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Burmanet News: Mar 14



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Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 00:00:09 -0800

BurmaNet News: March 14, 1995
Issue #124

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Contents:

BKK POST: BURMA GETS US WARNING OVER RIGHTS RECORD
THE NATION: JAPAN WILL SOON PROVIDE FOOD PRODUCTION AID TORANGOON

THE NATION: 9 MORE KAREN REFUGEES SEIZED IN THAI CAMP


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BURMA GETS US WARNING OVER RIGHTS RECORD
11 March 1995

THE United States has warned Burma's ruling military junta of
possible further downgrading of ties to protest against its lack
of political reform, slow progress in fighting drug trafficking
and what Washington regards as its abysmal human rights record.
In a speech in New York on Wednesday night, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard said the junta had failed to
take "even the modest improvement in bilateral relations.
"We will continue to urge other nations to join us in exerting
pressure for change. In the absence of progress on human rights
and democracy, the second path of further restrictions in
US-Burma relations remains a real possibility," he said in a
prepared text.
The text, made available by the State Department, did not discuss
how the United States might carry out such a threat.
But a department official told Reuters that among the
possibilities was downgrading relations so that Burma's
ambassador to Washington would have to be withdrawn.
Currently, the United States is represented by a charge d'
affairs "ad interim," a temporary arrangement that leaves open
the possibility of appointing an ambassador any day.
If it chose to downgrade, the United States could re-designate
its current representative in Rangoon so that ties would no
longer be at ambassadorial-level. Burma, in turn, would have to
pull out its ambassador to Washington.
A department official said any such action might be delayed until
after July 20, when Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
may have to be released from house arrest under one reading of
Burma's law.
In November, Hubbard led the most senior US delegation to visit
Burma since 1988. He laid out a series of steps the Slorc needed
to take on human rights, democracy and counter-narcotics to clear
the way for better ties, including naming an ambassador and
restoring anti-narcotics cooperation.
"Progress since my visit has been disappointing," he said in the
speech to corporate executives at a forum.
He said the Slorc had followed through on a promise to let US
government experts conduct a joint opium yield survey, "an
important step in the counter-narcotics field" for a country that
now produces two-thirds of the heroin that reaches US streets.
But it had failed to fulfil other commitments to continue a
"dialogue" with Aung San Suu Kyi and reach agreement with the
International Committee of the Red Cross on regular, confidential
visits to political prisoners, Hubbard said.
He added that the Burmese military offensive that cost ethnic
Karen guerrillas their headquarters on the Thai border earlier
this year had introduced "a new, disturbing element into the
equation." (BANGKOK POST & THE NATION)


JAPAN WILL SOON PROVIDE FOOD PRODUCTION AID TO RANGOON

Japan will soon provide food production assistance to Burma to
help promote the country's pro-democracy movements and human
rights improvement efforts, the top government spokesman said
yesterday.
Japan gives high marks to the dialogue between the military junta
and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the nation's
open-door policy towards the outside world, Chief Cabinet
Secretary Kozo Igarashi said at a news conference.
Igarashi said Tokyo has decided to extend cooperation with Burma
in the humanitarian and basic life-related felds and is
currently making preparations for the provision of the food
production aid.
While not mentioning the size of the planned assistance, Foreign
Ministry sopurces have confirmed that Japan plans to provide one
billion yen aid to Burma.
Igarashi said the planned aid is limited and does not lead to an
imminent resumption of Japan's official development assistance
(ODA) to the country.
ODA funds to Burma have been forzen since the 1988 military coup
account a country's military spending trends and efforts too
establish democracy and improve human rights when studying the
possibility of providing ODA funds.
Since Rangoon, the Japanese government signed an agreement on
Thursday to donate 5.3 million yen to a local orphanage. The
grant document was signed by Japanese Embassy Charge d' Affaires
Nobutake Odano and Hla Nyein, principal of the Parahita school.
(TN)


9 MORE KAREN REFUGEES SEIZED IN THAI CAMP

11 March 1995

Nine Karen refugees, including a community leader and his family,
were seized in a camp in Thailand by members of a Karenguerrila
splinter group and forced back to Burma, refugee leaders said
yesterday. Thirty members of the splinter group, the Democratic
Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA), crossed from Burma into the campin
northwestern  Thailand and seized camp leader Saw Gay Phlo, six
members of his family, and two others late on Thursday, the
refugee officials said. The kidnappings were the latest in recent
weeks involving members of the DKBA, who joined forces with
Burmese government troops after mutinying against the leaders of
the Christian-led anti-Rangoon Karen National Union (KNU) in
December. The Karen refugee officials said the Burmese government
wanted to pressure seized leaders to join them  and  then appeal
to Karen refugees in Thailand to go back to Burma to undermine
the support of the KNU. In a separate incident two refugees were
shot and killed when DKBA members entered another camp and tried
to rob some of the inhabitants, the officials said. Thailand has
complained to Burma twice over such  incidents saying the
displaced Karen were staying in Thailand for humanitarian reasons
Thai side of the border. There are more than 60,000 Karen
refugees in Thailand.
Reuter adds from Washington :  The United States has warmed
Burma's ruling military junta of possible further downgranding of
ties to protest against its lack of political reform, slow
progress in fighting drug trafficking and what Washington regards
as its abysmal human rights record. In a speech in New  York on
Wednesday night, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas
Hubbard  said the junta had failed to take "even the modest steps
needed to merit a modest improvement in bilateral relations" "We
will continue to urge other nations to join us in exerting
pressure for change. In the absence of progress on human rights
and democracy, the second path of further restrictions in
US-Burma relations remains a real possibility," he said in a
prepared text. The text, made available by the State Department,
did not discuss how the United States might carry out such a
threat. But a department official told Reuters that among the
possibilities was downgrading relations so that Burma's
ambassador to Washington would have to be withdrawn. Currently,
the United States maintains full diplomatic ties wiht Burma,
though  Washington has not had an ambassador in Rangoon since
1990. Instead the United States is represented by a charge
d'affaires "ad interim," a temporary arrangement that leaves open
the possibility of appointing an ambassador any day. If it chose
to downgrade, the United States could re-designate its current
representative in Rangoon so that ties would no longer be at
ambassadorial-level. Burma, in turn,would have to pull out its
ambassador to Washington. An official said any such action might
be delayed until after July 20,  when Burmese  opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi may have to be released from house arrest under
one reading of Burma's law. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991
Nobel Peace Prize, has been under house arrest for five and a
half years. A co-founder of the National League for Democracy,
which swept 1990 elections, Washington has campaigned for her
release. The junta, which calls itself the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc), ignored the election results in
which the opposition won 80 percent of the vote, and jailed
thousands of  pro-democracy campaigner.
In November, Hubbard  led the most senior US delegation to visit
Burma since 1988. He laid out a series of steps the Slorc needed
to take on human rights, democracy and counter-narcotics to clear
the way for better ties,including naming an ambassador.
     THE NATION  ( March 11, 1995.)


