BurmaNet News February 3, 1997

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 3, 1997
Issue #627

Noted in Passing:

	He has even had to sleep in his office. I sympathise with him.
	- Thai Gen. Chettha on SLORC General Maung Aye
	(BANGKOK POST: MILITARY THREATENS)

HEADLINES:
==========
KNU: SITUATION UPDATE ON THE THAI-BURMA BORDER
BURMA ISSUES: UPDATE ON KAREN REFUGEE CAMPS #5
BANGKOK POST: MILITARY THREATENS TO USE FORCE
NATION: REFUGEES LIVE IN FEAR AS KAREN REBELS LIE IN WAIT
THAILAND TIMES: KNU REJECTS CEASEFIRE OFFER
THE HINDU: FORCES ON ALERT ALONG BORDER WITH MYANMAR
REUTER: BURMA MILITARY SAYS STUDENT PLOT UNCOVERED
AP: ASEAN: BURMA TO BE ADMITTED
BOSTON GLOBE: TRADE TIFF WIDENS OVER STATE 'BURMA LAW'
BOSTON GLOBE: MASS. LAW TARGETING BURMESE JUNTA
BKK POST: NO EXTRADITION PLANS
INFO REQUEST: DOCS ON FORCED RELOCATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

KNU: SITUATION UPDATE ON THE THAI-BURMA BORDER
February 2, 1997

Huai Kaloke Camp

International relief agencies like the Burma Border Consortium, the Catholic
Organization for Emergency Refugee Relief and others have responded to the
disaster and have provided food and water to the victims.  Thai and camp
officials have not yet decided where to rebuild the camps so the victims are
camping out among the ashes under makeshift shelters of leaves and bamboo.
The situation is now under control to a certain extent in the camp.  

Don Pa Kiang Camp

The victims of this camp have fled the area and either moved to the other
camps or taken shelter in the Thai village close by.  Relief agencies going
in to provide aid were unable to locate the victims.

Thai Military officials of the 34th task force have refused to become
involved in the border incursions in the above camps saying that this is a
conflict between Buddhist and Christian Karen.

Mae La Camp

SLORC troops were ambushed at Mae Theway Hta about 2 kilometers from the
camp, the night of Feb 1, on their way to try to re-enter the Mae La camp.
Another SLORC intruder force was ambushed at Thay Baw Boe 1 kilometer from
Mae La Camp at 9 am on February 2.  This force retreated leaving 3 dead and
an RPG 7 rocket launcher.  The intruders have suffered heavy casualties and
have retreated vowing to return in larger forces.  Thai military forces have
been deployed in the area but have not yet made contact with the intruder
forces.

Manerplaw

SLORC troops from the 99 Light Infantry Division have been deployed along
the border, ready to cross over into Thailand to attack the Ma Ra Ma Luang
refugee camp which is 15 kilometers inside the border.  LIR 113 and LIR 418
are poised at Manerplaw and LIR 419 is ready at Mae Ta Waw.

The commanders of the Thai military's 35th task force have vowed not to let
SLORC, DKBA or any other intruders violate the sovereignty of Thailand and
have promised to insure security for the northern refugee camps.

KNU Information Center

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

BURMA ISSUES: UPDATE ON KAREN REFUGEE CAMPS #5
February 2, 1997

2 Febuary 1997  8:15 pm Thailand time

Currently there are about 200 KNLA soldiers fighting DKBA and Slorc troops
on the east side of Bae Klaw.  It sounds like the KNLA are at least slowing
the Burmese military down, making it difficult for them to cross the river.  

Earlier today, the rice shipment made it to Bae Klaw.  Refugees came down
from the mountains to get a week's supply of rice and then returned to the
mountains, so people have adequate rice supplies for the time being.

It was confirmed that last night there was heavy shelling near Sho Klo.
In response, the Thai military has sent a considerable number of troops to
the area with orders to fire apon any DKBA forces in the area.  

Maw Kher camp (south of Mae Sot) has been preparing for the possibility of
an attack although things have been quiet there so far.

There are rumours at Huay Kaloke that the DKBA will return tonight, but
this is often the rumour every night there.  Residents of Huay Kaloke move
to the field at night, but few can sleep.  There's a curfew of  7 pm and
people are very tense.  During the day, the camp gets quite hot and the
wind blows ash around.  Some children have visited the places where their
homes used to stand and can be seen picking up remnents of clothing or
playing in the ashes.  

