"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: January 25, 1996
Issue #330

HEADLINES:
==========
ISBDA: SLORC OPPRESSION TO NLD INTENSIFYING
ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #9
INDEPENDENT LETTER: RE - REPORT ON COMMUNICATIONS
THE HINDU : SINGAPORE TO PUSH TRADE TIES WITH MYANMAR
XINHUA: AUSTRALIA TO HELP MYANMAR INSTALL CELLULAR PHONES
ANP ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN: HEINEKEN TO STAY IN MYANMAR
NATION: 20 KILLED AS RIVAL KAREN GROUPS CLASH IN BURMA
NATION: ARMY CONCERNED AS BURMESE TROOPS MOVE
BKK POST: NO SHAN MINORITY PEOPLE SEEN CROSSING BORDER
BKK POST: DRUG WARLORD EXPLAINS LIFELONG STRUGGLE
INDEPENDENCE (S.H.A.N.) : A NEW NGO FOR THE SHANS
BAC: BURMA BOYCOTT STICKERS AVAILABLE
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ISBDA: SLORC OPPRESSION TO NLD INTENSIFYING
January 24, 1996
From: kyawtint@hatelecom.or.jp (Kyaw Tint)

Burma's military junta is intensifying attacks to the  National League for
Democracy, the opposition party supported by the majority of Burmese
people. Since the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi last year, SLORC resumed
the harassment to the opposition party by utilizing all available media and
methods.  Very recently, local SLORC organ for the area where the NLD
headquarters situates, Bahan Township Mawata, has filed suits against the
NLD reflecting further steps in SLORC oppression. Major accusation against
the NLD is  its use of a microphone system for public speeches in front of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's resident every weekends.

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

ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #9
January 22, 1996
From: carol@gol.com (Carol Schlenker)

Mainichi Daily News, Monday, January 22, 1996

NOW'S THE TIME TO JOIN TOGETHER AND LOOK TOWARD HEAVEN
"New Year notes"

        Our family saw in the new year of 1986 with Japanese friends in a small
town in the vicinity of Kyoto, in fact on a hillside overlooking Lake Biwa.
The last evening of 1985 was clear and mild and we all walked leisurely down
to a local temple discussing, among other innocuous subjects, the beauty of
fireflies.  At the temple we waited until midnight, then joined in the
ringing of the /joya no kane/.*  The sound of the bell floating out through
the velvety night seemed to me an assurance that the coming year would be an
exceptionally happy one.  And indeed 1986 was a most pleasant year, even
though it began with a slight domestic upset in our friends' household.
        Noriko, our hostess, had asked her husband, Sadayoshi, to take charge of
the /o-mochi/ (rice cakes) baking in the oven.  Sadayoshi, a typical
academic who found it difficult to give to anything so mundane as cooking
the meticulous attention he brought to research, failed to check regularly
on the o-mochi, with the result that the beautiful rice dumplings were
slightly charred.  Now, Noriko is an excellent cook who accepts nothing
short of perfection in her kitchen.  Once shopping with her at Oxford I had
been awed by her majestic demeanor at the butcher's.  She asked for veal and
the butcher asked which cut she required.  "The best," she replied serenely.
Then she asked for steak, and when the butcher inquired what kind of steak
she would like, she again answered, "The best." And so it went on.  For one
such as Noriko, the charred o-mochi was a disaster.  To prove to Noriko that
the slight charring had done nothing to detract from the essentially
comforting texture and flavor of the o-mochi, I ate five.  I like to think
that this act of stamina stood me in good stead through 1986, which was year
of much travel.
        Now, 10 years on, my family and I saw out 1995 in a way somewhat remote
from Lake Biwa, joya no kane and o-mochi.  In Rangoon one does not hear the
pealing of bells at midnight on the thirty-first of December.  It was merely
the tooting of car horns which told us that 1995 was over and 1996 had
begun.  The Burmese in general do not celebrate the beginning of the year
according to the Gregorian calendar, since the New Year according to our
lunar calendar takes place only in April.  Yet here too, as elsewhere
throughout the world, January is a time for renewal and hope, for
resolutions and rededications.
        Perhaps the hopes that fill the hearts of the people of Burma are not quite
the same as those with which the people of Japan look forward to 1996.  For
how many people in Japan would a reasonable price of rice form the core of
their hopes for a happier New Year?  It is long past the days when a
variation in the price of rice meant the difference between sufficiency and
malnutrition to the ordinary Japanese.  Yet there must be many in Japan who
still remember what it was like when it was still a largely agricultural
economy striving to rise above the terrible devastations brought about by
the war.
        A professor of geography in Kyoto explained to me in poetic terms his
emotions as a child growing up in Japan at the end of the war.  He described
a day when an American soldier had appeared at his village in search of
antiques.  He had looked up to the tall stranger and was filled with a
strong awareness of the fact that he, the little Japanese boy, was
ill-nourished and puny and ill-clothed, while the big American soldier was
well-dressed and obviously well-fed.  He recognized the world of difference
between the strong and the weak.  But, the professor told me, all through
his childhood, as he and his family struggled for daily survival, he would always
look up toward the heavens and he knew that behind the clouds was the sun.
        When he was a grown man and Japan had become an economically powerful
country, he went on a field trip to an Indian village.  And one day as he
stood speaking to some Indian villagers he became suddenly aware that he was
well-fed and well-clothed while the villagers were malnourished and poorly
clothed.  He and his countrymen were now cast in the role of the strong.
But, he said to me with a smile, our young people these days, although they
are rich and have never known what it was like not to have enough to eat,
they do not look up toward the heavens, they do not care whether there are
clouds or whether there is a sun behind them.
        I do not know how may Japanese people would share the views of this gentle
professor of geography.  But I think many people in Burma will recognize the
instinct that makes us look up toward the heavens and the confident inner
voice that tells us that behind the deeply banked clouds there is still the
sun waiting to shed its light and warmth at the given hour.
        The beginning of a new year is a time when we all like to turn our faces
towards the heavens, when we look to our friends all over the world to join
us in our quest for light and warmth.