FIVE GAS PIPELINE WORKERS KILLED IN BURMA ATTACK

Five members of a natural gas pipeline survey team were killed
and 11 wounded by heavily armed attackers on Wednesday near the
village of Kanbauk in Burma, the Prench oil company Total said
yesterday.
The victims  were Burmese nationals, Total spokesman Joseph
Daniel said in Paris. The wunded have been taken to Rangoon.
occurred as the Burmese workers were carrying out preparatory
work on the project, Daniel said.
The pipeline is being built by Total and California-based Unocal.
When completed, it will carry gas from the coast of Burma to
Thailand, going through areas of southeastern Burma  in which
Karen and Mon ethnic-minority guerrillas operate.
      "We have no idea who is responsible for the attack, and  no
one has claimed responsibility," Daniel said.
      A spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Department of the Karen
National Union (KNU) said the Karen attacked  two battalions of
Burma's ruling State Law and  Order  Restoration  Council (SLORC)
on Tuesday, but did not know if that attack was related to the
pipeline incident.
     "We can confirm that KNU troops attacked two armed  SLORC
battalions on the 7th at  10:45 a.m.," the spokesman told Reuters
in Bangkok. "But we do not know the results of that attack."
     He said the KNU attack was in a village called Kon Bauk,
which could be the same as Kanbauk (Burmese words transliterated
into foreign languages are often spelled differently).
     Daniel said the attack occurred near the western end of the
planned pipeline and away from Burma's border with Thailand.
     The Karen guerrillas, who are seeking autonomy for the Karen
people, object to the pipeline, saying the revenue will reinforce
the position of the military rulers now in power in Rangoon.
     Under a 30-year agreement signed  last month between
Thailand and Burma,  Thailand will buy 525 million cubic  feet
per day of natural gas worth 10 billion baht a year from  Yadana,
Burma's largest known offshore gas field.
     Burmese opposition groups have threatened to disrupt
construction of the pipeline or attack it after it has been
completed, but KNU leader Bo Mya played down those threats
earlier this week in an interview with Reuters.
     "The Karens never said we would destroy the gas pipeline. WE
only said it is not right to build such a huge project while the
civil war is still going on," ne said.
     In a statement last month,the KNU said  it  would welcome
construction of the pipeline when the war was over.
     Human-rights workers on the Thai-Burmese border say
thousands of Mon and Karen villagers have been relocated to clear
the way for the pipeline.
     Meanwhile, nine Karen refugees, including a community leader
and his family, were seized in a camp in  Thailand  by member of
a Karen guerrilla splinter group and forced back to Burma,
refugee leaders said in Mae Sot yesterday.
     The kidnappings were the latest in recent weeks involving
members of the DKBA, who joined force with Burmese government
troops after mutinying against leaders of the Christian-led KNU
in December.
     In a separate incident two refugees were shot and killed
when DKBA members entered another camp and tried to rob some of
the inhabitants, the officials said. - Reuters
     BANGKOK POST    (March 11,1995.)



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The BurmaNet News: Sunday march 12, 1995
Issue #100

Contents:

BKK POST: PIPELINE FIRMS URGED TO REVEAL IMPACT DATA

BKK POST: VETERAN BURMESE EDITOR LAUDS THAI PRESS DEMOCRACY
STANCE

NATION: EU STATES CONCERN OVER RANGOON'S CRACKDOWN ON KAREN

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PIPELINE FIRMS URGED TO REVEAL IMPACT DATA
Burma gas deal seen threat to Thailand's forests
12 March 1995

