BurmaNet News: October 27, 1994

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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BurmaNet News: Thursday, October 27, 1994
Issue #44

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Contents:


BKK POST: BURMESE HELD FOR FORGERY
NATION: WINGED TIGERS TO REUNITE IN FORMER WAR THEATRE
BKK POST: CONSTRUCTION AND CONFLICT MAKE LIFE CHALLENGING FOR
          BORDER BUSINESS
BKK POST: THAI-BURMA BRIDGE WILL MEAN MAJOR CHANGES FOR MAE SOT
BKK POST: GROWING INTEREST IN BURMA SHOULD SPUR RANONG TOURISM
NATION: BUSINESS STARTING TO FACE UP TO THE PROBLEM OF AIDS

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BKK POST: BURMESE HELD FOR FORGERY
27 October 1994

THREE Burmese men were arrested yesterday in Songkhla on charge of
falsifying passports and illegal entry. The suspect were identified
as Abdul Mameed, 24, Roman (surname not given), 27, and Mohanmad
Madu, 26. The trio are Burmese nationals residing in Hat Yai
District.

Songhla provincial police said the suspects allegedly entered the
country using fake passports and have produced false passports for
the pasty two years.


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NATION: WINGED TIGERS TO REUNITE IN FORMER WAR THEATRE
October 27, 1994

Bob Bergin

In a early November a group of World War II American pilots known
as the "Flying Tiger" will visit Thailand. They will be honoured
guests at receptions hosted by the Royal Thai Air Force and by
members of the former Free Thai Movement. The Flying Tiger also
will have an opportunity to see the wreckage of one of their P-40
Tomahawk aircraft that was pulled from the jungle in north Thailand
by Thailand's Foundation for the Preservation and Development of 
Historic Aircraft.


Thailand during World War II. Formally known as the America
Volunteer Group(AVG), the flying tiger were an exceptionally
effective combat unit. In the early days of World War II, after
surprise Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and
other Pacific Bases, the United States and its allies were on the
defensive everywhere in Asia. Only the AVG, a small band of
American airman under the command of Claire Lee Chennault who flew
under the Chinese Flag, seemed to stand in the way of a quick
Japanese victory in Burma and China. In combat less than seven
months, the Flying Tigers achieved a most impressive record. They
were credited with destroying 299 enemy aircraft in aerial combat,
and another 153 were probably destroyed. On the ground they
destroyed 200 enemy aircraft and great quantities of Japanese
supplies and equipment. 

In the face of the Japanese advance, the Flying Tigers kept the
port of Rangoon and the Burma road open for two vital months. When
the Japanese army started its moved into southern China in May
1942, the flying Tiger stopped it cold at the Salween River gorge
on the China-Burma border. The Japanese were kept out of Kunming,
and China was saved from probable total defeat. Among the Flying
Tiger coming to Thailand will be Charlie Mott, who fought the
Japanese in Thai skies in the earliest days of the war. He was shot
down and captured by the Japanese. Before the war ended, he was led
out of the infamous River Kwai camp by members of the Free Thai
Movement. Also expected in the group are Ed Rector, Charlie Bond
and Robert "Buster" Keeton, who participated in one of the war's
first major strikes against the Japanese air force. On March 24,
1942, six AVG P-40 Tomahawks made and early morning attack on an
air base the Japanese had established at Chiang Mai. During that
attack, the P-40 flown by William "Black Mac " Mc Garry was hit by
ground fire and crashed deep in the Thai Jungle. Mc Garry was
captured. His release from a POW compound in Bangkok and his
exfiltration from Thailand were effected by free Thai Officers. 

