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

The BurmaNet News: October 20, 1996
Issue #546

Noted in Passing: 

                Burmese soldiers - imbued with a culture of sticking to 
                their "principles" - distrust outsiders far more than they 
                distrust each other.  (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: 
                HEALTH RUMOURS ADD TO PRESSURE ON REGIME)

HEADLINES:
==========
BURMANET: APOLOGY TO BURMANET READERS
THE HINDU: BARRICADES STILL IN PLACE AROUND SUU KYI'S HOUSE
REUTER: CAMBODIA & BURMA HAIL VISIT, DOWNPLAY PROTESTS 
UPI: BURMA IN ASEAN UNLIKELY
BKK POST: GOOD TIES WITH SLORC
NATION: KAREN CHIEF URGES UN TO EXPEL JUNTA
BKK POST: BURMESE MEN HOLD WORKERS HOSTAGE
DEUTSHCE PRESS-AGENTUR: BURMA GRANTS THREE ONSHORE 
FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: NEWS FROM BURMA
INSIDE NEWS: FIGHTING BETWEEN SLORC AND KNU NEAR KNU HQ
TV MYANMAR: NEWS SUMMARY- OCTOBER 18, 1996
THAILAND TIMES: THAN SHWE SIGNS THREE PACTS
THAILAND TIMES: MYANMAR ANNOUNCES NEW BORDER CHARGES
THAILAND TIMES: BURMA ISSUES NEW SIMPLIFIED CURRENCY
PR NEWSWIRE: INDOCHINA GOLDFIELDS LTD. CONSTRUCTION
JANE'S INFORMATION GROUP: IS BURMA BROKE?
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: HEALTH RUMOURS ADD TO PRESSURE 
ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TALK IN ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TALK IN SAN FRANCISCO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BURMANET: APOLOGY TO BURMANET READERS
October 19, 1996

The last two issues of the BurmaNet News did not include the article sources,
only their headlines.  This was a mistake.  Sorry about that.

- BurmaNet Editor

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

THE HINDU: BARRICADES STILL IN PLACE AROUND SUU KYI'S HOUSE
October 19, 1996
From: chan@fdhr.unv.ernet.in

Yangon, Oct 19: Barricades remained in place in the Myanmarese capital today 
around the home of the Opposition leader, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, shutting 
down her democracy speeches for the fourth weekend in a row, eyewitnesses 
said.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her struggle 
against Myanmar's military regime, has been holding chats with the people 
outside her Yangon compound since her release from house arrest in July 1995.

The weekend rallies, including barbed criticisms of Myanmar's military junta, 
have been silenced for four consecutive weekends by roadblocks outside her 
home.

To get around the ban, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy 
(NLD) earlier this week launched a rotating congress, with small meetings  of 
50-70 party members held separately at different households in the capital to 
substitute for the planned gathering.  NLD sources said the mini-congress had 
granted the party's central executive committee a mandate to act promptly, in 
case of an emergency, without seeking prior consensus from all NLD members. 

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

REUTER: CAMBODIA & BURMA HAIL VISIT, DOWNPLAY PROTESTS 
October 19, 1996 (abridged)

PHNOM PENH, - Cambodian officials on Saturday hailed meetings with 
Burmese military ruler General Than Shwe as a diplomatic success and said 
Phnom Penh would support Rangoon's bid for early membership of ASEAN.

``We support Myanmar (Burma) to enter ASEAN very soon in the future...We
must work together,'' said Foreign Minister Ung Huot.

Than Shwe's arrival on Wednesday was preceded by a demonstration led by
opposition leader Sam Rainsy in support of Burmese democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Ung Huot said Than Shwe was not bothered by the protests on Wednesday,
which police tried in vain to thwart.

As Than Shwe's motorcade headed for the airport on Saturday, about 60
policemen sealed off the head office of Sam Rainsy's Khmer Nation Party to
prevent further demonstrations, though Sam Rainsy said no additional
protests had been planned.

Earlier this week Sam Rainsy called the visit ``an insult to
pre-democracy movements around the world.''

The Cambodian government insisted throughout the visit that it would not
interfere in the internal affairs of Burma, and co-Premier Prince Norodom
Ranariddh said Cambodians that protested the visit were betraying their
country's tradition of hospitality.

