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

The BurmaNet News: January 19, 1996
Issue #325

Noted in Passing:

                I would like [Americans] to see us not as a country
                rather far away whose sufferings do not matter, but
                as fellow human beings in need of human rights and
                who could do so much for the world, if we were allowed.
                - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
                (see US SENATE: DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI)

HEADLINES
=========
BURMANET: WARNING TO ALL AMERICAN TOURISTS TO BURMA
ASAHI EVENING NEWS: BURMA BARS NORWEGIAN - LED GROUP
US SENATE: DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
NATION: INFLUENTIAL FINANCIER SLAMS TOKYO'S BID TO AID
SHAMBALA SUN: INTERVIEW WITH DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
S.H.A.N. : STATEMENT ON THE S.H.A.N. POLICY TOWARDS M.T.A.
FREE BURMA: BURMESE FONTS AND WEBSITES
INDEPENDENT LETTER: RE: LET US NOT BE BIASED
FBC: SELECTIVE PURCHASING LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
FBC: LOBBY FOR BURMA SANCTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BURMANET: WARNING TO ALL AMERICAN TOURISTS TO BURMA
January 18, 1996   BurmaNet Editor

The American Embassy in Burma does not have a consular treaty with
the SLORC.  This means that the American Embassy cannot provide
protection to American tourists who run into trouble while travelling in
Burma.  Embassy staff are not guaranteed access to Americans in jail
nor can they provide food to them.

Given the difficulties many recent travellers have had in Burma, this warning
should be taken seriously.   Even with official permission from authorities
in Rangoon, travellers can run into trouble with powerful local commanders
outside the capital.  These local military leaders can sight security risks and
their actions will not be challenged by Rangoon authorities.

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

ASAHI EVENING NEWS: BURMA BARS NORWEGIAN - LED GROUP
January 17, 1996
from brelief@gol.com

Oslo -- Burma's military regime refused to grant entry visas
Tuesday to a Norwegian - led fact - finding team that wanted to
meet with Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The pro - democracy activist said the refusal was typical of the
generals who seized power in 1988, crushed the democracy
movement and held her under house arrest for six years.

"This is the sort of thing that happens quite frequently in
Burma," Suu Kyi said by telephone from her home in Rangoon.
"We would very much have welcomed the visit."

The four - nation delegation had planned to meet Suu Kyi,
opposition leaders and members of the military government.
Instead, they were leaving for Thailand on Tuesday to meet
Burma's exiled government.

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

US SENATE: DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
January 17, 1996
>From freeburma@aol.com

DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI (Senate - January 10, 1996)

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the January 7, 1996 New York Times Magazine
contains an interview with the leader of Burma 's democracy movement,
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
 
Many of us have followed her situation, during six years of house
arrest, and her recent release by the Burmese authorities. She is a
woman of remarkable courage, honesty and clarity of purpose. She wants
to do whatever she can to improve the lives of her people, and she has
devoted her life to that goal. She believes unequivocally that
democracy is the only way, and she has the trust and support of the
overwhelming majority of Burmese citizens.
 
As she says in the interview, the Burmese authorities continue to
refuse to even discuss a process for instituting democracy, because
they are too fond of their power and privileges. But Suu Kyi knows
that eventually the SLORC will have to sit down and negotiate with
her. As she points out, that is what happened in South Africa, and
even in the former Yugoslavia although there only after the slaughter
of a quarter of a million people and the destruction of much of
Bosnia. Those two examples represent the SLORC's options. Either a
peaceful way out, or mass demonstrations and an explosion of violence
that will make them wish they had listened to her.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of Senator
McConnell's legislation to impose sanctions on the Burmese government.
Senator McConnell has been a strong advocate for human rights and
democracy in Burma , and I applaud him for it. It is important that
the United States have a consistent policy, and I believe that until
the SLORC demonstrates a genuine willingness to negotiate the
transition to democracy with Suu Kyi, our policy should be to isolate
the SLORC from the world community it yearns to be part of. In that
regard, I would note that the SLORC has named 1996 `Visit Myanmar
Year.' I hope that anyone considering accepting the SLORC's invitation
will read the interview with Suu Kyi, and be aware that they may find
themselves staying in hotels and traveling on roads that were built
with forced labor.

Mr. President, I am not going to ask that the entire interview be
printed in the Record, but I urge all Senators to read it. I do ask
unanimous consent that Suu Kyi's response to the question `What do you
want people in the United States to know about you?' be printed in the
Record.

