Travel Advisory -> Burma (fwd)

[tun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Travel Advisory -> Burma (fwd)


STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL ADVISORY - Burma
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BURMA - WARNING
 JANUARY 11, 1992

Summary.  The Department of State advises U.S. citizens traveling
to Burma to exercise caution.  Travel by air in Burma is not safe.
Myanmar Airways has a poor safety record.  In addition, insurgent
groups have made recent threats to hijack Myanmar Airway flights to
gain publicity.  U.S. citizens are strongly urged to avoid all
travel on Myanmar Airways.  Burma continues to experience
occasional political unrest.  Insurgents are active in the
Highlands and Delta regions of the country, areas to which
foreigners are generally denied access.  U.S. citizens are advised
to defer all travel to Highland and Delta areas of Burma due to the
active insurgency.  End summary.

Travel to Burma is for the adventuresome: roads are poor and trains
are prone to accident or delay.  Myanmar Airways (formerly Burma
Airways Corporation) is unsafe, with four fatal crashes in the past
four years.  In addition, insurgent groups have issued threats to
hijack Myanmar Airways flights to publicize their causes.  No
Burmese airport has instrument landing capability and the hazards
are especially high during the prolonged rainy season which is from
May to November.  While security conditions in tourist areas of
Burma are generally good, political discontent continues and armed
security forces are often on the streets of all major cities.  A
curfew is currently in effect from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.  Insurgents
remain active in the Burmese Highlands along the northern borders
and recently staged a series of battles in the Delta, southwest of
Rangoon.  Although foreigners are usually denied access to these
areas, American citizens are advised to defer all travel to the
Delta and Highland areas.

Visitors should exercise extreme caution, especially in taking
photographs.  Photographing any uniformed person, military
installation, bridge, airport, or even apparently innocuous
official premises can lead to arrest.  Crime has not been a major
problem, although there are occasional reports of pick-pocketing.

The Burmese government is not issuing individual tourist visas at
present.  All tourist travel must be in organized groups and be
approved by the Burmese government in advance.  Tourism is
permitted solely under the aegis of Myanmar Travels and Tours.  The
maximum tourist visa is for 14 days.

Burma tightly controls the import and export of foreign currency,
national currency, artwork, antiques, and legally controlled goods.
An American businessman was arrested in 1991 for trying to leave
Burma with a few pieces of locally and legally obtained jewelry.
It is extremely difficult to obtain valid export permits for items
acquired in the brief stay permitted to tourists.

Americans planning trips to Burma are encouraged to check for
possible late breaking developments before traveling by calling the
Citizens Emergency Center of the Department of State at tel.:
202-647-5225, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand at tel.:
252-5040, extension 2212 or the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Burma at
tel.: 82055, extension 320.

 No. 92-003

This replaces the travel advisory issued on November 27, 1991, to
reflect a stronger warning concerning the utilization of Myanmar
Airways.

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