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BurmaNet News January 6, 1997
- Subject: BurmaNet News January 6, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1997 08:54:00
Subject: BurmaNet News January 6, 1997
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: January 6, 1997
Issue #605
HEADLINES:
==========
ASIAN AGE: SUU KYI'S HOUSE CHANGES WITH CAMPAIGN
REUTER: BURMA'S SUU KYI ENTERS THE NEW YEAR DEFIANT
KYODO: SUU KYI CALLS FOR A BROAD MOVEMENT
AP: EMISSARY SPEAKS TO SUU KYI FANS
ABSDF (WB): 5 NLD ACTIVE MEMBERS WILL BE CHARGED
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ASIA: PROTECTION NEEDED FOR KARENNI
THAILAND TIMES: ENVOY TO BE SUMMONED OVER BORDER
NATION: MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION MPS AGAINST ACCEPTING SLORC
ASIAN AGE: HK INVESTMENT BANK WITHDRAWS FROM MYANMAR
ASIAN AGE: OSTRACISED BY THE WEST, BURMESE JUNTA TURNS
UNITED NATIONALITIES' DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS: STATEMENT
REUTER: BURMA OPIUM WARLORD MOVES TO EMPIRE BUILDING
INDEPENDENT REPORT: INDEPENDENCE DAY RALLY IN AUSTRALIA
DAILY TELEGRAPH: BURMESE SPIES SLIP PAST ASIO
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ASIAN AGE: SUU KYI'S HOUSE CHANGES WITH CAMPAIGN
January 6, 1996 (New Delhi)
by Deborah Charles
Rangoon, Jan. 5: Life at Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside residence has
changed drastically past 18 months.
In appearances alone, 54 University Avenue scarcely looks like the place
which served as the Nobel Peace laureate's prison for six years.
When Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in July 1995, journalists
saw a run-down house in dire need of a new paint job surrounded by
waist-high creepers that had been allowed to grow wild during the years
Ms Suu Kyi was forced to remain at home. After her release, Ms Suu Kyi
joked she was worried the media would be attacked by snakes living in the
overgrown weeds.
Now the once-sleepy home on the shores of on the democracy movement in
May 1996 just Inya Lake has a sharply different atmosphere. The grass is
trimmed and a small garden is planted at the back of the main house. A
huge, thatched-roof meeting hall that can house up to 1,000 people has
been erected right in the middle of the compound, where Ms Suu Kyi and
her National League for Democracy party held an Independence Day
celebration on Saturday.
In addition, several makeshift buildings have come up near the front
gates to house the military intelligence officers who guard the entrance
and carefully scrutinise all visitors. Several other brick structures are
being built, to house the several dozen people who have been living at Ms
Suu Kyi's residence over the past year.
When the government renewed crackdowns as a party Congress was due to be
held, several NLD members sought refuge in Ms Suu Kyi's house to avoid
being arrested. Many of them have not left, and consider Ms Suu Kyi's
house as their own.
"I live here," said one man proudly wearing a T-shirt with Ms Suu Kyi's
face on the front and a slogan calling for democracy on the back.
"This is my house now. 1 cannot go home,,, said another NLD member who
works closely with Ms Suu Kyi. In the past, bodyguards and some of Ms Suu
Kyi's advisors have been arrested after leaving the compound in what is
seen as part of a continuing effort to intimidate people from getting
involved in the democracy movement. (Reuter)
******************************************************
REUTER: BURMA'S SUU KYI ENTERS THE NEW YEAR DEFIANT
January 5, 1997
RANGOON, Jan 5 (Reuter) - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
made a defiant start to 1997, vowing to be more aggressive in her quest
for democracy, but the country's military rulers do not appear any
closer to compromise.
Diplomats and analysts said that despite the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council's (SLORC) move to allow a large gathering at Suu
Kyi's house on Saturday, it still appeared opposed to dialogue with the
democracy movement.
They said the SLORC continued to restrict Suu Kyi's movements and
repress members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
University Avenue, the road on which Suu Kyi's home is located, was
barricaded again by Sunday -- one day after Suu Kyi held an Independence
Day celebration at her residence.
``I was really surprised this (celebration) was allowed to happen,''
said one diplomat among about 1,500 NLD supporters and invited guests
attending the event -- the first major gathering at Suu Kyi's house
since last May. ``But whether this means any change of heart by the
SLORC remains to be seen.''
