The BurmaNet News February 22, 1997

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 22, 1997
Issue #646

HEADLINES:
==========

UTS: DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI HONORARY DEGREE AND ADDRESS
THE NATION: SLORC TROOPS CONSOLIDATE GAINS IN OFFENSIVE
NCUB: SLORC VIOLENCE AGAINST THAI SECURITY FORCES
BRC-JAPAN: BORDER UPDATE  FEBRUARY 21, 1997
BKK POST: BURMA'S ARMY CHIEF TO MEET CHETTHA
BKK POST: THAIS MISSING AFTER ENTERING BURMA
THAILAND TIMES: THAI SOLDIERS FOIL ATTEMPTED ASSAULT
BKK POST: SLORC, KNU TROOPS IN FIERCE FIGHTING
AP: KARENS DENY BURMESE CLAIM OF BRIGADE SURRENDER 
BEIJING XINHUA: BURMESE MINISTER DEPARTS FOR BEIJING
REUTER: KAREN REBELS CALL FOR PEACE TALKS WITH BURMA
AP: SUHARTO IN BURMA: FAMILY BUSINESS AND DIPLOMACY 
THE NATION: TERROR DESCENDS ON TENASSERIM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UTS: MEDIA RELEASE-DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI HONORARY DEGREE AND ADDRESS
February 21, 1997
Kenneth Oo <kenoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

MEDIA RELEASE: UTS HONOURS BURMESE DEMOCRACY LEADER

The University of Technology, Sydney today awarded an honorary Doctorate of
Letters to Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The honorary degree, accepted on Daw Suu's behalf by her husband Dr Michael
Aris, recognises her long struggle to bring democracy to her own country and
her passionate international advocacy of the principles of democracy and
freedom.

UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Tony Blake said the honorary doctorate
recognised Daw Suu's commitment to human rights and to the welfare of her
fellow Burmese.

"Her determined campaign to achieve change by peaceful means is an
inspiration to all Australians'", Professor Blake said.

"Daw Suu and other members of the League for Democracy have shown a
commitment to their cause which has resulted in a long, courageous campaign
that has inspired many supporters around the world."

Professor Blake said UTS was proud to be associated with one of the great
leaders of the latter part of the 20th century who speaks with clarity and
conviction for human rights and democracy during difficult times.

He said UTS has, as part of its stated values, a commitment to democracy,
freedom of speech and human rights.

"By recognising the work of Daw Suu, UTS is fulfilling one of the roles of a
modern university, which is to promote constructive comment on educational,
cultural and social issues through public debate," Professor Blake said.

For further information telephone Amanda Hainsworth, Media Manager on
61-2-9514 1600.

----------------------------------

CITATION-DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
DOCTOR OF LETTERS (honoris causa)

The Council of the University of Technology, Sydney at its meeting on 22
February 1996 resolved that Aung San Suu Kyi shold admitted to the degree of
Doctor of Letters (honoris causa). The award is made to Aung San Suu Kyi in
recognition of her outstanding role as a leader of Burmese pro-democracy
movement and passionate advocate, internationally, of the principles of
democracy and freedom.

Since her return to Burma in 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi's remarkable record of
striving to bring democracy to her country has been an inspiration to the
Burmese people and to the supporters of democracy around the world. Her
commitment to human rights and to the welfare of her country has resulted in
a long and determined campaign which has few parallels in modern history.

Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon Burma 19 June 1945, the daughter of Aung San,
the Burmese general who dedicated his life to achieving independence for
Burma and who was assassinated in 1947 when Aung San Suu Kyi was two years
of age. His work and writings have been a source of great inspiration to Suu
Kyi who continues to acknowledge his influence on her work and has paid
special tribute to him by adding his name to hers. As he fought for the
liberation of Burma, so she has fought and continues to fight for democracy
in Burma. She is a true daughter of her father.

After early education in Rangoon, Aung San Suu Kyi went to Delhi with her
mother (Burma's appointed Ambassador to India), and in her further education
there became familiary with the teachings of Gandhi whose adherence to
non-violence has been an important influence on her subsequent work in
Burma, and the peaceful means by which she has sought to achieve change.

After studying briefly at Delhi University, Aung San Suu Kyi went to St
Hugh's College at Oxford University from which she graduated with the degrees
of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, with politics, philosophy and
economics as her major subjects.