    Analysts said the visit was a test for how Cambodia would side in the
debate over Burma's politics, and by embracing SLORC, Cambodia clearly sided
with ASEAN members who say membership in the regional body should not be
predicated on internal affairs.

``There is a commonality between Cambodia and Myanmar as both have been
the subject of Western scrutiny,'' said Kao Kim Hourn, director of the
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. ``Cambodia believes in
adopting a constructive approach to Burma.''

    A statement from the Burmese delegation said the two countries shared a
belief in non-interference as the basis for international relations.

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

UPI: BURMA IN ASEAN UNLIKELY
October 17, 1996 (abridged)

MANILA, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Philippine President Fidel Ramos said Thursday
Burma's bid to join the seven-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
is prevented by its closed economy under a military regime.

``There is a certain hurdle that must be overcome by all aspiring member
nations to ASEAN,'' Ramos told foreign correspondents. ``The first requirement 
is to be able to get into the free trade parameters of ASEAN, as defined by the 
Asean Free Trade Area.''

The ASEAN Free Trade Area aims to break down trade barriers by the year
2003 among the group's members, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, 
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon earlier said Burma needs ``more
time to adjust'' to ASEAN's activities. He said ``the velocity of its (application for) 
membership was too fast'' considering it became an observer only this year.

Siazon said ASEAN heads of states earlier agreed to allow the entry of Laos
and Cambodia within two years, but Burma's fate still hangs.

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

BKK POST: GOOD TIES WITH SLORC
October 17, 1996

Army Commander Gen Chestha Thanajaro is widely known to have
established close ties with leading military officers from Slorc
(State Law and Order Restoration Council) including its army
commander Gen Maung Aye, who reportedly sent a greeting note to
Gen Chestha when he was recently appointed army commander.

While he was deputy army commander, Gen Chestha was regular
visitor to Burma where he had fostered ties with key Slorc
officers and it was no surprise to learn that Gen Chestha plans
to visit Burma early next month.

"This will be an unofficial visit to Burma to show his sincerity
hoping that it could help strengthen bilateral ties. He will use
the occasion to clear any misunderstanding for further border
cooperation," noted a military insider.

The military insider said Gen Chestha was hopeful that his
"special relationship" with key Slorc members, including Lt Gen
Khin Nyunt, Slorc's first secretary and chief of the military
intelligence service, could help tackle border problems once the
issues were unofficially raised for discussion.

"Some border problems could not be resolved on a table and we
need special means to tackle it," noted the insider.

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

NATION: KAREN CHIEF URGES UN TO EXPEL JUNTA
October 18, 1996

A Karen guerrilla leader yesterday urged the United Nations to
expel the Burmese junta from the world body and replace it with
the party bled by Nobel Prize laureate and pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Bo Mya, on behalf of the National Council of the Union of Burma,
also urged the UN, which will soon start a discussion on Burma,
to impose economic and political sanctions on the regime.

The plea was made in a two and half page letter addressed to UN
Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali. 

The letter, dated Oct 8, said the situation in Burma was growing
"more critical and explosive each passing day".

Increasing repression, shortages of rice and fuel and double
digit inflation "make it most unlikely that our people (Burmese)
can wait much longer in their hope that the international
community will take some positive steps to convince" the junta to
transfer power to an elected government.

Bo Mya said the opposition movement wanted the UN to impose
sanctions on the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) until a democratically elected government assumes power.

The Karen general said Slorc responded to the opposition's call
for tripartite dialogue with a nationwide crackdown on NLD MPs
and party officials.

When the Karen guerrilla movement sought talks to end the
country's civil war and the repression of innocent civilians,
Slorc's response was "a demand for total surrender", he added.

Bo Mya said Slorc had defied UN recommendations contained in its
annual resolution on Burma. In the past year it had "increased
its terrorist activities" against the people, especially in more
remote areas where ethnic minorities had been resisting the
Burmese army's "policy of genocide".

He said Slorc's atrocities included a "shoot on sight policy,
gang rapes of women and young girls, the destruction of Christian
churches, villages and crops and a massive relocation of the
population".

"Hundreds of Buddhist monks have been disrobed, humiliated,
tortured and imprisoned," he added.

Bo Mya's Karen National Union is also under heavy pressure from
Slorc and the Burmese army, who are demanding its total surrender
instead of a mere ceasefire.

