[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

BurmaNet News: May 1, 1995 [#162]





-------------------------- BurmaNet --------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
--------------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: May 1 1995, Monday
Issue #162

--------------------------------------------------------------

PBBC: PEPSI TRIES TO GET POLICE TO STOP PROTEST
NATION: WIMOL PUSHING HARD FOR KAREN REFUGEE REPATRIATION
NATION: HOUSE OF LORDS AGAINST CURBS ON BURMA 
LOS ANGELES TIMES: THAILAND OPENLY BACKS MYANMAR PIPELINE
SCB: BYVA'S 'THINGYAN' MAKES A SPLASH IN JAPAN
SCB: HELP WITH MY RESEARCH ON THE BURMESE
SCB: BOOK ON BURMA TRAVEL/LITERATURE
SCB: BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS # 15

--------------------------------------------------------------
                             o-------------------------------o
The BurmaNet News is an      |                               |
electronic newspaper         |                  Iti          |
covering Burma.  Articles    |                 snotpo        |
from newspapers, magazines,  |             werthatcor        |
newsletters, the wire        |            ruptsbutfea        |
services and the Internet as |           r.Fearoflosin       |
well as original material    |          gpowercorrupts       |
are published.               |       thosewhowielditand      |
The BurmaNet News  is        |     fearofthescourgeofpowe    |
e-mailed  directly to        |    rcorruptsthosewhoaresub    |
subscribers  and  is         |   jecttoit.Theeffortnecess    |
also  distributed via        |  arytoremainuncorruptedinan   |
the soc.culture.burma        |   environmentwherefearisanint |
and seasia-l mailing         |      egralpartisnotimmediat   |
lists and is also            |      elyapparanttothose       |
available via the            |        fortunateenough        |
reg.burma conference on      |         toliveinstates        |
the APC networks.  For a     |         governedbythe         |
free subscription to         |          ruleoflaw...         |
the BurmaNet News, send      |           Fearisahabi         |
an e-mail message to:        |                t.Iam          |
                             |                   no          |
 majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx       |                  taf          |
                             |                   ra          |
In the body of the message,  |                  id.          |
type: subscribe burmanews-l  |                  Aun          |
[news only mailing list],    |                  gSa          |
or, for the news+discussion  |                  nS           |
list, type:                  |                   uu          |
   subscribe burmanet-l      |                   Ky          |
                             |                   i.          |
Correspondance and letters   o-------------------------------o
to the editor should be addressed to: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
 
--------------------------------------------------------------
INFORMATION REQUEST:

If any reader has or knows where to find detailed information
on the charges that the Burmese army misused American DEA-
supplied aircraft against minority groups in Burma, please
contact burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx

--------------------------------------------------------------


PBBC: PEPSI TRIES TO GET POLICE TO STOP PROTEST
Pepsi-Burma Boycott Committee

For more information, contact Bob Gaulke, 230-9029

Portland OR, April 29:  Pepsi-owned Kentucky Fried Chicken
called Portland police in an unsuccessful attempt to stop a
protest in front of a restaurant today in downtown Portland.
The demonstration was organized to protest Pepsi's investment
in Burma and export of slave labor production. "What I see here
is a legal demonstration," said one police officer who refused
to intervene. A second police car was called to the scene and
similarly took no action against the protestors. Few people
entered the restaurant during the high-visibility "Chicken and
Slavery" demonstration organized by the Pepsi-Burma Boycott
Committee.

   "We're just seeing Pepsi's usual reaction to democracy when
they tried to shut us down," said Brian Schmidt, a boycott
committee volunteer. "From paying taxes that keep a Nobel Peace
Prize Winner imprisoned, to the export of slave labor
agriculture which they pass of as 'small farmer produce,' and
to refusing their shareholders a chance to vote on the issue,
Pepsi has shown a contempt for democracy. The way people should
respond to Pepsi is by voting with their wallets and boycotting
its products and those of the other big investors, Unocal and
Texaco."
   Diane Mechling, another protestor, said "People had a very
positive reaction. We gave handed information to a lot of
passing cars, and many people waved to us or honked their horns
in support of the protest." Ten protestors handed out hundreds
of leaflets and promoted the boycott alongside busy West
Burnside and 21st Street.
   The protest had special concern for Pepsi's connection to
slavery in Burma. "For years Pepsi has purchased cash crops
like sesame seeds in the Burmese market where military front
companies sell crops made from slave labor camps in the
frontier areas where they attack hill-tribe people," said Brian
Schmidt. "This kind of slave labor has been documented by many
human rights groups and submitted to the UN Commission on Human
Rights. Pepsi refuses to stop the practice despite appeals for
it to stop that date to 1994. They shouldn't be allowed to get
away with it."
  Burma has been labelled the "South Africa of the 1990s" due
to attention paid to a growing divestment campaign. Companies
such as Levi-Straus, Liz Claiborne and Eddie Bauer have
withdrawn from Burma, while cities and universities have called
on the remaining companies to withdraw.   The Pepsi-Burma
Boycott Committee is a grassroots group that advocates consumer
boycotts of business investing in Burma, with a primary focus
on Pepsi. PBBC organized a boycott of the planned
Starbucks-Pepsi joint venture which led to Starbucks'
declaration that the joint venture would not produce in or sell
to Burma. PBBC provides information and boycott stickers, and
documents Pepsi boycott publicity nationwide.



NATION: WIMOL PUSHING HARD FOR KAREN REFUGEE REPATRIATION
30.4.95/The Nation

ARMY Commander in Chief Gen Wimol Wongwanich yesterday insisted
he would push for Karen refugees to be relocated in one central
camp deeper inside Thailand in the wake of the attacks by armed
Karen intruders who burned down refugee camps in Tak and Mae
Hong Song provinces last week .

