BurmaNet News: The Year in Review

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Received: (from strider) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.16 ) id IAA11378; Wed, 3 Jan 1996 08:02:21 -0800
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 08:02:21 -0800


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

The BurmaNet News: January 3, 1996
Issue #313


BURMA 1995: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
by the BurmaNet Editor

Aung San Suu Kyi freed
	The most momentous event of 1995 was the surprise release of Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest on the tenth of July.  Not long before, Khin
Nyunt stated that she would not be released anytime soon, although the Japanese 
Embassy was tipped off a few days in advance.  At first Burma watchers 
speculated that her release might signal a more conciliatory attitude on the part 
of the SLORC.  Events in the months following have proved otherwise.  The official 
media never announced her release and the military junta has not engaged in a 
political dialogue with her.  She was not allowed to officially resume her position
as the secretary general of the NLD, and she cannot travel freely.   When she 
attempted to attend the Karen New Year celebration in Insein on December 21, 
she was detained by the police and sent home.
	It is now clear that the SLORC released Suu Kyi in order to lessen
international pressure.  Their strategy has paid off.  A number of companies and 
foreign banks have gone into Burma in the past six months, and even the World 
Bank is considering providing assistance in the near future.  Daw Suu has asked 
companies not to invest and governments not to provide foreign aid until democracy 
is restored, but few have listened.

Daw Suu's Activities
	Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be undaunted by the SLORC, although
she has been criticized by some for moving too cautiously.  Not able to communicate
with the people through the official media, she has been addressing crowds at
her gate every weekend.  The crowds have gradually grown from a few hundred to 4 
or 5000.  She has placed a mailbox on her gate into which citizens can drop letters 
with questions.  Each Saturday and Sunday, she reads and responds to four or five 
of these letters, organizing her remarks around a particular theme such as education 
or responsibility.  
	Afraid that if she leaves the country she will not be allowed back in, she 
has still managed to communicate with the international community.  She regularly 
makes time for journalists to interview her at her house, and she has had her 
videotaped speeches smuggled out to various international conferences including the 
UN Women's Conference in Beijing and the International Free Trade Union Conference 
in Manila.  She has also begun writing a weekly column in the Mainichi Daily News 
entitled Letters From Burma.  
	Refusing to criticize the SLORC openly, Daw Suu is still insisting that 
a political dialogue is the only answer.   In the meantime, she has been meeting
with NLD delegations from all over the country and working with the NLD central
committee to plan their strategy.  She organized a  Diamond Jubilee celebration
at her house which over 1000 people attended.  Recently she has begun setting up a 
sort of shadow government with committees for health and welfare.  She is urging 
NGOs and others to work through these committees instead of SLORC ministries.

The NLD re-emerges
	After 5 years of virtually no public activity, the NLD has sprung to life 
again.  While NLD members continued to meet informally during Daw Suu's
house arrest, they did not dare to organize openly.  Since July, delegations of NLD 
members from all over Burma have been traveling to Rangoon to meet with 
Daw Suu and other Executive Committee members.  They have been videotaping 
their meetings and taking them back home to copy and show others.  Although a 
number of NLD members have left the country, remain in jail, or no longer dare to 
be active, it appears that a significant number are ready to assume a more active 
role again.   Daw Suu's idea to set up various committees to assist the people
may provide concrete tasks for NLD members to begin carrying out.
	However, the SLORC is beginning to clamp down on NLD activities.
The SLORC has issued new orders which say that any NLD member must seek 
permission from local Law and Order Restoration Councils before traveling
anywhere or attending party meetings.  Additional restrictions have also been
placed on the publication and distribution of NLD literature and videotapes. 
U Sein Hla Aung, an NLD member from Mandalay was recently arrested for 
distributing videotapes of Daw Suu's weekend forums, and the three NLD 
members who accompanied Daw Suu to a Karen New Year's celebration have 
been held since December 21. Earlier this month it was reported that prison 
vans were waiting in front of U Kyi Maung's and U Tin Oo's houses. 

