Burma Related News - Sep 21, 2000.

Thursday September 21 6:31 AM ET
Suu Kyi Attempts Train Trip, Defies Myanmar Govt.

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will try to take a train to the city of Mandalay on Thursday in her latest challenge to government restrictions on her freedom of movement, party colleagues said.

Witnesses said the 55-year old Nobel laureate had entered the main railway station in Yangon and would try to take a 5 p.m. train north to Myanmar's second largest city.

There was heavy security at the station, with truckloads of police in riot gear arriving and dozens of traffic police also on patrol in the area.

A few dozen supporters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) who went to the station to see her off were rounded up by the authorities, while journalists were prevented from entering the station.

Suu Kyi's attempt to go to Mandalay is the latest move in her battle of wills with Myanmar's military government, which has faced a barrage of international criticism in recent weeks over its treatment of the pro-democracy opposition.

Suu Kyi was released from six years of house arrest in 1995 and her movements remain severely restricted, with the authorities blocking her each time she tries to leave Yangon.

Her last attempt to visit Mandalay by train, in 1996, was foiled when the authorities disconnected her carriage from the train just before departure, citing technical problems.

Attempts to leave the city by car have also been blocked, and Suu Kyi has been involved in three lengthy roadside stand-offs since 1998 after being stopped by police.

The most recent confrontation ended on September 2 when Suu Kyi was forcibly brought back to Yangon and then locked inside her house for nearly two weeks with her telephone cut and diplomatic access barred.

The crackdown on Suu Kyi drew world condemnation and threw into doubt a planned meeting in Laos in December between the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and foreign ministers from the European Union.

Military Vows To Crush Enemies

Suu Kyi's challenges to the military regime have sparked an angry response, with the government stepping up its verbal attacks on the opposition.

Myanmar newspapers, regarded as official mouthpieces of the government, Thursday quoted a leading member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council as saying the military would crush all enemies of the nation.

Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, regarded as the fourth most senior SPDC leader, said Myanmar had many friends in the world but a few countries were trying to destabilize it.

``There are only a few countries disturbing our nation, based on false reports sent by the internal opposing group which wants to gain power through a short cut,'' he was quoted as saying.

``Anti-government groups have no internal strength within the country and they are committing acts relying on external elements. Therefore, the Tatmadaw (armed forces), together with the people, will crush all dangers threatening the state.''

The general also attacked the NLD's plans to draft a new state constitution to try to hasten the transition to democracy in the impoverished country.

``Anyone who tries to draft a new constitution in line with the desires of the colonialists is a common enemy of the nation,'' he was quoted as saying.

A Thai newspaper Thursday said Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung had rejected a proposal for a troika of ASEAN states to help promote dialogue between the NLD and the government.

The Nation daily quoted Win Aung as saying on the sidelines of the United Nations (news - web sites) General Assembly in New York that the idea would not produce a favorable outcome for anybody.

Thursday, September 21 9:02 PM SGT

Aung San Suu Kyi prevented from boarding train, holed up in station

YANGON, Sept 21 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was prevented from leaving by train for Mandalay Thursday while five truckloads of party supporters were carted off by military police at the station, diplomats and witnesses said.

National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi and deputy party chairman Tin Oo were prevented from boarding the first three trains out of Yangon to the northern city of Mandalay, 720 kilometres (450 miles) north of the capital, diplomats said.

Aung San Suu had vowed to defy again the junta's ban on travel outside the capital.

Military police prevented journalists and diplomats from entering Yangon's central station to see the Nobel laureate and her deputy, diplomatic sources said.

About 100 of her supporters were herded into trucks by military police at the station and taken to an undisclosed location, eyewitnesses said.

All shops and businesses surrounding the station were closed amid tight security.

Tin Oo had earlier told party supporters they would travel to the former capital Mandalay to investigate reports that party members had been prevented from engaging in political activities, that NLD offices been shut down and that NLD signs had been taken down by the police.

The first three trains were full, but witnesses said they suspected the passengers had boarded the trains at the far side of the station.

In 1996 the authorities prevented Aung San Suu Kyi from going to Mandalay to visit jailed supporters by detaching her carriage from the train.

The next and final train of the day is due to leave at 9.00 p.m. (1330 GMT).

Aung San Suu Kyi had said she would board one of the trains that depart Thursday evening from Yangon for Mandalay.

Tin Oo had earlier told party supporters that he and Aung San Suu Kyi were planning to leave after 4:00 p.m. (0830 GMT) by train for the northern city of Mandalay.

The Nobel laureate said last Friday she would make a trip outside of Yangon within 10 days in renewed defiance of the junta's ban on travel beyond the capital.

The State Peace and Development Council -- the junta's official title -- Thursday slammed the latest events as heightening tensions between the two sides.

"The latest 'stand-off' between the SPDC and the NLD and its predictable end, and the predictable media attention, does nothing for the country except to heighten tensions and generate more anger on both sides," it said in a statement.

"The top NLD CEO (leader) may get media attention as being brave and strong, but it is the unknown supporters who go to jail," it said.

"The supporters go to jail only for empty gestures that gains the party or the people nothing."