Wimol said the Army would propose the idea to the government
once the Interior Ministry had expressed its support.

" I am preparing to submit a written proposal to the
government. The Interior Ministry fully agrees to the idea but
there seems to be a problem on the part of the Foreign
Ministry, " he said . 

Besides the new refugee camps set up after troops of the
Burmese government and a Buddhist Karen splinter group overran
Karen strongholds in Burma recently , about 100 similar
shelters were set up along the border by Karen who fled
fighting in Burma during the Past decade, Wimol said .

Many people had criticized the Army for having failed to
protect those shelters from intruders , he said . Although the
camps were located on Thai soil, critics just did not
understand that the Army was unwilling to waste funds and man
hours taking care of the refugees.

One of the best alternatives was to push the Karen refugees
back to Burma. Another was to put them inside a central refugee
camp . The Army could not opt for repatriation because it would
be denounced by foreign countries as lacking humanity , he
said. 

In Tak province , Governor Kasem Nakkharat yesterday said Sgt
Thawatchai Wanond , a Thai soldier who was captured and taken
across the border into Burma by Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
[DKBA] troops who attacked the Baw Naw camp in Tak's Tha Song
Yang district on Friday , was freed unharmed yesterday.

The camp was one of the five attacked and burned down by the
intruding Karen troops in the northern border district on
Friday. 

Kasem said provincial officials had already discussed with the
Third Army Region and local Army commander the possibility of
relocating the Karen refugees at one central camp.




NATION: HOUSE OF LORDS AGAINST CURBS ON BURMA 
30.4.95/The Nation 


LONDON--Resisting pressure from peers of all parties , the
House of Lords on Friday voted against imposing trade sanctions
against Burma's military junta.

" We do not believe sanctions would be effective without
international support , which we do not judge to be forthcoming
" Lord Inglewood , the government 's bers of the unelected
upper house of Parliament .

Britain and its parthers in the European Union already have
suspended non-humanitarian aid , imposed an arms embargo and
severed defence links with Burma'shard-line State Law and Order 
  Restoration Council .

Summing up a short debate , Inglewood stressed the government's 
" genuine wish to see democracy , freedom and full respect for
human rights restored " in Burma.

But measures already in place " represent the most realistic
way we can exert pressure for the re-establishment of those
rights for that tortured country ,"he said " While we do not
wish to offer succor to the regime , We don't believe isolating
it entirely is necessarily going to benefit the Burmese
people." 

Inglewood said the government's policy " is one of critical
dialogue " with the regime in Rangoon .

He added that the value of Britain's trade with Burma , which
became independent from Britain in 1948 , amounted to only 13
million [US $ 20.8 million ]in 1994.




LOS ANGELES TIMES: THAILAND OPENLY BACKS MYANMAR PIPELINE

WORLD REPORT

Saturday, April 29, 1995

Produced in Cooperation with The Yomiuri Shimbun

Asia: Nation major investor in controversial project co-funded
by Unocal.

By Evelyn Iritani 
TIMES staff writer 

  From the vantage point of Deputy Prime Minister Supachai
Panitchpakdi, the difference between Thailand and its more
controversial neighbor, the renegade nation of Myanmar
(formerly Burma), is a few miles and several decades of
development.

  That's why Thailand makes no apologies for its role as a
major investor in a controversial natural gas pipeline project
in Myanmar that has prompted widespread protests against Los
Angeles-based Unocal Corp.
         Back in the mid-1970s, it was Thailand's military
leaders who were criticized for crushing a democratically
elected
government and promoting economic development at the
expense of political freedom.  Today it is the military regime-
in Myanmar that is under attack from abroad for its repression
of political dissent and h treatment of ethnic minorities.      
   Then, as now, it was foreign companies such as Unocal that
offered these developing countries badly needed hard currency
and technology, according to Supachai, who was interviewed in
Los Angeles last week during a conference sponsored by the
U.S.-Thailand Business Council.
         Today, Thailand is one of Asia's fastest-growing
economies.  It anticipates spending $60 billion on
infrastructure projects in the next few years.
         That history, and a shared border, are why Thailand is
the top investor in Myanmar and a partner with Unocal and
Total, the French energy giant, in building a $1-billion
natural-gas pipeline across that country, according to the Thai
diplomat.  Thailand, where Unocal has been producing natural
gas since 1981, will be the major customer for the gas from the
Myan- mar.
  As a close neighbor of Myanmar, Thailand has a lot more at
stake than a steady supply of energy.  Thousands of refugees,
fleeing the fighting between Myanmar's military and a
collection of rebel groups, live in camps in Thailand.
         "We can't turn our back on our neighbor," Supachai
said. 
         For the Clinton administration, Myanmar is yet another
spot where its efforts to promote democracy and expand U.S.
commercial interests abroad have collided.

         Human rights groups want Unocal and other U.S.
companies to withdraw from Myanmar, arguing that they are
propping up a repressive military regime that has imprisoned
the country's legitimately elected leaders, including Nobel
Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.  They also cite reports from
refugees that the Burmese military is displacing villagers
along the pipeline route and is using forced labor to clear the
area.
         Federated Department Stores, the owner of Macy's,
announced last week it will halt clothing production in
Myanmar within three months because it has become
unprofitable.  Eddie Bauer, Liz Claiborne and Levi Strauss
pulled out of the country earlier, citing concerns over human
rights abuses and political instability.
         Unocal executives argue their pipeline project will
benefit the people of Myanmar by providing jobs and eventually
the power needed to develop the impoverished country.

         Unocal spokesman David Garcia denied reports that
forced labor is being used in connection with the pipeline
project.  He said the route is still being surveyed, and the
final path has not even been selected.

