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

The BurmaNet News: November 3, 1996
Issue #558

Noted in Passing:

                Please report this.  People need to know what's going on 
                inside here. We hate this government but cannot do anything 
                about it. - Rangoon resident talking to journalists
                (see: REUTER: SUU KYI GIVES ENCOURAGEMENT AFTER 
                TALKS PREVENTED)

HEADLINES:
==========
REUTER: SUU KYI GIVES ENCOURAGEMENT AFTER TALKS PREVENTED
AP:  POLICE TURN BACK PEOPLE COMING TO HEAR SUU KYI SPEAK
REUTER: SUU KYI SAYS BURMA DETAINED UP TO SEVEN STUDENTS
REUTER: ASEAN OFFICIALS TO VISIT BURMA FOR ENTRY TALKS
REUTER: SOUTHEAST ASIA MAY DELAY BURMA'S ASEAN MEMBERSHIP
UPI: AUSSIE LEADER: BURMA SANCTIONS TO FAIL
REUTER: BURMA WILL NOT RUSH TO COMPLETE CHARTER-PAPER
THE STRAITS TIMES: JAPAN MAY ASK FOR REFORMS
RADIO THAILAND: THAI FM AND UK FOREIGN SEC DISCUSS BURMA
REUTER: BURMA'S MILITARY SAYS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SUU KYI
KYODO: SUU KYI DETERMINED TO HOLD MEETINGS OUTSIDE COMPOUND
REUTER: BURMA MULLS SANCTIONS AGAINST EUROPEAN UNION
REUTER: SINGAPORE PROTESTS AUSTRALIA TV SHOW ON BURMA DRUG LINK
KYODO: DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH NLD, MYANMAR'S JUNTA SAYS
RADIO THAILAND: THAI CABINET APPROVES OPENING OF 3 CHECKPOINTS
COMMENTARY: UN OFFICIALS STILL NEGOTIATING WITH SLORC OVER VISIT
ASIAWEEK - LETTER AND COMMENT: THE REAL KYAT RATE
BKK POST: GROUPS URGE UN TO LEAVE SEAT EMPTY
BKK POST: KNU URGES BURMA TO PULL OUT FORCES
NATION: SLORC CHARGES SUU KYI WITH AIDING EXILES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REUTER: SUU KYI GIVES ENCOURAGEMENT AFTER TALKS PREVENTED
November 2, 1996   (slightly abridged)
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, Nov 2 (Reuter) - Burmmese democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi on Saturday urged supporters not to give up after the military 
government prevented her from giving a speech at the front gate of her home.
    'Keep trying,' she told hundreds of supporters at an
intersection about 300 metres (yards) from her University Avenue
residence. 'I will try to be able to hold our talks officially tomorrow.'
    She made the brief comments after she left her home in a car
in order to get close to supporters prevented by the authorities
from approaching her house. When the people saw her car they ran
in a group to hear what she had to say.
    This is the sixth consecutive weekend Suu Kyi has been
prevented from speaking.
        The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
has declared the gatherings illegal and said unless they were
held inside Suu Kyi's compound, they would be stopped.
    But Suu Kyi refused to hold them inside, saying they were
public gatherings that should not have to be held behind closed
doors.
        On Saturday about 100 police and military intelligence
officers, mostly in plainclothes, patrolled the streets from
midday and stopped pedestrians from getting closer than 100
metres (yards) to Suu Kyi's house.
    'This is unfair,' said Aung Aung, after being told he could
not hear Suu Kyi's speech. 'We want to hear Aung San Suu Kyi,
but they won't let us go.'
    'We don't like them,' another man said. 'They were not elected. 
They do not have actual authority. But they have the guns.'
     Shortly after the speech was due to begin at 4 p.m. police
blocked off the street to vehicles when several hundred people
refused to go home and others continued to drive back and forth
to see if Suu Kyi would speak.
    About 100 people who refused to leave had a minor run-in
with club-wielding security police.
    After the group, led by several Buddhist monks, refused to
disperse about a dozen club-wielding riot police formed a line
across the road and started walking towards the crowd to force
the people to leave.
    'They want us to go home,' a man told Reuters. 'But the people are 
not satisfied and are not happy. They do not want to go home.'
    'Please report this,' another told reporters. 'People need
to know what's going on inside here. We hate this government but
cannot do anything about it.'