The junta last Thursday lifted the house arrest placed on Aung San Suu Kyi following a nine-day roadside showdown but barred her from leaving the capital.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the other members of the party's central executive committee had been placed under virtual house arrest on September 2, after she and other NLD leaders tried to attend a party meeting outside the capital.

This triggered a prolonged standoff with the military authorities in which the NLD leaders remained camped by their cars for nine days before being taken back to the capital by security officials.

The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta has never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and human rights groups of severe repression of its opponents.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero General Aung San, was put under house arrest for six years and has subsequently had her movements greatly restricted.

Thursday September 21 4:54 AM ET
Suu Kyi's Neighborhood Blockaded

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar security forces parked vans, cars and motorcycles on both ends of the street leading to Aung San Suu Kyi's house, residents said Thursday, an apparent effort to keep the democracy leader from leaving the capital.

Suu Kyi planned to go by train later that day to the northern city of Mandalay to meet with officials from her National League for Democracy party. She planned to investigate restrictions placed on the party by Myanmar's military junta, which rules the country with an iron fist and gives little political freedom to opposition groups.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy work, has often locked horns with the military junta in Myanmar, the country also known as Burma.

The government has not commented on whether it will allow Suu Kyi to travel.

However, residents said her street had been blocked off. It was not possible to actually see the blockade since Suu Kyi's entire neighborhood is typically blocked off to reporters and diplomats.

The junta disapproves of her going outside Yangon and has physically blocked her on several occasions, the latest on Aug. 24 when she tried to drive to a southern town for party work.

Suu Kyi's previous attempt to travel by train, also to Mandalay, in 1996, was thwarted when authorities said her train car had developed mechanical problems and could not perform the journey. No other seats were available for her.

Tin Oo, the vice chairman of her party, acknowledged that the same situation could arise Thursday, but said Suu Kyi was willing to wait out.

``If they stop the train we will go by another train. And even if this is stopped we will wait until another train is available,'' he said.

By repeatedly confronting with the military junta, Suu Kyi hopes to keep the international limelight focused on the democracy situation in Myanmar.

The military has ruled Myanmar continuously since 1962. The current crop of generals took power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide uprising for democracy, killing thousands of people. Suu Kyi's party was formed in 1988, and won national elections in 1990. But the military refused to hand over power.

Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 until her release in 1995, but her movements remain severely restricted.

In New York, Myanmar's foreign minister said Wednesday at the United Nations (news - web sites) that international pressure will only delay the country's move toward democracy. Speaking to the U.N.'s General Assembly, Win Aung said his government has been under ``unfair scrutiny'' and political pressure from nations while it is in the process of establishing its own kind of democracy.

Myanmar ``has chosen a path that is most suitable to the country, its people and its historical peculiarities,'' Win said.

But a member of Suu Kyi's party called for international sanctions to pressure Myanmar further.

Speaking at a news conference after Win's speech, Thaung Htun said the international community needs to take ``concrete action.''

Thursday, September 21 3:32 PM SGT
Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to defy Myanmar junta travel ban again

YANGON, Sept 21 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepared Thursday to again defy the ruling junta's ban on travelling outside the capital amid tight military surveillance of her party headquarters.

Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo would leave by train for the northern city of Mandalay on Thursday evening, National League for Democracy vice chairman Tin Oo said to cheers from a crowd of some 200 supporters at the party headquarters.

"May the mission be successful," they chanted.

The pro-democracy campaigners would leave after 4:00 p.m. (0830 GMT) from Yangon's central station, Tin Oo said.

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi did not appear at the headquarters because she was making last-minute preparations for the trip, he said, adding she was not being restricted by the junta.

Plain clothes military intelligence and police were keeping a close watch on and photographing the crowd outside the party headquarters.

No uniformed police were present, however, and the authorities were not attempting to blockade the headquarters.

Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo would travel to the former capital Mandalay, 720 kilometres (450 miles) north of here, to investigate reports that party members have been prevented from engaging in political activities, NLD offices been shut and NLD signs taken down by the police, Tin Oo said.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said last Friday she would make a trip outside Yangon within 10 days in defiance of the junta's ban on travel beyond the capital.

The State Peace and Development Council -- the junta's official title -- Thursday slammed the latest events as heightening tensions between the two sides.

"The top NLD CEO may get media attention as being brave and strong, but it is the unknown supporters who go to jail," it said.

"The supporters go to jail only for empty gestures that gains the party or the people nothing."

The junta last Thursday lifted the house arrest placed on Aung San Suu Kyi following a nine-day roadside showdown but barred her from leaving the capital.

This triggered a prolonged standoff with the military authorities in which the NLD leaders remained camped by their cars for nine days before being taken back to the capital by security officials.

Aung San Suu Kyi has said she was forced back to Yangon after the standoff, despite statements by the junta saying she had happily returned to the capital.

The junta was slammed for its house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi by the international community, led by the United States and former colonial power Britain.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero General Aung San, was put under house arrest for six years and has subsequently had her movements greatly restricted.

