Burma Related News - February

Friday February 16, 3:50 PM
India's Singh Meets Myanmar Leaders

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh met with leaders of Myanmar's military in a three-day visit to improve relations with the regime.

Singh, who returned to India Thursday after the visit, is the first Indian Cabinet minister to visit Myanmar since the current military regime took over in 1988.

Earlier Thursday, Singh inaugurated a data processing center built with Indian assistance in Yangon.

``The establishment of the center is not only a symbol of the cooperation that has grown between India and Myanmar, it is also a manifestation of the warm and friendly ties that have traditionally existed between our two countries,'' Singh said.

Later, he met with the chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, Gen. Than Shwe, and secretary of the SPDC, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt.

Myanmar-India relations, strained since the military took power in September 1988, are showing signs of improvement with the recent flurry of visits by officials from both sides.

Gen. Maung Aye, No. 2 in the state hierarchy, visited India in November last year.

Friday February 16, 6:59 PM
Thai, Myanmar Border Town Normalises,More Fighting Feared

MAE SAI, Thailand (AP)--Shops, schools and banks reopened Friday in this border town as military tensions between Myanmar and Thailand eased, but a top Thai general warned that fighting could erupt again any day.
People rushed to buy vegetables, groceries and tickets for the state lottery whose results were due Friday.

"People can't afford to stay closed any more," said Somchai Saetang, 35, a noodle stall owner.

Thousands of people had fled this trading town, and business had been shut since Sunday when Myanmar and Thai troops fought on a stretch of the northern border. At least 19 people were killed and scores injured on both sides.

The fighting was a spillover of an operation by the Myanmar army against anti-government separatist Shan rebels based on the Thai-Myanmar border. Several Myanmar shells landed on Mae Sai, killing two civilians and damaging property. Mae Sai is 720 kilometers north of the capital Bangkok.

Lt. Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, commander of the Third Army that covers the northern region, said Myanmar was sending more troops to the frontier, and expects them to launch a fresh assault on Shan State Army rebels.

"They have sent heavy reinforcements into the areas (at the border) and certainly they will sweep out the SSA," Wattanachai told Thai Army radio. "I think there will be trouble again."

"Militarily, balancing of strength is needed, that's why we have to maintain our troops on the border," he said.

Wattanachai said Myanmar forces were moving closer to Pang Noon, a border hilltop base occupied by Thai soldiers that was taken over by Myanmar last week, prompting a heavy artillery assault by Thailand. Pang Noon is close to a Shan rebel hilltop camp.

"I will not allow foreign troops to violate our sovereignty again," he said.

Friday February 16, 5:04 PM
Thai General Warns That Fighting May Erupt Again

MAE SAI, Thailand (AP)--Shops and schools reopened Friday in this border town as military tensions between Myanmar and Thailand eased, but a top Thai general warned that fighting could erupt again any day.

"They have sent heavy reinforcements into the areas (at the border) and certainly they will sweep out the SSA," Wattanachai told Thai Army radio. "I think there will be trouble again."

"Militarily, balancing of strength is needed, that's why we have to maintain our troops on the border," he said.

"I will not allow foreign troops to violate our sovereignty again," he said.

Myanmar has accused Thailand of giving military support and sanctuary to the Shan rebels, which Thailand denies. Both sides are demanding compensation for civilian casualties and damages caused by the fighting.

Officials of both countries met Thursday for the first time since the fighting, but came away without agreeing on any measures to ease tensions.

Wattanachai said the meeting was seen as symbolic since officials who took part weren't authorized to take any decision.

Friday February 16, 7:35 AM
India, Myanmar Jointly Set up Remote Sensing Centre

YANGON, Feb 16 Asia Pulse - India and Mynamar have jointly set up a remote sensing and data processing centre to help Yangon carry out resource surveys for national infrastructural development.

Inaugurating the Mynamar-India Friendship Centre for Remote Sensing and Data Processing Thursday, the Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said, "The Centre will continue to be an enduring symbol of our partnership as we move ahead into subsequent phases of upgradation".

