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Irrawaddy: May 15




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                     THE IRRAWADDY
             Independent News and Information


Vol. 2  No 4
15 May 1994


Published by the Burma Information Group
PO Box 14154
Silver Spring, MD 20911
USA

***********************************************
Dear Friends,

Please do not send mail to our Bangkok address. Send all mail
to USA PO Box 14154 Silver Spring MD 20911 USA. We will advise
you of our new Bangkok mailing address shortly.                
                                                               
   Editors
************************************************

CONTENTS:

ARRESTS IN BANGKOK
REFUGEES FLEE TO THE BORDER
WHAT'S IN A NAME: Bertil Lintner on Myanmar/Burma
BURMESE WOMEN FORCED TO PROSTITUTION
NEWS CLIPPINGS
OF BEDTIMES TALES, POEMS AND ENEMIES OF THE STATE
US MUST CLEAR UP SLIP ON BURMA

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ARRESTS IN BANGKOK

MORE than 50 Burmese asylum seekers were arrested in Bangkok
between April to May. Many Burmese dissidents in Thailand feel
that the Thai government is trying to force the closure of all
Burmese offices in Bangkok by  the end of this year. Since the
beginning of this year Karen, Mon, and student offices,
including the Foundation In Support of Refugee Assistance
Programs In Thailand (FISRAPT) office and a monastery, have
been raided by Thai police and security forces. Approximately
40 Burmese asylum seekers are detained in the IDC- although
they are recognised by UNHCR in Thailand as being persons of 
concern, their status with Thai authorities is  merely that of 
illegal immigrants and are being harassed by Thai authorities.
Recently, Lt Gen Ket Sein of the Burmese Army  South Eastern
Command came to Thailand to discuss with Thai authorities the
repatriation of 50,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand. 

APRIL 1994 
 (Suthisam area near Fisrapt office)  
               
01.TAY ZAR          
02. HLA WIN
03. NYO MIN HTUN
04. AUNG HTUN
05. MON LAY
06. MA THIDA AUNG (F)
07. UNKNOWN
08. SAN AUNG 
09. SOE MIN LWIN
10. HINN NWE SOE 
11. WAY LU     
12. MIN ZAW NAUNG
13. MA AYE with one year old her son.
14. KO TIN NWE 
 (Ramkhanhaeng area)

MAY 4, 1994         APRIL 1994
 (Petchburi Area)        

15. THAN OO         
16. MYINT HTOO     
17. KYAW HOE        
18. TINT LWIN OO    
19. KYAW SOE        
20. MYO AUNG        
21. SOE MIN         
22. THANT ZIN HTUN  
23. ZAW WIN         
24. KYAW KYAW            
25. WIN HTUT
26. NANDA AUNG(F)   
27. WIN MIN HTUN
28. AUNG HTUN       
29.MYINT MAUNG     
30. PHOE CHON  
31. THAN WIN   
32. WANNA      
33. BO THAT    

REFUGEES FLEE TO THE BORDER
NEW REFUGEES are fleeing to Thailand to escape forced labour
on the railway line linking Ye and Tavoy in Burma. Mon and
Karen human rights groups have issued two reports detailing
the situation. According to the reports, many more refugees
are coming to Thailand as the Burmese military forces them to
work on the Tavoy-Ye railway. The Burmese army ordered heads
of villages to provide volunteers for the railway. So-called
voluntary camps are set up near the railway and villagers are
kept in these camps. According to sources the villagers are
ordered to bring their own food. Most of the forced laborers
have to stay and work on the railway site for at least 3
weeks. Hundred of villagers have fled to the border in recent
week. This incident not only occurred in Mon State but also in
Shan State, Kalaw, Thaunggyi, and Kyengtun areas. 

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

WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Bertil Lintner on Myanmar/Burma

A DISTORTION OF HISTORY

by Bertil Lintner
When the Burmese independence movement was established in the
1930s, there was a debate among the young nationalists as to
what name should be used for the country: the formal, old
royal term Myanmar or the more colloquial bama. "Bama" is an
indigenous Burmese term which the British corrupted into
"Burma" and made the official name of their colony. The origin
of "Myanmar" is unclear, and still a matter of academic
dispute. It has been suggested that it could be a term of
Chinese origin: Burma is called "Mien Tien" in Chinese.
However, both "Burma" and "Myanmar" have been used in
historical records in a way which suggests that the two names
are interchangeable, like prathet thai and muang thaiin Thai
(the former name being more formal than the latter). 

