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


The BurmaNet News: June 8-10, 1996
Issue # 439

Noted in Passing:
                It's not going to be very easy, there are  a lot of
                vested interests between the Slorc and the individual
                countries in the region.
                -Teddy Buri
                An exiled elected member of Suu Kyi's NLD party
                (See BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T
                 RULE BURMA)

                Burma is rich in natural resources, not least reserves of
                virtually every kind of stone and gems, opening more
                employment opportunities and regional development.
                -Laurence Chin,
                country manager of Burma Airway International Co,
                (See BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES -
                BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET)
 
HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: PHILIPS/ THAI PICKS AGENT FOR BURMA
THE NATION: WORK PERMITS FOR BURMESE
BKK POST: JUNTA MOVES TO BAN SUU KYI'S PARTY
BKK POST: SUU KYI  BRAVES SLORC WRATH
BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T RULE BURMA
BKK POST: WHAT BURMA'S CONSTITUTION WILL LOOK LIKE IF THE SLORC
HAS ITS WAY
BKK POST: REQUEST FOR BURMESE ABBOT AT LAMPANG WAT REJECTED
THE NATION: SUU KYI PULLS PUNCHES IN LATEST PUBLIC ADDRESS
THE NATION: WHAT'S IN A NAME? IN BURMA, MAY BE A TRUCE
THE NATION: THE LINE OF THOUGHT LEE KUAN YEW BUILT
BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES - BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR OPPOSITION TREADS CAUTIOUS LINE
ASAI TIMES: LUXURY CAR DEALER HOPING TO CAPTURE MYANMAR MARKET
------------------------------------------------------------
THE NATION: PHILIPS/ THAI PICKS AGENT FOR BURMA

June 8, 1996

The Nation

PHILIPS Electronics (Thailand) Ltd recently appointed Maymyo
Import Export (Myanmar) Ltd, as the Burmese distributor of
Philips business electronics, communication and security and
office automation products.

With this new distributor arrangement, Philips will strongly
increase its professional activities in Burma by supplying key-
telephone system SOPHO-IS 300 series PABX, MATV, sound and
security systems, conference and public address systems, personal
computers and monitors.

The distribution agreement was signed by Robert Martijnse,
chairman and managing director of Philips Electronics (Thailand)
Ltd, and Maung Kyaing, managing director of Maymyo Import Export
(Myanmar) Ltd, on June 4 at Philips head office in Bangkok. (TN)

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

THE NATION: WORK PERMITS FOR BURMESE

June 8, 1996

The Nation

THE Labour Ministry has proposed issuing work permits for many of
400,000 illegal Burmese labourers in the country, the Job
Placement Department chief said yesterday.

Prasit Chaithongphan said that under the proposal, business
operators will be required to register their workers at
immigration offices and pay a fee of Bt1,250 for each employee,
he said.

The fees will be returned to the operators if the employment is
terminated, but the operators will have to pay another Bt3,750 if
the registered workers flee or commit offences, he said.

However, the jobs are limited to five areas: fisheries,
construction, farming, industry and transportation. Foreign
labourers are not yet allowed to work as maids, Prasit said,
adding there are about 400,000 illegal Burmese workers in 39
provinces across the country. (TN)

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

BKK POST: JUNTA MOVES TO BAN SUU KYI'S PARTY

June 8, 1996

Rangoon, AFP

BURMA'S military government issued an order authorising the Home
Ministry to ban NLD and imprison its members state-run Radio
Rangoon reported.

The order, signed by Gen Than Shwe, gives  the ministry power to
ban any organisation violating laws against unlawful gatherings
or obstructing the development of a constitution through the
government's National Convention, the report said.

NLD officials said they would go ahead with the meetings this
weekend despite the threats, setting up another potential
confrontation in a months-long political stand off.

Effective immediately, members of a banned organisation could be
given prison sentences of five-to-20 years and fines if found
guilty of encouraging or instigating activities which "adversely
affect the national interest," state radio said.

Yesterday, rolls of barbed wire appeared outside Aung San Suu
Kyi's home, apparently being stored ahead of her weekend
addresses.

Two big truck laden with roll of barbed  wire were moved onto the
edge of the road on either aide of her lake-side compound on
University Avenue, their loads discreetly covered with branches
and grass.

The NLD was told on Tuesday that the party would be banned if it
went ahead with a resolution adopted at a party congress last
week to draft an alternative constitution and continued to hold
the public meetings.

Military authorities have sent out progressively threatening
signals to Aunt San Suu Kyi and, in an editorial yesterday,
warned the NLD could be banned and its members jailed if the
party continued along its present course.

A commentary in the Burmese press said the plan  to frame a new
constitution was a direct challenge to the authority of the
ruling junta.

"If the NLD persists in going ahead with its decision to draft a
constitution, it would automatically join the ranks of other
outlawed organisation... which have also prepared such so-called
constitutions," the commentary said.

An analysts in Rangoon said that neither side was likely to back
down from the stand-off, adding that Aung San Suu Kyi would press
on with what she has described the "normal work of a political
party."

NLD officials said Suu Kyi was determined to carry on with the
meetings and they pledged her addresses would take place inside
her lakeside compound if authorities kept the crowds away.

Political events in Burma began to snowball three weeks ago as
the military rounded up 262 NLD activists, including 238 party
candidates elected in abortive elections in 1990, in a bid to
scuttle a key pro-democracy meeting.

