BurmaNet News January 28, 1996 #332

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Received: from igc2.igc.apc.org (igc2.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.39]) by igc3.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.9 ) with SMTP id LAA20256; Sun, 28 Jan 1996 11:38:15 -0800
Received: (from strider) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.16 ) id LAA09815; Sun, 28 Jan 1996 11:38:06 -0800
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 11:38:06 -0800


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

The BurmaNet News: January 28, 1996
Issue #332

HEADLINES:
==========
BCN: EUROPEAN PRESS RELEASES ON FORCED LABOR INVESTIGATION
ABSDF-MTZ: TRANSLATED STATEMENT OF THE KNPLF STATEMENT  
DAILY YOMIURI- LETTER TO THE ED- BLAME SLORC, NOT SUU KYI
SEATTLE CAMPAIGN FOR A FREE BURMA: UM NOT GOING TO BURMA
Z MAGAZINE: THE WAR NO ONE WANTS TO WIN
THAILAND TIMES : BURMA STARTS DRIVE VS MONEY LAUNDERING
THAILAND TIMES : BURMESE REINFORCE TO ATTACK KNPP REBELS
BKK POST: EXILES PUBLISHING A NEW MAGAZINE TO FIGHT JUNTA
NATION: THAI -HK VENTURE TO DEVELOP BURMA SITE
NATION: CANADA/M'SIA GROUP AWARDED BURMA PIPELINE
NATION: BURMA-JAPAN SUMMIT
BKK POST: KHUN SA CLINCHES KEY DEALS WITH BURMA
BKK POST: BANHARN TO VISIT RANGOON SOON IN BID TO BETTER TIES
NATION: THAI ECONOMIC INFLUENCE COMES UNDER ATTACK
CPPAX: LETTER TO THAI CONSULATE IN BOSTON 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BCN: EUROPEAN PRESS RELEASES ON FORCED LABOR INVESTIGATION
January 27, 1996

(EU) EU/Burma: Comission Opens Procedure for a Temporary Total or Partial 
Withdrawal of Generalised Preferences
Brussels, 16/01/1996 (Agense Europe) - As EUROPE indicated in yesterday's 
bulletin, the European Commission has opened an enquiry on "forced labour 
practices (words underlined) in Myanmar (Burma), with a view to a temporary 
withdrawal of the benefits of the European Union's Generalised System of 
Preference." It is the first time that the Coommission has used this 
procedure, which is found in the basic regulations on generalised 
preferences for developing countries, for cases when an exporting country 
practices a form of slavery or exports products made in prisons. There are 
other cases when preferences can be withdrawn (lack of control of drug 
traffic or money laundering, fraud, amifestly unfair trade practices), but 
in the case of Myanamar, it is the labour conditions that are the problem.

The procedure, which was opened on the basis of information provided by 
the international trade unions after consultation of a committee in which the 
Member States are represented, calls for the publication in the Official 
Journal of the notice of the opening of the enquiry, with a call to provide 
any useful information within two months. An enquiry usually lasts a year. 
On the basis of the findings, the Commission can propose to the Council the 
total or partial temporay withdrawal or preferences, and then the Council 
must take a decision by a qualified majority.


EU/Burma: Content of Accusations made by International Trade Unions against 
Forced Labour Practices    (abridged)

Brussels, 17/01/1996 (Agence Europe) -
The complaint against Myanmar was jointly lodged by the European Trade Union 
Conferderation (ETUC) and the International Confederation of Free Trade 
Unions (ICFTU). The complainants allege that there are various froms of 
forced labour being prectised in Myanmar which are contrary to International 
Human Rights, the Conventions of the international Labour Organisation (ILO) 
on International Humanitarian Law. It is claimed that these violations have 
been committed by or with the consent of the authorities of Myanmar in the 
context of forec labour exacted from the civilian population. These 
prectices include forced civilian portering to assist military offensives, 
military labour, major development and infrastructure projects, tourist 
development projects and Army owned Commercial Ventures.

The allegations have been supported by witness stetements and reports from 
the International Bodies concerned, which, in the view of the plaintiffs, 
leads to the conclusion that the resources to forced labour represents the 
future of the country's infrastructure policy.