The nationalists decided to call their movement Doh-bama Asiayone
("Our Burma Association") instead of Doh- myanmar Asiayone for
other reasons. "A brief History of the Doh- bama Asiayone" an
official Burmese government publication (published in Burmese
in Rangoon in 1976), states; "since the do- bama was set up,
the movement always paid attention to the unity of all the
nationalities of the country...and the thakins (Burmese
nationalists) noted that myanmar naingngan (the myanmar state)
meant only the part of the country where the Burmans lived.
This was the name given by the Burmese kings to their country.

But this is not correct usage. Bama naingngan (the bama state)
is not the country where only the myanmar people live. In this
country where different nationalities such as the Kachins,
Chins, Pa-Os, Pa-laungs, Mons, Myanmars, Rakhines and Shans
reside. Therefore, the nationalists did not use the term
myanmar naingngan but bama naingngan. That would be the
correct term...all nationalities who live in bama naingngan
are called bama. "Thus, the movement became the Doh-bama
instead of the Doh- myanmar. 

The Burmese edition of the Guardian monthly, another official 
publication from Rangoon, concluded in its February 1971 
issued: "The word myanmar signifies only the Burmans, whereas 
bama embraces all indigenous nationalities." In 1989, however, 
the present Burmese government decided that the opposite is true. 
When the official "name change" took place five years ago, the 
reason given was that "Bama [Burma] is one of the national groups 
of the Union only ... myanmar means all the national groups who
are resident in the union such as Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin,
Mon, Rakhine, Burma and Shan. 

As a writer on Burmese affairs,I prefer to continue to use the 
name "Burma" rather than changing to the unclear term "Myanmar". 
There are several goodreasons for doing this. First of all because 
the explanation given by the Burmese government in 1989, is a 
distortion of history. Secondly (and much more importantly) the 
change of the name of the country in 1989 was followed by changes 
of a number of local place names as well - and some of these 
changes are extremely controversial. For instance, indigenous 
place names in Burma's Shan State such as Kengtun, Hsipaw and 
Hsenwi (which all have a meaning in the local Shan language) 
have been Burmanised into Kyaing Tone, Thibaw and Theinli (which 
is the Burmese corruption of these place names, with no meaning 
in any language). By using all these "new" names also
in English text, we open a pandoras box of possible ethnic 
conflicts and misunderstandings which this troubled country can 
ill afford.


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

BURMESE WOMEN FORCED TO PROSTITUTION
A MAN who allegedly forced six Burmese women into prostitution
so that they could repay him for supplying them with fake
identity cards, was arrested by police yesterday. Chatree
  Chokdeewinchawattan , 22, was arrested after the girls, who
were taken into custody last week,  led police to the
Valentine Massage Parlour, where they said they had been
forced to work off their debts.

  Police said they arrested the prostitutes last week on Charansanitwong
Road, Bang Plat District. The six  women were identified only by their
nicknames - Nang,Ngoen, Moei, Huam, Thip, and Orm.

Chatree allegedly supplied fake identity cards for the six
women on the condition that they would pay him Bt 10,000 apiece. He then
forced them to work as prostitutes to pay of the debt, Moei was quoted
as telling police. Chatree's alleged partner at the massage parlour, a man
called Chet, was not at the premises when police arrested Chatree.(TN)      
          
        
****************************************************************
                     NEWS CLIPPINGS
****************************************************************



11 May 1994

BURMA TO OPEN COUNTRY IN 1996

BURMA is ready to open the country to foreign tourists in
1996, with the number of visitors per year targeted at 50,000
from the year 2000 onward, said the Thai Ambassador to Burma
Veera Futrakul. The Burmese government has signed a contract
with a Thai company to invest in accommodation in Burma. A
number of hotel projects financed by foreign investors are
underway to cope with the growing number of tourists. The
Burmese government also proposed to grant "visas on arrival"
to tourists travelling to Mandalay, Mr Veera said. Foreign
visitors have to pay US $ 300 on arrival. (BP)
   