NLD officials say 144 party activists have been released from
detention so far.

One analysts said the tone of the articles about Aung San Suu Kyi
and the NLD had become "more nasty, if that is possible," in the
past few days, pointing to yesterday's threat to lock up
opposition members.

"If the NLD becomes outlawed, all its members candidates who were
treated as temporary guests of the government during their recent
detention, would be sent straight to the Insein University of
Life," the article in the state-run newspaper said.

Insein is Rangoon's main prison, where international human rights
groups say torture is common and conditions are crowed and
miserable.

Analysts say the military is steadily cracking down on the
opposition following Aung San Suu Kyi's defiant announcement on
May 26 that the NLD would hold regular party congress and draft
its own state constitution.

The junta has been overseeing the drafting of a new Burmese
constitution, which would guarantee the military a central role
in future civilian governments, and has pledged to step aside
when it was completed. (BP)

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

BKK POST: SUU KYI  BRAVES SLORC WRATH

June 9, 1996

Associated Press, Rangoon

Defying threats of harsh punishment from the government, pro-
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed more than 5,000
supporters who gathered in front of her house today.

The one-hour meeting took place without any interference from the
authorities.   The crowd cheered and shouted "Long live Aung San
Suu Kyi" and "Let the cause for democracy be successful" when she
appeared at the gate to her compound late this afternoon.

Burma's military government announced Friday that prison
sentences of five to 20 years awaited anyone who incited,
demonstrated, spoke, or wrote "in order to undermine the
stability of the state, community peace and tranquillity and
prevalence of law and order."

The law's immediate target appeared to be Suu Kyi, winner of the
1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to
Burma. She has met with her supporters every Saturday since being
released from six years of house arrest last July.   Her speech
today was much milder than usual, containing no remarks critical
of the regime. It was not clear whether she would be subject to
legal action over the rally.

The government imposed the law in reaction to recent challenges
by the democratic dissidents to the authority of the military
which for 34 years has governed Burma, also called Myanmar.
Besides prison sentences, the law calls for fines and
confiscation of property, and decrees that any organisation found
in violation will be suspended, disbanded or outlawed.

The law came a day after the military informed Suu Kyi's party
that it was banning the Saturday meetings -- already prohibited
under a law that forbids gatherings of more than 50 people, but
which has not been enforced. Suu Kyi said then that the meetings
would continue.

The new law, signed by the chairman of the country's junta,
Senior Gen. Than Shwe, also makes unauthorised writing of a
constitution subject to the same penalties.   Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy announced last month after a party congress
that it was doing just that, rejecting a constitution being
drafted by a government-organised convention that has been
meeting for three years.

The weekend meetings represent virtually the only opportunity
that Burmese have to see Suu Kyi -- pronounced Soo Chee.   The
government has blocked most of her efforts to travel around the
country or even to gatherings in the capital's suburbs.   About
2,000 people have been coming to Suu Kyi's Saturday meetings, and
thousands more listen to tapes made there of what she says. The
crowd grew to 10,000 people on the day the party congress met at
Suu Kyi's house, despite the government's efforts to block the
meeting by arresting 262 participants.

The congress adopted resolutions calling on the military to turn
over power to the overwhelmingly pro-democratic parliament
elected in 1990. The regime never honoured the elections, and the
congress was to bring together surviving candidates on the sixth
anniversary of the vote.

The opposition reported on Friday that 154 of the detainees from
the recent roundup had been freed.

Meanwhile, the Multi-party Democracy General Election Commission,
which was in charge of the 1990 general election that the NLD won
by a landside, made a announcement in a statement that Yu Gan and
Saw Hla Oo resigned from the pro-democracy party for health
reason while Chit Khin and Aunt Bo quit because they were no
longer interested in party politics. (BP)

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

BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T RULE BURMA

The nation could collapse like Bosnia'

June 9, 1996

Agencies, Singapore

BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aunt San Suu Kyi may not able to
governor her country and would be better off remaining a
political symbol, according to Singapore's elder statesman Lee
Kuan Yew.

Lee, a tough-talking advocate of strong government and unabashed
critics of liberalism, also told a forum with foreign and local
media late on Friday that Burma could collapse "like Bosnia" into
various parts under outside pressure.

Lee, who has advised various Asian governments since stepping
down after 31 years a prime minister in 1990, said Washington
must be prepared to help run Burma and keep it intact if it
insists on bringing down its military regime.

"I have visited the place and I know that there is only one
instrument of government, and that id army," said Lee, who
personally knew former Burmese dictator Ne Win.

Ne Win was replaced in 1988 by a junta known as Slorc, which has
refused to honour the victory of opposition groups led by Aunt
San Suu Kyi in the 1990 general elections.

Lee, citing Burma's problems, said that "if I were Aunt San Suu
Kyi, I think I'd rather be behind a fence and be a symbol" than
be "found impotent" to lead the country.

"You've go to create an instrument of government and there isn't
one," added Lee, who said a civil service as it is known in
countries like Singapore "does not exist in Burma."

Singapore and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) members advocate "constructive engagement" with Burma.
Rejecting US and European calls to isolate the Slorc to promote
democratic change. Asean also includes Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Asean is not the US or the EU. Asean cannot rescue Burma even if
it wants to and I have the awful feeling rescuing Burma is beyond
the capacity of even the US," Lee said.