It is furthermore alleged that through the employment of forced labour, the 
economic benefits that accrue are not being reinvested into the country's 
economy but being used by the leadership for purposes other than for the 
economic good of that country.

**************************************************

ABSDF-MTZ: TRANSLATED STATEMENT OF THE KNPLF STATEMENT  
January 26, 1996

To All people of Burma,

The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), being a
political organization, considers that it has the responsibility
to inform the country and people of its opinion regarding
the common problems of the country.

Therefore, we state our opinion as follows:

1. At present, it is a very crucial time for all people of
Burma. We have the responsibility, to work collectively for the
sake of non-disintegration of the union, non-disintegration of
national solidarity, and consolidation of national sovereignty.

2. According to past historical experience, we have learned
that national disunity has broken out when the political
problems of Burma were solved by means of confrontation.

3. We believe that it is very appropriate to solve the different
problems of the country through dialogue, democratically and
peacefully under the status of equality and mutual respect.

4. Regarding the National Convention, we believe and hope that if
there is a dialogue between the State Law and Order Restoration Council 
(SLORC) and the NLD (National League for Democracy) to address the 
differences, in the name of the interest of the country with equality, patience 
and tolerance, it will lead to the good consequences and results for the 
future of Burma. 

Therefore, we sincerely urge the SLORC and NLD to find the
solution through dialogue.

                                            Central Committee
                                        Karenni National People's Liberation Front.
Date: January 21, 1996   

(This document came out in Burmese and was translated by the
Research Department of the ABSDF- MTZ.)

******************************************************

DAILY YOMIURI- LETTER TO THE ED- BLAME SLORC, NOT SUU KYI
January 27, 1996

Letters To The Editor

Aung San Suu Kyi, according to Osamu Yasuda (Jan. 18 P7),
said, "If the sun is too hot, the people have no choice but to
divest themselves of their clothes." She might have added that if
you stay out in the sun too long, it can affect your thinking.
That must have happened to Yasuda since he seems to have
some rather implausible notions regarding Myanmar.

For example, he believes that Suu Kyi's request that foreign
countries not resume economic aid has kept the Myanmar
people from obtaining their "dream about the country's eco-
nomic growth." In case Yasuda has not noticed, it has been the
incompetence of the military that has ruled the country since
1962 and destroyed the economy that has kept Myanmar from
achieving affluence, not Suu Kyi's request that foreign
investment be delayed.

Next, he faults her lack of political experience and for not
showing "that she has organizational ability and ... viable
policies." How exactly does Yasuda expect her to have done
this when she has been under house arrest for six years and her
political advisers and allies have been imprisoned, driven into
exile, or cowed into submission by the military?

Of course, all this speculation about Suu Kyi's ability to bring
about economic development in Myanmar ignores the simple
fact that the military regime and its current incarnation,
SLORC, is responsible for Myanmar's lack of development.
The military took a country that was a leading rice exporter and
turned it into a country where there is a rice shortage. They
have shut down universities and turned Myanmar into one of
the world's ten least developed countries. No matter how
economically inept Suu Kyi is, or turns out to be, it is hard to
imagine how she could do any worse than the idiots currently
running the country: the same idiots to which Yasuda
recommends giving foreign aid and investment.

I suggest that before Yasuda recommends resuming official
development assistance and investment, he do a bit more
research into the situation in Myanmar, or at least not spend too
much time in the sun.

Kent Sanmann
Norman, Oklahoma

******************************************************

SEATTLE CAMPAIGN FOR A FREE BURMA: UM NOT GOING TO BURMA
January 27, 1996
dohrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Jan. 25, I spoke to Linda Rains, Manager of the UM Alumni Travel 
Program.  She told me that their Feb.16 to March 10 trip will NOT visit 
Burma, but will go to Angkor Wat instead.  It appears that trips through 
TCS Expeditions (including the Stanford trip) are no longer visiting 
Burma, apparently because of SLORC fears that the visitors might meet 
with NLD leaders during their trips.

