----------------------------- BurmaNet -------------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: June 17, 1996
Issue # 444

Noted in Passing:

                See that cameraman? That is military intelligence.
                They are filming all of us, but we are not afraid.
                - a student at Daw Suu's weekend speech
                (see BKK POST: JUNTA IMPOTENT AGAINST SUU
                KYI'S CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT)

HEADLINES:
==========
BKK POST: JUNTA IMPOTENT AGAINST SUU KYI'S CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT
THE NATION: BUSINESSMEN URGED TO SUPPORT SLORC
BKK POST: VERBAL WAR ESCALATES AS SUU KYI DEFIES BAN
BKK POST: AMUNAY SAYS EVERY NATION HAS RIGHT TO SET
ASIAN AGE: SUU KYI NEIGHBOUR WANT TO RALLIES TO BE STOPPED
REUTER: FILIPINO PROTESTERS ARRESTED
REUTER: POLITICAL TENSIONS WON'T AFFECT TO JOIN ASEAN
STRAITS TIMES: MILITARY CLAMPDOWN PUTS MYANMAR'S
THE NATION: SLORC RAISES ANTE IN BID TO DERAIL SUU KYI'S NLD
BKK POST: THAIS DUE TO SIGN SECOND BURMA GAS PACT
THE NATION: ISRAELI FIRM IN BURMA PHONE DEAL
BKK POST: KHUN SA EXPAND JADE TRADE WITH TAIWANESE
BKK POST: JUNTA'S TIMBER RULE ANGERS THAI TRADERS
ANNOUNCEMENT: DAW SUU BIRTHDAY AT SENATE BLDING
ANNOUNCEMENT: D.C. AREA BURMESE FOOD BAZAAR INVITATION
**********************************************

BKK POST: JUNTA IMPOTENT AGAINST SUU KYI'S CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT
June 15, 1996
by Michael Rodman
Rangoon

HOW to demonise a lady. They call her a "destructionists", a power-
crazed puppet princess, an "axe handle" of neo-colonialist alien masters.

In Burma these days it's open season on Aung San Suu Kyi. About half
of all local news in the last two weeks in the official New Light of
Myanmar is devoted to attacking her.

School teachers at mass rallies are coerced to call on the public to
"crush" her.

There is no need to avoid offending the sensitive. Lambasting the
enemy is politically correct.

Though she is not shown on TV, she has been defamed enough to employ
OJ Simpson's lawyers for life.

"We've never seen it focussed on only one person like it is now," says one
source. "The government must be afraid of her. But we don't believe what
they say. The more they attack her, the more the people support her."

Here's a selection of rhetoric in the last two weeks.

She should have stayed at home: "Ma Suu Kyi had lived in a foreign
country for full 28 years.. If she loved Burma, why did she take
refugee in the English bosom."

She's a snob: "After learning how to speak a language, English, rich
in sh..... and d.... sounds at a missionary school, she went a long
with her mother at 15 to New Delhi. She studied Ikebana, performing
arts and horseriding... with children of Indian officials and diplomats."

She dishonoured her parents: "Her temperament to counter unjust
attacks, her inheritance from her forefathers, are not based on
patriotism, but constitute her more perverse obstinacy.

She married Mr Wrong: "British colonialists connived to get an
Englishman married to her. She was unaware of their scheme being of a
young and tender age."

She's naive: "Naively thinking there was nothing wrong as it (her
weekend gatherings) was done ostensibly with good intent."

Last weekend, despite a government ban and the threat of stiff prison
sentences, Aung San Suu Kyi spoke to her supporters as usual from her
gate on University Avenue.

"Maybe it's dangerous, but I am not afraid," says a bright-eyed man
in his sixties who has been coming every week for 10 months. "My
conscience is clean. If the police come, they come."

The man looks down the road for the police to arrive, but they never
come. What he sees is a crowd of 4,000 and growing. People sit cross-
legged in front of Suu Kyi's picket fence on one side of the street,
15 heads wide and 100 long.

An even larger crowd is jammed against shrubs on the other side. The
dirt roadsides are so crowed that, once seated, people cannot move
their legs. If they want to arrest the whole crowd, they would only
need a big net. Strangers lean on each other for support.