================================
* /Joya no kane/ is the ringing of the temple bell 108 times; each toll is
thought to protect us from one of the 108 sins or other evils to which we
might fall victim during the coming year (I think).
                                
                                -- C. Schlenker

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

INDEPENDENT LETTER: RE - REPORT ON COMMUNICATIONS
January 23, 1996
From: simon_billenness@cybercom.net (Simon Billenness)

Dear Michael Pasco:

Thank you for a thoughtful and well-argued reply. It is the kind of letter
that raises the level of debate on Burmanet. My comments are below.

>
>On 19 Jan 1996 simon_billenness@cybercom.net wrote:
>
>[text deleted]
>
>> Economic pressure is amongst the most effective non-violent tactics. The
>> SLORC needs to be put between a rock and a hard place. We aim to be the
>> biggest rock possible.
>>
>> Simon Billenness
>> Franklin Research & Development
>
>I have a few things to offer:
>
>The SLORC are sharks in a feeding frenzy who know that the meal will not
>last forever.  They do not care about the standard of living for the general
>population; the SLORC take what they need (I have been to Burma within the
>last three months and have seen with my own eyes the current situation)
>and if economic sanctions did actually have any effect it is likely that the
>population would be hurt the most -
>
>Also,
>
>The Chinese are more than happy (and capable) to satisfy the major trade
>needs of the SLORC, to the casual observer.  What are the trade items
>that the SLORC desperately need that the Chinese can not supply?
>
>The key to the success of economic pressure lies in China.  Considering
>the less than admirable human rights record of the 'Middle Kingdom' and
>the economic interests that the Chinese have in Burma (Burma being the place
>where the Chinese can easily unload products of such low quality that no
>other country will buy them) it is unlikely that the Chinese will join
>the fray to bring Burma to democracy or a reasonable fascimile thereof-
>
>Please do not mistake my questions as an attack on your position, I am
>genuinely interested in the resolution of the current disaster in Burma
>but am at a loss concerning how the economic sanctions will be effective.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Mike P
>

In response, I would argue that there are elements within the SLORC that
want to do more than just survive, they want to thrive. Those people see
foreign investment, particularly by the IMF and World Bank, as the key to
economic success.

You should distinguish between trade and investment. The kind of trade that
China does in Burma meets many needs of the Burmese people and provides
little benefits to the SLORC. If anything, it is taking capital out of the country.

