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

The BurmaNet News: June 25, 1996 
Issue #451

Noted in Passing:
                             
                " Indeed, it is now time to prove to the world, and skeptics, that
                "Asian values" which ASEAN-Asian leaders subscribe to, is not
                inferior to, and is as humane as democratic values espoused by the
                West.  In this respect, how ASEAN leaders deal with open and
                gross injustice and oppression in Burma will be most crucial". 
                              (see: INDEPENDENT REPORT: THAILAND'S PRO -
ACTIVE 
                POLICY TOWARD BURMA) 

HEADLINES:
==========
AP: BURMA BUSINESSMAN FRIEND OF SUU KYI DIES IN PRISON
NATION: SUU KYI TELLS SUPPORTERS MORE DETAINEES RELEASED
BKK POST: SUU KYI - FREE SPEECH NOT JUST FOR THE GENERALS
INDEPENDENT REPORT: THAILAND'S PRO - ACTIVE POLICY
BURMANET: JOURNALISTS ON TOURIST VISAS BEWARE
THE INDEPENDENT: BEACON OF FREEDOM BIDES HER TIME
WASHINGTON POST: SUPPORT FOR BURMA'S  DEMOCRATS
ASIAWEEK: BACK TO SCHOOL (FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS)
ABSL: INDIAN GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT ON BURMA
HK STANDARD: RANGOON UNLEASHES TERROR ON BORDER
INDEPENDENT REPORT: BURMA BOYCOTT LIST
CFOB: BBC SERVICE IN BURMESE TO NORTH AM.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AP: BURMA BUSINESSMAN FRIEND OF SUU KYI DIES IN PRISON
June 24,1996
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>

 RANGOON -- As democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi continued to 
exercise her limited freedom by addressing a crowd of 5,000 supporters 
Sunday, her aides said one of her close friends had died in prison.

 James Leander Nicholas, a 65-year-old Anglo-Burmese businessman, 
died Saturday of a hemorrhage in a prison hospital, Suu Kyi's aides told The 
Associated Press.

 The military government permitted only two of his many family members 
to attend his funeral Sunday, they said.

 Nicholas, a former honorary consul for Denmark, Norway and Sweden, 
was arrested April 5 for having two unauthorized fax machines and a 
telephone switchboard in his home.

 He was sentenced to three years in prison on May 18.

 Burma's military government discourages contact between its citizens and 
foreigners, and permission is needed to own fax machines and extra phone 
lines.

 But his friendship with Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was 
considered the real reason for his problems with the government.

 He lent the democracy leader a car after her release last July from six 
years of house arrest, but supporters say he didn't provide any other 
financial backing nor was he a member of her political party, the National 
League for Democracy.

 Suu Kyi had no immediate comment on Nicholas' death.

 She continued to defy a recent government decree banning public political 
meetings by addressing a crowd of enthusiastic supporters who stood in a 
steady drizzle outside her home on tree-lined University Avenue.
----------------------------------------

ON JUNE 24, 1996 VOA ADDED : 

In Copenhagen, Danish foreign minister Niels Helveg Petersen 
said his country will do everything possible to have the 
circumstances of  Mr. Nichols' death made clear.

Norwegian foreign ministry officials in Oslo said they had no 
reason to doubt the official account of Mr. Nichols' death, but 
they too would make further inquiries.

 In a related development, Norway announced on friday it was 
sending the charge d'affaires in its Singapore embassy to 
Rangoon, to spend as much time as possible with Aung San Suu 
Kyi.there were persistent reports and rumors last week that the 
ruling military council was about to arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, or 
disrupt her regular weekly meetings with supporters, at her 
Rangoon home.
-----------------------------------------------------

On June 23, 1996, REUTERS: SCANDANAVIAN CONSUL DIES IN BURMA
added: 

``The official explanation that we received was that he had
a heart attack in jail. He was examined by a prison doctor and
moved to a Rangoon hospital where he died,'' the Danish news
agency Ritzau quoted the country's ambassador to Thailand,
Joergen Reimers, as saying.

