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

The BurmaNet News: February 18, 1996
Issue #345

Noted in Passing:
        
                The Wa were the first important group to declare a
                ceasefire with the government.  If they decide to go
                back on the offensive against Rangoon, it would set the
                whole programme back by years. - unidentified source
                (see BKK POST: WA RESENTMENT A TIME BOMB FOR
                RANGOON)

HEADLINES:
==========
XINHUA: MYANMAR LEADER CALLS FOR UNITY OF NATIONAL RACES
XINHUA: BURMA, CHINA, UN SIGN DOCUMENT ON ALTERNATIVE
BKK POST: WA RESENTMENT A TIME BOMB FOR RANGOON
ABSDF-DNA: KNU DELEGATION LEAVES FOR TALK
FBC: SECOND INTERNATIONAL DAY OF BURMA ACTION (MARCH 13, 1996)
BADGER HERALD: STUDENTS ATTACK UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
NATION: BURMESE STANCE SOFTENS AS BORDER CHECKPOINTS OPEN
NATION: FROM NARCO TERRORIST TO BLOOD BRETHREN
BKK POST: DUTCH BEER GIANT'S BURMA VENTURE TOUCHES RAW NERVE
BKK POST: 200 SHANS ACROSS BORDER TO ESCAPE HARSH TREATMENT
NATION: LETTER - ASIAN APARTHEID
BKK POST: ILLEGAL MONS, BURMESE HELD IN POLICE RAID
NATION: BORDER PASS TO OPEN
ANNOUNCEMENT: MEETING - "DOING BUSINESS WITH MYANMAR"
--------------------------------------------------------------

XINHUA: MYANMAR LEADER CALLS FOR UNITY OF NATIONAL RACES
February 12, 1996

Myanmar leader senior general Than Shwe today urged all the national races
to cherish the current favorable situation in the country and safeguard the
unity of the whole nation.  In a message at the ceremony marking the 49th
anniversary of the Myanmar Union Day, Sr. Gen. Than Shwe, chairman of the
Myanmar State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) also called for
efforts to boost other sectors of the economy as well as agriculture.  The
SLORC government has invested more than 2.59 billion kyats (US$432 million)
since last March and is speeding up work for economic and social progress of
the national races, said the Myanmar leader.  He noted that the Myanmar
National Convention now in session has drawn up constitutional principles to
guarantee the political, economic and social rights of the national races.
In 1947, Myanmar's national hero, Gen. Aung San and leaders of all the
national races, signed the Panglong Agreement to strive for an end to
British colonial rule in Myanmar and to establish the Union of Burma
(Myanmar).  The country regained its independence in 1948.  Activities in
commemoration of the Union Day include a nine-day exhibition, a market
festival and a relay of the union flag.

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

XINHUA: BURMA, CHINA, UN SIGN DOCUMENT ON ALTERNATIVE
LIVELIHOOD FOR WAVILLAGERS
February 11, 1996

        The project revision of the preparatory assistance for alternative
development in the southern Wa area (Myanmar) Burma project was signed here
this afternoon by representatives of China, Myanmar and UN agencies.
        The document was signed by Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Chen
Baoliu and Secretary of the Myanmar Central Committeee for Drug Abuse
Control Police, Maj-Gen Soe Win, on behalf of their governments, as well as
resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) S.K. Das
and Executive Director of the UN International Drug Control Programme
(UNDCP) Giorgio Giacomelli.
        The project, started in October of 1994, is devised to assist the villages
in the declared poppy-free zones to improve their income through agriculture
and livestock development and to enhance their standard of living through
community development activities and also to provide funds for additional
technical experts to formulate a full-phased Wa project.

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

BKK POST: WA RESENTMENT A TIME BOMB FOR RANGOON
February 14,1996

Leaders of Burma's Wa minority feel they have been cheated by
the Rangoon deal with Khun Sa, and may abandon their
ceasefire, sources with contacts to the group said. The Wa
once formed the core of the Burma Communist Party (BCP), but
have been cooperating with the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc) since 1989.