Thursday, September 21 12:34 PM SGT
Junta threatens to crush Aung San Suu Kyi over constitution plans

YANGON, Sept 21 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi "will be crushed without mercy" for trying to draft a new constitution, state media quoted a leading junta official as saying Thursday as the pro-democracy campaigner prepared to defy a ban on travel outside the capital.

"Anyone who tries to draft a new constitution in line with the colonialists is the nation's common enemy and will be crushed without mercy," said Lieutenant General Tin Oo, second secretary of the State Peace and Development Council, as the junta is officially known.

Tin Oo's comments, reported in the English-language New Light of Myanmar, are the first official reaction to Aung San Suu Kyi's declaration that her National League for Democracy (NLD) would draft a new constitution along federal lines.

An NLD meeting Saturday passed a resolution that the party's parliamentary representative committee of which Aung San Suu Kyi is secretary general, would draft a new constitution. The NLD regards the committee as a proxy parliament following annulled 1990 elections in which the party won a landslide victory.

"It is an undeniable fact that all the dangers leading to Union (of Myanmar) disintegration are the results of the 1947 constitution drawn in accord with the wishes of the colonialists," Tin Oo said, adding that the military rulers were themselves drafting a "firm constitution."

The NLD Wednesday said Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero General Aung San, would make a trip outside Yangon Thursday in renewed defiance of the ruling military junta's ban on her travelling outside the capital.

The party said Aung San Suu Kyi would travel to the north of the country to investigate reports the police had closed NLD offices and prevented party members from carrying out legitimate political activities.

The junta last Thursday lifted the house arrest placed on Aung San Suu Kyi following a nine-day roadside showdown but barred her from leaving the capital.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the other members of the party's central executive committee were placed under virtual house arrest on September 2, after she and other NLD leaders tried to attend a party meeting outside the capital.

This triggered a prolonged standoff with the junta in which the NLD leaders remained camped by their cars for nine days before being taken back to the capital by security officials.

The junta was slammed for its house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi by the international community, led by the United States and former colonial power Britain.

Thursday, September 21 7:33 PM SGT
Suu Kyi Challenges Junta Over Trip

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's military government sent scores of police to the capital's train station Thursday and sent away all non-passengers as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepared for a trip north - in defiance of the junta.

Witnesses said security forces hauled dozens of Suu Kyi's supporters and bystanders away from the station before her arrival.

It was unclear whether the junta would allow Suu Ky to board the train to Mandalay, as leaders disapprove of the Nobel peace laureate's pro-democracy work in the countryside and have physically blocked her from leaving the capital of Yangon on several occasions. The latest was Aug. 24, when she tried to drive to a southern town.

They have not commented on her latest travel plans.

Suu Kyi was planning to take the train north to meet with officials from her National League for Democracy party. She wants to investigate restrictions placed on the party by the military junta.

Tin Oo, vice chairman of her party, said the same situation could arise Thursday, but that Suu Kyi was willing to wait out.

``If they stop the train, we will go by another train. And even if this is stopped, we will wait until another train is available,'' he said.

By repeatedly confronting with the military junta, Suu Kyi hopes to keep the international limelight focused on the democracy situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

About two dozen traffic policemen and 100 plainclothes policemen were deployed around the train station. All nearby shops were shut, and a British diplomat seen trying to enter the station was also asked to leave by police. Passengers could go in after showing their tickets.

Suu Kyi's neighbors had said earlier that police vans and cars had blocked the road in front of her house, and it was not clear if she managed to evade them or whether the government let her pass.

Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 until her release in 1995, but her movements remain severely restricted.

In New York, Myanmar's foreign minister said Wednesday at the United Nations that international pressure will only delay the country's move toward democracy. Speaking to the U.N.'s General Assembly, Win Aung said his government has been under ``unfair scrutiny'' and political pressure from nations while it is in the process of establishing its own kind of democracy.

Myanmar ``has chosen a path that is most suitable to the country, its people and its historical peculiarities,'' Win said.

But a member of Suu Kyi's party called for international sanctions to pressure Myanmar further.

Speaking at a news conference after Win's speech, Thaung Htun said the international community needs to take ``concrete action.''

Thursday, September 21 7:09 PM SGT
Myanmar Rebels Will Disarm Under Proposed Suu Kyi Charter

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--Myanmar's main ethnic rebel army said Thursday it would lay down arms if a constitution drafted by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party came into force and enshrined minority rights.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won the 1990 general elections but was never allowed to take power, has recently stepped up its political struggle with the ruling military junta. On Saturday, it resolved to draft a new national constitution.

"Now I believe the NLD will be drafting a constitution which will guarantee rights to all ethnic people and the entire nation," said Mahn Shar La Phan, the secretary-general of the rebel group, the Karen National Union.

If that happens, KNU will dissolve its army and operate as a political party, Mahn Shar said in Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Myanmar border, 370 kilometers northwest of Bangkok.

"When the constitution guarantees these rights, the ethnic armies need not hold arms anymore. That includes the KNU. Then there must be only one army in the whole country, the union army," he told The Associated Press.

Under a 1996 law, the drafting of a charter without state approval - as the NLD is proposing to do - is illegal and punishable with a maximum 21 years in prison.