Meanwhile, analysts and Burma exiles said yesterday that Asian
leaders will be reluctant to help the US apply co-ordinated
pressure on Burma's military rulers to ease their crackdown on
anti-government activists.

Two US envoys seeking support to end the campaign against
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be hampered by a Southeast
Asian tradition of non-interference in other countries and
Washington's perceived lack of leverage in the region, they said.

The Clinton administration has urged Burma to halt its "pressure
tactics" and said it would send experts William brown and Stanley
Roth to the region to discuss a co-ordinated response to brewing
political tensions in Burma.

They will visit Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila
and Tokyo from June 10 to 17.

Diplomatic sources in Tokyo said Japan, the largest aid donor to
Burma, would be urged to use its influence on Rangoon to move
towards democracy.

But despite regular cautions to Burma against cracking down on
dissidents, japan has so far held off from using its aid of about
$140 million a year as a lever.

Burma's military rulers passed a tough new law on Friday that
effectively bans Suu Kyi and her party from saying or doing
anything contrary to the government's planned new constitution.

Analysts said the tradition in Asean of staying out of other
countries' business will make the US envoy's job tough.

"There is a very strong feeling within Asean that one should not
comment on the internal politics of another country," said Bruce
Gale, an analyst with Political and Economic risk Consultancy in
Singapore.

Burma last year took the first step towards membership of Asean
which says it wants Burma to join by the year 2000.

"To the extent that Burma might be seen as a possible further
Asean member, they (Asean) may feel uncomfortable going along
with the US because it would create  a precedent that might be a
little bit worrying," Gale said.

An exiled elected member of Suu Kyi's NLD party, Teddy Buri, said
the business links between Slorc and its Southeast Asian
neighbours did not bode well.

"It's not going to be very easy," said Buri. "There are  a lot of
vested interests between the Slorc and the individual countries
in the region." (BP)

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

BKK POST: WHAT BURMA'S CONSTITUTION WILL LOOK LIKE IF THE SLORC
HAS ITS WAY

June 9, 1996

TIN MAUNG MAUNG THAN reports on the Slorc's attempts  to finetune
the concentration of power.

IN April 1992 Burma's ruling Slorc announced it would convent a
meeting to formulate "the basic principles for the drafting of a
firm and stable Constitution".

Subsequently, in October, the National Convention Convening
Commission (NCCC) was formed, chaired by the (then) Yangon
Regional Commander and composed of ranking military officers and
senior judicial and administrative officials.

The NCCC classified eight categories of delegates for the
National Convention (NC): nominees of political parties;
representatives-elect; nationalities; peasants; workers;
intellectuals and intelligentsia; service personnel; and other
invited delegates. For the first category, each of the 10
existing political parties which contested the 1990 General
Election was allowed five nominees.

Six political parties were invited to send altogether 99
delegates from among their elected representatives. All eight
elected representatives which stood as independents were
included.

Also invited were 215, 93 and 48 nominees representing the
nationalities, peasantry and workers, respectively, who were
selected by a hierarchy of state/division, township zone and
township supervision committees.

Each 15-member selection committee comprised heads of local
government agencies and respected residents of the community.
Forty-one delegates from the intellectual / intelligentsia
category were "prominent intellectuals" and "knowledgeable"
persons.

Their selection was scrutinised by a committee led by the
Director General of the Government Office and comprising heads of
government organisations and selected members of the
intellectual/intelligentsia community.

The state service personnel group's 92 members were selected by
committees formed within the respective ministers and agencies.
Of the eight category's 57 delegates, 41 "invitees" were chosen
from members of the ethnic groups which had given up their armed
struggle against the government, while others were "experienced
persons in political, economic, social and administrative fields
in the State".

However, 86 delegates from the National League for Democracy
(NLD) - a party which won 80 per cent of the seats in the 1990
General Election - left the NC in protest at the beginning of the
plenary session in November 1995 and were subsequently excluded
for breaching NC rules.

The NC commenced on Jan 9, 1993, guided by six objectives
envisioned by the NCCC as: non-disintegration of the state; non-
disintegration of national solidarity; perpetuation of
sovereignty; flourishing of a "genuine multi-party democracy",
further burgeoning" of "justice, liberty and equality"; and
enabling the military "to participate in the national political
leadership role of the future state".

Subsequently, 15 chapters for the constitution were spelt out and
detailed principles pertinent to each chapter were discussed at
length by participants.

Altogether, 104 "fundamental principles" underlying the
prospective constitution were distilled by the NCCC from the
various proposals put forward during the proceedings and were
later prescribed by the NCCC as a basis for future deliberations
under each chapter heading. Though the NC has yet to reach a
conclusion, the essential points regarding the state structure,
the legislature, the executive, and the role of the military has
been delineated.

The state structure is based on a secular republic comprising
seven "regions" and seven "states". There will be "Union"
territories (under central government),a hierarchy of district,
township, and village/ward under each region or state, and self-
administered territories for ethnic communities whereby a
distinct "national race" constitutes a majority within its
boundaries.

In this regard, the NC endorsed the establishment of self-
administered areas for Naga, Danu, Pa-O, Palaung and Kokang races
and the Wa self-administered region.

For the legislature, a bicameral parliament with a five-year
tenure in the form of a 440-seat House of Representatives and
224-seat House of Nationalities which together constitute the
Union parliament is envisaged. There will also be a provincial
parliament for each region or state.