The Centre has been set up by R P Dubey of India's Space Application Centre with the assistance of Myanmarese scientists and technicians. Singh thanked Dubey and his team for tirelessly working during the past week to make the Centre fully operational.

Singh said "the establishment of the Center is not only a symbol of cooperation that has grown between India and Myanmar, it is also a manifestation of the warm and friendly ties that have traditionally existed between our two countries since historical times".

Friday February 16, 2:35 PM
India Should Prevent Smuggling of Synthetic Drugs: Expert

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 Asia Pulse - India should take adequate measures to prevent smuggling of synthetic drugs into the country from across the border, especially Myanmar, an expert consultant to Interpol on drugs said here today.
"Myanmar has become one of the largest producers of synthetic drugs. Certain amount of synthetic drugs is coming through Northeastern border,"'S Ramalingam told reporters.

Stating that synthetic drugs like Ecstasy and Metamphetamine were sweeping the world as part of youth culture, Ramalingam said "Synthetic drugs are going to be the nightmare of the 21st century."

He said countries like the United States, Australia, Thialand and Japan were already facing an acute problem with this new menace.

"In the US, nearly 9.5 million tablets of synthetic drugs were seized last year," he said, adding, "one tablet of this drug will fetch nearly US$30."

"India is sandwiched between two major opium producing regions -- the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crecent," Ramalingam said.

However, he said India had not yet attained the position of a major transit point as compared to Iran and China, which together seized 11.1 tonnes of drugs last year.

Ramalingam was here to attend a day-long seminar on 'Global Drug Scenario' organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation, country's premier investigation investigating agency.

The Independent (Bangladesh)

BIMSTEC confce begins in Yangon

YANGON, Feb 15: Bangladesh today said it wants to see the BIMSTEC as an effective forum for boosting regional cooperation as the third ministerial meeting of regional grouping began here today, reports BSS.

Bangladesh Commerce Minister Abdul Jalil who is leading a five-member delegation told the meeting that BIMSTEC should be turned into a strong platform to voice the issues of common concern of the member countries and suggest measures to world bodies, specially WTO.

"It is unfortunate that trade amongst the BIMSTEC region is negligible accounting for around 2.5 per cent of the region’s total volume of trade," Commerce Minister Abdul Jalil told the inaugural session of the conference.He added: "But a strengthened network of cooperation backed by facilitating services in areas of common concern will no doubt provide ample avenues for growth of intra-region trade and investment.’’

He emphasised the need for implementation of the proposals adopted in last two meetings to survive in the competitive world trade, according to a message received here.

The commerce and trade ministers of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, the nations, which groups the BIMSTEC, joined the conference opened by Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of Myanmar’s military government.

Nepal is taking part as an observer along with representatives from ADB and ESCAP.

The grouping was established in 1997, to facilitate trade and investments among the nations linked by the Andaman Sea.Opening the conference General Khin expressed hope that with a combined population of over 1.2 billion people and abundant natural and human resources, BIMSTEC would surely be able to bring about greater prosperity to the region.

Thai, Burmese beef up border forces
UPI, Fri 16 Feb 2001

Thai and Burmese military forces resumed their build-up of forces along their common border Friday after talks to ease tension between the two countries failed to make progress, reports said.

About 100 armored cars were deployed by Thailand's Third Army to reinforce border positions in Mae Hong Son and Chiang Rai province, 435 miles north of Bangkok, said Lieutenant General Wattanachai Chaimuangwong.

He said Scorpion and Stingray light tanks also were deployed in the area. Fighter aircraft, including U.S.-built F-5 and F-16 jets, were on alert to guard against border intrusions, according to Air Force officials.

Tension has been high along the border since last Sunday, when Thai and Burmese forces exchanged artillery and mortar fire, resulting in the death of two Thai civilians, three Burmese civilians and an unknown number of Burmese troops.

Local press reports said two meetings were held on Thursday between high-ranking Thai and Burmese military officers, but the talks failed to resolve the outstanding issues between the two sides. Since the two military delegations could not even agree on a venue for the talks, a compromise was reached under which the first part of the negotiations was held in the Burmese town of Tachilek and the second in the Thai town of Mae Sai, just across the border.