Between the time of her marriage to an English academic Michael Aris in 1972
and her return to Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi worked in England, and for the
United Nations in New York and Bhutan. Their two sons were born in England
in 1974 and 1977. She also spent a period of time engaged in scholarship, in
particular concerning her father, resulting in the book about him entitled
Aung San, subsequently continuing her research on his life while at the
University of Kyoto.

In March 1988 Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma and quickly became the
leader of her country's pro-democracy movement, helping to found the
National League for Democracy, becoming Secretary-General. Showing great
personal courage in the face of opposition by the country's military rulers,
she travelled throughout Burma, speaking in support of democracy to large
crowds. In July 1989 she was placed under house arrest. In May 1990 the
National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in the Burmese general
elections, only to have the results ignored by the military government. Aung
San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest until July 1995. Since that time she
has continued to make her views clear, speaking fearlessly tot he Burmese
people about what she has called 'Burma's second struggle for independence'.

During the period of her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi continued to be the
focal point for the democratic aspirations fo the Burmese people, also
attracting the support of democratic countries and human rights groups
around the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi has received many awards paying tribute to her work, the
most significant being the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1991. In its
citation the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that it wished 'to honour this
woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people
throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and
ethnic conciliation by peaceful means'.

Other tributes and awards to Aung San Suu Kyi include:

* Fellow Indian Institute of Advanced Studies Simla, 1987,
* Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament, 1990
* Thorolf Rafto Prize for Human Rights in Norway, 1990
* Prix Literaire des Droits de l'Homme Paris, 1992
* Simon Bolivar Prize UNESCO, 1992
* Hon Member World Commission on Culture and Development, UNESCO, 1992
* Victor Jara International Human Rights Award of the Centre for Human
Rights and Constitutional Law, Los Angeles, 1993
* Bremen Solidarity Prize, 1993
* Member Academine University des Cultures Paris, 1993
* Rose Prize by International Forum of the Danish Labor Movement, 1993
* Companion in the Order of Australia (AC), 1996

She holds Honorary Doctorates from Thammissat University, Bangkok (1992),
Toronto University, Canada (1992), Vnje University, Brussels (1994) and The
American University, (1997).

It is a great honour for this University to make the award of Doctor of
Letters (honoris causa) to one of the truly great women of the latter part
of the 20th century, who speaks with clarity and conviction in troubled
times in support of human rights and democracy.

--------------------------------------------

ADDRESS BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI OF BURMA UPON RECEIVING AN HONORARY DOCTORATE OF
LETTERS IN ABSENTIA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, 21 FEBRUARY 1997

 Address delivered on her behalf by her husband Dr Michael Aris.

An honorary Doctorate of Letters from a university of technology for a
politician appears on the surface to be a strange combination. But
politicians and those studyhing technology share this in common, that we are
both seeking to find new ways of improving present conditions. It is an
exciting challenge, trying to change the present that our future might be
better.

The future belongs to those who are equipped to bring a new and more
desirable shape to our world. No amount of technological advancement will
guarantee peace or prosperity. Technological know-how has to be translated
into a form that can promote human happiness. The main purpose of technology
should be to remove what is ugly and onerous from the life of humanity, just
as the chief responsibility of politicians should be to remove what is ugly
and onerous from the life of their nation.

Without education we can achieve nothing of value. Education is not
necessarily a mater of qualifications acquired in formal instituions. It is
a process ofmental and intellectual training, whether formal or informal,
that results in a capacity for assessing problems correctly and finding the
best solutions.

Ill-educated people with their resentment of learning and their need to
prove the superiority of their ignorance cause much unnecessary suffering.
According to the teachings of Buddhism, which is reflected in the thoughts
of some western philosophers, there is and extremely close link between lack
of knowledge, or stupidity, and evil.

It is for this reason taht good academic instituaitons which seek to expand
human knowledge and to uphold high standards of scholastic endeavour
represent a beacon of hope for those who are experiencing the evils of a
lack of good educaiton. The curtailment of the right to develop initiative
and to exercise freedom of expression has disastrous effects on the future
of a nation. Our struggle for democracy is also the sturggle to assert our
right to genuine education. And it is for this reason that we so value the
support of academic institutions.

Australians, as the citizens of a nation forged out of hard endeavour, have
a reputation for a tough, independent mentality and derring-do. We expect
from you the boldness to stand up and speak for the rights of those who are
seeking to cast off their shackles.