One-quarter of all seats in the legislature is reserved for
military representatives nominated by the armed forces Commander-
in-Chief (C-in-C).

In the executive branch, the head of state will be the President.
The Union Cabinet, comprising ministers and the attorney-general,
will be appointed by the President, and its members need not be
elected representatives.

The chief minister of the region or state government is also a
presidential appointee. Self-administered areas will be governed
by "leading bodies" whose members will be represented in the
territorially relevant region or state government. Administration
at district and township levels will be by civil servants.

Administration of wards and village tracts is by appointed
personnel.

As for the military, it will enjoy complete autonomy with its C-
in-C as the supreme commander. Ministerial portfolios for
defence, security/home affairs, and border areas in the Union
Cabinet are reserved for military personnel nominated by the C-
in-C, who will also nominate the deputy ministers.

Furthermore, co-ordination with the C-in-C is required to appoint
military personnel to any other minister/deputy-minister post.
The assignment of military personnel to leading bodes of self-
administered areas is also the C-in-C's prerogative. There will
be a provision for the supreme commander to assume state power in
a national emergency.

The President, whose parents must also be citizens, will play a
crucial role in the governance of the Myanmar state. The
candidate must not only have a minimum of 20 years continuous
domicile in Myanmar but also satisfy the requirement that the
"President of the Union himself, parents, spouse, children and
their spouses" must not owe allegiance to or "be a subject of
foreign power or citizen if a foreign country" and shall not be
"entitled to the right and privileges of a subject or citizen of
a foreign country".

Another condition that the person be "well acquainted with the
affairs of State such as political administrative, economic and
military affairs" would rule out most political figures.

The presidential election procedure is significant. The electoral
college comprise three groups from the Union Cabinet: equal
numbers of elected representatives "elected on the basis of
population"; and military representatives nominated by the C-in-C.

Each group shall elect one vice-president who need not be an
elected representative. The president will then be chosen from
among them by the entire electoral collage after scrutiny by a
body composed of leaders and deputy leaders of the two cabinets.
The unsuccessful candidates will assume the vice-presidencies for
the five-year term of office.

The wide-ranging powers of the union president allow
unprecedented control over the executive branch. The president
can designate ministries and appoint or dismiss ministers, deputy
ministers, attorneys-general, auditors-general, as well as
members of a Union Civil Service Board. He can prescribe
ministries and the number of ministers for the region or state
government, and also nominate respective chief ministers (from
elected representatives of region/state).

The president can assign region/state ministers and chairmen of
self-administered areas/regions (nominated through the chief
minister by the respective leading bodies) in co-ordination with
the relevant chief minister.

All such assignments must be confirmed by the respective cabinet
but the latter have no right to reject the president's nominee
provided the person satisfies the constitution's provisions.

Thus, the president and the armed forces C-in-C between them
wield considerable authority and all important government
executives are ultimately responsible to the president only. The
political parties will face a situation whereby executive
positions may be filed with personnel external to the body
politics.

Even when elected representatives are chosen to serve in the
government they have to forego party affiliations and resign form
the legislature.

In this way, the elected representatives' role will generally be
confined to legislative and deliberative functions and the raison
d'etre of competitive politics - to form a government - will be
obviated. It effectively de-links state power from political
competition and representation of voting constituencies.

Consequently, a corporatist state may evolve in which the ruling
elite will be insulated from electoral politics.

The successful conclusion of the NC, which would lead to the
actual drafting of Burma's future constitution according to
agreed-upon principles, has become imperative.

Meanwhile, the NC has opened for constitutional principles which
emphasise the autonomy of the executive under the leadership of a
president and the authoritative dual role of the military as a
counter-poise to the apparent failings of politicians.

This will result in an unprecedented and unique constitution for
the Union of Myanmar which is different to previous ones which,
in contrast, were premised on governance by elected
representatives. (BP)

Tin Maung Maung Than is a Fellow at the institute of Southeast
Asian Studies, Singapore.

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

BKK POST: REQUEST FOR BURMESE ABBOT AT LAMPANG WAT REJECTED

June 9, 1996

A REQUEST from Burma for two citizens of that country to be made
abbot and deputy abbot of Lampang's Sri Chum Temple has been
rejected.

The monks involved are the Venerable Sayadaw Ashin Nyana Siri and
Sayadaw Sudhamma.

The Foreign Ministry passed the Burmese government's request to
the Interior Ministry, saying such appointments would not conform
with Thai monastic rules.

The relationship between monks and the government in Thailand
differed from that in Burma, the ministry pointed out. In Burma,
the government issued directives that monks were bound to follow,
especially concerning their role in society.

The Interior Ministry agreed, noting that there are already
numbers of Burmese monks at various temples in Bangkok and the
provinces, many of them illegal immigrants. (BP)

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

THE NATION: SUU KYI PULLS PUNCHES IN LATEST PUBLIC ADDRESS

June 10, 1996

AYE AYE WIN

AP

RANGOON - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi took a careful
step back yesterday from a showdown with the military regime,
giving a bland, inoffensive speech to supporters to avoid
violating draconian new public order laws.

Some 5,000 people braved the new decrees, which can land
offenders in prison for up to 20 years, to gather outside the
gates of Suu Kyi's home for her customary weekend lecture. The
number was higher than usual, but half that of two weeks ago.