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

AP:  POLICE TURN BACK PEOPLE COMING TO HEAR SUU KYI SPEAK
November 2, 1996  (abridged)

RANGOON, Burma (AP) _ Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
defiantly drove past police barricades Saturday to talk with
supporters who were blocked from her home by the military
government.
   Police erected barricades at 4:10 p.m., ten minutes after the
customary starting time of Suu Kyi's weekend democracy speeches,
when thousands of people usually gather outside the gate to her
lakeside compound.
   With her supporters unable to reach her, Suu Kyi, accompanied by
the vice-chairmen of her political party, Kyi Maung and Tin Oo, got
in a white Toyota sedan at about 4:20 p.m. and drove to a hotel
near her home where more than 100 people had gathered.
   Her supporters shouted ``Long live Aung San Suu Kyi,'' and ran
towards her car as Suu Kyi and her colleagues stepped out. The
democracy leaders thanked the people for their steadfastness.
   Military intelligence men jumped out of a car following the
Nobel laureate and began taking pictures of her talking to people.
   ``We're happy just to see her face. We haven't seen her for more
than a month,'' said 65-year-old Mrs. Hla Kyi, a regular at Suu
Kyi's weekend speeches.
   Suu Kyi spoke for about four minutes before driving off.
   The late putting up of the barricades was a new twist in the
government's attempts to stifle Suu Ky's speeches.
   Earlier in the day, there were no roadblocks as traffic and
plainclothes policemen turned back pedestrians approaching the
Nobel laureate's villa.
   Authorities had switched to the less heavy-handed tactics with
the arrival in Rangoon of a diplomatic delegation from the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
   Since the last weekend in September, soldiers and riot police
had set up barricades on the road to Suu Kyi's home and arrested
anyone who approached.
   The military had been threatening for months to stop the
speeches in which Suu Kyi and her colleagues frequently criticize
the regime. They were the only open dissent tolerated by Burma's
military regime.
   A delegation from ASEAN _ the Asian regional trading bloc _
arrived in Rangoon for an eight-day visit to discuss Burma's
application for membership. 

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

REUTERS: SUU KYI SAYS BURMA DETAINED UP TO SEVEN STUDENTS
November 1, 1996
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, Nov 1 (Reuter) - Burmese democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi said on Friday up to seven youth members of her National
League for Democracy (NLD) party had been detained by the
military government over the past week.

Suu Kyi told a news conference the NLD youth members were
picked up for questioning over a student protest on Wednesday
last week. At least two of them had been released, and she said
they were interrogated 'very severely'.

 'They have been taking away some of our young people for
questioning,' Suu Kyi said. 'There are still four to five young
people who are under detention and there are two more who were
detained but have been released. These are people I know, there
may be others.'

She said at least one of those detained was not allowed to
sleep for three days.

Earlier on Friday, senior Defence Ministry official Kyaw
Thein told a news conference no one from the NLD had been
arrested in relation to last week's demonstrations.

On October 23, up to 1,000 university students staged a rare
sit-in demonstration about two km (1.2 miles) from Suu Kyi's
house to protest the way the authorities handled a scuffle
between students and restaurant owners.

Kyi Maung, a senior NLD official and close advisor to Suu
Kyi, was also detained for questioning last week after he had
been seen talking to two of the student leaders the day before
the protest. He was released on Monday.

Kyi Maung told Reuters on Friday he was treated well during
his week at a military intelligence guesthouse, and said they
asked him many questions about the student protest and about the
NLD in general.

But since the NLD was not involved in the student
demonstration, he did not have much to tell them, he said.
    
Last week the government blamed the NLD for helping the students.
Suu Kyi denied any connection to the protests, and said the
two students who spoke with Kyi Maung did so because she was too
busy and asked him to listen to their story.  She said they only
wanted to explain their concerns, but there was no collusion.

She said the fact that the NLD's youth members have never
held demonstrations in the past showed they were a separate
group from the students who protested on October 23.

