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Burma Focus, Jan-May 94(860 lines)



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*                         BURMA FOCUS                           *
*                                                               *
*      Published By the All Burma Students' Democratic Front    *
*                       (Europe Office)                         *
*                    Bi-monthly News Letter                     *
*                                                               *
*  Vol.5                     No.2          Jan 16 - May 31 1994 *
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Burma's Road to Peace Dashed?
 
Allowing the American Congressman Bill Richardson to visit detained 
Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi created the hope
among  Burma's watchers, that would be a possible negotiation
between  her  and her captors.
 
In a speech on the House floor of the Congress on Feb 20, Bill
Richardson  praised  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as "a woman of
conscience, a tower of  intellectual  strength," and said he
believed the military could hold  a "full political  dialogue" with
her in the near future.  Congressman  Bill Richardson,  the first
non-family member to meet Daw Aung San  Suu Kyi since she  was put
under house arrest in July 1989, held separate  discussions  with
the powerful Burmese military intelligence chief  Maj-Gen Khin 
Nyunt for four hours and with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for  six hours 
during his visit in mid-Feb.
 
However, in the minds of the Burmese military generals, they see no 
reason to talk with her.  "We don't see any reason why we should
have  to  talk with her about the country's political future or
economic  status,"  military  intelligence chief Khin Nyunt said in
an interview  with the New York  Times on March 6.
 
Bertil Linter, an expert on Burma, explained in the Thailand Time 
on Feb 20 why the Burmese general allowed an outsider to visit Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi after all, "Last year, the UN Human Rights
Commission's  Special  Rapporteur submitted a report which was
extremely critical  of the  regime in power in Rangoon.  As long as
they're being condemned  like  this, billions of dollars worth of
aid, money and loans from  the  IMF and other international
monetary institutions will remain  blocked.  The  Burmese
government has realized that it's costing them  quite a lot  to
keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest."
 
By refusing to talk with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma could become 
the next country after China to come under pressure from the
Clinton  Administration.
 
"We are disappointed by the decision not to enter into discussions 
with the detained opposition leader," State Department Spokesman
David  Johnson  said on March 7 after Burmese generals ruled out
possible  talks with  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. 
In a meeting during the second week  of March, US officials agreed 
to pursue several measures aimed at  the military regime opening
dialogue  with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  These  measures include a US
campaign  in the United Nations for an arms embargo  against Burma
and for a  special UN envoy to intercede on Daw Suu Kyi's  behalf
with Burmese  authorities.  Other possible measures include 
economic sanctions  against Burma, whether or not to fill the
vacant  ambassador's post  in Rangoon, an increase in humanitarian
aid to some  71,000 displaced  Burmese along the Thai-Burma border
and an increase Burmese-language  broadcasts on the Voice of
America and include Burma  in the Radio  Free Asia's programming. 
 
On March 4 in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Commission called for the 
immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and voted to condemn
Burma  for  human rights violations. The Commission also extended
the mandate  of  the Special Rapporteur for one more year in order
to observe the  human  rights situation in Burma and requested the
Secretary-General  to  provide his full assistance to the Special
Rapporteur.  The action  from  the UNs is moving in the right
direction, but how many times does  the UNs have to call for the
immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu  Kyi?
 
In the meantime, nearly US $1 billion in foreign investment has
been  pumped  into the junta's pocket from the US, Thailand, Japan,
South  Korea,  and the Netherlands, as well as from Hong Kong
investors. Singapore  Prime  Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Burma
on March 28.  Relations  between  the Burmese junta and the
Indonesian Government are getting closer.  The  Association of
South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) has agreed to invite  Burma  to its 
annual ministerial conference in July, aiming at breaking  Burma's 
isolation.
 
Squeezing the junta's pocket is the only road to peace in Burma.
Without  outside  pressures, both economic and political, Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi  would  not have been allowed to meet with anyone--even
including her  immediate  family members. Without continued and
increasing pressure from the  rest of the world, the Burmese army
generals will certainly find no  reason to constructively talk with
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi about solving  country's  appalling situation.
(Sources: New York Times, March  7 & 8 Christian  Science Monitor,
March 15; The Nation, March 17) 
 
Human Rights Violations
 
Burma:Repression Continues
 
Amnesty International published a 16 page-report in January 1994
regarding  Human  rights developments in Burma between July to Dec
1993. Amnesty  International  said it welcomes certain incremental
improvements which  the SLORC  have made in regards to the human
rights situation, but  the organization  remains concerned that a
system of repression is  still in place which  is being used to
violate the fundamental human  rights of the people  of
Myanmar(Burma).
Special Reporter Reports
 
Professor Yozo Yokota, Special Reporter of the Commission on Human 
Rights addressed the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 
Geneva on Feb 24.  The following are excerpts of his speech.
 
