------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: January 30, 1996
Issue #334

Noted in Passing:

                The increase in the number of children who can't
                even make it past primary education tells you that
                the percentage of impoverished parents is very much
                on the rise. - Aung San Suu Kyi
                (see BKK POST: BURMA POLITICAL HARASSMENT
                'AN OLD ROUTINE')

HEADLINES:
==========
NATION: VISIT MYANMAR IF YOU CAN
ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #10
INDPENDENT REPORT: BYVA HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING
MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: EMBASSY BLACKMAILS BURMESE IN JAPAN
ABSDF-MTZ: FORMER BURMESE PRESIDENT IS DEAD AT 78
CFOB: PRESS RELEASE ON NOVA
NATION: NO DICTATORSHIP IN MY DEMOCRACY PARTY, INSISTS
BKK POST: BURMA JUNTA SEEKS FOREIGN HELP FOR ECONOMIC
BKK POST: BURMA POLITICAL HARASSMENT 'AN OLD ROUTINE'
NATION: RANGOON SAID TO HAVE BREACHED BORDER ACCORD
NATION: BURMA-CAMBODIA PACT
WWW: PAGAN IMAGES AT SEASIAN MONUMENTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NATION: VISIT MYANMAR IF YOU CAN
January 26, 1996

        Slorc takes Suu Kyi off the list of tourist attractions,
                            Aung Zaw writes.

Visit Myanmar Year 1996, the Burmese military's ambitious tourism
promotion campaign, has gotten off to an inauspicious start with
two tour groups being banned from the country and other visitors
complaining of being harassed by military officials.

The message from Burma appears to be that the country's arms
are open to visitors, but it prefers those who are prepared to
stay in their hotels and only emerge for controlled sightseeing tours.

In January and February, Tourism Minister Lt Gen Kyaw Ba twice
refused to grant landing rights to tour groups from the United
States. As a result, approximately 100 visitors from the Stanford
Alumni Association and 70 from its Michigan counterpart planning
to visit Burma were turned away.

The American tourists had been issued visas and were planning to
stay two nights in Rangoon and take a day excursion to Pagan to
see the "Golden Land". But they never made it.

The trouble begin in late December.

New-Horizons, the Rangoon-based travel agency helping arrange the
two groups, receiving a note from Kyaw Ba saying their chartered
flight would be denied permission to land. The reason given was
that the ruling junta, known as State Law and Order Restoration
Council(Slorc), had discovered that both groups were seeking to
set up a meeting with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi during their visit to Rangoon.

According to sources in Washington, Duncan Beardsley, director of
traveling programmes at the Stanford Alumni Association, sent a
letter to Suu Kyi in November, inviting Suu Kyi to meet with the
Stanford graduates.

But on December 22, Beardsley, apparently realizing his request
would jeopardize the group's travel plans, wrote back to Suu Kyi
saying he was withdrawing his invitation due to unforeseen
circumstances.

At the same time Beardsley wrote to Tin Tun at New Horizons,
saying "...I innocently sent the invitation not understanding the
impact of my action. He said his group had no political agenda
whatsoever while visiting Burma. I wish to emphasize in no
uncertain terms that neither I nor any of the passengers or staff
will contact this person [Suu Kyi]."

It seemed as if wanting to see Suu Kyi had become a crime.
Abercrombie and Kent (A&K), a Hong Kong- based travel agency also
making arrangements for the trip petitioned Rangoon, promising
"100 per cent" that neither group would visit with the opposition
leader who was released in July 1995.

A&K's Patrick Macleod sent a note to Tin Tun. "It looks like the
guy at Stanford has sent a letter to Aung San Suu Kyi asking her
to speak to the group. Anyway, he now realises what a mistake he
has made."

Sources associated with the tour in the US said, "The appeal from
Stanford was turned down and they are going to Phnom Penh
instead. But Michigan's appeal was upheld "because there was no
written proof Michigan had tried to arrange a meeting with Suu
Kyi or to present her with an award," said the source.