She said the NLD youth adhered to the party's instructions.
'They are willing to abide by our decisions as to how our
political group is run. We made it quite clear to the students
we want no violence. It shows the students have great respect
..that they choose to abide by that.'

Students were a strong impetus behind natiowide
pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, which turned violent and
ended with thousands dead or imprisoned.

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

REUTER: ASEAN OFFICIALS TO VISIT BURMA FOR ENTRY TALKS
November 1, 1996  (abridged)

    JAKARTA, Nov 1 (Reuter) - A senior delegation from the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will visit Burma
on Saturday to look into its preparations for entry into the
seven-nation group, an ASEAN statement said on Friday.
    ASEAN Secretary-General Ajit Singh and three senior staff
members would visit Burma from November 2-9 at the invitation of
Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw, the statement said.
    'During his visit, the Secretary-General will hold
discussions with the Myanmarese (Burmese) foreign minister and
other Myanmarese leaders. The purpose of the visit is to look
into preparations necessary for Myanmar's entry into ASEAN,' the
statement said.

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

REUTER: SOUTHEAST ASIA MAY DELAY BURMA'S ASEAN MEMBERSHIP
November 1, 1996          (abridged)
By Chris Johnson

SINGAPORE Nov 1 (Reuter) - Southeast Asian nations appeared
on Friday to be inching towards delaying Burma's membership of a
key regional group following protests over that country's
suppression of democracy.

An application by Rangoon to become a full member of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the group's
next formal meeting in July was likely to be side-stepped,
possibly on economic grounds, political analysts said.

'It is premature to talk about a reversal in policy, but I
think ASEAN is looking for an escape-clause -- a reason to delay
Burma's membership,' said Ishtiaq Hossain, senior lecturer in
political science at the National University of Singapore.

ASEAN's constructive engagement policy came into question
early last month when Philippine President Fidel Ramos said the
group might review the policy.

That was followed this week by opposition to quick Burmese
membership from Thai Foreign Minister Amnuay Viravan, who said
Burma should bring in democracy before becoming an ASEAN member.

But the clearest indication of an impending change came from
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Thursday.

Goh, who leads a country with heavy investments in Burma and
a cautious foreign policy, told Finnish television he did not
think Burma was ready for membership on economic grounds.

He said Burma's readiness for membership depended on its
ability to assume obligations like the ASEAN Free Trade Area,
which requires members to reduce trade tariffs.

Political analysts say most ASEAN members are being careful
to avoid any discussion of human rights for fear it will stir up
discussions of the issue in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia, embarrassed last month by the award of a Nobel
Peace prize to a human rights activist campaigning in East
Timor, shows no sign of changing its position on Burma.

'We still believe in constructive engagement,' Indonesian
foreign ministry spokesman Ghaffar Fadylhe told Reuters in
Jakarta on Friday.

Malaysia has also said it will maintain relations with Burma
despite the government's crackdowns on the democracy movement.

In Rangoon, Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said on Friday he was
confident Burma would be accepted as a full member.

'I don't think there is any shift (in feeling),' he said.
'There is no change of heart. It is not political.'

Ishtiaq said: 'Everyone is very careful not to refer to
human rights in Burma. But there is growing concern over the
issue among the educated classes in the region...Maybe ASEAN can
justify delay over Burma's inability to meet economic criteria.'

Thai foreign ministry sources expect the November summit of
ASEAN heads of government in Jakarta to be the key place at
which a decision would be made by ASEAN on whether they should
entertain Burma's request to join next year.

'I understand Burma is unlikely to become a member of ASEAN
any time in the near future,' Chee Soon Juan, leader of the
opposition Singapore Democratic Party told Reuters.

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

UPI: AUSSIE LEADER: BURMA SANCTIONS TO FAIL
November 2, 1996
By Anita Jain

SINGAPORE, Nov. 2 (UPI) _ Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer
on Saturday said economic sanctions against Burma would not succeed in
forcing the military government to improve its poor human rights record.

Speaking at a press conference in Singapore, Fischer, who also serves as
Australian trade minister, said Burma's large borders and coastline
would prevent the country from being effectively isolated.

``Sanctions will never work with regard to Burma,'' Fischer said, citing
a booming trade route from the Burmese city of Mandalay into southern China.