In today's every-shrinking world, everybody can contribute towards desirable
change. In our country where the military regime has a monopoly on the whole
media apparatus, our people are forced to depend on external radio and
television stations to receive uncensored news.

With its proximity to Burma and with the increasing numbers of Burmese on
its soil, we hope that Australia will recognise the need for disseminating
information in the Burmese language on the educational, social, economic and
political currents sweeping across the globe.

As I thank your Vice-Chancellor Professor Blake and his predecessor
Professor Guthrie for their part in conferring on me an honorary Doctorate
of Letters of this university, I would like to request the students and
young people of Australia to keep in mind our struggle, which is part of the
sturggle of humanity to evolve as better species.

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

THE NATION: SLORC TROOPS CONSOLIDATE GAINS IN KAREN OFFENSIVE
February 21, 1997 (abridged)

(AFP) Burmese government troops were digging in rather than conducting any
major advances into ethnic Karen-held territory to the south of last week's
sweep
of rebel bases, border sources said yesterday.

Clashes continued, however, between forces of the military's ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) and the Karen National Union
(KNU), which has resisted central rule from Rangoon for 50 years.

The junta's troops last week swept through the KNU's remaining strongholds
in Burma's Karen state, opposite the Umphang district of Thailand's Tak
province, dispersing the rebels into the jungle to continue their fight as
guerrillas.

Since then a separate offensive has been launched against the rebel's last
bases to the south, on a strip of land more than 200 kilometres long held by
the KNU fourth brigade.

"The Slorc is still active in the fourth brigade area, but there are no
major movements," one of the sources said.

"They seem to be digging in to what they have for now," though they were
moving further into areas away from the border, he added.

KNU's fourth brigade operates in Burma's southeastern Tenasserim district,
close to planned natural gas pipelines from offshore fields to the Thai
border, and several other infrastructure projects.

Thailand hosts around 90,000 Karen refugees and hundreds of thousands of
illegal workers from Burma. At least 4,000 joined the refugee population
last week in Umphang, and an unknown number merged with the illegal workforce.

Thousands more were expected to cross the border from the fourth brigade
area into Kanchanaburi and Chumphon provinces, if the Slorc offensive continues.

Some 300 have already come across in Chumphon, but the Thai side was not
allowing them to set up a camp or build any bamboo huts, forcing them to
live under makeshift shelters, aid workers said.

The same was believed to be true in Kanchanaburi province, where 800 to
1,000 Karen have gathered at the border, but the border sources said
conditions there could not immediately by confirmed.

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

NCUB: SLORC VIOLENCE AGAINST THAI SECURITY FORCES
February 21, 1997
All Burma Students' Democratic Front <lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

PRESS STATEMENT NO (4)
Attacks and violence perpetrated against Thai security forces by SLORC troops

At 12:00 AM, on February 18th 1997, SLORC troops attacked two Thai Border
Patrol Policemen and one of the Thai security personnel was killed in the
incident. The source stated that these two Thai policemen were asked by the
SLORC troops to obtain Amphetamine tablets ("Yah Maa" in Thai language) on
the Thai side of the border. The Thai policemen then retreated to Thailand
and were attacked on their return patrol. The incident took place at a
location near to Sakhanthit village (Bahn Khloeng village on the Thai side).
At 8:00 AM, on February 20th 1997, a clash lasting approximately fifteen
minutes occurred between Thai Border Patrol Police (BPP) and SLORC soldiers,
while Thai BPP troops were patrolling the Thai side of the border three
kilometers away from Sakhanthit village. Thai troops withdrew after a Thai
Border Patrol policeman was seriously injured in the incident.  SLORC troops
then followed the Thai troops on Thai soil and fired many rounds of heavy
artillery shells at them. At 2:00 PM on the same day, the Thai BPP responded
by firing many rounds of artillery shells towards the Burmese side to warn
and prevent further possible intrusions of  SLORC troops into Thailand.
This kind of evidence, along with evidence of the many SLORC border
incursions into Thailand in recent years, is very convincing and clear, and
shows that SLORC troops have no respect for the sovereignty of neighbouring
countries like Thailand.  Such violent acts will have serious consequences
for regional security and stability in the South-east Asian area.  ASEAN
should take into account the many border incursions of the SLORC into
neighbouring countries like Thailand, before accepting the SLORC as members
of the ASEAN family of nations.