A young monk, eyes fixed on Suu Kyi throught her speech, drapes his
arms over the shoulders of an offduty laborer. There is a religious
vibe under the sun and the trees.

Old people, the majority, are beaming. A lone woman in a cluster of
50 men has the stubborn, defiant gaze of Aunt San Suu Kyi herself. A
20-year-old technology student, one of few students to attend during
their exam week, explains why he's here in one word: "Democracy".
"I'm not afraid," he adds.

He points across the road to a cameraman behinds a tree blessed with
a shrine. "See that cameraman? That is military intelligence. They
are filming all of us, but we are not afraid."

Many in the crowd, says another man, don't to know about the
government decree against the weekly meeting because they turned out
the state media long ago.

Others say they come because of the ban.

The faithful seem to have adopted the spirit of their leader, whose
book "Freedom from Fear" suggests she won't let a new net of laws stop her.

When Aunt San Suu Kyi finally emerges above her red and spiked gate,
the crowd clap and chant her name.

The traffic flow is obstructed because taxi drivers, business types
in Benzes and star-struck teenage girls with their parents are
driving by to see her.

What they see is a woman in purple and of fair complexion. Microphone
in one hand, appears in the others, Aunt San Suu Kyi speaks with
hand-and-face expressions of emotion that few in Burma would dare to
bare in public. (BP)

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

THE NATION: BUSINESSMEN URGED TO SUPPORT SLORC
June 17, 1996
Reuter

RANGOON - About 10,000 Burmese businessmen joined a mass rally to
support official moves to open up the economy and to denounce the
opposition, which they accused of threatening stability, official
media said yesterday.

The rally was chaired by Thein Tun, vice-chairman of the Myanmar
(Burmese) Chamber of Commerce, who told the gathering about the
government's accomplishments since it liberalised the economy after
taking power in 1988, state-run media said.

He said businessmen needed to make continued efforts to hold on to
the progress made by the ruling Slorc.

"All see the attempts of internal and external destructionists working in
collusion to hamper the all-round national development," he said.

"The people will never accept the obstruction of stability, peace and
progress of the state and will never desire the incitement to riot
and attempts to create disturbance in the country," he said.

Thein Tun, one of Burma's top businessmen who is chairman and chief
executive of Pepsi Myanmar, also urged businessmen to unite to crush
destructionists.

Burmese people say they are ordered to attend the rallies, with
officials requiring at least one person per household.

The rallies coincide with an increasing crackdown by Slorc against
the pro-democracy opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi. (TN)

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

BKK POST: VERBAL WAR ESCALATES AS SUU KYI DEFIES BAN
June 17, 1996
Rangoon, AP

THE war of words between Burma's military rulers and Aung San Suu Kyi
continued yesterday as the pro-democracy leader disregarded a ban to
address thousands of supporters for the second weekend in a row.

More than 4,000 people braved monsoon downpours to gather in front of
Suu Kyi's house without interference from authorities except for
freshly painted "no parking" signs in front of her compound.

But without mentioning her by name, the country's top generals
unleashed a barrage of verbal attacks this weekend, threatening to
annihilate "internal traitors beckoning outside influence", the
official press reported yesterday.

Suu Kyi criticised such attacks in her speech, saying slogans shouted
at recent government rallies instilled "hatred among the people, thus
disturbing the peace and tranquillity of the nation".

While not moving directly against Suu Kyi, the government has
escalated its campaign against the democracy movement through the
media, billboards and its own public demonstrations.

On Saturday, Suu Kyi addressed 4,500 followers outside her home,
criticising a sweeping law that allows the military to jail for up to
20 years and confiscate property of anyone threatening the stability
of the state.

Asked if she might be arrested, Suu Kyi said: "It's always a
possibility. As I've said repeatedly, anybody can be arrested in
Burma at any time."

The same day, Burma's powerful military intelligence chief,
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, lashed out at Suu Kyi and her
followers, describing them as unpatriotic and bent on subverting the
economy by urging other nations to clamp sanctions on Burma.

The military regime has branded the US as particularly hostile,
saying it was trying to colonise the country.

Envoys sent by President Bill Clinton to sound out Asian leaders
about their policy toward Burma said on Saturday Washington might
consider political, diplomatic and possibly economic steps toward
sanctions if conditions in Burma deteriorated.