"There were many consumer goods in market places where many
shoppers  crowed.  There  were many more cars on the street.
Nevertheless, I  was informed that  only a small portion of the
population enjoy the  improved life and  the majority who were poor
rather suffered from  higher prices of  basic necessity goods such
as rice and medicine." 
 
"I am still concerned about the serious restrictions imposed upon 
people in the enjoyment of civil and political rights.  My personal 
experience, observation and reports from reliable sources indicate 
that people do not enjoy freedoms of thoughts, opinion, expression, 
publication and peaceful assembly and association."
 
"...the National Convention to draft the guide lines and principles 
for the new constitution does not appear to be the steps towards
the  restoration  of democracy, fully respecting the will of the
people  as expressed  in the democratic elections held in 1990."
 
"I am also gravely concerned at the continued reports of forced
porterage,  forced  labor, forced relocation, arbitrary killings,
beatings, rapes  and  confiscation of property by the Army soldiers
which are most commonly  occurring  in the border areas where the
Army is engaged in military  operations  or "regional development
projects."
 
UN Condemns Rights Abuse in Burma
 
The United Nation Commission on Human Rights in Geneva adopted a
resolution  on Burma without a vote on March 9.  The resolution
called on the  military junta in Burma to respect the will of the
Burmese people  as  expressed  in  the  democratic  elections held 
in 1990
 
 and strongly  urged the junta to release immediately and
unconditionally  Daw Aung  San Suu Kyi as well as other detained
political prisoners. 
 
 
The Commission also decided to extend for one year the mandate of 
the Special Rapporteur to observe the human rights situation in
Burma  and  requested the Secretary-General to provide the Special
Rapporteur  with  all necessary assistance. (Note#Anyone who wish
to obtain the  documents  of the UN Commission on Human Rights
meeting in Geneva regarding  Burma  can be ordered from the ABSDF's
Europe Office in Norway).
 
Forced Prostitution
 
The United States and Japan should pressure the Thai and Burmese
authorities  to  end forced prostitution of Burmese women sold as
sex slaves in  Thailand,  according to a report released on Jan
31st by Human Rights  Watch. 
 
The 160-page report called "A Modern Form of Slavery:Trafficking 
of  Burmese Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand, based on
three  missions  to Thailand by Asia Watch and Women's Rights
Watch, said  that Thai  police and local officials were actively
involved in the  trafficking  of Burmese girls and women into
Thailand as prostitutes. 
 
The report documents some 50 cases of Burmese women lured across
the  border  by promises of well- paid jobs, only to find
themselves forced  into  prostitution to repay the cost of their
travel, or money given  to  their families in advance. (Note#Copies
of the report are available  from the Publications Department,
Human Rights Watch, 485 Fifth Avenue,  New  York, NY 10017-6104 for
$18.00(including shipping and handling). 
 
Forced Labor
 
Bangkok Post, May 22  - Around 120,000 to 150,000 villagers are 
being  forced to work on the construction of 160 km railroad track 
between  the southern coastal towns of Ye and Tavoy. 
 
Conscription of workers for the railway began at the late last
year.  Military supervisors provided neither food nor medicine for
the workers,  and  reports of beatings were common, the refugees
worker said.  If somebody  failed to contribute labor he would have
to pay a fine of 2,000 or  3,000 Kyat. 
 
Lt-Gen Ket Sein, commander of the Southeastern Military Command,
said  that he had money(30 million Kyat) to use on the project, but
said  that it would instead be used for future development projects
in the  areas such as hospitals and schools.  The result has been
local villagers  becoming workers for the railway project without
pay. 
 
To escape the forced labor, hundreds of villagers have already fled 
to the border. There are currently 60,000 refugees from Burma in
camps  in Thailand.
 
 
 
@HEADLINE1   Inside Story
 
Burma Leadership Changes
 
Army chief Lt-Gen Maung Aye was promoted to the vice chairman of
the  State Law and Order Restoration Council(Slorc), according to
the Burmese  radio report on April 27.
 
Former Eastern Military Commander, Maung Aye was first appointed on 
31 March last year and given two important position; Army Commander 
in Chief and Vice Chief of Staff of the Defence Service plus a
promotion  to Lt-Gen.
 
"Maung Aye is very close to Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, so when the Slorc
appointed  him vice chairman, this clearly indicated that Than
Shwe's time is  running out," a Rangoon based diplomat said.  The
Slorc chairman Than  Shwe has been locked in a power struggle with
council's Number One  Secretary Khin Nyunt for several months, the
diplomat said.  The reshuffle  showed that the hardline faction in
the military junta was consolidating  its grip, some Burma-watchers
in Bangkok said.
 