Information Committee
National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)
For more information, please contact Pado Mahn Shar of KNU at 055 561 062 or
055 561 040. 

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

BRC-JAPAN: BORDER UPDATE  FEBRUARY 21, 1997
February 21, 1997
Ken and Visakha Kawasaki <brelief@xxxxxxx>

Shoklo  - 124 houses in Section 5 were burned on Feb. 17.  DKBO from Paw Pa
Hta shelled Shoklo from 7 - 12 times.

Mae La  - DKBA attacked Mae La on January 29th.  There was fighting between
camp security troops (KNU) and DKBA.  Both sides had casualties.  On
February 15, Thai army disarmed camp security.

Don Pa Kyiang (Huay Bon) -- attacked by DKBA on January 29th.  Nearly the
whole camp was burned.

Huay Kalok -- Attacked and burned by DKBA and SLORC on January 29th.
Approximately 1,110 houses out of 1,300 were burned.  People panicked but
the Thai authorities did not allow them to leave the camp.  DKBA came into
the camp several times.  The monastery was safe and people sheltering in the
monastery were not harmed.  Thai soldiers left the camp about an hour before
DKBA's attack. There was no protection and there would be no possible
protection by Thai.

Ta Per Poo -- No DKBA attack.  Because it is right on the border and the
SLORC has a position on the other side of the border, roughly half of the
people have already evacuated.

Noh Pha Doh -- As it is very close to Htee Ka Pler (HQs of Gen. Bo Mya),
almost all people have moved to Naung Luan (Thai village).  The Thai check
point did not allow refugees to go deeper inside Thailand.

Noh Pa Htaw Wah - Attacked by the SLORC and DKBA on February 12.  People
moved to Kalaw Htaw (Mae Kyan) village.  The Thai authority forced the
people to move to the new location (transit camp) after DKBA threatened the
Thai authorities that they would attack Mae Kyan.

Lay Pho Hta - Attacked by SLORC on February 15 as it is on Burmese soil.
People moved to Pai Kler and are living on the road of that village.

Mae Taraw Khee -- People evacuated to Pai Kler before the SLORC attack.
Some people are hiding in the forests and mountains.

Kwee Ler Ter -- People are hiding in the mountains as there are no routes
for their evacuation. 

Htee Hta Baumg -- According to unconfirmed reports, that camp was burned
down by the SLORC and the people are hiding in the forests and mountains.

People from the refugee camps in Umphang area and those displaced from
Dupalaya District will be placed in the new camp between Mae Kyan and Pai
Kler.  DKBA has said that they will attack all refugee camps wherever they
are.  Yesterday (Feb. 21st) there was some fighting between SLORC and Thai
patrols on Thai soil in the Umphang area.  Now it is almost impossible for
anyone to reach Umphang.

There was considerable SLORC military movement in Mague/Tavoy District.
Hundreds of people have evacuated to the Thai side.  There area bout 20,000
SLORC soldiers in Karen State.  Many KNU people and civilians are trapped in
Duplaya, including according to unconfirmed reports the Commander of the
Sixth Brigade and the volunteer troop (high school students).

About 200 KNU soldiers from Battalion 16 led by Lt. Col. Th Mu Hel
surrendered to SLORC.  

A group of five KNU medics went inside to evacuate KNU health structures,
were arrested and executed.  

There is sporadic fighting in Duplaya.  According to unconfirmed reports one
volunteer soldier from Sakhanthit mission school and one member of PLF died
in action.  

Students (ABSDF 205 from Mae Ka Thi Hta) are reportedly cut off  while  some
NLD members and political defiance activists are also thought to be trapped
in the Kyeik - don Area.

http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm

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

BKK POST: BURMA'S ARMY CHIEF TO MEET CHETTHA
February 21, 1997

Burmese Army Chief Maung Aye will meet his Thai counterpart Chettha
Thanajaro at the Burmese border town of Tachilek, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae
Sai district, on February 25.

Army sources said the two leaders were expected to discuss border problems.
The meeting is expected to be followed by lunch on the Thai side.(BP)

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

BKK POST: THAIS MISSING AFTER ENTERING BURMA
February 21, 1997

Ranong - Four Thai men living close to the Burmese border have gone missing
after entering Burma to catch turtles a week ago.