As of yet there has been no change in any of the Road to Mandalay trips, 
which are much more exclusively focused on Burma.

Larry Dohrs
Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma (and Michigan alum)

******************************************************

Z MAGAZINE: THE WAR NO ONE WANTS TO WIN
by W. E. Gutman   (Excerpts)
January 27, 1996
>From johnny@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Despite the lofty rhetoric and a number of high profile operations
which helped net several drug kingpins and large quantities of
contraband, there appears to be no political will to bring the drug
war to a victorious end.  Powerful economic and geostrategic
interests get in the way.

In Western Europe, for example, the principal purveyor of heroin
(70 percent of the market) is Pakistan.  When former Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited France in 1992, then French
President Francois Mitterrand clamored against Pakistan's human
rights record; but he said nothing about the heroin flooding the
streets of Paris.  French drug enforcement agents have known all
along that a number of Pakistani cabinet members moonlighted as
narcotraffickers.  Why then stand mute?  Simple.  Islamabad had
ordered three French submarines-a contract worth $470 million. 
France is also selling Pakistan nuclear technology for "civilian use."

Burma, the nation that savagely quelled student protests in 1988,
is the world's most powerful narcodictatorship and a main supplier-
via France-of opium and heroin destined for U.S. markets.  Did
France boycott Burma?  No. Instead, a French public company named
Total signed an oil contract with the Burmese.  Morocco is France's
main supplier of hashish (60 percent of the market).  The French
government has yet to issue a formal complaint, even though King
Hassan admitted two years ago that cannabis fields in Morocco
exceed 124,000 acres.

France is not alone.  When it comes to fighting drugs with words,
the U.S. is the undisputed champion of double talk.  To help
Nicaragua's Contras, the CIA and Col.  Oliver North not only
covered the tracks of their drug-running proteges, they also laid
the drug pipeline from Colombia to the U.S. The Kerry Commission
has since disclosed that Florida's Homestead Air Force Base had
been used as a transit point in the shipment of large quantities
of marijuana.

Last fall, Richard Horn, a DEA agent, filed suit against top former
State Dept. and CIA officers based in Burma, contending that they
acted to thwart his antidrug mission in the Southeast Asian nation. 
Horn alleges that he was lied to, electronically surveilled, and
finally kicked out of Burma-not by the Burmese traffickers he was
trying to nab but by U.S. officials who thought his antidrug
campaign should be played down in favor of other diplomatic
objectives, namely discrediting the brutal and repressive regime
in Burma.  It is not the first time the priorities of America.n
agencies abroad have been at loggerheads.

Western nations also turn a blind eye to drug money laundering. 
No wonder: The harvest is bountiful.  Ninety percent of the
estimated $300 billion drug market is reinvested in industrialized
nations; the remainder goes to drug-producing countries.  Many
large western banks have branches in these fiscal paradises,
notoriously fed by narcodollars.

******************************************************

THAILAND TIMES : BURMA STARTS DRIVE VS MONEY LAUNDERING
January 26, 1996
Reuters

RANGOON: Burma is taking a tougher stand against drug 
trafficking and has launched a campaign to crack down on the 
laundering of drug money, the government announced yesterday.

Burma's military government has formed a "property 
examination committee" of 12 members, including 
representatives of the police, military intelligence, 
internal revenue and the central bank.

The committee, announced in a large notice in official 
newspapers yesterday, will examine the extent of laundering 
of drug money and to decide whether or not to confiscate or 
seal money or property allegedly connected with drug.

Earlier this year Burma claimed a big victory with the 
surrender of opium lord Khun Sa, who is one of US drug 
enforcement authorities' most wanted men.

Narcotics suppression officials say Khun Sa was responsible 
for about half of Burma's 20,000-ton a year opium crop. US 
officials say about 60 percent of the heroin, which is 
derived from opium, on US streets comes from Burma. (TT)

***************

THAILAND TIMES : BURMESE REINFORCE TO ATTACK KNPP REBELS
January 26, 1996

Mae Hong Son: The Burmese government is prepared to 
completely eradicate the Karenni National Progressive Party 
(KNPP) troops who have been periodically waging guerrilla 
attacks on the Burmese troops and reinforcement vehicles, a 
Thai officer said yesterday.