The Norwegian news agency NTB, monitored in Copenhagen,
quoted foreign ministry officials in Oslo as saying there was no
reason to suspect that Nichols' death was due to other than the
cause stated but they would also make further enquiries.

Norway said Friday it had sent a senior diplomat to Burma to
offer protection and support to Suu Kyi, fearing that Burma's
ruling body, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), might re-arrest the Nobel Prize winner.

Norway said it might seek support for international economic
sanctions against Burma if Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
winner, was arrested again. SLORC has recently hardened its
attitude to democracy campaigners.

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

NATION: SUU KYI TELLS SUPPORTERS MORE DETAINEES RELEASED
June 24, 1996

RANGOON - Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi defied
government threats yet again at the weekend to speak before some
5,000 supporters, announcing the release of 17 recently detained dissidents.

"The day before yesterday, 17 youth organisers were freed. I
sincerely thank the authorities for releasing them, and would
like to request them not to make such arrests in the future," she said.

Burma's ruling military junta, in the runup to a planned May 26
to 29 congress of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD),
arrested more than 260 supporters. Most of those arrested were
victorious candidates from the NLD-swept 1990 elections, the
results of which were not recognised by the junta.

In a one-hour address, Suu Kyi also responded to recent criticism
from Singaporean elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew.

Referring to Lee's remarks that she should should quietly remain
a symbol of democracy and let the military go on with its job of
governing, Suu Kyi declared her rights of free opinion and speech.

"As a believer in democracy, I believe that everyone has a right
to express their views and opinions as they desire," she said. "I
would like him [Lee] to
understand that we also long for a situation where we have a
right to freely express our beliefs and our desires."

Comments by Lee and other regional leaders deemed favourable by
the junta are well-covered in the state-controlled media.

Saturday marked the third regular weekend gathering at Suu Kyi's
residence in a row since a law banning activities "instigating
unrest" was announced.

NLD supporters said the law was not applicable to the weekend
pro-democracy meetings, as they aimed "to promote the rule of law".

Meanwhile an open letter in the state controlled Mirror daily
called on the authorities to stop the weekend meetings, saying
the litter left behind by the crowds "detracted from the city's beauty".

"At a time when responsible authorities assisted by people were
putting all their efforts into making Rangoon a modern garden
city in time for 'Visit Myanmar Year', the unruly weekend crowd
is making the city ugly," read the letter, ostensibly written by
city residents.

Myanmar is the name for Burma used by the country's authorities.

"The littering is ... of particular embarrassment to the country,
especially since foreigners were seen to be taking video clips of
the scene and broadcasting them abroad," it said.

************************************************************:

BKK POST: SUU KYI TELLS SUPPORTERS FREE SPEECH NOT JUST 
FOR THE GENERALS
Jue 24, 1996

DEMOCRACY leader Aung San Suu Kyi has again defied a recent ban
on assembly by giving an address to 5,000 supporters in which she
asserted the right to stage opposition public rallies.

"Our rallies will be constructive and we will not shout slogans
condemning others," Mrs Suu Kyi said on Saturday in reference to
pro-government rallies which people are reportedly forced to
attend. "You cannot build a country with a negative attitude
based on hatred."

Saturday marked the third  regular weekend gathering in a row at
Mrs Suu Kyi's residence since a law banning activities
"instigating unrest" was announced.

Although gatherings of more than five people are prohibited
without permission from the military government, the speeches
have not-been blocked despite veiled threats.

In her one-hour address, Mrs Suu Kyi also responded to criticism
from Singaporean elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew.

Referring to Mr Lee's remarks that she should quietly remain a
symbol of democracy and let the military govern, Mrs Suu Kyi
declared her rights of free opinion and speech.

"I would like him to understand that we also long for a situation
where we have a right to freely express our beliefs and our desires."

Meanwhile, one of the military government's most powerful
generals accused Mrs Suu Kyi of collaborating with foreign media
to cause chaos.

General Maung Aye, commander-in-chief of the Army, said Mrs Suu 
Kyi was "spreading fabrications in collaboration with foreign media as 
they do not have support within the country." 
     