         Supachai said he meets regularly with Myanmar's
leaders and Thai business people who work in that  country and
has found no evidence of forced labor being used on the
pipeline project.  He said as the country attracts more tourism
and business travel, it becomes difficult to hide widespread
human rights abuses.

         He expressed optimism that Aung San Suu Kyi will be
released soon.

         "Our prime minister asks about this every time he
meets with the Burmese leaders," he said.

         Supachai, whose government is a leading advocate of a
"constructive engagement" policy with Myanmar, argues an
economic boycott would send that country "back to the dark
ages." An increase in foreign trade and tourism, on the other
hand, will force the military to give people more freedom as it
relaxes border controls and encourages entrepreneurship, he
said.

         Something as simple as Thailand's construction of a
road across Burma into China will increase contact between the
Myanmar people and their neighbors, Supachai said.

         "Eventually, the (Myanmar) government can't avoid
giving more choices to their people," he said.

         Thailand also supports bringing Myanmar's leaders into
the international arena by involving them more closely with
their neighbors in the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, the
region's major economic group.

         As Myanmar attracts more foreign investment and
expands its economy, it will naturally lead to the creation of
an educated middle class that will be able to push from within
for expanded political and economic freedoms, Supachai said.

         "Burma's situation is much like Thailand a couple of
decades ago.  It will change not because of outside pressure,
but because of changes from within."



SCB: BYVA'S 'THINGYAN' MAKES A SPLASH IN JAPAN
9869mm  soc.culture.burma        4:09 AM  Apr 30, 1995
(at cet.co.jp)  (From News system)


BYVA's 'Thingyan' Makes a Splash in Tokyo

Thousands of Burmese, Japanese and foreign residents
celebrated the new year at Burma Youth Volunteer
Association's  fourth annual water festival (thingyan) in
Tokyo on April 16. The festival, which featured Burmese
food, music and dancing as well as information about
prodemocracy groups working in Japan, raised money for
Burmese monks in Japan and the Burmese democracy
movement abroad. Participants also enjoyed making free
international phone calls to friends and family back home,
courtesy of KDD, sponsor of the festival. Honored guests
included five Burmese monks living in Japan; U Win Khet
of the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) and
Rep. Wada (Sakigake Party), a member of the Free Aung San
Suu Kyi group in the Japanese Diet.




SCB: HELP WITH MY RESEARCH ON THE BURMESE
6500hiro
soc.culture.burma
 3:54 AM  Apr 29, 1995
(at ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu)
(From News system)

Hello dear friends!

I'm a student of linguistics, and currently doing some work on
Burmese.  I am reading some references, such as John Okell's "A
reference grammar of colloquial Burmese", but I have a big
question (and probably more questions would come up) on the
grammar.  If native speakers on this newsgroup would answer my
question(s), I would  really appreciate it.  You need no
linguistic knowledge.  Just tell me what you think or feel to
my question.  Please reply directly to me if you are
interested.

Thank you.

Hiroaki Kitano  6500hiro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


SCB: BOOK ON BURMA TRAVEL/LITERATURE
100124.1125
soc.culture.burma
 5:38 AM  Apr 29, 1995
(at CompuServe.COM)
(From News system)

TRAVELLERS LITERARY COMPANION TO SOUTH-EAST ASIA

scb readers may be interested in the recently published 
Travellers Literary Companion to South East Asia, edited by
Alistair Dingwall, published 1994 by In  Print Publishing, 9
Beaufort Terrace, Brighton, BN2 2SU UK fax 01273 620958, phone
01273 682836.  It  costs £13.95 in the UK.  I got my copy at
Books Etc in Covent Garden

It contains 50 pages on Burma written by Anna Allott (editor of 
"Inked Over Ripped Out") and canters over pre- and
post-colonial Burmese writing and colonial  and post-colonial
travel/fictional writing by Western writers.  It includes a few
extracts and a  useful bibliography of books about and
set in Burma.

Vicky Bowman
London


SCB: BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS # 15: 
uneoo 
 Summary: A report on situation of human rights in Burma.

 /* posted Apr 29 14:10:32 CST 1995 by
uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on igc:soc.culture.burma */ /*
----------" HRSUB: Burma Support Group(Melbourne) "----------
*/ 

 [Subject: To inquire into and report on the human rights
situation and lack of progress towards democracy in
Myanmar(Burma) by the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the
parliament of Australia. Submissions made to this enquiry by
various people and organisations are re-posted here.

 Following section is redistributed to PeaceNet/Internet by
permission from Burma Support Group, Melbourne, Victoria, 5/33
woolton Avenue, Thornbury 3071, Vic. -- U Ne Oo]



# SUBMISSION NO. 15 BURMA SUPPORT GORUP (MELBOURNE)

  -------------------------------



(Part 1 of 4.)



31st October, 1994



Ms Margaret Swieringa

Human Rights Sub-Committee

Joint Standing Committee on

Foreign Affairs, Defence and trade

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600



Dear Margaret,



Now, we are sending our submission on human right ssituation
and the lack of progress towards democracy in burma.



We put all together with two other reference book in envelop. 

 Your sincerely



Signed. Soe Soe,

Burma Support Group

Melbourne, Victoria

****



SUBMISSION TO HUMAN RIGHTS SUB-COMMITTEE

JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE
PARLIAMENT HOUSE



FROM BURMA SUPPORT GROUP (VICTORIA)

THIS SUBMISSION FINISHED ON 31ST OCTOBER 1994.



INTRODUCTION

------------

Burma Support Group Melbourne was founded in April 1993 to work
with Burmese people in their struggle to restore democracy and
respect for human rights in Burma. BSG is made up of Burmese
students, Australian Students of Burmese culture, history and
language, and community development workers.