Excerpt From Interview With Suu Kyi:

Q: What do you want people in the United States to know about you?

A: That we are not near democracy yet and that there are, so far, no
signs that we are progressing toward democratization. The National
Convention [that Slorc was holding to draft a constitution], as it
stands, is not a step toward democratization at all.

I think a lot of Americans very much take their rights for granted.
And I think many of them do not know what life is like for those of us
whose security is not guaranteed by a democratic constitution. So I
would like to ask them to try to put themselves in our shoes, and ask
how they would feel if they were deprived of all rights. I would like
them to see us not as a country rather far away whose sufferings do
not matter, but as fellow human beings in need of human rights and who
could do so much for the world, if we were allowed.

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

NATION: INFLUENTIAL FINANCIER SLAMS TOKYO'S BID TO AID
BURMA
January 18, 1996,    Reuter

TOKYO - Influential financier George Soros said yesterday
that he was "very critical and very concerned" about Japan's
provision of aid to Burma as there had not been enough
progress in the human rights situation there.

While acknowledging there was truth to the ideas that
helping Burma to progress economically would yield freedom,
he warned that at this point economic aid would merely allow
the current government to remain in power.

"The current regime... is not a viable regime because it has
no support in an economic sense. But it can survive on the
supposedly well-meant aid that it is getting from Japan," he said.

Soros, who addressed a gathering of business executives and
reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, mentioned
Burma while discussing his concept of the need for "open societies".

He noted that there had been progress in Burma, particularly
through the government's release of opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi in July 1995, but that it was not enough.

"That was the end of what (the Burmese government) was
willing to do, and... ought to be the end of what Japan is
willing to do," he said.

Shortly after Suu Kyi's release from six years of house
arrest, Japan said it would consider resuming full-scale
financial aid to Burma in the form of yen loans, which it
suspended after the Burmese military's bloody suppression of
a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. Japan provided grant-in-
aid packages to Burma even before Suu Kyi's release, but yen
loan packages are normally tens of times larger than those.

Suu Kyi has urged Japan and other countries to be cautious
about resuming full-scale aid, saying they should wait for
real changes in Burma's human rights situation.

Japan has said it would decide whether to resume yen loans
by carefully monitoring progress of democratic reforms.

Japan's grants in aid since Suu Kyi's release have included
5.0 billion yen ($50 million) as debt relief in return for Burma's
repayment of a loan of the same amount in November 1995.

Hungarian-born Soros is considered one of the world's most
successful hedge fund managers and is well-known for his
philanthropic activities, particularly in Eastern Europe.

His fame grew in 1992 when he was dubbed "the man who broke
the pound" after ranking in profits by selling sterling on
the expectation that Britain would be forced to pull its
currency out of Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism.

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

SHAMBALA SUN: INTERVIEW WITH DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
January 17, 1996
From: brelief@gol.com

>From SHAMBALA SUN, January 1996

"YOU COULD START BY CONVINCING A FRIEND"

Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the young people of the world
about peace, alienation, and realizing their own power.

Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world's leading campaigners
for democracy and a Nobel Peace Prize winner of great
heroism.  In person, we found her delicate and charming, and
her wit and intelligence shone throughout our interview.

We traveled to Burma to interview Aung San Suu Kyi for
Peacejam, a five - year educational program to reach out to
young people worldwide with a message of hope.  Peacejam
celebrates the lives of Nobel Peace Laureates, including
Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu, the
Dalai Lama, Oscar Aris Sanchez and Betty Williams. Aung
San Suu Kyi's deep Buddhist training is the basis of her life,
her work, and her exemplary response to the difficulties of her
current situation.  So as you read this interview, look beneath
the words of her answers to hear the subtlety of the message
she has for every one of  us.  Listen also to the message she is
sending to her jailers, to her people and to the world, about the
tragedy of Burma.        --  Ivan Suvanieff

Ivan Suvanjieff: WHAT DOES FREEDOM MEAN TO YOU?

Aung San Suu Kyi:   Freedom would mean that I would be
able to do what I understand to be right, without the fear that
by doing so I would be exposing myself and others to danger.

WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?

ASSK:  Giving joy to others - that's obvious. I think that those
who are happy give happinss to others.

THEN DESCRIBE AN IDEAL LIVING SITUATION FOR
ALL PEOPLES.