The Burmese reportedly demanded that their forces be allowed to occupy a strategic hilltop straddling the border in order to attack ethnic Shan rebels. The Burmese also were reported to have demanded compensation for damage caused by the Thai shelling of the Tachilek market last weekend.

Thai negotiators, led by Major General Tawat Jaruklat, demanded compensation from the Burmese attacks on Thai civilians and said they would not tolerate Burmese intrusions into Thai territory. Thai officials said they expected reinforced Burmese army units along the border to resume their offensive shortly against Shan rebels. T

he officials said the Burmese were cooperating with ethnic Wa forces in efforts to secure the area for purposes of producing and distributing heroin and methamphetamines. Rangoon officials have denied this, claiming that Shan forces were engaged in drug dealing and were in cahoots with the Thai military. --

Bangkok Post - February 16, 2001.
Junta calls for right to strike Shan
Talks fail amid rival compensation claims
Subin Khuenkaew and Wassana Nanuam

Tension heightened along the northern border yesterday as Thailand and Burma failed to reach any agreement in talks.

Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, the Third Army commander, ordered nearly 100 more armoured cars to deploy along the border from Mae Sai to Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai and Pang Ma Pha district, Mae Hong Son. He expects Burmese troops to launch an assault on Shan State Army rebels.

The armour will reinforce Scorpion and Stingray light tanks from cavalry bases in Chiang Mai and Phetchabun.

ACM Pong Maneesilp, the air force commander, said fighters and reconnaissance aircraft have been on stand-by at Wing 41, Chiang Mai.

F-5 jets at Wing 4, Nakhon Sawan, and F-16s at Wing 1, Nakhon Ratchasima, were also on full alert after Gen Sampao Chusri, the supreme commander, ordered the three armed forces chiefs at yesterday's meeting to keep their troops in position.

Decisive military action would be taken in case of intrusion, he said.

The meeting of the township border committee was held both in Burma and Thailand yesterday after the two sides could not agree on a specific venue. The first meeting was held in Tachilek and the second in Mae Sai.

Thai negotiators were led by Maj-Gen Tawat Jaruklat, commander of the Chiang Rai Military Circle, while the Burmese were led by Lt-Col Aye Saw.

Sources said at the meetings Burma asked to use the Thai base at Ban Pang Noon in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district as a springboard to attack the Shan.

He said troops had to capture the base as it served as a vantage point for an effective military offensive. He denied Burmese troops had fired on a Thai army helicopter over Doi Lang in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district. Burma also said an area called Phu Teng Nayong in Mae Sai district belonged to it and it had the right to send troops to that area.

It was Thai soldiers who first attacked Burmese soldiers so Thailand must compensate for the loss of lives and properties to Burma, said Burmese negotiators.

The Thai side turned down Burmese proposals, especially the one for Burma to use the base at Ban Pang Noon for an onslaught on the rebels.

The Thai side, in return, proposed that Burma stop violating Thai sovereignty and compensate for the deaths of villagers inflicted by the Burmese shellings of Mae Sai last Sunday and for the damage made to the army helicopter over Doi Lang.

Thai negotiators insisted no-one would be allowed to use Thai soil to attack others and proposed that Phu Teng Nayong area in Mae Sai be a demilitarised zone pending border demarcation.

The Thai side also asked to make corrections to an agreement signed by the Thai soldiers by mistake during talks on Saturday.

Bangkok Post - February 16, 2001.
Shan to invite in aid agencies
Subin Khuenkaew and Wassana Nanuam

The Shan State Army is willing to open the area it controls to international aid agencies to help combat the production of illicit drugs in Burma.

Col Yod Suek, chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State, said it was the SSA's policy to end drug production and fight for independence from the Burmese junta.

The state was ready to let in foreign aid to help combat drugs, which posed a serious threat to the Shan people.

He rejected as groundless Rangoon's allegations that Thailand was backing the SSA in its fight.