The NGOs are now in full emergency swing and material needs are not as
critical as before.  Security remains the biggest issue among the camps.

Think of ways to incorporate the current situation into the international
campaign.

Burma Issues

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

BANGKOK POST: MILITARY THREATENS TO USE FORCE AGAINST INTRUDERS
February 2, 1997
by Wasana Nanuam

The military will use force if Burma fails to prevent incursions
by renegade Karen.

According to an army source, the military is ready to launch an
offensive against the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which
attacked Karen refugee camps in Thailand on Tuesday. 

Any further intrusion would be met an artillery attack or the
infiltrators would be pursued and killed, he said.

Army Commander in Chief Chettha Thanajaro has also pledged to use
"violence." He said he would ask his Burmese counterpart Maung
Aye at a meeting this week to "look after" the DKBA forces which
burned down two refugee camps in Tak.

The cross-border raids, which left about 10,000 anti-Rangoon
Karen National Union refugees homeless, are believed to have had
the backing of Burmese troops stationed a short distance away
from one refugee camp.

Gen Chettha said that if Burma indicated it could not help, due
to the DKBA being a Karen faction rather than a Burmese force,
"then I guess we'll have to settle that problem using drastic measures." 

He pledged to end the intrusions "during his era" as army chief.

A high level army source said the Third Army Region is to deploy
artillery around Huay Kalok and Huay Bong refugee camps, which
were attacked, in preparation for a battle with the DKBA.

Huay Kalok camp is about four kilometres from a DKBA stronghold.
Another DKBA base is only two kilometres from Huay Bong.

The source said the Third Army Region is ready to launch an
offensive against DKBA forces.

If there was a further incursion Thai troops have already been
given the "green light" to fight back. They will then either
conduct an artillery attack or pursue the intruders.

"We have never seen the dead bodies of DKBA men. We won't let
them escape this time," he said.

Gen Chettha said he knew Gen Maung Aye had his own problems. 

"He has even had to sleep in his office. I sympathise with him,"
he said. 

He emphasised that it was important that he and the Burmese army
chief met as soon as possible.

As part of the negotiations  he wanted to raise the issue of the
Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge, at Mae Sot in Tak, which Burma
has stopped building despite its near completion. Gen Chettha
said he did not think Burma would use the bridge as a bargaining
chip in an effort to stop Thailand providing assistance to KNU refugees.

He insisted Burma did not have the upper hand but rather it was
the other way round with Burma requiring Thailand's support in its efforts
to become a member of Asean.

GenChettha said the army would also "listen" to US allegations
that Burma was behind the raids on the camps but would establish
the truth of the claims itself.

He believed that the real reason for the attack was because the
two Karen factions were enemies and KNU elements happened to be
on the Thai side of the border.

" They (the DKBA) may not intend to affect us with their attacks,' he said.

As for Interior Minister Sanoh Thienthong's suggestion that
Thailand should send the Karen refugees back to Burma, Gen
Chettha said the Interior Ministry had authority over the camps
and the authority to send the refugees aback.

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

NATION: REFUGEES LIVE IN FEAR AS KAREN REBELS LIE IN WAIT
February 2, 1997
by Yindee Lertcharoenchok 

About 400 Burmese and Rangoon backed Karen rebels sneaked into
northern Tak province on Friday night and dug in around the
largest Karen refugee camp, Mae Hla, which came under heavy
attack last Tuesday. 

Relief workers said two groups of intruders have crossed the Moei
River and are hiding in the mountains across the Mae Sot-Mae
Sariang highway to the north and south of the camp. Home to about
25,000 refugees, the camp stretches between the Moei River and
the highway. 

The workers said residents of Mae Hla have been living in fear of
a second attack by Burmese and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA) forces and have been steadily moving across the road into
the Thai jungle since last Tuesday.

Despite repeated assurances of protection by Thai security
forces, the workers said only about 30 Border Patrol officers are
stationed close to camp. They are outnumbered and are likely to
withdraw if any shelling begins.

"The refugees are living in fear and sleeping the night out away
from the camp," said one workers.

Another worker complained about lack of the Army's interest in
the situation. " There is almost no Thai (military) presence in
any of the camps," he said referring to Mae Hla and two other
camps which were also attacked last Tuesday.

He said he noticed a reluctance on the part of the Army to
intervene in the incursions that are mainly directed against
refugees and not Thai people.