About 1,200 Burmese soldiers were sent to the KNPP's Thana 
Khwai stronghold where most of the rebel troops are believed 
to seeking shelter.

Thana Khwai and other bases were captured by the Burmese 
troops on December 31, but they have not yet managed to take 
total control of the whole area.

KNPP troops have been regrouping and managed to retake some 
of its strongholds since the Burmese troops' offensive last 
month. Rebel troops have taken refuge along Thai-Burmese 
border opposite Mae Hong Son.

The Burmese troops are also targeting Doi Lang, where 
approximately 300 KNPP soldiers have been stationing.

Some 400 armed Burmese student troops in a jungle base 
opposite Mae Hong Son's Mae Sariang district have arrived to 
reinforce the KNPP troops to fight the Burmese soldiers, the 
officer said.

The two groups, taking positions on hill bases in order to 
see the enemy's advance, have conducted guerrilla warfare 
against the Burmese troops with heavy weapons.

Burmese troops and the KNPP have periodically engaged in 
attacks, and at least six Burmese soldiers were reportedly 
killed during the recent battle at Thana Khwai.

Meanwhile, a number of 336th Border Patrol Police have been 
stationed at the border in preparation for the possible 
flood of fleeing foreign troops who may try to enter 
Thailand since Doi Lang is approximately four-kilometers 
from the Thai-Burmese border opposite Mae Hong Son province. 

*******************************************************

BKK POST: EXILES PUBLISHING A NEW MAGAZINE TO FIGHT JUNTA
January 26, 1996

WIN Tun's dream of freeing his people and returning home to Burma
starts with a borrowed computer.

Win Tun and other Burmese refugees are launching "Our Time," an
international magazine they hope will turn public opinion against
the military regime. The first issue of the magazine is to be
published on February 12.

"This is my only way to fight," said Win Tun, who is described by
fellow refugees as one of the leading editorial cartoonists of
his generation. "I can fight this way to get democracy. If I can
get democracy, I can go back home."

Burma's military leaders came to power after crushing a
pro-democracy uprising in Win Tun was part of the demonstrations.
He worked briefly for the National League for Democracy.

All the time, though, he was under government scrutiny. Officials
even issued a warning after his cartoons poked fun at the
dictatorship for the high cost and poor quality of rice.

The regime soon began censoring cartoonists' work by ripping it
out of newspapers magazines and books before they were sold.
Editors would not pay for censored work, and many stopped
publishing cartoons that risked upsetting government officials.

Finally, in January 1990, the faltering economy and government
harassment became too much and Win Tun left. He slipped across
the border to Thailand in hopes of earning money to send home to
his wife and family.

Working with pro-democracy groups on the Burmese-Thai border, he
began publishing booklets of cartoons and prodemocracy pamphlets.
He also created Radio Burma, a political newsletter he ran off at
a copy shop.

Fearful the Thai Government would deport him after his passport
expired in 1994, he sought and received United Nations refugee
status. He and his wife, Khin San Tin, went to America in November.

Fort Wayne has the largest Burmese community in the United States
with about 70 refugees, said Win Khet, NLD chairman.

*****************************************************************

NATION: THAI -HK VENTURE TO DEVELOP BURMA SITE
January 26, 1996   (abridged)

PREMIER Group, led by building contractor Nawarat Pattanakarn
Plc, has embarked on a joint-venture project with a Hong Kong
developer to transform Rangoon's old train station site into a
commercial/residential complex.

Premier Group would take a 50 per cent stake in Meeyahta
International Hotel Ltd while the remaining stake is owned by
Surge Pun & Associates (Spa) Group, a Hong Kong developer
involved in various businesses such as banking and office leasing
in Rangoon.

With an investment of Bt900 million, MIHL has won the support of
the Burmese investment promotion agency and the ministry in
charge of rail transport to develop the 23-rai site, which is
surrounded by historical sites such as the Schwedagon Pagoda and
other old buildings.