"It's our policy to suppress drugs. Thailand is not involved in our drug crackdown or in our fight against Burma. It's our prime duty to fight for greater autonomy," he said.

Col Yod Suek was speaking at the SSA's Doi Kaw Wan base, across the border from Mae Moh village in Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai.

Weapons seized from Burmese troops in recent clashes were displayed.

"We are confident that we will enjoy greater autonomy some day. We are now equipped with weapons stockpiles. We also do hope that the world community will not isolate us," said Col Yod Suek.

He denied he was on a US drug blacklist. This was an allegation made up by Rangoon, he said.

Shan efforts to fight drugs along the the border opposite Mae Fah Luang district had disrupted trafficking in the area and the operations of the Burmese military and its ally, the United Wa State Army.

"International countries should join forces to combat drugs. "The SSA has asked the United Nations to look into the problem," said Col Yod Suek.

He denied the Burmese junta's allegation that the SSA had provoked cross-border fighting between Thai soldiers and Burmese forces.

The Burmese planned to create problems with Thailand, he said.

Bangkok Post - February 16, 2001.

India opens Burmese road as link to Asean
Dinesh C. Sharma, New Delhi, Bangkok Post

The Indian government has continued its engagement of the military junta in Burma by opening a road link between the two countries which will also pave the way for New Delhi's integration with Asean.

The move is seen as a symbol of India's growing presence in Burma to counter Chinese influence, although both sides deny any such interpretation.

The Feb 13-15 visit to Burma by Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh was an important milestone in the high level political exchange that the two countries began in the mid-1990s.

In November 2000, Gen Maung Aye, vice-chairman of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council, visited India.

Now India has accepted the invitations extended by the junta's top brass to Indian President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to visit Burma. New Delhi, for its part, has invited Gen Than Shwe, the junta chairman, to visit India.

The 165km-long Tamu-Kalaymyo-Kalewa road in Burma's Sagaing division has been named the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Road. It was built over three years by the Border Roads Organisation of India at a cost of around one billion rupees (900 million baht). The road connects northern Burma with India's national highway 39, which terminates at Moreh in Manipur state.

The opening was the first time an official Indian delegation crossed the border to Burma by the land route.

With the inauguration of the new road, India and Burma will soon introduce a weekly bus service between Moreh and Kalewa. Previously, it took almost a whole day to travel from Tamu to Kalaymyo. With the new road, it will take only five hours to travel to Kalaymyo from the border town.

The two countries look at the new infrastructure as more than a mere road link. "This stretch of road will become a vital section of the designated Asian Highway running from Singapore to Istanbul, passing through Burma and India," declared Major-General Saw Tun, the Burmese minister of construction.

It is the first road link for India to a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The road also will help greatly in fighting insurgencies in the northeastern states of India. Burma has assisted New Delhi counter insurgencies in this region. The control of cross-border insurgency and drug trafficking constitutes an important dimension in bilateral relations between the two countries.

Mr Singh said the road link was just the beginning. India was working on several infrastructure projects in Burma.

India is also interested in bidding for oil and gas blocks and is exploring the possibility of transporting gas from Burma to its northeastern states.

Another significant event during the minister's visit was the inauguration of a remote sensing and data processing centre in Rangoon, developed in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

India is interested in reviving pre-independence economic links in the sub-continent when undivided India, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma, was a "common market" under British rule, Mr Singh said.

The friendship with Burma should be seen in the context of India and Burma sharing a long and porous border stretching over 1,600km.

India became a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1996. Burma joined the association in 1997 and Bimstec, or the Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Co-operation group, to open avenues for co-operation in areas of trade and the economy on a bilateral and multilateral basis.

Senior staff at India's External Affairs Ministry said India's relations with Burma were governed by geographical location and civilisational and cultural links.

The Times of India - February 16, 2001.
ASEAN urged to investigate Thai border conflict

BANGKOK: A Myanmar dissident group on Thursday called on ASEAN to investigate Myanmar's border clash with Thailand, saying it was proof that the military regime represented a major threat to regional security. "This is not only a security crisis for Thailand, but also a problem for ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as the region moves towards greater integration," the All Burma Students' Democratic Front said.