``It's therefore the view of Australia that it is not practical to do
so,'' he said. ``When dialogue does exist, we could encourage real
progress to be made in Burma.''

The Australian leader made his comments in response to a question about
Burma's slated accession into the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, which includes Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brunei.

Although Cambodia, Laos, and Burma are expected to join ASEAN once 
their economies become more viable, the international community has 
begun placing pressure on the body to put more political conditions on
Rangoon's membership.

In an interview earlier this week, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong said Burma was not ready to join ASEAN.

``My own view is I don't think Myanmar (Burma) is quite ready in the
near future to adopt all the obligations of being a member of ASEAN,''
he said.

Although the Singapore leader maintained ASEAN would not directly
interfere in Burma's domestic affairs in accordance with the body's policy, 
he said Rangoon was privately encouraged to introduce some changes.

``We will accept the countries for what they are, their virtues as well
their faults,'' he said.

``But in private though, we have told them if they aspire to be a member
of ASEAN, they want more investments from Singapore, they would have to
move to what we call a more normal form of government,'' Goh added.

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

REUTER: BURMA WILL NOT RUSH TO COMPLETE CHARTER-PAPER
November 2, 1996  (abridged)

    BANGKOK, Nov 2 (Reuter) - Burmese ambassador Hla Maung has
rejected Thailand's bid to make Burma's democratisation a
condition for full membership in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
    'For us, we believe that we are ready. Everything is ready
(to join ASEAN),' the ambassador told the English-language
Bangkok Post newspaper in an interview on Friday.
    'If (ASEAN) member countries sympathise with us, we can
become a member today or tomorrow,' he said.
        Hla Maung said that the constitution being drafted by a
national convention in Rangoon must be a document acceptable by
all of Burma's 135 races. The government-selected convention has
been working on the charter since January 1993.
    He said he expected the new constitution to be ready soon,
but whether it was completed 'sooner or later is not important.
The important thing is it must be firm and good for all races in Burma'.
    Hla Maung also dismissed a call by Asian, European and U.S.
activists for the United Nations to leave Burma's seat vacant.
    'The United Nations is made up of adults, not children, so
it should be able to make its own decisions,' he said.

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

THE STRAITS TIMES: JAPAN MAY ASK FOR REFORMS
30 October 1996

TOKYO-Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said yesterday that Japan was 
considering making a direct request to the Myanmar military junta to promote 
democratisation and improve its human-rights record.

"The situation will be watched carefully and we will make a direct call if 
necessary," he told a news conference.

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

RADIO THAILAND: THAI FM AND UK FOREIGN SEC DISCUSS BURMA
October 29, 1996 (translated from Thai)

British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind paid a courtesy call on Deputy 
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Amnuai Wirawan at the Foreign
Ministry this morning. The British foreign secretary is in the delegation of 
Queen Elizabeth II currently visiting Thailand. 

Reporting to newsmen after the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign 
Minister Amnuai Wirawan said the British foreign secretary expressed great 
interest in Burma's plan to join ASEAN as a permanent member. However,
he agreed with Thailand that Burma must try to settle its internal problem first, 
and he would like to see Burma complete the drafting of a constitution and hold 
an election -- the factors that would make Burma more acceptable in the
eyes of the world's people. 

Amnuai said that Thailand has also been urging Burma to speed up the drafting 
of a constitution in order to tone down the protests against human rights violations 
and to restore law and order to Burma. 

Concerning the European Union, or EU, barring visas to members of the Burmese 
military junta, Malcolm Rifkind said his country endorsed the measure as necessary 
because it would contribute to the development of democracy in Burma.

As for Denmark's proposal for economic sanctions against Burma, however, 
Malcolm Rifkind said the United Kingdom disagreed with such a move, because 
it should be the responsibility of the United Nations to make such a decision. A 
sanction of that type should be a measure at an international level.  

Concerning ASEAN's plan to accept Burma as a permanent member, he said the 
United Kingdom had no comment on that, since it concerns ASEAN. 