"We leaders are quite bitter over the Rangoon deal with Khun
Sa," said one source who recently talked to the group. The Wa
feel especially frustrated because the Burmese army has taken
over the facilities Khun Sa gave up when he surrendered to
Rangoon late last year, the sources said.

"In short, they feel they've been denied the fruits of
victory," said the source. Wa fighters, who also have become
major heroin traffickers in recent years, cooperated with the
Burmese army in its two-year offensive against Khun Sa's
forces. Most observers believe Khun Sa "retired" when he felt
the war to protect his drugs trade was a lost cause.

"Rightly or wrongly, the Wa felt they were going to get
control of SUA (Khun Sa's Shan United Army) bases, refineries
and trafficking routes into Thailand," a source said.
Instead, the Burmese army took control of the area.

Most Wa trafficking, like that of their neighbouring Kokang
group, is done through China. The Wa campaign against Khun
Sa, which resulted in many dead on both sides, was aimed at
gaining new heroin smuggling routes.

The Wa have maintained close ties to corrupt Chinese
officials. Sources in Bangkok said yesterday it was possible
for the Wa to gain enough weapons and manpower for a renewed
war against Rangoon in the general Golden Triangle area.

"The Wa feel Rangoon was able to defeat Khun Sa only because
they helped the Burmese army," said one source. "They
provided the food and ammunition, and they also took a fairly
heavy loss life in the campaigns against Khun Sa."

The sources pointed out many Wa still maintain a long-
standing hatred of the army, made worse by traditional
animosity between the Wa and lowland Burmese.

Rangoon's long battle against Khun Sa was intended as the
last important fight against ethnic groups in areas along the
Thai frontier and inside the Golden Triangle. A new threat
from the Wa would greatly set back Slorc's "pacification" of
the area.

"The Wa were the first important group to declare a ceasefire
with the government," the source said. "If they decide to go
back on the offensive against Rangoon, it would set the whole
programme back by years." (BP)

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

ABSDF-DNA: KNU DELEGATION LEAVES FOR TALK
February 14, 1996
From: <caroline@ksc.net.th>

A 12-member delegation of KNU led by Mahn Shar La Phan went to Burma
today to have a talk with State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc)
ruling military regime.  The KNU is the one of the remaining ethnic armed
forces to have a talk with Slorc.
        The first preliminary delegation went to Moulmein for the first
time on December 13, 1995 to facilitate the dialogue between Slorc and
KNU. The preliminary delegation returned back to its headquarters on
December 18, 1995.
        The members included in the delegation are (1) Mahn Shar La Phan
(leader of delegation) (2) Phado Saw Aung San (deputy leader) (3) Phado
Tar El (member) (4) Saw Raw Gel (member) (5) Saw Ne Soe (member) (6) Mahn
Aung Tin Myint (member) (7) Saw Ti Toe ( In-charge of office staff) (8)
Saw Hte Ne (Vice-In-Charge of office) (9) Saw Hteut Soe (Documentation and
record) (10) Saw Nyi Nyi (Documentation and record) (11) Saw Lay Domu
(Signal and communication) (12) Saw Htoo Bo (medic).
        In the press release No.(3) on the talk between KNU and Slorc
released today, KNU said that they would forge ahead both for the welfare
of Karen people and all other nationalities in Burma during the process of
negotiation with genuine sincerity.

ABSDF News Agency
ABSDF (DAWN GWIN)

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

FBC: SECOND INTERNATIONAL DAY OF BURMA ACTION (MARCH 13, 1996)
February 13, 1996
From: zni@students.wisc.edu

Dear All,

As proposed by Canadian Free Burma groups, we would like to invite all of
you, Burma freedom-fighters, to participate in the Second International Day
of Action for a Free Burma.  March 13 is chosen as the Day although some of
us who will have spring breaks during that week will hold Burma Action
Events either before or after March 13 still declaring to be part of the
second wave of international day of Burma action.