National Convention
	The National Convention, which commenced in January 1993
and has met sporadically ever since, resumed on November 28, 1995.
On November 22, 1995, Daw Suu issued a press statement that
criticized the National Convention for being undemocratic in its
composition and work procedures.  Only 15% of the 677 delegates were 
actually elected.  On November 28, all 86 of the NLD delegates briefly 
attended the Convention and then walked out.  Two days later, they were 
officially expelled from the Convention for being absent without permission.  
Lieutenant General Myo Nyunt, chairman of the NC convening committee 
attacked Suu Kyi for trying to "spoil" the Convention and said that the 
convention would continue without the NLD. 
	The NLD received support for their move from some ethnic minority 
groups as well as Burmese groups in exile in Thailand, India, and the United States.  
Delegates from the SNLD (Shan Nationalities League for Democracy) have been 
under extreme pressure to remain at the NC.  According to one source, at least 
two of the NLD members who walked out of the convention have had their water 
and electricity cut off. 

The SLORC
	The SLORC appears to have gained strength in 1995 through its
moves to liberalize the economy and welcome foreign investment.  Growing
investment has not only given the SLORC some legitimacy but also enriched
them personally.  The SLORC has continued to increase the size of the army,
and it has managed to expand its military presence deeper into the border areas.
	The SLORC has used the New Light of Myanmar to attack the KNU
(the Whither KNU series, which was later printed into a book and sold on the 
streets of Rangoon) Thailand (the Other Country series), NGOs and individuals
working with the pro-democracy and ethnic minority groups, and more recently
Aung San Suu Kyi.  The SLORC or friends of the SLORC have occasionally 
posted their views in burmanet-l and soc.culture.burma, and there is now a pro-
SLORC myanmar home page on the web.  
	Some Burma-watchers have suggested that a split exists between the 
army faction (mostly former field commanders) and the military intelligence 
faction of the SLORC.  Conflicts between Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt were 
reported over whether or not to attack the Karenni after signing a ceasefire with 
them.  There were also disagreements about the advisability of releasing Aung San 
Suu Kyi in July.  Nevertheless, these conflicts have never been made public, and 
the individuals who comprise the SLORC recognize that they must stick together in 
order to survive.
	The children of the SLORC have also had a good year.  Khin Nyunt
and Kyaw Ba's sons opened a boutique called Living Color, which sells
expensive designer clothing from the West.  They were able to persuade the
military regime to keep Scot's market, where the boutique is located, open on 
Sundays, so that they could increase their profits.

The people inside Burma
	Some people have benefited from economic liberalization and are
making money in businesses catering to tourists and foreign investors. However,
the vast majority of the people have suffered from rising inflation, continued
demands for forced labor, and extortion of funds by the SLORC army and 
local officials.  Government salaries have not increased while rice prices 
have almost doubled.  Forced labor on the Ye-Tavoy railway, roads, irrigation
projects, and local army posts has continued everywhere except in Rangoon.
In Rangoon itself, people's land has been confiscated and, in some areas, homes 
have burnt down in mysterious fires to make way for hotels and factories.
	As many as 1 million people have left Burma in search of work in
Thailand because they are unable to feed their families or cannot afford the
monthly fees demanded by local officials.  
	The majority of students continue to drop out of school before financing
even five years of education, because parents need their children's labor and
see no value in the present education system.  Hospitals have no supplies or
medicine, and people must buy their own or go to expensive private clinics in
order to get treated.  Outside observers suspect that AIDS infection rates are
rising dramatically because of the increasing number of IV drug users and 
the lack of access to information about AIDS and protective devices (condoms,
clean needles).
	
Burmese pro-democracy groups in exile
	Burmese pro-democracy groups were hurt by the loss of Manerplaw, 
the Karen National Union Headquarters, where they also maintained their offices.  
The ABSDFs also lost many of their military bases of operation and have shifted
away from military action and toward political work.  
	As ceasefires are signed between the ethnic groups and the SLORC, the 
ABSDF and other groups are being forced to move out of the border areas.  The 
SLORC has not offered any ceasefire agreements to the Burmese political groups, 
although Khin Nyunt did make an announcement this summer saying that all students
could come back.  A few students have returned, and while they were not immediately
arrested, they were closely watched and quickly blamed when any anti-regime
activities developed in their localities.
	The NCUB was formed in order to provide an umbrella organization
which included NLD members as well as Burmese students and the ethnic political
organizations.
	Most of the pro-democracy groups now have e-mail access and have 
taken advantage of this communication tool to disseminate information about their 
own activities and as well as events inside Burma.