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

REUTER: BURMA'S MILITARY SAYS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SUU KYI
By Deborah Charles

    RANGOON, Nov 1 (Reuter) - Burma's military government is
taking steps to improve relations with Nobel Peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, a
senior military official said on Friday.
    Senior Defence Ministry official Colonel Kyaw Thein said
both the pro-democracy movement and the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) have been trying to break an
impasse after being locked in a war of words for over a year.
    'Both sides may be trying to improve the situation (and)
their understanding of each other,' Kyaw Thein told reporters
after the SLORC's monthly news conference.
    He said Kyi Maung, a top aide to Suu Kyi and deputy chairman
of the NLD, was detained on October 23 for questioning partly to
give the SLORC an understanding of the pro-democracy party's
current attitude.
    'We wanted to have a clearer picture of what we are thinking
about the NLD and concerning the current situation.'
    Kyi Maung was released on Monday.
    A senior military officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Than Thun --
Suu Kyi's liason officer during her six years of house arrest --
has also recently had a couple of brief meetings with the Nobel
Peace laureate, Kyaw Thein confirmed.
    Although some diplomats say the meetings could reflect warming 
relations between the SLORC and the pro-democracy movement, Kyaw 
Thein said the meetings did not have any major significance.
    Suu Kyi has made repeated, unanswered calls for dialogue with the 
SLORC since the government released her from house arrest in July 1995.
    The SLORC traditionally says the forum for dialogue is the
National Convention, a group of delegates mostly hand-picked by
the SLORC who have met intermittently since 1993 to draft
guidelines for a new constitution.
    Suu Kyi angered the government last November when she pulled
her NLD party out of the talks, saying the forum did not
represent the will of the people.
    The NLD won more than 80 percent of the seats in a 1990 election, which 
was called by the SLORC, but was never allowed to take power because the 
government refused to recognise the poll results.
    Kyaw Thein also hinted that Suu Kyi may be allowed to hold her regular 
weekend speeches to supporters -- if she agrees to some ground rules.
    'We are allowing the NLD to hold meetings inside the
compound,' he said. 'We have asked people and asked those who
are responsible inside the compound that if they want to make a
meeting they can do it inside the compound.'
    Since her release, Suu Kyi has made speeches to supporters
on Saturdays and Sundays from the front gates of her University
Avenue home, drawing crowds of up to about 10,000 people.
    The government has taken various measures to prevent the
speeches, because it says such gatherings are illegal and they
obstruct the flow of traffic. 
    For the past five weekends the SLORC has blocked vehicle and
pedestrian access to University Avenue by setting up checkpoints
manned by heavily-armed security police. The barricades were
removed earlier this week and remained down on Friday.
    Kyaw Thein would not say if barricades would be raised again, but a 
senior official told Reuters if Suu Kyi agreed to meet supporters inside her 
compound the government would not do anything.
    'But if they are outside, the police will probably come and
round them up,' he said.
    Suu Kyi has previously said she would not hold the speeches
inside, because she had the right to speak in public.

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

KYODO: SUU KYI DETERMINED TO HOLD MEETINGS OUTSIDE COMPOUND
November 1, 1996  (abridged)

     YANGON, Nov. 1 Kyodo - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
said Friday she will continue to try to hold public meetings outside
her compound as long as people come to listen despite a government
statement that her National League for Democracy (NLD) is allowed to
hold meetings only inside her compound.
     Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, made the remarks to
reporters after Col. Kyaw Thein, a member of the government's
information committee, said at the monthly government press
conference that the NLD can hold meetings inside Suu Kyi's compound.
        Suu Kyi said, ''With regard to the weekend meetings, we stand by
our policy that as long as the people are prepared to come, we shall
hold the rallies outside my gate.  They are public rallies.  As long
as the people are prepared to come we are prepared to go on with that.''