However, a Burmese freelance journalist Aung Zaw wrote in Bangkok 
Post that the Maung Aye is believed to be close to Gen Than Shwe
and  other senior military officers such as Lt-Gen Tun Kyi, Lt-Gen
Kyaw  Ba and Lt-Gen Nyan Lin who were at loggerheads with Khin
Nyunt.
 
Maung Aye is from the Defence Service Academy's(DSA) Batch 1 and
served  in the army for several years while Khin Nyunt is from the
Officer  Training School(OTS) Batch 25 and has only a little combat
experience.  It  is widely believed that Khin Nyunt was a protege
of former dictator  Gen Ne Win and that his close relation with Ne
Win led him appoint  as Slorc Secretary and Chief of Military
Intelligent, Aung Zaw wrote  in his article.
 
Burma expert Bertil Lintner wrote in the Far Eastern Economic
Review  that "it is not that some officers are hard line and others
are moderate."  According  to the Rangoon-based observer, "they
just have different enemies and  act in different ways to counter
them," he said.
 
For Khin Nyunt, enemy No.1 is the country's urban-led democracy
movement  and to suppress it, he has been willing to make overtures
to the ethnic  insurgent groups who sheltered political dissidents.
For the field  army commanders who share power with Khin Nyunt,
however, the biggest  priority is crushing Burma's ethnic guerilla
groups.
 
The Slorc chairman, Gen. Than Shwe, is supposed to be above these 
divisions - and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, 
analysts believe. "But it is clear that factionalism, once non-
existent  within the Burmese armed forces, is beginning to appear.
This is the  thing to watch," says Rangoon-based diplomat.
(Sources#The Nation,  April 29, Bangkok Post, May & Far Eastern
Economic Review, May 19) 
 
National Convention Resumes
 
The National Convention resumed its meeting on Jan 18 after a four 
month break to discuss the three sensitive issues of the state
presidency,  the  state and its structure. 
 
<N>It is clearly detailed in the speech by Chief Justice Aung Toe, 
Chairman of the National Convention Work Committee, that all the
guidelines  for a new charter have already excluded Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi from  running in the presidential elections.  
 
The Burmese junta initiated the convention in Jan 1993 to draft the 
new  constitution and to legalize its rule on power. One NLD
delegate  said  the military was adopting tactics like those of
military in  Indonesia  to entrench and legitimize their influence.
 
When the Convention resumed again during the third week of March, 
ethnic minorities demanded that the country be divided into semi- 
autonomous states under a central government.  
 
On April 8, the delegates to the Convention agreed on country
official  name to be Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and
designate it as a  union of seven states and seven regions.  States
are areas dominated  by ethnic groups. 
 
For the head of state chapter, a majority of delegates agreed with 
government proposals that an executive president with two vice
presidents  be elected by an electoral college.
 
Guidelines approved for the presidency stipulate that candidates
must  be at least 45 years of age, must be rich in political,
administrative,  economic and military experience and must have
resided continuously  in the country for at least  20 years. 
 
The president and his or her parents, spouse, children and their
spouses  must not be citizens of foreign powers, and must not be
entitled to  the rights and privileges of subjects or citizens of
a foreign power.
 
The ABSDF denounced the ongoing National Convention and said in a 
statement issued on April 7 that "such a constitution is merely
backbone  for the continued existence of military rule and the
political system(being  drawn up)is no more than a military
dominated one."
 
An elected parliament from Shan State and delegate to the National 
Convention, Daniel Aung walked out from the Convention in Rangoon 
and arrived to the opposition headquarters in Manerplaw in late
April.  He  said he had "lost faith" in the National Convention,
now adjourned  until September, because its aims had been pre-set
by the Slorc, and  the ideas of those attending were never taken
into account. (Sources#Bangkok  Post, Jan 18, April 2 & 8; The
Nation, Jan 23, March 26, April 9 &  Reuter, May 26) 
 
Opium War
 
Heavy fighting was continuing between opium warlord Khun Sa's army 
and Burmese troops in Shan State, close to Thai border since mid- 
May.
 
"We hope to capture Tachilek," an official of Khun Sa's army said 
on May 29.  During the last week of May, Khun Sa's troops stormed 
three Rangoon government bases near Tachilek and blew up a dam at 
the town's main reservoir. 
 