``There is still repression all over this place. They let her hold this
today, but that doesn't mean things will necessarily change,'' another
diplomat said.
A senior NLD official expressed scepticism that the decision to allow
the celebration showed any softening by the SLORC.
``We hope this will pave the way to goodness, but we will have to see
what happens after this,'' he said. ``They will probably just turn the
key again and tighten up.''
The SLORC has put stiff restrictions on Suu Kyi's movements and visitors
since early December in the wake of a series of student street
demonstrations and bombings in the capital.
Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate who was released from six years
of house arrest in July 1995, used the Independence Day occasion to
direct a stinging rebuke at the SLORC.
``Enough is enough,'' she told reporters on Saturday. ``They've had
great fun for one month keeping us all blocked off. And I think it's
time to put a stop to all this silliness.''
Speaking earlier at a news conference, she said: ``We are going to
continue with the work we have set out for ourselves, which is to
achieve democracy for Burma.''
``My father did not give up his life that Burma might be crushed under
the military's boot,'' she said, referring to General Aung San, who was
killed just as he was finalising details of Burma's independence from Britain.
The government made no mention of the gathering at Suu Kyi's residence
in official media on Sunday.
On Saturday SLORC chairman Than Shwe published a message warning
citizens of internal and external efforts to disturb the nation's peace,
and government officials have recently said they have no plans for
dialogue with Suu Kyi.
Despite the increased security, which she says is ``wrongful restraint''
approaching house arrest, Suu Kyi said she plans to go out more often to
meet supporters and conduct business.
``I think it is high time that they open the road again. I cannot
understand why it has been blocked...,'' she said.
Suu Kyi also said she and her party plan to actively work to increase
the NLD's membership this year, despite a 1991 law banning parties from
increasing in size.
``We think it is time we recruited more members. We do not think it is
lawful for the government to try and stop us from doing so,'' she said.
Diplomats said that would likely upset the SLORC.
Suu Kyi admitted the biggest hurdle to getting new members was fear. She
says the government intimidates current NLD members by arresting and
interrogating them or threatening to harm their families or make them
lose their jobs.
``Maybe I should go out and join the NLD,'' said one Rangoon resident.
``But I wouldn't, it would just make me a sitting duck. And I think a
lot of people feel that way.''
The NLD won a landslide victory in a 1990 election, but was never
allowed to take power because the SLORC refused to recognise the results.
The SLORC cracked down on the NLD following the poll, and many elected
representatives were arrested or forced to flee the country and go into exile.
******************************************
KYODO: SUU KYI CALLS FOR A BROAD MOVEMENT TO BRING DEMOCRACY IN BURMA
January 4, 1997 (abridged)
YANGON, Jan. 4 (Kyodo) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for a
broad-based movement to bring about democracy in Myanmar during a ceremony
she held in her compound Saturday to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the
country's independence.
Democracy cannot be achieved by her National League for Democracy (NLD)
alone, said Suu Kyi.
Addressing more than 500 people, including foreign diplomats, Suu Kyi said
the opinions of people from all walks of life must be taken into account in
the struggle for democracy.
Political analysts said the remarks are an apparent appeal to students who
had demonstrated against the nonelected military government, the State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), last month to join forces with the NLD.
The SLORC allowed people showing invitation cards from the NLD to proceed to
Suu Kyi's house for the ceremony, although the roads leading to her house
are still cordoned off.
Speaking to reporters after her speech, Suu Kyi countered the junta's
allegations that the NLD had fanned the student unrest to destabilize the
country.
''The government's criticism that the NLD instigated the students is
completely contrary to the truth,'' she said in what was her first news
conference at her compound in two months.
Meanwhile, SLORC chairman Gen. Than Shwe called on the people to defend
national sovereignty against ''attempts to disintegrate the country by
internal traitors and external elements,'' but did not directly attack the NLD.
''It is the national duty of all people in the country to try to consolidate
and perpetuate the national sovereignty and to oppose instigations and
attempts by destructionists both from inside and outside the country,'' the
general said in a message published in government newspapers to mark the
Independence Day.
The junta held a simple flag-hoisting ceremony and a military parade in the
capital.
