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BurmaNet News: January 2-4, 1995




************************** BurmaNet ************************** 
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
************************************************************** 
BurmaNet News: Monday-Wednesday, January 2-4, 1995
Issue #92

************************************************************** 
Contents:

1  BURMANET: A SUCCESS STORY!
2  AP: PASSENGER TRAIN DERAILS
3  NATION: BURMESE TRAIN CRASH TOLL REACHES 102 DEAD, 53 HURT
4  BKK POST: KAREN INSURGENT GROUP SPLITS OVER FACTIONAL DISPUTE
5  NATION: GOOD NEIGHBOUR?
6  NYT: FOR THE DRAGONS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, THE SAME TORRID PACE
7  BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENTS PLAN RALLY
8  NATION: COURT SET TO RULE ON DRUG EXTRADITIONS
9  NATION: BURMA OUT OF CONTACT WITH MEKONG RESEARCH NETWORK
10 NATION: SUPACHAI SEES MORE THAI CLOUT IN GLOBAL ECONOMICS
11 NATION: KAREN DILEMNA COULD BE SOLVED BY CREATING 'CULTURE RESERVE'

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************************************************************** 
1  BURMANET: A SUCCESS STORY
Tuesday, January 2, 1995

Dear Readers,

We would like to start the New Year off with a news story that broke a 
two weeks ago about Reebok.

For all those of you who have been campaigning for an end to SLORC, 
writing those letters, standing on streets demonstrating outside embassies, 
etc., the following story has just one thing to say: 

It works. 

Dont be discouraged. Dont get depressed with the bad news. Dont let 
frustration and anger get the best of you. Find your strength and 
inspiration in the stories like these, and know that there are millions of 
people out there who appreciate your efforts, and only wait for the day of 
freedom to thank you.

Happy New Year, Reebok. 
Happy New Year, OPIRG. 
Happy New Year, Burma.

Happy New Year to you all.

____________________________________________________________

>From:
Burma-Tibet Group, OPIRG-Carleton
326 Unicentre, 1125 Colonel By Dr.
Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6
CANADA

October 18, 1994

To:
Paul Fireman, CEO
Reebok International Ltd.
100 Technology Center Dr.
Stoughton, MA  02072


Dear Mr. Fireman:

We are very concerned that you are considering importing clothes from 
Burma, and will soon be meeting with officials of the countrys military 
regime - the State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC.

We urge you to reconsider doing business with a regime which makes 
widespread use of slave labor and says authoritarian rule is beneficial to 
economic development. Doing business in Burma now means helping 
SLORC, one of the worlds twelve most brutal dictatorships according to 
Freedom House. Given Reeboks reputation for concern for human rights, 
we trust you will reconsider your operations there.

Another textile firm, Levi Strauss & Co., pulled out in 1992 stating, 
under current circumstances, it is not possible to do business in [Burma] 
without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive 
violations of human rights. The company has adopted a code of ethics 
on human rights that might serve as a model for Reebok and other firms 
considering business in Burma. Liz Claiborne has also just decided to stop 
doing business in Burma on similar grounds.

Burton Levin, the former U.S. Ambassador to Burma, said: Foreign 
investment in most countries acts as a catalyst to promote change, but the 
[Burmese] regime is so single-minded that whatever money they obtain 
from foreign sources, they pour straight into the army while the rest of 
the country is collapsing.

Please note that companies like PepsiCo, Eddie Bauer, Texaco and Unocal 
refuse to leave Burma are being targeted for both shareholder action and 
consumer boycotts. In fact, the urgency of abuses by SLORC in Burma has 
warranted mounting the largest corporate withdrawal campaign since 
the downfall of apartheid in South Africa.

Please read the enclosed information concerning corporate involvement 
in Burma. I hope you find it enlightening, and look forward to your 
response in the near future.

Sincerely,


Reid Cooper
Burma-Tibet Group, OPIRG-Carleton

____________________________________________________________

>From:
REEBOK

October 28, 1994

Reid Cooper
Burma-Tibet Group, OPIRG-Carleton
326 Unicentre, 1125 Colonel By Dr.
Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6
Canada

Dear Mr. Cooper:

Thank you for your 10/18/94 letter expressing your opposition to 
corporate involvement in Burma.

As CEO of a company that is committed to raising awareness of human 
rights, I am well aware of the human rights record in Burma today and I 
share your concern.

