NCGUB Position on 'Visit Myanmar Ye

[maung@xxxxxxxxxxx]

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NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
WASHINGTON, DC. INFORMATION OFFICE

815 Fifteenth NW, Suite 609, Washingotn, DC. 20005 Tel:  202 393
7342              FAX:  202 393 7343

Position on "VISIT MYANMAR YEAR - 1996"

(May 1995)

VISIT **MYANMAR YEAR -- When democracy is restored and the people
are free, the Burmese democracy movement would gladly welcome
visitors to Burma.  However, tourists should definitely not
support "Visit Myanmar Year -- 1996" which the military
dictatorship in Burma known as the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC), is promoting.  This is especially important while
our leader, 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is
still under house arrest.

The military in Burma first seized power in 1962.  It expropriated
all private businesses, drove out all foreigners and isolated the
country from the outside world.  In three decades, the military
transformed a prosperous and peaceful country into a strife-torn
Least Developed Country.  The Burmese people, therefore, want an
end to military rule in Burma and re-establish contacts with the
rest of the world.  However, it is our opinion that supporting
SLORC's "Visit Myanmar Year - 1996" will only help the military to
remain in power.

RATIONALE - Beginning in March 1988, the people of Burma began a
nation-wide campaign to end military rule and restore democracy.
The military re-asserted its control by establishing SLORC and
seizing power in a brutal coup in September 1988.  Thousands of
unarmed civilians were killed and all foreign aid to Burma was
suspended to protest the brutality.

The military depends on foreign aid and foreign income to survive.
It especially needs hard currency to buy arms with which it can
continue to control the people of Burma (For example, SLORC
purchased almost US$2 billion worth of arms from China between
1988 and 1994.  To replace the loss in foreign aid, SLORC sold
Burma's forest and ocean resources to foreign buyers.  Next it
invited foreign businesses to invest in Burma.  Tourism is SLORC's
latest program to earn foreign currency.  SLORC also hopes that
tourists who see only the beautified parts of the country will
help to dispel its brutal reputation and bestow it with some
legitimacy.  Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of SLORC
and head of its intelligence service, said that tourists would,
"see and realize the reality and the truth, and this will replace
the criticism of Myanmar abroad."

OTHER CONCERNS - Apart from the economic and political benefit
SLORC can derive from tourism, tourists to Burma should be aware
of the following facts.

Forced Relocation - In order to beautify cities for tourists,
thousands of families have been forcefully relocated from tourist
destinations.  These include Rangoon, Mandalay, Pagan, Taunggyi,
Maymyo.  The relocated households are usually not compensated and
have to rebuild in areas with no facilities whatsoever.  This has
contributed to a high incidence of malnutrition, disease and
infant and maternal mortality in the new 'satellite' towns.
Distance from the cities where the jobs are and poor
transportation have caused many husbands and job holders to become
weekend residents in the satellite towns.  This is causing serious
social problems.

In addition to city beautification, SLORC is also building
highways, railroads, and airports to accommodate the increased
transportation requirements of tourists. To make way for these
infrastructure projects, many villages especially in ethnic areas
have been forcefully relocated.

Forced Labor - Apart from forcefully relocating villages for major
infrastructure projects, SLORC also requires villages to
contribute their labor.  The villagers are not compensated for
their land, their homes or for their labor.  If they cannot work,
they have to pay a fine or find someone else to take their place.
The slave laborers have to provide their own tools, food and
transportation.  No medical care is provided.  Many have died.  A
SLORC officer, questioned by reporters about the deaths, said,
"People die all the time.  It is normal."  Forced relocation,
forced portering for the army and the forced labor requirements of
SLORC have caused hundreds of thousands to flee to
malaria-infested jungle areas not under the control of
SLORC.

People in urban areas have also had to contribute forced labor for
city beautification projects and tourist attractions.  The most
well- known is the cleaning up of the Mandalay Palace Moat.  On
that project, prisoners shackled together as well as over 2,000
city folks were used.  While the moat was being cleaned, water
supply to city residents was also cut off.

Service for Local Residents - As in the case of water supply for
Mandalay, electricity and water supply for residents of Burmese
cities are becoming increasingly scarce.  As demands for tourist
facilities such as luxury hotels grow without a corresponding
increase in electricity or water supply, SLORC is cutting off
supply to the general public.  Even electricity and water to
government offices are now rationed.  The situation can only
deteriorate as demand for facilities for tourists increases.

Cultural Destruction - In its haste to develop the tourist
industry in Burma, SLORC is destroying the very cultural basis
which makes Burma an appealing tourist destination.  Old historic
buildings are being destroyed to make room for new high-rise
concrete and steel structures.  In 1990, the inhabitants of Pagan
were moved to sanitize the famous ancient temple city for
tourists.  The colorful ethnic mosaic of Burma is also being
'developed' according to a central master plan.  This will see
artificial ethnic villages built up as tourist attractions while
authentic ethnic villages are assimilated into the dominant Burman
culture.  The most graphic illustration of this policy was the
destruction of the Palace of the Prince of the Shan State of
Kengtung to make room for a car park.

Sex Industry -- Already an estimated 40,000 Burmese women and
girls have been sold into prostitution in Thailand.  As the
tourist industry in Burma develops along the lines of neighboring
Thailand, it can be expected that more Burmese women and children
will become victims of the trade.

The facts outlined above have been reported by the United Nations
Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, credible
organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
/ Asia and international news media such as the New York Times,
the Boston Globe and the Financial Times of London.

CONCLUSION - Given these facts, the National Coalition Government
of the Union of Burma strongly opposes "Visit Myanmar Year - 1996"
which is being promoted by SLORC.  Tourists should not engage in
activities that will only benefit SLORC's coffers and not the
people of Burma.

However, responsible individuals and organizations who wish to
verify the above facts and to publicize the plight of the Burmese
people are encouraged to utilize SLORC's more relaxed tourist
policies.

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**Note: Burma was renamed Myanmar by SLORC. The Burmese democracy
movement does not accept the name change.