12 May 1994

 BORDER TOWN HIT BY MYSTERY BLASTS

A COORDINATED bomb attack, linked to Burma's minority Muslim
community, hit government targets in a town in western Burma.
Nine bombs exploded in Maung Daw city in Arakan state, near
the border with Bangladesh in the early hours of April 28.
Details of the attack were sketchy but there were no reports
of injuries the diplomat said. "The target were nearly every
government institution available", and included a police
station, a fire station and a primary school said the report.
Neither source identified the bombers nor their motive. The
diplomat said there was suspicion that the attack was linked
to a long running refugee problem involving Burma's minority
Muslim community. (BP&TN)

VO VAN KIET IN BURMA

VIETNAMESE Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet left for talks with
Burmese leaders in Rangoon, the highest-level contact in
recent years. Vo Van Kiet the first Vietnamese prime minister
to visit Burma, is accompanied by Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh
Cam and the ministers of information and forests. Vo Van
Kiet's Burma trip comes two months before a forum in Bangkok
on regional security which Vietnam will attend. Burma and
Vietnam have agreed to establish direct air links and to
cooperate in fighting illicit narcotics. Government ministers
signed agreements oneconomic cooperation and trade.  Vietnam
and Burma,  both criticised by the West for human rights
abuses, jointly asserted Saturday that they have the right to
choose their own political system. Indianarmy chief Gen B C
Joshi has ended his official visit to Burma where he met Gen
Than Shwe and discussed security issues. (TN)

PANASONIC'S BURMA SHOP

JAPANESE electronics giant National Panasonic opened a
showroom in downtown Rangoon. Leading businessmen and senior
military government officials attended the opening ceremony
which was presided over by Burmese National Planning and
Development Minister David Able, the radio said. Western
governments and Japan have frozen all but humanitarian aid to
the junta since 1988, citing massive human rights violations
but American, French Australian, and other private companies
ignored the move when Burma opened its oil fields to foreign
exploration in 1989. Burma watchers in Bangkok noted that
several Japanese electronics and motor companies have opened
similar centers in Rangoon since 1990, while others have done
so using the name of their Singapore branch offices. (TN)

13 May 1994

THAI-BURMESE BRIDGE TO BOOST TIES

THE Transport and Communications Ministry will push for
"Thai-Burmese friendship bridge" across the Moei River to link
Thailand's Tak Province with Burma's Karen State. Mrs Kruawal
Samana, secretary to Transport and Communications Minister
Vinai Sompong said that the survey revealed the potential for
tourism and business activities if a bridge was completed to
create a land link to compete with the existing ferry service
across the Moei River. The bridge, if realised, would also
link the local west-east highway networks being planned by the
Thai Transport and Communications Ministry, she said. (BP)

BURMESE TROOPS FIGHT KHUN SA 

BURMESE government troops are locked in battle with guerrillas
from the army of opium warlord Khun Sa in northeastern Burma.
Hundreds of villagers have fled the fighting and are heading
towards the Thai border, said a Thai army source based in the
northern Thai border district of Chiang Dao.  An estimated 700
to 800 government soldiers and a guerrilla force of the same
size had been engaged in heavy fighting since May 10. He had
no reports of casualties. 

RANGOON TO LAUNCH LUXURY RAIL SERVICE

BURMA enters a new era in rail transport on Sunday with the
start of an express service with luxury seats and sleeping
berths between Rangoon and Mandalay. The semi-private service,
operated by the state-owned Myanmar Railways and the Dago      
          n-Mann Company Ltd, will be the country's first to
offer a restaurant car plus video and audio systems and fully
air-conditioned passenger coaches. The railway sale department
reported that tickets for the inaugural run on Sunday had
already sold out. (BP)