Simon Billenness an analyst at Boston based Franklin Research and
Development said: Western proponents of tourism in Burma claimed
that tourism in Burma will open up the country to new ideas. The
Slorc's refusal to allow tourists to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi
shows that the Slorc wants tourists to just bring  hard currency
and leave any new ideas at home." Sources in Bangkok and
Washington said Rangoon's moves were likely to boost the anti-
Rangoon sentiment on campuses around the United States.

For their part, Burmese officials are planning to ask visitors
who they are going to meet in Rangoon. Even for those foreigners
who do make it into the country, their hassles with officialdom
are not over, returning visitors have said. Dianne Guest, a
regular visitor of Burma for the last three years, was detained
in early January with a group of American and British companions
in Magwe.

Speaking in Bangkok, Guest said she was exhausted and angry as a
result of being detained and treated unpleasantly by Burmese
authorities. Guest and her friends had been travelling around the
country by bicycle. They were stopped in Magwe, about 100 km out
of Rangoon, and asked if they had permission to be on the road.

They were told it was illegal to travel independently. "There is law," a
Burmese official said.  Finally Guest and her friends were forced to fly
back to Rangoon. They made an appointment to see Kyaw Ba but the
Tourism minister failed to show up for the meeting. Other
tourists have similarly complained they were followed and
harassed by military intelligence officers.

Reliable sources said foreign officials visiting Burma have been
told to decide on Suu Kyi or Slorc.

They are not allowed to see both, but of course a lot of people
don't want to see the Slorc anyway, said an American activist.

             Aung Zaw is a freelance writer. He contributed
                        this piece to the Nation.

*********************************************************

ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #10
January 29, 1996
From: carol@gol.com (Carol Schlenker)

Mainichi Daily News, Monday, January 29, 1996
Letter from Burma (No. 10) by Aung San Suu Kyi

THE GREAT BURMESE INDEPENDENCE DAY SHOW:
EVEN CERTAIN ARREST DID NOT HOLD BACK THE CELEBRATIONS

        The /a-nyeint/ is a uniquely Burmese form of entertainment consisting of a
medley of orchestral music, song and dance -- and, perhaps most important of
all, witty repartee and humorous skits provided by comedians.  Traditionally
an a-nyeint troupe is hired to perform both at family celebrations such as
the Buddhist ordination ceremony for boys or on public occasions such as
pagoda festivals or jubilees.
        Jan. 4 this year was the 48th anniversary of the day when Burma became an
independent nation.  The National League for Democracy (NLD) made plans to
include in its program to commemorate Independence Day a performance of
a-nyeint by a troupe from Mandalay.  During the week before Independence
Day, members of the youth wing of the NLD has been rehearsing another item
on the program, a short one-act play that concluded with a song about
freedom.  Perhaps it was the resounding refrain of this song, repeated again
and again, that made the authorities view the forthcoming NLD celebrations
with a jaundiced eye.  It was conveyed to us that our entertainment program
should not include either /dobat/ or a play.  A dobat is a double-sided
Burmese drum to the rousing rhythm of which are sung songs in the folk
tradition, often very witty, with a satirical content that is not always
pleasing to the powers that be.  We had not in fact planned any dobat song
and there seemed no good reason for canceling the play, whose principal
theme simply underlined the importance of unity and the need to solve
political problems through dialogue.  It was therefore decided that the
program would be carried through as planned.
        On the evening of Jan. 2 a key member of my office staff was pulled in by
his local military intelligence unit for 24 hours.  He was interrogated not
only on such crucial matters as the policies and decision-making process of
our party but also on our proposed Independence Day ceremony.  The
authorities did not seem particularly keen on the idea of our commemorating
the occasion in a spirit of freedom.  However the a-nyeint was not mentioned.
        At eight o'clock in the morning on Jan. 4 there was a commemoration
ceremony in the grounds of a small rope factory organized by members of the
/Dohbama Asi-ayone/, the political organization that had been at the core of
the struggle to liberate Burma from colonial rule.  The hoary veterans
conducted the proceeding with the elan and verve possible under the
restricted circumstances, their aging voices strengthened by their
convictions as they repeated their dedication to the cause of freedom and
national unity.
        The Independence Day ceremony of the NLD began later in the morning in the
garden of my house and was expected to be completed within three hours.  In
the event the program went on for six hours because the audience of nearly
2,000 wanted the last item, the a-nyeint, to continue for as long as possible.
        It started in the traditional way with two comedians coming forward to
introduce the performance.  But as soon as the senior of the two, U Pa Pa
Lay, started to speak it became obvious, to the surprise and untold delight
of the audience, that this was going to be an act such as had not been
witnessed in Burma for several decades: The comedians were determined to
exercise to the full their traditional right to apply their comic and
critical powers to a commentary on matters of topical interest, many of a
political nature.
        U Pa Pa Lay began by saying that this was an occasion when he would be
acting and speaking according to his own wishes and that he was aware such
audacity would likely land him in prison.  He explained that he had already
served a year in prison for making a joke that referred to the overwhelming
support for the NLD throughout the whole country.  The thunderous applause
that greeted U Pa Pa Lay's introductory remarks was a fitting prelude to a
performance that scintillated with witty skits, brilliant jokes, sprightly
dances and lively music.  The audience reveled in the artistic skill of the
whole performance and were filled with deep admiration for the courage of
the company, in particular for U Pa Pa Lay and his fellow comedian U Lu Zaw
who so bravely gave voice to what the people had been wishing -- but not
daring -- to say for may an year.
        On the afternoon of Jan. 6 the troupe came to say good-bye to me before
they went back to Mandalay.  They knew they would very likely be arrested
soon but they were extremely cheerful.  They assured me nothing would
detract from the great satisfaction achieved from a performance conducted
entirely in accordance with their own wishes.  The company arrived back in
Mandalay on the morning of the 7th and later that day they were all taken
away by the authorities.
        We are now waiting for the next act in the drama of this most courageous
troupe.  Come what may, we shall stand by them.