Almost 50 years later the wreckage of Mc Garry's aircraft was
located by the Royal consort, Group Capt Veerayuth Didyasarin, and
pulled from the jungle by the Foundation for the Preservation and
Development of Thai Aircraft, of which Veerayuth is the president.
The wreckage of Mc Garry's Tomahawk is on display in the
Foundation's hanger at Chiang Mai. The creation of the AVG was a
secret operation. In March 1941, although officially neutral in the
war that Japan brought to China, the United States began to aid the
Chinese government.  The Chinese were given US$ 25 million, which
enabled them to buy 100 p-40 Tomahawks previously destined for
England. 

In April 1941, President Roosevelt signed an order allowing
officers and men to resign form the US armed forces to join the
AVG. A private US aviation company recruited pilots and support
personal from the US army, Navy and Marine Corps, ostensibly for
service in "training units" in China. Ninety-nine pilots and 186
ground support personal sailed for Asia during the summer of 1941.
They were brought together in Rangoon, where their air craft
arrived by ship. Accident and other problems cut the number of
pilots to about 70. The AVG was still preparing for combat when, on
Dec 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and brought America
into World War II. The AVG pilots were among the first to strike
back at the Japanese Empire. They fought with such determination
and skill that the Chinese newspapers started calling them the
"Flying Tigers". A winged tiger - designed by the Walt Disney
Studios - joined the shark teeth painted on the fuselages of AVG
Tomahawks.  


This story was contributed by Thailand's Foundation for the
Preservation and development of Thai Aircraft. 


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BKK POST: CONSTRUCTION AND CONFLICT MAKE LIFE CHALLENGING FOR
          BORDER BUSINESS

by Phitsanu Thepthong 
Mae Sot

CONSTRUCTION work on the Thai-Burmese bridge may be just one
inconvenience for visitors and merchants in the border town, but
one store owner is cautiously optimistic that Mae Sot is turning
the corner. Jintana Samithikorn, operator of Photthip Jewellery
shop on the banks of the Moei River, told Horizons that many
tourism- related businesses are having trouble recovering their
investment at the monument. "The economy has yet to cover because
of the fighting that erupted between Burmese government troops and
Karen rebels along the border, a big fire an recent floods caused
by the Moei River overflowing," she said. "But in fact border trade
is improving and even if it seems to be inconvenient for visitors,
it is expected to be a little better to be soon." She said it might
to be a while before Mae Sot can Be compared with Mai Sai, the
popular border check point in Chaing Rai. The bridge will certainly
boost  trade and tourism, though. "We hope to see economic growth,
if Burma has no more internal conflicts," said Ms Jintana, who was
born in Nakhon Pathon 35 years ago. She point out another road
leading up from Kanchanaburi, passing through that province's
Sangla Buri district and Tak's Umpang district and Mae Sot before
continuing to Mae Ramart, Mae Sareing, Mae Hong Song and Chaing
Mai. But Burma will be an equally big attraction for Thai drivers,
she believes. "Two of the world biggest marble Buddha images are in
this area - one in Tak's Mae Ramat District at Wat Don Kaew, and
the other in Burma. Mae Sot is lot closer to Rangoon than Mae Sai
is, she added. But the border town's success as a tourism transit
point "all depends on whether there is an absolute end to the
hostilities between the Kaern and Burmese troops around here," she
added. Mae Sot has an official boat pier, Burmese and Thai
Immigration Offices, and a Customs Office, said Ms Jintana, who is
member of the Rotary Club of Mae Sot, Tak Chamber of Commerce and
the Rim Moei Traders Club.  The town also has a youth group,
antique traders' club, a tourism promotion club, a precious stone
traders' club and other. "Here it is very safe at tourist
attraction, and no tourist are ever robbed or harmed during their
jungle treks," she said. 