The complex would comprise a five-star hotel, a luxury
residential building, an office building and a recreation centre.

Nawarat has been appointed the contractor for the project while
Premier International Co Ltd, which takes care of Premier Group's
international trading business, is the investment adviser.
Construction began earlier this month arid is due to be completed
in five years.

The group now has two flagship companies listed on the Stock
Exchange of Thailand - Premier Enterprise Plc, a holding company,
and Nawarat, which concentrates on the construction business.

*****************************************************************

NATION: CANADA/M'SIA GROUP AWARDED BURMA PIPELINE
January 26, 1996

THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) yesterday awarded a
Bt48 million contract to a Canadian Malaysian consortium to help
build gas pipeline from Burma.

The contract calls for Canada' Nova Gas International Ltd an,
Malaysia's OGP Technical Service Sdn Bhd to provide engineering
sex vices for a 297-mile pipeline that would link PTT with the
Yadana Ga Field in Burma.

The pipeline, 42 inches in diameter, will provide PTT with 1,000
million cubic feet of natural gas a day, Pll said in a statement.
The pipeline will run from the Burmese-Thai border in
Kanchanaburi province to Ratchaburi province.

PTT said the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat)
is building a huge gas-fired power plant in Ratchaburi as well.

The Yadana project is valued at Btl6 billion. It is expected to
be completed by mid-1998 and will supply the Ratchaburi power
plant's gas demands.

PTP said the Yadana project is a significant development in the
security of Thailand's energy supply. This is because Burma's gas
transmission system will eventually be connected to the pipeline
running from the Gulf of Thailand to industrial power plants in
Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi provinces as well as
for future Independent Power Producer [IPP] projects.

***************************************************************

NATION: BURMA-JAPAN SUMMIT
January 26, 1996

TOKYO - A symposium will beheld in Rangoon next Monday to discuss
measures to help Burma develop into a free market economy Foreign
Ministry officials said yesterday.

The meeting will be sponsored jointly the Japanese government and
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, and it
will be supported by Burma's State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc), the officials said.

The symposium will conduct panel discussions on trade and
investment policy order to recommend measures to open Burma's
economy to the rest of the world the officials said. - Kyodo.

*****************************************************************

BKK POST: KHUN SA CLINCHES KEY DEALS WITH BURMA
January 26, 1996

DRUG warlord Khun Sa has reached several major agreements he
proposed with the Burmese Government after officially giving up
his armed struggle against Rangoon early this month, according to
a source in his Mong Tai Army.

The source said the deals Khun Sa sealed with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt,
secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration Council,
included a mutual promise for the Burmese Government and MTA not
to interfere in each other's economic affairs.

That means the MTA will still have the sole right to levy tax on
exports and imports and to make use of their own resources such
as trading precious stones.

According to the source, SLORC has agreed to Khun Sa's proposal
to have the right to sell logs along the Burmese Thai border on
the condition that the Burmese Government will select logging
concessionaires in the warlord's area and share the profits out
of the business.

Khun Sa's request for the government not to extradite
him to stand trial on drug charges in the United States was also
agreed to, the source said.

The Burmese Government has also agreed to contribute to Khun Sa's
communities in terms of necessities and infrastructure
development, according to the source.

The source said Khun Sa had already asked for food for people in
his Ho Mong head quarters as well as its outskirts and SLORC had
delivered more than 50,000 sacks of rice in response.

Despite the ceasefire, Khun Sa sought to maintain his troops and
military bases in the Shan state which would be exempted from
SLORC control but the issue had yet to be finalised, the source said.

An issue Khun Sa refused to discuss was SLORC's proposal to put
all border passes with Thailand in his area under the government's control.

SLORC had also asked Khun Sa to relay the agree issues to other
dissident minority groups in the Shan state so they would stop
fighting the Burmese government, the source said.

*****************************************************************

BKK POST: BANHARN TO VISIT RANGOON SOON IN BID TO BETTER TIES
January 26, 1996

 PRIME Minister Banharn Silpa-archa will soon visit Burma,
seeking to help its ,military rulers enter the Asian economic mainstream.