"We strongly urge ASEAN to look into this dispute," it said after five civilians died in weekend fighting sparked by ethnic armies operating inside the Myanmar border. Sonny Mahinder, a spokesman for the exiled students, said the junta did not respect Thai sovereignty and that conflict would erupt periodically until democratic rule was established in Myanmar.

"The Thai government and ASEAN need to see the dictatorship, the absence of democracy and the absence of law and order as the root cause of the border conflict," he said. Mahinder said meetings between Thai and Myanmar military officials to resolve the dispute would only bring short-term solutions and that the threat of violence would continue as long as the current military regime is in power. He added that as the strongest democracy in the region, Thailand was well positioned to encourage democratic reforms in Myanmar through peaceful, diplomatic means. "Successive military dictatorships have taught us to solve conflict through the barrel of a gun," he said. Such reforms would ultimately end border conflicts and other nagging problems such as drugs, refugees and illegal immigration, he said.

Myanmar was welcomed as a member of ASEAN in July 1997 despite protests from the European Union and the United States. ASEAN foreign ministers agreed for the first time to discuss the divisive issue of Myanmar with their counterparts from the European Union at a summit in Laos last December. (AFP)

Friday February 16, 10:34 AM
Sauce for Myanmar cannot be sauce for Pakistan: analysts
By P. Jayaram, India Abroad News Service

New Delhi, Feb 16 - India's expanding ties with Myanmar, justified by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh as being in the "national interest," cannot be replicated in the case of Pakistan, analysts here say.

Although both are under military rule and share land borders with India, the position of Pakistan is totally different from Myanmar, they said.

Singh, who concluded a three-day visit to Myanmar Thursday and made history by being the first high-level Indian dignitary to cross the land border from Manipur and enter Myanmar, had told journalists in Yangon that India and Myanmar were joined by land and "cannot be separated." He also said Yangon was "geo-politically and geo-economically important" for New Delhi.

Former diplomats and analysts fully justified Singh's statement and said there could be no comparison between Myanmar and Pakistan.

"Myanmar has been a very friendly government. Its soldiers have shed their life fighting anti-Indian terrorist groups in the northeast. They are looking forward to expanding economic cooperation with India, both bilaterally and sub-regionally," said G. Parthasarathy, a former Indian envoy to both Myanmar and Pakistan.

He noted that Myanmar had also been cooperating with India in other areas, including prevention of narcotic smuggling. The country also served as a land bridge from the northeast to markets in Southeast Asia. "Under these circumstances, there can be no comparison between Myanmar and Pakistan because Pakistan is a country aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism, inhibiting development of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and regional economic cooperation and unwilling to have even informal economic relations with us," Parthasarathy told India Abroad News Service.

K.S. Bajpai, a former secretary in the external affairs ministry and former envoy to a number of countries including the United States, also fully backed Singh's positive statements on Myanmar and said Pakistan was a different case altogether, despite the common land border. "These are two different situations. You have long-term considerations with Myanmar because it is a strategically vital area for you. People forget that the last major attempt to invade India was through Myanmar in World War II," he noted.

Arvind Deo, former diplomat and commentator on South Asian developments, said unlike Myanmar, Pakistan has been "inclined to destroy India from the word go and has thrust wars on us."

"Burma (Myanmar's old name) has done nothing to compromise our vital security," he said and noted, till 1935 Myanmar and India were a single entity, both being part of British India. "We have linkages which go back to many centuries," he noted and wondered why successive Indian governments had done nothing to improve ties with Yangon.

Referring to Myanmar's ruling military junta, he said, "whatever system of government they have, so long as it does not affect our vital security our relations would continue to be close, though our sympathies and support for a democratic set-up will always be there."

Ganganath Jha, a Southeast Asian expert of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University here, said the main difference between Myanmar and Pakistan was that while there is a willingness to cultivate friendship on the part of Myanmar, in the case of Pakistan, "it is just rhetoric."