He said the refugees in Mae Hla " were told to defence themselves
and that the Thais are not going to help them". There is this
whole attitude (among the Thai authorities) that the refugees
should go back home," said the worker.

Karen officials and relief workers said the DKBA, which broke
away from the main Karen National Union (KNU), continues to
harass refugees in various camps by threatening to force them to
return to Burma.

They said Burmese troops were definitely involved in the attack
last week. KNU leader Gen Bo Mya has accused the Burmese junta of
being involved in the attacks on the three camps in which a Thai
man, an  80 year old woman and a three year old child were killed.

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

THAILAND TIMES: KNU REJECTS CEASEFIRE OFFER
Bo Mya doesn't rule out other means to end war
February 2, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong

Bangkok ; The leader of the Karen National Union (KNU), Gen Bo
Mya, has rejected the Burmese junta's demand to call a ceasefire
before entering another round of peace talks, citing Rangoon's
hostile attitude towards ethnic minorities.

Bo Mya's statement follows a series of attacks on minority
groups, the most recent being Tuesday's raid of three Karen
refugee camps by pro-Rangoon troops.

The KNU leader said that he did not rule out other possibilities
to bring the 49 year old civil war to an end.

"We will consider both diplomatic and military means to end the
war with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), so
long as we can be persuaded of the rationality of their demands,"
Bo Mya told Thailand Times.

The KNU is the only remaining ethnic group to hold out against
Slorc's demand to lay down their arms. A total of 15 ethnic
groups, who had been fighting for autonomy for more than four
decades, have recently signed peace accords with the miliary junta.

The general said that the KNU will only enter into negotiations
with the Slorc if they are treated with dignity, vowing that it
will never accept the underdog status that the junta has assigned them.

Slorc Secretary 1 Maj-Gen Khin Nyunt had earlier sent a
government representative, Khun Myint, to persuade Bo Mya to
surrender on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of Karen
Revolution Day.

He reportedly told Khun Myint that it was not possible to disarm
his troops until the junta stopped collaborating with the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) to attack KNU positions.

Calling the Slorc's actions a gross violation of human rights, he
said that Rangoon had only demonstrated its lack of sincerity to
deal with the issue.

He lead a team of KNU officials to show Khun Myint the burnt
remains of Huay Kalok, Huay Bong, and Mae Lah refugee camps, set
alight by DKBA forces on Tuesday.

The government representative, having inspected the camps,
reportedly told Bo Mya that he would convey the KNU's demands to
the top brass.

According to Thai military sources at the border, the KNU
leadership has issued a statement demanding that the Slorc take
responsibility for the arson attacks.

"Burma must stand up and confess that it supported the DKBA in
this outrage," the statement read.

The KNU also called on the Thai army to take decisive action
against the DKBA and other Burmese troops who violate the border
between the two nations.

Thai military sources said that several KNU members had been
moved from their base in Teakapor camp to a KNU controlled area
opposite Tak's Tha Song Yang district in readiness for further
DKBA attacks.

An unknown number of KNU soldiers have also been deployed at the
frontline, just opposite Mae Lah camp, the sources added.

The DKBA, which broke away from the Christian dominated KNU in
late 1994, has vowed that it will raze to the ground all KNU
refugee camps on Thai soil.

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

THE HINDU: FORCES ON ALERT ALONG BORDER WITH MYANMAR
February 3, 1997

IMPHAL, Feb. 2. The international border along Manipur, Nagaland and
Mizoram has been sealed and the BSF and other Central forces were kept on
red alert today to check the movement of insurgent in general and
infiltration of Myanmarese in particular, highly-placed sources said on
Friday.

Anticipating a major operation by Bangladesh following agreement with
India the insurgents who have been bivouacking in Bangladesh have
reportedly started migrating towards unpoliced jungles of Myanmar.

On the other hand, there was a fear psychosis among the students,
pro-democracy workers and members of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) following incarceration of some of them by the military rulers of
Myanmar on the charge of instigating the students' upheaval two months
back.  More and more members are hounded and then sent to jail after a
perfunctory trial.

The military rulers, accused of forced labour, not sparing even minor
children, trampling of human rights, repression of democratic movement
and selling of young boys and girls to brothels, have turned their wrath
on the students and pro-democracy leaders.