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


1 May 1994

MTA FORCES  PREPARE FOR MAJOR BATTLE

A major battle between the Muang Tai Army and Burmese forces
is looming on the Thai-Burmese border. Khun Sa sent more
troops to rein force MTA fighters confronting Burmese soldiers
on the banks of the Salween River earlier this week. The opium
warlord said the battle was expected in the second week of
May.  "The Shan State has been encircled by the Burmese forces
for four months. There was occasional fighting with 300
soldiers killed and a large number of injuries on both sides
and we have to send more troops." Khun Sa acknowledged that he
had a 20,000 strong army. "The MTA has no other choice but to
fight till the end. If we don't defend ourselves, the Burmese
forces will intrude on our territory. We have to push them
back". An American dressed in a military uniform was seen
during the ceremony. Peter Bond, as identified by Khun Sa, was
a former consultant of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). 
(BP)

25 BURMESE CHARGED AS ILLEGALS

IMMIGRATION police yesterday charged 25 Burmese with illegal
entry in Mae Sot district. A Thai woman, Mrs Matinyun
Doksaithong, 60, was also arrested on charges of giving
shelter to the illegal immigrants. Police said all but one of
those arrested were women, aged 20-30. They were caught during
a raid on two houses in Tambon Tha Sai Luad. One of the houses
belonged to Mrs Matinyun. The owner of the other house, Din
Boonnoy, 36, was not home at the time. Pol Lt-Col Sanit
Komolwanich, deputy chief of the provincial immigration
police, said the move was part of a nationwide crackdown on
illegal immigrants which began on March 10. More than 1,000
illegal immigrants had been arrested, he said. Most of them
fled economic hardship and recruitment to be porters for
military forces. (BP)

2 May 1994

THAILAND SHOULD ANNEX SHAN STATE

REPUTED drug kingpin Khun Sa says he wants his Shan State to
become a province of Thailand under their Majesties the King
and Queen. Shan State has more to offer Thailand than Burma's
central government in terms of a developing market, natural
resources and cheap labour, he told The Nation." Khernsai
Jaiyene, a close aide to Khun Sa, said the MTA has sent a
letter to the King seeking his help in settling the problems
of minority groups in Burma."So far, it seems to us that this
[the King's help] is the only way to end the fighting by the
Burmese people struggling for independence from the
government," said Khernsai. Khun Sa also expressed concern
over the planned transportation network linking Thailand,
Burma, China and Laos. He said it would adversely affect his
people and his state. (TN)

POWER PLANTS FOR THAI-BURMA BORDER

THE Provincial Electricity Authority is planning for
construction of two power projects at the Thai-Burmese border
costing about Bt 4 billion, its governor said over the
weekend.The first project involves hydro electricity with an
investment of Bt2 billion. The other is an underground thermal
project in Chiang Tuang, Burma, with an investment of Bt2
billion. New Zealand will participate in the letter project.
According to Chulapongs Chullakesa, governor of the Provincial
Electricity Authority, the Thai authority recently agreed with
Brig-Gen Kyaw Win, representing the Burmese side, to jointly
invest in a hydro electricity plant at Mae Sai River costing
Bt2 billion, 70 per cent of which will come from the Thai
side. Chulapongs said that the Burmese side will provide
labour and construction materials. He added that the Thai
government does not need funding from Asian Development Bank
as private investment should be enough to fund the project.
The Mae Sai power project is one of seven projects looked at
by the Thai-Burmese border committee. The other six are the
Klong Kra project, North Salween project, South Salween
project, Moei projects I, II and III. (TN)

BURMA TO OPEN GEM TRADING CENTERS

BURMA is to open its first gem trading centers today in the
capital and five other cities thought to have strong tourism
potential. Aggressively advertised by the Mines Ministry for
the past week, the centers should provide an additional boon
to the country's fledgling tourism industry, officials hope.
Apart from Rangoon, the ancient Burmese capital of Mandalay
and the southern city of Taungyi will see centers opening, as
will the border towns of Muse, Tachilek and Kawthaung. The
Burmese government already holds occasional gem emporiums in
Rangoon to auction off precious stones produced at various
mines, but the new centers will allow private merchants to use
the facilities and foreign currencies will be accepted.
Earnings from the centers are likely to be substantial: Burma
is the only country known toproduce Imperial Jade, and its
rubies are reputed to be the best in the world. Quantities of
both, in polished and uncut form, continue to find their way
to foreign markets through smuggling, despite the large
rewards offered by the authorities for information leading to
the arrest of those involved in the trade. As of today, gems,
jewellery and jade figurines valued under US$ 30,000 will be
sold freely.(BP&TN&TT)

