2001


By Janna L. Graber. Special to the Tribune. 

DENVER 

The road to life in America has not been easy for Dah Doh Moo, a 
40-year-old refugee from Burma. The mother of three fled her own village 
at 17, and spent the next 20 years hiding in the jungles. At 22, she 
joined the Karen National Liberation Army, a resistance group fighting 
the Burmese military regime that took over the country in 1962. 

"I spent five years training women to shoot AK-47s and M-16s," says Dah 
Doh, as she shows a visitor pictures of petite women carrying powerful 
weapons. 

Although Dah Doh is learning English, her experiences are easier to 
convey in her native Burmese. 

With the help of Inge Sargent, a 68-year-old Colorado woman, the 
immigrant's words are translated into English. For Sargent, the words 
also are painful. She knows all too well the sad reality behind them. 

Sargent is the former princess of the Shan State of Hsipaw (SEE-paw) in 
Burma. 

"Dah Doh and her family are the lucky ones," Sargent says. "They got out 
[in September] and have a new life here." 

With the help of Ecumenical Refugee Services in Denver, Dah Doh and her 
family have a new home and jobs. 

It is those who have been left behind in Burma, and in the refugee camps 
along the border in Thailand and Bangladesh who most concern Sargent. 
Once the biggest exporter of rice in Southeast Asia, Burma (which is now 
called Myanmar by the military government) is currently one of the 
poorest countries in the world. 

"Burma once had one of the highest literacy rates, and a good health 
care system," Sargent says. "Now it is one of the least developed 
countries." 

According to the U.S. State Department, human rights abuses are 
commonplace in the country. Rape, torture, imprisonment and forced 
relocation often occur. 

"If the soldiers want to burn down a village and kill everyone, they 
can," says Dah Doh. 

Burma's 15 largest minority groups make up 40 percent of the country's 
45 million population. Members of these groups are systematically 
targeted for relocation and forced labor. The country is the second 
largest producer of opium and heroin, according to State Department 
figures. 

But this turmoil-ridden place is not the Burma that Sargent knew and 
loved--or even a close semblance of the country that once adopted her as 
their own. 

Sargent grew up in Austria, but came to the United States to attend 
college in 1952. At an international student party in Colorado, she met 
a young man from Burma named Sao Kya Seng--and her life was changed 
forever. 

Although impressed with Sao, an engineering student, Sargent never 
imagined that he was a ruling prince in Burma. Sao had decided to hide 
his identity because he wanted to live a normal student life while he 
studied. 

The two fell in love and married, and eventually sailed to live in 
Burma. As they reached the port in Rangoon, Sargent noticed that 
hundreds of people had gathered on the dock. Others floated nearby in 
brightly colored boats, holding up welcome signs. It was a gathering to 
welcome someone important. 

That important person was her husband. Sargent listened in shock as Sao 
told her who he really was. Today she still laughs at her response. "I 
wish you would have told me!" she exclaimed at the time. "I would have 
worn a different dress!" 

Although Sargent was hurt that Sao had hidden his identity, she 
understood his reasons. 

"He wanted to be sure I loved him for who he was, not what he was," she 
says. 

The bewildered bride soon grew used to royal life. She learned both the 
Shan and the Burmese languages, and the names of their 46 palace 
servants. The couple eventually had two little girls, Mayari and 
Kennari. 

Sao and Sargent were "working" leaders, and Sao established a mining 
company and salt mine. During his studies in America, Sao had come to 
appreciate freedom of speech and the idea that everyone is equal, 
Sargent says. He abolished the practice of servants kneeling before him, 
gave his rice fields away to the farmers who worked them, and introduced 
new farming methods. 

"Sao was a good man, and no one could corrupt him," Sargent says 
proudly. "But ultimately, it was his strong beliefs and actions that 
made him a threat to the military." 

In 1962, while Sao was away attending parliament meetings, the military 
staged a coup under the leadership of Gen. Ne Win. Sao was arrested and 
never seen again. Eventually, word came that he had been killed. 

For two years, Sargent and her two daughters lived under house arrest. 
Finally, with the help of the Austrian ambassador, Sargent and the girls 
were able to escape, carrying only three suitcases. 

Sargent returned to Colorado, where she and Sao had been so happy. 

As a single working mother, she was determined to make a good home for 
her girls. She became a high school German teacher, and her daughters 
adapted to life in America. In 1968, the former princess married Howard 
(Tad) Sargent, who later adopted her girls. 

"Tad encouraged me to write down my life experiences, and to confront my 
past," Sargent says. Her story is written in her book, "Twilight Over 
Burma, My Life as a Shan Princess" (University of Hawaii Press, $12). 