*******************************************************

INDPENDENT REPORT: BYVA HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING
January 29, 1996
From: carol@gol.com (Carol Schlenker)

        Burma Youth Volunteer Association (Japan) held its annual meeting on
Sunday, January 28, in Tokyo.  About 60 members and guests attended the
meeting, during which elections were held; reports on fundraising and
political activities were delivered; and compliments, complaints and
suggestions were voiced.
        The meeting featured two special guests: Dean Chapman, a British
photographer, and Munesuke Yamamoto, a freelance photojournalist from Japan.
Mr. Chapman, who lived for about a year in Kayah State, displayed and talked
about his black-and-white photographs, which depict all aspects of Karenni
life.  Mr. Yamamoto, who recently returned from a three-week trip inside
Burma and the border, showed slides and discussed current conditions inside
the country. Guests also enjoyed a meal of ohnnokaukswe.
        Following the meeting, members of various democracy groups met to
discuss plans to cooperate with each other in future events.  The next such
event will be a meeting, sponsored by National League for Democracy
(Liberated Area) Japan Branch, on February 11 to coordinate activities for
Union Day, February 12.

The 1996-97 BYVA Executive Committee is as follows:

Chairman........................Khin Maung Zaw
Vice Chairman...................Soe Win
General Secretary...............Aung Thu
Joint General Secretary-1.......Htay Win a.k.a. Romy
Joint General Secretary-2.......Myo Min Htut
                                a.k.a. Michael Collins
Treasurer.......................Kyaw Kyaw Soe
Assistant Treasurer.............Kyi Lwin
Information Committee
        Chairman................Tin Kyi
Information Committee
        Members.................Khaing Min Swe
                                Than Htoo Win
Coordinators....................Nyi Nyi Than
                                Zaw Min
Researchers.....................Cho Cho Aye
                                Win Maung
Auditors........................Hlaing Aye
                                Than Swe
                                Ye Htut

For more information, contact:
Burma Youth Volunteer Association
No. 102, Court Tangent A-2
2-12-1 Komagome
Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170 JAPAN
Tel/Fax: +81-3-3916-4996

********************************************

MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: EMBASSY BLACKMAILS BURMESE IN JAPAN
January 29, 1996
From: carol@gol.com (Carol Schlenker)