3 May 1994

GUERRILLAS MULL ALLIANCE

SEVERAL of Burma's embattled ethnic minority guerrilla groups
have held discussions with notorious opium warlord Khun Sa on
the possibility of forming an alliance to oppose the Rangoon
junta, Burmese guerrilla sources said yesterday. The sources,
including dissident Burmese students, said representatives of
the  Karen National Union (KNU) had travelled to Khun Sa's
headquarters in Shan state last month for talks on
cooperation. A close aide of Khun Sa confirmed the talks
between the strictly anti-narcotic KNU and Golden Triangle
kingpin Khun Sa. The Karen representatives had discussed the
possibility of forming a guerrilla alliance with Khun Sa to
oppose Rangoon, he said. The Karen guerrilla army is led by
strict Christians and they have long taken a tough stand
against narcotics, including the death penalty for drug
smugglers. In the past, the KNU has condemned Khun Sa for his
involvement in the opium business. (TN)

1996 PLANNED AS "VISIT BURMA YEAR"

THE Slorc recently formed a high level management committee
for tourism promotion and planned 1996 as "visit Burma year,"
the state-owned daily New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday.
The first meeting of the committee, chaired by Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt, Secretary of the Slorc, was held in Rangoon on Sunday.
Various subcommittees led by respective ministers and deputy
ministers were formed to improve various infrastructures
needed for the industry. Both local and foreign entrepreneurs
have responded by constructing hotels, motels and inns.  Burma
expects 100,000 tourists this fiscal year starting in April
and hopes to attract at least 500,000 in three years. (BP&TN)

POLICE TO ARREST  BOURNE

THE Thai police said yesterday they plan to arrest a former
drug adviser to ex-US President Jimmy Carter who was
photographed in Burma wearing the uniform of  Khun Sa's army.
A spokesman for the United States embassy said that Peter
Bourne, former adviser on narcotics to the Carter
administration, was indeed the man photographed and identified
in the Bangkok Post on Sunday as "Peter Bond". A United States
embassy spokesman said: "He is not in Burma on any official
business of the United States Government." "As far as we are
concerned Khun Sa is the single biggest heroin dealer in Burma
and  we have warrants out for his arrest," the US embassy
spokesman said. The United States has refused to deal with him
despite previous visits by Congressman Lester Wolf. Peter
Bourne, aged 60, however was rumored to have re-entered
Thailand and departed on a US bound flight on Sunday night.
(BP)

SALWEEN SCHEME WON'T BREACH TREATY

THE planned Salween water diversion scheme does not violate
the bilateral pact between Thailand and Burma, according to
the Prime Minister's office. The minister said yesterday the
Thai-Burmese Border Treaty of 1868, which was promulgated when
Britain ruled Burma, had the river banks as the border between
the two countries. "This watercourse of the river is therefore
common property which each country has the right to reap the
benefit from as long as it doesn't adversely affect the
other". His thinking appears contrary to that of Thai
Ambassador to Rangoon, Wirasakdi Futrakul, who told a seminar
in March in Chiang Mai that Thailand should ask for Burma's
consent before it diverted water from the river, even though
Thailand had the right to do so under international law. The
ambassador said that to implement the water diversion scheme
with Burma's consent meant long-term benefits for Thailand.
The water diversion scheme can be divided into three parts, he
said. "Firstly, the project that the Thai Government can
proceed with, without consulting with Burma. "Secondly, the
project that needs consultation between the two countries and,
finally, the project that the Burmese government can implement
by itself." Mr Savit plans to visit Burma from May 5-8 to hold
talks with Burmese ministers responsible for electricity,
natural gas and tourism. "There will be no signing of any
agreements," he said. (BP)