The KNU has been fighting for regional autonomy since Myanmar's independence in 1947. It once controlled a huge part of the country's east, but in recent years lost its last enclaves along the border with Thailand. Its forces, thought to number 2,000 to 3,000, now fight in mobile guerrilla units.

It is the only major ethnic army that has refused to sign a cease-fire with the regime. The government has brokered deals with at least 15 other armies in this sprawling nation of 48 million people.

The National Coalition of the Union of Burma, a coalition of opposition and ethnic resistance groups along the Thai-Myanmar border, also backed the NLD plan Thursday.

New Straits Times Press
Thursday, September 21 10:30 AM SGT
Foreword by Minister of International Trade and Industry

SMIDEX 2000 continues to showcase the production capabilities of Malaysian-owned small- and medium-scale companies and provide an avenue for such companies to discover new market opportunities and technology as well as forge closer linkages and networking with the MNCs as well as IPOs.
This year, the Business Matching Sessions will be held back to back with Smidex 2000. It will focus on the approach to further enhance the opportunities for Malaysian companies to foster economic cooperation, industrial linkages and networking with overseas companies, particularly from Singapore, the UK, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tanzania and Germany through joint-ventures, outsourcing and subcontracting arrangements.

I would like again to congratulate Smidec for organising this event. My thanks also go to Business Times and RHB Bank which have agreed to partner with Smidec as the official publication and supporting sponsor.

This partnership will certainly go a long way in the promotion of small- and medium-scale industries (SMIs) globally as envisaged by the theme of the Showcase SMIs Competitiveness Globally.

Thursday, September 21 8:46 AM SGT
Myanmar Says Pressure Delays Reform, Opposition Says No

UNITED NATIONS (AP)--Myanmar's military government said international pressure will only delay its moves toward democracy, but the country's last elected government which is now in opposition called for sanctions on foreign investment to force the army to relinquish power.

Foreign Minister Win Aung, addressing the United Nations Millennium Assembly Wednesday, said his government has been under "unfair scrutiny" and political pressure from nations while it is in the process of establishing its own kind of democracy.

Myanmar "has chosen a path that is most suitable to the country, its people and its historical peculiarities," the minister said, complaining that his nation was subjected to "all sorts of superficial and unsubstantiated charges."

"This line of approach will only perpetuate the existing problems in the country. It will give rise to unnecessary delays in our current democratization process," Win said.

The West has criticized the military government's crackdown against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy as a gross violation of human rights.

The military has restricted her movement within the country and has sometimes confined her to her house in a bid to stop the Nobel Peace Prize laureate from campaigning for restoration of democracy.

During the U.N. Millennium Summit earlier this month, U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair used their speeches to denounce the junta in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Suu Kyi has been under watch since 1988, when she led pro-democracy demonstrations. Her party overwhelmingly won the country's 1990 elections, but the military barred it from taking office.

A representative of the elected government, Thaung Htun, said Win's speech to the General Assembly was disappointing because it did not include any significant explanation of the junta's plans or a schedule for the restoration of democracy.

Speaking at a news conference after Win's speech, he said the military should "provide some space" for Suu Kyi and other leaders to carry out party business and travel freely.

Thaung said the opposition has no intention of confronting the regime militarily and is opting for a "step-by-step democracy."

But he called on the international community to take "concrete action" to force the military in Rangoon to relinquish power by imposing sanctions against foreign investment in the country.

This, Thaung added, would hurt the military and would not affect the lives of the population.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Myanmar's foreign minister opposed interference in the affairs of other countries and said calls for intervention were "a dangerous trend with dangerous implications for the peace and stability of our international system."

On drug trafficking, he called for international aid and for cooperation among nations to combat "this global menace."

The Times of India - Sep 21, 2000.
Clinton supports Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON: President Bill Clinton praised Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for her ``brave example'' in fighting for democracy, and said the world was watching developments in her country.

Myanmar's military rulers last week ended a de-facto house arrest of the 55-year-old Nobel Laureate, but Suu Kyi immediately vowed to test the government's restrictions on her movements by attempting another trip outside the capital of Yangon within 10 days.

''Those who rule Burma should know ... All of us are watching carefully what happens,'' Clinton said at the debut of a play by Chilean-born writer and former political prisoner Ariel Dorfman.

The play, being staged at the Kennedy Centre here, is based on book by Kerry Kennedy Cuomo about human rights activists. The president used the occasion to throw his support behind Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), lauding the ''words and the brave example of Aun San Suu Kyi''.

``These are powerful weapons,'' Clinton said.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright last week said she was ``gratified'' Suu Kyi was no longer under house arrest and urged authorities in Myanmar to permit her to move around the country, while opening a dialogue with the NLD. (Reuters)

Business Recorder - Sep 21, 2000.
Clinton lauds Suu Kyi's 'brave example'

WASHINGTON (September 21) : US President Bill Clinton praised Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for her "brave example" in fighting for democracy, and said the world was watching developments in her country.

Myanmar's military rulers last week ended a de-facto house arrest of the 55-year-old Nobel laureate, but Suu Kyi immediately vowed to test the government's restrictions on her movements by attempting another trip outside the capital of Yangon within 10 days.