***Specifically, we propose that the US groups and individuals work on
petition drive to get the Burma sanctions bills (now sitting at both US
Senate and the House) known as "Burma Democracy and Freedom Act of 1995"
(Senate Bill Number #S. 1511) and (House Bill Number HR 2892 IH) passed.
We will post the actual texts of the Bills and the addresses of the
legislators in a seperate email.  Also we'll have the texts up on our Free
Burma webpages (http:/freeburma.org).***

Activists in other continents are requested to join hands with us, North
American groups, in this second wave of Burma Action.  And we'd be more
than happy to offer any feasible assistance in making this Burma Action a
resounding success.

Background History

March 13, a month from today, is known in Burma as Hpone Maw Day or Burma
Human Rights Day.  Hpone Maw, 23 year old mechanical engineering student
from the then prestigious Rangoon Institute of Technology, was shot behind
the back from the Security Forces during the initial period  of 1988
pro-democracy movement.  Hpone Maw was the very first student to be
murdered by General Ne Win's military dictatorship since 1974-75 studnt
uprisings.  His body was kept in Rangoon General Hospital downtown Rangoon.
Later it was taken to the Tar-mwe Cemetary where it was buried quietly
without any customary Buddhist funeral rites **before sunrise.** (Usually
funerals are held in the afternoon.)  Present at the Cemetary were a
handful of professors from his school, a few relatives, and lots of fully
armed securty men in uniform.  General Ne Win's Burma Socialist Programme
Party (BSPP) feared that a public funeral might cause further
"disturbances" initiated by politically active student body in Rangoon.
March 13 has come to be known as Burma's Human Rights Day.

Course of Action

Here is a list of suggested actions:

A top priority for US Burma Freedom Fighter:

1) petition drive, phone calls to US lawmakers on the Hill, and letter
writing campaign

A general course of action

2) Educational events

        a) Beyond Rangoon Showing (Beginning today, Beyond Rangoon is
available at video rental stores (also we'll make copies available very
soon, thanks to Castle Rock and Bill Rubenstein, the co-writer of BRGN).

        b) Video-presentation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's keynote address at
NGO's Forum, the Beijing Women's Conference (copies are available from FBC
at Madison.  $25 donatition requested.  Please make checks payable to "Free
Burma Coalition" and address Free Burma Coalition, 225 N. Mills ST.,
Madison, WI 53706)

        c) lectures and talks by various Burmese and Burma freedom fighters
(speaker's bureau list will be posted in a day.)

        d) radio and TV interviews

        e) writing letters to the editors and Op-Ed pieces

        f) Burma Potlarchs (sp?) and slide presentations

        g) cultural nights and benefit concerts combined with leafletting

        h) tabling at public events (like farmers' market, student union
lunch hours, etc.)

3) Street Actions

        a) Pepsi Dump

        b) Oil Dump

        c) Burma Protest Rally (Pizza Hut, taco Bell, Kentucky Fried
Chicken, etc.)

        d) "eat-ins" at restaurants that are Pepsi subsidiaries or that
sell Pepsi (Essentially you go in there and eat your own lunch using their
facilities during peak hours.  U. of New Mexico Burma folks have done it at
their Student Union where Pepsi products is served.)

4) More radical measures

 This is the kind of actions which are being taken by various individuals.
The Free Burma Coalition has heard these stories as rumors. We don't take
any position on these types of actions.

 a) monkey-renching or unplucking Pepsi machine at various locations
(for instance, malls, rest stops on free ways, campus buildings, public
areas, grocery stores);

b) calling Pepsi's 1-800 numbers and leaving the handset aside once
the phone rings;

c) jamming emails of Pepsi executives, alumni association offices,
pro-Slorc pro-corporate (oil corporations such as Unocal and Texaco)
money-at-all-cost law makers;

d) dumping Pepsi or crude oil on high priced Persian carpets
usually found at the offices of University administrators who serve Burma
related corporations; and

e) sabotaging major sports events, which are to be televised nationally, where

commercial symbols of Burma-related corporations are on display as part of
the sponsors.