ASEAN Relations
	Burma's relations with ASEAN steadily improved throughout 1995,
as ASEAN members trumpeted their constructive engagement policy as the
main factor in Aung San Suu Kyi's release.  In July, Burma told Brunei
that it wished to accede the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the first step 
toward full membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.  Burma's
foreign minister, Ohn Gyaw attended the ASEAN foreign minister's meeting
in Brunei as a "guest of the host country" and top SLORC officials came to 
the ASEAN summit in Bangkok in early December.  
	ASEAN countries, particularly Thailand and Singapore, have invested 
heavily in Burma, and their governments have continued to defend the oppressive 
regime's practices with the argument that Asian values are different from Western 
values.  According to this argument, Asians value security and collective benefits over
individual rights and freedom.  The argument ignores the fact that in Burma today,
people have neither security nor sufficient food to eat.  Moreover, Aung San Suu
Kyi and Burmese in exile have rejected the Asian values argument and suggested
that it is merely a justification for countries which wish to do business with the
military regime.
	Thai-SLORC relations have been strained by the closing of 3 border
crossings by the SLORC.  The SLORC has accused the Thai government of 
aiding the Karen and the Shan and of filling in part of the Moei River at the
point where the "Friendship" Bridge is being built.  Because of their own
commercial interests in Burma, senior Thai military officials and their Thai
business partners have been willing to bend over backwards to respond to 
SLORC demands.  The SLORC appears to be testing the Thai government
to see how far it can be pushed.   The SLORC army has participated in DKBA
assaults on Karen refugee camps and allowed, if not directly encouraged, DKBA 
attacks on Thai civilians.  The Thai population has been largely apathetic,
and since the departure of the Chuan administration, few Thai voices have been
heard criticizing the SLORC and Thailand's policy of constructive engagement.

Japan
	Japan has worked closely with the SLORC in 1995 and appears to have 
been instrumental in persuading the regime to release Suu Kyi in July.  Almost 
immediately after the release, Japan began providing aid, and Japanese banks 
and corporations have poured into the country. 
	Japanese companies are positioning themselves to be major players 
in the development of Burma.   To name a few, Daiwa Securities Co. announced 
plans to open a brokerage office and to set up a stock exchange in Rangoon in the 
near future.  Mitsui is conducting a feasibility study on a $700 million power unit 
and fertilizer plant and Marubeni is planning an industrial park.  And Chiyoda Corp is 
working on a massive development plan for Mandalay, which would include the 
construction of oil pipelines from the Bay of Bengal to Mandalay and improvement 
of the network of roads between Mandalay and Yunnan Province in China.	
	The Japanese government did recently announce that it has delayed a yen 
4.8 billion loan, because sufficient progress toward democracy has not been made.
However, the government is not in any way inhibiting businesses from pursuing
investment opportunities, and there is little public outcry against corporations 
which are going into Burma.