This submission by BSG to the Human Rights Sub-Committee
inquiry into the human rights situation and the lack of
progress towards democracy in Burma; is directed particularly
towards senator Gareth Evan's "benchmark" objectives for Burma.
These were announced in Bangkok on the 26th of July 1994. This
submission has the following contents:



1. National Convention

2. Burma, Benchmarks and Forced Labour

3. SLORC and Drugs

4. Refugees

5. Rohingyas and Recognition

6. Political Prisoners

7. 1988 SLORC and Retreat



1. NATIONAL CONVENTION

----------------------

In April 1992, steps were taken to convene a National
Convention, which will formulate a new constitution for Burma.
Substantial problems are associated with this vital tool for
democracy[1]. The SLORC , which is not legitimate government of
Burma, had complete control over the Making of this
constitution [2]. Furthermore, the composition of the groups of
delegates is qquestionable [3]. There has been strict vetting
of all "discussion" that would occur at eh National Convention.
The process was far removed from what we would conceive as
being democratic[4]. One of the many ludicrous outcomes of this
process was the compulsory criteria stipulated for the
President in future Burma. The person, for example, must have
served in the Burmese military[5](therefore must be male), and
cannot be married to a foreigner. Obviously these criteria
would deprive Aung San Suu Kyi of leadership chances.



Although the Constitution is still under discussion, and SLORC
paints it as being a major step towards democracy, it is
obvious that this is far from the truth. The United Nations has
indicated their disagreement with the Convention, and any
"reward" on Australia's behalf for this so called step would be
seen as acknowledging an autocratic governing in the guise of a
democratic one. There will be no change to the problems which
affect Burma now, because the Constitution does not allow a
system of government which would address these.

===============================

Soe Soe & Susan Menzies for BSG

===============================



2. BURMA, BENCHMARKS AND FORCED LABOUR

--------------------------------------

B.S.G.(Melbourne) would like to address the question of forced
labour in Burma, particularly in light of the Foreign Minister,
Senator Gareth Evan's doorstop interview announcing a series of
"Benchmarks"[6]. Forced labour was referred to in these
Benchmarks, and in Senator Evans words, there should be a,
"...cessation of the practice of forced labour, at least to the
extent that this goes beyond a traditional custon and practice
as what's happening now unquestionably does".[7]



While B.S.G. welcomes this statement as an important public
acknowledgement of one of main forms of Human Rights abuse in
Burma and as an official signal of willingness to tackle this
issue, there are difficulties inherent in this statement which
we would like senator Evans, the Inquiry and D.F.A.T. to be
aware of. These problems centre on what is "traditional custom
and practice" of forced labour. When we refer to "labour" in
this document we are talking about it in the sense of State
sanctioned and organised labour both in the Pre-modern and
contemporary eras.



What evidence do we have about labour in terms of traditional
use in Burma? There is detailed scholarship on the social,
economic and politiacal fabric of different pre-modern
dynasties [8]. B.S.G. would like to draw attention to William
Koneig's work on the social/labour relations under the Konbaung
society was loosely divided into three sections:[9]



1. Some 35% of the population were organised into the AmhuDan
which were Crown Service Units working for the monarchal state
structure, and spanning skills from cavalry to privy chamber
cooks. In return for their labour they received not cash, but a
grant of cultivable land which they could make a livelihood
from. They did not pay tax on this land.



2. The next group were the Athi who were a large group of land
holders of people with some wealth, trade or roally bestowed
social position. In return for being able to pursue their own
labour and prosperity, they Paid tax. they were economically
independent to the extent that they didn't fall foul of the
King or his office holders.



3. The third group made up of bulk of the population and were
Kat Pa- cultivators who worked for the Athi. Many were people
who had left or escaped royal service and others were debt
bondsmen. Debt bondsmen were householders who were unable to
pay their taxes and therefore signed themselves to labour for a
patron for a fixed perild during which they were exempt from
tax payments. Their bond was transferable to their families and
descendants. This system was voluntary and not slavery. Slabery
was an institution which existedin the form of criminals and
their descendants being granted as laboureres to manastries and
who had extremenly low status. 

 When a monarch desired to build an irrigation channel or wge a
war, the resources of the AmhuDan could be drawn upon. Such
labour was not forced in that the serviceman was paid for his
efforts by his royal grant of land. However there was a natural
drift away from the Royal Service Units as some people sought
to avoid the stranuous nature of royal labour by joining the
extensive monkhood[10]; of signed themselves up as labourers to
smaller Athi patrons whose duties might be less onerous. Thus
the monarch might find his manpower reserves depleted, and
would attempt (not always successful) to replenish them in two
main ways:



1. by engaging in a military compaign where prisoners of a
conquered region could be brought back to the royal heartlands
for service [11]



2. The monarch could undertake a campaign of religious
Rurification to oust many "Unworthy" monks, to deflate the
swollen Sangha(Buddhist order), a campaign which had an
economic effect of bringing men into the labour pool[12]



Labour was not "forced" in the sense that their was a mutual
exchange of a man's skills and effort to a patron - Monarch of
Athi landlord, and in return he received some form of economic
benefit - land or tax exemption. This economic order died with
the British invasions and has not existed in Lower Burma for
170 years. It is crucial to understand that these patterns of
labour were inextricably linked to pre-modern monarchial Burma
and was a complex social, political exonomic system which came
t an end between 1824-1853 in lower Burma and 1995 in Upper
Burma with the demise of the monarchy. It was replaced with a
western capitalist cash economy which has irretrievably removed
such client/patron labour relations from the dominant role in
the economic life of burmese society.