"Those who rule Burma should know ... all of us are watching carefully what happens," Clinton said at the debut of a play by Chilean-born writer and former political prisoner Ariel Dorfman.

The play, being staged at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, is based on book by Kerry Kennedy Cuomo about human rights activists.

The president used the occasion to throw his support behind Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), lauding the "words and the brave example of Aun Sung Suu Kyi".

"These are powerful weapons," Clinton said.

Twice in the past two years Myanmar authorities have prevented Suu Kyi from leaving the capital, leading to widespread condemnation of the military government for its treatment of Suu Kyi and other opposition figures.

Suu Kyi and other senior NLD officials were kept confined to their homes in Yangon, cut off from the outside world, between September 2 and 14 after the military authorities ended by force a roadside stand-off with the group just outside the capital.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright last week said she was "gratified" Suu Kyi was no longer under house arrest and urged authorities in the former Burma to permit her to move around the country, while opening a dialogue with the NLD.-Reuters

The Times of India - Sep 20, 2000.
UN envoy may visit Myanmar in early Oct: report

YANGON: UN special envoy Razali Ismail is expected to visit Myanmar in early October, local press said on Tuesday.

The envoy, who first came to Yangon in early July, is expected to visit again in October, the Myanmar Times said.

On his first visit, Razali, a Malaysian who served as an ambassador to the UN, met with military and opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi in an attempt to overcome the stalemate between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

There was as yet no report about whether Razali would attempt to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, who was recently detained and then freed with limited restrictions, in October.

On his past visit, Razali made little headway in reinvigorating relations between the NLD and the junta or the junta and the UN.

The NLD won an overwhelming victory in 1990 elections but the junta nullified the results. (AFP)

The Taipei Times- Sep 21, 2000.
Lawmakers aid Myanmar
By Stephanie Low

Legislators across party lines yesterday announced that they were joining lawmakers from 80 countries in a worldwide signature campaign to show support for a group of exiled Myanmar parliamentarians who are fighting for democracy.

The legislators said Taiwan should lend a hand to the activists in the same way the international community helped push for democracy in Taiwan.

"Taiwan, which experienced what Myanmar has been going through over the past three decades, was eventually freed from autocracy. Today we are obligated to support the people of Myanmar and their struggle for democracy," said DPP Legislator Shih Ming-te (¬I©ú¼w), one of the main organizers of the signature drive in Taiwan.

Other co-initiators in the Legislative Yuan included Liu Sung-pan (¼BªQÃ¿) from the People First Party, Chen Chieh-ju (³¯³Ç¾§) from the KMT, Hong Chi-chang (¬x©_©÷) from the DPP, Hau Lung-bin (°qÀsÙy) from the New Party, aboriginal legislator Tsay Chung-han (½²¤¤²[) and independent lawmaker Tsai Hau (½²»¨).

Shih said it was his goal to have all 221 legislators sign up, and as of yesterday he had managed to collect some 70 signatures.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Though it held parliamentary elections in May 1990, the democratically elected representatives were denied their legitimate right to serve after the military government declared the results of the election null and void.

According to Amnesty International, more than 1,000 political activists were sent to prison in Myanmar in 1999 alone. As many of 55 elected lawmakers were incarcerated as of March. Five have died while in detention.

The "Worldwide Solidarity Campaign" was launched by a group of Myanmar lawmakers who were elected in 1990 but never allowed to take their seats, who now head the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma based in New Delhi, to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1990 parliamentary elections.

It aims to pressure the military government of Myanmar to release the imprisoned lawmakers immediately, recognize their right to convene parliament, end all violations of human rights on the people of Myanmar and engage in dialogue to achieve a peaceful transition to democracy.

Data from the National Coalition Government shows that a total of 1,026 lawmakers representing more than 80 countries, not including Taiwan, have signed their names as of July.

Bangkok Post - Sep 21, 2000.
THUNG YAI SANCTUARY - Evictions of local Karen ruled out
But those lacking papers must leave
Uamdao Noikorn in Kanchanaburi

The army, the forestry and provincial authorities yesterday denied they planned to evict Karen villagers from Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary.

Only those without identity cards would be expelled, they said, in response to claims by the Karen that soldiers and officials had intimidated villagers into leaving the protected forest.

The government was trying to find an extra settlement area for the Karen population to ensure the ecology of the country's most fertile forest was not affected.

"There is no plan to move anyone out of the forest. We just want them to go back to their original villages by January next year," said Maj-Gen Mana Prajakjit, commander of the 9th Infantry Division.

The hilltribes charged that the military violated their rights by forcing them to leave their home of 800 years.

Col Sombat Sunklang, 9th division commander, said the military's role was limited to helping the Forestry Department, which has authority over the areas in which the six villages are located.

He said the Karen population in Sanehpong village had become too big and some people had left to form Takianthong village.

"This is where the military was accused of arresting villagers of 18 families and intimidating others," he said.

The move was illegal, said Col Sombat. They were not allowed to extend their settlement beyond the agreed area. The army arrested 14 Karen families who could not produce identity cards, he said. They were clearly illegal immigrants as none spoke Thai.