***************************************************************
AP: EMISSARY SPEAKS TO SUU KYI FANS
January 5, 1997
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Still confined to her home by Burma's military
government, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi sent the vice chairman of
her political party to meet supporters Sunday.
Tin Oo, a former defense minister and vice chairman of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, spoke to about 150 people who gathered at
Saya San (also called Goodliff) intersection hoping to hear Suu Kyi.
Her supporters have gathered there every weekend since early October,
when the military government barricaded her home to prevent the
democracy speeches she had been giving there weekly for 1 1/2 years.
Suu Kyi, who was released from a six-year house arrest in July 1995,
last spoke at Saya San on Nov. 23. Her car was attacked as she was
traveling there on Nov. 9, by a mob whose members said they were paid by
the government.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is refusing to cooperate with military
authorities, who since December have insisted she seek their permission
to leave her lakeside compound. Suu Kyi says she is being unlawfully
restrained.
*********************************************************
ABSDF (WB): 5 NLD ACTIVE MEMBERS WILL BE CHARGED
January 6, 1996
5 NLD active members of Tamu branch, Saggaing division
will be charged under act 17/1.
President U Kyin Swan Khan, secretary U Cho and three other colleagues were
arrested in the month of December 1996 and now they were sent back to Tamu
for trial.
They will be sent to the court on 6th January 1997 and will be charged under
act 17/1. Under this act they can be sentenced from 6 (six) months to 1
(one) year.
SLORC accused them that they distributed unlawful documents. According to
our source now they are being detained in Tamu and no one is allowed to meet
them.
News and Information Unit
ABSDF (Western-Burma)
********************************************************
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ASIA: PROTECTION NEEDED FOR KARENNI REFUGEES
January 3, 1997
For Further Information:
Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington (202) 371-6592 ex. 113
Zunetta Liddell, London (44) 171 713 1995
Human Rights Watch/Asia is concerned by the attack by over forty heavily
armed troops of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) on a
Burmese refugee camp in Thailand's Mae Hong Son district, and calls on the
Thai government to provide improved protection for this and other camps
which are perilously close to the Burmese border. These attacks on unarmed
civilians were clearly in violation of Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva
Conventions, prohibiting violence against non-combatants, to which Burma is
a signatory. The military s action resulted in extrajudicial executions
which should be thoroughly investigated by the Burmese authorities, and the
violators should be punished.
Two people, a nineteen year old woman and a thirty-five year old man, were
killed in the attack which occurred at 2 a.m. (Burmese time) on January 3,
1997. Nine other refugees, including a thirteen year old boy and a two year
old girl,
were seriously injured. All the wounded are being treated in the hospital in
Mae Hong Son, but at least four of them, including the boy, are unlikely to
survive. As they left the camp, the attackers razed rice stores and left
behind leaflets
from the Karenni National Democratic Party (KNDP), a new group which has
broken away from the main Karenni opposition and is working closely with the
SLORC.
This is the first attack on the Karenni refugee camps, but Human Rights
Watch/Asia is concerned that it could mark the start of a campaign by the
SLORC and the KNDP to force the Karenni refugees back to Burma.
Throughout 1995 and 1996 the Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization launched
scores of similar attacks on Karen refugees, killing over forty people and
kidnapping scores of others. In fear of such attacks, aid workers had
repeatedly urged Thai authorities to move the Karenni camps further inside
Thailand, but to no avail.
In order to reach the refugee camp, the Burmese soldiers passed through a
Thai army checkpoint at the border, where they reportedly met no resistance.
The Thai army responded to the attack by sending additional army and Border
Patrol Police to the checkpoint outside the camp, but it was not clear if
they planned to remain there permanently.
Karenni camp-2, where the attack took place, houses over 4,000 refugees from
Burma's Karenni state, half of whom fled Burma during 1996 as the government
implemented a program to forcibly relocate some 20,000 villagers in Shadaw
and Ywathit townships. Since the attack, over 2,000 residents of the lower
part of camp-2 have fled the area. They were prevented from moving deeper
into Thailand by Thai Border Patrol Police, and are believed to be hiding in
the mountainous jungle which marks the border between the two countries.
While there is an office of the Thai Ministry of the Interior in camp-2, the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not have a
presence there and the camps are supported by non-governmental organizations.