William Brown and Stanley Roth said in Bangkok they found consensus
among Asian officials that bloodshed should be avoided through
dialogue and compromise.

In another speech on Saturday, Lieutenant-General Tin Oo vowed to
crush those who were disrupting the country "under the pretext of
democracy". And an editorial in the state-owned New Light of Myanmar
said "what the handful of ax-handles and minions of foreign saboteurs
are doing is downright dirty". (BP)

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

BKK POST: AMUNAY SAYS EVERY NATION HAS RIGHT TO SET
OWN POLICY ON BURMA
June 16, 1996

By Bhanravee Tansuphabol, Saritdet Marukatat and Amornrat
Mahitthirook in Pattaya/Kuala Lumpur

THAILAND yesterday asserted its right to conduct an independent
policy on Burma, and a senior Foreign Minister official urged Burmese
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to adopt a softer approach in
calling for more freedom.

"All regional countries want the same objective of stability, but the
policy management of each country may be different," Foreign Minister
Amunay Viravan told reporters after meeting United States special
envoys William Brown and Stanley Roth in Pattaya.

The US is located far from Burma but is no different from other
countries in that it also seeks stability in this region, he pointed out.

"The US will help support the principle of constructive engagement
and does not have any problem with the policy," he added.

In Kuala Lumpur, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affair Thep Devakula
criticised Mrs Suu Kyi's approach to bringing about change in Burma,
including the decision by her NLD to draft an alternative
constitution.

"Staging protests is unacceptable to the military regime," M.R Thep
said.

The Slorc is under pressure to lead the country to catch up with
others in Southeast Asia, and would accept her call for more freedom
if she adopted a softer approach, he added.

M.R Thep stressed that he was stating his personal opinion, and
admitted he risked being labelled an "advocate" of dictatorship for it.

Thailand was he first Asean state to express concern about the
arrests of NLD members in the run-up to their May 27-28 congress.
Thailand was also the only Asean state to send a representative to
observe the congress.

M.R Thep remarks, made to reporters at the end of meeting of Asean
officials on developing the Mekong basin as well as Burma, Cambodia,
China and Laos, were similar to those he made earlier to the Kyodo
News Agency in Bangkok.

M.R Thep commended Mrs Suu Kyi for her courage and determination to
lead Burma out of the military's grip, but the questioned her ability
to control  the situation if rapid changes took place.

The Burmese people would suffer if conflict broke out, he noted.

M.R Thep urged the opposition leader to join the Slorc in drafting
the new constitution.

The Slorc is using the Indonesian constitution as a model. It is a
good one because it paves the way for a gradual change in the role of
the military, he said.

The NLD has rejected the constitution being drafted by the Slorc, and
at the end of its congress announced its own plans to draft an alternative
one.

Senior Asean officials last week suggested that Indonesia, as
chairman of Asean, send Foreign Minister Ali Alatas to Rangoon for
talks with the Slorc and Suu Kyi.  Mr Alatas has rejected the idea.

Mr Amunay said Asean foreign ministers could again raise the idea if
sending an envoy for talks in Burma at their meeting in Jakarta next month.

But a source claimed no Asean state wanted to send an envoy to
Rangoon at this point because there was a lack of consensus among
them regarding Burma. (BP)

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

ASIAN AGE: SUU KYI NEIGHBOUR WANT TO RALLIES TO BE STOPPED
16th June 1996   (New Delhi)

Rangoon, June 15: Neighbour of democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi are fed up with the "unruly" weekend meetings outside her
compound and asked, in an open letter published on Saturday, that
they be stopped.

"We have been unable to get any during weekend public holidays
because of the noisy and unruly crowd that has been obstructing
traffic and disturbing the peace of mind of residents nearby," the
neighbours letter said.

"To help end the trouble we have to endure every weekend, we
implore through you the authorities to ban this illegal and unruly
public gathering," said the letter carried in the peoples forum
section of the state-run Mirror Daily.

Analysts said letter -- the first of its type -- was apparently intended
to use public sentiment to justify anticipated official action against
Ms Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy.

Last week, Burma passed harsh new laws which, among other
things, effectively ban public meeting such as the NLD holds each
weekend and provide for heavy penalties.