A multi-party committee set up in April this year agreed that Takianthong villagers must return to their villages, otherwise they would be moved to Songkalia village which is under the supervision of border patrol police.

The Takianthong villagers have vowed not to move, saying the area was traditionally used for rotational farming. It was part of their culture and they could not accept the ban.

Sangkhlaburi district chief Wijarn Chariyawetwatana asked the villagers not to panic, saying their well-being was a priority of the resettlement plan. "This is not a relocation scheme.

"We just want them to abide by the law. Don't live outside your home village," he said.

The committee decided those with ID cards would go to Sanehpong. They could farm in Takianthong but not live there. Those without papers would be settled in Phu Jue, an old mining area.

Bangkok Post - Sep 21, 2000.
Commentary - Prejudice dictates our every action
Sanitsuda Ekachai

Karen peasant Tao Paopo of Takianthong village in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary is baffled and bitter.

Thung Yai has been the Karens' ancestral home for ages. So he can't understand why subsistence Karens are subject to eviction when mining companies and the local mafia can freely destroy the pristine Thung Yai forest with state approval.

"The local godfathers are turning our ricefields into sweet tamarind and parkia (sataw) plantations. We're evicted to make way for money barons," he said.

The two-million-rai Thung Yai forest is home to some 2,000 Karens in six scattered villages. They all have similar tales to tell of eviction by the military and ethnic violence.

At Salawa village, for instance, a group of drunken soldiers reportedly used knives to threaten Karen women to move from the forest. At Lai Wo, armed troops reportedly forced the Karen peasants to demolish their farm sheds.

Fear has virtually engulfed the Thung Yai communities. At Sanehpong, a young pregnant woman was told she would be evicted if she did not have an ID card, and that she could not have an ID card unless she paid 1,000 baht first for a health card-a ploy of some corrupt officials to make money from fearful Karens. To get the money, she carried a heavy basket and trekked across the hills to sell rice in another village. The baby was lost. It would have been her first-born.

Last year, the Karens at Takianthong who did not have ID cards-a failure of the census system-were evicted violently. Some were pushed into Burma, others were sent to refugee camps. This year, all Takianthong Karens, though all possess IDs, are being forced to leave before the end of this month.

Last month, the troops stormed in at dawn and rounded up 13 Takianthong villagers. The police subsequently released them as there were no grounds for their arrest.

Meanwhile, systematic efforts by military and forestry officials to block the Karens' traditional farm rotation system have resulted in a drastic drop in rice yields and widespread hunger.

The Thung Yai Karens were to be disappointed, however, if they thought their plight would trigger a public outcry.

True, old Siam had respected the Thung Yai Karens and granted them official recognition and titles as part of the state machinery for their help in fighting the Burmese wars. But that is a thing of the past.

The racist nationalism of the modern Thai state has brainwashed post-war generations into viewing ethnic groups as foreign elements. Or worse yet, as a national security threat due to drug trafficking and forest encroachment.

Such stereotypes, reinforced by the education system and the media, have numbed the public to state persecution of indigenous peoples.

The prejudice is so strong that the voice of reason emerging from research showing the positive role of the Karen forest dwellers in Thung Yai's ecology and biodiversity is simply ignored.

It's also why the Klity Karens who have suffered as a result of the presence of lead mines in Thung Yai for decades have not received any state help.

Or why the Chiang Klang Hmongs in Nan are left in despair after their lychee orchards were torched.

And why the military's scheme to resettle the hill people along the border with Burma is not questioned, despite the violence used.

"To tackle the border drug trade, the authorities must talk to Burma," pleaded Pah Terng of Sanehpong in Thung Yai. "With poaching, talk to the money barons who hire illegal workers to work in mines and plantations in forests. It's no use squeezing and squashing small people like us."

Reason will prevail only when Thai society frees itself of ethnic prejudice. Sadly, a change is not in sight.

Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor, Bangkok

The Nation - Sep 21, 2000.
Burma rejects Annan's push for Asean troika
BY DON PATHAN

UNITED NATIONS - Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung yesterday criticised United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal for an Asean troika to help resolve the political deadlock in Burma, saying the idea would not produced a favourable outcome for anybody.

Speaking to The Nation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's annual meeting, Win Aung said the UN and Asean should seriously consider the merit of the proposal.

"Before they come up with such a suggestion they need to think of the outcome they are going to get," said Win Aung, suggesting Rangoon would not bow to any outside pressure.

According to a diplomatic source here, Annan suggested to Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luang during a meeting last week that an Asean troika be set up to help bring about dialogue between the ruling junta and the opposition National League for Democracy headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A Thai Foreign Ministry source said Bangkok was playing a "wait-and-see" game, depending on Hanoi's course of action. Vietnam, the current chairman of the Asean Standing Committee, is likely to shoot down the idea on the grounds that Asean has a long-standing tradition of non-interference in fellow members' domestic affairs.

During his brief statement at the opening of the cocktail party hosted by Asean countries at the UN yesterday, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Nguyen Di Nien praised links between the UN and the regional grouping and made a quick reference to Asean's principle of non-interference.