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

REUTER: BURMA MULLS SANCTIONS AGAINST EUROPEAN UNION
By Deborah Charles

    RANGOON, Nov 1 (Reuter) - Burma's foreign minister Ohn Gyaw
said on Friday the country is considering imposing reciprocal
sanctions against the European Union after the EU slapped strict
limits on contacts with Burmese officials earlier this week.
    'The EU, I believe, is very one-sided in its approach,' Ohn
Gyaw said at the monthly news conference given by the ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). 
    'We are saying leave us alone, it is our internal affairs.
Our response will be on a reciprocal basis.'
    Ohn Gyaw said he had not yet decided when reciprocal
measures would be imposed. 'It will be decided by the Minister
of Foreign Affairs. When we need it we will do it.'
    On Monday EU foreign ministers ageed without debate to
impose strict limits on contacts with SLORC officials and their
families. The new sanctions also bar visas to SLORC members and
their families while suspending high-level EU visits to Burma.
But Ohn Gyaw said any retaliatory sanctions may not hit all
15 EU member nations. 'When we take action it may or may not be
to all because most of the EU members are our friends,' he said.
    The United States took a similar move against Rangoon last month.
    Diplomats say the restrictions on Burma reflect a gradual
build-up of pressure on Rangoon's military government for its
poor human rights record and failure to enter into dialogue with the 
pro-democracy movement led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
    Ohn Gyaw said the EU took action despite Rangoon's recent
efforts to convince various European officials that Burma was
not guilty of human rights abuses.
    'I explained to them...that we were accused of grossly
violating human rights, but we do not have such (a problem) in
our country,' he said.
    'We are not transgressing, we are not violating human rights
principles,' he said.
    He said he had talks with Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring
on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Diplomats in Europe had said the talks went nowhere.
    'There is a very serious situation in Burma with a lack of
respect for human rights and democracy,' Spring told Reuters in
Luxembourg on Monday after the sanctions were approved. 'Today's
decision reflects our concern.'
    The EU has also said it may consider further restrictions.
The United States has passed a law allowing the president to
impose economic sanctions if the situation in Burma deteriorates.
    The SLORC seized power in 1988 after quashing pro-democracy
demonstrations that left thousands of people dead or in jail.
    Human rights organisations have accused Burma of a variety
of human rights violations such as forced labour, imprisonment
without charge and of prohibiting freedom of expression.
    The SLORC never allowed the National League for Democracy
Party party to take power after it won more than 80 percent of
the seats in a 1990 election.

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

REUTER: SINGAPORE PROTESTS AUSTRALIA TV SHOW ON BURMA DRUG LINK
November 1, 1996

    SINGAPORE, Nov 1 (Reuter) - Singapore has filed a protest
with Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) over
allegations of a link between investments by the city-state and
a Burmese drug lord, Singapore media reported on Friday.
    Both state television and the Straits Times newspaper said
it was understood the Singapore High Commission in Canberra had
filed the protest earlier in the week. They gave no details of
the contents.
    Government officials were not immediately available on
Friday for comment on the reports.
    The TV show Dateline aired the programme on Australia's
Special Broadcasting Service last month.
    Singapore opposition politicians Chee Soon-Juan and Jafar
Ahmad said in a statement on Thursday that the programme alleged
Singapore Government Investment Corporation funds were invested
in Burma in projects linked to a Burmese drug lord.
    'If the entire programme is untrue, then the Australian TV
station has cast a terrible slur on Singapore's integrity and
the scandalous and scurrilous aspersions cast must be refuted
rigorously,' the two politicians said.
    The executive producer of the programme, Adrian Herring,
told Reuters in Australia on Friday: 'We stand by our story 100 percent.'
    Chee also wanted to know if the Burmese, whom the Australian
Federal police reportedly described as a major drug trafficker,
was allowed to move freely in or out of Singapore.
    Singapore has tough anti-drug laws, including a mandatory
death sentence for anyone over 18 years found guilty of
traficking in more than 15 grams (half an ounce) of heroin, 30
grams (an ounce) of morphine or 500 grams (18 oz) of cannabis.
    One Singaporean was hanged on Friday for drug trafficking,
the prisons department said. More than half of the 280 people
hanged for various offences in the city-state since the mid-70s
were found guilty of drug charges.

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

TO GET A COPY OF THE AUSTRALIAN VIDEO:
From: Bertil Lintner <lintner@ksc15.th.com>

Copies of the Australian SBS report Singapore Sling can be ordered 
from SBS Television News and Current Affairs, 14 Herbert St, Artarmon, 
NSW 2064, Australia. Tel 61-2-430 2828, fax 437 5609.

