Wired News on MAy 16 & 17, 1995

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: Wired News on MAy 16 & 17, 1995
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World Media Group Calls for Press Freedom

      SEOUL, South Korea (Reuter) - The International Press Institute (IPI)
ended its general assembly Wednesday with calls for freedom of the press in
North Korea, Algeria, Burma, Russia and other countries where government
media control persist. 

    In five resolutions, the IPI, representing more than 2,000 news editors
and media executives from 85 countries, condemned the killings of more than
40 journalists in Algeria, where Muslim fundamentalists have targeted
journalists. 

    ``All journalists are shocked by the extent and cruelty of these murders
and other acts of violence,'' the resolution on Algeria read. 

    More than 40,000 people, mostly security forces and Muslim militants,
have been killed since January, 1992, when the Algerian authorities cancelled
a general election that fundamentalists were poised to win. 

    In a separate resolution, the IPI urged Stalinist North Korea to ``open
its society to free access and travel by journalists and permit free speech
and communication so that democratic debate can begin.'' 

    IPI members adopted a resolution expressing ``extreme concern over
continuing brutality of the military regime in Myanmar (Burma) in its attacks
on free speech in the media.'' 

    The Russian government was urged to improve access to information on
battles in Chechnya ``because present developments threaten the whole
democratic process in Russia.'' 

    IPI also deplored government control of the press and mass media in
Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.


Transmitted: 95-05-17 11:57:03 EDT
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U.S. "Disappointed" with Lack of Change in Burma

      BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuter) - The United States is very disappointed
with a lack of progress by Burma's military government to improve its record
on human rights, democracy and narcotics control, a senior U.S. official said
Wednesday. 

    Winston Lord, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs, told a news conference the U.S. government did not think Burma had
made the steps Washington had called for in order to improve economic and
political ties. 

    He said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard had told the
military leaders there that if there was progress on human rights and
democracy and narcotics ``we'd be willing to try and improve our
relationship, but if there were not, there might be a further
deterioration.'' 

    Hubbard went to Burma last November and met with senior government
officials to explain the views of the United States, which cut all aid to
Burma following the military government's brutal suppression of a
pro-democracy uprising in 1988. 

    ``We haven't drawn final conclusions ... but on the whole their record
has been very disappointing,'' Lord said, detailing the lack of change since
Hubbard's visit. 

    One of the conditions the United States set was for the release of Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since
July, 1989. 

    ``They have not released Aung San Suu Kyi, indeed not even talked to her
since Mr. Hubbard was there, and they've effectively stymied talks with the
Red Cross about visits to prisons,'' Lord said. ``They did release some
prisoners, including some prominent ones, but on the whole their record has
been very disappointing.''


Transmitted: 95-05-17 12:29:39 EDT

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Two Killed as Karen Rebels Attack Burmese Base

      MAE SOT, Thailand, May 16 (Reuter) - Two Burmese soldiers were killed
when their jungle base in southeastern Burma was attacked by autonomy-seeking
Karen guerrillas on Tuesday, Thai authorities on the border with Burma said. 

    About 10 other Burmese soldiers and at least two guerrillas were wounded
in a half-hour battle that followed the attack in the early hours of Tuesday,
the sources said. 

    It was the first major clash between the guerrillas and government troops
since the guerrillas suspended offensive operations on March 24 in an attempt
to kick-start stalled moves towards peace talks. 

REUTER
Transmitted: 95-05-16 08:33:36 EDT
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Indian Forces Kill 39 Rebels in Northeast

      GUWAHATI, India, May 16 (Reuter) - Security forces have killed at least
39 separatist rebels from different guerrilla groups and arrested 40 in
troubled northeastern India over the past fortnight, a Defence Ministry
spokesman said. 

    The spokesman said late on Monday it was the biggest success of the armed
forces over insurgents in the region in recent times. 

    Indian army soldiers, paramilitary forces and units of the Burmese army
cooperated to ambush the guerrillas near the Tiau River, which separates
India and Burma, he said. 

    Northeastern India has been racked by separatist insurrections for many
decades. 

    The outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland has been waging a
bloody war against New Delhi for 40 years for an independent tribal homeland.


    Maoist guerrillas in the state of Assam have long been spearheading a
movement for a separate homeland in the tea-rich state, often kidnapping and
killing businessmen, tea garden managers, politicians and police informers. 

    The spokesman said the security forces' ambush stopped 200 insurgents who
were trying to cross the border into India's Mizoram state. Mizoram,
sandwiched between Burma and Bangladesh, must be crossed to reach Assam and
Nagaland. 

    The troops seized 51 weapons, including automatic assault rifles, light
machine-guns and rocket launchers, he said. 

REUTER
Transmitted: 95-05-16 05:53:15 EDT
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