As on Saturday, when 5,000 people turned out for the first
meeting since the new decrees were announced, authorities did not
interfere, fueling confusion about whether the regime was being
tolerant or delaying a crackdown for a quieter moment.

But yesterday, expectations ran slightly less high of an
immediate police swoop to break up the gathering.

Some Burmese afraid of being seen in the crowd slowly drove back
and forth before Suu Kyi's home in a sign of support for those
courageous enough to join the audience.

"I'm not afraid of anything," said a woman in the crowd, speaking
on condition of anonymity. "many people who dare not come to this
gathering are awed by the courage of these people."

The regime escalated its conflict with Suu Kyi on Friday by
announcing a law curbing nearly all political activity, with
prison sentences for anyone seeking to "undermine the stability
of the state, community peace and tranquility".

Despite the arrest of 262 supporters last month, she held a
congress marking the sixth anniversary of parliamentary elections
overwhelmingly won by the opposition. The junta never allowed
Parliament to convene.

The 18 delegates who eluded arrest called on the military to
surrender the power it has held since 1962 and announced plans to
draft an alternate constitution to a charter being formulated by
a government-stacked panel.

The junta announced on Friday that any organisation drafting a
separate constitution would be banned.

Suu Kyi gave a deliberated non-inflammatory speech yesterday
about democracy in India and even praised the junta for keeping
school fees low. Her supporters clapped less than usual.

Despite the threat of arrest, the crowd did not seem nervous.

Before Suu Kyi appeared, they chanted for several minutes, "Long
live Aung San Suu Kyi" and "Let the cause for democracy be
successful".

Closing her 10-minutes talk, Suu Kyi said: "You are not gathering
here because we speak. This is a gathering of the people, who
proved themselves to be very orderly disciplined."

She asked them to leave quietly with out blocking traffic. No
barbed wire or police were in sight.

Suu Kyi, 50, were a green Burmese jacket and garlands of pink
roses and jasmine in her hair. People held dozens of tape
recorders to capture her speech, which would be distributed
surreptitiously around Rangoon in hours.

She gave no news conference.

Earlier, authorities gathered 3,000 people near Suu Kyi's house
to watch a billboard go up denouncing interference in Burmese
affairs - code attacks on Suu Kyi and foreign support for her.

Foreign governments have urged the junta not to crackdown further
on Suu Kyi's supporters.

Opposition officials said that only 154 of the 262 activists
detained three weeks ago to stop the congress have been freed.
About 20 are believed to have been transferred to Insein prison
near Rangoon, notorious for torture.

In Canberra, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
described the latest move by the regime to silence dissidents as
an unacceptable curtailment of political liberty.

Owner said the new decree would increase tensions in the country
and - far from bolstering security as the military government
claimed - may lead to further instability.

The prospect of instability was a matter of regional and
international concern and Downer said he would raise it Monday
with US Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Washington. (TN)

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

THE NATION: WHAT'S IN A NAME? IN BURMA, MAY BE A TRUCE

June 10, 1996

The only Rangoon-newspaper that dared to print Aung San Suu Kyi's
name last week could become a proxy channel for dialogue, Silvia
Feist writes from the Burmese capital.

To read Burma's state-run newspaper last week one gets the
impression that the name of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is
a synonym for the words "destruction", "traitor", or "enemy".

He mane itself, or that of her party, the NLD are rarely used.
During the crucial period when the NLD-congress was held, only
one Burmese-langauge daily Kyemon dared publish her name; in a
two-instalment article under the headline, "Why the Demand for
Dialogue Was Not Implemented".

The article offered a striking contrast to the common tone of
other Burmese newspapers: welcome a dialogue, outlining topics to
be clarified before a dialogue could be implemented and even
referring to "voluntary public labour" with an unstated admission
that this labour is far from being voluntary on all occasions.
And - perhaps most astounding - it directly addressed "Dear Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi".

The article caught the attention of various embassy officials who
described it as "very unusual" and said "it might be a hint that
they)the military) are moving". The article stated that there are
two school of though in Burma on national reconciliation, calling
one the "Utopain National Reconciliation Policy" versus the
"Objective National Reconciliation Policy.

The so-called utopain policy, it said, prescribed the separation
of the military and parliamentary, and was an apparent reference
to NLD policy. Surprisingly this idea is accept in principle, but
rejected for the time being.

The so-called objective policy legitimises the dominant role of
the military as "a natural result" of Burma's social and
political developments, especially what it called the "diversity
in insurgency", which the newspaper described as unique in the
world. Suggesting that this policy would be more adequate for
present-day Burma, the article urged "Myanmar (Burma) leaders and
the people of Myanmar to use their own political experience".

To strengthen this argument the article quotes Suu Kyi saying
"the Burmese people experience a parliamentary era", but - as the
article concludes - during this era "internal insurgency and
terrorism were raging", there fore the Anti-Fascist People's
Freedom League (AFPFL) "had no choice but to commit acts that
countered democratic practice".

The indirect implication that the Slorc and AFPFL handled
politics in the same way - at least in the question of counter-
insurgency - is disturbing for many reasons. Nevertheless it is a
challenging argument, since Suu Kyi's father, Gen Aung San, was
one of the AFPFL. And Suu Kyi often contracts the tatmadaw
(People's Army) with the forces of her father's time.