In the past, many student leaders had come to Manipur and stayed in the
refugee camps set up here with the financial assistance from the Centre,
Indications are that India will no longer be welcoming such elements
since their presence here would strain bilateral relations.  The
Northeast insurgents who were migrating from Bangladesh to Myanmar were
pinching weapons, money and the like.  Official reports said such a
migrating group had raided the police station at Khuzuma in Nagaland
bordering Manipur on Thursday.  The 50-odd insurgents did not fire a
single shot since there was no resistance from the terrified policemen.
The insurgents escaped within minutes with one light machine gun, six
bolt rifles, 12 hand grenades, 12 detonators, two wireless sets and a
large quantity of ammunition.

Intelligence sources believe that the insurgents will be going towards
Myanmar and as such all escape routes have been blocked.  It was also
feared in some circles that most of the insurgents had come towards, the
NE region after leaving their huge cache of arms and ammunition stashed
somewhere since they had plans to return to their camps in Bangladesh
once the dust settles down or there was a change of the political climate
there.

As a result the unarmed insurgents have been converging at Moren(h), the
smugglers' border town in small numbers for crossing the international
border by masquerading as common traders.  The police and the Central
forces in these three States were on as it was felt that more weapons may
be snatched by the insurgents to fend themselves while they were moving
around to dodge the onslaught by the Bangladeshi Government.

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

REUTER: BURMA MILITARY SAYS STUDENT PLOT UNCOVERED
February 1, 1997

RANGOON (Reuter) - Burma's military government said on Saturday it had
uncovered a plot by exiled students to create unrest in the country whose
capital was rocked by widespread street protests in December.

It also said that roads leading to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's home
in Rangoon would stay closed until it was clear there was no further threat
to her personal security.

A spokesman for the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC),
Colonel Kyaw Thein, told a news conference the government last month
uncovered a plot by the Thailand-based student's movement, the All Burma
Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), to create disturbances.

The ABSDF, with financial backing from certain unidentified international
organizations, had recruited Burmese operatives to undertake subversive
activities using a video parlor and a photocopier shop as fronts, he said.

A total of 24 people linked to the alleged ABSDF plot had been arrested for
trying to organize anti-Burma activities.

"The correspondence betwen them (ABDSF and local agents) revealed that the
ABSDF insurgents had prescribed three forms of attack: military combat,
diplomatic propaganda and inciting of mass uprisings," the spokesman said.

An American woman living in Thailand was said by the government to have
visited Rangoon and acted as the link between the ABSDF and its operatives.

Another SLORC spokesman, Col Thein Swe, said Suu Kyi was free to meet some
visitors but roads to her home would be barred to the public. Suu Kyi was
unavailable for comment on the latest government statement.

"The barricades are there for security reasons and the personal security of
the lady. When the situation improves we will remove the barricades," the
spokesman told the monthly news conference.

The Nobel laureate has been unhappy with the blockade, which has been in
place since early December when anti-government student protesters launched
the most serious street protests in Rangoon since the pro-democracy
uprisings of 1988.

Those demonstrations were crushed by the military.

In November, Suu Kyi's car was stoned by a large group of people who
agitated against her and her National League for Democracy which raised
questions about her safety.

But the charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy, Kent Wiedermann, told
reporters SLORC was using security as an excuse to curb her political
activities.

"They are using it as an excuse to keep her off the political stage and
eliminate her right to carry on a political role in her country," he said.

Suu Kyi, who was released from six years of house arrest in July 1995, has
been pushing hard for more democracy and freedom in Burma, but the SLORC has
refused to talk to her. For a brief period in December she was told to seek
SLORC permission if she wanted to meet anyone.

Asked when the government would reopen universities closed after the recent
student protests, Deputy Education Minister Than Nyunt said they would
reopen "at an appropriate time."

The government suspended classes and sent students from all universities
home after the unrest and parked some army tanks in strategic places around
the city in a show force.

Some of the universities were reopened in mid-January, but the main ones in
Rangoon, where unrest began, and in Mandalay, Sittwe and Moulmein, remain shut.

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

AP: ASEAN: BURMA TO BE ADMITTED
January 30, 1997
By James Kynge in Singapore

Burma is to be admitted into the Association of South East Asian Nations,
probably by July, in a move expected to draw stiff opposition from the
European Union over Rangoon's human rights record.

Government officials in two Asean countries said in a private meeting the
group had decided to allow Burma to join the seven-member group this year,
probably at 30th anniversary meetings in Kuala Lumpur.