Tachilek is the main border trade link to the northernmost Thai
town  of Mae Sai, 1,165 km north of Bangkok.  Slorc troops had been
reinforced  in the area in recent months in anticipation of major
offensive, but  the Khun Sa's troops launched a series of attacks
two weeks ago that  appeared to put Rangoon troops on the
defensive. The rebel said 700  government troops tracked in
Tachilek and faced food and water shortages.
 
Casualties on the government side were 500 killed and more than
1,000  wounded and 300 of Khun Sa's troops died and injured 600
others.
 
Many porters are being killed and injured as fighting intensifies 
between the Slorc and Khun Sa's army.  Civilian porters, who had
been  seized by government forces in their hometown and villages,
were forced  to carry heavy loads of ammunition.
 
Burmese junta deployed more than 20,000 troops against Khun Sa's
army  in southern Shan State late last year. Opium warlord Khun
Sa(a)Chang  Si-Fu, 60 is the half-Chinese, half Shan commander of
the 20,000 Mon  Tai Army and indicted by a US court on heroin
trafficking charges  in 1990.
 
However, on December 17 last year, Khun Sa paid Thai Baht 10
million(US  $400,000) to the Ministry of Defence in Rangoon to halt
an offensive  against him which was launched in early December,
according to the  article published in the Far Eastern Economic
Review dated Feb 3.  Despite accepting the cash, Burmese army
relaunched its attack on  Khun Sa's forces in January.
(Sources#Bangkok Post, May 30; Reuter,  May 26; Matichon- Bangkok,
May 21 & Far Eastern Economic Review, Feb  3) 
 
Money for Nothing
 
Far Eastern Economic Review, March 17  - The Burmese junta is 
pressuring the Wa hill tribe along the Yunnan frontier to provide 
opium for use in staging an opium-burning ceremony for the benefit 
of international drug enforcement agencies.  In 1993, opium was
also  demanded by the Burmese authorities in order to make a
similar drug-burning  show at Na Wi in the northern Wa Hills. At
that time, the Wa had to  provide Kyats 3 million(US $484,000)
worth of opium, but were in return  given only 100 bags of rice,
worth of about Kyats 100,000.  "Such  actions will only force us to
increase our production instead of reducing  it," a Wa official
said.  Wa tribesmen grow opium as a cash crop with  which to buy
rice from the plains.
 
Cease-Fire Talks
 
KIO Signs Cease-Fire Agreement
 
Kachin Independence Organization(KIO) signed a cease-fire agreement 
with the Burmese junta on 24th Feb in Myitkyina, the capital of
Kachin  State  in northern Burma. Three KIO's representatives led
by acting head  of KIO and Chief of Staff Maj Gen Zau Mai and three
Slorc's representatives  led by Northern  Commander Maj-Gen Saw
Lwin attended the signatories  to  the peace pact.  Slorc's
Secretary 1 Maj-Gen Khun Nyunt attended the  ceremony as a witness. 
The final agreement on Feb 24 followed  after  several meetings
held between SLORC and KIO since 1990.
 
In a statement issued by KIO on Feb 25th, the KIO expressed it
concern  over  cooperation with other ethnic groups and
organizations committed  to  peace and democracy in Burma.  
 
In a interview with the Nation newspaper, Col Kyaw Win, deputy
director  of DDSI said the Kachin will have to disarm itself if it
wants to  participate in the National Convention.  (Sources#The
Nation, Jan  23 & Feb 25, Bangkok Post, Feb 26) 
 
Slorc Forces, Karenni Battle after Talks Fail
 
On Jan 26, Burmese army attacked Karenni rebels in eastern Burma, 
10 days after the second round of bilateral talks failed to make
any  progress.  Karenni  and Slorc representatives met on Jan 12
and Jan  16 about 40 miles  from Loikaw, the capital of Karenni
State. The Karenni  spokesman  said Slorc rejected their four-point
proposal, while the  Karenni  could not accept Rangoon's demand
that they drop political  claims  for independence. (The Nation,
Jan 30) 
 
Another Karenni rebel group, the Karenni National Peoples
Liberation  Front(KNPLF) which has about 1,800 fighters operating
in Karenni State  signed the ceasefire agreement with Slorc on May
9. The signatory  ceremony held in Loikaw in Karenni State was
attended by 300 rebel  officers and several senior Slorc military
officials including Secretary  1, Khin Nyunt. 
 
The group is the 11th rebel group to give up fighting. (The Nation, 
May 10). 
 
Mon Report Progress in Talks with Slorc
 
Mon groups said on March 31 that there had been "slow progress" in 
its ceasefire talks with the Burmese junta and several more rounds 
of meetings will be needed to reach a truce.
 