But Mrs Suu Kyi countered that her party was using the foreign
media because there was no freedom of the press or information in
Burma. 

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

INDEPENDENT REPORT:THAILAND'S PRO - ACTIVE POLICY 
TOWARD BURMA 
June 17, 1996  by Chao-Tzang
From: tai <tai@portal.ca>

   The report by Kavi Chongkittavorn on Thailand's tentative
change from "constructive engagement" to a "pro-active" (meaning,
hopefully, a more balanced) stance, is to be applauded.
   Especially encouraging is Bangkok's declared position against
any action which might  "disrupt the democratization and national
reconciliation process" in Burma, as is Bangkok's recognition of
Aung San Suukyi as a force that guarantees "long-term stability
inside the country".
   It is hoped that the Thai government and leaders will take a
lead in getting ASEAN which, presumable, is still indecisive on
democratization and reconciliation (an obvious key to both future
stability in Burma and the prosperity of the region), to "get its act
together".
   There is, after all, no reason for ASEAN leaders and
government to oppose national reconciliation and democratization
in Burma.  This is because SLORC is also in favor of the above - -
judging from its pronouncement (and claims).
   It seems that all that is now needed, really, is for ASEAN
leaders to explain to both parties in Burma -- the junta (backed by
guns) and the NLD (backed by majority of Bama and non-Bama
people) -- what is meant, fore mostly, by the term "national
reconciliation", and how they should go about to achieve it.
   The task is actually easier than it looks because one party, the
NLD, seems to already understand what the term means. This is
evident from the repeated calls by Aung San Suu Kyi for dialogue
with the region, and as well her willingness to talk with other
political groups and non-Bama leaders in the country.
   Provided, therefore, that ASEAN leaders are themselves not
opposed to national reconciliation in Burma, this process can be
initiated within a few weeks.
   It cannot be that ASEAN leaders do not want national
reconciliation in Burma. The only reason for the opposition of some
ASEAN leaders to initiating the process -- if that is the case --
might be one of "face". Having "not interfered" on the  side of the
wronged, and having "interfered" on behalf of the other party with
inflow of investment to, among other reasons, bolster that party's
image as the "champion" of "free market development", ASEAN
leaders have indeed created the problem of "face".
   However, although "face" is very important in the culture
context, ASEAN leaders are presumably all wise and upright men,
in addition to being very cosmopolitan and sophisticated.
Moreover, they all presumably are community - oriented, moral
leaders. Such being their stature and character, it is hoped that
concern with "face" will not push them to abdicate their sense of
what is the right thing to do.
   As a matter of fact, an even-handed "interference" in Burma
would bolster the stature of ASEAN leaders, and truly give make
them world - class leaders.
   Further, a pro - active ASEAN stance toward Burma would
prove to West and those skeptical and critical of the depth and
moral soundness of "Asian values", that it is not merely empty talk,
or a beautiful tapestry put up to hide grotty, grubby going- ons
behind the scene.
   Indeed, it is now time to prove to the world, and skeptics, that
"Asian values" which ASEAN-Asian leaders subscribe to, is not
interior to, and is as humane as democratic values espoused by the
West.  In this respect, how ASEAN leaders deal with open and
gross injustice and oppression in Burma will be most crucial. 
Burma has become an arena where the humanity and the worth of
"Asian values" will be proved, or as the case may be, disproved.

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

BURMANET: JOURNALISTS ON TOURIST VISAS BEWARE
June 24, 1996

BurmaNet Editor's Note: According to someone who recently entered
Burma on a tourist visa, the following note was stapled inside his 
passport.  Many journalists who were not able to get journalist visas
during the time of the NLD Congress and the following 2 weeks 
entered Burma on tourist visas.  The SLORC realized how the journalists
were getting around their restrictions and have come up with this
measure to try to control the entry of journalists into Burma.  It has
been reported that journalists must now have their journalist visa
applications sent from Burmese embassies to Rangoon for processing.
In the past, the embassies would make the decisions themselves.  Also,
until the NLD Congress, both journalists and tourists could obtain visas
which were valid for 3 months (allowing a 4 week stay in Burma).  Now
visas must be used within seven days.  A number of journalists who have
written critical pieces about the SLORC have been put on the blacklist
and cannot get any type of visa to enter Burma.  Clearly the SLORC wants
to minimize the amount of bad press they are getting internationally.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE STAPLED INTO PASSPORTS WITH TOURIST VISAS