Mrs Boonkong Kiangwong of Ban Nongchik village in Tambon Pakchan of Kra Buri
district lodged a complaint with district chief Santi Khananurak yesterday
that her husband, Charoen  Suksawat, and three other men identified only as
Khai, Tian and Noi has crossed Klong Yoong into Burma last Saturday.

They promised to return on Tuesday but have not showed up so far. (BP)

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

THAILAND TIMES: THAI SOLDIERS FOIL ATTEMPTED DKBA ASSAULT
February 21, 1997
by Assawin Pininwong

TAK : About 50 armed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops
clashed with Thai soldiers as they attempt to cross the Moei river towards
the Shoklo refugee camp in Tha Song Yang district yesterday.

No casualties were reported after the intruders were pushed back
onto Burmese soil.

Last week, the DKBA, backed by the Burmese military junta, had successfully
torched some 20 refugee homes in the Shoklo camp. They faced heavy
resistance form the Range Rogers 3503 troops which were stationed round the
clock there.

Troop numbers were  subsequently increased after the attack. 

Yesterday's assault came at about 1:10 am. Thai officials said the DKBA
troops again attempted to burn down the Shoklo camp inhabited by thousands
of rival Karen National Union ( KNU) refugees.

Another attack was carried out yesterday in the Umphang district as three
helicopter gunships opened fire on unidentified armed troops crossing the
Moei river.

DKBA attacks began late last month  when they burnt down tow refugee camps
in Tak province leaving nearly 10,000 refugees homeless.

Meanwhile Lt-Gen Thanom Watcharaput, commander of the Army Region 3, said in
a press conference that he has ordered the use of air attacks for the first
time following heavy fighting between the two sides which started last month.

About 60,000 refugees are now living in 14 camps under Thai protection along
the Thai-Burma border; Most of them are KNU members who have been fighting
with the Burmese government since 1948 for autonomy.

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

BKK POST: SLORC, KNU TROOPS IN FIERCE FIGHTING
February 21, 1997 (abridged)
Ralph Bachoe

Mae Sot--A senior official of the Karen National Union (KNU) said yesterday
that heavy fighting has continued for the past two days in the 4th Brigade
area in the Mergui-Tavoy region of southern Burma.

Padoe Mahn Sha, general-secretary 1, said four Slorc divisions are heavily
engaged with KNU forces in the mountainous area, while an unknown number are
involved in fighting in the lower plains.

He said Slorc troops have requested air support form central command but
fighter planes have yet to come to their assistance. So far, he claimed,
more than 100 Slorc soldiers have been killed in the fighting. He did not
mention KNU casualties.

Also yesterday, two Thai helicopter gunships of the Fourth Infantry Regiment
opened fire at Burmese troops while they were crossing the border into
Thai-land, the regiment's border task force commander Colonel Suvit Maenmuan
said.

No casualties were reported.

The gunships spotted the intruders and attacked after the Burmese fired and
attacked after the Burmese fired 10 82mm mortar shells across the border.
Some shells landed a kilometre from Noh Ka Thaw Wah refugee camp while
others missed a border patrol police base by about 20 metres.

Pedoe Mahn Sha confirmed Slorc's claim that KNU troops recently surrendered,
but said the actual number was between 150 and 200, not 250 as stated by the
Burmese army.

Morale among the KNU troops remains high, he claimed, and KNU
leader General Bo Mya is in the best of health.

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

AP: KARENS DENY BURMESE CLAIM OF BRIGADE SURRENDER 
February 20, 1997

   MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) _ Burmese military officials say 380 Karen rebels
have surrendered to them, but a spokesman for the ethnic rebels denied it on
Wednesday, calling it propaganda meant to sow dissension.
   Thai border security officials said Wednesday that Burmese authorities
told them that a brigade of Karen National Union guerrillas under the
command of Col. Moe Tu surrendered on Sunday.
   The guerrillas, who operated near the area of Teakaplaw, the Karen
headquarters abandoned to Burmese soldiers last week, were said to have
turned over 280 weapons.
   But a member of the Karen National Union's central executive committee,
Pado Aung San, said at the border that the group's soldiers have never
surrendered en masse. The Karens have been fighting the central government
for greater autonomy since Burma gained independence in 1948.
   ``It is just rumor,'' Pado Aung San said, adding that the report was
meant to cause misunderstanding and split Karen unity.
   An estimated 5,000 government troops overran the Karen National Union's
main stronghold of Teakaplaw last week, displacing about 20,000 people and
sending Karen fighters into the jungle. Many refugees from the fighting have
crossed into Thailand's Tak province, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest
of Bangkok.
   Meanwhile, a news agency associated with Burmese student rebels allies of
the Karens reported Wednesday that the Burmese army had extended its
offensive against the Karen to a southern front opposite the Thai province
of Kanchanaburi.
   The Oway News agency said that more than 1,000 villagers have been
displaced by attacks on the Karen National Union's Fourth Brigade that began
on Feb. 10.
   Burmese troops have been given a March 27 deadline Burmese Armed Forces
Day  to overrun the Fourth Brigade and the 1st Battalion of the All Burma
Students Democratic Front, the report claimed.
   
