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BurmaNet News: 16 April 1995 [#148]
- Subject: BurmaNet News: 16 April 1995 [#148]
- From: burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 05:41:00
**************************BurmaNet***************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
*************************************************************
The BurmaNet News: 16 APRIL 1995
Issue #148
NOTED IN PASSING:
"I want you to know the real situation in
Burma...There have been no killings of monks,
students and innocent civilians by the military
regime... and we protect human rights and have
democracy."
Lt. Gen Tun Kyi, the unelected Minister for
Trade in Burma's unelected regime responding to
claims that doing business in Burma is
unethical. <See THE NATION: BURMA SEEKS INDIAN
CAPITAL
"We just have a 'games room' with various kinds of
slot machines"
Vikrom Ai-siri, a Thai businessman explaining
that while the "resort" he built in Burma may
have a casino in it, it is not a casino. <See
NATION: ANDAMAN CLUB 'NOT A CASINO'>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Contents:
THE NATION: 'UNRULY' BURMESE WARNED'
THE NATION: INFLATED KYAT CASTS SHADOW OVER 'BOOM'
THE NATION: LETTER--APRIL FOOL
THE NATION: BURMESE ECOMONY STILL STRUGGLING TO REVIVE
THE NATION: NEW APPEAL TO FREE SUU KYI
THE NATION: 400 DRUG ARRESTS IN BURMA
THE NATION: RUNNING A TOUR FIRM IN BURMA IS EASIER SAID THAN
DONE
BKK POST: BURMA AND INDIA TRADE POST AT BORDER
THE NATION: MACY'S TO PULL OUT OF BURMA DUE TO GRAFT
BKK POST: QUESTIONABLE MOTIVES OF LATEST SLORC OFFENSIVE
BKK POST: TRADE CONTINUES ACROSS BORDER DESPITE CLOSURE
THE NATION: FORCED LABOUR ON RAILWAY
THE NATION: BURMESE WERE KILLED PEOPLE
BKK POST: NIBHON: NO BURMA TRIP UNTIL
THE NATION: BURMA SEEKS INDIAN CAPITAL
BKK POST: MANDARIN LOOKS TO BURMA HOTEL
THE NATION: RANGOON JUNTA-KAREN REBEL PEACE DIALOGUE IS A
NON-STARTER
THE NATION:BURMESE REBELS CLAIM RELOCATION FORCED ON POOR
BKK POST: US DEPARTMENT STORE CUTS TIES WITH BURMA
THE NATION: KNU READY FOR TRUCE TALKS WITH SLORC
NATION: ANDAMAN CLUB 'NOT A CASINO'
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'UNRULY' BURMESE WARNED'
15 April 1995
Thousands of people took to the streets of Rangoon yesterday to
celebrate the traditional water festival ushering in the
burmese year of 1357, despite official warnings that "unruly
behaviour" would be dealt with effectively.
Military auhorities appeared to have gone out of their way to
see that "decadent" dress and what they consider "untoward
behaviour" do not mar the celebrations, as has happened in
previous years.
A series of regulations prohibiting drunkenness, unruly behav-
iour and unseemly dress were issued before the festival, along
with threats of instant punishment for breaches of the rules.
(TN)
BURMESE ECOMONY STILL STRUGGLING TO REVIVE
15 April 1995
Seven years after emerging from a disastrous experiment with
socialism, Burma's military government is still struggling to
embrace an open-market system and lift its country out of the
least developed nation status.
Once seen as one of the region's most promising countries be-
cause of its wealth of natural resources and educated workfor
ce, Burma's economy has been battered by military-led misman-
agement that helped bring the country down to the uneviable
status of one of the world's poorest.
Diplomats and businessmen say that although the military-led
State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) has made im-
portant strides to implement economic reforms and allow pri-
vate investment since it assumed power in 1988, there is still
a good deal to be done.
"There is no doubt about it, the economy has opened up," one
deplomat said. "There are more goods available, more cars seen
in the roads than a decade ago."
Burma's economy has grown steadily over the past few years. In
terms of gross domestic product the economy grew by 6.4 per
cent in the 1994/95 fiscal year to March 31, after a six per
cent growth rate the previous year.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its annual survey
released recently it expects Burma's economy to grow another
six per cent this year.
But Burma also has spiralling inflation, which at 35 per cent
is the highest in south and southeast Asia, the ADB said.
Because of the inflation and an official kyat exchange rate
about 20 times the black market rate, many of the newly avail-
able international brand-name products just sit on shop
shelves gathering dust.
Many ordinary Burmese citizens say that despite the economic
changes, they still cannot afford to buy much more than they
did a decade ago.
"It's the military that is getting all the money," said one
Rangoon worker. "We are still poor."