Signed by "residents of Golden Valley," the neighbourhood
surrounding Ms Aung San Suu Kyis residential compound, the
letter complained of broken fences that had to be hurriedly mended
to ward off thieves and of the stench of urine.

The residents alleged they were subjected to abuse whenever they
attempt to enter or leave their private compounds while the weekend
meetings were under way.

A stepped-up campaign against the NLD includes television
interviews of NLD candidates who won seats in the 1990 general
elections and who declared they had decided to give up politics for
personal or health reasons.

The spate of resignations, announced by the elections commission
which supervised the 1990 balloting, followed a military clampdown
in which more than 260 NLD candidates were temporarily detained
in May to prevent a planned party congress.

About on dozen candidates are believed to have resigned so far, and
the number is generally expected to raise. (AFP)

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

REUTER: FILIPINO PROTESTERS ARRESTED
May 29, 1996
From: zni@students.wisc.edu

     MANILA, May 29 (Reuter) - Filipino protesters on Wednesday called for
an international arms embargo on Burma and a Manila newspaper said Rangoon's
recent crackdown on Burmese pro-democracy activists showed it was panicking.

    A small group of protesters from the Free Burma Coalition picketed the
Burmese embassy in Manila and demanded to see ambassador U San Thein. Guards
refused to admit them.

    In a statement, the group denounced the arrests last week of more than
250 pro-democracy activists from the National League for Democracy led by
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

    ``The Free Burma Coalition...calls on all Burma's neighbours and the
international community as a whole to impose an embargo on arms and war
supplies to SLORC,'' the statement said, referring to Burma's ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council.

    The statement also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to withhold action on Burma's application to join. ASEAN comprises
Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam.

    ``Myanmar's (Burma's) military dictatorship is panicking,'' the
Philippine newspaper Today said in an editorial, denouncing the arrests as a
``blatant show of dictatorial force.''

    The daily accused the Philippine government of failing to respond
swiftly to Rangoon's crackdown, saying it was only on Monday that Manila
issued a statement expressing concern about the situation in Burma.

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

REUTER: POLITICAL TENSIONS WON'T AFFECT TO JOIN ASEAN
June 16, 1996

  KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Reuter) - Burma Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw has
brushed aside fears that political tensions in his country will affect its
bid to join the regional grouping ASEAN, saying Burma is stable and ``safer
than any country.''

    He said it was for the Association of South East Asian Nations to judge
whether Burma could be accepted into the regional group, the Bernama news
agency reported on Sunday.

    ``If it is one year, then of course it will be one year (to join ASEAN)
and if two years, it will be two years,'' he told reporters on arrival here
on Saturday night for an Asian ministers' meeting to discuss developing the
Mekong basin.

    ``I don't think that the happenings in Myanmar (Burma) will affect our
chance to become a member of ASEAN,'' Bernama quoted him as saying.

    The Burma government has been cracking down on the pro- democracy
opposition led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Last month, the
government arrested 250 democracy politicians ahead of a controversial
congress of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

    ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia and Laos have official observer status, which
Burma is expected to be admitted to in July during the Asean Ministerial
Meeting in Jakarta.

    ``The happenings or whatever it is (in Burma) is your own perception,''
Ohn Gyaw said. ``Myanmar (Burma) is as stable as any country in this region.
And I can even assure that we are safer than any country around.''

    Ohn Gyaw's comments came as U.S. special envoys visiting the region to
coordinate a response to Burma's actions warned that events in that country
could destabilise Southeast Asia.

    Asked if Burma should exercise transparency and allow ASEAN to play a
greater peacemaking role between the military and Suu Kyi's democracy
movement, Ohn Gyaw said: ``We are transparent and ASEAN is very active and
has taken a leading role (in Burma) through the constructive engagement
policy.''

    ASEAN has preferred so-called constructive engagement with Burma to help
it settle domestic problems rather than embark on confrontational measures.

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

STRAITS TIMES: MILITARY CLAMPDOWN PUTS MYANMAR'S
MEMBERSHIP OF ARF IN THE BALANCE
By Lee Kim Chew
June 17, 1996

 THE military clampdown on pro-democracy activists in Myanmar has cast
a pall over the country's impending membership of the Asean Regional
Forum (ARF).