The second round of talks took place from March 20 to 28 at the
Burma  Army's Southeast Command Headquarters in Moulminem, the
capital of  Mon State in southern Burma. Mon rebels and Burmese
army also met  for the first time in Molumine  in southern Burma
from Dec 29 to Jan  3 and second time on March 28  but no progress
was made in the talks.
Two Mon members of the Mon negotiating team said both meetings
focused  on the military demarcation on line separating territories
controlled  by Mon forces and Burmese troops.  "So far no agreement
has been reached,  but slowly we have made some progress," he said.
A date for next meeting  has not been fixed. (The Nation, April 1) 
 
Karen delegates to Meet Slorc for Peace Talks
 
The Karen National Union(KNU) is planning to appoint a five-man
team  to meet representatives of the Slorc for possible peace
talks, according  to a Karen guerrilla source.  The KNU, the
strongest of the minority  fighting forces had earlier accused
rebels who have held separate  talks with Rangoon of surrender.
 
SLORC insists on separate talks with each ethnic army and has
rejected  collective talks with the DAB, or with the KNU as a
representative  of the DAB.  But the KNU chairman Gen Bo Mya,
pressured  by the Thai  to talk with the SLORC say "even if the KNU
is forced  to negotiate  separately, it will be for all the
people(opposed to  Slorc's rule)."  The  Karen leader also insisted
peace talks should  be held outside Burma  and the discussion
should include political  as well as ethnic nationalities  issue. 
 
The KNU and Slorc officials  have already held preliminary talks in 
Thailand. (Sources#The Nation, Jan 22, 23 & Feb 1; Bangkok Post, 
April 9) 
 
Conflict of Peace Talks
 
According to the BBC's Burmese program, Mon Thee Zun, former
chairman  of  the ABSDF and 11 members of his group were taken into
detention  on  Jan 16 by KNU for vehemently protesting against the
planned unilateral  peace  talks between the KNU and Slorc.
However, the KNU released  the students  on Jan 19. A statement
issued by the National Council  of the Union  of Burma(NCUB) the
same day said the students were detained  to avoid 
misunderstanding about the KNU's talks with Slorc
 
About 2,000 students are still in Karen, Karenni and Mon areas and 
1,000 stranded in areas controlled by the KIO.  During the third
week  of  Jan, the Karenni rebels, seeking peace with the Burmese
junta,  confiscated  weapons from 300 students who had fought
alongside them  for five  years. (Sources#The Nation, Jan 22,
Bangkok Post, Jan 19). 
 
"The problem(with the cease-fires) in the long run...is that they 
are not solving any political issues," says Bertil Lintner, a Burma 
expert. Under the terms of other cease-fire agreements, the ethnic 
armies have not been required to turn in their weapons as this
would  have  been considered a "deal breaker".  But, with the
absence of Slorc  as  the unifying enemy, the agreements have led
to the rapid disintegration  of  the rebel movements. (The Nation,
Feb 1) 
 
ABSDF's Position on Peace Talks
 
In a statement issued by the ABSDF regarding ceasefire talks
between  ethnic  rebels and Slorc, the ABSDF says that although the
ABSDF welcome  the  peaceful solution of political problems through
political means,  there  must be a broad-based discussion on
current political problems,  creation  of a harmonious atmosphere
and presence of international  observers.  
 
At the talks between KIO and Slorc, the Burmese junta  repeated
that  unconditional surrender is the only way to political
discussion, the  statement said.  Slorc does not accept that the
democracy  and ethnic  rights are indivisible and Slorc is not only
refusing to  meet the  Democratic Alliance of Burma but also
excluding Daw Aung  San Suu  Kyi from the peace talks, it said. 
 
However, the ABSDF said  it understands the difficult situation of 
the ethnic nationalities  and regards them as allies until final
victory. (Source#Bangkok  Post,  Feb 20) 
 
Foreign Relations
 
Chinese Are Coming!!!
 
"The people who put up these new buildings say they are Burmese,
but  we  know they are really from China," an ethnic Burmese
shopkeeper  in  Mandalay said.  "They are taking over our business
and pushing  us  out of our homes."
 
The growing Chinese trade, lugging everything from textiles to
toys,  curry  powder to condoms to computer software, all made in
China, is  changing  the face of Mandalay, the last capital of
Burmese kings and  the site  of some of Burma's most sacred
religious shrines.
 
Some of the biggest new investors in Mandalay have a lot of trouble 
explaining exactly who they are and where they come from.  "They
are  Chinese,"  said a foreign businessman.  He said a Burmese
identity  card - effectively  citizenship - can be bought for as
little as 30,000  Burmese Kyat(US$300).  "With  a card, you are
free to do business,  buy a house," the businessman  said.
 