Journalists or any other visa applicant of any occupation or profession, 
who intend to do media work in Myanmar must hold a certificate issued by 
the Embassy of the Union of Myanmar permitting the person concerned to do 
their media work while in the Union of Myanmar.  The certificate 
authorising the person to do media work in Myanmar issued by the Embassy 
will be duly endorsed on arrival at any airport or sea-port by competent 
authorities responsible for this purpose."

Anyone found doing any work connected with the media without this duly 
endorsed certificate is liable to be fined and deported on an immediate 
basis.   

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

THE INDEPENDENT/DAILY YOMIYURI: BEACON OF FREEDOM 
BIDES HER TIME
June 23, 1996
From: brelief@gol.com 

All his star charts and astrolabes failed to warn the
official soothsayer used by Burma's generals of the
horrendous gaffe he was about to commit.

Members of the ruling junta had gathered for the
consecration of a Buddhist pagoda in Mandalay and the
astrologer, Myaung, was down in a freshly dug hole,
calculating the exact, auspicious moment when the
foundation stone was to be laid. Finally, he called up to
the generals: "Respected sirs, the time has come for you
to leave your seats and step down."

As they rose decorously, a titter raced through the crowd.
The Burmese have an ear for puns and Myaung's
command was interpreted to have a double meaning: he
was ordering the junta to resign and restore democracy.
The generals were unamused: Myaung was demoted and
now peddles horoscopes. Whatever divinations he may
now be making about the regime, he keeps to himself.

It is not a matter he dares to share with foreign visitors.
Yet in a country obsessed with horoscopes and
numerology, talk in the Rangoon market - places is of
shifting planets over the next two months which will usher
in big political changes.

But instead of star - gazing, the Burmese have to glance
no farther than down a certain street in Rangoon -
University Avenue, home of the opposition leader and
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, to reach
the same conclusion.

She and her pro - democracy supporters are on a
collision course with the junta, known as Slorc (the State
Law and Order Restoration Council). Editorials in the
military - run press vilify her as a "puppet princess" and
"sorceress" unleashed against Burma by Britain. Many
Burmese brush aside these accusations of Britain's
colonial ambitions as ridiculous; they also find the slurs
against Ms Suu Kyi to be repugnant.

At her rally last weekend, she cautioned some 6,000
supporters not to become angry over insults slung at her
by the military press.

She told the Independent: "The Slorc say that we are
provocative but look at the articles that appear in their
newspaper. It tells more about them than me." In the
house beside the lake where she spent six years under
house arrest, Ms Suu Kyi spoke of her latest showdown
with Slorc, which has passed a law that threatens her
and her supporters with up to 20 years' jail for attending
one of her pro - democracy rallies.

"We're flexible. May I suggest that Slorc try some friendly
persuasion with us instead of using the hammers," she
suggested. More than 120 members of her National
League for Democracy (NLD) have been under arrest
since last month, when Ms Suu Kyi called a party
congress to draw up a new constitution. It was after this
"provocation" that Slorc lashed back with draconian new laws.

"We're committed to preparing a draft constitution but
we're down to earth. That means we don't have any
intention of writing a constitution and shoving it down
people's throats," she said. Pro - democracy activists
want to reduce to military's sway over future civilian
governments. Since her release from detention in July,
the junta has snubbed Ms Suu Kyi, who realises that she
could face re-arrest.

"It's a possibility. Maybe the Slorc is just biding its time.
But even if I'm arrested, we'll continue our work for
democracy. These threats are nothing new to us," she
added, laughing.