4 May 1994

US SAYS ASEAN MUST ENSURE  PROGRESS 

A senior US official yesterday called on the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations to work out a set of concrete criteria
in its engagement with Burma to ensure progress towards a free
and open country. Winston Lord, the US Assistant Secretary of
State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, also reiterated that
arms should not be sent to the Burmese regime, which is under
threat of economic sanctions by Western countries. "I just
hope that in engaging Burma, Asean tries to set forward some
concrete criteria for progress as part of its engagement
strategy," he told press representatives from Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand through the Worldnet
programme, via a satellite hook -up from Washington. He
declined to elaborate on the possible criteria, saying it is
up to Asean to devise its own policy and strategy in handling
the country. The United State he said, is reviewing its policy
on Burma,and brief Asean when the two sides meet under the
US-Asean Dialogue scheduled on May 9-10 in Washington. The
situation in Burma and Cambodia would be high on the agenda of
their meeting on regional issues. "Whatever changes may or may
not have taken place there, Lord warned "we do not think they
are very profound yet with respect to the openness of that
system." There are still human rights, refugees and drug
problems. He also expressed support for the proposed dialogue
between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese
junta leaders and called for her release. "We believe she
should not be in jail. She should be out of jail, but in the
beginning there ought to be a dialogue between her and the
government," he said. (TN&BP)

CYCLONE CLAIMS AT LEAST 127 LIVES 

AT least 127 people were killed and more than 5,000 injured in
a powerful cyclone that battered southeastern Bangladesh, aid
workers and police said. Eighty-five of the dead were Burmese
Muslim Rohingya refugees living in camps which bore the brunt
of the storm that slammed the region Monday, they said in this
resort town. Forty-two local residents were also killed, the
aid volunteers and police officers said. The fishing district
of Teknaf, bordering Burma, suffered the worst, with 36
refugees reported dead. Meanwhile, in Geneva the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said at least one of the 18
camps sheltering around 200.000 Burmese refugees was
apparently devastated by the cyclone.(BP&TN)

6 May 1994

LENIENCY STUDY FOR FISHING WORKERS 

THE Labour Ministry is working on a plan to allow Burmese
work-force in the fishing sector to cope with local labour
shortage and a continued influx of Burmese immigrants.
Potential threats to national security have prevented the
administration from coming up with a clear-cut policy, leaving
hundreds of thousands of illegal Burmese immigrants roaming
throughout the country. According to Labour Ministry officials
a ministerial announcement to be enforced on August 1 this
year would provide some "leniency" for trawler owners hiring
Burmese. No details of the announcement were immediately
availible. According to the latest figures from the NSC an
estimated 300,000 Burmese have become illegal labour across
the country. This does not include tens of thousands displaced
by border fighting between Rangoon and minority groups over
the years. (TN)
BUDDHIST RELIC STARTS TRIP TO MANDALAY

A sacred Buddhist relic lent by China to Burma began a journey
to the provinces after two weeks display in Rangoon. It was
flown from China on April 20, and installed with great fanfare
at the World Peace Pagoda in Rangoon. (TN)

7 May 1994

2 MINISTERS IN RANGOON FOR TALKS

TWO  Thai ministers arrived in Rangoon on Thursday on an
official visit, state-run Radio Rangoon reported in a dispatch
monitored by AFP. The radio said Thai Education Minister
Samphan Thongsamak and the minister to the Prime Min

talks with the US, Japan, and other allies. This year, there
will also be unprecedented  formal talks on regional security
problems. The West isolates Burma because of the junta's human
rights violations, but Asean says the only hope of improving
the situation is by contact. (TN)


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

OF BEDTIMES TALES, POEMS AND ENEMIES OF THE STATE
by Aung Zaw

In 1987 a stir was caused in Burma by the publication of a
poem which closed with the words,  "...gone down is the
circumference of the sun."  The sun, or Ne Won in Burmese, is
pronounced very similarly to the name of the then-Chairman of
the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), Ne Win. The whole
sentence, according to the censors of the time, implied that
"Ne Win had passed away," and therefore ordered the line
deleted. But, too late to order the deletion, the issue
appeared with that line of the verse covered with silver ink
in the magazine. The poem was, in fact, translated from
English to Burmese by Maung Thaw Ka, a famous popular speaker
and satirist who was later arrested and sentenced to 20 years
in prison. He was tortured to death in jail in 1991.  This
kind of stupidity started after Ne Win took power in 1962.
There were indeed many stories, poems, cartoons, completed
banned by authorities.