A consortium which will import natural gas from Burma's off shore
Yadana field has been urged to make public the gas pipeline
project's enviromental and social impact report.
Toward Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA) director
Witoon Permpongsajareon said the pipeline route, which would
cross Burma for about 65 kilometres to reach the Thai border,
would have a direct impact on Thailand's western forests.
The route of the pipeline from Pilok, Kanchanaburi, to the
Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand's 2,800-megawatt
power plant in Ratchaburi has yet to be confirmed by the
authority.
But it is certain that some parts of the small western rain
forests and watershed areas spanning the two provinces will be
adversely affected by the pipeline, according to Mr Witoon.
"It seems impossible for the authorities to avoid the foretss and
this will not only cause deforestation but disrupt animal life,"
he said. He said PTT Exploration & Production Plc (PTTEP), one of
the companies responsible for the more-than-300 kilometre
pipeline's construction from the border to the Ratchaburi power
plant, should inform local people who would be relocated or
affected of the social and environmental impact of the project.
The gas field development consortium, comprising Total of France,
Unocal of the US, PTTEP and Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE),
will supply 130 million cubic feet per day (Mmcfd) of Yadana gas
to the PTT in mid-1998 and increase the delivery to more than 525
Mmcfd within the following 15 months.
Mr Witoon said public hearing should be held to gauge public
opinion about the project. It would also give the authorities a
chance to answer all questions about the project.
A lack of access to information has blocked public participation
in the decision-making process.
"We have been trying to find out whether an environmental impact
assessment has been conducted by the PTT but cannot get an
answer," he said.
According to Green November 32's environmental report, the piping
of hundreds of millions of cubic feet of high volatile natural
gas each day through areas full of anti-Rangoon guerrillas raises
the spectre of major ruptures to the pipeline.
Mr Witoon said problems of gas leaks in the course of
exploration, development, production and transport could damage
the environment.
Mr Nai Shwe Kyin, president of the New Mon State Party's (NMSP),
expressed doubt that Rangoon, which has never effectively
enforced the environmental law, would weigh any negative fallout
from the gas project.
The 81-year-old leader of the ethnic group pointed out that the
planned pipeline would cause vast damage to forests and could
lead to extensive pollution.
The Burmese junta, he said, has never tried to enforce laws it
drew up to protect wildlife and natural forest reserves.
"Worse still, those who helped write laws were among the first to
break them. How then do you expect the people to comply?," asked
the Mon leader.
The pipeline will come ashore south of Heinze basin at Phaungdaw,
a fishing village in the Ye Byu township, Tenasserim Division.
It will then had east passing through Onpinkwin, Kanbauk,
Kaleinaung, Kaungmu, Eindaryarzar and michaung Hlaung villages.
After that it will snake through the Tavoy and Zin Ba River
valleys, cross dense forest highlands before entering Thailand
and Pilok.
Mr Shwe Kyin said earthquakes, which can rupture the pipeline,
were not uncommon in the region and several have rocked the area
over the past few years.
In 1932 Phaungdaw was hit by an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the
Richter scale resulting in a high number of casualities and vast
damage to property.
"How does that measure against the one that struck Kobe
recently?" he asked. The Kobe quake measured 7 on the Richter
scale.
Besides, it was recently reported that a volcano in the Andamans
had again turned active and had the potential to trigger a
powerful earthquake in the area.
If the pipeline was damaged, natural gas made up of between 80-95
per cent methane would leak and cause extensive damage, not only
to people living in the vicinity but also wildlife and other
natural resources.
The NMSP president said big trees and animals abound, especially
in the unaccessible centre of the forest, which is described as
"virgin".
Mr Shwe Kyin said the forest was also rich in gibbons, bears,
monkeys, tigers, wild oxen, deer and rhinos.
Some parts of this rich fauna and flora were recently declared
national forests but, according to Mr Shwe Kyin, that has helped
little to protect the priceless resources.
Part of the 64-kilometre long pipeline is expected to run through
Mon and Karen land in the Tenassarim Division, said to be one of
the last remaining rain forests in Southeast Asia, he said.
According to a former Mon state official, the forest along the
Zin Ba River and Ye-Tavoy watershed area were still in good shape
despite the fact that trees measuring over 200 centimetres in
diameter were felled during the concession period.
Evaluation of the impact on the environment of the project has
been completed but the contractual companies said the route has
yet to be determined.
A refugee in the Payaw Camp said he learned that pipes have
already started arriving in Kambauk, about 20 km from the camp
which is located about 50 km f4om Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri
district.
The NMSP, which opposes the puipeline project, is resorting to
non-violent protest against the four contractual firkms.
It has called on people in the United States and some European
countries to urge their governments to ban sales of components
for the pipeline project, according to the group leader.(The
Sunday Post)

