------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: December 29, 1995 Issue #311 HEADLINES: ========== DAW SUU: LETTER FROM BURMA #5 KNU REPORT: DKBA AND DIALOGUE WITH THE SLORC INDEPENDENT REPORT: DBSO JUBILEE AND REFUGEES SEMINAR BKK POST: RANGOON GEARED FOR DRY SEASON OFFENSIVE ABSDF(DNA): BURMA UPDATE BURMANET: AD FOR BURMA AND STRIDER'S COMMENT BKK POST: BURMESE CHARGED WITH FAKING PASSPORTS, VISAS XINHUA:YADANA GAS FIELD PROJECT UNDERWAY IN MYANMAR XINHUA: MYANMAR ATTRACTS FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN TOURISM PATA MEKONG TOURISM FORUM PATTAYA, THAILAND BURMANET: BRIEF BUSINESS REPORTS ------------------------------------------------------------------ DAW SUU: LETTER FROM BURMA #5 December 27, 1995 From: carol@gol.com Mainichi Daily News, Monday, December 25, 1995 Letter from Burma (No. 5) By Aung San Suu Kyi THE PEACOCK AND THE DRAGON The 10th day of the waning moon of Tazaungdine marks National Day in Burma. It is the anniversary of the boycott against the 1920 Rangoon University Act which was seen by the Burmese as a move to restrict higher education to a privileged few. This boycott, which was initiated by university students, gained widespread support and could be said to have been the first step in the movement for an independent Burma. National Day is thus a symbol of the intimate and indissoluble link between political and intellectual freedom and of the vital role that students have played in the the politics of Burma. This year the 75th anniversary of National Day fell on Nov. 16. A committee headed by elder politicians and prominent men of letters was formed to plan the commemoration ceremony. It was decided that the celebrations should be on a modest scale in keeping with our financial resources and the economic situation of the country. The program was very simple; some speeches, the presentation of prizes to those who had taken part in the essay competitions organized by the National League for Democracy, and the playing of songs dating back to the days of the independence struggle. There was also a small exhibition of photographs, old books and magazines. An unseasonable rain had been falling for several days before the 16th but on the morning of National Day itself the weather turned out to be fine and dry. Many of the guests came clad in /pinni/, a hand-woven cotton cloth that ranges in color from a flaxen beige through varying shades of apricot and orange to burnt umber. During the independence struggle pinni had acquired the same significance in Burma as /khaddi/ in India, a symbol of patriotism and a practical sign of support for native goods. Since 1988 it has also become the symbol of the movement for democracy. A pinni jacket worn with a white collarless shirt and a Kachin sarong (a tartan pattern in purple, black and green) is the unofficial uniform for *democracy men.* The dress for *democracy women* is a /pinni aingyi/ (Burmese style blouse) with a traditional hand-woven sarong. During my campaign trip to the state of Kachin in 1989 I once drove through an area considered unsafe because it was within a zone where insurgents were known to be active. For mile upon mile men clad in pinni jackets on which gleamed the brave red badge of the National League for Democracy stood on *guard duty* along the route, entirely unarmed. It was a proud and joyous sight. The sight on the 75th anniversary of National Day too was a proud and joyous one. The guests were not all clad in pinni but there was about them a brightness that was pleasing to both the eye and the heart. The younger people were full of quiet enthusiasm and the older ones seemed rejuvenated. A well-known student politician of the 1930s who had become notorious in his mature years for the shapeless shirt, shabby denim trousers, scuffed shoes (gum boots during the monsoons) and battered hat in which he would tramp around town was suddenly transformed into a dapper gentleman in full Burmese national costume. All who knew him were stunned by the sudden picture of elegance he represented and our photographer hastened to record such an extraordinary vision. The large bamboo and thatch pavilion that had been put up to receive the thousand guests was decorated with white banners on which were printed the green figure of a dancing peacock. As a backdrop to the stage too there was a large dancing peacock, delicately executed on a white disc. This is the symbol of the students who had first awoken the political consciousness of the people of Burma. This is a symbol of a national movement that had culminated triumphantly with the independence of the country. The orchestra had arrived a little late as there had been an attempt to try to *persuade* the musicians not to perform at our celebration. But their spirits had not been dampened. They stayed on after the end of the official ceremony to play and sing nationalist songs from the old days. The most popular of these was Nagani. *Red Dragon* Nagani was the name of a book club founded by a group of young politicians in 1937 with the intentions of making works on politics, economics, history and literature accessible to the people of Burma. The name of the club became closely identified with patriotism and a song was written about the prosperity that would come to the country through the power of the Red Dragon. Nagani was sung by a young man with a strong, beautiful voice and we all joined in the chorus while some of the guests went up on the stage and performed Burmese dances. But beneath the light-hearted merriment ran a current of serious intent. Our national movement remains unfinished. We have still to achieve the prosperity promised by the dragon. The time is not yet for the triumphant dance of the peacock. ***************************************************** KNU