Human Rights Watch/Asia calls on the Burmese government to ensure that no
further attacks take place on unarmed refugees, and on the Royal Thai
Government to improve security in the camps so that any attempts to enter
Thailand and commit such abuses will be repelled.
****************************************************
THAILAND TIMES: ENVOY TO BE SUMMONED OVER BORDER INCURSION
January 5, 1997
BANGKOK: The Foreign Affairs Ministry will summon the Burmese
ambassador tomorrow to protest against Burma's recent incursion
onto Thai soil, in which a Karenni refugee camp in Mae Hong Son
was attacked.
Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Ronnarong Yangyuen said the Thai
government would not tolerate the use of Thai territory by other
nations for their own political purposes.
Ronnarong said the Police Department has reported the incident to
the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council.
According to border patrol police. some 40 unidentified troops
crossed the border opposite Mae Hong Son province s Muang
district in the early hours of Friday morning. They opened fire
on the Karenni refugee camp of Char Lae using a variety of heavy
weapons including mortars, AK-47s and machine guns.
Two refugees were killed in the attack and a dozen others
injured. The camp's 2,000 Karenni refugees, mainly women,
children and the elderly, are now living in fear of their lives,
anxious lest another attack is launched. Some of them have sought
shelter at the neighboring refugee camp of Ban Yun.
Ronnarong said the Police Department immediately ordered the
reinforcement of border patrol police units to protect the Char
Lae camp and other camps nearby.
"It is imperative that our forces protect minorities living on
Thai soil, no matter where they are from," said the officer
Army Commander-in Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro said he has ordered
his soldiers to fight back immediately if foreign troops enter
Thailand again. "We will not yield to invasion"' he said.
Sources from the dissident All Burma Students Democratic Front
(ABSDF) have blamed the attack on the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), Burma' s military junta.
The action was carried out to prevent minority groups from
re-entering their homeland, according to the ABSDF.
In an attempt to lay the blame at the feet of the ethnic minority
Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the SLORC allegedly
planted KNPP uniforms and literature at the scene of the attack.
KNPP sources based in Tak province have denied all responsibility
for the incident.
Amornphan Nimanant, deputy governor of Mae Hong Son, said the
situation in the area had returned to normal, with Char Lae
residents now back in their shelters. Thai people were unaffected
by the attack, as there were no Thai people living near the camp, he added.
Chettha was confident that Burma would apologize for the attack,
saying that they had always done so in the past. The Burmese
government was not out to make an enemy of Thailand, he said.
"The world is watching us. We must search for compromises," the
commander added.
****************************************************************
NATION: MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION MPS AGAINST ACCEPTING SLORC INTO ASEAN
January 5, 1997
TWELVE opposition members of Malaysia's parliament last week
endorsed an alternative Asean declaration on Burma, calling on
member governments not to accept Rangoon's application for
membership as long as the military junta remains in power.
One of the signatories, Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general of the
Democratic Action Party, also urged Asean countries to set up a
monthly mechanism to monitor democratic reform and drug
trafficking in Burma before deciding on the suitability of its
membership of the regional grouping.
The declaration was initially adopted in late October by members
of 46 private political and human rights organisations from 20
countries after a conference on Burma in Bangkok.
In a statement released on Friday, Lim said while the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) pursues a non interference
policy, its members "have ar international responsibility to speak up against
and even condemn gross and persistent violations of human rights".
He compared Burma to South Africa during the apartheid regime.
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) had a
similar record of "immoral and inhuman apartheid policies", he said.
"If apartheid South Africa had been geo-graphically positioned
in Southeast Asia would Asean countries welcome it with open arms
as a full member of the region al organisation - closing their
eyes to the immoral and inhuman apartheid polices".
Lim also questioned Slorc's role in heroin production and global trafficking.
He said Burma had more than doubled its drug exports since Slorc
rose to power in 1988. It was estimated drug money accounted for
50 per cent of the Burmese economy.
Lim's statement was released to mark Burma's independence day, Jan 4.
Other signatories included six other members of his party, three
members of the Party Islam Malaysia (PAS) and two from Party
Bersatu Sabah in eastern Malaysia.
At a press conference yesterday to launch the declaration in
several Asean languages, Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean
Network on Burma said while the Burmese political and human
rights situation in the past year was gloomy, there was a
positive sign of strengthened regional cooperation and solidarity
among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and grassroots people
supporting the Burmese pro-democracy movement.