Burma - China ties warmed in 1988, when other nations cut off
relations  with  the ruling junta to protest the brutal crackdown
on pro-democracy  demonstrators.
 
Last July, the 2.9 km Rangoon-Syriam Road-Rail Bridge across the
Pegu  River  constructed with a 265-million yuan interest-free loan
from  China  was inaugurated in Burma's capital. While China has
tried to  portray  the bridge as a genuine Chinese assistance to a
friendly neighbor  and  physical proof of good bilateral ties
between the two countries,  local  Burmese people, however, are
convinced that Beijing has hidden  motives  to use the new wharves
as its short-cut for Chinese products  to penetrate  new markets in
Asia and Africa.
 
China has long been known for its desire to find an exit to the
South  China  Sea and the Indian Ocean.  Some diplomats believe
Beijing is  hoping  its involvement in Burma will give it direct
access to the  Indian  Ocean.
 
Informed estimates of the value of the weapons that have poured
into  Burma  from China in the past four years worth over US $1.2
billion. 
 
In exchange for the arsenal, the Burmese military has reportedly
given  China  access to military installations along the Bay of
Bengal. At  a Burmese  radar post in the Coco Islands, not far from
India, newly  installed  Chinese equipment is reportedly allowing
Beijing to monitor  maritime  traffic in some of the world's most
heavily trafficked sea  lanes. (Sources#New  York Times, March 29;
Bangkok Post, Jan 31;  The Nation, Feb 26) 
 
Japan Aid to Burma to Resume
 
Japan will resume financial aid  to Burma but the aid will be on a 
small scale and not be channeled  through the Burmese government, 
Japanese Foreign Ministry source said  on Feb 17.  While beginning 
to extend aid again as early as the end  of March, Japan will
continue  its freeze on loans to Burma, which  in addition to
refusing to allow  civilians to take over power, continues to hold
opposition leader  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house  arrest.
 
Meanwhile, about two thirds of Japanese legislators in Japan's
parliament  have signed a letter demanding that Burma' military
junta release  Nobel Peace Prize Winner Daw Aung Suu Kyi and turn
over the power  to civilian rulers.  Legislator Shoke Arai said 508
of the 763 legislators  in the lower and upper houses of Japan's
Parliament signed the letter,  addressed to UN secretary- general.
(Sources#Asahi Evening News,  Feb 18; Bangkok Post, May 20)  - 
 
ASEAN Agrees to Invite Burma to Meeting
 
The Thai Government's attempt to bring Burmese junta out of
isolation  has won the support of all ASEAN partners after the
Brunei Foreign  Minister confirmed that it is in favor of inviting
Burma to an annual  meeting  of ASEAN foreign ministers taking
place in Bangkok in July  this year.  Senior  officials of the
ASEAN countries agreed to invite Burma as a guest  of the host
country, not as the Asean's Standing Committee.  Asean  members are 
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, Singapore  and
Thailand.
 
Earlier, the Indonesia Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said that when 
the Asean  was formed it was planned to encompass all 10 countries 
in  Southeast Asia - including Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. 
He  said  Asean's policy of influencing the Burmese regime though
"constructive  engagement"  was better than economic sanctions or
isolation.  Alatas  arrived  in Rangoon on Feb 21 for his first
official visit.  A senior  Indonesian  military source said that
Jakarta was keen to end Burma's  isolation  in the region. "I worry
about the close relationship between  Burma  and China."  
 
The Indonesia delegation led by Coordinating Minister for Industry 
and Trade Hartarto visited Burma at the end of May and offered to 
cooperate with Burma in various fields, including development of
Burma's  hotel sector.
 
In contrast, Malaysia appears to have take the hardest line among 
Asean members towards Burma.  Malaysia took strong exception to
Burma's  expulsion  of some 300,000 minority muslims in western
Burma in 1992.  Malaysian  trade unions, political parties and
human rights organizations urged  the ASEAN to cancel its
invitation to Burma to attend the ASEAN foreign  ministers meeting. 
The group which represent 51 Malaysian organizations  said it backs
a call by National League for Democracy(NLD) to cancel  the
invitation.
 
In Singapore, diplomats say many local businessmen see more
opportunities  for  investment in Burma than in Cambodia.  Official
Singapore figures  show  total bilateral trade stood at US $456
million in 1993 against  US  $382 million in 1992 without including
the arms sales.  Singapore  Prime  Minister Goh Chock Tong arrived
in Rangoon on March 28, becoming  only  the second prime minister
to visit Burma since 1988.  The first  was  the Laotian Prime
Minister in 1992. (Sources#Bangkok Post, March  8,  9, 29 & May 20;
The Nation, Feb 24 & April 26; Far Eastern Economic  Review, March 
3; Reuter, May 26) 
 
Thailand Blocks Assistance to Burmese Opposition
 
Medical supplies worth 830,000 baht for ethnic minorities in Burma 
were stopped and confiscated by Thai authorities on Jan 17.  The
medical  supplies  are for ethnic minorities groups including the
Karen, Mon  and Karenni.  The  supplies, paid for by the National
Coalition Government  of Union  of Burma, was purchased in
Thailand.
 