4) Legal Battles

a) introduction of selective purchasing ordinances at your town, schools, etc.

b) pressuring schools and universities to dis-invest or sponsor shareholder
resolutions at Burma-related corporations or withdraw from contracts.

The list is not meant to be exhaustive and we hope that all of our freedom
fighters will take creative initiatives and set examples for other campaigns.

Peace and solidarity,

Free Burma Coation

(contact:  zni@students.wisc.edu; http://freeburma.org)

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

BADGER HERALD: STUDENTS ATTACK UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
INVESTMENTS   (UW-Madison newspaper)
February 13, 1996
From: zni@students.wisc.edu

Students attack UW investments: Coalition asks university to divest in
countries with questionable human rights records

by Jon Segal, Beat Reporter

        A coalition of student groups recently pressued UW-Madison to stop
investment in companies doing business in countries with human rights
violations.

        The Coalition for Socially Responsible Investment has formally
requested that UW take their money out of companies which do business in
Burma, Nigeria, East Timor, Indonesia, China, and Tibet, because of those
countries' human rights violations, according to CSRI organizer and FBC
member Zarni.

        The Coalition includes members of UW-Greens, Students for a Free
Tibet, and the Free Burma Coalition

        Zarni said teh UW invests in several companies that do business in
and with these countries, including Pepsi, which is currently under FBC
boycott due to its activities in Burma.

        "UW's original founders did not envision the university as an
institution for perpetuating oppression," Zarni said.  "In reality today,
what UW is doing through investment is contrary to its charter."

        Wisconsin Statute 36.21 (1) states: "No such investment shall be
knowingly made in any company, corporation, subsidiary, or affiliate, which
practices or condones through its actions discrimination on the basis of
race, creed, or sex."

        According to Zarni, Regent Dan Gelatt, and sources within the UW
law school, this law was conceived in the 1970's as a response to South
Africa's policy of apartheid.  It required UW to take its money out of any
company that did business there.

        Zarni said UW clearly violates this statute through its investments
in companies that do business in Burma and Tibet.

        However, Gelatt, chair of the Board of Regents Business and Finance
Committee, said he was personally reluctant for the board to make
independent decisions on the human rights records of companies, relying
instead on the guidance of the U.S. State Department.

        "It is not easy for UW to know which companies are doing business
in which countries," Gelatt said.  "I'm not anxious to spend a lot of time
on those issues when the Board of Regents is concerned with finding the
money to run the university."

        According to Gelatt, UW is currently consulting its counsel to
determine whether it stands in violation of Wisconsin.  He said the board
currently did not plan to pull out of the companies, but also that it had
not reached a final decision.

        "I expect there will be a public discussion of these policies this
spring," Gelatt said.  "I'm reluctant to project the outcomes of such
discussions."

        Zarni said he did not think change in policy would come easily.

        "I don't think the regents will act without sufficient support, so
we'll have to mobilize the student body," Zarni said.  "We're not asking
anything radical or illegal, just for UW comply with state law, which they
are not doing."

//end text//

Our Coalition's response to the article:

Editor,
The Badger Herald
550 State Street,
Madison, WI 53703

February 13, 1996

RE:  Students attack UW investments (The Badger Herald Article, February
13, 1996)

Dear Editor,

As organizer of both the Coalition for Socially Responsible Investment
(CSRI) and the Free Burma Coalition, I would like to thank the Badger
Herald for bringing the issue of "socially responsible investment" to the
attention of the campus community.

I do, however, wish to point out several important matters which the
article inadequately explains, or fails to mention.

First, the Coalition enjoys a far broader level of support than is
portrayed in the article.  As a matter of fact,  CSRI has strong backing
from the following organizations and individuals:  UW-Madison organizations
such as Teaching Assistant Association, Community Action on Latin America,
Asian American Student Union, International Women's Rights, East Timor
Action Network, Students for the New Progressive Party, Student Labor
Action Coalition, and Progressive Student Network; labor groups such as
Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign and UNITE; citizens' groups such as National
Family Farmers' Association, Wisconsin Tibetan Association, and Democracy
Unlimited; individual faculty members in various departments and schools,
and similar groups from other UW campuses including Milwaukee, Whitewater,
Oshkosh, Steven's Point, and Eau Claire.