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

KYODO: DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH NLD, MYANMAR'S JUNTA SAYS
November 1, 1996  (abridged)

     YANGON, Nov. 1 Kyodo - A member of Myanmar's ruling junta said
Friday the military has found it difficult to work with leaders of
the National League for Democracy (NLD) because of their ''negative
attitude'' of calling for international sanctions against the junta.
     Col. Kyaw Thein, a member of the information committee of the
State Law and Order Restoration Council, as the junta is called, was
responding to a question from reporters as to why the junta could not
work with the NLD while it is working with former rebel ethnic 
groups.
     ''The rebels responded to the government's call, returned to the
legal fold and are working hand-in-hand with the government for the
development of their respective regions.  Politicians (of the NLD),
however, did not talk about development, but only about sanctions.
It is difficult to work with them,'' he said.

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

RADIO THAILAND: THAI CABINET APPROVES OPENING OF 3 CHECKPOINTS
Ocotber 30, 1996

The cabinet yesterday approved the opening of three checkpoints along 
the Thai-Burma border. The three border checkpoints are Mae Sai-
Tachilek, Mae Sot-Myawadi, and Ranong-Song Island. 
The governments of Thailand and Myanmar will issue a
two-year border pass to the residents along the border area,
allowing them to stay in another country for no more than
two weeks each time. Those who live outside the border area
will have to apply for a temporary card which can be used
once for a one-week stay. Foreigners with passports can stay
at each of the border areas for up to four weeks. 

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

COMMENTARY: UN OFFICIALS STILL NEGOTIATING WITH SLORC OVER VISIT
November 1, 1996
By David Arnott 
From: darnott@gn.apc.org

The UPI wire of 30 Oct that Alvaro de Soto, the 
Secretary-General's envoy to Burma, would visit the country
next week is somewhat premature. The Secretary-General's
office has been negotiating for several months over the
conditions for a visit, but so far no agreement has been reached. 
 
Another point is that the Secretary-General's mandate is more
to explore political solutions with the Burmese military than
to carry out human rights fact-finding, which falls more
within the mandate of Mr Lallah, the Special Rapporteur on
Myanmar appointed by the Commission on Human Rights. Mr Lallah 
also has asked to visit the country; but so far without success. 
 
David Arnott, Burma Peace Foundation

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ASIAWEEK - LETTER AND COMMENT: THE REAL KYAT RATE
November 1, 1996

   I congratulate Asiaweek for publishing the blackmarket rate of the Burmese
kyat in ASIAWEEK CURRENCIES [Oct. 18]. Burma is bankrupt and according 
to my estimates has depleted its foreign reserves.

Myint Thein
Dallas, Texas

(re: new Asiaweek policy)
   We have switched to the unofficial, or private-sector, exchange rate for the
Myanmar kyat on the grounds that it is the most widely used rate. The huge
disparity between the official rate (6 to $ 1) and unofficial rate (167 to $ 1),
and the supremacy of the latter in private-sector commerce, to our knowledge has
no parallel among the countries whose currencies we list weekly. The Myanmar
government in effect recognizes the duality; tourists are required upon arrival
to convert $ 300 into Foreign Exchange Certificates, which can be used at the
private-sector rate. Data for Myanmar in THE BOTTOM LINE continue to be
calculated at the rate used by the multilateral organizations which are the
feature's principal sources.

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

BKK POST: GROUPS URGE UN TO LEAVE SEAT EMPTY
Novmeber 1, 1996
Post reporters

Non-government organisations from 20 countries have called on the United 
Nations to keep Burma's seat at the world assembly vacant until the country 
has a democratic  government.

The call came in an "Alternative Asean Declaration on Burma" that was handed 
to the Burmese embassy in Bangkok yesterday, one day after the NGOs 
announced the formation of a worldwide network to step up pressure against 
Burma's junta.

The declaration, backed by 46 NGOs from Europe, the United States and Asia, 
also advocated an arms embargo, economic sanctions and an investigation of 
the "involvement in drug trafficking" by Burma's ruling State Law and Order 
Restoration Council.

It also called for talks involving Slorc, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi 
and ethnic minorities.

The military-dominated government in Rangoon currently holds Burma's seat, 
and Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw addressed the current UN General Assembly 
on September 27.