Despite the relatively poor economic picture, more than one-
third of the country's annual budget still goes to defence
spending, diplomats said.
They one of the Slorc's biggest hurdles is to overcome the
legacy of more than a quarter century under the ill-fated
"Burmese Way to Socialism" doctrine that many see as the
reason for the economy's decline.
"They have opened up... there is no likelihood that we are
going back to socialism," said one local businessman. "But the
people who opened up the economy are not businessmen. They may
have a genuine intention... but they don't know how to do it."
Many diplomats agreed, nothing the Slorc appeared to have no
specific plan in mind but rather just started initiating
changes on an ad hoc basis.
"The top level generals are ignorant of what the economy
needs," one deplomat said. "There are bright civil servants but
they haven't been able to get their thoughts heard in the top
echelons where they are ignorant of how a free market
economyshould work."
For example, state--owned enterprises, which account for about
one third of public investment, operate way below capacity and
contribute only one fifth of government receipts, ADB said.
Another hangover of the socialist experiment is the lack of a
middle class, or a strong entrepeneurial spirit.
"After nearly 30 years of socialism, people don't know how to
go about getting loans, or make investments," the businessman
said. "And Anyway, banks aren't lending, there is little
chance for an entrepeneur."
As a result, a good deal of the country's new wealth is int the
hands of a few top military officers or business families.
"Some people have gotten poorer, but none have gotten more
free," a diplomat said.
Another factor behind Burma's economic problems is its human
rights record, which has led to a drop in aid and loan flows.
Many western governments stopped providing economic aid to
Burma in protest against the government's dismal human rights
record since the Slorc took power.
And, despite the Slorc's easing of foreign investment
regulations, many international investors are wary of taking
any majorstakes in the country because of the human rights
problems and political uncertainty, diplomats say. (TN)
NEW APPEAL TO FREE SUU KYI
15 April 1995
Retired South Korean dissident leader Kim Dae Jung yesterday
renewed his call for the release of Burmese opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, saying it is a "test case" for Asian democ-
racy.
Last December, the inaugural Forum for Democratic Leaders spo-
nsored by the Kim Dae jung Peace Foundation called for the
unconditional release from house arrest of the 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize winner.
On Friday, Kim broke away from the prepared text of his speech
to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan to charge that it
is "intolerable" that the State Law and Order Restoration
Council has refused to relinquish power to the election win-
ners. (TN)
The Nation
APRIL FOOL
14 April 1995
The Singapore media, both printed and electronic, have high-
lighted the news of the impending release of Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, which seems to be just an April Fools joke for those who
know the situation intimately. Singapore, being one of the
leading countries that have invested in Burma, has shored up
its economy and this is tantamount to siding with the Burmese
junta in its fight against the pro-democracy movement. The
Burmese in diaspora knew that such kind of hopeful news were
being spotlighted to encourage more investment in Burma. Now
the Singapore maid agencies have switched to recruiting Bur-
mese rather than Filipinos, especially Karen now that
Manerplaw has fallen. Such trafficking of Burmese women will go
on as long as the constructive engagement policy is adopted by
Asean. Kanbawza Win
INFLATED KYAT CASTS SHADOW OVER 'BOOM'
14 April 1995
Aung Zaw on the woes of doing business in Burma
Their major concern is neither the country's poor human rights
records nor its democratication but the exchange rate. Almost
all businessmen who invest in Burma complain about this.
Whatever the case, since Burma's military leaders decided to
open its ramshackle economy to the outside world, trade is
flourishing and foreign businessmen and tourists flocking
there. Some observers have argued Burma can be Asia's next
tiger and can develop much faster than Vietnam if foreign
exchange problems and political uncertainties are resolved. The
largest Thai mission organized by the Board of Trade (BoT) went
to Rangoon in February. The 85-member delegation signed a
memorandum to increase trade cooperation opportunities in
wood-related industries. "Human rights and other political
issues are not related to trade and investment. We should take
advantage of these opportunities," said Prayoon Talerngsri,
executive director of the BoT. "Previously, our businessmen
were worried about the political instability. But they seem to
be ready to invest now," he added.
Burma's ambassador to Thailand, U Tin Win, said total foreign
investment in his country as of January was about $2.377
billion and that there are at least 119 projects on the
drawing board. At the recent Board of Investment (BoI) fair in
Thailand, U Tin Win revealed that a new organization has been
formed to handle both domestic and foreign investment in
Burma. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) was set up to
give initial approval to investment proposals.
However, many Burmese complined that the military has been the
beggest beneficiary from the present open market policies.
"Only a hadful are getting richer, while most people are
getting poorer. Relatives, families and friends of government
officials are the only ones making money and they control
everything," said one.