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BKK POST: THAI-BURMA BRIDGE WILL MEAN MAJOR CHANGES FOR MAE SOT

October 27 1994 MAE SOT is preparing for substantial economic
changes for lowing the start of work on the Thailand-Burma
Frendship bridge linking the town with Myawaddy in Burma's Karen
state. When the bridge is completed 18 months from now, commerce
and tourism are expected to pick up considerably. The bridge cross
the Moei River will be 420 metres long and 13 metres wide. It will
also connect Thailand with Asia Highway 1, masking it possible - in
theory at least - to drive from Turkey, via Iran, Afghanistan and
Pakistan, through India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand and Laos,
fishing in Vietnam. Whether this can be achieved in practice in
anyone's lifetime is another question. The Thai government has
approved a four-lane road from Mae Sot to Tak, Sukhothai,
Phitsanulok,  Phetchabun, khon Kaen and Mukdahan. The project will
cost 46 billion baht and take up to two years to complete, said
transport and Communications Minister Vinai Sompong. Thailand is
funding the 79.2 million-baht cost of the bridge. Maj Sompote
Panchai, a member of the Thai-Burmese joint committee that helped
plan the bridge, said areas on both sides of the river should
benefit from easier movement of goods, as well as more trade and
investment promotion. The bridge joins a road that leads to the
Moulmein seaport just 200 kilometres from Mae Sot. Rangoon is 400
kilometres away. It takes about five to seven days on the rough
road to Rangoon, and about 300 pick up trucks a month load up with
Thai goods and products for Burma's said Mai Somphote. Thailand
exports products such as car tyres and fishery supplies, while
Burmese exports are mainly teak and craft wood. "Trade volume here
is worth about 100 million baht a month," he said . The border free
for Thais  is 15 baht, while it is 10 baht for Burmese. Both Thai
and Burmese tourists can cross the river by boat for a service
charge. A small number of tourists was in Mae Sot last week as the
rainy season wound down. most were Thais from Hat Yai who stayed
overnight at resorts and guesthouses here. Pol Cap Somat Phannorong
of the Mae Sot Tourism Promotion Centre believes Mae Sot may one
day rival or surpass Mae Sai in Chaing Rai as an entry point to
Burma. "One rai of land here is worth eight million baht now
compared  with only 50,000 baht a few years ago," he noted. With
1996 designated as Visit Myanmar Year, Burma has invited 12 Tak
tourism representatives to inspect attraction in Moulmein, Mandalay
and Rangoon next month. There are seven popular hill resorts in Mae
Sot: the 28- room Mon Krating; the Umpang which can accommdate 350
people; the 200-capacity Asorakarn; Thaweechai (200); Wattana
Village (150); mon Hin Lekfai (150); and Suan Kamol (80). The four
hotels - Central Mae Sot hills, First, Siam and Pornthep-fill up
during the high season. Place and Mae moei City-are due to open
next year. Mae Sot contains a variety of cultures including
hilltribes, Burmese, Sikhs, Islamic, Chinese and more than 10 other
minority groups. This year will mark the second Loy krathong
festival to be jointly held by Thai and Burmese authorities. 

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BKK POST: GROWING INTEREST IN BURMA SHOULD SPUR RANONG TOURISM
October 27, 1994