There are two other forms of labour which might fall under the
banner of "Tradition and custom": Village community self-help;
and Military Forced Labour.



1. Village based, community self help. The village is a primary
social unit in which, even today 75% of Burmese chose to live.
Such communities have a history of both coherence as
interactive group and atradition of cooperation to further the
benefit of the group. For example, the village will labour
together to build a protective thorn hedge around the village
perimeter, as it is in their interests to do so. Similarly at
the time of Shinbyu - the male Buddhist baptism, the community
traditionally came together and volunteered their services in
celebration preparation, to the parents of the boy postulant,
in recognition of his most important social and religious
transition. Such village based, community self help in
non-coercive, locally inspired, does not include the State and
is mutually beneficial to the village; it is not "forced". 

 2. Military forced labour has been extant in Burma for
centuries. The monarch would raise levies to attack
neighbouring independent regions as a function of personal
military prowess but also out of economic necessity. The
economic and military strength of a monarch or dynasty was
dependent on constantly replenishing manpower reserves,
bringing them physically into the centre of royal control away
from the more , independent periphery of the Empire[13]/ There
was a pattern of military and territorial expansion at the
commencement of a new Dynasty or royal region followed by a
abatement of military campaigning and a resultant slow loss of
manpower, economic, and military strength; and th e political
decline of the dynasty.



Who were the people who were brought by the Kings armies back
to the royal capital? The answer is conquered and/or captured
people from the lands invaded by the Burman monarchs armies.
Complicating this process for these people was the fact that
military campaigns could either be well planned, provisioned
and executed, or poorly so. Therefore, an armies brutality
could be contingent on how much they were suffering themselves
in terms of lack of food, disease etc. All armies used forced
labour and it was natural that in the days before mechanisation
that they used the conquered people to carry supplies and
booty. Britysh records of interview survive, aabout the
experience of the inhabitants of the independent kingdom of
Cachar which lies between India and Burma and was invaded by
the Burmese in 1823:



"I am a native of the village of Urdabund in the country of
Cachar. I have been a prisoner of war in Ava. I was seized at
my native village about twenty months ago by a party of Burmese
soldiers. About 6000 persons including men women and childern
were seized at the same67 time. We were treated with great
rigour; we were chained two by two, got very little food and
were made to carry heavy loads. Women with infants at their
breast and who on this account could not carry loads, had the
infants snatched form them, their heads chopped off before
their mothers eyes and their bodies thrown in rivers. Old and
sick people who could not carry their burdens were killed by
the Burman soldiers and thier goods which consisted of plunder,
divided amongst the other prisoners for them to carry."[14]



Many of the people in this Inquiry would be aware of the
contemporary accounts of those who escaped Forced Porterage and
Forced Labour in SLORC overseen projects such as the Ye-Tavoy
Railroad. Their accounts which are extensively available do not
differ from this 170 years old account. This suggests that
abouse of human rights and Forced Labour were characteristic
practice of Burmese armies then and now. Furthermore, their are
other similarities between this army practice under the king
and wiht modern Tatmadaw (Burmese army). The tatmadaw remains
poorly mechanised, and inadequately provisioned and therefore
are dependent on their supplies from communities where they are
stationed and the physical labour of communities to carry
supplies and ammunition. There was nothing voluntary about this
labour then or now, it is armed disruption of communities
lives, coercion to work based on fear; and disregard for human
rights based on a monopoly of armed strength.



The modern military in Burma controls the State and it consumes
up to 35% of the national budget. Under it, the economy has
failed and nearly collapsed over the past three decades, with
the consequence that state funded projects simply don not have
the cash reserves available to pay for employed labour and
mechanical assistance. The State choses to rely on Forced
Labour and uses the justification of "Tradition" and
"Customary" service to the State. However as we have seen
labour had a very different social form in pre-colonial burma
and ended with the passing of the monarchial order.



In fact the courrent practice of military forced labour is very
similar to that employed by the Japnease/Burmese wartime state
which compulsoriy requisitioned 30,000 people to work on the
Burma Siam railroad with Australian P.O.W.s. The same
justification of labouring ofr the benefit of the State and in
the national interest were made by the Japnease overlords to
their powerless Burmese governemnt allies [15]. The continuity
in terms of "tradition' and "custom" with the current Military
dominated State, the Japnease State and the MOnarchial order in
the Armies use the fored labour and disrespect for human
suffering in pursuit of thier ends. 

 Recommendiations:



1. B.S.G. recommends that the Australian governemnt be
extremely wary of SLORC claims of Labour given on a voluntary
basis, based on a "traditional" of "customary" practice. Such
State overseen volunteer labour ended with the pre-colonial
social and economic order. Today's Burma is not the Burma of
one hunderd or two hundred years ago, it is modern nation state
with run by a military governemnt with a cash economy; rather
than a socia-religious monarchy with a feudal economy.



2. B.S.G. argues that the modern Burmese State has used Forced
Labour for its own ends since the milisary came to power in
1962. It is Military culture in Burma which has a historical
continuity of using Forced Labour and resulting in the abuse of
human rights. The blurring of the State with the military
culture under the Nw Win regime and SLORC means that State
projects which use "volunteer" labour will entil people being
subject to coercion, and ongoing Human Rights abuse.



3. B.S.G. recommends that the Australian government acknowledge
these facts in regards to the development of Senator Gareth
Evan's Benchmark goals ofr SLORC. In regards to Forced Labour,
the Benchmark could be improved by stating:"THERE SHOULD BE AN
IMMEDIATE CESSATION OF FORCED LABOUR OF ALL FORMS."