ASSK: I don't think there is one ideal living situation for all
peoples.  A situation in which people can be free from want
and fear is not a bad situation at all - although I won't be as
presumptuous as to say that this would be ideal for all people.
Others would have to speak for themselves.

HOW DOES BUDDHISM AFFECT YOUR PERSONAL
LIFE, AND SOCIAL VISION AS WELL?

ASSK:  Well, I was born a Buddhist and brought up a
Buddhist, so it is very difficult for me to separate what is
Buddhist in me from what is not Buddhist in me.  It's a
question that I find very difficult to answer.

WHICH IS GREATER: A BOMB THAT CAN DESTROY
ONE MILLION PEOPLE OR ONE MILLION PEOPLE
JOINING HEARTS AND MINDS  OPPOSE SUCH A BOMB?

ASSK:  [Smiles.]  I Obviously, I think it would be the one
million people!  One million can always become two million,
two can become four, four can become eight and so on.
Whereas, one bomb is one bomb; it remains one bomb.  Unless
of course, people make more.

It is people who are more important and people who are
stronger and in the end, it is people who decide whether or not
to use the bomb.

ALONG THIS SAME LINE: IF THEY BUILT A BOMB
THAT ONLY ONE PERSON OPPOSED, HOW COULD
THAT ONE PERSON CONVINCE OTHERS TO OPPOSE
SUCH A BOMB?

ASSK:  I think you could start by convincing a friend.  You
have to start with the first step, and there are many ways of
starting- I take heart that some big, international movements
have started with a letter to a newspaper and people who read
that letter take it up.  If you have the will to do something, you
can find a way.  It's an old-fashioned thing to say, but I think it
is still valid to say, "Where there is a will, there is a way."

Every movement, ultimately, was started by one person.
Someone initiates it, the same way somebody must have
initiated the first step in the process of making the bomb.

OFTEN, YOUTH ARE MADE TO FEEL POWERLESS.
HOW CAN YOUTH RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN WORTH
AND POWER TO EFFECT NONVIOLENT CHANGE?

ASSK: Do the youth really feel powerless?  It is probably
because they have less of a community feeling.  You may feel
powerless as one alone, but if you're part of a community, I
think you would feel less powerless.

Perhaps the reason they feel powerless is because they feel
apart from the rest of the community-that  the generation feels
apart from other generations.  If they could be made to feel a
part of humanity in general-not just a part of a generation, an
isolated group-they would feel more powerful.

But is power all that is necessary?  Is power all that desirable?
That's another question you have to put forth...

IT'S NOT THAT YOUTH FEEL THAT THEY NEED "THE
POWER" PER SE...

ASSK: ... they feel helpless ...

... AND HOW CAN THEY OVERCOME THIS FEELING
OF HELPLESSNESS TO AFFECT CHANGE.  DO YOU
HAVE ANY SPECIFIC IDEAS?...

ASSK:  I've always thought that the best solution for those who
feel helpless is for them to help others.  I think then they will
start feeling less helpless themselves.

HAS CONSUMERISM REPLACED SPIRITUAL VALUES
IN OUR YOUTH?

ASSK:  I don't think there is an easy answer to that.  It's not as
simple as spiritualism versus consumerism.  It's the values of
the whole society... it's changing values.  Everybody is involved.

I'm quite intrigued about this whole question as to why the
youth feel so alienated from the rest of society and why they
feel that the only thing that is real for them are material goods.
This must be something to do with what they have been taught
- the values to which they are exposed to all the time.

I would not be so confident of my own... vision... to be able to
give a quick answer to this.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERATION THAT IS, SAY, 14
TO 25 YEARS OLD, WAS THE FIRST GENERATION TO
BE TRULY RAISED BY TELEVISION.  MOTHER AND
FATHER WERE OUT CHASING THE "AMERICAN
DREAM," AND THIS GENERATION FEELS THAT
THEY'VE BEEN LEFT HOME ALONE; THAT THEY
HAVE NO GUIDANCE AND THEREFORE FEEL
HELPLESS.  HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY FROM THAT
SITUATION?

ASSK:  If they had more people - among family, among
friends - who would spend time with them, perhaps they would
spend less time in front of the television.  It's more important
for them to relate to people rather than the television set.

IN GENERAL, IS IT PREFERABLE TO PRETEND ONE
IS TOLERANT OF ANOTHER'S COLOR, RACE OR
BELIEFS, OR IS IT BETTER TO BE FRANK?