Reebok is not currently purchasing footwear or apparel made in Burma 
and will not consider doing so until significant improvements in human 
rights conditions are in place.

I have no scheduled meetings with Burmese officials. However, if any 
such conversations were to take place, we would insist on the need for 
human rights progress that will enhance the lives of the people of Burma, 
and increase the basic freedoms, as a prerequisite for Reebok business.

Sincerely,

Paul Fireman
Chairman and CEO

___________________________________________________________

BOSTON GLOBE: REEBOK VOWS TO SHUN TRADE WITH BURMA
Thursday, December 22, 1994
by Mitchell Zuckoff

REEBOK International Ltd., which came under fire for its treatment of 
workers in Third World countries, has vowed not to manufacture its 
products in Burma until significant improvements in human rights 
conditions are in place.

Reeboks promise came in the form of a letter from chairman and chief 
executive Paul Fireman to a group of Canadian activists who oppose 
Burma's ruling military junta and work to prevent western companies 
from doing business there.

Reebok is not currently purchasing footwear or apparel made in Burma, 
and will not consider doing so until significant improvements in human 
rights conditions are in place, Fireman wrote.

I have no scheduled meetings with Burmese officials, the letter 
continued. However, if any such conversations were to take place, we 
would insist on the need for human rights progress that will enhance the 
lives of the people of Burma, and increase the basic freedoms, as a 
prerequisite for Reebok business.

Firemans letter came in response to an inquiry from Reid Cooper of the 
Ottawa-based Burma-Tibet Group. 

Cooper wrote Fireman in October after hearing unconfirmed reports that 
Reebok was considering importing clothes from Burma, or Myanmar. 
Stoughton-based Reebok already has a major presence in Asia, importing 
most of its athletic shoes and clothing from factories in Indonesia, China, 
Thailand and South Korea.

Coopers group is part of an international network of organizations 
trying to build economic and  political pressure against Burma's ruling 
State Law and Order Restoration Council, which seized power in 1988 
and crushed a pro-democracy movement. The United States cut off aid 
after the military coup and has been an outspoken critic of the juntas 
policies.

Reeboks activities in Southeast Asia were highlighted in a Globe series in 
July that took the company to task for the living conditions of workers 
who make its products.

The series, titled Foul Trade, reported that Reebok -- despite a human 
rights program that has won widespread acclaim -- uses suppliers whose 
workers live in abject poverty. Reebok has defended its practices by 
saying the contractors comply with local minimum wage laws. But the 
Globe series explained that those wages are often set by government 
officials who double as factory owners, resulting in little regard for 
working conditions or employee welfare.

Cooper said although he heard that Reebok was considering doing 
business in Burma, he had no evidence the company had taken any 
formal steps in that direction. He said he stopped inquiring about 
Reeboks plans upon receiving Firemans promise.

It would have been very depressing to say the least if they had gone into 
Burma, Cooper said in an interview this week. Normally, trade can be a 
force for good. But there are some places where trade cant help but hurt 
things, and this is one of those cases.

Opponents of trade with Burma say most factories there have links to the 
military, so the ruling dictators grow stronger with each new economic 
tie.

Reebok spokeswoman Kate Burnham said Firemans letter on Burma 
reflects the companys larger philosophy.

If you look at the stand we have taken with our human rights program, 
and you look at our labor standards, you can see we believe its very 
important to make a difference in the world in ways that we can, 
Burnham said.

************************************************************** 
2  AP: PASSENGER TRAIN DERAILS
Monday, January 2, 1995
Rangoon

Passenger train derailed and plummeted into a ravine in central Burma, 
killing 102 people in what
broadcast reports said was the country's deadliest train accident ever.

The train, traveling between Mandalay and Myitkyina, the Kachin state 
capital, derailed Friday near the town of Wuntho when the brake failed 
as it descended a hill.

************************************************************** 
3  NATION: BURMESE TRAIN CRASH TOLL REACHES 102 DEAD, 53 HURT
Monday, January 2, 1995
Reuters, London

ONE hundred and two people were killed and 53 injured when a train 
ran out of control on a steep hill in Burma on Friday, Burmese radio 
reported.

The radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, said the 
train linking Mandalay and Myitkyina was derailed when its brakes 
failed.

One of the carriages plunged into a ravine as a result.

Several other carriages of the mixed cargo-passenger train overturned or 
came off the rails and one passenger carriage was left hanging from a 
bridge.