The DKBA
	The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which was founded in
December, 1994, greatly assisted the SLORC in its campaign against
the KNU in 1995.  About 500 soldiers left the KNLA and formed the DKBA 
under SLORC supervision.  They were disappointed with certain KNU policies 
and officers and enticed by SLORC offers of support and control over Karen
state.  Religious discrimination by Christian officers against Buddhist foot 
soldiers has been sighted as the primary reason for the split.  In particular, two 
officers who had treated their troops inappropriately were later promoted 
anyway.  However, many Karen assert that the fundamental problem was the 
excessive gap in living standards between the officers and the foot soldiers. 
KNU officers have also attributed the problem to the lack of education of the
people who joined the DKBA.  The KNU is clearly partly responsible for 
this, because they have never made much of an effort to politicize the people
or to explain the objectives of the movement.  
	In 1995 the DKBA recruited relatives and villagers from some
refugee camps and areas in Kawthoolei where they were operating.  The 
SLORC troops originally provided rations, uniforms, and some weapons.
In return, the DKBA guided the SLORC troops through the back paths
into Manerplaw in February and assisted in the capture of Kawmoora in 
March.  The DKBA have also been terrorizing villages in Karen State,
looting, torturing, and killing Karen villagers.  In the areas where they
operate, villagers often no longer dare to give food, shelter, or information
to KNLA soldiers.  The DKBA also staged several attacks on Karen 
refugee camps in Thailand in April and May and then again in November
and December.  They have looted the refugees, kidnapped KNU officials,
injured and killed refugees, and burned down camps.  They have also
attacked a number of Thais along the border robbing and killing them.
When the DKBA burned down camps earlier this year, they were supported
by SLORC troops who were stationed behind them with heavy weapons
and walkie talkies.  Although they appear to be operating independently
in their recent attacks against Thais, KNU officials have suggested that
they would not dare to carry out such attacks without at least the tacit
support of the SLORC.
	The DKBA has attempted to recruit villagers in other areas,
but so far it has not been successful. In other KNU-controlled areas 
further away from Manerplaw there have been  no conflicts between 
Christian and Buddhist Karen.  Also, the monks and villagers in the 6th 
Brigade area who have been approached do not endorse the DKBA's 
activities.  
	Some DKBA have deserted and returned to the KNU.  They
reported that the SLORC did not give them ammunition, stopped giving
them rations, and raped many of their wives.  Some have also been shot
by the SLORC.  At this point, there seem to be some DKBA groups who 
are operating independently and others who are still working closely
with the SLORC.  Some have deserted and returned to the KNU.  They
have not yet been reintegrated into their battalions, however, because of
the fear that some may actually be SLORC spies.  

The KNU
	The Karen National Union has been severely weakened by the loss 
of it's headquarters, Manerplaw, earlier this year.  The SLORC also took
Kawmoora, a major stronghold, and has managed to cut off transportation 
and communication links between the northern part of Karen state and 
central Karen state.  The KNU has had to relocate its headquarters 3 times 
this year in response to SLORC attacks.  Much of the summer was spent 
soul-searching about past mistakes in military and organizational policy.   
General Bo Mya stepped down as military commander, and the military 
instituted a shift from a strategy of defending fixed positions to engaging 
in guerrilla warfare.  
	In July, the KNU held their 11th Congress.  Although there was 
some initial opposition, General Bo Mya was re-elected as the President of 
the KNU. This fall senior KNU officials met with SLORC-appointed
negotiators and middlemen on several occasions.  In December, the KNU sent 
a delegation to Moulmein and Rangoon to meet with the Southern Commander 
and briefly with Khin Nyunt about the agenda of ceasefire talks and the 
composition of the negotiating teams.  The SLORC informed the KNU that 
it wanted future statements on the ceasefire talks to be approved by the SLORC 
before being released, a condition which some KNU officers considered 
unreasonable.  The KNU has agreed to continue talks, but not with much 
optimism about the outcome.  They have been in contact with other ethnic 
groups who have been disappointed with their ceasefire agreements, and 
they were angered by SLORC attacks during the talks in Rangoon.
	During 1995, hundreds of Karen villages have been destroyed and
many villagers have been forced to move into enclosed areas which resemble
concentration camps.  In some areas in Paphun district, the villagers were 
ordered to hand their entire harvest over to the SLORC troops. They must now 
go collect their family's rations from the troops twice a day, or if they live farther 
away, once every three days.  Karen civilians have continued  to be taken as porters 
and forced laborers and tortured or killed because of suspected support for the 
KNU.  More refugees have come out and many thousand more are internally 
displaced.