ASSK:  It would help if people were frank about their inner
feelings, but only in a positive way.  I do not think it does
people any good to go around saying how much they hate
others [smiles, laughs] or how much they dislike what other
people are doing.

But I think that if they can be frank with those who would be
able to help them overcome these negative feelings, that would
be of great help.  They should be frank, but only with the
intention of getting something positive out of their frankness,
not with the intention of hurting other people.

Some people like to pride themselves on their frankness and
openness but in fact, they are just hurting other people.  Using
the excuse of frankness, they hurt other people, insult other
people.  I do not think that helps.  If you simply want to air
your feelings in order to hurt others, you might as well just
keep your mouth shut.

If you want to talk to someone frankly about your feelings in
order to improve them, to get over your feelings of hatred or
inadequacy or fears, I think it's a good idea.

IF SOMEONE HAS A FRANK YETCONFRONTATIONAL
MINDSET IN DOING THIS, HOW DO YOU CONVINCE THEM
OF THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERDEPENDENCE?

ASSK:  I think that first of all, you must listen to that person.
You've got to try to ask him to explain why he feels the way he
feels.  You have to ask, "Why do you hate that?  Why do you
think a certain color is bad?" or, "Why do you think a certain
belief is bad?"

Then, I think, you would have to carry on from there, because
if you want to create understanding between two people, both
sides must learn to listen to each other-both sides, to a certain
extent, must be frank about their fears.

Quite a lot of people do not like to admit their weaknesses to
others and they hide these weaknesses.  In doing so, they create
a barrier.  And of course people do not want to confess their
weaknesses to just anybody because it might be exploited.
That's understandable, too.

The first step is confidence building.  If the two sides can start
having confidence in the other's good will, then you can carry
on from there.  Then I think they will be much more honest
and not just talk about what they hate, but what they fear.

Hate and fear are the opposite sides of the same coin.  It's the
same thing.  You don't hate unless you fear, basically.

THERE IS A GROWING PROBLEM IN THE UNITED
STATES REGARDING PRAYER IN SCHOOLS.  SOME
DON'T WANT PRAYER AT ALL, SOME WANT ONLY
CHRISTIAN PRAYER, AND SOME WOULD BE
CONTENT WITH A FEW MOMENTS OF SILENCE SO
EVERYONE CAN PRAY AS THEY SEE FIT.  HOW CAN
WE FIX THIS SITUATION?

ASSK:  Could they not be given the opportunity to get to know
more about these other cornmunities which they are rejecting?
About what is actually contained in those other religions which
they have decided, without really knowing much about them,
are not real religions at all, are not worth considering?
Perhaps they could be told about the similarities that do exist
among these different religions.

I'm all for a broadminded attitude.  People of all different
religions should be given the opportunity to pursue  good in
their own way.  I assume that is what religion is all about.
Religion is about increasing peace and harmony in the world.
Everyone should be given a chance to create peace and
harmony in their own way.

I didn't grow up Catholic, but I went to a Catholic school.  It
was a missionary school like they had in Burma in those days.
The majority of us were Buddhists, so we had a "morals class"
[laughs].  It would sound very, very funny to young people
today.  They'd probably think it was very funny! [Laughter.] I
have to confess I really can't remember much of what we were
taught in those classes.  Later we learned some poems which
were supposed to inspire and teach us in good ways.  The fact
that I can still remember some of these poems seems to indicate
these lessons did have an impression.

LET'S SAY THAT INSTEAD OF MORALS CLASSES, SCHOOLS
OFFERED SOMETHING LIKE "UNDERSTANDING ONE
ANOTHER." WOULD YOU CONDONE A CLASS LIKE THIS?

ASSK:  Yes! Anything that creates understanding in the long
run makes for less violence.  If there is understanding then you
don't have to solve your problems through violence; you can
solve them by just talking it over.  If there was understanding,
in fact, there would be few problems.

IS THIS POSSIBLE IN TODAY'S WORLD?

That depends on where in the world, because the conditions
that prevail in the States are not the ones that exist in Burma or
in India or Japan or perhaps other countries in Europe.  And it
depends on how you initiate such programs.