"For the past l6 years or so, there was no prime minister of
Thailand visiting Burma," Foreign Minister Kasem S. Kasemsri said
yesterday. "We need one to go there soon to show that we care."

Mr Banharn hopes that by developing its economy, Burma will
eventually embrace the principles of democracy, M.R. Kasem said.
He gave no date for the visit but said it would probably occur
within the next two months.

M.R. Kasem said respect for human rights should not be a
condition for trade and investment. Instead, he said, Thailand
hopes to encourage democracy in Burma by helping it escape its
status as one of Asia's poorest countries.

He played down the risk of a confrontation over the frontier with
a militarily resurgent Burma. Mr Banharn's visit should lead to
concrete steps to keep the peace, he said.

"More than goodwill you have to rely on international law. You
have to rely on ... treaties and maps."

Kasem urged that the two sides also act decisively to settle
differences over fishing rights in the Andaman Sea.

About 43 Thai prisoners jailed in various Burmese provinces have
been transferred to Insein prison in Rangoon at Thailand's
request, Foreign Ministry spokesman Surapong Jayanama said.

The transfer was made on Monday after Thai Ambassador to Rangoon
Poksak Nilu bon put the request to Burmese authorities.

"We wanted the prisoners transferred to Rangoon to facilitate our
taking care of them," he said.

Currently 182 Thai prisoners are jailed at Insein most on charges
of illegal fishing.

Mr Surapong said the Burmese side asked Thailand to reciprocate
by transferring Burmese prisoners jailed throughout Thailand, to
Bangkok prisons. The request is still to be discussed by the agencies 
concerned, he said.AP/Post

*****************************************************************

NATION: THAI ECONOMIC INFLUENCE COMES UNDER ATTACK 
IN PARTS OF SHAN    (abridged)
January 26, 1996              Reuter

BURMESE troops are trying to eradicate Thai economic influence in
parts of northeast Shan state which they recently took over from
drug lord Khun Sa, a Thai security officer said yesterday.

The move, which includes a plea to people in the area to boycott
Thai goods and to stop using the Thai baht as a medium of
exchange, comes after a year of troubled relations between the neighbours.

'Burmese soldiers told villagers to stop consuming Thai food, to
stop buying Thai products and to minimize the use of the Thai
baht," the security source said.

Burmese troops moved into areas of Shan state adjacent to the
border with Thailand earlier this month after veteran drug lord
Khun Sa agreed to end his guerrilla war and surrender to the
government.

Burmese troops are now on large parts of their border with
Thailand for the first  time in decades following Khun Sa's
surrender of his zones at the beginning of the month.

The Shan and Thai people are ethnically, culturally and
linguistically closely linked.

This affinity has for decades been enhanced by the politics of
the region with rebel groups, such as Khun Sa's army, pitted
against the Burmese army and looking to Thailand as a
politically-neutral source of smuggled supplies.

Before Khun Sa's surrender most rice, other food and household
products were smuggled into his zones from Thailand and the Thai
baht was circulated far more than the Burmese kyat.

Burmese soldiers have set up check points along trails leading to
the border to stop all smuggling into and from Thailand,    the
Thai security officer said.   

Burmese troops are even ordering people to remove any photographs
or posters from their homes if the images had any connection with
Thailand, he said.

Chinese goods are replacing Thai products in the markets and
shops, and the Burmese rice on sale is about one third the price
of Thai rice previously sold in the markets.

Many of the thousands of inhabitants of Ho Mong, where Khun Sa
had his headquarters, have moved out because the ban on the
trading of Thai products had deprived them of their livelihood,
he said.

Burma launched a similar campaign against Thai products along
other parts of the border last year - when relations between the
two countries were strained after a series of border incidents,
including rows over fishing in the Andaman Sea.

Bangkok played down that boycott, saying it was just a
local-level move and did not reflect Rangoon's policies.