The Mon
 	In August, Nai Shwe Kyin, the President of the New Mon State Party
traveled to Rangoon to sign a ceasefire agreement with the SLORC.  In the
agreement, the NMSP agreed to no longer collect taxes from the people, to
limit their military presence to 8 small areas, and to not work with foreign
NGOs unless they come through Rangoon.  The SLORC promised to provide
the NMSP with 400,000 kyat a month, to let the NMSP run their own schools
(but with no financial support), and to establish some business enterprises.
However, the NMSP delegation was told not to do business with the Thais,
and senior leaders were granted passports which are only valid for travel
to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.  
	Since the ceasefire, the SLORC authorities have continued to 
pick up porters and forced laborers in the Mon State.  According to Mon
and foreign sources, the extent of human rights abuses committed by the 
SLORC in Mon state is as bad as or worse than last year.  In particular, tens 
of thousands of people are being forced to work on the Ye-Tavoy railway, and 
a large proportion of the laborers are children.  Protests by Nai Shwe Kyin to 
the SLORC have not had any effect.  Many Mon are unhappy with the ceasefire 
agreement, and some feel that the leadership has sold out.  Refugees are due to 
be repatriated in January although new refugees are still coming out.  

The Shan
	Overseas Shan held a conference in New York early in the year, 
bringing various Shan factions together to discuss Shan political policy 
and political lobbying abroad.  A Standing Committee was formed to carry 
out political work, with all Shan factions agreeing to work for federalism in
Burma.
	In March, the Mong Tai Army and the SLORC engaged in several 
battles in Tachilek and the surrounding area.  The Shan National Army under 
the command of Major Karnyord broke off from away from the MTA and 
allegedly received funding from the SLORC.  In August, Khun Sa responded
to intense internal pressure and resigned from his post as head of the Shan State 
Restoration Council, of which the Mong Tai Army is the military wing. Many Shans 
were disturbed by the growing power of Chinese advisors close to Khun Sa while 
others felt that Khun Sa's opium connections were hurting their cause.  In 
September, Zao Gunjade, the new chairman of the Central Executive Committee, 
sent a letter to the UN Secretary General indicating that the Shan were willing to 
work with the UN and even the SLORC in eradicating opium cultivation in Shan 
State.  The MTA has been severely weakened by the defection of large numbers
of troops and increasing difficulties in getting supplies from Thailand.
	
The Kachin
	The Kachin have enjoyed a year of relative peace, although the SLORC
has not lived up to many of the promises it made in the ceasefire agreement.
The Kachin Independence Organization worked hard to reduce opium cultivation
in its areas, but increased opium cultivation has been reported in parts of Kachin
State under SLORC control.  
	Early in the year, the Kachin held a conference in China celebrating
Kachin literacy.  According to one Kachin who attended, over 20,000 Kachin 
came including Kachin from China, Burma, Thailand, the United States, and 
one from Argentina.  

The Karenni
	The Karenni National Progressive Party signed a ceasefire 
agreement with the SLORC in Loikaw on March 21, 1995.  The SLORC 
announced that the KNPP had surrendered and turned over a large cache 
of weapons, which the KNPP later vehemently denied.  In the ceasefire 
agreement, the SLORC agreed that the present military status quo in both
 SLORC designated and KNPP designated area areas would be maintained
and that there would be no more rounding up of porters or collection of porter 
fees by the SLORC in Karenni state.  However, on June 15, the SLORC started 
collecting porter fees and began rounding up porters, horses and tractors in SLORC
designated areas.  On June 17, the SLORC moved two battalions into KNPP 
designated areas.  When the KNPP protested, the SLORC first answered that it 
needed to protect Burma from troubles along the border after the Thai election 
was over.  The SLORC later said that the KNPP were illegally selling logs to Thais.
Between the end of June and November, SLORC and KNPP troops have engaged
in several clashes.  The KNPP sent a negotiating team to Rangoon in late 
November, but the team was not allowed to move around freely and returned with 
no tangible results.  The Karenni have since declared their ceasefire agreement null 
and void due to continued violations by the SLORC army.  Nevertheless, they 
have said they are willing to re-negotiate a ceasefire agreement if the SLORC
will actually honor it.

The Chin
	Lt. Col. Thomas Thang No took over as acting Chairman of the Chin
National Front, which is continuing to fight an armed struggle against the
SLORC in the Chin hills.  Some Christian children have been taken to
Rangoon with the promise of a free education.  Once they arrive in Rangoon
they are forced to become novice monks and nuns, and officials attempt to
Burmanize them.  In the Chin hills, like elsewhere in the border regions
of Burma, people are tortured, arrested, and jailed for suspected rebel
allegiances, property is looted by SLORC troops, villagers are taken as
porters and slave laborers, and the ethnic minorities are treated with 
great condescension by SLORC officers.