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

BKK POST: BURMESE MEN HOLD WORKERS HOSTAGE
October 18, 1996

TAK : Armed Burmese men took four Burmese workers hostage on
Wednesday night after attacking their employer's house in Phop
Phra district, a Border Patrol Police source revealed yesterday.

The policeman said over 30 Burmese opened fire at Duangkawe
Thiramoon's house and held his four Burmese employees hostage.


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

DEUTSHCE PRESS-AGENTUR: BURMA GRANTS THREE ONSHORE 
PETROLEUM CONCESSIONS
October 17, 1996
Rangoon

Burma has signed three new production-sharing contracts for onshore
petroleum concessions with two British oil firms and an Israeli investment
company, news reports said Thursday.

The contracts were signed Wednesday between the Myanmar Oil and Gas
Enterprise, a state company, and three companies identified as - Midland and
Scottish Resources Plc of the U.K., Martaban Petroleum Co Ltd of the U.K., and
Capital Investment Development Corp of Israel, the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper said .  

The contracts were all "production sharing" agreements for concession tracts
in the Magway Division of central Burma.  No further contractual details were
disclosed.

"The Ministry of Energy is inviting foreign oil companies and investors to
reach agreements for ... the nation's oil and natural gas production," said
Energy Minister Khin Maung Thein, in a speech delivered at the signing ceremony.

Last month Burma signed two similar "production sharing" contracts with two
oil firms from Indonesia and Malaysia.

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

FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: NEWS FROM BURMA
October 17, 1996
From: chan@fdhr.unv.ernet.in

Price and Life in September 1996

At Bogyokeand Mingala markets in Rangoon, business was good for
the first two weeks but moderate in the second half of the month.  Thai, 
Chinese and Singaporean goods coming in as usual.  The value of 
FECs went up.  Commodity prices were up 2%.

1 Singapore dollar = 120 kyats.
1 Thai baht = 15.15 kyats.
1 Chinese Renminbi = 5.2 kyats.
1 US dollar = 166 kyats.
1 FEC =3D 163.5 kyats.
Gasoline 1 gal = 260 kyats.
Diesel 1 gal = 200 kyats.

Date    Gold                    FEC
08/01/96        34,200 kyats            161.00
08/07/96        34,350                  159.50
08/15/96        34,100                  160.00
08/21/96        34,200                  160.75
08/31/96        34,600                  161.40
09/02/96        34,650                  161.40
09/07/96        36,300                  163.25
09/14/96        35,500                  164.00
09/18/96        36,200 kyats            168.00

Interesting news: 

Aug. 23 Mandalay
The City Municipal Committee introduced a new program of  self-construction 
style. In Mandalay, the roads for public or private can be constructed by 
contributing 70% of the total cost.

Aug. 31 Mandalay
Road signs, 6 x 6, have been erected everywhere in Mandalay. 
The upper 2/3 of the sign-boards says The road to ... in Burmese 
and English and the lower 1/3 says Tiger Beer and Pokka. They look good
 but some signs are misleading.

For instance the sign-board at the Northeast corner of the moat directs to 
Moe Kok which way goes not directly to Moe Kok but to the LIG 95 
and the Dogs refuge.  At the junction of the road to Moe Kok, the signboard 
says to the Mandalay hill Golf Club.

Aug. 19 Mandalay
The owners of all slow-driven vehicles like horse-carts and side-cars were ordered 
to decorate them beautifully in the Municipal area to welcome Visit Myanmar Year.
This news was printed in the Da Na Magazine under the heading of Shame! 
(Shat-saya-gyi).

July 31 Mandalay
Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever is spreading around Mandalay. Teachers are using
mosquito coils in their class-rooms. Those Parent Teacher Associations which
could not afford to buy the coils themselves asked the children to bring them 
to school.

Sept. 10 Mandalay
The distribution of gasoline was restricted by TLORCs since 08/13/96. The 
priceof patrol went up from 200 kyats per gallon to 350-360. Bus-fares soared. 
The Mandalay-Rangoon carrier service rate increased from 1,700 kyats per 
ton to 2,400 kyats. 

Meanwhile the Energy Ministry announced that Octane patrol will be 
distributed freely at the price of .5US Dollars or  .5 FEC plus 16.6 kyats.  
Since the FEC price in Mandalay was 165 kyats, one gal of Octane is equal
to 264.18 Kyats. The public was worried that the black-market price of patrol 
would not come down below 250 kyats per gallon.