VETERAN BURMESE EDITOR LAUDS THAI PRESS DEMOCRACY STANCE
12 March 1995
U THAUNG, former chief editor of the Burmese-language newspaper
The mirror Daily, tells why he is in Bangkok and what his views
are concering the Burmese military junta. The 67-year-old veteran
journalist presently writes for the New Era Journal, and is based
in Florida.
I say that I come to Bangkok as a reinforcement. It sounds
exaggerated, but not much. I repeat: I come to Thailand as a
reinforcement for the Burmese democracy movement that just lost a
battle.
Though a battle was lost, though our liberated piece of land,
manerplaw was taken, the war with the Rangoon military government
continues. The Burmese will fight for their freedom until they
succeed.
Thus the democracy forces need me, and the overseas Burmese
democracy forces send me as reinforcement for the cause. I come
from Florida, America.
What can this aliing old man do? It's good question. Yes. I broke
my hip on my visit to Manerplaw in October of last year on the
hazardous journey to our liberated camp. I was hospitalised here
and was flown home on a stretcher. After six weeks post-operative
bed rest I am strong and ready for my duty. And I come here
again.
The Burma Army is launching a major operation with 15,000 troops
against the Karen revolutionary headquarters.
"China has reportedly agreed to provide Burma with 40,000 AK-47
assault rifles and 800 parachutes as additional assistance,"
stated a report in the Bangkok Post.
I do not come with any rifle. I don't even know how to shoot a
gun. But I do come carrying a laptop, stored with millions of
bits of data about the Burmese military in its hard disk. And my
head is bearing all of the scars of the wounds given to me by the
Burmese military betaings.
I was chief editor of the biggest daily newspaper in rangoon in
the fifties. In 1958, General Ne Win, who took power as a
caretaker government, confiscated my press and jailed an editor
as revenge for his displeasure at my writings. I become a
renegade too. I, my editor, and my press were freed only after an
elected government took power.
Again another coup, and in 1963 I was arrested and imprisoned for
three years without trail. My press, The Mirror Daily, was
nationalised without compensation. These scars, three years of
jail life that turned me from a millionaire to pauper, are my
weapons with which I fight the Burmese military.
I am going to fight the Burmese military on the public opinion
front. On this front the Burmese democracy forces are decidedly
winning. There is not a single word supporting the Burmese
military dictatorship in the world press, especially in Thai
newspapers. For the total victory, however, we must strike again
and again.
I believe that the Thai press is vigorous in crusading for
democracy and aggressive for the cause.
This strong dynamism can crush the Burmese military which is
equipped only with Chinese arms, not an ideology. I think the
Thai press should highlight the dangerous trend of the pllicy
that the present Thai ruling class is launching. The Thai rulers
are trying to obtain gas and electricity from Burma for the
furture.
It is corret to procure energy from a neighbouring nation, but
unless there is a stable governmental system established there,
it is dangerous to depend on it.
Thirty years of rule has proved that the Burmese military is
incapable of building a stable government.
Moreover, the Thais should recognise that the Burmese generals
are the most unreliable leaders. If Thai industry depends on
Burmese energy, the Burmese geneals easily gain the chance to
blackmail at any time. Political in stability in a neighbouring
nation is danger enough for Thailand. The Thais need to know very
well of the character of the Burmese military.
Please let me talk about this to any organisation or any
individual, whoever wants to know. I can be reached through the
office of The New Era Journal. U Tin Maung Win, editor of the
publication, offered me the running of the editorial office as
guest editor. I would be working for the Burmese to enjoy a free
press. (The Sunday Post)


EU STATES CONCERN OVER RANGOON'S CRACKDOWN ON KAREN
12 March 1995

The European Union said on Friday it was worried by Burma's
military crackdown on the Karen ethnic minority and urged rangoon
to seek a peaceful settlement to a long-running guerrilla
conflict.
"The European Union is following with the greatest concern the
evolution of the situation these past weeks at the frontier
between Burma and Thailand," the French Foreign ministry said in
a statement on behalf of the 15-nation EU.
It said it had raised the question of the crackdown and the
resulting flood of refugees to Thailand with a senior official of
the Foreign Ministry of Rangoon. Fdrance currently holds the
rotating presidency of the EU.
Burma's Karen Natioonal Union (KNU) has been fighting Rangoon for
greater autonomy since 1949, one year after Burma finally gainerd
its independence from Britain.
In the early months of their campaign Karen forces, most of whom
had fought in Britain's colonial army, nearly succeeded in
seizing Rangoon but were held off in a northern suburb.
Slowly but surely they have been pushed back sionce.
The KNU are holding out in the remote mountains od southeastern
Burma's karen state and in Burma's southern Tenasserim Division
pan-handle.
Separately on Friday, the French oil company Total said that five
Burmese members of a natiural gas pipeline survey team were
killed and 11 wounded by heavily armed attackers on Wednesday in
southeastern Burma.

Meanwhile in Hanoi, Burmese military leader Than Shwe met
Vietnam's head of state, President Le Duc Anh, on the third day
of an official visit to Vietnam yesterday.
Than Shwe, chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc) and prime minister, held talks with Vietnamese
prime minister Vo Van Kiet on Thursday and met Vietnam's top
leader, Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi, on Friday.
The Burmese leader, accompanied by sevral other Slorc members and
ministers, was due to fly to Ho Chi Minh City later in the day
after the two governments signed agreements. Details of the
accords have not been announced.
Muoi accepted an inviation from Than Shwe to visit the Burmese
capital Rangoon, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.
The 78-year-old party boss has travelled to several Southeast
Asian countries in the past two years as Vietnam has built up its
regional links prior tojoining the regional grouping, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Vietnam is due to become Asean's seventh member next July,
joining Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore
and Thailand.
Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw, accompanying Than Shwe to
Vietnam, said in a nwespaper interview that Burma also wanted to
join Asean. (The Nation)


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The BurmaNet News: MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1995
Issue #100

Contents:


NATION:RANGOON JUNTA UNTRUSTWORTHY, CLAIMS OPPOSITION
FEER:A STITCH IN TIME
BKK POST:SHAN, THAI ARE BLOOD BROTHERS
THE NATION: AGEING KAREN GUERRILLA LEADERS TO MAKE WAY FOR YOUNG
               BRIGADE
BKK POST: BURMESE SOLDIERS TARGET NEW KNU BASE
BKK POST:KAREN BASE THREATENED
THE NATION:SKIRMISHES RAISE FEARS OF NEW SLORC ATTACK ON KAREN
THE NATION: VN, BURMA IN FORESTRY PROTECTION AND ANTI-DRUGS PACT
VISIT TO NLD IN RANGOON
USDA RECRUITS BURMESE
AUNG SAN SUU KYI: BURMA'SLAST HOPE

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AGEING KAREN GUERRILLA LEADERS TO MAKE WAY FOR YOUNG BRIGADE
13 March 1995

