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Voice of America fears Burma jam
Voice of America Fears Burma Jam
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By GENE KRAMER
Associated Press Writer
Monday, January 27, 1997 6:41 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A sharp decline in mail to
Voice of America from listeners in
Burma is prompting concern that the Southeast
Asian country's military rulers are imposing
new controls on the country's communications
with the outside world.
Burmese listeners' letters and postcards now
arrive at the rate of only two or three a day,
compared to dozens daily until last November, a
broadcaster with the U.S. agency said
Monday.
Over the past decade, 1,000 to 1,500 pieces of
mail came from Burmese listeners monthly,
but the monthly volume recently shrank to fewer
than 100, said Khin M. Win of VOA's
Burmese service.
A similar sharp drop was reported at British
Broadcasting Corp. headquarters in London,
although exact figures were not immediately
available. BBC and VOA broadcast in the
Burmese language 75 and 90 minutes a day,
respectively, and invite listeners' written
comments.
A second U.S. government-backed broadcaster,
Radio Free Asia, plans to launch daily
two-hour Burmese news broadcasts next week.
Pro-democratic student activity and the
withdrawal of foreign corporations from Burma are
creating uncomfortable pressure for the
military regime, Burmese scholar Sein Win, the head
of a Burmese exile government in Washington,
said during the weekend.
The regime in Burma, which tolerates no public
dissent, sent students home in December
and has closed Rangoon University and its
affiliated technology and medical schools.
PepsiCo Inc. announced Monday it is halting
shipments of soft-drink syrup to its bottler in
Burma, severing its last business ties there.
The $30 billion conglomerate is one of the
biggest firms to withdraw from Burma.
[The Associated Press, 27 January 1997].
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