 With the prospect of a brewing political crisis in Yangon, it is by no
means certain that ARF membership for Myanmar is a done deal, at least
where some Western countries are concerned.

 Canada had expressed strong reservations about giving Myanmar a seat in
the forum, even though it went along with a decision to invite Yangon to the
ARF meeting in Jakarta next month.

 The recent mass arrests of political activists and moves against Nobel
peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)
have reinforced its doubts about the military regime.

 A Canadian diplomat told The Straits Times that his foreign minister
would, under the circumstances, hardly want to be seen at the same table
with Myanmar's representative.

 Two American emissaries have visited Asian capitals to seek a coordinated
response to the generals in Yangon, but they did not get the support they
wanted.

 Myanmar's military regime has long been condemned in the West for its
repressive policies and refusal to transfer power to civilian rule after the
NLD won a sweeping victory in the 1990 general election.

 The Clinton administration has come under increasing congressional
pressure to take a tougher line against the generals.

 The Massachusetts state legislature, for example, recently enacted laws to
ban dealings with companies doing business in Myanmar.

 Soft-drink giant PepsiCo was forced to sell its 40-per cent stake in a
Myanmar bottling plant, partly because of civic pressure to sever
economic links with Yangon.

 The US has blocked Myanmar's access to the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund, but on its own, it does not have enough leverage against the
generals.

 Unlike Japan and the Asean countries, it does not have extensive economic
interests in Myanmar.

 Washington is also hamstrung by its own reluctance to stop American
companies from doing business with Yangon at a time when other
countries, including its allies in Europe, are making inroads into the
Myanmar economy.

 The Clinton administration thus deems it crucial to get the support of
Asian countries if a punitive policy against the regime is to succeed.

 But the proposal has encountered strong resistance. Japan and the Asean
countries, which see Myanmar and Vietnam as the last big untapped
markets in South-east Asia, are unwilling to apply economic sanctions.
They do not believe that these will work.

 Indonesia, current chairman of the Asean Standing Committee, has cited
the grouping's axiom of non-interference in the internal affairs of other
countries, and argued that isolating the regime will not produce the desired
results.

 Instead, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas reaffirmed Asean's long-standing
policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar.

 Japan, as the largest aid donor with a growing commercial interest in
Yangon, has also declined to consider economic sanctions.

 A corollary of constructive engagement is getting Myanmar back into the
mainstream through regional forums such as the ARF, and eventually,
Asean membership. For this reason, the invitation for it to join the
security forum stands, according to an Asean diplomat.

 It is clear that the Asean countries are not prepared to countenance strong
action against the military regime, particularly when they want Myanmar
to join the ARF.

 Unlike the Western countries, they fear that reprisals would sour
relations and distract the ARF from its primary purpose of engaging the
big powers in confidence-building and preventive diplomacy.

 Nor do they want to set a precedent by condemning Yangon for the way it is
dealing with its political opponents. Stated bluntly, the Asean countries, as
prime movers of the ARF, are not prepared to put the fundamental purpose
of the security forum at risk because of the domestic political conflict in
Myanmar.

 This does not mean that the military regime is off the hook. There is
nothing to prevent any ARF member from raising the issue on the sidelines
of the forum. The Japanese favour this approach.

 And in the Asean tradition, the grouping can use quiet diplomacy to tell the
generals that repressive policies against their domestic critics carry
repercussions which they have to live with.

 Myanmar, emerging from three decades of self-imposed isolation, has few
friends beyond Asean and China. It ought to take friendly advice.

 In the glare of adverse international publicity, the regime has thus far
been commendably restrained in dealing with Miss Aung San Suu Kyi and
her supporters.

 The generals foiled her attempt last month to gather the NLD members who
were elected in the 1990 election by arresting them, but most of the
activists have since been released.

 Despite tough new laws against public assembly, the generals have not
stopped the weekend gatherings outside Miss Aung San Suu Kyi's house,
where she continues to make public speeches in defiance of the authorities.

 The show of restraint is a hopeful sign. Asean countries plead non
interference, which means that they will not condemn the military
authorities openly.

 They will not isolate Yangon. But more than this, constructive engagement
can be given a broader meaning. Asean countries can, through their private
channels, persuade the generals to start serious talks with Miss Aung San
Suu Kyi.