Second, the Coalition's effort to ensure that a public land-grant
university such as Wisconsin do business ethically and responsibly  as
required by Wisconsin State Statute 36.21 (1) is part of a larger social
movement that is taking root on US college campuses.  The ultimate goal of
this "socially responsible investment" project is to demand the merging of
moral and ethical values with business practices at our universities.
Similar projects are being launched at colleges and universities, including
Stanford, Georgetown, and University of Virginia, schools not necessarily
known for liberalism or activism.

Third, during the New Year's break, the Coalition hosted a national meeting
of organizers from across the US. The primary outcome of  this meeting was
that national teach-ins on the subject in question will be held on US
campuses October 13-19, 1996.

In the light of the aforementioned, it would be a mistake for the Board of
Regents and the University administration to take our demands lightly,
thinking that we are yet another group of idealistic and emotionally driven
activists.

It is tragic that our great University of Wisconsin apparently finds it
honorable to do business with those multinationals which bankroll
dictatorships, thereby violating the Wisconsin Statute 36.21 (1).

Members of the Coalition intend to engage the Regents in a respectful
manner.  And while we do hope for the best, we are prepared for the worst.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Zarni
Organizer (CSRI and FBC)

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

NATION: BURMESE STANCE SOFTENS AS BORDER CHECKPOINTS OPEN
February  16, 1996   (abridged)
Yindee Lertcharoenchok

Chiang Rai - Burmese authorities in Tachilek have quietly
allowed the opening of seven temporary border crossings since
the permanent closure of the official checkpoint after a
lighting attack on the town by opium warlord Khun Sa's
soldiers last March.

Informed sources said most of the crossings, except the one
under the control of the ethnic Wa, who are allowed to collect
taxes from cross-border goods, were opened last week.

An official from the United Wa State Army(UWSA) confirmed the
opening of the unofficial checkpoint with Thailand's Mae Sai
district of Chiang Rai by local Tachilek officials.

He said the Burmese crossings are open from 6 am until 6 pm
and the goods moved are mainly basic necessities and
commodities entering Burma across the Sai River, he said.

However, Burmese precious stones, mainly jade and rubies,
which used to help boost the economy of Mai Sai district of
Chiang Rai have not been, he said. Most goods from Burma sent
to Mae Sai are Chinese household utensils, he added.

The Wa official, who asked not to be named, said one of the
crossings was opened some eight months ago and was under the
control of UWSA forces. The Slorc has allowed the UWSA to
collect taxes from cross border goods to generate income.

The UWSA set up a liaison office in Tachilek to co-ordinate
communications with the Burmese authorities. The ethnic Wa
some 30 percent, including armed soldiers, in the Burmese
town, the official said.

After repeated requests, the Wa were eventually allowed to
control and tax one official checkpoint, which was the first to be
opened after the official checkpoint at Tachilek was  closed, he said.

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

NATION: FROM NARCO TERRORIST TO BLOOD BRETHREN
February 16, 1996

Aung Zaw traces the official rise in status of Khun Sa from
drug baron to ethnic leader.

Prior to the surrender of his mountain stronghold, Khun Sa was
branded variously as a "narco terrorist" and "drug-dealer" by
Burma's powerful military leaders. They repeatedly said they
would not negotiate with the drug baron and instead vowed to
wipe out this operations.

Tough talk. But when it come down to business, the military
leaders change the official line.

"U Khun Sa is now our own blood brethren," said Burma's
leaders at the recently held press conference. No more drug
dealer Khun Sa but U Khun Sa, this is what military leaders
preferred to call him with honour. In Burmese, 'U' basically
means 'mister' or 'uncle'. It is a term of respect.