Astrology for Mars
Transfer is likely. Loss can be expected. Anxiety for the others.  Mistakes can 
be made. Be careful in conversation. Antagonists are unavoidable.  Don't forget 
you wisdom, courage and mindfulness.

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

INSIDE NEWS: FIGHTING BETWEEN SLORC AND KNU NEAR KNU HQ
October 19, 1996
from a reliable source on the Thai-Burma border

There was a skirmish between the SLORC and KNU troops in Karen 
State south of Myawaddy.  The fighting took place just 10-12 miles away 
from Htee Kha Pluh (KNU HQ and Gen Mya's residence), at 11am. Big guns 
were used.  The fighting lasted about 1 hour and has not resumed so far.

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

TV MYANMAR: NEWS SUMMARY - OCTOBER 18, 1996

1) The second meeting for the preparation of the 52nd Army Day was 
attended by S2 who made a speech in which he complained that even the 
Nobel Peace Prize is used as an agitating apparatus and awarded to the 
opposition groups to put these people into the international spotlight. The 
big countries call for a New World Order and then use many ways to defeat
small countries. Some Burmese people take money from those outsiders and 
do everything they ask. However, in reality the ethnic groups have returned 
to the legal fold, understanding the sincerety of the SLORC (Army).

2) Sein Aung , Minister of the Ministry of Industry met the Singaporean
Ambassador.

3) Tin Tun, the Deputy PM met the Singaporean Ambassador.

4) A Burmese businessman donated 1.5 million Kyats to Trade Minister 
General Tun Kyi, a lifelong patron of Myanmar Karuna Foundation, for 
the Foundation. ( All big bisinessmen are forced to donate at least 1 million 
kyats each.)

5) Trade Minister Tun Kyi inspected the building in Rangoon where the 
Visit Myanmar Year Exhibition will take place. 

6) Another National Convention Convening Committee meeting was held 
and presided over by its chair, Myo Nyunt.

7) A Korean Buddhist delegation led by a monk, visited and paid respects to
the supreme patriarch of the Ma Ha Na (Sangha MahaNaryaka ). Then they 
met Myo Nyunt, the Minister of Religious Affairs.

8) A Mother Sandhi Worship Ceremony  (Hindu) was held in Rangoon and
attended by the Minister of Religous Affairs, Myo Nyunt. 

9) Saw Tun, the Minister of Construction, was met by an Italian business team.

10) The Rangoon Municipal Coordinating meeting was attended by the mayor,
U Ko Lay.

11) Aung Thaung, the Minister of Fisheries is visiting in Irrawaddy division .

12) Traders are arriving for a Gem emporium in Rangoon.

13) Smuggled imported cars and spare parts were confiscated in Rangoon's 
harbour.

14) The Naval cadets graduation ceremony in Rangoon was attended by 
the Chief of the Navy.

15)  A Freshmen welcoming ceremony was held at Bothathaung College.

16) The first year course of Rangoon medical institute will start on November
1st.

17) The 34th graduation ceremony of  Mandalay University will be held on
November  9, 10, 16, and 17. 

18)  On Aug 25, 1996, at Kutkhaing near Lashio in Northern Shan State, 12.85
kg of heroin was seized.

19) With the completion of the Myaung Mya bridge (Irrawaddy Division), 
there is now a regular daily bus between MyaungMya and Rangoon.

20) The Visit Myanmar Year Festival will be held at MyoMa field in Rangoon
from December 1-31.

21) The inter-departmental Golf Competition of the Education Ministry is 
being held in Rangoon.

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

THAILAND TIMES: THAN SHWE SIGNS THREE PACTS
October 17, 1996
AFP

Phnom Penh: The state visit to Cambodia by Burmese military
leader General Than Shwe will concentrate mainly  on the
promotion of tourism, especially between the two countries'
foreign ministry officials said yesterday.

Three agreements related to tourism will be signed. One seeks to
jointly market the ancient Burmese temple city of Pagan with
Cambodia's northern town of Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat
temple complex, they said.

The second will be a sister city agreement between the two sites
and the third will be an airline cooperation agreement, the
details of which were not immediately known.

"We think it's only natural to market the attractions of Burma
and Cambodia together," a Cambodian foreign ministry official said.

Other matters will be discussed, officials said, including an
exchange of views on dealing with insurgent groups.