The concept of an Asean troika was agreed upon by the 10 member countries in July at the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok.

The aim of the troika is to help settle any dispute deemed to have a security impact on the region. A troika could be set up by the chairman of the Asean Standing Committee and it would include the future and the previous chairmen of the Asean Standing Committee.

For the past five decades Burma has been engaged by civil wars with various ethnic rebel groups fighting for self-rule. Most of the groups have signed cease-fire agreements with the junta, but a long-term solution is nowhere in sight.

Observers and diplomats say these agreements are on shaky ground. Over 100,000 Burmese civilians, most of them ethnic Karens, currently reside in camps along the Thai-Burmese border.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, in a prepared speech at the UN General Assembly debate yesterday, called on the international community to redouble its efforts to assist displaced persons, wherever they may be.

YANGON, Sept. 21 Kyodo News
Suu Kyi unable to travel by rail

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was stranded at a railway station Thursday as she tried to take a trip outside Yangon.

Sources at her National League for Democracy (NLD) told reporters Suu Kyi tried to take a 5 p.m. train from Yangon central station to Mandalay in the north with NLD Vice Chairman Tin Oo and several young NLD members to inspect the party's branches there.

BBC - Thursday, 21 September, 2000, 12:55 GMT 13:55 UK
Burma authorities block Suu Kyi

The military authorities in Burma have again prevented the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaving the capital, Rangoon.
Miss Suu Kyi went to the main railway station, planning to travel to the northern city of Mandalay.

She has not been permitted to board a train, and reports say she is still in the waiting room with the station itself surrounded by a heavy security presence, preventing visitors from entering the building.

Last time she attempted the journey, in 1996, her carriage was disconnected from the rest of the train just before it left. Officials blamed technical problems.

Accompanying Aung San Suu Kyi is the vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Tin Oo, and a number of other party colleagues.

Reports say a number of opposition supporters have been taken away from the station in military vehicles.

Earlier, the authorities blocked the road leading to her house,. The move is the latest challenge to restrictions on opposition movements imposed by the military authorities.

Test of wills

Earlier, Aung San Suu Kyi announced she was planning to leave Rangoon by train to test the military government's resolve in maintaining its restrictions on her.

Previous efforts by the authorities to prevent the NLD leader from leaving the capital have provoked widespread international condemnation.

United States President Bill Clinton has warned the Burmese authorities against any further confrontation with the opposition, saying the world is watching.

Residents near her home on Rangoon's University Avenue reported that security forces had parked vans, cars and motorcycles at both ends of the street in an effort to prevent her leaving the house.

House arrest

The military authorities have maintained strict controls on Aung San Suu Kyi's travel since freeing her from six years of house arrest in 1995.

Last month she was involved in a nine-day stand-off with police, after leaving her home and attempting to drive to a party meeting outside the capital.

She and her supporters remained camped by the roadside until the authorities ended the protest and placed her under virtual house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi announced last week that she was intending to make another travel attempt.

"Stop us if you dare," she said in a challenge to the ruling military council.

Last Sunday, the NLD issued another challenge to the government by announcing plans to draw up a new constitution.

The decision contravenes a four-year-old law which forbids the drafting of a constitution without government approval.

'Crushed without mercy'

An official Burmese newspaper quoted a senior official on Thursday as saying that Aung San Suu Kyi would be "crushed" for trying to draft the constitution.

"Anyone who tries to draft a new constitution in line with the colonialists is the nation's common enemy and will be crushed without mercy," said Lieutenant General Tin Oo.

The NLD won Burma's last democratic elections in 1990 by a landslide but the military refused to hand over power.

Aung San Suu Kyi was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

South China Morning Post
Thursday, September 21, 2000

BURMA - Defiant Suu Kyi says she will take train to Mandalay
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Rangoon

Security forces on Thursday blocked both ends of a street leading to Aung San Suu Kyi's house, as her opposition party said she is ready to confront the military junta again if it prevents her from leaving the capital.
Tin Oo, the vice chairman of her National League for Democracy party, told reporters that he and Ms Suu Kyi intend to take the 4pm train to Mandalay, 560km north of the capital.

Burma's military junta, which has little tolerance for the Nobel peace laureate's pro-democracy activities, has not said how it will deal with her latest travel plan. A government spokesman said he has no comments on her planned trip.

But residents said security forces parked vans, cars and motorcycles on Thursday to block both ends of the street leading to Ms Suu Kyi's house, making it unlikely that she would be able to reach the railway station.

The junta disapproves of her going outside Rangoon and has physically blocked her on several occasions, the latest on August 24 when she tried to drive to a southern town.

''Anyone who wants to see us off please come to the railway station,'' Tin Oo said, in appeal to party workers and supporters.

Ms Suu Kyi's previous attempt to travel by train, also to Mandalay, in March 1996, was thwarted when authorities said her carriage had developed mechanical problems and could not perform the journey. No other seats were available for her.

Tin Oo acknowledged that the same situation could arise Ms Thursday, but said Ms Suu Kyi was willing to wait out.

''If they stop the train we will go by another train. And even if this is stopped we will wait until another train is available,'' he said.