The drug warlord Khun Sa turned himself in to authorities on
Jan 5 and the US government has been asking the Slorc to send
him to  the US since then. He is wanted in the US on heroin
trafficking charges. About 60 per cent of the heroin sold in
the US originates in the Golden Triangle where Khun Sa was a
leading drug traffickers.

On 9 February, Rangoon-based diplomats, senior Slorc officials and
ministers, including powerful military leader Lt Gen Khin Nyunt,
and UN officials witnessed the burning of approximately
1750 tonnes of heroin, opium and marijuana in Rangoon.

During the same press conference, Col Kyaw Thein who led a
negotiation team to Khun Sa's headquarters in January said two
non-productive drug laboratories had been found in MTA-
controlled areas and the government was searching for more. "I
can assure you that the amount of drugs produced in MTA-
controlled areas will drop very significantly," he added.

The official newspapers said a total of 12,868 MTA members
have returned to the legal fold since 5 January, turning over
7,610 assorted weapons.

But Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said Slorc had no intention of
extradition the opium warlord to the US. He is the second
high-ranking official to publicy rule out Khun Sa's
extradition to the US after Slorc Secretary Two Lt Gen Tin Oo.

US State Department spokesman Glyn Davies described Ohn
Gyaw's speech as a "negative development", adding, "If the
government of Burma has made a deal with him, that is very unfortunate."

Lt-Col Kyaw Thein said: "We didn't have any negotiation or
deal at all. They just surrendered unconditionally. The
government will be dealing with U Khun Sa according to the law
and the practices that we have used in these incidents. This
is a different matter when compared with other armed U Khun Sa
and his troops as an armed national groups. We have not
treated U Khun Sa and his troops not as armed national group
at all. So, this is a different matter."

But western diplomats at the ceremony said recently that
there is a different treatment given to Khun Sa but it is a
special treatment. There is no political agenda involved since
he is just a warlord. He added it is easy for Slorc to deal
with Khun Sa rather than armed ethnic groups which are unhappy
with Slorc's performances.

Even though Slorc repeatedly claimed that Khun Sa will be
dealt according to the law, there have been no developments
suggesting Slorc actually intends to do this. The drug baron
is still a free man and Slorc has been allowing him to stay
either in Mandalay or Rangoon.

Said another diplomat, "Obviously, there is a sweet deal.
[between Khun Sa and Slorc]."
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, in a recent speech, said the government
will look after him on humanitarian grounds and for the sake
of national reconciliation, adding that he was no different
from those who had previously laid down their arms.

Lt Gen Khin Nyunt's statement enraged some armed ethnic groups
said observes in Bangkok. Some ethnic groups are preparing to
make a protest statement against Khin Nyunt's speech. "He
[Khun Sa] is not a politician nor ethnic leader, Khun Sa is
just a 'business man,' said one Karenni official.

Sources in Rangoon said Burma's former drug warlord, Lo Hsing-
Han, is now 'unofficial adviser' to Khin Nyunt. Lo Hsing-Han also
acted as go-between for Slorc during its talks with Wa-Ko Kang groups
in 1989.

However, at the Union Day ceremony in Rangoon, outspoken
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi  said the junta is treating
treating Khun Sa not as a criminal, but as an ethnic leader.
"It is the military government which has always said that Khun
Sa is to be considered as an ethnic leader, but only as a drug trafficker."

It is not surprising to us that they have gone back completely on their
word and are now treating him as an ethnic leader," she added.

Ironically, while the Nobel Peace Prize winner was under house arrest
there was a widespread fear that she would be forcibly deported.

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

BKK POST: DUTCH BEER GIANT'S BURMA VENTURE TOUCHES RAW NERVE
February 14, 1996

PROTEST is brewing over Heineken's decision to set up a joint
venture with Burma's military junta to make beer in the Southeast
Asian country.

"Through the joint venture with the military, Heineken has become
an accomplice to the tragedy of the Burmese people," activist
Arie-Willem Bijl said on Monday. He's coordinator of Solidarity
Fund XminY, an action group that funds grassroots political and
social movements worldwide.