The article urges Suu Kyi to declare her attitude towards these
two policies as an important step on the way to dialogue. And
three days later the NLD congress did recognised the tatmadaw as
a necessary institution of the country, but reaffirmed the
supremacy of parliament.

The article concludes with a warning not mentioning Suu Kyi's
name, but nevertheless directly addressed to her, that: In case
she decides to "follow the imaginative (utopain) national
reconciliation path, you will be avoidably pushed to
intimidating, pressuring and coercing the present government".
That fits the statement Tourism Minister Gen Kyaw Ba made last
week in an interview with Radio Australia, putting forward that
Slorc cannot tolerate Suu Kyi's criticism.

As far as it is known the writer of the article, U Hla Myint, is
not directly related to the military government. But since his
article was published in a state-controlled daily, there are only
two possibilities of interpretation: either it was published by
mistake or Slorc is slowly starting to open a channel for
dissenting ideas. This might be considered as some kind of "proxy
dialogue" on the way to the dialogue Suu Kyi has been demanding
for so long. (TN)

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

THE NATION: THE LINE OF THOUGHT LEE KUAN YEW BUILT

June 10, 1996

Age mellows some people and hardens others. It seem to have done
neither, however, for Lee Kuan Yew.

In the rapidly changing world, the Singapore patriarch remains as
doggedly convinced of the right of his authoritarian ways, more
recently referred to as the "Asian Way", as he was during the
island state's tumultuous formative years.

For such as obviously brilliant man, Lee's mind is surprisingly
inflexible. It matters not whether he is talking about India,
Korea or Burma, he remains convinced that only hardline "no-
nonsense" government can lead to growth and prosperity.

To govern any other way asserts, would result in the chaos that
is supposedly modern-day America or Bosnia.

In his formal news conference to foreign reporters since 1959,
Lee on Friday once again made the argument that what he calls
"Western-style" democracy has no place in the developing world or
Asia.

Lee's line is now fairly well known. Stability and power, no
matter whether that power, no matter whether that power is
legitimate or not, are the key factors to development.

He defended the current regime in Burma, saying that the ruling
military is "the only instrument of government" in that country.
He said troops are needed even to clear squaters from streets.
(Burmese dissidents might also suggest they are useful when it
comes to rounding up free labour for infrastructure projects).

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has none of those powers,
he said adding that she should stay "behind a fence and be a
symbol."

Phenomenal success

As outrageous as he can should sometimes, Lee is a tough man to
debate, not only because of an agile mind but also because of the
phenomenal success of Singapore. It is an economic miracle that
cannot be denied. During 21 years as prime minister, Singapore
rose from being a swampy backwater to a regional powerhouse.
According to one recent survey, it is the most economically
competitive country in the world.

But as Lee enters the twilight of his political career it is
interesting to ponder what his legacy will be. The institution
weakness of Singapore's self-styled democracy - there is no real
freedom of the press, the opposition is cowed and the leaders
have cultivated a tradition that tolerates no public criticism -
mans there are no real external controls to ensure that those who
follow in Lee's footsteps will maintain the high standards he
demanded of government officials.

Weighing on the minds of some is the traditional Chinese
cautionary tale about the rise and fall of successful families.
The grandfather lays the foundations for wealth, the son
consolidates it and the grandson inevitably squanders it. Can
Singapore avoid a similar fate?

Lee says yes but it only if it continues to have "tough minded,
dedicated, determined, able and the honest leaders."

But there are few guarantees, institutions or mechanisms to
ensure this will happen.

Lee concedes that 30 years of growth and stability have made his
people complacent. On Friday night he said Singaporeans are more
concerned about material benefits and selfish gains.

"This is very dangerous, because things can go terribly wrong
very quickly," he said.

Outside of Singapore, Lee's legacy is even more worrying.
Southeast Asia's newest generation of autocrats in Cambodia and
Burma have made no secret of their admiration for Lee's though
talk. In effect, he has thrown them a lifeline to legitimacy amid
a sea of international condemnation and also a front for carrying
on in less than up to what were once accepted as "international"
standards. Now they govern according to "Asian standards".

If Lee's rhetoric sounds not all that dissimilar to that of some
of his reformed communist neighbours it is because they rose to
power in similar fashion. Whereas in the Indochina countries
communist parties, often working behind nationalist fronts, took
power and eliminated their non-socialist allies, Lee did the same
only in reverse. His model, "autocratic capitalism", proved
infinitely more successful than "autocratic communism" but both
systems have an Achilles' heal - the lack of opposition structure
to keep everything in order and above board.

Social chaos

Lee offers a point of view that is comforting to many because it
is unambiguous  and unapologetic. Even if much of what he says is
contradictory.

It is the strength of so-called Western democracies that has
allowed them to indulge, many would say over-indulge, the
individual and produce the social chaos Lee warns against. But as
Yugoslavia's Tito proved, iron-fisted individuals are no match
for - to use a Lee phrase - the "primeval forces at work" in
humanity.

For all the noise and colorful debate Lee so derides, democracy
when done right protects against the failings of individuals, who
so intoxicated with their own power, invariably lead developing
states to misery.

It is perhaps ironic and possibly a shame, that Lee, the
consummate "I did it my way" individual has so little faith in
democracy as a force for social cohesion. (TN)

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

BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES - BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET

June 10, 1996

by Yolaine d'Udekem

The view that political conditions in Burma are such that it is
not worth even thinking about doing business there has been
challenged by a presentation on opportunities in Rangoon.