After seeing how many of her supporters defied the
Slorc's ban on her rallies, many Western observers in
Rangoon predict that putting Ms Suu Kyi back in
detention could lead to public unrest, which she opposes.
She said: "I'd like to think that even without me, people
would find a safe but effective way of carrying on our movement "

Many Rangoon diplomats said that if the junta were to lock up
the Nobel Peace Prize winner many countries which were
willing to overlook the army's ugly traits -- its widespread
use of forced labour, it's corruption and its human - rights
violations -- might withdraw their investment.

Since 1990, Burma's generals have only managed to
attract $800m (=9C550m) in investment, far less than their
neighbours.

Ms Suu Kyi has hesitated calling for full - scale
international sanctions against the Slorc, since this would
hurt the Burmese, who are among Asia's poorest people.

"When you look at our country, do not just see it as a land
of economic possibilities ... Understand that we also want
to live peacefully," Kyi explained to foreign businessmen
recently. The economy is so mismanaged that even
though Burma is one of the region's biggest rice
producers, little boys at the Rangoon river docks trail after
the stevedores, hoping to catch a few falling grains of rice
from leaky sacks.

And now she says wistfully, "Maybe the Slorc doesn't
understand that they have nothing to lose in talking to us.
But perhaps they're too attached to all their medals and
other trappings."

Dangerous liaisons in Burmese fight for democracy
Thomas Caleb in Rangoon

The secret police are everywhere in Rangoon. The hotel
telephones are usually bugged, and there are informers in
every government office and university building.

The waiters in the tourist restaurants are also skilled
eavesdroppers. Even the family compound where Aung
San Suu Kyi lives is being watched by agents of the
dreaded Military Intelligence (MI). So the Burmese are
naturally jittery about being spotted in conversation with a
foreigner.

I never saw any secret police following me in Rangoon,
but my dissident friends assured me that I probably was
being tailed.

Giant signboards have sprouted around Rangoon,
proclaiming the "People's Desire". The fourth point of the
"People's Desire" is: "Crush all internal and external
destructive elements as the common enemy". Because
the posters were in English, it is safe to assume they
were a warning against nosey visitors like me.

At worst, the authorities would expel me as "a destructive
element". But if my activist friends were caught, they
would face a long and extremely painful spell in prison.
To elude the MI agents, my pro - democracy friends had
perfected dodges: We avoided the main avenues and
instead stuck to the hilly back lanes. We sneaked
through restaurant kitchens and strange little shops to
meet dissidents.

Considering how cruel the ruling military can be with their
own people, it is surprising how many risks some
Burmese are willing to take. Stay in Rangoon long
enough and you begin to see subversion, or at least
surreal anomalies, everywhere. Take the state - run
newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar. A headline
reminded readers of the "blood and sweat" that the
military had sacrificed for the country, which is a very
noble sentiment, except that it accompanied a
photograph of five generals teeing - off on a golf driving
range.

The ruling military council seems to vacillate between
xenophobia and an almost childlike craving for affection
and understanding.

Most of the construction going on in Rangoon is hotels
for tourists, for the generals are rightly proud of their
scenic country. But the junta's thuggishness frightens off
many visitors, so hundreds of these new hotels are
empty. Building hotels in Rangoon is an accepted way for
"surrendered" Burmese druglords to launder their heroin
money.

The most notorious of all the Golden Triangle heroin
smugglers, Khun Sa, is enjoying the junta's hospitality in
Rangoon. His transportation expertise, along with his
narco - millions, are being put to good use by the
generals. He has reportedly been given permission to
operate a public coach line through Burma into China.

While the ruling military council is willing to shield
druglords, its cruelty towards its less influential
"lawbreakers" is chilling.

In the delta region of the Irrawaddy river, farmers must
give 50 per cent of their rice crop to the army. Pro -
democracy activists in the region said that recently one
farmer's crop was destroyed by storms. So the farmer
ran away. He was hunted down by the military
commander and publicly strung from a tree. "After they
hanged the farmer," said the activist, "the soldiers then
chopped down the tree, as if to pretend that neither the
farmer, nor the tree had ever existed."