An appeal made by Burma's most prominent opposition figure, Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, also went unheeded.

In a phone interview with Dutch television last month, Suu Kyi
asked Heineken to halt investment in Burma until more political,
social and economic reforms are introduced.

The beer maker maintains it's  aware of alleged human rights
abuses in Burma, but is staying put.

"We are very worried about the situation. What's happening there
is appalling and we condemn it," said Heineken spokesman Koos
Woltjes.
     
For much of the world  Heineken sells beer in about 170 countries
its distinctive green can is synonymous with the Netherlands, a
major international advocate of human rights.

"We have good arguments for staying there, we are doing the right
thing," Woltjes added.
     
He argues that Heineken can bring its corporate "norms and
values" to Burma.

"We can contribute like offering scholarships, help with the
local society. We can set an example on how to conduct business,"
he said.

Calling the country an emerging market, Heineken says competition
is fierce among international brewers to gain a foothold in Burma.
     
But two action groups want the world's second largest brewer,
after Anheuser Busch of the United States, to stop building a new
brewery outside Rangoon and stop cooperating with the military
regime.
     
Western governments and human right group say the regime is
responsible for widespread human rights abuses.
     
Along with environmental group A SEED Europe, XminY is
circulating petition letters and has staged a demonstration
outside the beer giant's Amsterdam headquarters.

The groups do not plan to call a boycott against Heineken.

Via a Singapore-based company, Asia Pacific Breweries, Heineken
owns 60% of the Rangoon joint venture, while 40% is controlled by
Burma's Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited. The union is
controlled by the Burmese military.

" We call the shots and not the generals. We run the company,"
said Woltjes,

Come September, the brewery, named Myanmar Brewery Limited, will
begin producing 140,000 hectoliters (3,680,000 gallons ) of Asia
Pacific Breweries, popular brand, Tiger, annually.

Heineken has similar joint ventures via Asia Pacific Breweries in
Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Thailand.
     
The protests against Heineken followed the targeting of another Dutch
multinational, Royal Dutch Shell, for its international activities.

Last year Greenpeace and other environmental groups attacked
Shell over its plan to dump the obsolete Brent Spar oil platform
in the North Sea.
     
After a high-profile campaign that disrupted its operations in
some European countries, Shell decided to dismantle the platform
on land.

The oil company also came in for international criticism
following the November execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other
environmental activists by the Nigerian government.

The activists had protested that land and water in the Ogoni
region in southeastern Nigeria had been devastated; by oil
production under a joint venture between Shell Nigeria and the
Nigerian government.

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

BKK POST: 200 SHANS ACROSS BORDER TO ESCAPE HARSH TREATMENT
February 14, 1996

About 200 Shan civilians _ mostly women, children and the
elderly _ crossed the Thai-Burmese border into this province
yesterday to escape harsh treatment by Burmese troops at Ho
Mong in Shan State, according to a senior Thai official.

After drug warlord Khun Sa and his Mong Tai Army surrendered
to Rangoon in January, Ho Mong was put under the control of
some 5,000 Burmese soldiers.

The official quoted the refugees as saying their men had been
forced to work as porters and their women raped by Burmese
soldiers. Fearing for their safety, Shan villagers at Ban Mai
Huoha and Ban Mae Orluang yesterday decided to escape into
Thailand at Ban Rakthai (Mae Or Village) in Mae Hong Son's
Tambon Mok champae.

The Naresuan Task Force was keeping a close watch on the
refugees who had settled about 300 metres from the Thai
village. The headman of Ban Huoha, identified only as Wan,
58, said the Burmese had forced young Shan villagers to serve
as porters. Those who resisted were physically assaulted or
even shot dead, he added.

Meanwhile, a source in the MTA said Khun Sa had paid frequent
visits to Rangoon, especially to meet Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt,
secretary-general of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council. To reward Khun Sa for his surrender, the Slorc had
agreed to provide a house in Rangoon for him, said the source
who requested anonymity.