By repeatedly locking horns with the military junta, Ms Suu Kyi hopes to keep the international limelight focused on the democracy situation in Burma.

''The NLD, as in [Ms] Suu Kyi's attempted excursions, is testing the military's resolve while gaining international support,'' David Steinberg, director of Asian Studies at the Georgetown University, said.

The military has ruled Burma continuously since 1962. The current crop of generals took power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide uprising for democracy, killing thousands of people. The NLD was formed on September 27, 1988, and won national elections in 1990. But the military refused to relinquish power.

Ms Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 until her release in 1995, but her movements remain severely restricted.

Most recently, she was prevented from driving to a southern town on August 24, leading to a nine-day roadside standoff that ended when security forces forcibly brought her back to Rangoon. She and eight other NLD leaders were then put under virtual house arrest until September 14.

National League for Democracy
No: (97/B), West Shwegonedine Road
Bahan Township, Rangoon

Statement 142 (9/00) (translation)

1. NLD Chairman U Tin Oo, General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Rangoon Division Organizing Committee Chairman and Central Executive Committee member U Soe Myint, Rangoon Division Organizing Committee member Dr. U Myo Aung and sixteen members of the NLD Youth Wing (including the two drivers) made arrangements to leave Rangoon from the Pansodan jetty on the 24 August 2000. The plan was to visit the townships of Kungyangon and Kawhmu to reorganize the Youth Wing. The authorities blocked their departure at the Pansodan jetty for one and a half hours after which they crossed to the town of Dala where they boarded two cars which were awaiting them to proceed to
Kungyangon. About three miles outside of Dala at Kyansitha ward, the road was blocked and Police Superintendent Myo Lwin told them that they could not proceed further and they should return to Rangoon. U Tin Oo , Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and party refused to turn back so the military dictators lifted the two cars off the road and removed them on to a dirt road in the fields by the side of the main road.

2. U Tin Oo, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and party adamantly stayed on determined to wait there till they could go to Kungyangon. From Dala (which they could access) building materials such as reed matting, bamboo matting and tarpaulins were purchased. A one room shelter for the youth and a covering (for top and sides) to provide shelter for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car was put up.

3. With food and clothing supplied by the NLD, the group remained on the site. The military dictators then shut the pipe line from which drinking
water is regularly obtainable, took pictures of the movements of U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with video cameras and pestered them in devious ways. Despite all the harassment, they stood firm. On the ninth day (1.9.2000) at 11:15 p.m. Chief Police Superintendent Aung Nwe, Police Superintendent Myo Lwin, and a force of 200-400 security personnel including MIS Major Ne Soe and Teza suddenly raided the camp. Some youth members were beaten up while six women pinioned Daw Aung Suu Kyi and transported her to 54-56 University Avenue in the military dictator vehicle. The same kind of force was applied to U Tin Oo who was transported to his residence where he was dragged out of the car very aggressively. NLD properties were lost on that night and a demand for return of the said properties lost has been made but with no result.

4. In addition to manhandling and forcefully transporting U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that night they raided the head office of the NLD. The next day all NLD Central Committee members were held under house arrest. During the period of house arrest their behaviour was most unacceptable. For example, Central Executive Committee member U Lwin was not permitted to visit the surgery for his physical ailment and was told by the security guard that he would not be permitted to go anywhere at all and to avoid responsibility he said that these were orders from above. U Lwin's request for visitation by certain doctors was refused. However, later on after repeated demands for medical attention of U Lwin and others, permission was granted not out of genuine concern but obviously as propaganda to their advantage.

5. On 14 September 2000 at 9:00 a.m. NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe was invited by SPDC Secretary 1, General Khin Nyunt and was informed that all movement restrictions placed on NLD Central Executive members were withdrawn and the head office was also opened.

6. The raid on the NLD office, restrictions on the movements of U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in their legitimate party organizational activities are unacceptable and heinous violations of human rights and serious offences. The National League for Democracy vehemently condemns these illegal actions of the authorities. We vigorously denounce the illegal arrests made on the 13th and 14th September 2000 of the following persons and demand that they be immediately set free:-

1.      U Saw Naing Naing, (NLD Hluttaw representative for Pazundaung township).
2.      U Soe Han, (member of Rangoon Division Organizing Committee).
3.      U Htoon Myint, ( NLD HQ staff)
4.      U Aung Myint, (Poet Pyapon Ne Lon Oo) ( Chairman of Bahan township NLD Organisation Committee).
5.      U Soe (Deputy Chairman)
6.      U Kyaw Sein Aung (Chairman of Kungyangon Organizing Committee)
7.      U Htein Win (Deputy Chairman)
8.      U Sein Htay (Deputy Chairman)
9.      U Zaw U (Secretary)
10.     U San Myaing (Treasurer)
11.     U Tin Nyunt (member Kungyangon organizing committee)

7. Restrictions placed on the legal activities of the National League for Democracy a legally constituted political party including the activities of
U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are totally unacceptable. Immediate legal action will be taken for the invasion of the head office of the NLD. This is to announce that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will within ten days travel to places outside Rangoon to actively organize and continue with her political duties.

Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy

Rangoon
15 September 2000