(Note: This is a summary from an English language newspaper of an article
that was first published in SHUKAN HOSEKI, a Japanese language weekly magazine.)
==================================
Mainichi Daily News, Sunday, January 21, 1996
EMBASSY BLACKMAILING MYANMARESE INTO PAYING DUBIOUS INCOME TAX
Shukan Hoseki 1/25

        Foreigners working in this country must pay income tax to Japanese
authorities.  But only those from Myanmar are forced to pay a questionable
kind of overseas income tax to their own government.  SHUKAN HOSEKI takes a
look at this peculiar system which id doubling tax for Myanmarese in Japan.
        The magazine starts the investigative report with a disclosure by a
30-year-old Myanmarese who came here four years ago to work.  The informant
reveals to SHUKAN HOSEKI that he and other Myanmarese in Japan are asked by
the Myanmarese Embassy in Tokyo to pay 10 percent of their income in the
name of "tax."  The source explains that he is unwillingly following the
request because the embassy refuses to renew his passport unless he does so.
        Passports are not the only tool the Myanmarese Embassy is allegedly using
to collect money.  Without specifying the source, SHUKAN HOSEKI reveals that
a Myanmarese in Japan cannot open a bank account fro remittance in Myanmar
without an embassy-issued certificate of tax payment.
        To maintain passports and bank accounts, two essentials for them, most
Myanmarese here are paying either the minimal sum of 10,000 yen or 10
percent of their income to the embassy each month.  An informed journalist
estimates the embassy's annual tax revenue at 2 billion yen.  The journalist
goes on to suggest that the military regime in Yangon could be pooling this
revenue as secret fund or using it to purchase arms from China.
        "Money sent from Japan has a significant meaning for the military regime,"
reminds a 40-year-old Myanmarese in Nagoya, one of the brave few who have
been refusing to pay the questionable tax.  "It is natural for me to pay tax
to the Japanese government because I'm working here.  But it's wrong for the
Myanmarese government to collect tax from me."  The Myanmarese, now without
a passport adds, "It is a violation of international laws for the embassy to
refuse passport renewal for people like me who do not pay the tax."
        SHUKAN HOSEKI contacts the Myanmarese Embassy in Tokyo
for an explanation. A spokesman for the embassy admits to the magazine
that more than 10,000 Myanmarese nationals in Japan are sending in tax
money amounting to 10,000 yen each or more per month.  The spokesman
maintains that it is their duty to pay the tax because they left Myanmar by
agreeing to this condition.
        The magazine wonders if tax collection on a foreign soil does not
constitute a legal problem.  "Collection of tax by the Myanmarese government
is not a subject on which we can or should state our view," offers a
spokesman for the National Tax Administration Agency.  But the same official
admits, "We've never heard of this kind of practice in another country."
        Another Japanese government spokesman, representing the Finance
Ministry's International Tax Affairs Division, informs SHUKAN HOSEKI it
is absolutely OK for the Myanmarese government to tax Myanmarese nationals
in Japan.  But the magazine is not satisfied with the explanation and asks an
international law expert.  The expert notes, "Tax collection is a sovereign act.
Collection in another country constitutes violation of that country's
sovereignty." Adds the expert, "If these people are willing to pay, it's OK.
But they are practically coerced into paying the tax.  The Japanese
government should take issue."

**********************************************************

ABSDF-MTZ: FORMER BURMESE PRESIDENT IS DEAD AT 78
January 29, 1996
From: ABSDF-mtz <lurie@mozart.inet.co.th>

Rangoon, Jan 29, (AFP)- San Yu, former president of Burma and
vice Chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party(BSPP), which
was in power for nearly two-and-a-half decades, has died at age
78, official news media said Monday.

Born in 1918 to a Sino-Burmese family, San Yu studied medicine in
Rangoon when World war II broke out and joined the army to serve
as a junior officer while Burma was under Japanese occupation.

San Yu rose to the rank of general and was one of the members of
General Ne Win's revolutionary council which took over from Prime
Minister U Nu in 1962 following a military coup.

San Yu was the first general secretary of the ruling BSPP and
became its vice President in 1985. He became chief of staff and
defence minister in 1972 and assumed the presidency in 1981.