Investment, on the other hand, is the process of bringing capital into
Burma. It is concentrated in the oil industry and tourist industry, which
account for about two-thirds and a quarter of investment in Burma,
respectively. Oil industry and tourist investment is almost exclusively made
in collaboration with the government or entities such as the Union of
Myanmar Economic Holdings (UNEH), which is controlled by the army. Oil
industry and tourism investments disproportionately benefit the SLORC.
Moreover, they have also been linked to human rights abuses such as forced
labor.

Even investment in the seemingly inocuous apparel industry involves joint
ventures with the government or UNEH. In addition, according to "Investing
in Myanmar" (published by the Union of Myanmar Foreign Investment
Commission), all employers who hire five or more employees have to recruit
workers from a list of candidates provided by the government.

I would argue that only major American and European oil companies have the
necessary capital and technology to develop Burma's offshore gas fields. A
pullout of US companies alone, prompted by Administration action or the
passage of the "Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 1995," would result in
the withdrawal of Texaco from its role as operating partner in one offshore
gas field and Unocal as a major partner of the Yadana field.

Likewise, the tourist industry will require an influx of Americans and
Europeans. Since the United States alone accounts of 25% of all consumer
spending, the inability of companies, such as Levi Strauss & Co, Liz
Claiborne, Eddie Bauer and Macy's, to market "Made in Myanmar" clothes in
the US is having a serious impact on future investment in the Burmese
apparel industry.

My bet is that SLORC technocrats at the Foreign Investment Commission and
the Industry Ministry understand their need for investment. As does Aung San
Suu Kyi who has called for people not to invest in Burma at this time. As
investment continues to be bottled up, the SLORC will realize that they have
to come to negotiating table with the democracy movement.

Michael, thank you for raising some important concerns and giving me the
opportunity to explore the issue further. I'll post this to the list for people's interest.

Simon Billenness

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

THE HINDU : SINGAPORE TO PUSH TRADE TIES WITH MYANMAR
January 22,1996
From: fdhr!chan@unv.ernet.in

A high-level Singapore delegation that includes three Ministers,
left today for Myanmar on five-day visit that is indicative of
increased interest in the economy of that country.

Led by the Trade and Industry Minister, Mr. Yeo Cheow Tong,
the Singapore delegation will participate in the inaugural meeting of
the joint Ministerial Working committee set up last year to strengthen
and expand trade and investment links. Accompanying the Trade Minister
are Singapore's Minister for Communications, Mr. Mah Bow Tan and the
National Development Minister, Mr. Lim Hug Kiang.

The two countries have decided to focus attention on tourism, agro business,
telecommunications and infrastructure development, Singapore has till now
concentrated on the first tow areas. The visit is described here as a " milestone "
in Singapore-Myanmar relations," which have progressed steadily since the
Prime Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, visited Yangon in March 1994. These
developments, especially the opening of a Trade Office in Yangon, and the
virtual competition among ASEAN countries to capture the Myanmar market,
have again raised the question- Is democracy in Myanmar being marginalised?

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

XINHUA: AUSTRALIA TO HELP MYANMAR INSTALL CELLULAR PHONES
January 23, 1996

An Australian company will install 4000 cellular telephones in Yangon, the
capital of Myanmar, the New Light of Myanmar reported today.  A contract on
the installation of the system was signed here Monday between the state-run
Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Ericsson Australia Pte Ltd.
The contract also includes the installation of equipment in Myanmar's
present three radio stations and the construction of four new radio stations
and upgrading of radio communication system to digital one, the paper said.
Three foreign companies from Israel, Japan and the United States signed
similar contracts with the MPT for installation of auto radio telephones in
Myanmar last year.

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

ANP ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN: HEINEKEN TO STAY IN MYANMAR
DESPITE CLAIM OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
January 23, 1996

        Brewer Heineken confirmed Saturday that it intends to continue investments
in the Myanmar (previously Burma), despite the poor human rights situation
in the country.
        Amnesty International has accused the Myanmar regime of practicing torture
and summary executions and said that the prevailing is one of the worst in
the world.
        In reaction to Amnesty's claim, the European Commission said it plans to
initiate an investigation into reports of, among other things, forced labor
camps for tens of thousands of women and children.
        Heineken says it wants to remain in the area to help improve the situation.
Through cooperation projects with the regime, the brewer added, their
involvement may result in a positive influence.
        Other U.S. multinational corporations, including Levi Strauss, have already
halted operations in Myanmar.
        Labor (PvdA) MP John Lilipaly has called for a cabinet ruling about the
question of contacts between the regime and Dutch corporations.  He stressed
that the European Community needs to pressure the Myanmar leaders to conform
with human rights standards.