She said wliile previous NGO activities on Burma took place
mainly in Thailand many individuals and organisations i other
Asean countries - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the
Philippines had in the past year taken up the anti-Slorc campaign.
Tin Maung Win, a leading member of the opposition National
Council of the Union of Burma, said the political unrest and
economic instability in Burma last year, including the recent
student protests, indicated the political situation there would
remain unstable in 1997.
He predicted more demonstrations by students and also the general
Burmese population.
Naing Aung, Chairman of the dissident All Burma Students
Democratic Front (ABSDF), said there should be an intensified
campaign to lobby Asean govermnents not to recognise the
Slorc-organised national convention, which has been drafting a
constitution since January 1993.
He said the convention s participants, all hand-picked by Slorc,
should f`ollow the popular pro-democracy National League for
Democracy (NLD) in boycotting the convention.
The national convention was ' very crucial" to Slorc, he added.
It was necessary to urge Asean governments to review the body`s
policy of constructive engagement with Burma and to recognise the
NLD victory in the May 1990 general election and the party's
decision to boycott the convention.
*****************************************************************
ASIAN AGE: HK INVESTMENT BANK WITHDRAWS FROM MYANMAR
January 6, 1997
Hong Kong, Jan. 5: A Hong Kong investment bank announced Saturday it has
decided to stop its operations in Burma, where a privatisation programme
has "not materialised" and its operations have been dogged by controversy.
Peregrine Capital Myanmar Ltd, a subsidiary of Peregrine Investment
Holdings Ltd, will close down its office in Rangoon this month, the
company said in a statement from its Hong Kong headquarters.
"Unlike other Asian countries, particularly China, a privatisation
programme has not materialised in Myanmar (the official name for Burma)
and there is little evidence to suggest when it will take place," the
company said.
"Furthermore, the anticipated establishment of a securities market has
not taken place". The Burma company was also dogged with problems
relating to its former executive chairman Miriam Segal.
Mr Segal was ousted on July 10 after the Hong Kong-based investment bank
accused her of trying to set up a competing venture in Burma.
She was sued for breach of contract and Peregrine was awarded $4.1
million in New York on October 10. That court success allowed the company
to begin operating "free from the external interference that had dogged
it," company director Alan Mercer said.
But chairman Judd Kline, in the same statement, said that "putting
emotions aside, a dispassionate analysis of the financials meant that
remaining in Myanmar did not stack up".
Peregrine is still pursuing recovery in Burma of $1.5 million in loans
made to Myanmar American fisheries, a joint venture body controlled by
the country's ministry of fisheries.
The company is also pursuing "substantial financial claims" against
another former board member.
Peregrine has also started proceedings to enforce its 4.1 million US
Federal Court Judgement. Peregrine said it would maintain "Formal
representation: in Burma." (AFP)
*******************************************************
ASIAN AGE: OSTRACISED BY THE WEST, BURMESE JUNTA TURNS TO BUDDHISM FOR
SUSTENANCE (originally from IPS)
January 4, 1996
by Simirin Singh, Inter Press Service
Rangoon, Jan. 3: Widely ostracised by the West and opposed by its own
people for its human rights violations, Burma's military regime is turning
to Buddhism on the hope of winning over the country's thousands of Buddhist
monks.
But seven years after soldiers killed several dissident Buddhist monks
and arrested hundreds more while brutally putting down a pro-democracy
movement, Burma's clergy is still wary of the generals.
On the streets of Rangoon, the evidence of government tinkering with
religion is everywhere. An example is the glittering, golden 11th century
Shwedagon Pagoda in the heart of the Burmese capital, which is being
renovated at much cost and spruced up for both local and foreign visitors.
It was not too long ago that the same building was desecrated beyond the
expectations of this predominantly Theravada Buddhist nation. In July
1989, the regime, which is also known as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council, erected barricades in its premises in order to
search all pilgrims. The ensuing unrest resulted in the death of 11 monks
and 17 students and the five-day shutdown of the pagoda.
SLORC's more recent pampering of the clergy through increased donations
to temples, special privileges to monks and other favours, is seen to be
part of its "alternative strategy" aimed at weaning away the religious
order from wrong political influences.