REPORT: DKBA AND DIALOGUE WITH THE SLORC December 29, 1995 INTRUSION BY THE DKBA About 30 DKBA soldiers intruded into Thailand at about 1 p.m. on 28 December, 1995. They came upon a Thai village called U Thu Klo, and robbed a villager named Saw Paw Thay there. It was learned that Saw Paw Thay was injured and his eight year old daughter Su Da was killed in the incident. A Thai school teacher named Nantana was also injured. The intruders stole a gold neclace from Nantana and 5000 baht from a Thai school teacher named Sicha. NEWS REGARDING THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE SLORC AND THE KNU According to the KNU Press Release No. 1 dated 13 December 1995, a preliminary delegation of KNU representatives, consisting of seven men and led by P'doh Klee Say, was sent to engage in a dialogue with the SLORC. On 8 December 1995, the delegates met with the SLORC's delegation headed by Col. Kyaw Win at Moulmein, and preliminary arrangements for bilateral talks between the KNU and the SLORC were made. The KNU's delegates have now returned to KNU headquarters and reported on their trip on 28 December 1995. It has been agreed by both sides that delegates shall be sent again in the near future to follow up on the previous talks. ********************************************************** INDEPENDENT REPORT: DBSO JUBILEE AND REFUGEES SEMINAR December 27, 1995 By Carol Schlenker From: carol@gol.com On December 24, Democratic Burmese Students Organization (DBSO) hosted a day-long festival in Tokyo to mark the 75th Anniversary of Rangoon University. The morning was filled with speeches by RASU graduates (including Zaw Zaw from DBSO on *Students and Politics,* Dr. Tun Aye of Burmese Association in Japan on *Rangoon University and U Ne Win,* NHK Radio's U Shwe Ba (Hisao Tanabe) on *The University I Attended,* poet Maung Pan Hmwe on *Poems from the University Environment,* and Dr. Myat Than, a former RASU English professor, on *Teaching at the University.*) The afternoon featured a variety of entertainment, from traditional Burmese music and dance by Mingala Doe to ear-splitting heavy metal by several local rock bands. As a special treat, Democratic Voice of Burma's Mun Awng sang a few of his own popular songs and also led, by popular request, the finale of *Kaba Maje Bu.* There was also a performance of *university anyint* (*anyint* is unrehearsed comedy performed by two or more people). The several hundred guests who attended also enjoyed the displays, which included the history of the university and the Student Union, poems, cartoons, posters and artwork. Too bad the biryani rice spoiled, but the sarwin makin was delicious. Good job, DBSO! TOKYO HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERS ORGANIZE SEMINAR ON BURMESE REFUGEE ISSUES On December 26, a seminar on the Burmese refugees was held at the Tokyo Bar Association. The seminar featured three panelists, Aung Naing, Maung Maung Than and Mun Awng, who spoke about their experiences as refugees or workers in the UK, Australia and Norway, respectively. The meeting, organized by Messrs. Azusawa and Watanabe (two lawyers who have been very active in helping Burmese asylum seekers) and attended by other Japanese lawyers, Burmese activists and a major Tokyo TV station, revealed that major differences exist between the treatment of refugees in Japan compared to these other countries. For example: -- Japan regularly refuses refugee status to applicants who apply more than 60 days after their arrival in Japan, regardless of the dangers they face if deported. In none of the other countries is such a time limitation, if it exists at all, enforced in such a narrow and discriminatory way. -- Japan provides no assistance (housing, medical, employment, educational or legal) to people who are being considered for refugee status. The other countries do. -- Japan has no non-governmental organizations that help asylum seekers to obtain refuge in Japan, only individual lawyers like Messrs. Azusawa and Watanabe. In the other countries, there are several NGOs and quasi-governmental organizations to help asylum seekers. **************************************************** BKK POST: RANGOON GEARED FOR DRY SEASON OFFENSIVE December 28, 1995 Rangoon is poised to launch a dry season offensive against remnants of the Karen National Union, it was revealed yesterday. Burmese government troops will be aided by soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a source in Mae Hong Son said. They will attack across the border from Mae Hong Son province and opposite Mae Sot and Tha Song Yang districts in Tak province. The move is prompted by KNU leader Gen Bo Mya's unwillingness to respond to a reconciliation proposal put forward by the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the source said. The Slorc is worried that the natural gas pipeline project from Burma to Thailand at Thong Pha Phum in Kanchanaburi could be hampered by the presence of Karen rebels who have taken sanctuary there. The Karen rebels have refused a profit-sharing deal for the project offered by the Burmese government. ******************************************** ABSDF(DNA): BURMA UPDATE December 27, 1995 From caroline@ksc.net.th The Situation in Insein Jail The situation in Insein jail has been deteriorating day after day. U Win Tin, the central executive committee member of the NLD, Monywa Tin Shwe, a lawyer and central committee member of the NLD, Myo Myint Nyein, Dr Myint Naing, and Saw Nine Nine were put in military dog cells. The prisoners in Insein Jail wrote a letter uncovered the real situation in it; was undersigned and sent it to Yozo Yokota, special rapporteur of the United Nations. The SLORC received a copy of that letter from Yozo Yokota. As