The train bound for Myitkyina had reached Wuntho township about 220 
km north of Mandalay when its brakes failed on a slope.

This sent it hurtling out of control down the hill.

Rail Minister Win Sein, Social Welfare Minister Brig Gen Thaung Myint 
and Deputy Health Minister Col Than Zin visited the site, the radio said.

************************************************************** 
4  BKK POST: KAREN INSURGENT GROUP SPLITS OVER FACTIONAL DISPUTE
January 4, 1995

BURMA'S oldest and most powerful insurgent ethnic group, Karens, has 
split into factional conflict between minority Buddhists and a Christian-
led majority, according to a statement received here yesterday.

The Karen National Union (KNU) said a middy January 1 deadline it set 
for rebel Buddhists within the movement to rejoin its ranks had passed.

As a result the rebels " would be regarded as enemies," said the statement, 
obtained by Agence France-press, and dated January 1.

It accused the Buddhist faction, numbering about 500 militants, of 
having reached an understanding with the ruling military junta in 
Rangoon, the SLORC.

The split within the KNU ends almost 50 years of united action by the 
Karens to obtain greater autonomy from successive Rangoon 
governments,, including the military regime, which has been in power 
since 1962.

The split could not have come at a worse time for the movement offensive 
since 1992.

The Buddhist Karens have withdrawn to a temple about 300 km north-
east of Rangoon, and close to the Thai border.

The statement detailed events leading up to the split. It said the 
disturbances began as a protest on religious  grounds by some monks, 
villagers and elements of the KNLA, the armed wing of the KNU.

On December 1, the KNU leadership tried to find a peaceful settlement  to 
the crisis, but five envoys were detained by the rebels who on December 
11 raided the KNU's headquarters in a bid to seize weapons and take 
prisoners, the statement said.

A ceasefire was agreed the same day leading to negotiations for the 
liberation of the KNU leaders and five-point accord was signed. This 
included setting up a committee comprising Buddhist representatives 
within the KNU as well as an amnesty for the rebels.

The KNU leadership comprises mainly Christians belonging to the 
Seventh Day Adventist Church.

But on December 21 the rebels rejected the agreement, forming the 
Democratic Karen Buddhist Association, together with a military wing.

On December 31, the KNU issued an ultimatum warning them to rejoin 
its ranks by the following day, failing which they would be regarded as 
enemies.

The KNU said it was determined to take "effective action against those 
who foster factionalism and collaboration with the enemy by using false 
excuses relating to religion."

Sources in Bangkok said that although tension between the rival factions 
was high, no clashes had been reported so far.

The Karens, together with the Mons, are the last two ethnic insurgent 
groups in Burma who have not signed a ceasefire with the ruling junta.

************************************************************** 
5  NATION: GOOD NEIGHBOUR?
January 4, 1995

I was extremely surprised to read the very outstanding philosophy of 
China's Prime Minister, (The Nation Dec 28), saying that, "peace and 
development remain the two major tasks facing
the world."

I would honestly like to know whether it came from a book or from his 
heart. If it is just diplomatic talk, then there is nothing more to say (that's 
the natural way for almost all the politicians - "just work with mouth").

If the rally meant it, than it a great puzzle.

Since he understands the true situation of Burma, he should know how 
and what he could do for this least developed country, as a good 
neighbour.

As I understand, development of a country is very different from the 
stability of its government or army. And development of a country is not 
just the development of its capital or big cities. Basically, development 
can be measured by the living standards of the majority of its people.

It is understandable that Li Peng would very busy as a prime minister 
because he is the only PM in this world who has to govern two countries 
at the same time. Everyone can accept that Burma would become a part of 
China in the future, according to the efforts of Slorc who promote 
themselves as the
saviour of this country. Undoubtedly, everyone can see how Burmese 
people are suffering from the brutality of Slorc, and the growing number 
of newcomers (Chinese), especially in big cities such as Rangoon and 
Mandalay, as the citizens of Burma are kicked out to rural areas to make 
way for the newcomers, who hold Burmese identity cards but cannot 
speak a word of Burmese.

Understandably, China doesn't need to worry about losing some of its 
people in uprisings or in war, as the population is so huge. But for Burma 
and the Burmese people (not including Slorc), the loss of their comrades 
in the bloody days (democracy uprising or in war) would never be 
forgotten.