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

NATION: 20 KILLED AS RIVAL KAREN GROUPS CLASH IN SOUTH-
EASTERN BURMA       January 23, 1996
Reuter

MAE SOT - Twenty people were killed in clashes between rival
factions of Karens in southeastern Burma at the weekend, Thai
border police said yesterday.

About 150 Karen National Union (KNU) troops launched a surprise
attack on a camp belonging to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA) on Saturday, police said.

Thai border police, monitoring field radio communications from
the area, said 15 DKBA members were killed and more than two
dozen were wounded in the attack.

Five KNU guerrillas died, police said.

The DKBA was formed by Karen rebels who broke away from the
Rangoon anti-KNU in December 1994 and joined forces with Burmese
government troops.

The faction has launched regular cross-border raids on Karen
refugee camps in Thailand in an attempt to force the inmates,
most of them KNU supporters, back to government-controlled areas
in Burma.

A KNU source said the weekend attack was in response to a recent
raid by the DKBA on a refugee camp in Thailand when they executed
a retired KNU commander.

The KNU has been fighting for autonomy since 1949 and is the only
ethnic minority guerilla force in Burma which has yet to agree to
a ceasefire with the Rangoon government.

Last month a KNU delegation travelled to Rangoon for peace
negotiations for the first time since 1963.

The KNU source said he hoped the weekend attack would not
jeopardize the peace talks.

"The attack was revenge against the DKBA who crossed the border
to kill our brothers in the camps. We have no intention of
harming Burmese troops," the guerrilla officer said.

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

NATION: ARMY CONCERNED AS BURMESE TROOPS MOVE TOWARDS
NORTHERN BORDER
January 23, 1996
by YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK

THE Burmese junta has strengthened its control of Shan state by
sending in more troops to areas near Thailand's northern border
after the withdrawal of opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army.

The advance of more Burmese troops equipped with light arms and
heavy artillery has worried both the Thai Army and ethnic Wa forces.

The Wa army has been fighting the MTA since last June for control
of the rugged terrain around Doi Lang and Mong Yawn, opposite
Thailand's Mae Ai district in Chiang Mai.

Thai security officers said the Burmese army has sent two
divisions of troops with heavy artillery from Shan state's
southern command in Kentung to Mong Hsat, about 30 kilometres
northwest of Baan Hin Taek in Mae Fah Luang district of Chiang
Rai, and to Mong Tum, about 10 km north of Baan Hin Taek.

>From there the forces moved to the Doi Lang area, which is also
claimed by Thailand.

Thai security officers and a representative of the United Wa
State Army (UWSA) said they had detected Burmese troops around
Hua Mae Kham where the MTA stronghold of Pa Kae under the command
of Col Sulai is located.

The Burmese troops arrived and dug in around Hua Mae Kham on Jan
18, which is opposite Thailand's Baan Hin Taek, said the Wa officer.

He added that the sudden advance of several hundred Burmese
troops to Hua Mae Kham without the UWSA being informed had led to
heavy mortar clashes between both sides on Jan 10 in which five
Burmese forces were killed and 11 others wounded. The shellings
began at 4 am and ended at around 9 am the same morning.

The day after the clashes between the Burmese 331st Battalion and
the Wa 214th Army Division, Burmese troops informed their
military office in Tachilek, where the UWSA has also set up a
southern liaison office, of the presence of the Burmese army in
the Hua Mae Kham area, the officer said.

He added that the Wa had learned that the Burmese and the MTA are
now living together in some MTA outposts in the Hua Mae Kham
area. The officer did not know if any MTA forces were hurt during
the heavy shellings.

"They [Burmese liaison officers] told us of the presence of
Burmese troops around Hua Mae Kham and asked us to stop the
shelling," he said.