Participants in a discussion after the presentation organised by
the Singapore-Thai Chamber of Trade were told the pitfalls are
real but there are ways to avoid them and be successful.

Two businessmen who have been active in Burma told the gathering
at the Jewellery Trade Centre in Bangkok that prevailing
conditions could be better.

Halpin Ho, president of Ho Group and owner of the Jewellery Trade
Centre, said Burma's international image is not that good.

"We have to visit first the country and spend time over there
before starting anything," he said.

When he arrived for the first time in Burma in 1964 he lost
everything and left the country. He returned four years ago with
his gems business in mind, after visiting many countries,
including Burma. His eyes were opened and he had a different and
better view of everything.

His objective is to create jobs apart from making approve it. He
is now planning infrastructure and property projects, starting
soon, which will provide jobs.

"If you want to be successful in anything over there, you need to
be very patient and persistent," he said.

Laurence Chin, country manager of Burma Airway International Co,
said "Burma is rich in natural resources, not least reserves of
virtually every kind of stone and gems, opening more employment
opportunities and regional development."

Burma, he said, has abundant human resources and business depends
a lot on a labour pool which is very cheap. The minimum daily
rate for an unskilled workers is 20 kyat. At the official rate,
US$1 represents six kyat.

"The time needed to find staff depends on good management and
discipline," said Ho.

Chin said: "Because of the situation now, you can pick up anyone
for work, teach them what you want and give a speedy training.

"The government has adopted a market-oriented system increasing
employee opportunities," he said.

Under investment laws, foreign concerns are allowed to invest and
submit proposals in the form of wholly foreign-owned enterprises
or partly-owned or in the form of a joint ventures with a private
or public local entity.

The main sectors that attract investors are manufacturing,
tourism, oil and gas and mining.

"Our objective is to make money," said Chin. "Burma Airways is
for instance, trying to be quick, making a profits in eight
months.

A foreign entity that operates under the foreign investment law
has the right to enjoy economic benefits and to send money back
to its own country.

"To be successful when investing in Burma, keep your eyes open,
see where the opportunities are and choose the good ones
otherwise you lose money," cautioned Chin.

"Do your homework, know what you want, choose your partner well,
improve business and take a risk." (BP)

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

ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR OPPOSITION TREADS CAUTIOUS LINE

June 10, 1996

Yangon

Stephen Brookes, Asia Times

Faced with the threat of an imminent government crackdown,
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) appears
to be backing away - at least temporally - from the
confrontational stance it has adopted in recent weeks toward the
ruling military government.

The increasingly tense stand-off between Myanmar's ruling Slorc
and the opposition NLD entered a new and potentially volatile
stage on Saturday, when the government announced penalties of
five to 20 years' imprisonment for "inciting, demonstrating,
delivering speeches, making oral or written statements and
disseminating in order  to undermine the stability of the State,
community peace and tranquillity and prevalence of law and
order."

The new law, which took up almost the entire front page of the
daily New Light of Myanmar, also made it illegal to draft a
national constitution without official permission.

The law was aimed directly at the NLD and its leader, Aung San
Suu Kyi, according to government sources, and was drawn up
following the NLD convention last month.

In a move one analysts called "provocative", the NLD vowed to
draw up a constitution for Myanmar, in direct opposition to an
ongoing constitution convention being held by the government.

"It's a whole new game now," said one analysts in Yangon. "The
centerpiece of the NLD conference was the announcement that it
would draw up a constitution. But if they proceed on that path,
the party will be shut down."

The NLD won 82 per cent of the parliamentary seats in Myanmar's
last general elections in 1990, but was not allowed to form a
government. In May, the league called for the government to
immediately honour the results of those elections, something
Slorc has refused to do.

"This is a warning," said a top government official who requested
anonymity. "We're trying to take preventive measures. But if Mrs
Aris (Suu Kyi is married to a Briton, Michael Aris) refuses to
understand and is confrontational, the government will have no
choice. The survival of our country is at stake."

The NLD appears to be taking the warning seriously. At her
customary Saturday afternoon speech tot he public, Suu Kyi told a
crowd of about 3,000 that she had never said anything against the
prevalence of law and order, and that the law should apply
equally to all." I have a clear conscience about that," she told
the crowd.

The NLD, she added, had been working toward democracy for the
good of the country. She also noted that Slorc had done a number
of positive things for the country, including holding elections,
releasing political prisoners, building roads and bridges and
moving towards a market economy.

She also seemed to play down the NLD itself, saying that the
party was not well-organized and faced a number of difficulties.
She also said it was established to bring about democracy, not to
gain power.

One diplomat later said the speech was "skilful" and that she had
managed to promote her democratic ideals while avoiding
mentioning the national convention and directly defying the new
law.

Nevertheless, she ignored official instructions on both Saturday
and Sunday by speaking to crowds lined up along Yangon's
University Avenue in front of her home.

According to the government source, top NLD personnel had been
told on Friday that the speeches could only be held inside the
compound. The barbed wire barricades, which the traffic police
usually set up between the street and the pavements, were removed
early on Saturday morning.

"If she takes the advice of her more level-headed advisors," said
the government official in remarks early on Saturday, "then there
won't be any trouble. Bit if she doesn't, things will go from bad
to worse."