The Nagas
	Little has been heard from the Nagas, but the DVB reported in
December that porters are being collected from each village in the Naga Hills, 
and the SLORC army has been recruiting Naga youths, often forcibly.  
Villages which resist are relocated or burned down. 
	Also, the SLORC army launched a military operation in the Naga 
hills after the Naga moved border posts 10 km inside Burmese territory. The 
Naga moved the border posts because they wanted to live inside Indian territory
where fellow Naga are better off.

The Wa
	The Wa continued to produce opium in 1995, and apparently
in an attempt to increase their territory, some Wa soldiers joined the SLORC
in battling Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army this fall.  The Wa signed a ceasefire 
agreement in 1989 which allows the United Wa State Army, who used to 
form the BCP rank-and-file, to keep its weapons and maintain control over
its territory. Armed Slorc soldiers are not allowed in Wa territory.  The
relationship between the Wa and the SLORC remains uneasy, because
the SLORC has not fulfilled its promises to build roads and undertake
other infrastructure projects in Wa State.  The SLORC has built hospital
buildings but provides no equipment and no doctors.
	The Wa continued to participate in the PDF (Peace and Democratic
Front) which was formed in November, 1994 and includes the Wa, the 
Kokang and the smaller minorities - the Lahu, the Akha and Palaung. 
The PDF was created  to mobilize military cooperation in case of a 
SLORC attack and to press for greater autonomy in Northern Burma.

The Rohingyas
	The Rohingyas continued to be repatriated from Bangladesh
under a program run by the UNHCR.  In some cases people were forcibly
repatriated or they did not know that they could refuse to be repatriated.
Although the UNHCR could not guarantee the safety of refugees who 
returned to Burma, the UNHCR continued to promote its program.
Rohingyas in Burma have suffered the same human rights abuses as 
other ethnic groups - portering, slave labor, and torture.

The Arakanese
	According to the All Burma Young Monk's Union (Arakan),
the SLORC has expanded its control over Rakhine State and used civilians 
in numerous forced labor projects, including on their own land which has 
been confiscated.  In April, the SLORC army seized 3000 acres of privately
owned paddies from Lanmadaw villagers in order to build an artillery
battalion center.  The villagers were given no compensation, and more
than 30,000 people were conscripted to work as slave laborers on a 
highway project which connected the army post to another village.
Arakanese villagers were also forced to work on a dam project on the 
Aung Dainy river in Sittwe which was then used for a commercial shrimp
project by the military.  Just before completion, a TV crew came to film,
and the soldiers acted like they were doing all the work, but in fact they
had done nothing.
	Slave labor is also used for livestock and poultry projects taken up
for the families of the Burmese army posted everywhere in the
state.  All the nearby villagers must take turns supplying feed and attending
to the chickens, pigs, and cattle of the battalion. Village girls are forced to 
work there routinely and subjected to physical assault and gang rape.

India
	Trade between India and Burma has increased substantially in 
1995, although there is a vocal opposition which is against improving ties 
with the SLORC.  India awarded Aung San Suu Kyi the Nehru Award for
her pro-democracy efforts and has provided a safe haven for Burmese 
students and politicians in exile.  India has been much less generous toward
ethnic minority groups such as the Chin (Zo), who are fighting for autonomy 
not only in Burma but also in India.

China
	Trade between China and Burma grew dramatically in 1995, and
Chinese from Yunnan Province in particular have poured into Northern
Burma to take up residence and set up businesses.  Mandalay has been
overwhelmed by recent Chinese migrants and tensions between Chinese
and local Burmans have been running high.  China continued to supply
Burma with weapons, but made a statement in the fall suggesting that
it would stop providing arms to the regime.  China is eager to work with 
the junta not only to gain a foothold in the marketplace but also to gain 
access to a corridor to the sea.

