[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
News: August 9 (r)
Received: (from strider) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.14 ) id HAA12212; Sat, 12 Aug 1995 07:50:31 -0700
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 07:50:31 -0700
Status: RO
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: August 9, 1995
THE NATION: COST OF HEROIN HABIT SOARS IN THAILAND AS KHUN SA'S HARVEST HIT BY
POOR WEATHER
BKK POST: SUU KYI AGREES TO GIVE KEYNOTE SPEECH AT NGO WOMEN'S FORUM
BKK POST: BURMA DISSIDENTS MARK UPRISING ANNIVERSARY
BKK POST: ARMY CRITICISES PDP MP FOR ATTACK ON WIMOL
----------------------------------------------------------
Produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G).
The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. Articles from
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire services and the Internet as well
as original material are published.
The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is also distributed
via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l mailing lists and is also available via
the reg.burma conference on the APC networks. For a free subscription to the
BurmaNet News, send an e-mail message to: majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx
In the body of the message, type "subscribe burmanet-l" (without quotation
marks) Letters to the editor, comments or contributions of articles should be
sent to the editor at: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------------------
INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA THE WEB AND GOPHER:
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
TO ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA GOPHER:
gopher csf.colorado.edu.
Look under the International Political Economy section, then
select Geographic_Archive, then Asia, then Burma.
----------------------------------------------------------
BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related
to Burma. The scope of the subjects involved is simplytoo broad for any one
person to cover. BurmaNet is therefore organizing a number of volunteer
coordinators to field questions on various subjects. If you have questions on
any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following co
ordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact
with someone who can:
Arakan/Rohingya/Burma- [volunteer needed]
Bangladesh border
Art/archaeology/: [volunteer needed]
Campus activism:
Boycott campaigns:
Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission,
c/o NBH03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fonts: tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
History of Burma: zar1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chin history/culture:
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: 102113.2571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen Historical Society
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Naga history/culture: [volunteer needed]
[Burma-India border]
Pali literature: "Palmleaf"
c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx
"Attn. S. Sutcliffe"
World Wide Web: FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
Volunteering: Dr. Christina Fink
c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
----------------------------------------------------------
===== item =====
COST OF HEROIN HABIT SOARS IN THAILAND AS KHUN SA'S HARVEST HIT BY POOR
WEATHER
9 August 1995, THE NATION
A POOR opium harvest and changing control of opium production in Burmese has
sent the price of heroin from the Goldern Triangle region surging, a Thai
narcotics suppression officer said yesterday.
The wholesale price of heroin from clandestine refineries has risen in recent
months from between Bt 70,000- 80,000 to between Bt 100,000-120,000 for one
700-gramme until of the drug, the senior officer, who declined to be
identified, said.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates about 60 per cent of
heroin reaching the world market is from the Goldern Triangle, the region
where the borders of Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.
The largest amount of illegal opium, and its refined from heroin, comes from
Shan state in Burma, anti-narcotics agents said yesterday.
Last year's opium harvest was hit by poor weather with production in Burma
falling by 21 per cent to about 2,000 tonnes, according to the US State
Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
One tonne of opium produces approximately 100 kg of heroin, the anti-narcotics
officials said.
The Thai narcotics suppression officer said supplies of heroin reaching
Thailand had also been affected by fighting between Burmese government forces
and opium warlord Khun Sa.
The Thai officer also said supplies had been hit by shifting control of the
opium harvest in central and northern Shan state where alleged trafficker Lo
Hsing-han has moved into areas previously under the control of Khun Sa.
Opium production near the Thai border has decreased due to the fighting while
at the same time the Lo Hsing-han group has bought most of the raw opium grown
in the upper part of Shan state, the officer said.
Lo Hsing-han was a government militia commander in the 1960s who later joined
Shan rebels fighting Rangoon.
The opium and heroin being produced by Lo Hsing-han, who is alleged to have
set up refineries in northern Shan state near the Chinese border, was not
being exported to the world market through Thailand, affecting supplies and
prices in Thailand, the Thai officer said. (TN)
====item====
SUU KYI AGREES TO GIVE KEYNOTE SPEECH AT NGO WOMEN'S FORUM
9 August 1995 Bangkok Post
BURMESE dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed to give the keynote
speech at the Non-governmental Forum on Women' 95 later this month in Beijing,
forum convener Supatra Masdit confirmed yesterday after returning from a one
day visit to Rangoon.
Mrs Suu Kyi is not only a women's leader, but a world class leader in her own
right, said Khunying Supatra during an interview screened on Channel 9 last
night.
Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, Khunying Supatra was in Rangoon on Monday
on behalf of the United Nations to discuss Mrs Suu Kyi's participation at the
forum which begins August 31.
The forum's organising committee had unanimously voted to invite Mrs Suu Kyi
to attend but she declined, saying that she did not want to leave the country,
agreeing only to send a speech.