*******************************

BEIJING XINHUA: BURMESE MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION DEPARTS FOR BEIJING
February 19, 1997

Rangoon, February 19 (XINHUA)-- Myanmar [Burma] Minister for Construction
Major General Saw Tun left here today for Beijing on a week-long visit to
China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Construction
Hou Jie. 
The Myanmar minister and his party will inspect some new residential
buildings in Beijing, and visit the Shanghai-Nanjing expressway, some bridge
construction sites and construction machinery factories in Shanghai. 

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

REUTER: KAREN REBELS CALL FOR PEACE TALKS WITH BURMA
February 20, 1997
By Sutin Wannabovorn

    MAE SOT, Thailand-Ethnic Karen rebels on Thursday called for peace talks
with Burma after the Thai military said it would squeeze out guerrillas from
border camps.
    The call for a truce came from senior Karen National Union (KNU)
spokesman Ner Dah, who fled with thousands of Karen refugees to the Thai
side after Burmese troops razed the group's key mobile jungle camps in
Eastern Burma.
    "The KNU is demanding that Burmese troops stop their offensive against
us, withdraw from the border and resume talks," he told Reuters by telephone.
    "If they are sincere, they have to stop fighting and talk now, but if
they continue to fight we have to defend ourselves."
    But senior Thai military officers, who took reporters on a tour of
border areas housing Karen refugees, said they planned to bring order to
Karen refugee camps in the area and predicted time was running out for the KNU.
    "We plan to estabish orderly camps for them and strictly screen (KNU)
guerrillas out from civilians. Anyone found with arms will be pushed back to
Burma," said Lieutenant General Thanom Vacharapuk, commander of Thailand's
Third Army.
    The Third Army is responsible for security in the area.
    Thanom said some guerrillas had mingled with refugees in the camps and
crossed into Burma to attack Burmese positions.
    About 60,000 refugees live in 14 Thai camps across the Burma border and
another 30,000 are scattered in nearby jungles, he said.
    Thailand's sprawling camps would be centralised into one or two
locations, where authorities could provide the refugees security and control
their activity, he added.
    Other officers predicted that with strict control on Karen movements in
place soon, the KNU could be finished.
    "The KNU is definitely finished within this rainy season. I mean that
their fighting for ideology is ended and after that the guerrilla group will
be reduced to a small group of bandits," Major General Sommai Vachiravorn,
deputy Thai Third Army commander, told Reuters.
    The KNU was formed in 1948 to fight for greater autonomy for the Karen
state from the Rangoon central government.
    It is one of the few rebel groups that have rejected Rangoon's peace
overtures and refused to lay down arms. Fifteen other ethnic guerrilla
groups have already reached ceasefire agreements with the ruling Burmese
military junta.
    In the past 10 months, KNU representatives have met with Burmese
government delegates four times to discuss peace initiatives, but they have
all ended in failure because the KNU has refused to lay down arms before talks.
    Colonel Suvit Maenmuen, commander of the area Thai task force, accused
the KNU of exaggerating fighting between them and the Burmese troops and
creating rumours and border confusion.
    "Yes, there were heavy movements of the Burmese troops inside Burma but
real fighting never took place. The cowardly KNU ran away and made big
noises," he said.
    "Actually there are only about 6,000 fresh refugees who have fled the
Burmese to Umphang district during the Burmese attack of last week," Colonel
Suvit said.
    The latest Thai military plans come as a new blow to the KNU, which is
said by rebel sources to be racked by policy differences between hardline
leader General Bo Mya and moderate vice president Swe Seing, who wants to
discuss peace.