In conclusion I'd request the Chinese PM to reconsider his government 's 
decision to support Slorc, if China thinks it is a good neighbouring 
country of Burma  - Burma is not Slorc. China should especially 
reconsider supply weapons, which they are using top kill the people.

Maung
Mae Hong  Son

************************************************************** 
6  NYT: FOR THE DRAGONS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, THE SAME TORRID PACE
Monday, January 2, 1995
By Philip Shenon,  c.1995 N.Y. Times News Service

(ART DV: Graphic showing 19-94 GDP will be sent Monday to NYT
  graphic clients. Non-subscribers can make individual purchase by
  calling 212-556-4204 or 1927.)
  (gm)

BANGKOK, Thailand  The economic dragons of Southeast Asia kept
  spittigfr in 1994, and every bit of evidence suggests that this
  year will be no different.
     Even the economic laggards of the region  the Philippines,
* Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, formerly Burma  are showing new
  vitality. With Washington's lifting of a 17-year-old trade embargo
  last February, Vietnam could be poised for the sort of economic
  boom that it had long envied among its neighbors.
     Southeast Asia, capitalizing on its large numbers of low-wage
  but relatively well-educated workns the most economically
  vibrant region on earth, with 1994 growth of 7 percent or more in
 noesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, the tiny city-state
  that increasingly serves a the areaseooi hub.
     Economic forecasts say the growth should be just as impressive
  this year. In 1994, foreign investment continued to pour in,
  notably from Japan, where the strong yen forced companies to keep
  moving manufacturing offshore.
     Furthermore, the creation of a vast middle class in Southeast
  Asia means that many of the products produced in factories here,
  everything from cars to television sets to running shoes, are no
  longer intne tictly for export. They are also for the domestic
  market.
     For the richest Southeast Asians, the problem is where to put
  all that new-found wealth, and many of them are investing elsewhere
  in the region.
     The biggest investors in Vietnam are from Hong Kong and Taiwan,
  while Thais are found most everywhere in Cambodia and Laos. The
  Singaporeans are taking over a large share of the economy of
  Myanmar, which has thrown open the doors to foreign investors after
  decades of self-imposed isolation.
     The downside of the unrestrained economic boom here is the
  environmental devastation of the region, especially in urban areas,
  as well as the vast disparity between rich and poor.
     Simply put, cities like Bangkok, the Thai capital, and Jakarta,
  the Indonesian capital, are now so overbuilt and congested that
  they may never again be pleasant places for anyone, rich or poor,
  to live.

  <TDAT> NYT-01-02-95 1759EST

************************************************************** 
7  BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENTS PLAN RALLY
January 3, 1994

BURMESE students were expected to assemble in front of the Burmese 
Embassy this morning to mark the 47th anniversary of Burma's 
independence from British rule.

A meeting to prepare for the event was held at Ramkhamheang University 
on Saturday, a police source said.

The source said the students had received 30,000 baht from a human 
rights organisation for the purpose.

One Burmese student, Mr John Aung, said the intention was to tell the 
world that although the country had been independence for 47 years, the 
living conditions of the Burmese people were no better than during 
colonial times.

************************************************************** 
8  NATION: COURT SET TO RULE ON DRUG EXTRADITIONS
January 4, 1995

A Thai court is set to rule on whether to grant the unprecedented 
extradition to the United States of 10 suspected heroin traffickers linked 
to opium warlord Khun Sa, Thai narcotics police said yesterday.

"The suspects are set to appear in court on Jan 11 and the court will rule 
on them," Maj Gen Somchai Milintangoon, chief of the Thai police 
Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), told Reuters.

The 10, all Thais of Chinese origin, were arrested in November in the 
northern Thai provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and 
in Bangkok at the request of the US Drug Enforcement Administration 
(DEA).

DEA officials identified them as the top officials of the Shan state 
organization in Burma led by Khun Sa, the man known as the warlord of 
the Golden Triangle, which produces most of the world's illegal opium 
and its refined form, heroin.

The Golden Triangle is formed by the borders of Burma, Thailand and 
Laos.

The DEA has identified Khun Sa, who has been indicted by a court in 
New York on trafficking charges, as one of the world's drug kingpins.

A senior US Embassy official has indicated that November's raid crippled 
Khun Sa's operations.

************************************************************** 
9  NATION: BURMA OUT OF CONTACT WITH MEKONG RESEARCH NETWORK
January 4, 1995

BURMA has been absent for two years from the activities of the Mekong 
Development Research Network without clear reasons, a project 
coordinator said.