4. The Australian governemnt will need to be extremely active
and vigilant in terms of asserting the need to end Forced
Labour in Burma. It is part and parcel of the Military Culture
there. At present, the State and Military are one in Burma and
the Australian government should not lend credence to SLORC
claims that "Traditional" or "Customary" labour are somehow
sacrosact cultural practice which cannot be calle dfor what it
is: HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE BY THE MILITARY STATE. To conceded on
the point will entil: 

 1. Allowing the SLORC to dominate the debate as well as the
use of the Labour(which is the lives of the general population)
it controls;



 2. Perpetuate the suffering of the Burmese people by excusing
or failing to acknowledge the origin of their suffering.



====================

Marc Purcell for BSG

====================



Footnotes:

==========

[1] The infromation that is given in this document can be found
in the National Council of Union of Burma(Delagation to UN) and
an interview with the National Coalition Governement of the
Union of Burma Information Minister, Maung Maung Aye. This was
conducted on October 30 1994.



[2] It selected 603 out of 702 people to participate in this
and only 99 people who won the May 1990 elections were able to
attend to the convention.



[3] For example, ther were eight groups of people invited, the
titles of these groups being vague, ostensibly giving a variety
of voices to this process, but in actual fact being
utterlydeceptive. It is difficult to conceive who the
"Delegates from workers" are, as there are no worker unions in
Burma, so where do these people come from? Who are the 81
"Delegates who should be invited"? The question could continue.



[4] Participants were only to read from printed copy, which had
been first edited by the Chairperson (Major General Myo Nyunt
from the SLORC ) and then by the National Convention Convening
Works Committee (composed of SLORC members). No deviation from
the agenda, or printed copy was allowed. Infact, Dr Aung Kin
Sint, who was an National League for Democracy elected
representative was arrrested for being "engaged in unscrupulous
activities withe the intent to undermine the national
convention"(Mew sLIght of Myanmar.)



[5] In fact, in Order No 13/92, the sixth of the objectives of
the National Convention Order wa s that the national political
leadership role of the State must be from the military.



[6] Transcript of interview with Trevor Watson, ABC radio,
Bangkok, 26 July 1994.



[7] Ibid.



[8] a. Michael Aung-Thwin, Pagan: The Orgins of Modern Burma,
Honalulu. 1985.

b. Villiam KOneig, The Burmese Polity, 1752-1819. MIchigan,
1990. c. Victor B Lieberman, Burmese Administrative Cycle,
Princeton, New York, 1984.



[9] Opcit, Chapter Four. pp.99-164.



[10] Aung Thwin, M."The role of Sansana Reform in burmese
History: Economic demension of a religious Purification"
Journal of Asian Studies, XXXVIII. 4th august 1979.pp 671-88.



[11] Lieberman. opcit. p.11.



[12] Aung Thwin, "Sansana reform", opcit.



[13] Lieberman, op cit, pp.38-41.



[14] G.E. Harvey, A History of Burma, London, 1967.p313.



[15] J.F.Cady, A History of Modern Burma, London, 1960, p.452. 

 (Part 1 of 4)

ENDS\





 Conf: (i)ndex (u)nread (w)rite (c)apture (v)isit (g)o e(x)it
(q)uit (?) Conf? 

Topic 67 BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS # 15: Pa uneoo
soc.culture.burma 9:52 PM Apr 28, 1995 (at
physics.adelaide.edu.au) (From News system)

Summary: A report on situation of human rights in Burma.

 /* posted Apr 29 14:10:32 CST 1995 by
uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on igc:soc.culture.burma */ /*
----------" HRSUB: Burma Support Group(Melbourne) "----------
*/ 

 [Subject: To inquire into and report on the human rights
situation and lack of progress towards democracy in
Myanmar(Burma) by the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the
parliament of Australia. Submissions made to this enquiry by
various people and organisations are re-posted here.

 Following section is redistributed to PeaceNet/Internet by
permission from Burma Support Group, Melbourne, Victoria, 5/33
woolton Avenue, Thornbury 3071, Vic. -- U Ne Oo]



# SUBMISSION NO. 15 BURMA SUPPORT GORUP (MELBOURNE)

  -------------------------------



(Part 2 of 4.)



3. SLORC AND DRUGS

------------------

When Senator Gareth Evans listed a set of benchmarks for the
SLORC administration to comply with, he failed to address the
issue of drug production in Burma. Given that up to 90% of
heroin in Australia originates in Burma, this should be the
foremost benchmark objective for Australia and regional policy
towards Burma.



It is well known that the Burmses government has performed
burning of opium fields in `anti-narcotic operations', however
there is also much evidence to suggest that there is
unsystematic but pervasive cooperation between individual
military officers and SLORC officials with various drug
producers. While the Kachin Independence Orgainsation(KIO) has
dramatically decreased opium production in Kachin State since
1991, after the cease fires with some ethnic groups were
signed, the areas under Slorc control have seen anoticeable
increase in opium production. This has led to the widespread
belief that "the Burmese regime is heavily involved in Burma's
notorious narcotics trade"[16] It is further believed that: 

 "If this is the case, SLORC's actions in destroying heroin
will help it gain international credibility and more
importantly foreign aid and funding for activities such as its
so-called development projects..."[17]



The Wa people, in northern Burma, despite having made various
attempts in recent years to introduce crop replacement
initiatives in an effort to reduce the opium yield annually,
have met with little success. This is largely due to the fact
that the development projects promised by the Burmese
governemnt have yet to materialise and perhaps most importantly
the Wa's requests for technicians to survey their land for
natural resources have been ignored illustrating that there
have been no real attempts by the SLORC to discourage drug
productions in the WA state.[18]