The Pipeline
	Total and Unocal continued work determining and clearing the 
pipeline route despite the killings of 5 Total workers in March and a 
campaign against Unocal in the United States.  In March, a group of armed 
Karen villagers from the pipeline area ambushed a group of Total workers 
and killed five.  Total insists that the 5 killed were all Burmese, but the KNU 
has stated that some were Westerners.  
	Although Total denied that any work had begun on the pipeline route, 
villagers from the coast who were interviewed in May reported that their land 
had been confiscated to make way for the pipeline.
	On December 2nd, angry Karen villagers attacked pipeline workers in 
Kanbauk village.  A senior KNU official indicated that one foreigner was either 
killed or wounded, but Total has denied the claim.  Kanbauk is supposed to serve 
as the main headquarters for the pipeline operation.
	A company spokesman said in December that the laying of the pipeline had 
not yet started but some civil engineering work had begun in October, including 
the construction of a landing strip and a wharf to accommodate ships delivering 
equipment needed for pipeline construction.
	There have been no reports of forced labor on the project so far, but 
according  to the Karen Human Rights Group, local officials have used the 
threat of labor on the pipeline to extort money from villagers on a regular basis.  
Families who do not pay the "pipeline fees" are threatened with having to do 3 
days forced labor on the pipeline.  It is likely that local officials are acting 
independently in making such demands, but the villagers are reported to be 
scared enough that they are sending family members into Thailand to work in 
order to get money to pay the fees.

Madeline Albright's visit
	In early September, Madeline Albright, the US ambassador
to the United Nations, visited Burma.  She had meetings with LTG Khin 
Nyunt, U Ohn Gyaw, the Foreign Minister, and representatives of United
Nations agencies working in the country.  She also attended a breakfast 
hosted by Aung San Suu Kyi. In her press statement, Albright stated, 
"Khin Nyunt expressed the belief that the SLORC had broad public
support, and observed that the Burmese people smile a lot. I said
that it has been my experience, in a lifetime of studying, repressive 
societies, that dictators often delude themselves into believing they have 
popular support, but that people often smile not because they are happy, 
but because they are afraid. The future of Burma must be built on hope, 
not fear."  Since her trip, Albright has come out very strongly against the 
SLORC in her statements at the United Nations regarding the UN Resolution 
on Burma and in an article entitled "Burmese Daze". 

UN Resolution
	This year, as in years past, the UN has come out with a critical
statement against the SLORC. The resolution stated the government should 
stop ``torture, abuse of women, forced labour and forced relocations and 
and summary executions.''  The resolution was based on a report from U.N. 
human rights rapporteur, Yozo Yokata who said Burma may be using forced 
labor to spruce up landmarks for foreign tourists.  The resolution also
called on the SLORC to begin a political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi,
to release other prisoners, to restore fundamental freedoms of expression and 
assembly, to end forced labor, and to allow Red Cross officials access to the 
country's jails and prisoners.
	The United States government did not co-sponsor the resolution,
because the language was not strong enough.  The resolution did not mention
the fact that the SLORC has not honored its ceasefire agreements with
the ethnic groups, nor did it include anything about the International Labor 
Organization's decision last June to condemn Burma's continued use of 
forced labor and forced porterage, especially by members of ethnic minorities.
Also the resolution did not specifically ask for the UN Secretary-General
to hold discussions with the Burmese Government for the purpose of stimulating
progress towards democratization and national reconciliation.
 
McConnell Bill
	U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell proposed a sanctions bill against Burma
but so far he has not been able to get it through Congress.  The McConnell 
Bill, would have banned all US trade and investment with the Burmese 
military regime, forbidden travel to Burma by US citizens, and withdrawn 
most-favored-nation trading status from any country that did not back
sanctions against the Burmese military government.  The bill also would 
have suspended aid to countries selling arms to the Rangoon government.  
In September, Senator McConnell attempted to slip the sanctions clauses 
into the Senate Foreign Appropriations bill as an amendment.   He was 
persuaded to withdraw the amendment because of widespread criticisms
from other senators for inserting an amendment, without unanimous
backing, that could have huge repercussions.   Nevertheless, McConnell
has insisted that he will reintroduce the bill.