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

AP: SUHARTO IN BURMA: MIXING FAMILY BUSINESS WITH DIPLOMACY 
February 20, 1997
Joe Mcdonald

SINGAPORE (AP) _ A visit to Burma by President Suharto of Indonesia will be
more than just a political boost for the isolated Burmese military rulers.
   It's also a chance for Suharto to do some family business.
   During a two-day stop in Rangoon starting Friday, the Indonesian leader
plans to attend the signing of an agreement between his daughter's company
and one owned by the Burmese government.
   The deal adds to a web of business ties that link the Suharto family to
Burma, giving its ruling generals financial and political support to resist
pressure for better human rights and greater democracy.
   Other foreign investors have been driven away by threats of boycotts,
combined with economic mismanagement that has turned one of Asia's richest
countries into one of its poorest.
   But conglomerates run by Suharto's children are stepping up involvement
in its communications, construction, petrochemical, logging and animal feed
industries, according to activists and the companies.
   ``With many companies pulling out of Burma, it will create less
competition for the companies owned by the ruling elite,'' said George J.
Aditjondro, an Indonesian sociologist who teaches at the University of
Newcastle in Australia.
   Burma has actively sought closer ties with Indonesia, Aditjondro
said in a telephone interview.
   Burmese leaders want to copy the political system created by Suharto, a
former general who has held power since 1966 through a military-dominated
ruling party, Aditjondro said.
   Burma also wants Indonesia ``to become a `big brother' in the
international human rights battle,'' he said. ``That's why they make it
easier for the Indonesian companies. It's really a kind of defense mechanism.''
   In exchange, he said, Indonesia would gain an ally in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, which is expected to give Burma full membership
this year despite Western protests.
   Indonesia's overtures to Burma are similar to those of Thailand,
Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries that are defying outside
criticism by stepping up business and political ties.
   None of the Suharto family companies will comment on criticism of their
dealings with Burma. But Indonesia and its ASEAN partners have argued that
it is inappropriate to mix trade with what they regard as unrelated issues
such as human rights.
   The Suharto children, having become immensely wealthy at home through
state contracts and monopolies for toll roads, telephones and other
services, are beginning to branch out overseas.
   ``A lot of the official visits of Suharto are now very closely in line
with his family's business interests,'' said Aditjondro. He calls their
dealings ``Suharto's kleptocracy.''
   The agreement to be signed this week is between Burma's Union of Myanmar
Economic Holding Ltd. and PT Citra Lamtorogung, owned by Suharto's eldest
daughter, Siti ``Tutut'' Hardiyanti Rukmana, according to the Indonesian
state news agency Antara.
   It didn't say what the deal covers, but Tutut's company is known best for
building toll roads in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, while Burma
needs investment in roads and other infrastructure.
   Among other family members:
   _The Bimantara Group led by Tutut's billionaire brother, Bambang
Trihatmojo, is installing a phone network in Rangoon and starting a factory
there to make animal feed, according to Aditjondro.
   He said Bambang also owns 35 percent of a company with logging operations
in Burma, Cambodia and elsewhere.
   _The Humpuss Group owned by another brother, Hutomo ``Tommy'' Mandala
Putra, says it has a share in a logging joint venture but hasn't started
work. It says it received a concession in 1993 to cut timber on 200,000
hectares (500,000 acres) of Burma's forests, which are being rapidly wiped
out to earn the government foreign currency.
   Humpuss would not confirm a report by the Jakarta Post that Tommy was
appointed head of an agency in charge of promoting private investment and
trade with Burma in 1994.
   _Hashim Djojohadikusomo, a relative of the Suharto family by marriage, is
investing in Burma's cement business.
   In addition, Tommy is building a factory in Indonesia to produce the
industrial chemical methanol in partnership with the oil companies Unocal of
the United States and Total of France, which are among the biggest foreign
investors in Burma.
   ``This is contrary to (Burmese pro-democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi's
call for a boycott of the oil companies,'' said Aditjondro.
   
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THE NATION: TERROR DESCENDS ON TENASSERIM
February 21, 1997

Fleeing villagers tell tales of slaughter as Slorc troops move in to
'pacify' yet another border area for oil exploration. Adrian Levy and Cathy
Scott-Clark report.