Following widespread anti-government unrest in 1988 which toppled
his BSPP administration, San Yu retired from his office to live
quietly in suburban Rangoon.

The Obituary in the Burmese-language newspapers said San Yu would
be buried on Tuesday afternoon.

*****************************************

CFOB: PRESS RELEASE ON NOVA
29 January 1996
From: Canadian Friends of Burma <cfob@web.apc.org>

 NOVA GAS INVESTS IN CONTROVERSIAL PIPELINE

     Canadian Friends of Burma strongly opposes Nova Gas
  International's decision to provide consultancy services for a
  gas pipeline that carries Burmese gas across ethnic controlled
  lands into Thailand. The $1 billion pipeline is being built by
  a consortium led by Unocal of the US and the French oil
  company Total.

     Nova Gas and OGP Technical Services of Malaysia were
  awarded the 480 million baht ($24 million) contract by the
  Thai petroleum authority, PTT, January 25 in Bangkok.

     When completed in 1998 the pipeline will bring several
  millions of dollars annually in profits to the widely despised
  military regime that runs Burma -- the State Law and Order
  Restoration Council. Friends of Burma predicts this will
  further entrench the junta, allowing it to continue to ignore
  international appeals to restore democracy and respect human rights.

     "This development underlines our call for economic
  sanctions against the SLORC regime," Christine Harmston,
  coordinator, said. "The Department of Foreign Affairs
  discourages official trade and investment in Burma but unless
  it takes steps to prevent it Canadian investment and trade
  will continue to rise."

     She cited an almost three-fold increase in imports to
  Canada of garments made in Burma, and Indochina Goldfield
  Inc's attempt to raise investment money in Canada for its
  copper mining venture at Monywa, near Mandalay.

     Friends of Burma's human rights contacts in the Burma-Thai
  border area report a recent increase in forced labour use in
  the pipeline area. Thousands of villagers are forced to work
  without pay to build a railway that will transport troops and
  materiel to secure the pipeline against attack. The labourers
  have to buy their own food and medical supplies.

     A bill calling for economic sanctions is currently in
  committee stage in the US Congress. It would bar US investment
  in Burma and authorize the President to prohibit imports from
  Burma. It would also direct the US to vote against IMF and
  World Bank assistance to Burma.

     Nova Gas International said from its Calgary office that
  its services are contracted by the Thai petroleum authority
  and concern only a 260 kilometre stretch from Ban I Thong to
  Ratchaburi in Thailand. CFOB responds that even if Nova never
  sets foot in Burma, it is nonetheless investing in a project
  supported by forced labour and other human rights abuses.

  CONTACT: Christine Harmston, 613 237-8056

CANADIAN FRIENDS OF BURMA
(National Office)                       tel: 613 237-8056
145 Spruce Street, Suite 206            fax: 613 563-0017
Ottawa, Ontario  K1R 6P1                email: cfob@web.apc.org
CANADA

*********************************************************

NATION: NO DICTATORSHIP IN MY DEMOCRACY PARTY, INSISTS
SUU KYI      January 29, 1996    (abridged)
Reuter

RANGOON - Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi denied
government accusations that she has become dictatorial in
her running of the National League for Democracy party.

"There is no practice of dictatorship in the NLD party," the
Nobel Peace laureate told supporters at the weekend.

Suu Kyi's remark was made after official, state-run Burmese
language newspapers carried a commentary asking her to step
down she had become dictatorial.

In the commentary entitled "Give up little sister", Suu Kyi
was accused of ignoring the will of the people in her
leadership of the pro-democracy party.

The commentary, the latest in a series of criticisms against
the democracy leader, said 50-year old Suu Kyi used
"feminine wiles" over other party members to get her way.

"I would like to request you give up little sister, in order
to raise the political impression of the party," said the commentary.

It suggested the NLD try to find a way to change its decision to
withdraw from military-sponsored constitutional talks.

Suu Kyi said late last year the NLD, which she helped found,
was pulling out of the talks because they did not represent
the will of the people.

Agence France-Presse reports: Burma's military authorities
have freed all but four of 13 opposition supporters detained
in Mandalay earlier this month, an opposition spokesman said.