Analysts say the situation in Burma is not quite similar to
Indonesia or Vietnam. "Before Indonesia took off, it had in
place two pre-conditions for sustained economic growth: low
inflation and a convertible currency. Burma has neither," said
the Asian Wall Street Journal in a recent editorial. It
emphasized that unlike Indonesia, the economy of Burma is
still in the hands of the military. Aside from this, Slorc has
no mandate to govern the country since it ignored the election
results in 1990.
Chatri Sophonpanich, chairman of the board at Bangkok Bank,
praised Burma as the gateway between Asean and North Asia, but
said a problem lies in the foreign exchange conversion of the
kyat, Burma's currency.
Ambassador U Tin Win said there was no policy to bring the
official rate in line with the black market rate of 100-120
kyats to the dollar. The official rate is six kyat to the
dollar. Slorc financial adviser Set Maung was quoted as
saying, "Tremendous changes are taking place." But he also
ackonowledged later that the military government is reluctant
to devalue the kyat. Observers and economists believe
devaluation or currency reform is unlikely in the near future.
U Thaung, founder of the Mirror newspaper in Burma, expained in
a recent article why Burma's present military leaders are
reluctant to reform the Burmese currency.
In January 1975, he was summoned by the Minister of Finance,
who handed him a statement to be released as a communique. At
that time, he was the deputy director at the Information
Ministry as well as the press liaison officer. The communique
indicated that the exchange rate of the kyat would now be
K5.35 to the dollar from the previous rate of K4.81. Without
hesitation." "No! you must not use that word. Use the word
revalued," the minister told U Thaung in all seriousness. The
newspapers printed as instructed.
The reason, as U Thaung found out later, was that Burmese
strongman Gen Ne Win had an inferiority complex about the
value of the kyat during his rule.
Continued U Thaung: "In the same month, the IMF pressured Ne
Win in accordance with the 'Special Drawing Right' and the
government had to devalue the kyat as suggested by the IMF." Ne
Win, according to U Thaung, was furious about this and
summoned all the cabinet ministers. He ordered them not to
devalue the kyat. "Over my dead body," Ne Win reportedly
shouted.
U Thaung said, "The current rate will stay until the death of
the great king." If it is true, perhaps the news about the
death od Ne Win will not only make Burmese happy but the
foreign businessmen as well. (TN)
400 DRUG ARRESTED IN BURMA
13 April 1995
More than 400 people involved in over 200 drug-related cases
were arrested in March and are scheduled to go on trial,
Burma's officials press reported yesterday.
The state-owned Mirror-Daily said that 110 cases involved
possession of heroin and a total of 42 kilos of the drug were
seized. 31 cases involved opium totalling 18.31 kilos.
Of the more than 400 people arrested, 106 ware women, the
paper
said.
During the same period, units of the military also seized
over nine kilos of heroin, 22 kilos of opium and more than 11
kilos of marijuana, the Mirror Daily said. (TN)
RUNNING A TOUR FIRM IN BURMA IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE
13 APRIL
DIETHELM Travels expansion into Burma has changed direction
from an earlier wish-list that would have given it 100%
ownership of a new agency, to the reality that it needs a
local partner to the tune of at least 15%.
A tie-up with Myanmar Express, which handles all of American
Express's business in the country, should be signed later this
month, paving the way for Diethelm to open an office in Rangoon
in May.
Initially Diethelm was counting on the country's new
regulations on investment and tax breaks would have came in
handy to buy a fleet of limousines and fourwheel-drive
vehicles to transfer tourists to major destinations.
Travel companies face taxes as high as 300% on the import of
luxury cars, although insiders say there are alternatives such
as buying imported four-wheel-drive vehicles from China that
cost much less. (TN)
BURMA AND INDIA TRADE POST AT BORDER
13 APRIL 1995
INDIA and Burma were to formally open a border trade, ending
more than three decades of isolation, officials here said.
Burmese Trade Minister Tun Kyi and Indian Minister of State for
Commerce Palaniappan Chadambaram were to declare the
border open at a ceremony in the Indian town of Moreh, on the
eastern fringe of Manipur state, they said.
The opening of the border between Moreh and the Burmese border
town of Tamu fellows a ground-breaking pact signed in January
1994 between Rangoon and New Delhi.
Indian Officials said they hoped the formal opening of the
frontier would end a lucrative cross-border smuggling racket.
"Trade will be conducted in freely-convertible currencies or in
currencies mutually agreed by the two countries including the
Burmese Kyat and the Indian rupee," they said.
The opening of the Indo-Burmese border should "earn
considerable amounts for the governments, provide employment
and improve the conditions of hundreds of people," an official
said.