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

WASHINGTON POST: SUPPORT FOR BURMA'S  DEMOCRATS
June 24, 1996
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>

 NEARLY A YEAR has passed since Aung San Suu Kyi was  released from 
house arrest amid hopes of a dialogue  between her democratic movement 
and the thugs who rule  Burma. But although her party won 82 percent of 
the  popular vote in 1990 elections, the regime, which refused  to transfer 
power, still won't talk. Recently there have  been more political arrests 
and disappearances.

 The United States has taken the lead in pressing Burma to  democratize by 
withholding foreign aid. Recently  President Clinton sent two envoys to 
consult about next  steps with Japan and Burma's neighbors in Southeast  
Asia, who until now have favored a policy of "constructive  engagement." 
That policy must by now be counted a  failure, and critics in Congress say 
the same of U.S.  diplomacy. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Daniel 
Patrick  Moynihan (D-N.Y.) and others now press for a ban on U.S.  
investment.

 Can the outside world best help oppressed peoples -- in  Nigeria, Cuba, 
China or elsewhere -- through engagement  or isolation? When should the 
United States do the right  thing, even knowing other countries won't 
follow? Each  case must be decided on its merits, based in part on the  
following questions:

 How bad is the regime? Here, Burma qualifies  hands-down. Its regime 
press-gangs children and adults,  practicing forced labor "on a massive 
scale under the  cruelest of conditions," according to a recent U.S.  
government statement. 

 Would continuing investment promote democratization?  So argues the 
largest U.S. investor, Unocal, stakeholder in  a billion-dollar natural-gas 
project. In China, where  economic freedoms run far ahead of political 
ones, foreign  investment may carve out havens that nurture the sprouts  
of a civil society. In Burma, the regime is too centralized  and 
all-controlling for that to apply.

 Would sanctions harm U.S. businesses? Inevitably, yes. But  while U.S. 
investment is sizable from Burma's point of  view, it is tiny by American 
standards. Compared to the  investments that U.S. companies left behind in 
South  Africa when sanctions were enforced against apartheid,  losses 
would be minimal.

 Would sanctions hurt Burma's 42 million civilians?  Again, yes. But Aung 
San Suu Kyi herself has cautioned  foreign firms not to invest, saying they 
are mostly  enriching the regime. As with Lech Walesa in Poland and  
Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Nobel Peace Laureate Suu  Kyi speaks with 
a moral authority that the outside world  cannot ignore.

 Would sanctions work? At first, other nations' firms  might assume 
forsaken U.S. contracts. But strong U.S.  action would bolster Aung San Suu 
Kyi and her followers  while weakening the regime. If the Clinton 
administration  needs time to enlist or inform other nations, Congress  
should listen; U.S. action should not be needlessly  unilateral. But there can

be no doubt that stronger U.S.  action is called for.

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

ASIAWEEK: BACK TO SCHOOL (FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS)
June 24, 1996  (Letter to the Editor)
From: "Moe K. T." <moe@ORI.U-TOKYO.AC.JP>

THE MYTH OF "CONSTRUCTIVE engagement" is that foreign investors 
would act as "emissaries of democracy" and assist in the evolution of freedom 
and democracy. But the hard reality is that foreign investors end up acting as
"emissaries of dictators" in order to protect their deals and profits
["Generals' Choice: Myanmar's junta should undertake a historic
compromise," EDITORIALS, June 14].

The best example of such behavior is [California-based energy company]
Unocal. Unocal's chairman has never met with the generals of SLORC [State
Law and Order Restoration Council] to promote freedom and democracy in
Burma.  Yet he shows up at U.S. congressional hearings on Burma to act as an
apologist for the military government.

Advocates of constructive engagement would argue that economic development
led to political reform in Taiwan, Korea and Thailand. Constructive
engagement, even if it works, takes 30 years. And my view is that it is not
economic development that led to political reform but investment in
education.

Taiwan, Korea and Thailand send many thousands of students to America. It
is this exposure to freedom and democracy that is bringing about political
reform in these countries. I would even argue that China will eventually
have political reform because the Chinese government sent 50,000 students to 
America from 1978 to 1985. Many did not return to China. But enough did. 
And they may eventually change the face of China.