"On every forum they speak of Kashmir. Myanmar is different because we are partners in the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) and there is a huge trade, though most of it illegal, between the two countries," he said.

The inauguration of the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road by Singh, who was accompanied by ministers from five northeastern states during his visit, would boost border trade between the two countries, he said.

"This relationship has proved useful in our national interest -- in checking drug trafficking and fighting insurgent groups. All this cannot be said about Pakistan, which has done nothing for confidence building. Pakistan is not sincere," Jha said.

Chicago Tribune - February 14, 2001
A ROYAL DUTY

INGE SARGENT, A FORMER PRINCESS OF BURMA, WORKS TO HELP THOSE STILL CAUGHT IN COUNTRY'S TURMOIL
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 , 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."

India, Myanmar to cooperate in oil, gas exploration
India Abroad News Service, New Delhi
Feb 15, 2001 20:45 Hrs (IST)

NDIA is to undertake exploration of oil and gas in Myanmar as part of a decision by the two countries to expand areas of bilateral cooperation.

The decision to cooperate in the hydrocarbon sector was taken during delegation- level talks between External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his Myanmarese counterpart Win Aung in Yangon. Singh concluded a three-day visit to Myanmar Thursday.

The discussions also covered supply of natural gas to India once proven supplies became available, the Indian Embassy in Yangon said in a statement made available in New Delhi.

It said India would send a delegation of experts to Myanmar "to look into the possibilities of exploration at available sites being offered by the Myanmar side".

Another high-level delegation from the power ministry will also visit Myanmar for further discussions on the implementation of the Yeywa hydroelectric project in Mandalay, another area of potential cooperation.

"The two sides reviewed progress on the proposed Tamanthi hydroelectric project, near the India-Myanmar border across Nagaland, as well as the proposed Kaladan river navigation, road and gas pipeline project in Myanmar's Rakhine state, which would provide a link to Mizoram state in India as well as to India's northeast as a whole," it said.

Singh, who formally opened the 165-km, Indian-built Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo highway on Tuesday, inaugurated the India-Myanmar Friendship Center for Remote Sensing and Data Processing in Yangon Thursday in the presence of Lt. Gen. Tim Oo, secretary-2 in the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SDPC).

The center, set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will enable Myanamr to use data for a range of highly useful applications in agriculture, forestry management, mineral and water resources survey and monitoring of environmental pollution.

The statement said during Singh's meetings with Myanmar dignitaries, including SDPC chairman Senior General Than Shwe, the two sides referred to the successful completion of the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo highway project and the contribution it would make to promoting cross-border trade, tourism and other economic activities in the respective border regions of the two countries.

Singh conveyed to the Myanmarese leaders the willingness of the Indian government to cooperate with them in executing other mutually beneficial infrastructure projects.

"The two sides welcomed the exchange of high level visits between the two countries which is in keeping with the tradition of personal contacts between the leaders of two friendly neighbors," the statement said.

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fascist government.

The film includes the following clips:

Burma under the Japanese rule
Burma under the British rule
Burma under Ne Win's rule
U Nu with Atlee
Ne Win with the Burmese troops
Burma under the rule of the SPDC/SLORC
Burma through the eyes of the CIA
The CIA drug report on Burma
1988 Uprising
Human rights abuses by the Burmese army during the 1988 uprising
Burma in ethnic conflicts
Burmese cultural events
Burmese traditional festivals
Forced labour and child labour
Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD, her party
Aung San Suu Kyi's meetings with NLD members
All Burma Students' Democratic Front [ABSDF]
Military confrontations between the Burmese army and DAB
Democratic Alliance of Burma [DAB]
Khun Sa at the military graduation ceremony of his Mongtai Army
Khun Sa and his child soldiers
Burmese army brass-hats: General Than Shwe and General Maung Aye
SPDC's defence ministry
Metropolitan Rangoon
Ahn Valley
Arakan State and Burmese waters
Burmese rural areas such as Thegon
Political prisoner issues
State-controlled media/ Freedom of _expression_/ Burmese TV

Contact Producer for availability of the film: jhtinzaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Burma Related News - February - 16, 2001.