Indo-Burmese trade grew to $138 million in fiscal 1993-94 from
a paltry $27 million in 1989-90 and is basically confined to
agricultural products.
Paper, breweries, food processing mining energy and tourism
have been identified as area of joint cooperation by Lt Gen Kyi
and senior Indian officials.(BP)
QUESTIONABLE MOTIVES OF LATEST SLORC OFFENSIVE
13 April 1995
The latest attempt by the Burmese army to gain control of
northeastern Burma is going slowly. The recent heavy fighting
in and around the Thai border town of Tachilek has subsided,
but Rangoon forces continue to press on the other defences of
Khun Sa's Mong Tai army.
It is the second time in a year Slorc forces have tried to
subdue the jungle-based Shan movement. The area is the last
major part of Burma which Rangoon seeks to control. The army
defeated the Karen National Union in eastern Burma earlier this
year. It caused a refugee exodus and other serious
problems for Thailand.
Slorc's offensive against the private army of Khun Sa has won
mild support in many quarters. Even the US State Department has
issued a cautious welcome for the Rangoon move.
The reason lies in the stated motives for the Burmese attacks.
The regime has won support because it seeks to destory the base
of the world's largest heroin dealer.
Khun Sa claims the title od Shan independence leader. Despite
this, there is no credible evidence he is the area has been
directly purchased with the proceeds of drug sales.
Just this week, Chinese officials announced the largest single
narcotics seizure since the communists began ruling the
country.
Yunnan police discovered 128.8 kg of heroin smuggled into
China from Khun Sa's territory in the so-called Golden
Triangle. Beijing has grown increasingly concerned about its
drugs problem in recent years, as has Thailand. In Yunnan
alone, there now are 30,000 registered heroin addicts.
Officials believe the total is more than three times that
number. Cases of AIDS spread by use of intravenous drug kits
are reported almost daily in Yunan.
In Thailand, which is both a market and smuggling route for
Khun Sa, the problem is even worse. In the North, close to the
drug warlord's border area, heroin addiction has risen to
epidemic proportions.
Some village officials in northern Thailand have reported that
100 per cent of their adult populations are addicts. Bangkok
Post reporters have turned up many cases od children who are
addicts. Many experts link the addiction to the high rates of
HIV infections in that part of our country.
Thailand has come a long way in the past generation. From a
producer and exporter of opium and heroin, our nation has
turned into one of honest, if not entirely prosperous,
farmers.
There is a twin purpose to Slorc's military offensive against
Khun Sa's army. The first is to disrupt the warlord's
narcotics manufacturing and trading, and to move in short
order towards wiping it out.
This is a laudable goal. There is no defence for Khun Sa's
heroin trade. The nercotics cartel he has forged over the past
20 years is a massive organisation aiming to flood the world
with heroin and create new addicts. The harm he has done is
immeasurable. In addition to leading countless Thais to heroin
addiction, he has done our country a further disservice by
giving it a reputation as a smuggling conduit to the rest of
the world.
Slorc has another main motive. This is to subdue yet another
minority in Burma. It must be noted that if these two goals
interlock and they do it is largely Khun Sa's fault. By making
international narcotics trafficking the sole industry in his
area, Khun Sa has invited retribution.
And this is exactly why there is support for the Rangoon
offensive, as well as horror. The leaders of the Burmese junta
have openly stated they will not negotiate with Shan
independence officials. The hard line on drugs is welcome. The
hard line on the political front, from a group such as Slorc,
is a serious matter.
In short, Rangoon would be unwise to view support for its
crackdown against Khun Sa's narcotics activities as enthusiasm
for Slorc politics.
We can only hope that if the Burmese offensive against the Mong
Tai army is successful, the junta will show sympathy for the
people in northeastern Burma. The lukewarm understanding for
the attacks against Khun Sa will quickly fade to renewed
opposition if the Slorc misuses its power in Shan areas as it
has in the rest of Burma in recent years. (BP)
TRADE CONTINUES ACROSS BORDER DESPITE CLOSURE
13 April 1995
Cross-Border trade between Burma and Thailand in Mae Sai
District of Chiang Rai has been slightly affected by the
Burmese Government's battle with Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army,
according to a provincial commerce official.
Although the battle prompted the Burmese Government to close
its Tachilek pass opposite the Mae Sai checkpoint since March
26, the volume of trade last month was still much higher than
that of March last year, said Wairak Walairat, Chiang Rai
provincial commerce official.
Thai exports to Burma through the district last month was
estimated at 320 million baht, compared with that of March
1994, which was only 171 million baht, he said.
The closure of Tachilek did not hinder cross-border trade too
much because there were two other temporary border passes in
Ban Muang Daeng and Ban Parng Ha villages of Mae Sai District,
Mr Wairak said.