Asked during the weekend whether she feared arrest, Suu Kyi said
she did not fear being detained, but that she had to consider it
a possibility.

Suu Kyi spoke to a crowd of about 5,000 on Sunday afternoon, and
again avoided the topic of the national convention. In a measured
speech that evolved a restrained response, she spoke for about 20
minutes about the recent elections in India and noted that they
proved that democracy could exist in Asia.

She said she would discuss the convention in her speech next
weekend. The audience, which had greeted her with great
excitement, chanting "Democracy must prevail", appeared should
after her remarks.


The government had no immediate response to her speeches,
although it held a rally early on Sunday morning a few hundred
meters from her home.

According to an eyewitness, between 2,000 and 3,000 people at
7.00am at the intersections of Kaba Aye Pagoda Road and
University Avenue, where they unveiled a billboard denouncing
"destructionists".

The group reportedly split into three "columns", according to the
witness, one of which marched up University Avenue toward Suu
Kyi's house. (AT)

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

ASAI TIMES: LUXURY CAR DEALER HOPING TO CAPTURE MYANMAR MARKET

June 10, 1996

Yangon

Stephen Brookes, Asia Times

When Charles Stroud looks at Yangon during rush hour, he sees
streets filled with junk-bumper-to-bumper junk.

"Those are all second-hand vehicles from Japan, spewing
pollutants into the air," said the manager of BMW's new showroom
in Myanmar.

"Other countries are unloading all their excess rubbish into this
market - and somebody needs to put a stop to that."

Stroud intends to be one of those getting Myanmar out of clunkers
and into quality cars. His showroom for Land Rover and BMW opened
in March, one of the mushrooming number of new car out-lets in
Myanmar. Nissan opened a showroom in Yangon on Tuesday, and
Toyota, Mazda and Honda are also setting up operations in what
may be one of the world's fastest-growing car markets.

?Myanmar is just opening up," said Stroud. "A lot of people had
cold feet about coming in - nobody wanted to be the first. But
we're the first European car company to be here, and we think
that will pay off."

The BMW showroom - a joint venture between Indonesia's Asia
International, Myanmar Cinthe Motors, and Japan's Marubeni - is
the first of several planned for Myanmar. A second service centre
is being built in Yangon, and a third is planned for next year in
Mandalay. The total investment so far is about US$5 million,
according to BMW.

The number of cars in Myanmar has been growing by an estimated 10
per cent a year for the past two years. But because of high taxes
on new car imports, most of the imports are used. New car sales
still represent a small but fast-growing number, expanding from
240 cars in 1994 to 684 in 1995, according to BMW, which expects
the market to grow by about 14 per cent annually in the next few
years.

"I see the market for Land Rovers being very big, because there's
already a lot of product knowledge here," said Stroud. "BMW is a
very new product here, and it may take a little longer. We'll
probably sell about two of them every three weeks initially, but
it could rise rapidly. It take time for people to see the
vehicles on the road."

In fact, it may take time for people to even see them in the
showroom.


Because of a bottleneck at the port of Yangon - where some 61
ships are waiting to be unloaded - Stroud only has six cars in
the country, with another 33 en route.

Nevertheless, he's in for the long term, exploring a market that
very little is known about. "We've done market research," he
said, "But there's a new mentality that we have to get used to.
We have to sift the time-wasters from the real potential
customers. It's an elusive market, because you don't know who has
money."

And in a country where the starting price for a 3-Series BMW is
US$32,000, or roughly 110 times the average per capita income,
the customers are likely to be few and far between, at first.

Stroud expects the wealthier merchants, some government ministers
and people from the large international companies to be his
initial clients.

"Fortunately for us, Mercedes-Benz is not in the market," he
said. "So people look to BMWs as the status symbol to get. I
think it's going to be very difficult for Mercedes to enter the
market now."

For anyone entering the new car market in Myanmar, worrying road
bumps still remain. Taxes on new are rugged in most areas, the
quality of gasoline is poor and there are few skilled mechanics.

But for those who came in for the long haul, said Stroud, the
rewards were there.

"There are going to be a lot of new car dealers opening up -
you're going to have companies like Volkswagen and Audi," he
said.

"And the dealers here now are expanding because the market is
there. The people who have second-hand cars are going to sell
them and buy new cars, and that new car will be upgraded from a
Nissan to a Toyota to a Land Rover or a BMW. And this is where
the market is going to grow." (AT)

----------------------------------------------------------
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:

Campus activism:        zni@students.wisc.edu
Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] ai268@freenet.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
International Affairs:  Julien Moe: moe@gramercy.ios.com
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
Rohingya culture                Kyaw Oo: myin@erols.com
Shan history/culture:   Sao Hpa Han: burma@ix.netcom.com
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]
------------------------------------------------------------
--------

The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma.
Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire
services and the Internet as well as original material are
published.
It is produced with the support of the Burma Information
Group
(B.I.G) and the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ}

The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is
also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l
mailing lists. For a free subscription to the BurmaNet News,
send
an e-mail message to: majordomo@igc.apc.org

For the BurmaNet News only: in the body of the message, type
"subscribe burmanews-l" (without quotation marks).
For the BurmaNet News and 4-5 other messages a day posted on
Burma issues, type "subscribe burmanet-l"

Letters to the editor, comments or contributions of articles
should be sent to the editor at: strider@igc.apc.org