The project is a non-government body set up to promote research 
cooperation among countries sharing the Mekong's water resources.

Burmese researchers lost contact with the network after agreeing to carry 
out a project in January 1993 to study soil erosion and the role of small-
scale irrigation to conserve the environment, said Jingjai Hanchanlash.

The network is trying to find out what happened to them, Mr Jingjai said.

Mr Jingjai said Burmese Economic Planning Minister David Abel had 
promised to follow the case when he was inn Bangkok last month.

The network, which is based in Bangkok, researches studies to be 
conducted on the Mekong for Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos 
and Vietnam with financial support from the International Development 
Research Centre and the Canadian International Development Agency.

All six member countries agreed in the first meeting held in China's 
Yunnan Province in January 1993 to conduct separate project in their 
own countries with a budget ranging between 20,000-50,000 Canadian 
dollars.

Projects in all countries, except Burma, are under way and the network is 
planning to hold a working meeting this year in Bangkok to review 
progress, Mr Jingjai said.

Cambodia's project involves an environmental study in the Tonle Sap 
Lake, while China focuses on water qualities, water and soil conservation 
and biodiversity on the Mekong.

Laos is studying deforestation from shifting cultivation and erosion on the 
bank of the river.

Thailand is concentrating on the impact of the environmental changes to 
people living in the Mekong basin. And Vietnam is studying flood and 
drought problems and the environmental impact of industrialisation in 
Long Xuyen and Can Tho, cities on the lower Mekong Delta region.

Mr Jingjai said Burmas absence form the network would be 
disappointing but insisted it will go ahead as planned. 

The network was unable to launch joint research projects because of 
differing interests among members. and had to allow for national 
projects by each member, Mr Jingjai said.

************************************************************** 
10 NATION: SUPACHAI SEES MORE THAI CLOUT IN GLOBAL ECONOMICS
Monday, January 2, 1995

DEPUTY Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi has forecast a more 
dominant role for Thailand in international economic forums due to the 
countrys active membership in several economic trade blocs.

Supachai said Thailand this year will have a say in global trade.

This is because of its high economic growth rate and active role in several 
international trade blocs, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), 
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asian Free Trade Area 
(AFTA), the Economic Triangle grouping Thailand, Malaysia and 
Indonesia, and the Economic Quadrangle, grouping Thailand, Burma, 
Laos, and China.

The countrys bright future for export products on the world market may 
boost Thailand's economic growth rate to nine per cent this year, 
according to Supachai.

The deputy prime minister said the countrys exports expanded, nearly 
20 per cent last year.

This years expansion rate for exports could be even higher due to the 
governments resolution of several international trade disputes and its 
opening of the domestic market to foreign manufacturers for industrial 
and agricultural products.

The deputy prime minister said this years foreign investment in 
Thailand's industrial technology will be higher than last year.

This is particularly because the country has gained a reputation for 
exporting electronic products such as electronic parts and machines. 

However, despite the countrys economic prosperity, Supachai is 
concerned that inflation may also be higher due to rising costs of goods.

A crucial problem which needs an urgent solution in 1005 is the shortage 
of provincial infrastructure, he said.

Social and environmental problems are also urgent national plights due 
to the economic expansion which will certainly affect society as a whole, 
he added.

To solve difficulties in these areas, the government plans to extend 
compulsory education from Prathorn 6 (Grade 6) to Matthayorn 3 
(Grade 9), and to promote skills training among unskilled labourers, 
according to Supachai.

Supachai said that government has held auctions for the construction of 
four-lane highways upcountry.

The government has also plans to restore sea-going ports, establish more 
electricity generating plants, and begin construction of the Nong Ngoo 
Hao International Airport.

************************************************************** 
11 NATION: KAREN DILEMMA COULD BE SOLVED BY CREATING 'CULTURE RESERVE'
Thursday, December 29, 1994
by Malee Traisawasdichai

THE government should set aside a separate portion of forest with strict 
regulations in the Thung Ya Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary as a "culture 
reserve" for Karen villages, a wildlife expert of Kasetsart University said.

The idea was proposed to the long-standing conflict over the possible 
resettlement of the 200-year-old Karen community in Thung Yai under 
the controversial World Bank-sponsored Global Environment Facility 
(GEF) project.

However, Thai non-governmental organizations (NGO) maintained that 
the traditional Karen community should be left untouched. 