Thai officers said a few Shan refugees have fled into Thailand
since the Burmese troop deployment around Doi Lang early this
month, with a small number of them having arrived at the Hua Mae
Kharn border area.

They said the Thai Army is still closely watching the movement of
the Burmese army and its deployment close to the Thai border.

One officer said yesterday that Thai troops that were sent in to
reinforce the Doi Lang area have already established contact and
communication with the Burmese forces in the area.

"It seems the leaders in the two capitals r are in contact. On
the ground, tensions. r have also greatly eased and the Thai and
Burmese troops sometimes dine together," he said.

A heavy burden is placed on middle-ranking Thai commanders "who
have to maintain a calm situation and good atmosphere and to take
any contingent measures to reduce any tension and possible
clashes," said the same officer who has often visited the area.

Except for the two spots of Doi Lang and Hua Mae Kham, most of
the rugged terrain opposite Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai remains
under the control of the MTA control, whose leader Khun Sa struck
a secret deal last month with the Burmese junta in which he
allowed the central authorities to take control of his territory.

Both Wa and Thai officers said they did not know if the Burmese
troops would advance further to take all MTA positions west of
Hua Mae Kham to Tachilek and around Pang Mai Soong and Pang Seua
Thao, which are located opposite Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district.

They believed the ruling Burmese State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc) would make utmost "political and military" use of
its deal with Khun Sa and that more Slorc leader would pay a
visit to the MTA headquarters of Homong, opposite Mae Hong Son
province.

A well-informed Shan source told The Nation that he believed the
visit to Rangoon by Khun Sa's sons early this month led to the
Jan 18 trip to Homong by Lt Gen Maung Thint, a Slorc member and
minister for Border Areas and National Races Development.

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

BKK POST: NO SHAN MINORITY PEOPLE SEEN CROSSING BORDER
January 3, 1996  Mae Hong Son

NO Shan minority people from the former drug warlord's
headquarters at Ho Mong have crossed the border into Thailand,
according to a report from border checkpoints in Muang district.

However, hundreds of Shan villagers have moved out from the Ho
Mong headquarters to stay at Ban Mae Or Luang in Burma, one
kilometre from the Ban Lak Thai Pass in Tambon Mok Champae, Muang
district.

It was believed the Shan villagers decided to leave the camp
because they feared the 1,000 Burmese soldiers sent to man the
former Mong Tai Army stronghold.

A border source said many former MTA soldiers were paid 2,000
kyat each by Burmese authorities and told to return home. But a
number of these men were then forced to become porters for
Burmese soldiers, prompting them to flee to the Thai-Burmese border.

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

BKK POST: DRUG WARLORD EXPLAINS LIFELONG STRUGGLE
January 23, 1996

Many questions remain unanswered about drug warlord Khun Sa. Here
the man himself writes a short account of his life in the Tai
language of the Shan people, translated by his close aides into
English. Bangkok Post's senior reporter in Chiang Mai, Subin
Khuenkaew, has obtained a copy. The account, which covers the
lesser-known period to 1985, has been edited slightly for clarity

KHUN SA was born in Hpa-perng village, Doi Maw, Mong Yai township
of Lashio province in Burma, on February 17, 1934. He is the
seventh generation of immigrants from Dali in China where one of
his aneestors was a chieftain in Doi Maw territory.

Some people believe the name Khun Sa is a nom de guerre, but that
is not so. It is not uncommon for ethnic Chinese who become
naturalised citizens of their adopted country to take up a local
name. So Chang Si Fu became Khun Sa, the son of Khun Ai.

Khun Ai died prematurely in 1937. His widow remarried, this time
to Khun Ji, the chief of Mong Torm, a neighbouring territory. She
died two years later. The five-year-old Khun Sa was adopted and
taken care of by the stepfather, but was later claimed by his
grandfather, Khun Yi Sai chief of Doi Maw territory.

Khun Sa was sent to school in Doi Maw for a while, but was soon
recalled when World War Two spread to Burma. His grandfather had
been tutoring him to read and write Chinese, cultivate tea and
breed horses and mules. He was much influenced by the thoughts
and exploits of his uncle, Khun Ja, who fought alongside the
Allies against the Japanese and who remained politically active
after the end of the war.