 Despite the regime's draconian laws, the crowds which continue to gather
outside her house during her weekend speeches are a clear demonstration
of the popular support that she enjoys.

 She and the generals had talked about national reconciliation since her
release from house arrest last July, but they have yet to meet.

 Can she take a more conciliatory line so that the generals have an
incentive to talk to her? The regime has stayed remarkably cohesive and it
is firmly in charge. It is not to her advantage to be too dismissive of the
generals' demand for a political role in ruling Myanmar, and open defiance
by the pro-democracy activists can only lead to a repeat of the bloodbath in
1988.

 Myanmar will be getting observer status at next month's Asean
ministerial meeting in Jakarta. To make the most of it, the generals can
use the opportunity to show goodwill.

 They can start serious talks with Miss Aung San Suu Kyi, work for a
modus vivendi, burnish their image and use the opening which Asean is
giving them to shake off the pariah status.

 The writer is Chief Regional Correspondent of The Straits Times.

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

THE NATION: SLORC RAISES ANTE IN BID TO DERAIL SUU KYI'S NLD
June 14, 1996 Reuter  (abridged)

RANGOON - Burma's military government has erected billboards
across the country denouncing Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy
repeatedly called for her to stop disturbing the country.

State-run newspaper said 40,000 people attended ceremonies in
pathein west of Rangoon to witness the unveiling of billboards
denouncing foreign intervention and calling for opposition to
anyone trying to destabilise the country.

The red-and-white billboards, which have also been erected in
Rangoon in English and Burmese, say "Oppose those relying on
external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views" and
"Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the
common enemy".

Others signs read: "Oppose those trying to jeopardise stability
of the state and progress of the nation" and "Oppose foreign
nations meddling in international affairs of the state".

The posters were also set up last weekend near Suu Kyi's house
and the US Embassy in Rangoon.

The posters are part of the new pro-paganda programme launched by
the Slorc about three weeks ago when it stepped up its attacks on
a reinvigorated opposition movement led by Suu Kyi.

A commentary in state-run newspapers yesterday also urged Suu Kyi
to stop her efforts that are causing unrest.

"If one really loves the country, one must avoid as much as
possible acts that would cause disturbances," the commentary said.

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

BKK POST: THAIS DUE TO SIGN SECOND BURMA GAS PACT
June 17, 1996
by Boonsong Kositchotethana

THAILAND is today scheduled to sign a second multi-billion-dollar gas
deal with Rangoon, a move opponents claim will increase its funding
of the Burmese junta.

Thai Industry Minister Chaiwat Sinsuwong is to release a joint
statement with Burmese Energy Minister Khin Maung Thein for Thailand
to receive 30 years' supply of natural gas from Yetagun, Burma's
second-largest gas filed, in the Gulf of Martaban.

The statement to be signed in the Burmese capital is a prelude to the
conclusion of the formal purchase contract now being finalised by the
Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and the Yetagun gas developers
led by Texco of the United States.

The involvement of Thailand and foreign oil companies in Burmese gas
projects is frowned on by human rights groups in Washington and some
Western countries critical of Burma's dictatorship.

The PTT said its gas purchase was in line with Asean's constructive
engagement" policy, which seeks  not to isolate Burma but to help
improve the country economically. Thailand needs Burmese gas to meet
fast-growing demand for energy, according to the agency.

Details of the statement were not disclosed at the weekend. But
reports from the PTT indicate that the tariff and pricing formulas
are similar to those of the Yadana gas contract, the first deal of
its kind between Thailand and Burma. The PTT sealed that agreement 18
months ago with a consortium led by the French oil company, Total.

The Yetagun gas is priced at US$3 per one million BTU (British
thermal units). Delivery of the gas to the PTT will start mid-1998 at
the initial rate of 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd).

The purchases are expected to generate revenue totalling five billion
baht a year to be shared by Rangoon and the Yetagun developers. Aside
from Texco, which has come under fire from American human rights
advocates for its role in Burma, the developers include Premier Oil
of Britain and Nippon Oil of Japan.

The project will add about 10 billion baht a year t the amount
payable t Burma for gas from the Yadana filed, Burma's largest, lying
north of Yetagun. The field is 320 kilometres south of Rangoon.