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

S.H.A.N. : STATEMENT ON THE S.H.A.N. POLICY TOWARDS M.T.A.
January 5, 1996
From: "H.NG.P SPM <H.NG.P SPM" <100706.1311@comnet4.ksc.net.th>

The Shan Independence newspaper was started in 1973 under the auspices of
Kornzurng, who later became the President of the Shan State Restoration Council
(SSRC) before his death in 1991.

Up to 1991, the Independence was the official news organ of the SSRC. However,
in 1991, the decision was taken to let it be an independent publication, to
encourage people to exercise their freedom of expression. The following year,
another decision was made to stop subsidizing the newspaper by the SSRC, and to
let it subsist on patriots and outside agencies, and from payments for printing
miscellaneous publications.

The Shan Herald Agency for News ( S.H.A.N. ), formed in 1991, which publishes
the Independence, had until recently supported the Mong Tai Army despite its
negative reputation, because it was the only Shan Movement that remained opposed
to the SLORC. However, now that it has forsaken its original cause, there is no
reason for S.H.A.N. to continue its support.

We have therefore moved out of the Ho Mong base since 3 January 1996 to reside
in the neighboring country in order to continue our work, which we believe is in
the interests of all those who love FREEDOM, EQUALITY and JUSTICE. The S.H.A.N.
will continue to fight against ignorance, disunity and tyranny, because that is
the only way we can achieve united strength that will eventually overthrow the
oppressive regime.

The Editors
Shan Herald Agency for News

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

FREE BURMA: BURMESE FONTS AND WEBSITES
January 17, 1996
>From Glen at freeburma@pobox.com

8 windows fonts (including karen) and
4 mac fonts (including karen) can be found at
http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/software/fonts/

Say "no!" to Pepsi and the gas that goes with it.
             Boycott Pepsico and Unocal
Visit http://FreeBurma.org
Visit http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/freeburma.html

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

INDEPENDENT LETTER: RE: LET US NOT BE BIASED
January 18, 1996
From: an304997@anon.penet.fi (The Tribal Man)

On January 1, 1996, S. Win, U. K. wrote

>         Well, my last advice for Mr. Litner is if he could look into
> the Chinese history, let say, about a thousand years back. He will come
> to realize that the Chinese called their neighbor (Myan - Tin ) not
> (Bur - Tin ) or (Bama - Tin) and the notion that the Kachins, the Chins,
> and the Nagas hardly had any contact with the Bamar before the arrival
> of the British is in my opinion too absurd to reply.

For the record, the Chins hardly had any contact, if at all, with the
Bamar before (and in some areas, even after) the British came.

Here's a proof: of all several hundred different Chin dialects, some don't
even have a word that refers to the Bamar (race). In most dialects, the
word "kawl", which is a borrowed word, is used to refer to the Burmese.

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

FBC: SELECTIVE PURCHASING LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
IN OAKLAND, CA
January 17, 1996

We are finally getting close to passing selective purchasing
legislation in Oakland!

Selective purchasing legislation in Oakland will be introduced before
the city's Finance and Legislation Committee, Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 1
pm at City Hall (near 14th & Broadway, downtown Oakland).

We need everyone at the roundtable, and especially Oakland residents,
to come and show support. People will be allowed to address the
committee.

The legislation will be debated and voted on two weeks later at a
full City Council Meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in council
chambers on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

The legislation is being introduced by Ignacio de la Fuentes and we
do not expect any problems with passage. However, it will probably
not be unanimous. Mayor Elihu Harris may oppose it.

Conrad MacKerron, Progressive Asset Mgmt 510-834-3722
Ignacio de la Fuentes 510-238-7205
City Council Info 510-238-3266

We plan to coordinte with the Alameda County Commission to have
them pass the same ordinance during the first week of February and
jointly announce the victory at a press event soon after that.

Conrad MacKerron
Progressive Asset Management
(510) 834 3722

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

FBC: LOBBY FOR BURMA SANCTIONS
January 15, 1996
From: Simon Billenness <simon_billenness@cybercom.net>

Dear Friends of Burma:

The participants of the Massachusetts Burma Roundtable are currently
lobbying our Senators hard to support the new Burma sanctions bill.

Please find enclosed a sample letter to your Senators. It is vital that we
each write our Senators. And then make sure our friends and family around
the country also write!

If you need complete copies of the bill and Seantor McConnell's excellent
introductory floor statement, I can email them to you.

If you or your friends & family live in the state of a Senator on the Senate
Banking and/or Foreign Relations Committee, make writing a priority. The
bill will go through those committees before reaching the Senate floor.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email or call.