All 13 were picked up on their return to Mandalay after
attending private Independence Day celebrations on Jan 4 at
Suu Kyi's home. (TN)

*************************************************

BKK POST: BURMA JUNTA SEEKS FOREIGN HELP FOR ECONOMIC
TAKEOFF January 30, 1996
By Michele Cooper, Rangoon, AFP

Burma's Trade Minister Tun Kyi said yesterday that economic
cooperation with other nations would not only boost his
country's economy but would also promote democracy.

Addressing a symposium on fostering interdependency with
neighbouring countries and Japan, Lieutenant General Tun Kyi
said Burma had managed to achieve an average annual growth
rate of 7.5% with assistance from only a few friendly countries.

"If we could get financial and technical cooperation
substantially from abroad, I firmly believe that the economy
of Myanmar would be skyrocketed within a few years time," he said.

Myanmar is the official name of Burma, preferred by the
ruling junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc). "Democracy will flourish with the
prosperity of the nation," Tun Kyi told the one-day
symposium, organised by the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and funded by
Japan.

Saying that the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1988-89 were
"mainly because of economic difficulties," he added:
"Political stability goes hand in hand with economic
development."

The junta took power in 1988 and put down country-wide
protests, jailing thousands. The minister tackled
international criticism of Burma's democracy record head-on,
maintaining _ like several other Southeast Asian countries _
that the West's definition "may not be the same" as that of
all other nations.

He added that the junta did not intend to hold power
indefinitely and that once a new constitution had been
promulgated, " a constitutional government will emerge to
lead the country."

He made no mention of elections, or of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi or of her National league for Democracy
(NLD) which won general elections in 1990. The Slorc
declined to recognise the results of that vote.

On the economy, Tun Kyi said that with more than US$3
billion already on the books in investment commitments, he
believed the figure could be boosted to $4 billion "in the near future."

He noted that since the time of Burma's kings, through the
colonial period and until today, Asian nations accounted for
80% of Burma's foreign trade.

Japanese Ambassador Yoichi Yamaguchi hailed economic reforms
to date in Burma, but stressed the need to pursue further
reforms. "There are still several challenges for Myanmar to face," he said.

Yamaguchi did not identify areas for reform, but these were
believed to include the dual exchange rate which is
considered a significant block to economic expansion. (BP)

***************

BKK POST: BURMA POLITICAL HARASSMENT 'AN OLD ROUTINE'
January 30 1996
Rangoon, AFP

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday
shrugged off recent detentions of her party supporters,
saying they were nothing new and part of a routine dating
back to the military junta's take-over.

"This has been going on for the past seven years. So many
NLD [National League for Democracy] people have been
arrested on so many different pretexts," she told AFP. "The
attempt to intimidate the NLD has been going on for a long
time," she added.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent nearly six years under house arrest
before she was released by the military authorities on July
10. Her NLD won general elections in 1990, but the junta
refused to recognise the results and hand over power.

Aung San Suu Kyi identified the latest people detained as
six members of the Insein branch of the NLD, who were taken
into custody on the evening of January 27. They included branch
deputy chairman Thein Tun and lawyer Maung Maung Lay, she said.

"I believe they were taken away because some of them had
presented a poem to the family of U Tin Maung Win," she
said. Tin Maung Win died in prison on January 18, 1991.

Aung San Suu Kyi said the NLD legal team was on the case,
although no formal charges had been laid. Of 13 supporters
detained in Mandalay earlier this month after attending
January 4 Independence Day celebrations at her Rangoon home,
four remained in custody, she said.

She identified them as two comedians who had performed at
the private party and two NLD members who had attended.
Military authorities were believed to have taken exception
to satirical remarks made during the performance.

"I believe they've been charged under section 5J," she said,
describing it as a "catchall" provision. "We call it the
don't like you section'," she remarked. A report on Sunday
that only two remained in custody was mistaken, she indicated.

Asked whether there had been any threats against her weekend
rallies which attract an estimated 3,000 people, Aung San
Suu Kyi said authorities could only, according to the law,
move against gatherings intending to create disturbances.