VOA and BBC
	The VOA has had a rough year.  In August, the SLORC jammed VOA 
and BBC broadcasts.   Then in early December, Myint Zaw Lwin, (also known 
as Myint Myint Zaw) the director of VOA's Burmese language service, was sacked.  
Since she became the director in 1992, several other Burmese staff in the VOA, 
NLD and Burmese students in exile, and even the US Embassy in Rangoon have 
complained about the pro-SLORC slant of VOA reports.  However, the situation 
was only exposed in December.  Douglas Steele stated that documented allegations
 included the deliberate censoring of Aung San Suu Kyi's views, a pattern of
biased and inaccurate reports, unwillingness to air the voices of the opposition 
and an unseemly fawning attitude towards Burma's generals. For instance, when she 
was in Rangoon in October, Myint Zaw Lwin avoided covering Daw Aung San Suu 
Kyi's press conferences and weekly meetings.  Instead, she did a three part interview 
with Kyin Nyunt's wife.  Even worse, according to Delip Kumar, who defected 
from the Burmese embassy in Washington, Myint Zaw Lwin is an informer for 
the Burmese embassy.
	It seems that Myint Myint Zaw is not the only Burmese in VOA who is 
pro-SLORC.  There are at least 3 others.  The BBC is also reported to be infiltrated
with SLORC supporters, although no public allegations have yet been made.  

Miriam Segal
	Miriam Marshall Segal, an American businesswoman who is close 
to the SLORC and has often appeared on Myanmar TV defending the regime,
was fired from her job with Peregrine.  In 1994, Segal and Peregrine formed
a company called Peregrine Myanmar, with Segal holding 20% and Peregrine
80%.  Her job as chief executive was to develop investment opportunities, but
she decided to cheat her partners by channeling information to Mr. Dobbs-
Higginson (another SLORC apologist) and the Japanese company that he represents.  
	Peregrine found out about this when Ms. Segal's personal assistant 
accidentally faxed them a memo meant for Dobbs-Higginson.  Peregrine
fired her in July, but she continued to present herself as representing Peregrine.
In October, Peregrine filed a suit against her in a New York court, accusing
her of cheating them and breaking her contract.

Beyond Rangoon
	Beyond Rangoon, produced by John Boorman, came out in July,
1995.  While the storyline is rather implausible and the plot focuses too
much on the American tourist rather than the Burmese, the movie does
effectively capture the brutality of the military regime and the fear of the
people.  Hundreds of copies of the movie have been distributed throughout
Burma, and it has been reported that Burmese in Myawaddy have been
going over to Mae Sot in Thailand to watch the video at friends' houses.
In at least one Karen village in Karen State, the screening of Beyond Rangoon 
was the main event on Karen New Year's Day.

Free Burma Campaign
	Since a strategy meeting held in New York in August, 1995, Burma 
action groups in the States and Canada,  Free Burma groups have sprung up 
on campuses all over North America.  Student groups have been collaborating with 
Amnesty International, environmental groups and other human rights groups.
They are using e-mail and home pages on the internet to co-ordinate and
expand their activities.  On October 27, demonstrations, speeches, and video 
screenings were organized in more than 70 places in order to increase the 
international community's awareness of the present political situation in Burma.  
The groups have focused on two immediate objectives: getting North American 
companies out of Burma and stopping organized tours to Burma.  They have 
picketed stores and offices of companies doing business in Burma, pushed 
their universities to support shareholders resolutions against such companies, 
and initiated selective purchasing legislation on their campuses. They have also 
asked alumni groups to call off trips to Burma, and UCLA and Northwestern have 
agreed.  City groups have played an important role in getting clothing companies,
such as Eddie Bauer and Liz Clairborne to pull out of Burma.  They have also been 
lobbying for selective purchasing laws which prohibit city contracts with companies 
doing business in Burma. Such laws were passed in Santa Monica, CA, Madison, 
WI, and Berkeley, CA.  Santa Monica previously purchased gas from Unocal and 
some Unocal executives live there. 

What didn't happen
	Perhaps what has not happened is as important as what did happen.  
No political settlements were reached with any of the ethnic groups.  No
political dialogue was begun with Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD.  And
Ne Win did not die.

May 1996 be a better year for the people of Burma.