It was necessary for Thailand to open such temporary border
passes as almost all consumer products of Burmese people
opposite Chiang Rai were imports from Thailand, he said.
Otherwise, Thailand would have to face influexs of starving
Burmese people, Mr Wairak said, adding that the Burmese border
closure in Tachilek did not stop exports through Mae Sai.
Thai exports to the neighbouring country centred around
garments, medicines, refreshing beverages and cement while
imports from Burma focused on precious stones, he said.
Imports from Burma through Mae Sai amounted to only slightly
more than one million baht last month.
The mentioned trade volumes were only those sold through
customs services and smuggled goods were actually about
200-300 per cent higher, he said.
Demands on the Burmese side also prompted the Chiang Rai
Chamber of Commerce to seek permission to export construction
materials through the temporary border passes at Ban Muang
Daeng and Ban Parng Ha, he said.
He said Thai traders had not received any payment for their
exports to the Tachilek side since the battle between the
Burmese Government and Khun Sa's armed forces, adding that the
unpaid amount was expected to total several million baht. (BP)
FORCED LABOUR ON RAILWAY
13 April 1995
The military government in Rangoon is using forced labour to
build a railway line in southern Burma, student dissidents said
in a statement seen in Bangkok yesterday.
Men, women and children have been forced to work as porters on
the Tavoy to Yebyu link of the railroad in a bid to finish it
in time for "Visit Burma Year" in 1996, the All Burma Students
Democratic Front (ABSDF) said.
Residents of Tavoy, Yebyu, longlon and Thayetchaung townships
were being pressed into working for one in every 15 days, the
ABSDF Central Committee said.
The workers are not paid and must meet their own expenses, it
charged. (TN)
MACY'S TO PULL OUT OF BURMA DUE TO GRAFT
13 April 1995
Macy's, a leading US department store chain, has decided to
pull out of Burma within 90 days due to "corruption that makes
normal operations impossible".
While the clothing store has declined to make an official
announcement of the decision, the New York-based human rights
group Coalition for Corporate Withdrawal from Burma issued a
statement on Monday quoting company officials as disclosing the
information on April 6.
Macy's is the latest US firm to end its economic activities in
Burma. It joins a growing list of American companies which
have pulled out of Burma or refused to do business there,
including Levi Strauss, Reebok, Liz Claiborne and Eddie Bauer.
According to the statement seen here yesterday, a Macy's
executive told members of the coalition at Macy's offices in
New York that the company's decision was "based purely on
economic grounds". Business in Burma, the executive explained,
"Is hampered by corruption that makes normal operations
impossible".
The executive was quoted as saying that "widespread official
bribery is routine in Burma", and Macy's "was unwilling to make
payments that could violate the US Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act, which bars US companies from making unofficial
payments to foreign officials".
Without such payments, the executive added, foreign companies
would have great difficulty operating efficiently and
profitably.
The company said it was also misled regarding ownership of the
factories producing clothing for Macy's private "Club Room" and
"INC" labels.
Macy's was told that the factories were joint ventures between
investors from Asian countries outside Burma and private
Burmese citizens. "The real Burmese partner, it was later
discovered, is the military-controlled Burmese government,"
said the Coalition.(TN)
BURMESE WERE KILLED PEOPLE
13 APRIL 1995
Three Burmese soldiers were killed and three other people,
including one thought to be Thai, were wounded when five bombs
exploded at different times shorly after midnight yesterday at
the highly-protected Burmese border town of Tachilek.
The wounded were later sent across the border into Thailand's
Mae Sai district for medical treatment at a local hospital. Mae
Sai District Chief Pakdi Rattanaphol ordered an
investigation to find out whether one of the wounded victims,
whose first name is Yongyuth, is a Thai or a Burmese with a
Thai name.
Yongyuth, whose family name is not known, was said to be a
resident of Mae Sai who crossed into Tachilek at predawn. He
stepped on a mine, severely injuring his legs.
The explosions took place amid widespread rumours and fear that
opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA), which
launched a successful lightning raid into Tachilek on March 20,
would attack the town again between April 10-16.
Shortly after last month's MTA assault, in which three
Burmese troops were killed, Burmese authorities abruptly
closed the town off to crossborder communications and economic
activities and began searches for MTA suspects. Heavy
artillery and thousands more Burmese troops were sent in to
strengthen the town, which has not been re-opened since.
According to eyewithnesses, the first explosion went off at
1.20 am yesterday at an unidenttified location. Five minutes
later a second bomb exploded, accompanied by several gunshots.
At 5.30 am the third bomb exploded, creating chaos in the
town. People on both sides of the border were in fear as they
did not known if the explosions were part of a renewed MTA
attack. Ten minutes later another bomb exploded, and at 6.35 am
the fifth bomb went off.