No sooner had the Shan State achieved independence as part of the
Union of Burma, than the Kuomingtang (KMT) or Chinese
Nationalists, who were defeated by the Chinese communists in
1949, took sanctuary in the state by the thousands. Doi Maw, on
the western bank of the Salween River, had to bear the brunt of
this unexpected foreign invasion.

Local people were conscripted for labour and military service,
taxes were levied on them and they were subjected to harsh,
lawless rule. One day, KMT soldiers came for Khun Sa's
grandfather's horses and mules. Khun Sa can still recall his
grandfather eyes filled with tears, directing his grandson to
show the KMT soldiers the designated pack-saddle for each of the
mules. This incident, he said, ignited in him the resolve to
regard the KMT soldiers as foreigners and enemies to be driven
from the motherland.

Khun Sa then organised an anti-KMT force from his boyhood friends
and staged an early dawn raid on an unexpecting KMT unit. The
surprise seemed total because, according to him, he managed to
acquire more than 30 assorted weapons from this single adventure.

But his victory and the resulting buoyancy were short-lived
because the KMT quickly moved to put his grandfather in custody
and demanded, together with the return of the weapons, a halt to
Khun Sa's anti-KMT activities. The young rebel had to flee for
his life into the urban districts and' immediately found himself
among another foreign invader _ the Burmese _ who had occupied
the main towns and cities of the Shan State.

The bitter experiences he had under foreign occupation first by
the Japanese, and later by the KMT and the Burmese, were enough
for this rebellious young man whose heart had been imbued by his
uncle with love for and loyalty to the motherland. The betrayal
of the government's promise to respect the right of the Shan
State
to manage its own destiny after a 10-year trial period led him to
form a clandestine underground movement on new year's day, 1960.

The immediate question was whether to fight the KMT and the
Burmese simultaneously. Which of the two was to be regarded as
most dangerous? How best to build his strength?

The answers to these questions came in the person of Col Muang
Shwe, the Burmese commander of (Shan State), who on January 6,
offered him the position as chief of the volunteer militia and a
free hand to build up his strength in return for his pledge to
fight the KMT and the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). He
accepted. His support grew, strengthened by local merchants
adverse to socialism, and by 1963 had spread to Kengtung, which
borders Laos.

By then, the KMT's promotion policy coupled with Burmese economic
mismanagement and secret encouragement had led to a rapid
increase in poppy cultivation and opium trading.

Khun Sa was aware of the disastrous side-effects of this
development. He felt that only cure and education could ease and
counter the effects of drugs. From 1964 onwards, he built two
hospitals and more than 80 schools.

On June 15, 1964, a special conference was held in Doi Maw where
Bo Deving, a veteran of the famous 1959 Tongyan Battle was chosen
as the group's leader. A decision was also taken to extend Khun
Sa's forces into areas bordering Thailand. The forces reached the
Thai border later that year, but the KMT remnants, the Third Army
commanded by Gen Li Wen-Huan and the Fifth Army commanded by Gen
Tuan Shi-wen, were alarmed by Khun Sa's emergence as a rival. On
November 7, 1964, they attacked the Shan United Army unit
stationed at Ban Hin Taek in Chiang Rai.

Khun Sa blocked from setting up bases along the Thai border was
left with the only alternative of doing so on the Laotian border.
But the ex-KMT, determined to stop Khun Sa at all costs, attacked
his force in Ban Kwan, Laos. This battle raged from July 6-9,
1967 and became known as the "1967 Opium War". They also launched
an operation against him the following year, attacking hi at Ban
Nakha, Mong Keo Ward and Mong Lurn townships in Lashio province.
     
Failing to destroy him, the KMT used a different strategy, which
turned out to be effective, unfortunately, as subsequent events
proved. Through couriers and contacts, the KMT informed the
Burmese government of Khun Sa's real intentions _ to overthrow
foreign rule by force.
     
Khun Sa arrived at Taunggi on October 17, 1969, having been
invited to attend a special meeting. On October 20, Burmese
forces arrested him and sent to Mandalay Prison for five years of
solitary confinement. Only a copy of Lo Kuang-chung's famous
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was available to him. It was,
nevertheless, worth it, he said, because he was able to make a
thorough revise of the Shan situation and formulate plans.