Meanwhile, Thai National Security Council(NSC) has threatened to
clamp  down  on non-governmental organizations aiding Burmese
minorities in  border  camps.  "We are now gathering evidence to
prove our suspicions.  NGO's  whose staff are found to have been
illegally slipping into Burma  to  help the minorities will be
subject to legal action and will be  ordered  to stop working in
the camps," said deputy chief of the NSC.  "Thailand  has  a clear
policy of not allowing any group to use its soil as a  base  for
anti- Burmese government campaign," he added.
 
Besides, Thailand has agreed to arrest Burmese "terrorists"
travelling  on false passport and Burma has agreed to open a border
checkpoint  to take back illegal Burmese immigrants.  The agreement
was reached  during the Thai-Burma border meeting in Moulmein in
Burma during the  third week of April.  Burma gave Thailand a
report on the false passport  and travel documents.
(Sources#Bangkok Post, Jan 26 & April 24;  The Nation, Jan 31) 
 
US Slams Burmese Junta's Record 
 
There was no marked increase in the level of human rights abuses in 
1993, in large measure because the Slorc had already been so
successful  in  intimidating the Burmese people," the February 3
the US State Department  report  said.
 
The US State Department is preparing to make official diplomatic
protests  to  Singapore, Portugal and Poland as well as to China on
the shipment  of  arms sale to Burma, the administration officials
said.
 
In a resolution passed by US Senate on Feb 1 unanimously declared 
that it does not recognize the military junta in Burma known as
Slorc  since  the people of Burma gave the National League for
Democracy a  clear  victory in the election of May 27, 1990.  The
Senate resolution  also  called on Clinton's administration to have
clear policy toward  Burma  and Thai Government to show more
sympathy toward Burmese democratic  forces  and prosecute those
responsible for the trafficking, forced  labor  and physical and
sexual abuse of the Burmese women in Thailand. (Sources#Bangkok 
Post, Feb 6 & March 25 and the US Senate Resolution, S.1281. Feb 1)
 
Socialist International Call for Change in Burma
 
The Congress of the Socialist International passed a resolution on 
Burma at its general assembly held in Tokyo, Japan from May 10 and 
11.  The Congress strongly condemned the Burmese military junta for 
its human rights violations in Burma and called for the
international  community to impose trade and arms embargo against
Burma. 
 
The Congress attended by several Heads of States  including the
Prime  Minister of Norway and Cambodia second Prime Minister Hun
Sen, was  hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Tautoma Hata. 
 
The Chairman of the National League for Democracy(Liberated Area) 
U Win Khet was invited and asked to give a speech at the congress. 
"1994  is a very critical year for Burma.  We may be on the verge
of bringing  about real political change in Burma, or we may see
the dictatorship  succeed in legitimizing and consolidating its
power," he said in the  speech.
 
The Socialist International's resolution also called on the UN
Secretary  General to appoint a special envoy for Burma to
facilitate the transition  to democracy.
 
Amoco to quit Burma
 
 The Nation, March 5  - AMOCO Production Co said its Amoco Myanmar 
Petroleum  Co subsidiary won't exercise its option to continue oil-
exploration  in  Burma and will exit the country before mid-year
because of its  assessment  of its economic exploration potential
given the current  forecasts  for  the price of crude oil. Some of
the Amoco shareholders  had pressured  the company to pull out of
Burma because the country  is ruled by  a brutal military junta.
 
Meanwhile, shareholders of Unocal Corp. voted on April 15 to reject 
a proxy resolution calling on the company to make a comprehensive 
report on conditions in Burma, where allegations of human rights
violations  have stirred controversy over a Unocal gas pipelline
project. The  sponsors of the Burma resolution said the results of
the proxy ballot  - a 14.1% yes vote - was large enough to ensure
that they would file  the measure again next year.
 
"This is not going to go away," said a spokesman for the Interfaith 
Center on Corporate Responsibility, the initiative's sponsor. At
the  shareholders meeting, several human rights advocates denounced
Unocal's  willingness to work with the military junta that rules
Burma with  a iron fist .(Los Angeles Times, April 26) 
 
Opinion
 
Don't Appease Rangoon
 
 The Nation(New York Times), March 16  - Following an eight- month 
policy  review, the Clinton administration has reportedly decided
to  increase  pressure on Burma and to ask other nations of the
world to  stop ending  arms to its brutal military regime.  That
would be a just  and honorable  response to the regime obstinate
refusal to hold talks  with its democratic  opponents.
 