Unfortunately, in Burma, SLORC has devastated the education system. There
are a million reasons why SLORC is incapable of reforms: a million Burmese,
and almost all the technocrats, had to flee the country because they could
not stand the bullying by the Burmese Army.

The bottom line is that SLORC is incapable of reform because of its
leaders' limited education.

by Myint Thein
Dallas, Texas

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

ABSL: INDIAN GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT ON BURMA
June 24, 1996
From: shar@tom.unv.ernet.in

ABSL(HQs) 21/6/96  :  Being concerned with the
political crackdown on the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-
led democratic movement in Burma, Indian senior MP
and the President of Samata Party Mr. George
Fernandes today urged the government of India to
take immediate steps towards democratization
process in that country. While meeting with him,
Mr. Fernandes said, "I am going to submit a letter
to Mr. I. K. Gujral, the Minister of Home Affairs
to take up some concrete action towards the
democratization process in Burma. I have met him
and discussed about what is going on in Burma a
few days ago. Since the democratizing Burma is a
common desire of all political parties and people
of India, I am hopeful that all-party meeting on
Burma as well as national meeting will take place
soon to adopt a strong national strategy for
helping the people of Burma in August. Because
Parliamentary debates are not enough.

(see:full letter below)

                                                June 21 1996

Dear Gujral,

All indications from Burma are that the military
junta is all set to rearrest Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
and this may happen on any day now.

I learn from reliable Burmese sources that as a
prelude to her arrest, the Army may outlaw the
National League for Democracy. This is intended to
manoeuvre Aung San Suu Kyi into a position where
defiance will be the only honorable course open to
her. This act of defiance will then be treated as
an excuse for her arrest.

I am sure you are aware of the recent actions of
the junta, arresting supporters of the NLD on the
flimsiest grounds and sentencing them to long
terms in prison. In recent weeks there has also
been orchestration of a vulgar campaign against
the person of Aung San Suu Kyi, which has been
condemned by many public personalities and some
leaders of government throughout the world.

The moves and the actions of the junta provide
clear evidence that the military has finally
decided not to hand over power to the elected
representatives of the people.

The recent meetings between some leaders of the
ethnic groups and Aung San Suu Kyi wherein the
ethnic leaders declared that they would go along
with her in the struggle for democracy have also
unnerved the junta.

Obviously the Burmese regime finds itself totally
isolated from the people, and believes that the
only way for it to survive is to unleash more
terror and violence.

The failure of the international community to
forcefully support the struggle for the
restoration of democracy in Burma, and more
particularly to lend active and vigorous support
to Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts, has obviously
emboldened the Burmese junta to carry on with its
repressive measures against the people and their leaders.

I do not have to tell you what great expectations
all democracy-loving people of Burma have from
India which they look to as a bulwark of freedom
and democracy. If India should fall into the trap
of the so-called "Constructive Engagement" which
has been touted by some ASEAN countries as the
best strategy to take Burma's corrupt and blood-
thirsty generals to the democratic path, it will
be a great betrayal of the Burmese people.

It is not necessary for me to elaborate on the
obvious fact that what is happening in Burma will
have a far reaching effect on India's security
interests. If concerns of national security made
you wisely decide to have a wide-ranging
consultation with various segments of political
and public opinion in the country on the CTBT
issue, the situation  in Burma too demands that
such a consultation take place without any delay.
I would urge that you take immediate steps in that
direction.

In the meanwhile a message should go from the
India government to the military junta that India
does not appreciate their reign of terror and the
vulgar attacks on the person of Aung San Suu Kyi.

George Fernandes
President of Samata Party

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

HK STANDARD: RANGOON UNLEASHES TERROR ON BORDER
June 24, 1996
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>
 
BANGKOK: Burmese troops have entered areas along the Thai border that 
had been denied them since independence in 1948, bringing brutal abuse to 
hundreds of thousands of people, sources along the border said. 