Buddhist monks, through General Ne Win's military rule from the late
1960s to 1988, have supported democratic movements, and in- the 1990
elections, they openly supported the National League for Democracy, the
party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. SLORC is now trying
to ensure that this support base is finally' wiped out.
SLORC hopes that offering financial incentives will lure the estimated
300,000 to 500,000 monks and nuns in the country to their side. According
to critics, it is also trying to convince a highly devout Buddhist
population that it intends to protect its religious institutions and
leaders. Daily, the regime's state controlled television station beams
out broadcasts of senior generals and military leaders visiting and
praying in temples across the country, and meeting religious leaders.
Trying to improve its badly tarnished reputation is another reason for
this "new gentle face" to an otherwise repressive regime which has killed
and arrested scores of people since taking power in 1988.
"The only purpose of such activities," Zou Win, a university educated
taxi driver in Rangoon, "is trying to show the people that the Tatmadaw (armed
forces) is very religious. No one believes in them. The people know that
the main purpose is to stop the monks' political leanings."
To those who refuse the carrot, there is always the stick. Since 1988, or
two years before the national elections where the NLD won an
overwhelming, majority but could not get SLORC to give up power, monks in
Burma have been systematically tortured and abused by the regime.
Thousands were believed to have died when the Army fired upon
pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988. They included hundreds of monks,
many of whom were disrobed by soldiers who secretly disposed of their
bodies. Hundreds of monks fled to border areas to escape further repression.
Although crackdown on monks, nuns and novices by the SLORC have been more
recent, it was General Ne Win, who seized power from the elected Prime
Minister U Nu in 1962, who first recognised the threat from the Buddhist
clergy and from students. This was not only because they were an
independent force, but also because Burmese monks have for centuries been
involved in the affairs of the country and in politics.
*****************************************************************
UNITED NATIONALITIES' DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS: STATEMENT
January 4, 1997 New Delhi
From: "ABSDF (WB)" <brian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"UNION OF BURMA" is an amalgamated state of multi nationalities.
The leaders of Kachin, Chin and Shan, believing that the
freedom would be more speedily achieved by the frontier nations
through the co-operation with the Burmese: based on the right to
secede after attainment of freedom from confederation with Burma if
an when they chose, signed PANGLONG AGREEMENT on February 12, 1947. Due to
this agreement obtained from British Rule on January 4, 1948.
From 1948 until 1962, the country was ruled by a
parliamentary democratic government by the constitution drafted on
2nd September 1948. According to article 201 of the said constitution, the
nationalities had, in theory, the right to secede from the Union, but under
article 202, this right was not to be exercised within ten years from the
date on which that constitution came into operation. Proper Burma, where
the Burmans reside, was recognized as the " Mother Country ", which was
more powerful than the state and had the privilege of forming the Union
Government. And the Burmese Leaders sought to amend the Union Constitution
in 1961. These causes have drawn the non Burma Ethnic-groups into insurgency.
On March 2, 1962, the elite of Revolutionary Council led by
General Ne Win over governance through a coup d'etat and installed
its " Burmese way to Socialism" . The country was then governed
without a constitution until 1974. The country plunged into
economic chaos under the totalitarian party so called " Burma
Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).
In 1988, once again, nation-wide demonstration, which
reflected the rejection of the oppression of military-dominated BSPP
party, was trampled down by the military in the form of State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
In this way, nationalities have lost their fundamental rights
and self determination now and then. The people of Burma have
been deprived of all civil and political rights. Economic negligence,
turmoil and war-weary have plagued the people for over four decades.
Recognizing above factor, the UNITED NATIONALITIES'
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS:-
DEMAND the SLORC to abandon its terrorism, and to respect
human rights, the real desire of the people, equal & individual rights
of nationalities which is prerequisite to the establishment of a federal union.
CALL ON the SLORC for urgent tripartite - dialogue between the leaders of
Nationalities, Democratic Groups led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the SLORC.
URGE the peace loving international community to exert pressure on the SLORC
to suspend its atrocity, and to support democratic activities inside and
outside Burma.
The member organizations of UNDC:
1. Arakan League for Democracy (in Exile), ALD
2. Chin National Council, (C.N.C)
3. All Burma Young Monks' Union (Arakan), ABYMU
4. Arakan, Chin and Kachin Students' Joint Committee.
a) All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC)
b) Chin Students Union (CSU)
c) All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU).