"We are not interested in creating disturbances of any kind
at all... our gatherings are extremely disciplined and
quiet," she said. On Sunday Aung San Suu Kyi said that the
ever-widening gap between rich and poor could lead to social
unrest if left unresolved.

Speaking during her weekend appearance before her supporters
outside her gate, Aung San Suu Kyi said the gap between the
rich and the poor was already a tangible thing in the country.

Over the past six years, an increasing number of children
were unable to complete primary education because their
parents had been become impoverished, she said.

"The increase in the number of children who can't even make
it past primary education tells you that the  percentage of
impoverished parents is very much on the rise," she said.

Aung San Suu Kyi said that the majority of Burma's young
children should at least be guaranteed basic education so
they get the opportunity to strive for their own future development.

"We must create a situation where we can at least guarantee
primary education for the majority of our children so they
can work for their own development," she said.

Speaking about the current trend of  computerising schools
to keep pace with the "computer age," she said it could
benefit only the rich and the privileged as the poor would
not have the knowledge, means or opportunity to use them.

Such an educational technology would further widen the gap
between the have and the have-nots and create feelings of
dissatisfaction, she said. "And if there is dissatisfaction,
there will be resentment between our own citizens leading to
possible social unrest," she said.

Aung San Suu Kyi once again reiterated the need for a
"dialogue" with the ruling junta to help solve the nation's
ills. She reminded that her party, the NLD, which won the
1990 general elections, carried the people's mandate to take
part in such a dialogue.

"We have a responsibility towards the people, who gave us
their mandate at the 1990 general elections ... and we will
continue to work for democracy under whatever
circumstances," she said. Aung San Suu Kyi admitted that
democracy was not a "cure-all" of every ill but at least it
would 'ensure the people security of life and human dignity."

****************************************************

NATION: RANGOON SAID TO HAVE BREACHED BORDER ACCORD
January 29, 1996
Somjit Rungchamratrasmee

Mae Sot, Tak - The construction of riverside installations
on the Burmese bank of the Moei River, which began
yesterday, is a violation of the Joint Regional Border Committee
agreement of 1994, a senior military source said yesterday.

The construction of retaining walls, concrete embankments
and shophouses along three kilometres of the Burmese side of
the river is understood to be for the prevention of erosion.
It is also seen as a defiant response to recent reclamation
on the Thai side of the river.

The work, being done by about 150 low-wage civilian
labourers recruited by Burmese authorities, is seen as potentially
damaging to bilateral of the Rim Moei market and suspension of
work on the Thai-Burmese friendship bridge last year.

Agence France-Presse reports: About 100 Burmese soldiers
were in position on Thai soil to attack ethnic Karenni
forces from behind, while refugees fleeing the offensive
were turned back at the Thai border, a Karenni source
claimed yesterday.

But a Thai military source reached by telephone in Mae Hong
Son province on the border with Burma's eastern Kayah State,
which is home to the Karenni, denied any report of
encroachment by the Burmese.

"They may have strayed into Thailand in the past but they
get out when they know it's Thai territory. The Karenni
might want to involve Thailand for publicity. We do not
assist the Burmese," the Thai source said.

He said the border there was clearly and naturally defined
by mountain ridges, contradicting reports from Thai and
Karenni sources that Burmese troops had threatened to take
hills named Doi King Hon and Doi Saen, claimed by the Thais.

The Karenni sources Burmese soldiers had occupied an
abandoned Karenni refugee village some two km inside
Thailand, and that the Thai side might not know about it yet. (TN)

***************************************

NATION: BURMA-CAMBODIA PACT
January 29, 1996   Reuter

RANGOON - Burma and Cambodia have signed a cooperation
agreement, official media reported yesterday.

Burma's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ohn Gyaw and his
Cambodian counterpart Ung Huot signed an accord to form a
Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, according to the reports.

************************************

PAGAN IMAGES AT SEASIAN MONUMENTS
January 30, 1996
From: "Moe K. T." <moe@ORI.U-TOKYO.AC.JP>

Nice work on Pagan Monuments with beautiful images, short
explanations & location map is on WWW site of the  Oriental Department of
the Leiden University, Netherland.
http://www.leidenuniv.nl/pun/ubhtm/mjk/pagan.htm





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