Burmese general Khin Nyunt told the New York Times journalist that 
he would not meet with, or grant any political standing to, Daw
Aung  San  Suu Kyi.  That flat statement seemed to dash the hopes
of some  Westerners  who thought that the Burmese junta might be
easing its  stance.  Then  too, the regime has been seeking trade
and diplomatic  relations with  Japan and the West. But Gen Khin
Nyunt, head of Burmese military intelligence,  seemed  determined
to keep her under arrest. Why not free her and hold another 
election? The answer is self- evident. 
 
The  regime has no confidence in what 42 million Burmese think
about  it. 
 
Until Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is liberated and able to speak for
herself,  there  is no reason for anyone to reward the generals
with better trade  and  diplomatic relations.
 
Notes from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
 
The Burma Focus received the transcript of the whole interview 
with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Rp. Bill Richardson, UNDP Resident
Representative  Jehan  Raheem and New York Times Correspondent
Philip Shenon, on Feb  15th  1994 from BurmaNet, an electronic
media network. If anyone wishes  to obtain the whole interview,
please don't hesitate to contact us.  What  follows  are  excerpts
from the interview: 
 
 ...I don't want personal support.  What we want to be supporting is 
the movement for democracy and human rights...
 
 ...My health is, in general, good.  I have been told, though, that 
I have spondylosis, a degenerative disease of the spine. I have
discomfort  in  my shoulders all the time; I've also had various
infections recently,  nothing  too bad. There is nothing I want for
myself...
 
 ...I think the National Convention is a farce.  If people can't
speak,  if  they are just there to nod their heads, then that is
not a convention.  I  cannot  accept it as seriously representing
the will of the people.  The  role  of the political parties needs
to be highlighted.  They should  be  allowed to exist, to move and
act as real political parties.  This  point  has to be pushed...
 
 ...They(SLORC) brought me notice in January that my detention had 
been renewed until Jan of 1995.  I told them they could not do
that.  They  explained  that under the law, the Central
Committee(which I have never  heard  of) made the decision to put
me away for the initial year.  I  told  my Colonel Than Tun that
all existing norms of international  law  forbid such a procedure,
that the term of detention must be conducted  from  the initial
date of incarceration unless explicitly stated otherwise...
 
 ...They tried to pressure me to leave the country with ways no
self-respecting  government  should employ....
 
 ...I would like to see a clear-cut posture from the US on Burma. If 
you want to support a movement that is being attacked from all
sides,  you  must be clear-cut.  I very much appreciated the terms
set by the  Senate  in it recent Burma resolution....
 
 ....Talking about sanctions, there are two schools of thought on
them,  and  the controversy seems never to have been resolved.
People don't  want  to do anything that would be harmful to
ordinary people.  But  is  existing trade with Burma really helping
the people or allowing  the  government to dig in its heels?  Which
examples do people cite  of  economic development preceding
democratic development?  People  cite  the ASEAN countries, but
their pattern of development is different  from  Burma's.  Take
Indonesia as an example.  Suharto came into power  under  different
conditions. Confidence here in Burma is low because  they  way the
election results were not respected.  That kind of thing  shakes 
confidence. Nothing similar has happened in ASEAN.  In those
countries  confidence in the government existed.  Suharto was even
able to cut  military expenditures...
 
 ...I get up at 4:30 a.m, meditate, listen to the radio, do
exercise,  spiritual  reading, bathe, read, and do household
chores. After lunch  I mediate,  read, and listen to music.  I
listen to the news at fixed  times.  I keep myself on a rigid
routine.  I go to sleep at 9:25 p.m,  after  the Democratic Voice
of Burma(DVB) stops broadcasting...
 
 ....Please keep making demands on the SLORC.  Pressure always
works.  International  pressure does have an effect and helps a
lot...
 
 ....Please don't think of helping me as a person, think of helping 
the democratic process.  The only way to achieve progress is to
have  a  dialogue.... 
 
                         ........................
 
Dear Readers,
 
We sincerely apologize for the long interruption in the publication
of the Burma Focus.  We trust and hope that this delay has only wet
your appetite for up-to-date information on Burma.
 
The Editor
 
                         ..........................
 
The Burma Focus is published by the All Burma Students' Democratic
Front(ABSDF) and anyone who wish to get information on Burma are
welcome to contact its offices.
 
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