It should be recognised that a corollary of SLORC -initiated
cease-fires with some ethnic groups will not entil an end to
the war time drug economy. In fact the reverse has occurred as
is obvious from the overall increase in opium production in
Burma. According to the available statistics, this has seen as
increase from 800 tons in 1983 to 2600 in 1993.[19] Further, in
NOvember 1993, Burma failed to attend a seminor that was aimed
at boosting regional cooperation in the fight against the drug
trade in South ease Asia. Burma's conspicuous absence was
explained by one Asian diplomat by the fact that "they [Burma]
are really embarrassed". Reports by the Drug Geo-political
Observatory ( a research organisation founded by the European
Community) "tend to prove the existence of heroin laboratories
in zones under the direct control of the Burmese army"[20]



Teh effects of drug addition on the people of Burma,
particularly the youth, goes largely unchecked. In the period
from 1980-1988 under the BSPP, the military intelligence was
well aware of the distribution points for heroin and drug users
but failed to take any action. Despite the promise of the SLORC
in 1988 to eradicate the growing use of heroin, by 1991 heroin
was the most cheap and accessible drug available in Burma. In
1991 a penicillin bottle full of heroin cost only 600 kyat(US
$6)[21]. Additionally, according to Burmese students in
Bangkok:



 "after the reopening of the universities in May 1991, there
were two ministores on Rangoon university campus with
permanenet licences to sell heroin"[22]



It has further been claimed that Ne Win's governemnt had a plan
to corrupt the youth with heroin becouse many young people had
made their dispapproval of the government all too apparent.
With the governemnt expressing such a blatant disregard for the
welfare of the people, it is not surprising that the lack of
education about AIDS not only for the high risk groups such as
Intravenous drug users and prositutiutes, but also for the
general public is far from adequate.



According to Burma's health minister, Colonel Pe Thein, more
than 5000 people tested positive for HIV in 1992 and of this
number, 74.3% were intravenous drug users, 9% were prostitutes
and 6.9% were venereal desease patients[23]. An AIDS specialist
from the Harvard School of Public Health, Daniel Tarantola,
puts the figures of those infested nuch higher estimating that
there are already 300 000-400 000 people infected with HIV in
Burma. AT least 1-2% of all preganant women in the border areas
are currently infected with HIV. Two AIDS patients recently
interviewed at Kwai River Christian Hospital in Sangkhalaburi
District in Thailand, explained that they had never heard of
AIDS before and knwe nothing about the disease or the way it
was spread. With such a lack of information about AIDS, and
with an increasing number of drug addictions occurring and the
number of Burmese women involved in prostitution (either by
force or volluntary) also constantly increasing, the drug
problem in Burma must be addressed by the Australian
government.



Recommendations

---------------

1. B.S.G. (Melbourne) recommends that as up to 90% of the
heroin in Astralia orginates in Burma, the issue of drug
production in Burma should be the foremost benchmark objective
for Australian and regional policy towards Burma.



2. B.S.G. (Melbourne) recommends that the Australian governemtn
be extremenly wary of SLORC claims about its anti-narcotic
programs. The burning of opium crops by SLORC officials is used
as a strategy by the SLORC to attract positive media attention
and should not be accepted as any real indication of progress
in drug eradication by the SLORC. There is an overwhelming
amount of evidence to suggest that the SLORC is actively
involved in drug production in Burma and B.S.G (Melbourne)
strongly reinforces that this evidence should not be
overshadowed by the SLORC's attempt to appear that they are
genuinely aiming eradicate opium crops in Burma.



3. B.S.G.(Melbourne ) recommends that focusing on one drug
baron such as Khun Sa is an ineffective way of addressing the
widespread drug problem in Burma particularly with the
pervasive involvement of the Burmese government that is a major
contributor to the problem.

======================================

Teresa O'Shannassy and Mya Aye for BSG

======================================



4. REFUGEES

-----------

BSG Melbourne would like to comment on the situation of Burmese
refugees, and the continuing human rights abouses occurring in
Burma. The Universal declaration of human rights states that no
one should be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Under the SLORC regime, human rights
are being blatently abused.



Today thousands of refugees continue to flee to India, Thailand
and China as a result of human rights abuses, forced labour and
portering, taxation, arbitrary detnention, forced relocation of
villages, religious persecution, and so called "development
projects". Estimetes of Burmese refugees on the Thai border are
around 400,000 and as illegal immigrants in Thailand, around
500 000. IN Bangladesh the figure is around 200 000 and in
China, around 180 000 Kachin refugees are scattered in seferal
camps. In India there are currently 20 000 refugees. This not
to mention some 22-500 000 internally displaced people.



The "ten benchmarks" do not tackle the enormous problems of
refugees, which is a urgent human rights issue, as well as
cousing serious regional instability. Calling for an end to
forced labour and for ceasefire will not help the vast numbers
of people already displaced and in limbo, many living under the
constant therat of repatriation. Australia needs to acknowledge
the urgent need to tackle the refugee situation, and recognise
that refugees are the direct consequence of the SLORC regime.



The SLORC uses the signing of cease fires as proof of greater
stability. But despite the fact that a ceasefire with the
Kachin ahs been in operation for two years, there are still
thousanes of Kachin regugees. After the Pa-O ceasefire in 1991,
the number of Pa-O displaced people and refugees tripled. A
ceasefire does not necessarily mean life will improve for
villagers in any way as people are still living under SLORC
control and repression. IN some situations a decrease in
fighting may actually lead to an increase in human rights
abuses. There can be no real peace in Burma until SLORC is
willing to engage in talks with all relevant groups including
those in exile and political prisoners.



