Wired News on June 23 & 24, 1995 (r)

[jedwards@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

FreeBurma@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
> Attn: Burma Newsreaders 
> Re: Wired News on June 23 & 24, 1995 
> --------------------------------------------------------------- 
>  
> SEA International to Build Hotel in Burma 
>  
>       RANGOON, June 24 (Reuter) - The French company SAE International has 
> signed a contract to build a 22-storey hotel and office complex in Rangoon, 
> official Burmese media reported on Saturday.  
>  
>     Under the contract, which was signed on Friday, SAE International will 
> construct the twin tower hotel on a plot of land close to the Sule Pagoda in 
> central Rangoon.  
>  
>     The construction of the 270-room hotel is expected to be completed by the
> 
> end of 1996 when Burma is due to celebrate visit Myanmar year.  
>  
>     Total investment for the project is $60 million, the media reports said.
>  
>  
>     Foreign investment in Burma's tourism and hotel sectors stands at $500 
> million and ranks second only to investment in the country's oil and gas 
> sectors, according to recently published official stastistics.  
>  
> REUTER 
> **************** 
>  
> Guerrillas Killed as Burma's Opium War Flares 
>  
>       BANGKOK, June 23 (Reuter) - At least six guerrillas have been killed in
> 
> renewed heavy fighting between rival opium-producing armies in Burma's Shan 
> state, guerrilla sources said on Friday.  
>  
>     An official from opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) said 
> fighters from the ethnic minority Wa army launched a surprise attack on an 
> MTA position at Doi Larng, near the border with Thailand, on Wednesday.  
>  
>     Six MTA fighters were killed and several others wounded in heavy clashes 
> between the long-time enemies that continued until Thursday, the MTA source 
> said.  
>  
>     Wa casualties were believed to be heavy and the two sides remained dug in
> 
> opposite each other in the mountains, he said.  
>  
>     Both the MTA and the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are deeply involved in 
> the Burma's booming opium trade and they used to fight regularly over routes 
> for opium caravans until several years ago when they agreed to a truce.  
>  
>     The UWSA was formed by rank-and-file members of the Burmese Communist 
> Party's army who mutinied against their ageing leadership in 1989 and signed 
> a ceasefire agreement with Burma's ruling military body.  
>  
>     The Wa are seeking their own state, covering the area to the east of the 
> Salween River, within a federal Burma, but the ruling military has denied 
> them that and offered them limited autonomy in a much smaller area.  
>  
>     Khun Sa's MTA is seeking the independence of Shan state and has been 
> facing regular Burmese army attacks since late 1993. 
> ********** 
>  
> Burmese Defy Campaign to Boycott Thai Products 
>  
>       BANGKOK, June 23 (Reuter) - A Burmese campaign to boycott Thai products
> 
> had not stopped Burmese villagers and traders continuing to travel into 
> Thailand to buy consumer goods, a local Thai trade official said on Friday.  
>  
>     ``The boycott is not working because of the people's need for consumer 
> products from Thailand,'' Suchart Kriratana, deputy chairman of the 
> provincial Chamber of Commerce in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, told 
> Reuters.  
>  
>     Burmese traders arriving in Mae Sot earlier this week reported seeing 
> posters in Burmese towns urging people not to buy Thai products but Chinese, 
> Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean goods instead.  
>  
>     The Thai Foreign Ministry subsequently confirmed the campaign, saying 
> Bangkok had been informed of it by the Thai Embassy in Rangoon.  
>  
>     Senior Thai Foreign Ministry officials dimissed the boycott as a 
> local-level problem that would be solved by a bilateral body responsible for 
> relations between the two countries.  
>  
>     Burma has given no reason for the boycott call but it follows months of 
> strained relations between the neighbouring countries.  
>  
>     Thailand says Burmese soldiers and their allies have cross the border and
> 
> Burmese officials have accused the Thais of helping Karen ethnic rebels.  
>  
>     ``I think the Burmese are not happy with what they see as Thailand's 
> unclear policy towards them,'' said Suchart.  
>  
>     ``I hope the new government after the (July 2) election will impose a 
> clear-cut policy and normal trade will resume,'' he said.  
>  
> REUTER 
> **************** 
>  
> Bangladesh Hopes to Close Rohingya Camps This Year 
>  
>       COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, June 23 (Reuter) - Bangladesh hopes to empty 
> its camps of Burmese Moslem refugees by the end of this year, repatriation 
> officials said on Friday.  
>  
>     A total of 192,467 Burmese Moslem refugees, called Rohingyas, have 
> already returned home, leaving 52,625 in Bangladeshi camps, they said.  
>  
>     The repatriation process, suspended for some weeks because of 
> difficulties on the Burmese side, resumed on Thursday as 174 Rohingyas sailed
> 
> across the Naf River border.  
>  
>     A quarter million Rohingyas fled to southeastern Bangladesh in early 1992
> 
> to escape alleged military persecution in west Burma's Moslem-majority Arakan
> 
> state.  
>  
>     Repatriation began in September that year following an agreement between 
> the two countries.  
>  
>     Repatriation officials say they have recorded more than 20,000 births in 
> the camps.  
>  
> REUTER 
> ****************** 
>  -----------------------------------------------end.
> 
>