They also strongly criticized the World Bank's new policy resolved at a 
meeting of the GEF Council in July to give GEF grants to developing 
countries only after they have ratified the biodiversity convention signed 
at the United Nations-organized Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro two years 
ago.

Therefore, the World Bank has yet to approve the GEF fund for Thailand, 
pending the Thai government's ratification of the convention, which is 
supposed to be made early next year, and the project's environmental 
assessment.

Dr Uthit Kot-in of Kasetsart University and creator of the Thung Yai-
Huay Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary master plan, told The Nation that 
the RFD has two options; legalize the Karens' existence or remove them.

"If they are allowed to stay, they will have to accept the RFD's strict 
control. In the culture reserve they will be prohibited to watch television 
or wear modern clothes. They will have to live in isolation without roads 
connected to the outside world," said Uthit, who has supported the idea 
to resettle the Karen.

Srisuwan Kuankachorn, director of the Project for Ecological Recovery 
(PER), argued that the definition of the so-called culture reserve is too 
narrow.

"The culture reserve would be acceptable if it meant leaving the Karen 
community in accordance with the Karens' own traditional philosophy 
and livelihood, rather than external and rigid impositions," said 
Srisuwan.

Thung Yai and the adjacent Huay Kha Khaeng forest, covering an area of 
6,222 square kilometres in the west of Thailand, were designated a 
World Bank Heritage site in 1991.

Early this year, an eight-volume GEF study carried out by Midas 
Agronomics was released, sparking an overwhelming debate among Thai 
NGOs. Midas recommended that the RFD set up a five-kilometre buffer 
zone around the Thung Yai-Huay Kha Khaeng boundary and relocate the 
forest dwellers to the outer three-kilometres of the buffer zone, but the 
report contains significant ambiguities about the resettlement of the two-
century old Karen community.

Thawee Noothong, an RFD official, said the RFD was not satisfied with 
the selection of the Midas consultant firm to conduct the GEF study. 
Hiring the firm was considered a waste of money, since the RFD is able to 
do the study itself, he said, adding that the firm had provided no new 
information and only collected already-existing data.

Thawee said the department will conduct a study to investigate the 
impact of the Karen's existence on the forest once the Bank approves the 
GEF grant. The decision to relocate the Karen will not be based on this 
study.

"The RFD will also study the possible resettlement site in the outer buffer 
zone and proper management of that site so that the Karen's culture will 
not be affected if they have to be removed.

"So far, there is an idea in case of resettlement that the RFD will relocate 
the whole Karen community into one area. We will not separate them so 
that they may continue to maintain their unique culture," said Thawee.

But Srisuwan disagreed with the proposal, saying the RFD should stop 
arguing whether the Karens' existence contributes to forest destruction or 
protection.

The NGO' stand is that the establishment of a buffer zone based on the 
"fence" concept, which means resettling villagers in the buffer zone, is 
appropriate only with some parts of Huay Kha Khaeng in Uthai Thani, 
according to Srisuwan. 

"From the anthropological point of view, resettlement, no matter how 
good the management is, will certainly uproot the traditional community 
and cause the culture to collapse," he said.

Villagers in most of the GEF area have evolved a traditional livelihood 
that is already a form of forest protection, which in turn is another 
meaning of a "buffer zone", said Srisuwan.

He also criticized the linking of the World Bank's GEF grant with 
recipient countries' ratification of the biodiversity convention. Thai NGOs 
are campaigning against Thailand's ratification of the convention.

"It is clear that the GEF grant will facilitate a way for foreigners to exploit 
Thailand's biological resources, which are worth billions of dollars for 
the biotechnology industry," Srisuwan said.

The PER director said the government should work out legal measures to 
protect and legalize traditional innovations of local people first. 

"Thailand is not ready yet to ratify the convention and it is still not clear 
whether Thailand will lose or gain from the convention," he said.

Earlier, the World Bank representative met with Thai NGOs but failed to 
attract "NGO participation" for the project's implementation.

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NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/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
 BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
 BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
 CPPSM: C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND 
 FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
 IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
 JIR: JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 Kt. BURMESE KYAT; 150 KYAT=US$1 BLACK MARKET
                   100 KYAT=US$1 SEMI-OFFICIAL
                   6 KYAT=US$1 OFFICIAL
 MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER, RANGOON)
 NYT: THE NEW YORK TIMES
 S.C.B.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP 
 S.C.T.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
 SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL
 USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY 
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