Kanehaly, Burma - Several Karen guerrilla leaders will retire or
step aside to make way for younger people when the Karen National
Union (KNU) holds its upcoming congress to decide the ffuture of
the 46-year-old movement.
The ethnic group also intends to establish an advisory board and
will ask ssever ageing leaders, with extensive political and
military experience, to help guide and lead the KNU through the
difficult period following the recent loss of two strategic
stronghold in the North to the Burmese army.
Although the KNU has not yet released the names of leladers who
will step down after the next congress, it is believed that the
majority of the outgoing leaders are retiring for reasons of
health or advanced age.
KNU leader Gen Bo Mya has rejected as "pure rumour," recent press
reports carrying the names of KNU leaders they say will be asked
to resign from their current positions. The 68-year-old guerrilla
leader denied he had any ambitions to hang on to his presidency
but said that even if he has to retire, he "will carry on the
fight against the enemy".
There has been much speculation over the past few months there
would be a change in the KNU leadership after the movement
suffered a severe political and military setback when the Burmese
army resumed as all-out offensive in early December in an attempt
to crush the armed group.
IN an interview over the weekend with The Nation, Gen Bo Mya
conceded that there would be a change in the Knren leadership
once the KNU holds its 11th congress "in the very near future".
"The new leaders will be elected when the KNU holds its congress
in the very near future ... those who are too old and who are no
longer able to work wilwl retire and let younger people take over
their places. Several leaders have  expressed a desire to retire
but I don't want to reveal their names. There are three or four
people involved," he said.
Bo Mya, who also commands the KNU forces, would not reveal
whether he was one of those intending to retire, but sid "even
if I have to retire, I will still cary on the fight against the
enemy."
The KNU, he said, intends to set up an advisory board on which
older leaders will be asked to serve as political and military
advisers to the next generation of Karen fighters who will emerge
after the forthcoming elections.
In a separate interview, Padoh Mansha, Bo Mya's personal
secretary, ssaid the KNU congress usually elects a new 45-member
central committee and new asministrative and military leaders.
The congress is held every four years and is attended by hundreds
of political and military representatives from the district level
right down to township and villages.
At the moment some 40 top KNU leaders are holding an emergency
summit at temporary headquarters set up at Kanehlay, opposite
Phop phra district in Tak province, to discuss, review and assess
military and political policy after the KNU was driven out of its
strongholds at Manerplaw and Kawmoora by the Burmese army
offensive.
"Over the past week, we have been discussing and studying our
experiences and eviewing our military and political policies.  We
also analysts the [current]situation," Mansha said.
He described the meeting, which continue this week, as "the most
frank and open" discussion ever and said participants have helped
identify "mistakes and weak points [in the movement] which need
to be corrected".
KNU General Secretary Padoh Ba Thin said the group will make
"amendments and new arrangements wherever necessary in order to
carry on the revolution" and that thosse attending the meeting
"don't have many differences in their views and opinions" about
the organizational, military, political and leadership problems
confronting the KNU.
According to Bo Mya, part of the ninepoint agenda has already
been dealt wth and discussions will continue this week on plans
for the future of the KNU.
"Our military and political policies are good. The problem lics
with implementation. We have not implemented them accordingly and
fully," he said.
According to Ba Thin, the KNU adopted the idea of using guerrilla
warfare tactics right from its inception but this strategy has
not been fully implemented.
"We've been using 'deal posotion warfare' tactics, defending
static strongholds. This strategy gives the enemy a lot of
advantage since it's so easy for them pinpoint our location and
attack us. If we implemented guerrilla warfare tactics
effectively, it would raise the morale of our troops and reduce
casualties. We must admit that we have made mistakes with that,"
Ba Thin said.
On the political front, Ba Thin said the KNU needs to carry out a
"good popular campaign" to increase support among the local
population, make the Karen people understand the KNU's political
aims and objectives and "the real intention" of the Burmese junta
towards the ethnic Karen populace. (TN)

KARENS FLEE CLASH ACROSS BORDER
13 , March 1995

About 1,000 Karen refugees fled into Phop Phra district after a
calsh between Burmese soldiers and the Karen National Union (KNU)
on Satuarday morning.
District officials said the refugees were women, children and
elderly people who either set up temporary camps at Ban Mae Ok Su
or stayed with relatives at Ban Vallley Nua and Mawkier Yang
refugee camp under the care of the Border Patrol Police and
voluntary Territorial Defence students.
A Border Patrol Police report said 1,000 Burmese troops from
three battalions were marching from Tinkanyinaung Command Centre
to take position before Maekala camp to launch an offensive
against KNU troops.
The KNU withdraw its forces from Kawmoora camp, the last of its
strongholds opposite Mae Sot, after heavy attacks by Burmese
troops late last month. (BP)

BURMESE SOLDIERS TARGET NEW KNU BASE
13 March 1995

Burmese troops were manoeuvring yesterday to attack a makeshift
Karen rebel headquarters along the Thai-Burmese border, as
Thailand warned it would retaliate for any incursions.
Some 1,000 Rangoon soldiers, supported by 100 trucks carrying
weapons and ammunition, were travelling from Pha-an for the
assault on the Karen National Union (KNU) at Kanaelay, Thai
military-run TV reported.
Burmese patrols, attacking in three-pronged formation, had
already clashed with Karen insurgents in a village near the camp
early yesterday, a Thai Border Patrol Police (BPP) official told
AFP by phone.
"We have means to retaliate against any intrusion," Thai Army
Assistant Commander Chettha Thanajaro told reporters yesterday,
though he said he was confident any action by Rangoon would not
split into Thailand.
Rangoon is "trying to play by its rules and manners," he said.
Thailand was forced last month to evacuate a border village 30
kilometres north of Kanaelay, shifting hundres of Thai inland
when a Rangoon artillery attack on the rebel camp of Kawmoora
strayed into Thai territory.
By midday, tensions at the Thai-Burmese border appeared to have
abbed slightly, with border sources reporting villagers freely
crossing the Moei River for trade.
Roughly 1,000 karen rebels have been stationed at Kanaelay, on
Burma's eastern border. Directly across the river from Thailand's
Phop Phra District, the camp was hastily erected for a meeting of
the KNU's central committee last week.
The meeting is expected to resume today, border sources said.
(BP)