Simon Billenness
Franklin Research & Development
(617) 423 6655          (800) 548 5684
-----------------------------
Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee

Republicans

D'Amato (NY)                    Gramm (TX)
Shelby (AL)                     Bond (MO)
Mack (FL)                       Faircloth (NC)
Bennett (UT)                    Grams (MN)
Frist (TN)

Democrats

Sarbanes (MD)                   Dodd (CT)
Kerry (MA)                      Bryan (NV)
Boxer (CA)                      Moseley-Braun (IL)
Murray (WA)

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Republicans

Helms (NC)                      Lugar (IN)
Kassebaum (KS)                  Brown (CO)
Coverdell (GA)                  Snowe (ME)
Thompson (TN)                   Thomas (WY)
Grams (MN)                      Ashcroft (MO)

Democrats

Pell (RI)                               Biden (DE)
Sarbanes (MD)                   Dodd (CT)
Kerry (MA)                      Robb (VA)
Feingold (WI)                   Feinstein (CA)
-------------------------------

THE BURMA FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 1995 (S1511)

What the Bill Does

Co-sponsored by Senators Mitch McConnell (R, Kentucky), Alfonse D'Amato (R,
New York), Daniel Moynihan (D, New York) and Patrick Leahy (D, Vermont) the
"Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 1995" (S1511) would:

•       bar US investment in Burma

•       bar US government assistance to the Burmese military junta

•       direct the US to vote against IMF and World Bank assistance to the Burmese
        military junta

•       deny officials of the Burmese military junta and their families admission
        to the United States

•       authorize the President to prohibit imports from Burma

•       authorize the Secretary of State to prohibit the use of US passports for
        travel to Burma

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

Senator ________
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator ________:

I am writing to request that you support and co-sponsor the Burma Freedom
and Democracy Act of 1995 (S1511).  This bill, co-sponsored by Senators
McConnell, Moynihan, D'Amato and Leahy, seeks to impose economic sanctions
on the Burmese military junta.

After brutally crushing peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, the
Burmese military junta formed the State Law & Order Restoration Council
(SLORC).  The SLORC has made no efforts to loosen its grip on power.  In
1990, the SLORC refused to recognize the results of the Burmese elections in
which the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won over 80% of the seats.

Although the SLORC released Aung San Suu Kyi from six years of house arrest
in 1995, she has stated that nothing else has changed in Burma.  Despite
repeated calls by Aung San Suu Kyi for dialogue, the SLORC has refused even
to meet with her and other leaders of the democracy movement.  Meanwhile,
the SLORC has continued to crack down on pro-democracy activists and to
refuse to allow the Red Cross access to political prisoners.

Last year, three American cities -- Berkeley (CA), Madison (WI) and Santa
Monica (CA) -- voted to boycott companies that do business in Burma.
Similar legislation has also passed the Massachusetts lower house and has
been introduced in the New York City Council.

Just as we supported Nelson Mandela's call for economic sanctions against
the apartheid regime in South Africa, we should respect Aung San Suu Kyi's
request that corporations not invest in Burma at this time.  Passage of the
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 1995 (S1511) would send a clear signal to
the SLORC that the United States supports the Burmese democracy movement.

[With especially right-wing Senators, such as Jesse Helms, you may not want
to use the South Africa campaign analogy. With such Senators, you could make
an allusion to the recent Cuba sanctions bill if you can stomach it.]

Please write back and tell me what position you intend to take with the
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 1995.

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

Use the above letter for ideas; try to make your letter as different as you can!

Get hold of a copy of "Congress at Your Fingertips" from Capitol Advantage.
It is a comprehensive yet concise guide to members of Congress,
Congressional Committees and how to lobby effectively.  The standard version
costs less than $10 and you can call toll-free and charge it.
Capitol Advantage, PO Box 1223, McLean, VA 22101
(703) 734 3266                     (800) 659 8708

If you receive a reply from your Senator, send a copy to the Washington, DC,
office of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB),
the democratic Burmese government-in-exile so that they know where your
Senator stands on this issue.
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
815 Fifteenth Street NW, Room 432-N, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 393 7342                   (202) 393 7343 fax
maung@igc.apc.org

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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. S.Sutcliffe"
World Wide Web:              FreeBurma@POBox.com
Volunteering:                   christin@ksc.net.th

[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
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