****************************************************************
REUTER: BURMA OPIUM WARLORD MOVES TO EMPIRE BUILDING
January 4 1997 Bangkok (abridged)
Notorious opium warlord Khun Sa has built a fast-growing business empire a
year after he surrendered to the Government, sources said yesterday.
Khun Sa was leader of a defunct 20,000-strong Mong Tai Army that previously
sought automony for Burma's eastern Shan state.
International drug agencies accused him of using the army as a personal
guerilla force to protect his heroin business.
Sources close to Khun Sa, who surrendered to Burmese troops a year ago, said
he had since led what they called a life of luxury in Rangoon, overseeing
his diverse business in hotels, beach resorts and highway construction.
One of his former aides said Khun Sa had invested in a hotel in Rangoon, a
Burmese beach resort and a transport business in northern Burma.
"He has a hotel in Rangoon and on a beach. He has also won a transport
service concession serving Mogok and Mandalay and in the northern part of
the country," the aide said.
He declined to estimate the worth of the former warlord's business interests.
A Burmese government spokesman in October denied reports that Khun Sa had
undertaken business in Rangoon, but close aides of Khun Sa said he operated
businesses under aliases.
Washington has offered a US$2 million (HK$15.4 million) reward for his
arrest and, since his surrender, has called on Rangoon to hand him over for
trial in the United States. Rangoon has turned down the request.
Khun Sa has denied the US charges but admitted he had taxed opium traders
operating in the area he formerly controlled.
Khun Sa's former rivals in the drugs business, the United Wa State Army
(UWSA), also claim to have diversified interests.
"We're also in the hotel business in Kentung and in the transport service in
eastern Burma. Since Khun Sa's surrender, we do not regard him as enemy or
friend.
"We do our business and he does his. As far as business does not overlap, we
have no problems with each other," a UWSA official said.
He said Khun Sa might also have invested in the construction sector. "I have
learned that Khun Sa won a concession to build a Burmese highway."
UWSA is a splinter group of the outlawed Burmese Communist Party.
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INDEPENDENT REPORT: INDEPENDENCE DAY RALLY IN AUSTRALIA
January 6, 1996
At 12:00 noon on 4 January, 1997, Burma's Independence Day, more than
350 Burmese living in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and
Brisbane, Australia, gathered and staged a rally in front of SLORC's
embassy in Canberra. This time around, the activitists had four main
objectives in mind regarding the rally on our nation's Independence
Day. They are as follows:-
1. To commemorate the "first independence" of our motherland from the
yoke of colonial rule whilst bearing in mind that we still have to
strive for our "second independence" from the brutal military
dictatorship as heralded by our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;
2. To condemn the continued crackdown on scores of elected
representatives and other pro-democracy activists;
3. To render our warmest support to the students who have recently
spearheaded a series of remarkable protests in Rangoon and other places
calling for students' rights and return to democracy;
4. To urge the international community and, in particular, the
Australian Government to implement decisive and effective measures,
including economic sanctions, against the illegitimate junta.
[There was no reception at the SLORC Embassy in Canberra to mark the
Independence Day as in the past years.]
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DAILY TELEGRAPH: BURMESE SPIES SLIP PAST ASIO
January 6, 1996
broadcast on Democratic Voice of Burma(SYDNEY)
By CHARLES MIRANDA
AUSTRALIAN intelligence agents are tracking down spies from Burma's
ruling regime who are slipping into the country posing as businessmen
and students.
The alleged State Law and Order Restoration Council agents are
using non-military passports and entering via countries such as
Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. But they are also getting visas
through "locally engaged staff " at the Australian embassy in Rangoon.
It has been confirmed the embassy's visa operations and claims of
bribes have been investigated a number of times by Immigration and
Foreign Affair personnel. But none of the allegations could be
substantiated.
ASIO is aware of some of the entries and has called on Burmese
communities in Sydney and Melbourne for help.
Local Burmese said a former military intelligence chief had visited
Australia in the past six months to allegedly launder money through
a Buddhist center.
He said there were also young intelligence officers studying in
universities in NSW, WA, and New Zealand. A spokesman from the
Immigration Department said the Federal Government did not have any
restriction on SLORC members entering but reviewed visa application
on merit. The spokesman said the department, on advice from ASIO, the
AFP or Interpol, would take into account an application from a
"character of
concern".
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