Last month Asean leaders said Burma, Cambodia and Laos would join at
the same time but declined to lay down a timetable for entry.

The latest decision could strain ties between the south-east Asian group
and the EU, which, with Washington, has consistently criticised rights
abuses in Burma.

President Bill Clinton has been empowered by the US Congress to impose
sanctions on Burma. But Washington's attitude to Rangoon's entry into
Asean has been less strident than Europe's. This week, Pepsi-Co became
the latest foreign multinational to withdraw from Burma, citing its human
rights abuses.

The most immediate manifestation of a cooling of relations is likely to
emerge at a meeting of European foreign ministers and their Asean
counterparts in Singapore next month.

One senior official from an Asean country said that to deflect potential
European ire at the Singapore meeting, no announcement is likely to be
made on Burma's entry until "shortly before" Rangoon is actually inducted.

The EU may raise strong objections to Burma's inclusion as a general
principle. Asean, for its part, is preparing to rebut any such statements by
telling the Europeans not to interfere in its internal affairs.

Mr S. Jayakumar, Singapore's foreign minister, who would not confirm or
deny Burma's likely entry this year, said the West often misjudged the
intensity of the belief within Asean that its internal dealings are its own
business.

But Burma's recent actions have left Brussels with little cause for hope that
Asean's policy of "constructive engagement" with Rangoon is helping
reform the military government.

This week, Burma announced that 14 people, including five members of
the main opposition party, had been jailed for seven years for taking part in
demonstrations. EU critics believe Asean's proposed embrace of Burma
would amount to an endorsement of the regime, depriving the international
community of leverage on Rangoon over reforms.

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

BOSTON GLOBE: TRADE TIFF WIDENS OVER STATE 'BURMA LAW'
February 1, 1997
By Michael Grunwald, Globe Staff

The ambitious Massachusetts foreign policy is facing a new challenge: Now
the Commonwealth may be headed into a trade tussle with an entire continent.

It turns out that Japan is not the only international power fighting a new
Massachusetts law that denies state contracts to hundreds of firms that do
business in Myanmar, the repressive dictatorship formerly known as Burma.
The European Union also complained this week to the US State Department
and urged Gov. William F. Weld's administration to seek repeal of its
``Burma law.''

``Europe as a whole is very upset about this,'' said Ella Krucoff,
spokeswoman for the 15-nation union. ``It's an attack on international law.''

Weld vowed to defend the first-in-the-nation law yesterday, after the Globe
reported that Japan may lodge a formal complaint with the World Trade
Organization. However, he said he has not decided whether to support a
similar bill denying state contracts to firms with interests in Indonesia, a
nation with one of the world's largest populations and fastest-growing
economies.

Whatever he decides, Massachusetts has been thrust into the middle of one of
the hottest international controversies, the fate of the brutal Myanmar junta
known as SLORC. Japan has ignored human rights abuses in Myanmar while the
European Union has threatened economic sanctions. But both agree that
the Massachusetts law violates a 1995 government procurement agreement
sanctioned by the WTO.

``I'm told by the experts that they may have a case,'' said Nicholas Rostow,
director of Weld's international trade office. ``But we feel that the regime
in Burma is particularly disasteful. We'll have to wait and see.''

This much is clear: Massachusetts has a lot at stake. Japan is its No. 2
international trading partner, importing $1.5 billion worth of Massachusetts
goods a year. The EU includes its No. 3, 4 and 5 trading partners, and its
15 nations buy $6 billion in Massachusetts goods.

A US official who spoke anonymously said the Clinton administration has not
decided what to do about the complaints. He said Massachusetts is probably
bound by the procurement agreement, which requires open, transparent and
non-discriminatory contracting, but did not necessarily violate it.

If US officials conclude that Japan and the EU are correct, they could
pressure Massachusetts to change the law. Or they could make some other
trade concession to the countries affected by the law. Or they could wait
for a complaint to be filed with the WTO in Geneva, and see what sanctions
the WTO decrees.

``It's a balance of obligations,'' the official said. ``If we thought
Massachusetts is violating its obligations, the US could make a concession.''

A dozen cities have similar selective purchasing laws, but Massachusetts is
the only state to pass one so far. Several major firms, including Apple,
Motorola and
Hewlett Packard, have cited the Massachusetts law when pulling out of
Myanmar. Other firms, like Pepsico or J. Crew, have pulled out in response to
consumer boycotts without making mention of the state law.