Even under British colonial rule and then during the era of
Prime Minister U Nu, Burma enjoyed a free press. More than
thirty newspapers including English and Chinese language
press, were in print. But when Ne Win staged a coup in 1962,
all newspapers were shut down, and editors, journalists and
critics were thrown into jail. Private magazines and journals
were forced to close down - only government-controlled
newspaper allowed to print. The 1962 coup not only ended
parliamentary democracy but also terminated freedom of
expression as well as a free press.  According to the BSPP,
freedom of expression is "only within the accepted limits of
the Burmese Way to Socialism." Later the Press Scrutiny Board
(PSB) was established in order to control  newspapers,
magazines and other publications.  The regulations included
that all books must be submitted to the PSB before they going
to print. The PSB even limited the numbers of books to be
published. From 1962 to 1988 many writers, cartoonists, poets,
and singers were imprisoned as their writings, words and
stories were seen as harmful and disgraceful to the Government
and country. Moreover, they were accused of being either
pro-communist or pro-rightist. Their writings were
doubled-check and sometimes sent to the military intelligence
services, with whom the PSB worked closely. Many Burmese
artists referred to the PSB as the "Kempatei office," because,
ironically, the building was used by Japanese Kempatei
officers during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s. One
other result of this tight control was popularity of light
stories and poems, love- triangle stories as well as futurism
and symbolism. 

After 1985 the BSPP allowed more private magazines to be
published, while maintaining tough regulations. In 1988 there
were over twenty magazines and six newspaper publishing in
Burma. Three government-controlled magazines and the
newspapers were controlled by BSPP. The newspapers all
virtually reported the same stories about BSPP activities and
any government criticism was not allowed. However, during the
summer of 1988, when Burma's streets were filled with peaceful
demonstrators, almost 100 private newspapers, journals,
newsletters and bulletins published particularly between
August and September. Even the government-controlled
newspapers were accurately reporting events. For a brief
period, the Burmese people were  re-acquainted with the
freedom of the press. But this would last only until the
military staged a bloody coup in September 1988. 

Now, with even more restrictions, the PSB made a comeback to
maintain its previous position They continued to censor all
books and magazines in accordance with past procedures. Many
magazines ceased to print. Only one newspaper, Working
People's Daily, published later as The New Light of Myanmar,
was, in fact, one of Burma's leading newspapers in the 1930s.

Although the PSB and military intelligence managed to control
the publication of all works; at the same time, the
Slorc-controlled newspapers, magazines and military journals
launched an enormous offensive against elections, the
opposition democracy movement and newly-formed political
parties. They brazenly attacked and launched smear-campaigns
and personal attacks targeting leading politicians including
Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as diplomats who were outspoken
about the junta's human rights abuses. At the same they forced
some publications to cease printing, for instance, Peiphuhlwa
magazine. Their editors were arrested, too. After the Slorc
locked up Aung San Suu Kyi, the PSB would not allow her name
to be mentioned in any of publications. Nor were writers
allowed to give their characters the names Suu, Daw Suu, Ah
May Suu, etc. Additionally, the new and most peculiar
regulation is the requirement to print Slorc's three main
national causes in every book and magazine on the first or
second page: non-disintegration of the Union,
non-disintegration of national solidarity, and the
consolidation of national sovereignty. 

In 1990, the Slorc introduced  to the public the Myatkhinthit
(New Sward), with virtually an unlimited budget. The writers
use strange pen names. They are, in fact, old BSPP members and
military intelligence officers. The Myatkhinthit carries
stories about students, the pro-democracy movement, and party
leaders. Some stories are totally distorted the true facts.
They make up many of stories in order to discredit
well-respected leaders. Some can only bee described as obscene
and pornographic . Ironically, pornographic writing is, in
fact, strictly controlled by the PSB but the Myatkhinthit is
an exception. Moreover, the articles emphasize CIA and
American involvement in world politics. The magazine always
carries reports about exiled opposition groups, the ethnic
groups on the border and any up-to-date information from the
Burmese embassy in Bangkok and other informed sources. 

In the February 1994 issue, the writer Phoe Kan Kaung, who is
believed to be military intelligence officer, wrote a serial
article defaming a highly-respected figure of Thailand. Of
course this new journalistic endeavor fits nicely into Slorc's
definition of freedom of expression. They report only on the virtues of the
leadership and warn of the dangers of democracy and freedom.