****************************************************************

CPPAX: LETTER TO THAI CONSULATE IN BOSTON
January 26, 1996
Subject: Letter to Thai Consulate in Boston

Citizens for Participation in Political Action (CPPAX)
25 West Street
Boston, MA 02111

January 24, 1996 

Honorable Vernon R. Alden
Consul General 
Thailand Consulate 
420 Boylston Street 
Boston, MA 02116

Dear Mr. Alden, 

We are writing on behalf of the 4,000 members and supporters of
Citizens for Participation in Political Action (CPPAX).  CPPAX is
a progressive multi-issue action organization based in
Massachusetts and an active participant in the Massachusetts
Campaign for a Free Burma.  We are writing to express our concern
about Burmese citizens who are taking refuge in your country.   

Although Thailand, Burma's neighbor, is sought as a safe haven
for those escaping the tyranny of the Burmese military junta
(State Law Order and Restoration Council - SLORC), there are many
Burmese dissidents being held in Thai immigration detention
centers and jails.  There has been an ongoing problem of Thai
authorities unjustly arresting Burmese, but recent increases
have prompted us to take action.   

In November, 1995 the Burmese ruling junta began holding their
so-called  "national constitutional convention."  SLORC
completely disregarded the concerns of the people as represented
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy
(NLD), who won over 80% of the legislative seats in 1990.  Aung
San Suu Kyi and the NLD boycotted the convention in protest of
SLORC's intimidation tactics.  In response, SLORC threatened to
"annihilate" anyone attempting to disrupt the state.  

At the same time, Thailand was acting in cooperation with SLORC
by taking action against Burmese pro-democracy activists who had
been working non-violently for peace, democracy and human rights.

Also, U Ye Gyaung, 75 and his wife, Daw Khin Hlaing were arrested
when Thai police raided the offices of the New Era Journal.  The
New Era Journal is a publication that offers uncensored
alternative news and opinion to many Burmese people who in
their own country would not have access to a free-press.  On
November 28th and 29th, 1995 in Bangkok, asylum seekers were
rounded up and sent to detention centers, including Burmese
students who were planning to begin a hunger strike to protest
the Burmese military's constitutional convention. This should be
a particular embarrassment to the Thai government as some
were arrested at UNHCR offices in Bangkok.  As Americans who
possess the same values as these activists, we petition Thailand
to permit them to continue their cause free from intimidation.

To date, many remain behind bars in Thai jails, including
students whose only crimes were to organize for basic human
rights.  We are very concerned about the health and welfare of
these individuals, many of whom were arrested and jailed without
trial.  Many have not been allowed visitors and their conditions
are questionable.  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi pointed out herself
that Thailand's treatment of honorable peaceful Burmese patriots
is harsh and unfair.

We would also like to express our concern about the thousands of
Burmese who are living in camps along the Thai-Burma border.  The
Thai government should not delay in recognizing them as
"refugees."  They should be made accessible for aid by
international NGO organizations and the UNHCR.  Also, because the
people live in constant fear of SLORC-backed assaults, Thai
Authorities should honestly begin protecting them.   

Lastly, we are urging the Thai government to end the political
and economic alignments with SLORC and begin supporting Aung San
Suu Kyi and the legitimate government in exile, specifically by
urging the military junta to transfer power over to them.  Also,
Thailand should petition the military junta into making drastic
and immediate improvements in their treatment of ethnic
minorities, students and other Burmese citizens who would later
seek refuge in Thailand. Their human rights record includes torture, 
summary and arbitrary executions, displacement, rape, forced labor 
and the violation of basic human rights, including political freedom. 

In summary, Thailand should cease its blatant support for the
SLORC through oppression of Burmese people who enter into
Thailand.  We hope that Thailand intends to acquire the
reputation as a country that upholds basic human rights. 

Please voice our concerns to the government of Thailand.  Thank
you for your kind attention.  We respectfully request a reply to
this appeal and would appreciate meeting with you to discuss the
important issues raised in this letter. 

Sincerely, 

Stephen Y. Stephano                     Julia H. Carpenter 
Executive Director                      Issues Organizer 

cc:  President Clinton
     Senator John F. Kerry 
     Senator Edward M. Kennedy 
     Warren Christopher, Secretary of State
     Governor William F. Weld of Massachusetts 

*************************************************************