The Yadana developers, which include Unocal Corp of the United States
and PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) of Thailand, are due to
start delivering gas from the 25-billion-baht scheme to Thailand in
mid-1998 at an average rate of 525 MMcfd.

Negotiations for the Yetagun pact have taken longer than either party
anticipated. It was expected the deal could have been struck by the
end of last year.

As in the terms governing the Yadana gas, the agreed price for
Yetagun gas is based on supplies entering Thailand at Pilok in Kanchanaburi.

Prolonged price negotiations have also deferred the production date
of the Yetagun field from 1998 to 1999.

DeGolyer and MacNaughton, American petroleum reservoir engineers,
reserves of Yetagun at 1.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), thus ensuring
gas delivery to the PTT throughout the contract's life.

Included in the gas purchase package is an option for PTTEP, the
exploration arm of the PTT, to acquire a 15% stake in the Yetagun
project. Burmese authorities have made positive gestures toward
PTTEP's farm-in-proposal.

A draft development plan for Yetagun has been prepared by the
operator in conjunction with Brown and Rot of the United States,
Premier Oil said. (BP)

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

THE NATION: ISRAELI FIRM IN BURMA PHONE DEAL
June 16, 1996

RANGOON - An Israeli company ha signed an agreement with the Burmese
government to expand digital telephone exchanges in the capital and
three other major cities in Burma, a state-owned newspaper said.

The New Light of Myanmar said Telrad Telecommunications and
Electronic Industries Ltd signed the contract on Friday with the
state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications. The company is to
install four digital telephone exchange in Rangoon as well as three
other centres. (TN)

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

BKK POST: KHUN SA EXPAND JADE TRADE WITH TAIWANESE
June 15, 1996   (abridged)
Mae Hong Son

KHUN SA has expanded his jewellary and jade trade with Taiwanese
businessmen, a source at his former Ho Mong base said.

Part his revenue from the gems and jade from Mogok and Mong Hsu in
northern Burma is handed over to the Rangoon regime the former MTA
leader defected to in January.

Large quantities of gems and jade have been transferred from Ho Mong
to be cut at Khun Sa's plants in Rangoon, said the source.
To meet demand, Khun Sa has also ordered his aides to take 20 gem-
cutting machines from Ho Mong to Rangoon.

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

BKK POST: JUNTA'S TIMBER RULE ANGERS THAI TRADERS
June 17, 1996
Mae Hong Son

A NEW regulation imposed by the Burmese military junta which requires
all export timber to be routed through Rangoon has arranged Thai
timber merchants.

An informed timber trading source said the Slorc had also demanded
that payment for the timber is in US currency only.

Under present practice Thai timber merchants clinch timber purchasing
deals directly with the Burmese government in Rangoon. After that the
teak logs which are stored in states bordering Thailand such as Shan
and Kayah states are inspected and trucked across the border without
having to be sent to Rangoon for shipment to Thailand.

Thai timber merchants feel that the routing of the timber from the
border to Rangoon for shipment to southern Thai provinces on the
western coast would add unnecessary costs.

The sources said Thai merchants might be tempted to save costs by
making underhand deals with some Burmese army officers and have the
timber smuggled across the border instead. (BP)

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: DAW SUU BIRTHDAY AT SENATE BLDING
June 16, 1996
From: "soe pyne" <maung@igc.apc.org>

Dear Friends of Burma:

The National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma, with support from the Burmese student activists,
will be holding a commemorative event to mark the 51st
Birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on June 19, 1996.


        Place:  Room 562
                Dirksen Senate Office Building
        Time:   10:00am - 12:00noon
        Date:   June 19, 1996

The event will be opened by Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the National
Coalition Government and cousin of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and attended
by Senators and Representatives, members of Burmese democratic organizations,
the Free Burma Coalition, NGOs, members of the Burmese community and
others.   Everyone is invited.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: D.C. AREA BURMESE FOOD BAZAAR INVITATION
June 8, 1996
From: Hlatt@aol.com

There will be an Asia Food Bazaar on Sunday June 23, 1996 at 1708 Powder Mill
 Road, Washington, D.C. ( Time 11.A.M. - 2 P.M.). Everyone is invited . Enjoy
the exotic Burmese cuisine and Live Band entertainment. Proceeds go to Burma
-America Buddhist Association. Thanks.

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