Writing the book stirred Sargent's passion for the people of Burma. In 
1999, the Sargents founded Burma Lifeline (www.burmalifeline.org), a 
non-profit agency dedicated to helping refugees who have fled the 
military regime, and are either in refugee camps or still hiding in the 
jungles of Burma. 

The organization has found support from all over the country, including 
from Robert Pritz-ker, president and CEO of Chicago-based The Marmon 
Group, who is an enthusiastic board member and also married to Sargent's 
daughter Mayari. 

"The plight of the Burmese under their oppressive government is just 
terrible," Pritzker says. "The good thing is that more than 99 percent 
of what Burma Lifeline raises goes to help these people." 

"There are several million refugees hiding in Thailand and Bangladesh," 
Sargent says. "Another 5 million are displaced inside Burma." 

Conditions in the camps are hard, and most refugees have little health 
care or education. Life in the jungle is even worse. Just ask Dah Doh 
Moo. 

"My greatest fear was not the enemy, but keeping my children healthy," 
Dah Doh says. "I was terrified they would get malaria or dysentery. 
Finding our own food was very hard. We were often on the run. I ran 
carrying one child in my arms and the other on my back." 

"Our objective is to help these refugees survive their ordeal," says 
Sargent, who was awarded a United Nations International Human Rights 
award last year for her work. 

Sargent now spends her time lecturing on Burma, monitoring Internet 
communications regarding the situation there, and raising money for 
refugees--many who still call her the "Shan Royal Mother." 

Every penny raised goes to provide food, water and medical care for 
these people, Sargent says. These goods and services are distributed by 
her trusted Burmese relatives, who know where to find the refugees and 
how to get them the help they need. 

"I am connected to the people of Burma," Sargent says. "I've lived with 
them--and lost my heart there. How can I not help them? Someone has to 
help them." 

GRAPHIC: PHOTOS 4PHOTOS: For eight years , Inge Sargent (top left) was 
the wife of Burma's ruling prince (left) Sao Kya Seng. Courtesy of Inge 
Sargent.; PHOTO: Today, Sargent (above) spends her time helping refugees 
who have fled the country's military regime. Photo for the Tribune by 
Valari Jack.; PHOTO: Dah Doh Moo, a refugee from Burma now living in 
Westminster, Colo., holds her daughter Ksu Ksu. Photo for the Tribune by 
Valari Jack. 



___________________________________________________



The Asian Age (New Delhi): US Body Will Fund Burma, Tibet Resistance 
from Delhi

February 13, 2001 

By Seema Mustafa 

New Delhi, Feb. 12 The US National Endowment for Democracy, which has 
been  cleared to set up an office here, will use India as a base for its 
campaign against the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the military regime 
in Burma. It has used India-based organizations to siphon at least 
$400,000 in 1999 alone to groups in Tibet and Burma without even a token 
protest from the Indian government.  

The joint vision statement signed by former US President Bill Clinton 
and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has provided for the setting up 
of the NED office in India. The move had been resisted by earlier 
governments.  

Records show that the National Endowment for Democracy, set up by the 
Reagan administration on the advice of Mr Bill Casey, who went on to 
become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has designed its 
activities to further the strategic objectives of the US government in 
the regions. It was made full use of by Mr Clinton and observers here 
are of the view that it will be further strengthened under President 
George W. Bush.  

National Security Advisory board member B. Raman, who was earlier with 
the Research and Analysis Wing, has noted that the US organisation has 
been mainly active against those countries and regimes which are 
perceived as unfavourable or detrimental to US interests and not against 
those considered essential to US interests. For example, while they have 
been active against the military regime in Myanmar, they were not 
equally active against the former Suharto regime in Indonesia or against 
the damage caused to democracy in Pakistan by the military-intelligence 
establishment. 

Details of some of the India-based organisations through which funds 
were transferred are available here. The US agency sent $150,000 for the 
Democratic Voice of Burma to support its short-wave radio programmes and 
for its field offices in Thailand and India.  

The National Coalition for Democracy was given $55,000 to enable the 
exiled government of Burma to operate two communications centres, in New 
Delhi and Bangkok. Ffity thousand dollars were made available to 
Non-violence International to support the work of the India-based 
Committee for Non-violent Action in Burma.  

The US agency also made available $20,000 for Tibet Times newspaper, 
published thrice a month in Dharamsala, and another $30,000 for the 
Tibet Multimedia Centre producing propaganda material for distribution 
in India, Nepal and Tibet.  

This is also based in Dharamsala. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights 
and Democracy, also at Dharamsala, received $15,000 for distributing 
10,000 copies of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights while $25,000 was released for the publication of the Tibetan 
Review, a monthly journal based in New Delhi.  