The SLORC governemnt has claimed recently that it is
"concentrating on breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and
environmental degradation"[24] by implementing development
projects, and improving infrasture- building roads, schools,
bridges, resvervious and railways. The reality is that
civilians, soldiers, and prisoners are occuring on a massive
scale. Villagers rounded up for wouk are unpaid, have to
construct their own shelters, and provide their own food.
People are badly treated and there is no medical treatment for
the sick or injured. IN Phaungdaw village, local people have
been forced to relocate, and the contribute labour towards the
laying of a new pipeling. Farms and gardens have been destroyed
without compensation.



There are currently 15 000 local civilians, regardless of age
or sex, being forced to work on the construction of the
Ye-Tavoy railway in the Tenassserim Division. The railway is
reported to be part of SLORC stratiegic planning for rapid
troops deployment in the area and to meke movements of
revolutionary forces from the hills to the seas mote difficult.
The "development" project is causing new outflows of Mon,
Karen, Tavoyan and Burman villages across the Thai border.



We, Burma Support Group is especially concerned about the
oppresssion of women. Women in Burma are threatened by
relocations, forced labour, rape, and other violence.
Prostitution, trafficking of women and girls into prstitution.



Women are responsible for the home and the wellbeing of the
family."Being uprooted robs women of their control over their
lives, the power to make decisions and the self reliance gained
through skills and knowledge that frequently loose thier value
in refgugee camps or other temporary setteings"[25]



Women are also forced by the military to become porters. "Women
are more versitile in their usefulness: forced labour to work
as porters: human shields for the fighting army: propety that
can be redeemed for a good sum of money; and entertainment for
soldiers which ends in rape repeatedly"[26]



Economic deprivation has led many families to unknowingly sell
their daughters into sex slavery in Thai Brothels. There are
currently over 20 000 Burmese women and girls working in Thai
brothels. Girls are forced to work under inhumane conditions,
and live in small cubicles, often concrete rooms, working for
eight to ten hours a day. Health care and birth control is
minimal, and exposure to HIV Aids infection is common. Most
Burmese prostitutes have little or no information about AIDS or
its consequences. There are currently 300-400 000 people in
Burma already infected with the AIDS virus, and the disease is
repidly spreading.



RECOMMENDATIONS

---------------

Australia should call for the immediate and unconditional
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, the
cessation of political repression and violation of human rights
against ethnic minorities. "Legal rights for minorities" will
amount to little if negotiated in SLORCs terms and in fact may
seek to keep minority groups divided from one another. The only
path towards real security is the release of Aung Sah suu Kyi
and real democratic reforms.



Australia should recongnise Womens Human Rights in its
benchmarks, and the importance of womens full and equal
participation in the decision making process. Australia should
also acknolwege the of trafficking of women and girls as an
urgent issue of international concern.



Australian should recognise that "ceasefires" will not lead to
any real change in Burma and should call for the initiation of
talks between SLORC and all relevant groups, including
political prisoners and those in exile.



Australia should increase the numbers of displaced Burmese
accepted, and these should be recognised as Refugees, rather
than as "persons of concern".



Australia should call for UNHCR recognition of ethnic and
Burmese refugees.

==================================

Myint Myint San & Lia Kent for BSG

==================================



Footnotes:

==========

[16] Broken Promises, The Nation, June 1 1994, p. C1-2



[17] ibid. p.C-1-2



[18] ibic, p.C.1.



[19] John Badgeley. Myanmar in 1993: A Watershed Year. Asian
Survey, vil 34. no.2 FEbruary 1994.



[20] Burma Absent from Anti-Drug meeting, The Irrawaddy, Vol.1.
No.6. 30 NOvember 1993, p.3.



[21] Drugs -corrupting the youth, One day We Will Learn, The
Australian Council of Churches, Sydney, 1992.



[22] Ibid.



[23] Aids Threats Burma, Committee for Publicity People's
Struggle in Monland, Vol 2, no 1, 1994, p 8-9.



[24] Myanmar, by U OHn Gyaw, Minister for foreign affairs and
Chairman of the delegation of the union of Myanmar. New York,
11 October 1994.



[25] What about the Women of Burma? by Janis E. NIckel, for
Burma Issues, August 1993.



[26] What about the Women of Burma?



(Part 2 of 4)



--------------------------------------------------------------
INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA THE WEB:

Information about Burma is available via the WorldWideWeb at:

FreeBurmaWWW http://199.172.178.200/freebrma/freebrma.htm.
[including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files]

BurmaWeb:  http://www.uio.no/tormodl

Burma fonts: 
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html

Ethnologue Database(Myanmar):
    
http://www-ala.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rap/Ethnologue/eth.cgi/Myanmar 

BurmaNet News (most recent issue only):
         http://taygate.au.ac.th/web/michael/bnn/bnn.htm


o------------------------------------------------------------o
CONTACTING BURMANET BY SNAILMAIL, FAX OR PHONE:

In Washington:

  Attention to BurmaNet
  c/o National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
  (NCGUB)
  Information Office
  815 15th Street NW, Suite 609
  Washington D.C. 20005
  Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343
  NCGUB email: ncgub@xxxxxxxxxxx

In Bangkok:
  Attention to BurmaNet
  c/o Burma Issues
  PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office
  Bangkok 10500 Thailand
  Tel: (066) (02) 234-6674, Fax: (066) (02) 631 0133
  Burma Issues email: durham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The NCGUB is a government-in-exile, formed by representatives
of the people that won the election in 1990.  

Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization
that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains
an archive of Burma-related documents.  


Views expressed in The BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect
those of either NCGUB or Burma Issues.

--------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
--------------------------------------------------------------
 ABSDF-DNA: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [DR. NAING
AUNG]
 ABSDF-MTZ: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [MOE THEE ZUN] 
 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
--------------------------------------------------------------