Human rights activists suggested that France and the Netherlands were
primarily responsible for the EU protest, after banks complained that the
Massachusetts law could complicate their merger plans. They urged Weld to
stand behind South End Representative Byron Rushing's bill, which was
almost identical to his apartheid-era bill denying state contracts to firms
with ties to South Africa. Now apartheid is over, and Massachusetts has a close
relationship with South Africa.

``These laws may not seem like much, but they're a big deal,'' said Simon
Billenness, a senior analyst at Franklin Research and Development in Boston
who spearheaded the push for the bill. ``And it's no business of Japan or
Europe how Massachusetts taxpayers spend their money.''

Weld said he suspects that Japan and Europe are even more upset about the
prospects of a similar Indonesia bill, a much greater economic threat.
However, he said his support would depend on whether he decides Indonesia's
repression of East Timor is a ``SLORC-like situation.'' He calls himself a
free-trader, but he is clearly willing to throw his state's economic weight
around.

``Massachusetts has always liked to play in the world arena,'' Rostow said.
``This is really nothing new.''

Previous coverage and a list of companies that do business in Burma are
available on Globe Online at http://www.boston.com. The keyword is Burma.

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

BOSTON GLOBE: MASS. LAW TARGETING BURMESE JUNTA COULD SPARK TRADE WAR WITH
JAPAN  (abridged)
January 31, 1997
By Michael Grunwald, Globe Staff

It seems hard enough competing with New Hampshire and Rhode Island. But now
Massachusetts may be headed for a trade war with Japan.

The subject of this unlikely David-and-Goliath fight is the ``Burma law''
Weld signed last June, denying state contracts to firms that do business in
Myanmar, the repressive dictatorship formerly known as Burma. The
no-contracts list includes more than 30 Japanese firms, from the Bank of
Tokyo to Mitsubishi to Sony, and Japan is concerned that other states may follow
the Massachusetts lead.

Nobody paid much attention to the law at first, but the fallout has been
remarkable. It stirred up the US Senate race, prompting. Senator John F.
Kerry to support sanctions against Myanmar after opposing them for years.

``It's had an unbelievable effect,'' said. state Representative Byron
Rushing (D-South End), who sponsored the bill. ``We expected some publicity, but
not this.''

Weld, who visited Japan on his first trade mission in 1991, had better brush
up on his diplomatic skills. He has a tough decision to make: whether to
spike or
soften the Burma law or play the trade samurai against Japan.

Japanese government officials also met with representatives of the
Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment on Jan. 8. They
left no doubt that firms such as Toyota Motor Corp. do not love what the
Massachusetts law does for them.

``They obviously had some serious concerns about the effect on Japanese
companies, and they were worried that other states could pass similar laws,''
said Kathleen Molony, the agency's Asia director.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has agreed to admit Myanmar to
its ranks, and Japan is clearly prepared to take the Massachusetts sanctions
to international court. Myanmar is a sensitive issue for Japan, whose main
business federation recently made international news by pressuring
journalists to focus more on Myanmar's economy and less on its pro-democracy
movement.

``This is a battle between the corporate interest and the democratic
process,'' said Simon Billenness, a senior analyst at Franklin Research in
Boston and
coordinator of the Massachusetts Burma Round Table, a human rights group
that advocated for the bill. ``This law was approved with overwhelming
bipartisan support. Who is Japan to say that Massachusetts can't spend its
money how it wants?''

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

BKK POST: NO EXTRADITION PLANS
February 2, 1997
Rangoon says there's no legal requirement
Reuters, AP

Burma's military government repeated yesterday that it had no
plans to extradite wanted former Shan druglord, Khun Sa, to the
United States in the absence of legal requirements to do so.

"We have no plan for any extradition action," said Foreign
Minister Ohn Gyaw to the ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council's (Slorc) monthly news conference.

Burma did not recognise the 1931 extradition treaty, which was
signed between the former British colonial government and the
United States, he said.

Washington has demanded that Khun Sa be extradited to face drug
charges in the United States.

Khun Sa has been accused of running an illicit opium and heroin
trade in the eastern Shan state with the backing of several
thousand guerrillas in his private Mong Tai army. He surrendered
to the Burmese government in January 1995.

He was regarded as the most notorious drug trafficker from the
Golden Triangle- where the borders of Burma, Laos and Thailand
meet. Most of the world's heroin is believed to originate from
his area.