KAREN BASE THREATENED
13 March1995

The KNU has been reeling from a concentrated military campaign
that saw Rangoon take the KNu's 20-year-old headquarters at
Manerplaw in late January and then its final stronghold, Kawmoora
camp, on February 21.
The latest junta troop movements come two days after unidentified
gunmenstruck at a Rangoon gas pipeline project in Karen
territory.
Wednesday, armed gunmen struck for the first time at an
international gas pipeline project in Karen-majority territory in
southern Burma, killg five workers and injuring 11 others.
No one has claimed responsiblity for the attack, though the KNU
has officialoly stated it considered the pipeline a target.
The pipeline, which would bring millions of doolars in revenues
to the junta eachyear, is a joint venture between Total of
France, Unocal of the United States and the Burmese oil
authority.
Thailand is to purchase the gas once the pipeline is up and
runing. (BP)

RANGOON JUNTA UNTRUSTWORTHY, CLAIMS OPPOSITION
13 march 1995

Two Burmese oopsition groups in exile said yesterday that the
junta's crackdown on the ethnic minority karen in Burma proved it
could not be trusted, and urged the international community to
boycott Rangoon.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front and the Democratic Party
for New Society issued statements to mark the seventh anniversary
on March 13 of the start of a student uprising against the
military dictaorship.
On that day in 1988, troops fired on a crowd of prosters in
Rangoon, killing 23-year-old Ko Phone Maw.
The students said the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) had broken its own ceasefire by attacking jungle bases of
the Karen National Union (KNU) on the Burmese-tahai border this
year.
"The Slorc cannot be trusted, should not be recognized as the de
jure government and should be strongly  denounced," the students
said in a statement.
The Slorc seized power with military backing in September 1988
after suppressing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising with the
loss of thausands of lives.
The European Union and the United States have expressed concern
about the army campaign against the Karen and have renewed calls
for the junta to seek a peaceful settlement with the country's
numerous wthnic minorities.
At the same time, members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations are following up their policy of "constructive
engagement" towards the Slorc with a vigorous expansion of trade.
(TN)


SKIRMISHES RAISE FEARS OF NEW SLORC ATTACK ON KAREN
13 March 1995

Two Burmes troops were killed and one wounded during two minor
calshes ealy yesterday with karen guerrilla forces patrolling the
border area opposite Thailand's Phop Phra district ot Tak
province.
The clashes, though small, have provoked fear of the resumption
of Burmese military offensives against the Karen National Union
(KNU), which recently lost its Manerplaw headquarters and another
startgegic northern stronghold to the Burmese army.
Thai border forces were placed on alert after the incidents,
which took place at 8 am and 9am about five kilometres from the
Thai-Burmese border and opposite the Thai village of Baan Valley
Tai.
Thai border sources said each calsh between one company of about
80 Burmese soldiers and KNU forces lasted about 3-4 minutes only,
but resulted in two burmese killed and one wounded. There was no
report of casualties on the guerrillas' side.
The sources said some time Thai and Karen villagers, working at a
saw mill in the area, fled into Thailand after the clashes,
carrying with them wood processing equipment and some processed
wood.
KNU and Thai sources said they could not confirm if the movement
of Burmese troops in the area was part of the Burmese army's
preparation for another major military strike agaisnt KNU bases
located south of Myawaddy, a Burmese border town.
KNU leader Gen Bo Mya told The Nation in an interview on Saturday
that he believed the closure of Myawaddy to cross-border
transportation from Thailand's Mae Sot district and the cutting
of communications links with the same area, was probably to
facilitate the transportation of Burmese army reinforcements and
military hardware to the town.
He said he is uncertain if the reinforcements are meant to
provide extra security protection for Myawaddy, or to strengthen
or reinforce the Burmese forces for another attack against the
KNU 6th Brigade area located south of Myawaddy.
"I think they closed Myawaddy because they don't want villagers
and passers-by to notice the movement and reinforcement of
Burmese forces to the area," he said.
Senior KNU officers said they have intelligence reports of about
100 trucks loaded with fresh troops and alarge quanity of arms
and ammunition sent from Pa-an to Tingannyinaung and Myawaddy.
"We don't know where these troops and military hardware are
destined for and whether they are meant to attack us," said one
KNU officer.
Without prior official warning, Burmese authorities in Myawaddy
announced on March 5 that they would temporarily close the border
begining the next day. No reasons were given, nor was the
expected duration of closure announced.
Commander of Task Force 34 in Mae Sot Col Direk Yaem-ngamreap
sasid earlier that he did not know the real resons behind the
Burmese move.
Thai border sources suspected that the Burmese authorities were
upset with Direk's decision to retaliate with force agaisnt any
territorial incursions by armed Burmese troops and breakway
forces of former KNU members. Itruders have been illegally
crossing the Moei River into refugee camps to kidnap and harass
Karen refugees and KNU leaders. (TN)