The source said the junta also agreed to build living
quarters for Khun Sa followers. Khun Sa and five of his
soldiers last visited Rangoon on February 5 to check the
progress of construction of the living quarters, the source said.

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

NATION: LETTER - ASIAN APARTHEID
February 15, 1996

Mandela dismantled apartheid in South Africa. Slorc's Myanmar is
promoting apartheid with US$140 a day hotels owned by foreigners
and catering exclusively to foreigners that no Burmese can afford.

Burma is becoming a nation of bell-hops, clerks and prostitutes.

We used to call that colonialism.

Slorc's systematic promotion of apartheid is also illustrated by
stores and supermarkets that sell luxury goods exclusively in US
dollars. Only the generals and their business collaborators have
access to dollars and can shop in these exclusive store.

The ordinary Burmese person has extreme difficulty in feeding his
family due to the sky-rocketing price of rice, let alone shop at
these dollar stores. Slorc is also creating a system of apartheid
in schools.

Slorc spends money for computers in schools that their children
attend.

Yet, in a recent UN report, it was indicated that an increasing
number of Burmese' children have not completed primary education
because inflation has devastated the financial resources of the
working class family in Burma. Slorc has closed the door for
peaceful change in Burma.

When Gen Ne Win dies, there will be a revolution in Burma.

Myint Thein
Dallas, Texas

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

BKK POST: ILLEGAL MONS, BURMESE HELD IN POLICE RAID
February 16, 1996  (abridged)

Almost 200 Burmese and Mon illegal immigrants were arrested
during a raid near a hotel site in Thailand yesterday.
Mr Yod, one of the arrested Burmese workers, said most of the
group came from Moulmein in lower Burma. He said he was
employed in Ranong first where he received a wage of 80 baht.
He then moved to Phuket where he would be paid 120 baht.

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

NATION: BORDER PASS TO OPEN
February 14, 1996

The Cabinet yesterday approved an Interior Ministry proposal
to temporarily open a Burmese-Thai border pass to allow logs
into Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district.

The pass would be open for two years to allow Thaisawat
Import & Export co, Ltd to transport logs from Burma through
Baan Arunothai in Muang-Na precinct to Chiang Dao district.

The company obtained a business certificate from the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok, and the border opening was endorsed by
the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council. (TN)

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


ANNOUNCEMENT: MEETING - "DOING BUSINESS WITH MYANMAR"
February 13, 1996
From: Niko Reichwald <a2639408@smail1.rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE>

The Netherlands-Myanmar Council for Trade Promotion (NMCT) is sponsoring
an information meeting "doing business with myanmar" on March 13,1996 at
14:30 hour in the Chamber of Commerce and Fabrics (Beursplein 37, Grand-
hall) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
The NMCT was founded on December 08,1995 with the goal to stimulate trade
between both countries and to offer Myanmar the possibilities as a
business partner under the attention of the Netherlands business world.
The info meeting will be opened by H.J.Stevens, the chairman of the
Myanmar Consul in the Netherlands, and the main speaker will be Pyo We Win,
one of the sons of dictator Ne Win (son-of-a-gun) and will read on "doing
business with myanmar". The other speakers are W.Radelaar (cultural
aspects of myanmar), P.van Zanten,general manager ING bank (financial
aspects) and P.Loos, deputy director Indosuez bank (strategy with respect
to myanmar). The secretary of the NMCT, G.Westenburg, mentioned that the
interested persons are required to inform the office as soon as possible
before March 08, 1996.

The Burma Bureau/Germany would like to invite comments on this meeting
"doing business with slorc" from the international community, especially
from our friends of The Netherlands. We are of the opinion that the info
meeting is only to do with "doing business with military dictators slorc"
and nothing to do with Burma. The NMCT is absolutely not doing the trade
promotion, but slorc promotion. The NL-council should be far-sighted and
should consider long-term trade relationship with democratic Burma in the
interest of both nations, otherwise it might become a "hate promotion".