The widow was still in a state of shock, but she wanted the world to know
how her husband had died. Kyaw Shwe was seized by Burmese soldiers while out
looking for food. They tied him to a tree. Then soldiers scalped and
castrated him.

"He died tied up to the tree," whispered Thaw En, who has seven children.
Her eldest son and daughter were with her husband when the soldiers
appeared. "My children were forced to watch him bleed to death."

Such accounts of murder were common-place in southern Burma last week. The
army is carrying out a ruthless campaign to drive out rebellious national
minorities and clear the area for international investment.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, tortured or enslaved in
force-labour camps. Their villages have been burnt down in a systematic
campaign launched four months ago in the Tenasserim region. The government
wants the area, home to the Karen guerrillas, to be made "safe" for oil and
tourism ventures, including an ecology park.

The Burmese government has tried to keep its activities secret. The British
Embassy in Rangoon, the capital, heard rumours of atrocities against
civilians two months ago. But embassy staff were refused permission to
investigate.

We encountered more than 2,000 refugees after we were smuggled over the
border from Thailand. All had terrible stories to tell - shocking even by
Burma's appalling human rights standards.

Driven from their land under a new offensive involving thousands of Burmese
troops, the refugees either fled from the troops or were locked in labour
camps and forced to work on government projects. Beating are common,
malnourishment widespread and malaria rampant.

The government is targeting one of the last uncharted parts of southern
Burma not yet sold to or developed by foreign investors.

The State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), the military
dictatorship which seized control of the country in 1988, believes the
untouched beaches and gas fields off its western coast have enormous potential.

Insurgent groups opposed to the government remain active in Tenasserim,
primarily the Karen National Union (KNU), drawn from the Karen minority. The
government is trying to drive everybody out. Peasants whose villages lie in
the path of projected development have been targeted.

Naw Taw Chi, a mother of five, was moved to a relocation camp at Christmas
after soldiers arrived at her village. "We were threatened and hit with
rifle butts," she said. "The soldiers were firing at us we ran away and I
saw several people fall down."

She went to the relocation camp, where hundreds of people were kept under
armed guard. They were told to grow their own rice if they wanted to eat.
People were tied up and beaten and taken to work on the road at gunpoint.
Others were made to watch as their sons were bayoneted to death.

Disclosures about the government's "pacification" drive have prompted
demands from human rights groups for sanctions against the Burmese junta.

Yet foreign companies are still keen to invest in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace prize winner and the leader of Burma's
democracy movement, has called for a world boycott of companies doing
business in Burma. Her campaign is being compared to that of Nelson Mandela,
who supported sanctions against South Africa from his prison cell.

Faced with an outcry about atrocities against civilians, the European
Commission has brought forward a debate on whether to suspend Burma's trade
privileges.

Amnesty International last week published a report warning of unprecedented
levels of abuse in Burma. The American state of Massachusetts has imposed
sanctions similar to those imposed against South Africa during apartheid.

However, campaigners against the junta faced a setback last week with the
news that Burma will almost certainly be admitted to the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trading group this summer.

Tension in the country is rising with Suu Kyi under virtual house arrest
again, opposition figures jailed and tortured, and ten of thousands of
refugees streaming over the border into Thailand.

The crisis is set to worsen. In a new offensive, the Burmese army attacked
rebel Karen positions along the border last week. Tenasserim district is the
Karen's last stronghold inside Burma.

The junta's campaign in Tenasserim is similar to the army's brutal attempts
in 1995 and 1996 to pacify a neighbouring region between Ye and Tavoy on the
west coast to accompany a huge deal Slorc had signed with foreign oil companies.

The deal is worth billions of dollars. But the razing of villages and other
abuses in the path of a pipeline, now under construction using forced
labour, led to an outcry. Activists in Europe and America have been putting
pressure on the oil companies to stop doing business with the Burmese
government.

The significance of the latest pacification campaign is that it is
associated with a new deal struck between the Burmese authorities and
Premier Oil, a British company, to exploit offshore gas fields. Premier
estimates the new field to be worth at least US$15 billion (Bt375 billion).

The area under attack has been earmarked as the route for a pipeline project
linking the field, via Tenasserim, to Thailand, which will buy the gas.

This means nothing to the peasants of Tenasserim. They just want the terror
to end. "I was very scared when the soldiers started to shoot," said May
Wah, 14.

"I thought we were all going to die. I don't want to be a refugee, but I am
too scared to go home." (TN)

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