SHAN, THAI ARE BLOOD BROTHERS
13 March 1995

Sir; I respond to your report "Burmese army to move against drug
warlord Khun Sa" on March 4.
The boast of a senior intelligence officer, Kyew Thei, that Khun
Sa was excluded from the truce offer because he is a criminal, is
absurd.
Why would Khun Sa, who declared an Indepandent Shan State on
December 12, 1993 and "total war" against the Burmese government
on April 14 last year, as for a truce?
A massive offensive launched by the Burmese army against Khun
Sa's mong Thai Army (MTA) in mid-1994, which caused heavy losses
on the Burmese side, raised the political profile of Khun Sa and
increased the support for him among the Shan people.
Although morally and menatally weak, the Burmese army has been
temporarily strengthended by its recent offensive against the
Karen National Union, and it will be prepared for sure to launch
a heavy offensive against Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army before
revolution spreads to the whole Shan State.
It is not now a war between Khun Sa and the Burmese army, but one
between the people of Shan State as a whole and the Burmese army,
which is an imperial force.
We the Shan people believe that the Thai people are our blood
relatives, our brothers and sisters, and that the Thais, except a
handful of opportunists who benefit from deals with the Burmese
government, do not do any damage to the Shan State and the souls
of the Shan people. The Hsen wi battle, in which Phra Nareson
halped the Tai (Shan) fight the Burmese king, has not been
forgotten. (BP)


VN, BURMA IN FORESTRY PROTECTION AND ANTI-DRUGS PACT
13 March 1995

Hanoi - Vietnamese and Burmese leaders signed agreements on
Saturday to cooperate in combatting narcotics and improving
forestry management.
Officials met for a brief signing ceremony before a delegation
led by the head of Burma's ruling military junta  left for Ho Chi
Minh City, the second leg of its five-day trip to Vietnam.
Than Shwe, who also serves as Burma's prime minister, agreed with
Vietnam's Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet to hold a second round of
state visits in the future. Than Shwe is the first Burmese leader
to travel here since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.
Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and his Burmese counterpart, Ohn
Gyaw, signed a pact to exchange information to help fight
cross-border trafficking in heroin and opium.
Burma is the world's beggest cource of the two narcotics,
according to a recent US State Department report. Vietnam is
struggling to wipe out its own crops of heroin poppies.
Vietnam's Forestry Minister Nguyen Quang Ha signed a memorandum
of understanding with his Burmese counterpart, Chit Swe, to share
knowledge about preserving valuaable hardwood trees such as teak.
An agreement to set up commercial air links between Hanoi and
Rangoon may be signed soon, said Khin Maugn Win, deputy director
general of Burma's foreign ministry.
Burma and Vietnam are both trying to integrate their fledgling
freemarket economies into the region, which is dominated by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Vietnam plans to join
Asean in July.
Burma also hopes eventually to become a member, its foreign
minister told Vietnam's Communist party newspaper Nhan Dan (The
People) in an interview published on Fridasy.
The association already includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,,
Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.
Vietnam and the six Asean members are concerned about China's
growing influence in Burma, which must of the world has treated
as apriah nation since the military junta seized power in 1988.
China is Burma's believed to have granted the Chinese navy base
privileges in the Andaman Sea.
"That is absolutely not true," said  Khin Maung Win, when asked
about the reported naval  agreement. (TN)


MARCH 16(FEER)
A STITCH IN TIME
Businessman-turned-artisan help preserve local craftsmanship

By Michael Vatikiotis

Sein win Myint is an unlikely campaigner for the revival of
Mandlay's traditional art. The 50-year-old former literature
student hails from a merchant family and was himself inn business
for 20 years. But the long time watercolor painter left trading
to dabble in traditional tapestry-making.
He's keen to promote Burma's crafts-people, and his trade
experience and an eye for beauty qualify him for the jub. "Since
Burma has started moving towards an open market, artist,
sculptors and woodcarvers have been quite busy," says the jovial
Sein Win Myint, squinting through his one good eye. "But we need
to worry about quality."
Under the "Burmese way to socialism" - the idology behind the
economic polices of Burma's former strongman, Gen.Ne Win - art
languished in Burma along with the economy.. Now that is posied
to change, as Burma throws open its doors to tourists to earn
much-needed foreign exchange.
According to Sein Win  Myint, Burma's artisans were not deprived
altogether of a livelihood during the long years of isolatiion
from 1962 to 1988. They fed neighbouring Thailand's increasing
appetite for art and curios from Burma. But quality yielded to
quanity as demand increased.
Characteristic red ochre-hude Burmese lacquer-ware, for example,
is widely available in Thailand - though the quality is poorer
than that sold inside Burma. Tourist bazaars like the one that
has sprung up along Bangkok's famed Patpong road - best known for
its "go-go" girlie bars - sell cotton T-shirts with Burmese
tapestries stitched to the front, bearing the slogan "Visit
Thailand." "Most people think these tapestries come from
Thailand," says Sein Win Myint, who shudders at the thought that
Burmese art is being identified with Thailand.
Even Burma can't take all the credit for introducing the art of
tapestry: it is likel;y to have arrived in that country from
India. The art of sewing Kalagas - a term derived from Sanskrit
that refers to large tapestries used as wall hangings or room
dividers - probably originated there in the 18th century.
Typically, artisans areate kalagas by sewing sequins, galss
beads, and coloured threads onto back velvet. The raw meterials
attest to the benefits of overseas trade: the sequins and thread
were often sourced from India or Europe; the velvet came from
China.
Kalaga motifs and styles vary. Some tapestries depict traditional
Burmese mythical animal motifs: the peacock, lion and elephant.
Other portray a scene from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. By
padding out some areas of the tapestry, craftsmen achieve a
three-dimensional effect.
Thai buyer typically order small pieces in large quantities from
Burma, then smuggle them across the border between the two
countries. While the pices may look similar, Sein Win Myiint
insists that each tapestry should be considered an individual
work of art.
Sein Win Myint himself ranks as one of Burma's master tapestry
artists. In the forecourt of his modest two-storey house on the
outskirts of Mandalay, teams of young girls sit around streatched
lengths of balck velvet. They siitch in pieces of silver, glass,
and gold thread, following Sein Win Myint's design drawn onto the
cloth. "I make the beginign, and then I add the finishing
touches," says Sein Win Myint, who always sign his work in gold
thread.
Even a small Sein Win Myint tapestry can fetch about $20. "You're
luckly if he has any in Rangoon, who has bought his tapestries.
"They are much in demand."
Six years ago, the Burmese Government commissioned Sein Win Myint
to sew a large tapestry that reflected Burma's essence; the
kalaga was their gift to the United Nations headquarters in New
York. It took 11 months for Sein Win Myint to complete the
17-by-7-foot work. As Sein Win Myint describes it, "the tapestry
despicts Burma as a peaceful, industrious country still relying
on agriculture."
Today's visitors may not view the country that yaw. But from the
tiny workshop above his house, it's a bucolic side to modern
Burma that Sein win Myint is anxious to preserve. And he's
already broken ground for an arts and crafts museum and gallery
that will safeguard it.(FEER)