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

THAILAND TIMES: MYANMAR ANNOUNCES NEW BORDER CHARGES
October 17, 1996

TAK: Myanmar has announced plans to raise the charge levied
against Thai citizens entering the Republic from 15 baht to 20
baht, and will also introduce a 10 baht charge for each long tail
boat crossing the border, according to a source close to the
border customs in Tak province.

Howvever, the source said that the Burmese government will
discuss the proposals with their Thai counterparts before making
any official announcements. An announcement is expected at the
beginning of November. 

The source added that the Thai government will not have a major
say in the matter as the whole issue falls within Myanmar's
internal affairs. If the Burmese government goes ahead with
proposed increases, its tourism business will be affected.

The Republic should be encouraging tourists and not deterring
them by imposing price increases, the source said.

The Burmese government recently opened a tourism center for Thai
citizens, offering guides and tour advice.

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

THAILAND TIMES: BURMA ISSUES NEW SIMPLIFIED CURRENCY
October 17, 1996

Bangkok: Burma's central bank has issued new denominations of the
kyat currency which promise to be less difficult to deal with for
those not so adept at mathematics, news reports said yesterday.

The new kyat notes, bearing a "King Lion motif", were in
denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500, in keeping with
international norms said The New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

They will eventually phase out the existing denominations of
15, 45 and 90 which were issued a decade ago after former Burmese
strongman Ne Win "demonetized" much of the kyat currency in an
effort to undermine profits amassed by merchants off the
country's then thriving blackmarket economy.

The odd notes, which offer a mental challenge to those not
mathematically inclined, were rumored to have been personally
chosen by Ne Win in keeping with his alleged beliefs in
numerology, the study of cult significance of numbers.

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

PR NEWSWIRE: INDOCHINA GOLDFIELDS LTD. ANNOUNCES ACCELERATED
CONSTRUCTION  OF LARGE MONYWA COPPER MINE; 
Drilling Begins on Associated 'Golden Halo'
October 17, 1996

    Indochina Goldfields Ltd. has commissioned a new plan that will reduce
capital costs and accelerate construction of a large, open-pit copper mine in
Myanmar, president Edward Flood announced today in an update report on the
company's Monywa project.

   "We've come up with an innovative approach to save time and money," Mr. 
Flood said.  "We've advanced the timetable for some of the detail engineering 
and design work."

   "We're now on track to have mine construction begin in the second quarter of
1997.  We project that the first copper will be produced from the Sabetaung and
Kyisintaung deposits in the second quarter of 1998 - six months ahead of our
original schedule.  With the proposed changes, we believe that the required
capital investment can be reduced to US$90 million, about $35 million below our
earlier estimates."

   The Sabetaung-Kyisintaung deposits, near the town of Monywa in
central Myanmar, will sustain an estimated production of about 25,000 tonnes a
year of refined copper for 20 years.  The proposed mine will have a cash
operating cost of approximately US$0.45 cents a pound.

   The entire Monywa project eventually could produce in excess of
125,000 tonnes of refined copper cathode a year.

   Estimates of the drill-indicated copper resource contained within the overall
project area are approaching one billion tonnes, enough to support
a large-scale, low-cost mining operation for more than 30 years.

   The first priority, though, is the Sabetaung-Kyisintaung mine.
Indochina Goldfields has retained the engineering firm CMPS&F, of Brisbane,
Australia, to complete the basic engineering packages and construction plans by
the end of this year.  CMPS&F has construction experience in Myanmar and is
credited with applying innovative approaches on successful copper projects in
Australia using the solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX/EW) process.

   A feasibility study on the Sabetaung-Kyisintaung deposits was finished
in March this year by MinCorp/Minproc, an international consulting
firm headquartered in the U.S.

At the Letpadaung deposit, nine diamond-drill rigs are working around
the clock to define a higher-grade portion of the deposit, which will be
the source of ore during early years of production.

   Minproc Engineers of Australia has been retained to complete a
bankable feasibility study on Letpadaung.  This study will be aimed at an
initial production rate of 50,000 tonnes a year of refined copper cathode,
beginning in 1999.  Mr. Flood said that preliminary drilling results may justify
raising estimated production levels to more than 100,000 tonnes a year.

Drilling has commenced at the Swebontha prospect, about one kilometre
northwest of Letpadaung.  Drilling is also scheduled at Swebontha and at 
Kyaukmyet, a high-grade gold and silver discovery located two kilometres 
from the Sabetaung pit.