a conquesence, tight security and investigations were undertaken by the jail authorities. No water and food were given for 45 days and no contacts with relatives and families were allowed. The prisoners had to sleep on concrete floor without mats and blankets. As a result of this desperate circumstances, Saw Nine Nine and Monywa Tin Shwe, of the NLD were seriously ill and U Win Tin was suffering from pain at his neck. It was known that old 23 political prisoners including Bohmu Aung, former chairman of the parliament before 1960 when U Nu was a Prime Minister, and Dr Maung Maung Kyaw, a former student leader and famous lawyer sent a letter demanding the Slorc to enter the political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. U Sein Hla Aung ( Mandalay) who delivered the video tape recorded the speeches of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been given punishment. Mass meetings in front of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis House About 5000-6000 people comprising intellectuals, monks, nuns and foreigners attend the every weekend gathering in front of the Daw Aung San Suu Kyis house. Everyone who holds barbed wire barricade laying in front of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis house while she is speaking to the people are subject to be given minimum two years sentences. ABSDF News Agency ( Dawn Gwin ) Dated December 27, 1997 ********************************************************* BURMANET: AD FOR BURMA AND STRIDER'S COMMENT December 28, 1995 From Strider: Normally, BurmaNet doesn't carry commercial advertisements but this one, which was posted to soc.culture.burma is worth endorsing, at least in a general way. If you use a callback service while in Burma, you will save a great deal of money (rates are something like $20/minute to the US). That money will come out of the pocket of the soldiers who run the government. Callbacks: You call a number in the US and then hangup. The computer on the US end traces the call and calls you back. If you have the access code (which is yours for a fee), you get an American dial tone and can call anywhere at American rates + the profit of the callback service. Callbacks take advantage of the difference in US rates and those of extortionate telephone companies in places like Burma and Thailand. ------------------------------------------------------------------ AD: SALESPEOPLE SOUGHT IN BURMA December 27, 1995 posted on soc.culture.burma Four Corners Communications, an Arizona-based international callback firm, is seeking to employ the services of experienced and qualified marketers and marketing firms in countries outside the U.S. We believe that we offer among the most marketable services in the world, and invite all those who are interested to visit our homepage at http://www.indirect.com/www/fourcomm and then write to our president, Ryan E. Speakman, at mailto:fourcomm@indirect.com . Please, serious inquiries only. *************************************************** * FOUR CORNERS COMMUNICATIONS * * 15249 N. 59th Avenue, Box 683 * * Glendale, Arizona 85306 * * USA * * Ryan E. Speakman, President * * * * Phone: U.S. 520-882-6432 or 520-449-8482 * * Fax: U.S. 520-882-0486 * * E-mail: fourcomm@indirect.com * * WWW Site: http://www.indirect.com/www/fourcomm * *************************************************** **************************************************************** BKK POST: BURMESE CHARGED WITH FAKING PASSPORTS, VISAS December 28, 1995 A Burmese national, Mr Wae-asae Kahong, was arrested on Tuesday allegedly in possession of forgery equipment and a quanity of counterfeit passports containing fake visa stamps. Eight Bangladeshi men, who were at Mr Wae-asae's house in Korat allegedly to pick up fake passports when the raid took place, were also arrested. Wae-asae was charged with forging passports for use by illegal immigrants. ******************************************************* XINHUA:YADANA GAS FIELD PROJECT UNDERWAY IN MYANMAR December 27, 1995 from carol@gol.com Myanmar is carrying out a development project of the Yadana gas field at Mottama offshore with three foreign oil companies, the local press said today. According to the New Light of Myanmar, the project is undertaken by the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise of the Energy Ministry in partnership with the Total Myanmar France, the Unocal of the U.S. and the PTT of Thailand. Contracts to sell the gas to Thailand were signed earlier this year. Villages in the Kanbauk area in Yebuy town the inland area where the gas pipeline will pass are also participating in the project. The Myanmar Livestock Breeding and Fisheries Cooperative Syndicate is engaged in prawn breeding, pig breeding, dairy products and animal feed processing of the development project, said the report. The foreign companies contributed about 12 million kyats (2 million US dollars) to the project, while the cooperative syndicate provides pedigree stocks, feed stuff and technical assistance, the report added. ********************************************************* XINHUA: MYANMAR ATTRACTS FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN TOURISM December 26, 1995 Myanmar is striving for development of its hotels and tourism industry by attracting more foreign investments as part of its endeavors to promote its national economy. Out of the foreign investments totaling to over 3 billion US dollars, the hotels and tourism industry is the second largest sector after energy with 1.036 billion dollars in 30 hotel projects by the end of November, most of which are invested by Singapore, according to the latest official statistics. There are a total of 159 hotels and motels in the country with 3,937 rooms available at present and the government