Witnesses said the Burmese troops in Tachilek were thrown into
disarray by the explosions, but at 8.30 am began to search for
and de-activate more bombs and landmines. (TN)
NIBHON: NO BURMA TRIP UNTIL
13 April 1995
The Burmese government has been trying unsucessfully during the
past years to get members of the Thai Justice and Human Rights
House Committee to pay an official visit to the country known
for its human rights abuse.
"We will certaingly go there if they agreed to accept our
condition. We are ready to hold talks with senior members in
the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) but we
should be given a chance to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, or else we
would not go there at all," said committee chairman Nibhon
Visityuthasart, a Chart Thai MP for Ang Thong.
When Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama visited Thailand
in early 1993 in the company of a group of Nobel Prize
laureates of Aung San Suu Kyi, it was Mr Nibhon's Justice and
Human Rights Committee which voiced strong support for the
Government's decision to allow the spiritual leader to visit
Thailand.
At the time several senior government officials including Army
Commander Gen Wimol Wongwanich voiced his disagreement with the
decision on the Dalai Lama's visit.
The visit drew strong protest from the Chinese government
which considered the trip as an interference in China's
internal affairs.
"The committee was in an awkward political sttuation at the
time. You can see that even my Chart Thai Party opposed the
Dalai Lama's visit but the Human Rights committee voiced its
support.
"I made the issue clear to my party that was not a party
matter and I could not follow the party's line as it would not
doubt gravely affect the committee's image," recalled Mr
Nibhon.
Mr Nibhon said unless the Burmese government changed its mind
over Aung San Suu Kyi it was unlikely that the his committee
would go to Burma.
"It would be useless trip. There is no reason to go there if we
were not given a chance to talk to her. She was overwhelmingly
elected by the Burmese people but was detained by the military
junta. Don't you think it's strange?" asked Mr Nibhon. (BP)
RANGOON JUNTA-KAREN REBEL PEACE DIALOGUE IS A NON-STARTER
12 April 1995
Peace talks between Burma's ethnic Karen rebels and the Ran-
goon junta have have stalled before starting, with both sides
setting conditions as to who may negotiate a treaty, rebel
sources said on Monday.
Junta representatives have demanded to talk with the command-
ers of two military brigates in the Karen National Union
(KNU), a senior KNU official said.
"They have already approached the Fourth and Sixth Brigades,"
he said, to the ethnic Liberation Army (KNLA) units, which
control substantial territory in Burma, including a stretch of
land over which the junta plans to construct a multi-million-
dollar natural gas pipeline.
"But from the KNU side, there cannot be anyone to reach an
agreement at that level," he said.
Representatives of KNU have expected meetings to include their
political leader, President Bo Mya.
But the junta representatives have made talks conditional on
the participation only of the brigade commanders. (TN)
US DEPARTMENT STORE CUTS TIES WITH BURMA
12 April 1995
Business 'hurt by corruption'
MAcy's Department Store chain is ending its clothing
manufacturing operations in Burma after discovering that doing
business in that country is hampered by corruption that makes
normal operations impossible.
The announcement was made at Macy's offices in New York on
December 6 during a meeting with members of the Coalition for
Corporate Withdrawal from Burma. The press release was
received by the Bangkok Post yesterday.
In doing so, Macy's joins a growing list of American companies
which have pulled out of Burma or refused to do business
there. The list includes Levi Strauss, Reebok, Liz Clairborne
and Eddie Bauer.
While expressing awareness of continuing grave human rights
violations in Burma, a senior Macy's executive said the
firms's decision was based purely on economic grounds.
"Business in Burma," the executive explained, "is hampared by
corruption that makes normal operations impossible."
Widespread official bribery is routine in Burma, the executive
said. Macy's however was unwilling to make payments that could
violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars US
companies from making unofficial payments to foreign
officials.
"Without such payments," the executive said Macy's was also
misled regarding ownership of the factories producing clothing
for the firm's private "Club Room" and INC" labels.
Macy's was told that the factories were joint ventures between
investors from Asian countries outside Burma and private
Burmese citizens. The real Burmese partner, it was later dis-
covered, is the militaty-controlled Burmese Government.
Meanwhile, New York City based supporters of democracy and
human rights in Burma say they are dropping plans for a mid-
April demonstration in front of Macy's flagship store in mid-
town Manhattan.
But they have renewed calls for consumers not to buy any goods
labeled "Made in Myanmar" at Macy's or elsewhere. Myanmar is
the name for Burma now used by that nation's military dicta-
tors but rejected by Burmese democratic forces.