The Irrawaddy Independent News & Information
Vol3 No 11 28 Feb 1995

ADDRESS;
BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
P.O.BOX 14154
SILVER SPRING
MD 20911
U.S.A

VISIT TO NLD IN RANGOON


Like other parties, the National League for Democracy is
permitted to maintain an office in Rangoon. But a visit to the
site, past the cement and wood rubble of an abandoned first floor
room and up a back staircase, reveals that this, too, is just for
show. Five elderly men sit quietly in the dark office of rickety
wooden chairs and tables. One of them says It is impossible to
talk about the situation. Appearing frail and afraid, they
refuse to say more.
Residents say the vast majority of the people still support
opposition leader Ms. Suu Kyi but are too afraid of being turned
in by informants to mount any resistance. They have the guns. We
don't, says a hotel worker. What can we do? A sense of
oppression affects even a foreign observer in the capital, who
asks not to be named by country or occupation. He says that while
Slorc's open military presence has receded into the background,
no one feels free in Burma.
I've found pretty much universal loathing of the government, a
lot of bitterness, he says. But with the tight grip the junta
now has over the people, it could be yearseven decadesbefore it
is ousted, he adds, there's such a tight lid on things.
Residents say authorities have bought the silence of some of the
opposition by helping select political opponents start business.
Monks, many of whom fought the regime in 1988, have been given
cars or trips abroad for their support. The government has done
its best to placate university students.
As the sun sets back in downtown Rangoon, a 26-year-old woman is
selling noodles in a temple. A fourth-grade dropout, she looks
malnourished and unwashed. Piling spicy noodles on a plate for a
customer with her filthy hands, she says she earns about 1,000
kyat (9.52) a month to live a life that is sometimes so
diffi
     Aung San Suu Kyi, who Burmese call Daw Suu or Ma Suu is not
forgotten.(Inside sources)



AUNG SAN SUU KYI: BURMA'SLAST HOPE
KYAW ZWA

She is indeed Burma's most prominent opposition leader. At
present, she and her followers should be running the country as
their party the National League for Democracy won a landslide
victory in a 1990 general election. But instead they were all
thrown into jail.
Aung San Suu Kyi, described as the only hope for Burma to
restore peace, democracy and freedom may be the junta's next
target. As Slorc troops captured Manerplaw and Kawmoora the
generals in Rangoon gained more confidence over their foes.
 Recently, the military regime, announced Suu Kyi will not be
freed until a new constution is adopted. It is hardly surprising
as the junta push Tatmadaw's leading role in politics and they
bar Suu Kyi from ever becomming a leader because of her marriage
to a foreigner and her life overseas.
With the fall of Manerplaw, the from opposition groups lost their
main bases where they opposed the junta. Moreover, the NLD
leaders and other opponents in Burma are still being detained on
have been marginalised. As analysts put it: Like the Chinese
democracy movement, the Burmese equivalent is  infighting  and
factionalism. It may be doomed to irrelevance.
On the other hand, Asean leaders continue their constructive
engagement policy with the junta while the west's protest over
Slorc mean only double standards and hypocrisy .
In this case, Asean leaders could play a key role for a real
change in Burma.
Asiaweek's recent editorial suggested they (Asean leaders) know
how to appeal to Burmese sensibilities and help induce positive
changes. Asean avoid confrontation  and the often
counter-productive-rhetoric of Western human rights groups, but
its members agree that the Slorc regime lacks ligitimacy.
By stepping up their constructive engagement with Rangoon,
Asean continues can draw on their own experiences to help their
neighbour make economic and political progress.
An increasingly stable, prosperous and open Myanmar would enhace
those same attributes throughout the region.
Once Ms. Suu Kyi becomes involved in government, Rangoon will be
able to atract home the of thousands of educated Burmese now in
exile. Their expertise is essential if the country is to
modernize.
Indeed, if Suu Kyi was not detainee but president of Burma she
and her able followers will find a peaceful way to solve Burma's
problems. For instance. she will not order Burmese troops to
shell and kill their brothers, the Karens.
Asiaweek cotinues: On the other hand, if the generals make a
mess of the economy, internal pressures could intensify to the
point where Miss Suu Kyi would be the only person with the
charisma and moral authority to save the day.
Most analysts agree that economic reform alone will sustain a
modest level of growth, but that a quantum leap won't come
without a political transformation.

End =========================================================