is targeted at 5,000 rooms in order to meet the designated "visit myanmar year 96" in which 500,000 visitors from abroad are expected. There were 95,600 tourist arrivals in Myanmar for the 1994-95 fiscal year ending in March with foreign exchange earnings of 32.65 million kyats (5.44 million dollars), according to the latest official figures. The figures also showed that over 61,452 tourists visited myanmar in the first eight months of the 1995-96 fiscal year beginning from April. In order to improve air transportation, Myanmar Airways International opened new air routes to Dhaka and Kunming this year in addition to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. International airlines which fly to Yangon include Air China, Silk Air of Singapore, Thai Airways and Biman of Bangladesh. They will be joined by Indian Airline ltd and Lao Aviation co. at the end of this year. Moreover, airlines from Thailand have been allowed to operate chartered flights directly from Chiang Mai to Bagan and Mandalay, and from Chiang Rai to Kyaing Tong and Heho respectively since September 1993. Myanmar is member of the World Tourism Organization and the Pacific Asia Travel Association. ****************************************************** PATA MEKONG TOURISM FORUM PATTAYA, THAILAND December 24, 1995 (from Pacific Asia Travel Association, URL: http://www.dnai.com/patanet/ ) April 15-16 PATA Mekong Tourism Forum Pattaya, Thailand The first-ever Mekong Tourism Forum will be held April 15-16, 1996, at the Royal Cliff Grand Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, just prior to the 1996 PATA Travel Mart. Organised by PATA in collaboration with the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Forum will focus on the emerging tourism sub-region along the Mekong River, incorporating the countries of Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Participants will learn about the Mekong region and its development plans through country presentations and panel discussions. The Forum will also explore investment potential and regional marketing, allowing participants to network and conduct business with high-level officials from NTOs, travel industry suppliers, international organisations and investment firms. For more information or to register, contact the PATA Asia Division at 65-223-7854/5. Fax: 65-225-6842. E-mail: patadrea@singnet.com.sg. ******************************************************* BURMANET: BRIEF BUSINESS REPORTS December 29, 1995 information supplied by M. Beer and abridged by BurmaNet CHIYODA TO OFFER PLAN TO DEVELOP MYANMAR'S 2ND CITY Chiyoda Corp. will propose a development plan for the city of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, a company official said Tuesday. Under the plan, the plant engineering company will propose about 60 projects with priority orders as well as infrastructure improvement projects in a 150-page report submitted to city authorities, the official said. The proposal includes construction of oil pipelines from the Bay of Bengal to the central Myanmar city and improvement in the network of roads between Mandalay and the neighboring Yunnan Province of China. In September, Chiyoda voluntarily sent three experts to Mandalay for a preparatory study. Since then, Chiyoda has submitted to the city authorities several interim reports on how to develop Mandalay according to the authorities' requests. Chiyoda hopes to receive orders from the city government for the pipeline and other related projects proposed in the plan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASIAN CLEARING UNION TRANSACTIONS TO BE IN US DLRS All transactions among member countries of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) will be accounted for in U.S. dollars under a new procedure from January 1 next year, Sri Lanka's Central Bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The new system will be adopted because of problems faced by exporters and importers under the existing procedure where transactions are done in the national currencies of the ACU member countries, it said. The new system also takes into account the liberalised trade and payments policies adopted by ACU members namely Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka and Nepal, it said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ KAWTHOUNG NEW AIRPORT RUNWAY OPENED AT KAWTHOUNG A new airport runway of Kawthoung, a border town in the south, has been put into operation. 85-seat Fokker f-28 aircraft can now land there, and Bangkok Airways and Air Mandalay will be able to bring more tourists. Extension of the runway began in December 1992 and was completed this month at a cost of 433.84 million kyats (72.3 million US dollars at the official exchange rate). ---------------------------------------------------------- BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can: Arakan/Rohingya/Burma volunteer needed Bangladesh Border Campus activism: zni@students.wisc.edu Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] wcsbeau@superior.ccs.carleton.ca Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@gol.com Chin history/culture: plilian@asc.corp.mot.com Fonts: tom@cs.colgate.edu History of Burma: zni@students.wisc.edu Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.com Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@Compuserve.com Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed] Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@oats.farm.niu.edu Burma-India border [volunteer needed] Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed] Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net Total/Pipeline Dawn Star: cd@utopia.EUnet.fr Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. 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