In the past four months alone, more than 100,000 villagers have been 
forced from their homes in the northern two of five Burmese states, or 
divisions, on the 2,401 kilometre border, sources on the Thai side said. 

Further south, forced labour and relocations have accompanied 
infrastructure projects connected with a pipeline expected to carry 
natural gas from Burma's Gulf of Martaban to power plants in Thailand, 
independent rights monitor the Southeast Asian Information Network said. 

Villagers are also abducted to serve as army porters and work on tourism 
related projects for the military junta's Visit Myanmar Year, to be 
launched in November, according to Amnesty International and local human 
rights groups. 

Myanmar is the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council's (Slorc's) 
official name for Burma. 

The troops' access to border areas follows ceasefire agreements between 
the Slorc and 15 armed ethnic groups in recent years, and the surrender 
in January of former opium warlord Khun Sa's ethnic Shan independence 
movement. 

Brutality runs rampant as the junta chases down the remnants of Khun 
Sa's army and several other Shan groups, but ceasefire groups nearby have 
been allowed to increase their earnings from opium and heroin production 
unhindered, border sources said. 

Relocations of villagers were pushing the numbers in refugee camps along 
the border towards 100,000, and Thailand says immigrants from Burma 
constitute the majority of its estimated 700,000-strong illegal 
workforce. 

In Shan State and neighbouring Kayah State, old villages have been burned 
and looted, while the relocated residents faced appalling conditions and 
forced labor on road construction projects, the sources said. 

In the first half of this month, Rangoon's troops forced most of the 20,000 
ethnic Karenni in a swath of central Kayah State into one small enclave, a 
Karenni source said. 

More than 2,000 of them have crossed the border, but fighting broke out 
on Saturday as the Slorc attacked the escape routes, he said by telephone 
from the Thai province of Mae Hong Son. 

``There was no place for them to live. There was no food, no place to sleep 
and no land for thousands of people'', at the relocation site, he said. 

The Karenni were among those signing ceasefire agreements, but 
government troops entered their territory in violation of the accords in 
June last year, ostensibly to control illegal logging and exports. 

Successes in the first half of 1995 against a divided Karen National Union, 
for nearly five decades the most powerful ethnic group opposing Rangoon, 
let the junta attack the Karenni without fearing attacks on their flanks. 

This year the Shan resistance began to fall apart, and the Shan Human 
Rights Foundation estimated that several hundred refugees have been 
crossing into Chiang Mai every day since April._ AFP

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

INDEPENDENT REPORT: BURMA BOYCOTT LIST
June 23, 1996  by Simon Billenness
From: Simon Billenness <simon_billenness@cybercom.net>

The best list of companies doing business in Burma is compiled by the 
Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, DC. The IRRC used 
to compile the best lists of companies doing business in South Africa. 
The IRRC is an independent non-partisan non-profit that sells information 
primarily to institutional investors and local governments.

You should contact Ken Bertsch at irrc@aol.com.

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

CFOB: BBC SERVICE IN BURMESE TO NORTH AM.
June 24, 1996
cfob@web.net

After numerous requests by students here, I spoke with BBC in England about
the possibility of getting the Burmese BBC service which is broadcast in
Burma to be broadcast in Canada.  It is quite an expensive affair and the
cost of subscription is $6000 alone--but it can be split up amongst any
North American radio stations interested in airing the broadcast.  There is
currently a time slot available from 8-8:30pm (Ottawa time) in which the
broadcast could be aired to North America.

If anyone has ever been interested in getting the Burmese service aired in
North America, drop me a line.

In the meantime, just for everyone's FYI, below are the frequencies at which
the Burmese service can be received on short wave radio only..again, the
times listed are Ottawa time so it will differ depending in which time zone
people live.  I assume these frequencies are applicable worldwide.

20:00-20:30 every night
9600 kh
9740 kh
11850 kh
15380 kh

945-1030 every morning
7135 kh
9725 kh
11840 kh
11850 kh

Also in the evenings on the weekend around 21:00 or so
9600 kh
11685 kh
11850 kh