Consumer boycotts of companies doing business in Burma are
gaining momentum. Current targets include the Los Ageles-based
oil giant Unocal and Pepsi-Cola.
Unocal is building a half-billion dollar natural gas pipeline
through rain forests which critics claim uses slave labour.
Pepsi has opened a bottling plant in that cpuntry and is coop-
erating with the illegitimate military government to promote
Burmese exports. (BP)
BURMESE REBELS CLAIM RELOCATION FORCED ON POOR
14 April 1995
The Burmese government is ordering impoverished residents to
rebuild homes on main streets and is moving out those who can-
not afford the modernizations, rebels charged yesterday.
The All Burma Student Democratic Front issued a statement from
its sanctuary in Thailand, saying those along the main street
in Loikaw city were forced on Feb 23 to sell their houses at
extremely low prices and move out of the area because they
could not afford tear down their.
Loikaw is 365 kilometres northest of the Burmese capital of
Rangoon, the control base of the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc).
The rebels, who are fighting the central administration for
greater freedoms, said the forced renovations are aimed at
making the country look developed and peaceful to entice for-
eign tourists.
They also said that on Sept 22 the government ordered people
from 37 other villages to quickly build 28 homes, with their
own money, to house former rebels who had surrendered to the
military junta.
The houses had to be wooden, with concrete foundations and zinc
roofs and cost 119,500 kyats (US$19,916 officially or US$995
unofficially) a piece to build. Burmese authorities do not
respond to accusations from the rebels. (TN)
BURMA SEEKS INDIAN CAPITAL
11 April 1995
Burmese Trade Minister Tun Kyi yesterday urged Indian indus-
trialists to invest in his country, saying their countries'
first agreement to govern border trade would help to boost
business ties.
"India tops the list of countries in the developing world and
we are keen to expand trade," Lieutenant General Kyi told a
business chamber here. "The recent border agreement is a step
in the right direction."
New Delhi and Rangoon signed the treaty in January 1994 and a
border trade post between the two neighbours, which had curso-
ry diplomatic links for more than three decades, will reopen
tomorrow at a ceremony attended by Kyi.
The minister said Rangoon had launched irreversible market
reforms in September 1998, ending decades of socialist insula-
tion and attracting foreign investment worth $2.3 billion from
17 countries.
"Britain and Thailand are the leading foreign investors in
Burma," he said, adding that the economy had grown steadily
since 1990, with the gross domestic product posting a six-per-
cent rise in 1993-94.
"There are 120 investment projects at the implementation
stage," he said. "We have social and economic reform, we are
lifting technical barriers to trade and are going towards
privatisation.
"we have to do it (liberalise) carefully," he added.
Kyi accused the Western media of waging a "disinformation"
campaign, saying it sought to dissuade overseas businessmen on
moral and economic grounds.
"I want you to know the real situation in Burma," he said.
"There have been no killings of monks, students and innocent
civilians by the military regime ... and we protect human
rights and have democracy."
"The concept of human rights differs in the East and the
West," he said.
Burma's military government has been frequently criticised by
numerous countries and human rights organizations for cracking
down on dissidents and the prolonged house detention of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Khin Maung Oo, a senior trade official accompanying Kyi, said
Burma offered three-year renewable tax holidays for joint
ventures in which the minimum foreign capital participation
would be 35% of the equity.
Indo-Burmese trade grew to $138 million in fiscal 1993-94 form
a paltry $27 million in 1989-90, but is far below the
potential.
Meanwhile, the historic Burmese city of Bagan is set to have a
$23 million luxury hotel following a memorandum of
understanding with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Ltd, it was
announced yesterday in Hong Kong.
In a statement, Mandarin Oriental said the single-storey
hotel, set amid landscaped gardens, would comprise 100 suites
'in full harmony with the cultural and environmental
sensitivities of the region.'
It is to open in mid-1997, added the group, which is
controlled by Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson ltd and is best
known for The Oriental in Bangkok and the Mandarin Oriental in
Hong Kong. (Bp)
KNU READY FOR TRUCE TALKS WITH SLORC
11 April 1995
The Karen National Union is ready to negotiate a ceasefire with
the State Law and Order Restoration Council as soon as the
Burmese government wants, said a KNU source living near the
Thai-Burmese border line in Tak Province.
The stance was proposed by KNU president Gen Bo Mya in his
letter sent on April 2, 1995, to a reconciliation committee set
up by the Slorc, the source said yesterday.
The committee consists of a legal expert, Tun Aung Chin,
retired military officers, Aye Soe Myint and Saw Richard, a
priest, Saw Mar Gay Gyi and a university lecturer, Saw Ka Daw,
according to the source.