Her speech will last about 20 minutes and will serve to stimulate and inspire
women to take part in politics. I told her that we could discuss all the
problems in the world, but we won't be able to solve them unless women take
part in politics, said Khunying Supatra.
Both Khunying Supatra and Mrs Suu Kyi discussed a wide range of issues,
including experiences of both being daughters of well-known politicians having
to prove themselves to the public. They also talked about corruption and
insecurity being one of the major causes of corruption.
She stressed the importance of entertaining a vision, but going step by step,
Khunying Supatra said. The six years under house arrest has given her inner
strength. She has been clear about her goal all along.
The MP gave a T-shirt of the forum to Mrs Suu Kyi. It bears the picture of
eight women from around the world dancing.
She was very pleased with the number eight which is symbolic of her democracy
movement, said Khunying Supatra.
Asked what assistance she might need, Mrs Suu Kyi said she was waiting for the
authorities to allow her to use telecommunications equipment. She said she
also wanted good books for Burmese Children and copies of the Bangkok Post,
Newsweek, Far Eastern Economic Review and The Nation.
Meanwhile yesterday Foreign Minister Kasem S. Kasemsri said he wanted to see
reconciliation in Burma. He said it would be possible if Mrs Suu Kyi and the
military junta hold discussions and clear up any misunderstandings between
them. (BP)
====item====
BURMA DISSIDENTS MARK UPRISING ANNIVERSARY
9 August 1995, Bangkok Post
ABOUT 80 Burmese dissidents protested peacefully outside their embassy in
Bangkok yesterday on the seventh anniversary of a nationwide pro-democracy
uprising in their homeland.
The demonstrators carried banners reading We Will Never Forget 8-8-88 and Long
Live 8-8-88 along with their battle flag a red banner with the yellow fighting
peacock symbol- and pictures of freed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
We want democracy for Burma, said Jerry Hla Haung, a teacher at St Paul's
Christian High School in Rangoon. We want (the Slorc) to release all political
prisoners.
We still want other countries to put pressure on the Slorc, he told reporters.
The demonstrators hung a plastic wreath bearing the inscription 8-8-88 All
Burma Students (Thailand) from the spiked gate outside the embassy.
One man read a statement demanding the release of all political prisoners, a
halt to the national convention that is drafting a new constitution, a
dialogue between the Slorc and democratic forces, and that the Slorc recognise
the 1990 general election and cede power to a government led by Aung San Suu
Kyi.
The opposition NLD won the election by a landslide but the Slorc refused to
stand down.
The demonstrators dispersed after about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) (NLDLA) -NLD
members who fled Rangoon after the crackdown and set up a shadow government in
the jungle- marked the 8-8-88 anniversary with a call for for the release of
the political prisoners and a dialogue between the Slorc and Aung San Suu Kyi.
The NLDLA, said it was willing to work in any given role with other pro-
democracy groups and ethnic minorities to uphold the interests of the people.
It also thanked all organisations, individuals and the media who assisted in
securing the release of our national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. (BP)
====item====
ARMY CRITICISES PDP MP FOR ATTACK ON WIMOL
9 August 1995, Bangkok Post
THE Army News yesterday criticised Palang Dharma MP Sutin Noppaket for his
criticism of Army Commander Wimol Wongwanich, who disagreed with a proposed
visit to Thailand by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Gen Wimol had said that all sides concerned with the invitation should be more
cautious on the issue since the trip would harm relations between the two
countries.
Mr Sutin, a Bangkok MP, claimed Gen Wimol's comment showed the Army had no
respect for the human rights in Burma and did not support the democratic
struggle led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
But Lt-Col Tadtiem Yiemnakorn, the pen name of an army colonel working in the
Army Secretary Office, defended Gen Wimol in his column in the August 8 issue
of the Army's bi-weekly newspaper.
The officer said Gen Wimol's remark was in line with government policy to
strengthen relations with neighbouring countries.
"The Army's stance on the issue is in support of government policy and Sutin
Nopket is also a member of the Coalition Government as he is a Palang Dharma
MP," Lt-Col Tadtiem wrote.
The colonel said Mr Sutin's claim that the Army had no respect for human
rights and did not support the democratic struggle in Burma discredited the
Army and might confuse the public.
He wrote that the military did not oppose the reported visit but was worried
about relations between the two countries.
The colonel said that as Thailand was a neighbour of Burma, Burmese sensitiv
ity over Aung San Suu Kyi should be considered.
He was concerned over Mr Sutin's "wisdom" in commenting since the MP was a
former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and should be more
cautious in making public comments.
"Mr Sutin's interview has badly affected the Army's image as well as its
feelings," the colonel wrote.
The colonel wrote that many army officers were also fond of the Burmese
opposition leader known for her "charm and hospitality". But they had to
consider the national interest when they gave an opinion on the issue. (BP)