The NGOs issued the declaration after holding a conference at Chulalongkorn 
University on Thursday and Wednesday. The conference rejected the "constructive 
engagement" policy of governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 
on grounds that Slorc is "not the legitimate government of that country".

The conference also emphasised that Burma's membership of Asean would give 
Slorc with a de facto licence to continue its repression of Burmese people.

The NGOS called for an alternative policy based on respect for the democratic will 
of the Burmese people, promotion and defence of their human rights, and 
pursuit of their development agenda.

In addition, the NGOs called for a worldwide boycott of "Visit Myanmar Year", 
which officially begins next month (SIC: it begins November 18, 1996), and urged 
the implementation of selective buying campaigns, as well as legal action to hold 
foreign investors accountable for their complicity in abuses taking place in Burma.

Among the abuses the NGOs cited: recruitment of child soldiers into military service, 
"public and secret murders of men, women and children", rape, forced labour, including 
portering, forced relocations, and deliberate persecution of supporters of the pro
-democracy movement.

The NGOs also denounced what they called the absence of the rule of law in Burma, 
citing the manipulation of the constitution-drafting process, and the Slorc's refusal to 
recognise the outcome of the 1990 elections which saw the National League for 
Democracy of Ms Suu Kyi win 82 percent of the seats.

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

BKK POST: KNU URGES BURMA TO PULL OUT FORCES
November 1, 1996    Tak
 
The Karen National Union has called on Burma to withdraw its forces from 
around a Karen-held area in the North prior to ceasefire talks on November 17.

KNU president Gen Bo May asked Burma's Commander of Infantry Division 101, 
May Gen Sein Win, to remove troops from the area opposite Tak's Umphang district.

He made the request in Myawaddy on Wednesday. So far there has been no 
positive response from the Burmese commander.

Last month, Burma's Infantry Division 101, beefed up its forces around KNU's 
Division 6 base with reinforcements from battalions 244, 251, 257 and 258.

Last week, Karen guerrillas reportedly killed six Burmese soldiers. A Karen guerrilla 
was also killed and six others wounded during the attacks.

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

NATION: SLORC CHARGES SUU KYI WITH AIDING EXILES
November 1, 1996  Reuter

RANGOON- Burma's military government attacked democracy leader Aung San 
Suu Kyi in the official media yesterday, accusing her of collaborating with student 
exiles bent on launching a revolution in the country.

A commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Suu 
Kyi supports exiled students, or "neo-expatriates", who are trying to create 
a democracy revolution in Burma. "If she really  believes that it is most appropriate 
for the students to lead [a] democracy revolution ... [she] should send her sons 
Alexander and Kim to the remnants [student] armed group at the border," it said.

The commentary said Suu Kyi realises she cannot make much headway with 
students in Burma because they are more interested in their studies than politics. 
But last week, the government  accused (NLD) of colluding with students who staged 
a rare sit-down protest near her house. It said the NLD was trying to politicise a scuffle 
between students and police and foment unrest in the country.

Slorc then detained Kyi Maung, a top NLD official and close aide to Suu Kyi, 
last week for several days of questioning. He was seen talking to two student 
leaders a day before the protest, an official said.
.
Suu Kyi said in Burmese -language radio interview with the British Broadcasting 
Corporation late on Wednesday that the NLD had nothing to do with the protest. 
"In fact, we had nothing to do with that student demonstration," she said. "Two 
students came to tell us their problems and as I was very busy, U Kyi Maung  
received them and just listened to them."

Suu Kyi's telephone line, which had been apparently cut since late September 
during a crackdown by Slorc on the NLD, was back in order late on Wednesday. 
But repeated efforts to reach her yesterday were not successful.

Suu Kyi also said in the interview that she had asked several dozen people 
gathered outside her front gates on Wednesday evening to leave at the request 
of police. She said the authorities were concerned the crowd was blocking traffic 
on the busy University Avenue, on which her house is located. "If (the authorities) 
speak in a calm manner we can accept that, " she said .

Witnesses said the crowd of supporters gathered outside Suu Kyi's gates in the 
hope that she would come out and speak as she used to do on weekends before 
Slorc ordered barricades to ban access to University Avenue.