The National Endowment for Democracy functions directly and through 
several associate organisations. These include the International 
Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute for 
International Affairs, Centre for International Private Enterprise and 
the Free Trade Union Institute.  

Mr Raman, who had done a detailed analysis of the NED, has observed, The 
late Casey saw this as a way of the US developing an effective political 
action capability against unfriendly regimes without circumventing the 
post-Watergate Congressional curbs on CIA covert actions against foreign 
political leaders.  

The NED was instrumental in bringing down the Milosevic regime in 
Yugoslavia. The Washington Post, in a report filed on December 1 last 
year, said, US-funded consultants played a crucial role behind the 
scenes in virtually every facet of the anti-Milosevic drive, running 
tracking polls, training thousands of Opposition activists and helping 
to organise a vitally important parallel vote count. US taxpayers paid 
for 5,000 cans of spray paint used by student activists to scrawl 
anti-Milosevic graffiti on walls across Serbia, and 2.5 million stickers 
with the slogan ?He?s Finished?, which became the revolution?s 
catchphrase.

The US democracy-building effort in Serbia was a curious mixture of 
secrecy and openness. In principle, it was an overt operation, funded by 
congressional appropriations of around $10 million for fiscal 1999 and 
$31 million for 2000.ö 




___________________________________________________








_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


Myanmar Information Committee [SPDC]: Burma, China build dry-dock in 
Kamayut township, Rangoon 


6 February 

A pile driving ceremony for construction of 12,000-ton dry dock of 
Myanmar [Burma] Shipyards, Ministry of Transport was held at MS 
Sinmalaik, in Kamayut township, Yangon [Rangoon] on 2 February. After 
the construction of the dry dock complete, it will be able to repair 
12,000 ton vessels and up. This project will be implemented in 
cooperation among experts and staff of Myanmar Shipyards and Shandong 
Province Agricultural Industry and Commerce Group Corporation. 





_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS______________



Thai Post: Burma must learn some moderation

[As translated by The Bangkok Post, February 14, 2001 ]

The weekend shelling of the border town of Mae Sai should encourage the 
Thaksin-led government to rethink its policy on Burma. 

Burmese troops were reckless when they shelled Mae Sai on Sunday, 
killing three innocent people and wounding several others. Their action 
must be condemned. 

There has been similar violence on the part of Burmese troops, and it is 
high time that Thai authorities told the Burmese to behave themselves. 

Thailand is accused by Burma of secretly supporting minority groups 
fighting against the Rangoon government. But Burma must take 
responsibility for its own failure to solve internal problems. Many 
lives have been lost as a result of conflicts inside Burma. 

Thai army chief Surayud Chulanont has said that the border problems can 
only ever be solved once and for all when there is peace inside Burma. 
Burmese and Thai government leaders must negotiate a lasting agreement 
on this matter. 

It is appropriate that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced 
plans to visit Rangoon and talk with government leaders there. The two 
sides are likely to discuss border security, narcotics and trade. 

The Thaksin government must take a strong approach on foreign policy. 
Once an agreement has been made between the two countries, it must be 
strictly honoured. 
The Thai army also must step up its surveillance and ensure that no more 
border incursions take place. 

Problems can be solved if the two parties are sincere. If Thailand says 
"we've had enough", Burma will pause and listen.



___________________________________________________





National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma: Burmese Army Urged 
to Avoid 'Thoughtless' Action


February 13, 2001




Violence only breeds violence, nothing good can ever come out of it.  
The present tension between Burma and Thailand is the direct result of a 
tactless quick-fix action by the Burmese Army that has yet to be 
convinced that brute force does not help resolve problems.

For one, February 12 is an auspicious occasion since it was on that day 
that the historic Panglong Agreement, which signifies the unity of the 
nationalities of Burma, was signed in 1947.   For the generals to choose 
that particular time frame to wage an armed attack on the peoples in the 
Shan State is not only wrong but also goes against the spirit of 
national unity.

Thailand is a friendly neighbor and a fellow member of the ASEAN, and to 
order Burmese troops to intrude into Thailand, attack Thai troops, and 
lob shells into Thailand is not how a good, civilized neighbor should 
behave. 
The National Coalition Government is convinced that the security of the 
peoples at home and in the neighboring countries will continue to be 
affected by the erroneous policies of the junta as long as it refuses to 
resolve political and all other problems peacefully and through 
diplomatic means.

The deaths of innocent peoples in Burma and Thailand should prove to the 
generals in Burma that it is best to tackle problems in an honorable way 
and refrain from thoughtless actions that violate internationally 
accepted laws and norms.




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