The reconciliation committee responded in another letter dated
April 3, 1995, that Gen Bo Mya's letter had already been sent
to Let Gen Khin Nyunt, First General Secretary of Slorc, said
the source, adding it was expected that Slorc's decision on the
cease-fire proposal could be made known soon.
The hand-written letter of Gen Bo Mya stated that the KNU
wanted Burma to become peaceful and called for the Slorc to be
sincere in peace negotiations as previous rounds of talks
always failed to yield a positive result due to
misunderstanding between both parties, the source said.
In his letter, Gen Bo Mya also informed Slorc chairman Gen Than
Shwe's recent speech urging all Burmese minorities to join
peace talks for the sake of Burma, the source said.
The speech was delivered on the occasion of the celebration of
the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Burmese armed
forces on March 27, 1995.
The request had caused about 40 minorities, including 13
powerful groups, to seal cease-fire agreement with Slorc, the
source said.
The KNU, which was founded to resist the Burmese Government
more than 46 years ago, was supported by a meeting of Burmese
minorities, held near the border line recently, to settle its
conflict with the Burmese Government, the source said.
The meeting was attended by members of the Democratic Alliance
of Burma, including Pado Mahn Sha, a KNU representative, U Tin
Ohn, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD),
U Tin Saw, a political expert from the New Era newspaper, Moe
Thee Zun, chairman of All Burma Students Democratic Front
(ABSDF)in South Area, U Mya Saw, member of ABSDF's Central
Committee, and U Aung Saw Oh, member of NLD's committee, the
source said. (BP & TN)
MANDARIN LOOKS TO BURMA HOTEL
11 April 1995
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the parent firm of Oriental
hotel Bangkok, has entered into a joint venture with Italian-
Thai Development Plc to build a 100-room first class hotel in
Burma.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between both
parties and the Burmese Ministry for Hotels and Tourism took
place on April 7.
The MoU calls for construction of a first calls hotel beside
the Irrawaddy River, to the east of Pagan, a tourist
destination of historical interist
destination of historical interest.
The project's shareholder structure is: 58% by the Oriental<
Bangkok, 25% by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and 25% by
Italian-Thai.
The project is expected to commence construction around the end
of this year and is expected to be operational about mid- 1997.
(BP)
ANDAMAN CLUB 'NOT A CASINO'
11 April 1995
The Thai owner of 600-million-baht Andaman Club resort on
Burma's son Island opposite Ranong province denies his
establishment is a casino.
But he said the resort, complete with a 210-room luxury hotel
and a 18-hole golf course, was equipped with a "games room"
where gambling is allowed to entertain tourists.
The resort project, located only five kilometres from the Thai
border, faced criticism from various sectors in Thailand who
claimed it was gambling den, intended to attract Thai gamblers
places in Macau and Malaysia.
The resort is expected to be open soon.
Mr Vikrom Ai-siri of Ves Group, which owns the resort project
and a number of other business ventures in Burma, said the
games room would not be open to the public, but restricted to
"exclusive members."
"We just have a 'games room' with various kinds of slot
machines," said Mr Vikrom without elaborating.
He said the project will boost Ranong's economy by offering a
variety of tourist attractions - the Andaman sea, a golf
course designed by Jack Nicklaus on the 7,000-rai island, and
duty free shopping.
"Not everyone likes gambling. There are other attractions in
the resort," mr Vikrom, adding tourists can enjoy sightseeing
in some beautiful Burmese islands, including parts of the
strategic coral of St Mathew island.
mr Vikrom said the project is 95 per cent completed, including
a pair at Wat Khao Nanghong to transfer tourists to the
island.
The hotel is preparing to lay a pipeline from Ranong to supply
fresh water to the island.
The hotel's soft opening is expected at the end of May or
beginning of June, while the grand opening is planned for
October.
The Ves Group is also building a four-star hotel in Ranong to a
accommodate tourists prior to going to Son island, also
known as the Pulo Ru island.
It is scheduled to be completed next year.
He said Thai tourists can go there with a border pass.
Concerned authorities are working on the possibility of
issuing visas to foreigners in Ranong when it becomes a
permanent border checkpoint.
The Andaman Club is 100 per cent foreign investment under the
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) condition.
Land is leased for 30 years with an annual rental of US$1.25
million.
Mr Vikrom is known to be close to some high ranking officials
in Burma.
He is also involved inn logging business and a gems cutting and
setting factory, jointly with the sate-owned Myanmar Gems
Enterprise. (BP)
**************************************************************
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT
AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AW: ASIAWEEK
Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BF: BURMA FORUM
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
GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION
Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET
106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL
6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL
MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC)
THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN BANGKOK
NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON)
NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY
RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP
RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT
SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL
TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
**************************************************************