Meanwhile, his troops had not been idle. Most of them, being
alert, swiftly left the towns and joined up with the Shan State
Army. Only an insignificant number were caught napping and
disarmed. The leaderless army was then led by the able and loyal
ex-KMT soldier who became Khun Sa's chief of staff, known as
"Thunder". It was he who conceived the daring plan to kidnap
Russian volunteer doctors who were working in the country to
assist the Burmese government, and hold them hostage in exchange
for return of their leader.

On April 16, 1977, Congressman Lester Wolff, who was then the
chairman of the United States House Select Committee on
Narcotics, sent his emissary, Joseth Nellis, to meet Khun Sa now
dubbed by the US Narcotics Agency and the press as "Opium King".
Khun Sa promised to cooperate with the international community to
fight against narcotics and submitted his six-year plan. This was
rejected by the Carter Administration on July 18 the same year.

Later diplomatic efforts also came to nil and, on January 21
1982, the Thai Border Patrol Police, hired by the US Drug
Enforcement Administration, attacked Ban Tin Taek. Since then
altogether 40 attacks have been launched against him all of which
failed to produce any concrete results to justify the losses on both sides.

On March 3, 1985, Khun Sa accepted the three conditions of the
then Tai Revolutionary Council: that he oppose the Burma
Socialist Progressive Party, the Communist Party of Burma, and
the narcotics trade, and support drugs control and education programmes.

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

INDEPENDENCE (S.H.A.N.) : A NEW NGO FOR THE SHANS
Date: 24 Jan 1996 03:30:03
From: "H.NG.P SPM <H.NG.P SPM" <100706.1311@comnet4.ksc.net.th>

January 8, 1996

A NEW NGO FOR THE SHANS

Shan exiles in Thailand have set up a new NGO called the Kornzurng Memorial
Society on December 3, 1995, according to S.H.A.N sources.

Kornzurng is the name of the Shan Resistance leader ( 1926-1991 ) who, against
all odds, managed to unite the three biggest Shan armed groups, namely the Shan
State Army, the Shanland United Army and the Shan United Revolutionary Army in
1985 for the freedom of Shan State. The combined army later came to be known as
the Mong Tai army. However, before his lofty aims of freedom, peace and
prosperity for the people could be achieved, Kornzurng died of cancer. He was
respected by both friend and foe alike, and even Khun Sa, his successor, mourns
that had he been alive today, the D-Day mutiny ( of June 1995 ) would not have
happened.

The Executive Committee of the Kornzurng Memorial Society is made up of 11
former close followers and relatives of kornzurng : Zaray Htee (a former monk
and kornzurng's religious mentor ), Khuensai ( his former secretary ), Sai leng
( his nephew ), Lengmuang, Yordserk, Sengzern, Zarng ( his son), Zawm Wan, Pi
and Orga.

Their aims are to put up a memorial for the late leader, build a historical and
cutural museum and assist the local people , who are classified variously by the
Thai government as displaced persons, highlanders and " runaway " immigrants,
and who number 25,270 according to the Mu ( 1 ) village headman in Piangluang,
Wiangheng district in Chiang Mai province.

The Kornzurng Memorial Society can be contacted at the following address :
759  Mu 1, Piangluang, Wiangheng, Chiang Mai 50350, Thailand.

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

BAC: BURMA BOYCOTT STICKERS AVAILABLE
January 23, 1996
From: Brischmidt@aol.com

Just a reminder- The Burma Action Committee is distributing boycott stickers
focusing on Pepsi but also mentioning the Unocal boycott and a website for
more information.

Stickers cost US$10.00 per 100 or US$90 per 1000, shipping included. For
Canada please add US$1.00 per 100 for shipping. Overseas please contact us
for shipping. Send checks to Burma Action Committee, PO Box 1926, Portland OR
97207, and we'll ship upon receipt.

Stickers read as follows:
Stop finacing Burma's dictators
The South Africa of the 90's!
(large Pepsi logo with "BOYCOTT" stamped over it)
Tell Pepsi: (800) 433-COLA, Somers NY 19589 USA
Info:  //danenet.wicip.org/fbc/freeburma.html- Boycott Unocal too!

(The website should have/will soon have the current sticker design posted)

-Brian Schmidt
Burma Action Committee

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

----------------------------------------------------------
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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