    The Monywa copper project is being operated by Myanmar-Ivanhoe Copper
Company Limited, a 50-50 joint venture between Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Indochina Goldfields, and Mining Enterprise No. 1,
owned by the government of Myanmar.
   
 Site maps, cross-sections of the Monywa deposits and additional drill
core results are available by contacting Indochina Goldfields' Vancouver
office.
    
Indochina Goldfields, which raised nearly US$200 million in an initial
public offering in June, has a portfolio of assets that includes gold and
copper properties and other interests in Indonesia, Myanmar, Kazakstan, South
Korea, Vietnam and Fiji.
   
 The shares of Indochina Goldfields trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange,
and were recently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, under the symbol
ING.
 
Model of the Letpadaung Copper System are available by fax by calling Canada
NewsWire Vancouver at (604) 669-7764./
      CONTACT: Indochina Goldfields in Vancouver, 604-688-5755, or
toll-free 1-888-273-9999

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

JANE'S INFORMATION GROUP: IS BURMA BROKE?
October 17, 1996

LAST month the ruling military junta in Burma, the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) celebrated its eighth year in
power by proclaiming a ''new era of peace, progress and
prosperity''. But has it cooked the books?
 
Compared with a decade ago, Burma has liberalised the economy and
reduced some of the obstacles to foreign trade and investment.
Burmese officials claim that inflation has been brought down to 14%,
that foreign investment is flowing at about $200m a year (making a
total now of over $3 billion) and that the economy grew by 9.8% last
year and could achieve 8% this year. Can this be true?
 
A confidential report compiled recently by the American embassy in
Rangoon describes the SLORC's statistics as ''seriously flawed'' and
estimates economic growth in 1994-95 as only 4.6% and inflation as
closer to 25%.  
 
'Embassy trash'
 
Embassy specialists describe the government system as ''opaque and
unaccountable'' and suffering from ''pervasive corruption''. They
reckon that over 40% of the budget is spent on the armed forces,
which also get ''hidden subsidies'' for electricity and fuel.
Burmese officials dismiss these criticisms as ''malicious'' and ''trash''.
 
The Americans are not alone, however. The Asian Development Bank
refuses to lend money to Burma on the ground that its
economic-development and foreign-exchange policies are ''not
necessarily up to our standards''. Burma also receives no money from
the International Monetary Fund; negotiations for a $3 billion loan are stalled.
 
The trade deficit in 1995 of of $350m was roughly double that of
1994 and the gap is set to increase again this year. Burma's
''five-year economic plan'' sets a target of 3m tons of rice exports
a year. But in 1994 Burma only exported one million tons. Last year,
critics claim, it contracted to export 1.5m tons but actually
exported only 400,000 tons. With this year's rice crop likely to be
below expectations, the SLORC may even need to import rice this year
to keep its people fed. (Before the generals seized power and
smothered the economy with their own brand of socialism, Burma was
known as the ''rice-bowl of Asia''.)
 
'Don't touch her'
 
In August, the government defaulted on a $27.31m payment to the
Japanese trading company Mitsui for oil. Mitsui said it would no
longer supply oil to Burma. Petrol prices soared on the black market.
 
Of the 165 foreign companies which had invested in Burma since it
opened its doors in 1988, 26 had withdrawn by April this year:
Reebok, Levi Strauss, Pepsi Cola, Heineken and Carlsberg have all
given up. Now the American government is introducing legislation
which bars American companies from making new investments in Burma
if the SLORC ''physically harms, re-arrests or exiles Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, the leader of the democracy movement. Britain and Denmark,
incensed about the death of  their honorary consul in Rangoon in
suspicious circumstances in June, are pushing the European Union to
take action against Burma. The SLORC used to be confident that Asian
businesses would take up the slack from western companies. But its
recent renewed crackdown on the democracy movement has upset some
neighbouring members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), especially the Philippines and Thailand. Consideration of
Burma's application to join the association has been suspended.
 
Where's the cash?
 
Japan, Burma's biggest creditor, has given small amounts of
humanitarian aid since Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in
July 1995. Now the Japanese say there will be no more money without
a ''big event'' such as a genuine give-and-take negotiation with Suu
Kyi or a timetable for restoring democracy.
 