RANONG province, long regarded merely as a place to pass through on
the way to destinations father South, may be poised for a tourism
mini-boom as interest grows in neighbouring Burma. One of the
province's biggest boosters has been the Jansom Thara Group, which
has been promoting Ranong mineral water for 10 years. Now that
Burma has begun to encourage more foreign visitors, the company
sees new opportunities, says resident manger Somchai Kositsakul.
Our business has begun to get better in the last few years," said
mr Somchai, "and when Burma started to accept more and more tourism
because its forestry, fishery and mining industries had come to a
standstill, we considered it a significant selling point we could
use." The group now operates three properties in the upper South:
Jansom Thara Hotel Ranong, Jansom Thara Chumphon and Jansom Thara
Resort. Five years ago, a new pier was set up for ferry service.
The Jansom Thara Resort has taken advantage of the pier's location
and boat service has also come into being. Four boats-JS Queen I,
JS Queen II, Js Speedboat I and JS Speedboat II _ offer regular
service. JS Queen II, with a capacity of 60 people, is the most
popular. JS Queen I accommodates 200 people and is suitable for
large tour groups, while the speedboat accommodate 15 and 40 people
respectively. Jansom Thara Group holds a concession from the
governmet of Burma to take tourists by ferry to Kawthoung, better
known as Victoria Point. Other companies offer ferry service but
Jansom Thara has additional access to historical sites, and is
funding renovations to some Burmese tourism attractions as part of
its concession agreement. Victoria Point only began to welcome
overseas tourist two yeas ago. Burmese art and local handicrafts
appear to interest victors, who are charged a fee of 40 baht to
visit the area. the ferries also operate service to other
destinations in the Ranong area including Ko Kum, Ko Phaya, Ko Son
and Leam Son national Park. The farthest afield Jansom Thara goes
is the Surin group of islands. Jansom Thara also has a concession
for the Ko Pulau Basin. Though it may not quite compare with the
spectacular beach at Laem Son national Park, or Ko kum, the area is
very serene and private. The ferry operation is not expected to be
a big moneymaker; rather, it is seen as an extension of the service
offered by the group's hotel. Only about 20% of guests now use the
service so extra boats are not contemplated, said mr Somchai.
However, next year tourism in Rangoon is expected to expand
significantly because of Burma's Visit  Myanmar Year campaign. The
Rangoon government also plans to develop Saint Matthew Island for
tourism, with the help of Australian and US interests. The island,
once an English warship base, is earmarked for an international
airport. Australian and New Zealand interest are being
improved.Rangoon has granted a group of Thai businessmen a
concession to set up a casino which will open next year. A 40-room
hotel and duty-free shop are also planned. Any tourism expansion in
Burma will have help Ranong, making it a logical gateway. Once Ko
Son opens up, for example, there are likely to be many more victors
than its single hotel can accommodate. They will inevitably come to
Ranong, just 10 minutes away by speedboat. As well, a new airport
in Ranong is scheduled to be completed next March. More
international tourists are expected to fly to the province from
Bangkok, take a boat trip to Kawthoung and then catch a flight to
Rangoon, mr Somchai said. more than 90% of the guests at Jansom
Thara properties are Thais, with German and Britsh tourists making
up most of the overseas numbers. Mr Somchai expects a 20%increase
in guest number next year. The group's properties may be expanded
accordingly. Jansom  Thara, in conjunction with other ferry
operators such as Seatran Travel, is now thinking of developing
service farther northward to more remote Burmese islands. Rangoon
is willing but infrastructure problems remain. As well, Burmese
appear wary of being taken advantage of by Thai, said Mr Somchai.
One thing the group will not operate, he said, is glass- bottomed
boats for coral-watching enthusiasts, since these craft have
developed a reputation for harming the fragile undersea
environment. 

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NATION: BUSINESS STARTING TO FACE UP TO THE PROBLEM OF AIDS
October 27, 1994

In the interview with the Nation's Don Pathan, Dr Supanya Lamsam,
executive director of the Thailand Business Coalition on Aids
stressed the need for private sector involvement in the fight
against Aids.

     Nation: You spoke at to Satellite conference at the 1994
     Yokohama world Aids conference. What point were you trying to
     stress in your speech?

     SL: The thing about TBCA is that it's the first one of its
     kind in Southeast Asia. The conference organizer wanted to use
     our example to show the business community what is possible,
     what can be done, and use our experience to encourage the
     business community to tart the similar coalition to deal with
     the issue of Aids. I emphasized to the audience in Japan that
     if they have investment in Southeast Asia, they have to get
     involve with Aids. It's for their own good.

     Nation: Who came up with the idea of creating TBCA? And what
     are TBCA's goal?