Khun Sa's current whereabouts has been kept secret by the Burmese
government, but diplomats believe he is living in Rangoon and
engaged in various businesses.

Ohn Gyaw denied that Khun Sa was doing private business in
Rangoon and said that he was now under government supervision.

The government spokesman also denied recent rumours that Khun Sa
was planning to develop an entertainment center on the site of a
former cemetery in Rangoon.

Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw yesterday rejected accusations
of human rights abuses contained in a US State Department annual
report released this week, but said he hoped bilateral relations
would improve.

The report decried "severe repression" in Burma, intensified
restrictions on political and civic freedoms, and "credible
reports" of military involvement in serious human rights abuses
such as murders and rapes.

"We received an advance copy of the report on Myanmar human
rights, citing gross violations, nothing of which has been really
substantiated," Ohn Gyaw said at the military government's
monthly press conference.

The appointment of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who
said Thursday that human rights would remain a "key element" of
US foreign policy, was not expected to upset relations, he said.

Ohn Gyaw said he had high hopes of improved bilateral relations
due to the pragmatic approach of the newly-appointed charge
d'affaires at the US embassy here, Kent Weidemann, who arrived
there months ago.

"We hope that with (Weidemann's) practical and pragmatic approach
to the situation in our country, the (annual) report, which is a
misleading one issued by the State Department, will be gradually
improved," the Burmese FM said.

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INFO REQUEST: DOCS ON FORCED RELOCATION
February 2, 1997

REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS ON FORCED RELOCATION IN BURMA
 
The Burma Peace Foundation (BPF) is in the process of updating its dossier
on forced relocation in Burma, and requests documents on this issue by mail,
email, fax or personal delivery. 
 
The dossier, when complete, will be made available to intergovernmental
organisations (including the UN), other international organisations,
governments, NGOs, the media, Burma support groups and so on. 
 
The current dossier ends in December 1993. Updates are therefore required
from beginning 1994 to the present (though we also welcome earlier
documents, since the current dossier is by no means complete to end 93). The
dossier will be
updated more frequently in future, and additional information is welcome as
long as the practice continues. 
  
The dossier will cover all ethnic groups in Burma, including ethnic Burmans.
It will be divided into a number of categories:
 
* Strategic hamleting and all other relocations for military purposes.
 
* Removals for economic, commercial or "development" projects like dams,
roads, railways, pipelines, airports, plantations, shrimp, forestry, tourist
projects etc. Displacement caused by land confiscation.
 
* Removals to provide pools of forced labour
 
* Evictions from urban or rural locations for political or "aesthetic"
purposes -- such as people evicted from Rangoon because they voted the wrong
way in 1990, or the evictions from Pagan to "clean up" the city. Evictions
because people
cannot afford the alterations to their houses required by SLORC. 
 
* Displacement by government-sponsored migration -- e.g. SLORC's attempt to
dilute the concentration of Rohingyas by removing Muslim Rohingya villages
and replacing them with Buddhist Rakhines. Any information on
government-sponsored migration, even if it has not (yet) led to displacement. 
 
* Other examples of removals, whether by direct military command, or
indirect via economic sabotage aimed at destroying village economies and
thus forcing displacement.
 
* Any other causes or forms of relocation or eviction.
 
* SLORC Orders for removals, relevant articles in "New Light of Myanmar" etc
(Burmese originals and English translations if available).
 
 
All forms of documents are welcome, in English or French -- interviews,
reports, academic studies, press articles, photos, videos etc. These can be
from Burmese ethnic groups, humanitarian organisations, human rights groups
(local and international), diplomats, political parties, journalists,
academics, Burma support groups, UN sources, international organisations
etc. For documents in Burmese or other local languages, perhaps a short
abstract in English or French could be provided, and we could arrange for
translation of selected documents. If you know of relevant documents in
publications easily accessible in Geneva, or items on the internet, please
give references (location, title, topic number, date, source).
 
We hope to complete the dossier by the end of March 1997, for submission to
the UN Commission on Human Rights. If possible, therefore, documents should
reach us by early March. If you would like to be reimbursed for postal, fax
or photocopying costs, please enclose an invoice or note of the cost (we do
not, however, guarantee to cover the cost of 500-page faxes from Australia,
Japan or even Thailand).  
 
Please send to Burma Peace Foundation (David Arnott)
85, Rue de Montbrillant, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.
Fax (+41-22) 733 2040; Email darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx  
 
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