The minister for national planning, Brigadier-General David Abel,
told the Japanese that Burma still had about $700 million in
foreign currency reserves. But if that is so, why default on $27m to
Mitsui? Some foreign investors are beginning to wonder whether Burma
has any cash left.

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

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: HEALTH RUMOURS ADD TO PRESSURE 
ON REGIME
October 16, 1996
by William Barnes in Bangkok

   Rumours that former dictator General Ne Win is ill in Rangoon have sparked
fresh speculation about the future of the ruling junta.

    The exact role played by the 85-year-old in the self-styled State Law and
Order Restoration Council is unknown but he is thought to be more than just an
elder statesman.

    Observers believe he may hold the position of final arbiter of the council's
important decisions.  

    The regime has managed to maintain a united front in its dealings with the
rest of the world for much of its 31/2 decades in power, but without someone to
take General Ne Win's place, there is a danger of a power vacuum occurring.

    The question of who would engage in any dealings with opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi would be of particular concern.

    The Prime Minister and chairman of the council, General Than Shwe, is also
said to be in poor health and lacking the enthusiasm to carry on for much
longer.

    The real power struggle appears to be between two men - the ruling council's
vice-chairman and commander of the Army, General Maung Aye, and the first
secretary and intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt.

    Until recently observers assumed that General Khin Nyunt was the real power
in Burma, even though he and his intelligence comrades were distrusted by the
commanders of the fighting troops.

    General Khin Nyunt's countrywide network of informers and, it is said, the
ear of General Ne Win, placed him in a powerful position.

    But General Maung Aye, who is the former commander of the eastern region,
has in the past year moved into a position to assume overall command should any
power vacuum develop.

The first requirement for promotion in the military regime is loyalty.
Burmese soldiers - imbued with a culture of sticking to their "principles" -
distrust outsiders far more than they distrust each other.

Nevertheless it is hard to imagine that some elements within the council
have not had doubts about this year's heavy-handed crackdowns on the 
opposition movement which have sparked unprecedented international 
condemnation. This at a time when the regime was beginning to enjoy an 
upturn in the economies of the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TALK IN ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
October 19, 1996
From: Salai Nilian <9605673z@Levels.UniSA.Edu.Au

Centre for International and Cross-Cultural Studies and
International Projects Unit present:  MR JOHN HASEMAN

  WILL THE SLORC FINALLY SUPPRESS BURMESE DEMOCRACY?

Venue:          FE1-5 Levels Campus, The University of South Australia
Time:           12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
Date:           Tuesday 22 October, 1996.

If you need more information you can contact:
The Centre's Secretary on (08) 302 3966 or Director on (08) 302 3963

Mr. Haseman has had three years of experience as Defence and Army 
Attache, U.S. Embassy, Rangoon, Burma, 1987 - 1990 and also managed the 
affairs of a 5-man mission. He was personal advisor to the U.S. 
Ambassador on political-military affairs and gathered information and 
submitted over 500 information reports on Burmese political military 
affairs. He forged lasting personal relationship with leading 
pro-democracy figure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and provided on-the-street
reporting during immense pro-democracy demonstrations of 1988 and their 
repression by the Burmese Army. He managed the emergency evacuation of 
U.S. and other foreign citizens in the face of danger and violence.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TALK IN SAN FRANCISCO
October 19, 1996
>From jjerome@igc.apc.org

Witnessing Genocide:  A First Hand Account of Women and Human Rights in Burma

        Two Burmese women, Ohmar Khin and Tet Tet Lwin, will speak at 7:00 p.m.,
Monday, October 21 at San Francisco's Unitarian Universalist Church (1187
Franklin Street) on the subject of human rights violations in their
homeland.   They will present their own experiences, along with the
testimony of refugees and eyewitnesses collected by the Karen Human Rights
Group.  Tet Tet Lwin is a founder of the Burmese Women's Union.  Ohmar Khin,
a student in exile, works with a leading US refugee organization.
Throughout Burma, the military regime violates human rights of ethnic
     The speakers will provide attendees with a better understanding of current 
political headlines, of the heinous abuses faced by people across Burma, and
what Americans can do to help stop the military's onslaught.
        The event is co-sponsored by the Bay Area Burma Roundtable and Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee.   A donation of $2 to the event is suggested.

For further information, contact:  Jane Jerome 408/467-2721,
jjerome@igc.apc.org

