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Tourism in Burma (fwd) (r)



/* Written  3:28 am  Jul  1, 1994 by knutst@xxxxxxxxxx in igc:soc.cult.burma */
/* ---------- "Tourism in Burma (fwd)" ---------- */
In article <9407010744.AA07603@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, tun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Coban Tun) says:

>I am _NOT_ the original questionaire of the question below. It was by
>bpf@xxxxxxxxxxx (Alan Sanuke). It was posted to reg.burma, the internal
>bulletin board on PeaceNet. I forwarded his query to scb for wider
>readership.
>

The above was written in response to an interesting piece by Mike Edie:

>In article <9406281527.AA00298@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
             Mike Edie  Mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>Now oodles of folk reading this will say: why go then? Good point. Its like
>paying Hitler $300 to witness the death camps. Well perhaps. But to see 
>and to hear first hand is quite different  from reading Bankok Post articles.
>I'll leave that as the hot point.
>

I think Mike is starting a very interesting discussion here (pardon me if this has 
already been thoroghly debated before I joined s.c.b.) .There's an interesting 
article by Nicholas Greenwood  in the Jan-Mar 1993 issue of Burma Affairs
(published in London by Burma Affairs Monitor, 3 (A) Chatto road,Battersea,
London SW 11 6LJ,UK  fax/phone (Auto) (071) 924-3147).I don't know if it is
on the net already, if there's significant interest I could type it in. 

As for the ABSDF,their Europe office (in Oslo) say the policy is to discourage
visits because of the inherent pecuniary support of the regime, but they are
not aware of any official documents pertaining to this.

However,IMO (based on other people's experiences) a case could be argued 
that an increased flow of tourists could ease the work for journalists as well
as end people's feeling of being cut off from the world.It would possibly also 
be easier for the Burmese in exile to communicate with democratic forces 
inside.And,indeed, the very special nature of Burma,eg. in comparison to the 
westernized parts of Thailand,along with the sheer cost and tribulations of 
travel  might make it harder for tourists to forget their experience,  so that
they will continue to take an interest in the country.

There's also the question of whether it is possible to stop the tide of 
prospective travellers to  this oasis (due to the policy of isolation??) of pristine 
nature & traditions.With the SLORC promoting tourism ,it might be a better
 strategy to use their policy against them. Of course, the crucial thing is to
achieve informed travel.That is,groups working for a democratic Burma must
take it upon them to educate tourists on the situation, and try to recruit those
who return to do something to help the ethnic minorities and the oppressed 
Burmans.Also maybe suggestions of visiting areas in Thailand close to the
 Burma border would be in order? Or would this only be detrimental to the
refugees living in these areas? Imean,would they risk even further harassment
by the Thai police?

Please,if anyone has more information regarding specifics of the SLORC's
tourist promotion campaign,please post.

The above is merely an attempt at generating discussion.I would deeply 
appreciate corrections and comments.
Knut