     SL: The TBCA was started by Bill Black, the managing director
     of the Regent Hotel and Jim Reinnoldt, the former regional
     managing director of Northwest Airlines. The two attended a
     meeting sponsored by the United Nations Development
     Programme(UNDP) about private sector collaboration on the
     issue of Aids. After the UNDP Meeting, they decide to tart
     TBCA. Our goal is to mobilize the private sector to get
     involved in the issue of Aids in two areas - the establishment
     of fair and non-discriminatory workplace policies the deal
     with Aids; and provide Aids education for the workface. These
     are the premises for TBCA.

     Nation: How is Aids a commercial problem for Southeast Asian
     nations?

     SL: First of all, if we look at the number of reported Aids
     cases.  We'll see very clearly that the majority of cases fall
     in the age groups of 20 to 40. these are the people who are in
     the prime of their working lives and essentially making up the
     workface. This does not only apply to Thailand but it also
     applies to our neighbours in Southeast Asian Because they have
     similar culture, and risk behaviour. Therefore, the potential
     of having the same size of epidemic in perhaps  Burma,
     Cambodia and Vietnam is there. It may not have reached that
     stage (as Thailand) yet but the potential is there. In all
     countries, for any national Aids programme to be really
     effective, the private sector must combine forces with the
     government and non-governmental organizations.

     Nation: Is the Thai business community concerned about the
     financial of Aids

     SL: In general, at this point, still no. If you just take a
     blanket view of the Thai business community, they are not
     worried about the financial cost of Aids because they still
     don't see to as a problem that will effect them. But business
     that are directly affected financially, such as the insurance
     business, are quite worried. Similarly, the tourist industry
     is worried about the impact of Aids and the image that Aids is
     creating. Whether it (the image) is right or wrong, is beside
     the point; Aids will have an impact on the tourist business.

     Nation: What is wrong with mandatory HIV? AIDS testing in the
     workplace?

     SL: Mandatory testing is wrong because it is really a breach
     of one's basic rights. It's not a disease which is listed as
     one of the infectious disease that need to be notified. The
     national Aids plan of Thailand said that there should be
     strictly voluntarily. Businesses with mandatory HIV/AIDS
     testing have been false sense that they can keep Aids out of
     workplace. But we know that this is not the case. Once people
     are in the workplace, they are just as vulnerable as people
     outside of the workplace.

     Nation: Has the business community's perception of Aids
     changed much since the begining of the epidemic? 

     SL: I think we are having greater awareness now of the
     potential impact and I am saying that in the limited way. The
     issue od Aids in the workplace is fairly new for Thailand. The
     concept of Aids in the workplace may not be new in the west
     but in it here in Thailand. There have seen seminars and
     workshops on Aids in the workplace so you can see that there
     is more interest. Before, we didn't see so many cases  of
     Aids; it was a hidden disease. Now, it's more apparent because
     many more people are becoming ill, especially in northern
     Thailand.

     Nation: Do the business elites believe that Aids is a disease
     of the working classes?

     SL: At this point in time, yes, I think so. Most businessmen
     have never seen someone who is HIV positive or people with
     Aids. They don't identify with it. there is a common believe
     that this(Aids infection) cannot happen to them, or people
     like them, because they have never seen it. It was the same in
     America. When Magic Johnson stepped out and said he was HIV
     positive, he spoke to many million of black heterosexual men.
     Magic was saying that can happen to a wealthy, heterosexual
     man. Whereas here in Thailand, no member of  the business
     elite has ever come out openly and said he's HIV positive.

            

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ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:

 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
 AW: ASIAWEEK
 AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt.=US$1 (APPROX), 
 BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION,  
 BI: BURMA ISSUES
 BIG: BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
 BKK POST: THE BANGKOK POST
 BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
 BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
 CPPSM: C'TTEE FOR THE PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN
 MONLAND  
 FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
 JIR: JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 Kt. BURMESE KYAT; 110-120 KYAT =US$1 BLACKMARKET
                    6 KYAT=US$1 OFFICIAL
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR
 S.C.B.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP 
 S.C.T.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
 XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY 
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