In an interesting development, the Slorc Information Minister, Brig-Gen Myo
Thant, was recently invited by the Thai government to come and see for
himself how the press in Thailand reports on internal and external affairs
without prejudice.  This was an opportunity for the Thai governmment to show
Slorc how genuine freedom of the press in Thailand and other democratic
societies can work.





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US MUST CLEAR UP SLIP ON BURMA

The  call by a senior American policy-maker for  increased
ties with Burma needs to be quickly dismissed before it is
mistaken for an actual Washington plan. State Department
Counsellor  Tim Wirth's proposals to reverse US action and
widen contacts with Rangoon is badly misguided. His senior
rank among US officials lends unwarranted emphasis to his call
for an new American policy on Burma. US direction on Asian
relations has recently come under internal fire from major
Clinton administration officials. Mr Wirth's  sudden and
confusing recommendation for reversal of a stable Burma policy
needs to be quickly clarified. Mr Wirth is a former US
senator,  with an acknowledged expertise on narcotics matters.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency last week, he
recommended "more dialogue" between Washington and the Rangoon
junta. Without providing details, Mr Wirth said such contact
would reduce a huge outflow of heroin to the United States and
other countries. He recommended ignoring the continuing and
massive repression of Burmese in favour of  his emphasis on
the drugs problem. "I'm thinking of the young people on the
streets of the United States of America who are directly
impacted by that," he told his interviewer."That should be our
priority." Not even our government's policy of "constructive
engagement" is as cynical as Mr Wirth's proposal. The US
official's proposal  would  completely overlook the massive
and violent abuses of Burmese citizens. At least the Thai and
Asean approach to Rangoon aim at reversing repression by the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc). Mr Wirth, as
a former politician, may feel he must still serve an
exclusively American population. The only satisfaction we can
draw is from a fellow official in the State Department who
said Mr Wirths  proposal was "unlikely to be met with much
enthusiasm."
Available evidence shows Slorc has neither the desire nor the
ability to launch an effective anti-narcotics programme. Slorc
leader Lt Gen Khin Nyunt claimed last year that his regime
would move against narcotics pedalling. The reality has been
the opposite. An alleged military attack on warlord Khun Sa
evaporated two months ago without a single gain. Opium growing
and heroin refining continues to grow in northern Burma. Slorc
has shown no commitment to combat such growth. In addition,
troubling reports of direct links between narcotics dealers
and Slorc officials continue unabated. The proposal to put
Rangoon and Washington on an equal diplomatic footing is is
misguided.  Since it took power in 1988 over the bodies of
dead citizens, Slorc has shown few signs of compassion. For
five years, it has kept its best known and most peaceful
citizen imprisoned at home. Aung San Suu Kyi said in a recent
interview she remains determined to continue her  struggle for
a democratic Burma. The world's only super power should do no
less. There may be no absolutes in diplomatic affairs. But the
lack of goodwill from Slorc is clear. Mr Wirth's proposals to
give status to the Rangoon junta in the mere hope it might
respond is misguided. Slorc has had many years and
opportunities to improve its image through direct action.
Instead, it has continued one of the most repressive systems
of governments of our day .  There are several opinions and
policies about how to change this. Mr Wirth's proposal to
merely to overlook them and to have faith that heroin exports
will decline is a major act of faith. Besides this, the Thai
government's hope that a slow increase in  economic and
diplomatic relations will encourage an easing of Slorc's
tyranny seems like a paragon. The chief US policy-maker for
Asian affairs, Winston Lord, complained last week that
US-Asian relations have been sliding for the past six months.
The confusing statement from Mr Wirth tends to back up this
claim. United States policy towards Burma has been clear, and
firm, since 1988. Indeed, Mr Lord  himself said a week ago
that Washington intended to continue to disagree with Asean on
the matter. "The United States wants Burma isolated while
Asean is continuing a policy  of  engagement," he said. If
Washington is going to change this policy, it owes its allies
a clear warning. If, as it should,  the US  intends to
continue to press Slorc for change, it must make this clear.
Mr Wirth's statement has caused confusion. The Clinton
administration should clear it up quickly. 
               Bangkok Post Editorial 10 May 1994

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