BurmaNet News February 24, 1997

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 24, 1997
Issue #648

HEADLINES:
==========
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: SOEHARTO IN RANGOON
AP: SLORC OFFENSIVE CAUSED 41 KAREN LIVES
BURMANET: INCREASING HARRASSMENT OF NLD MEMBERS
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0023

KNU: SITUATION UPDATE-NO. 6 AND NO. 4 BRIGADE AREA
BUSINESS WEEK: TROUBLING BARRAGE OF TRADE SANCTIONS
BKK POST: BURMA MAY PLAN ANOTHER MILITARY OFFENSIVE
THE NATION: EXILES CLAIMS SLORC SHOT AT THAI PATROLS
THE NATION: SNOH WILL VISIT TAK TO GAUGE BORDER
BKK POST: INTELLIGENCE WORK TO BE UPGRADED
BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO RETURN TRUCK 
MONLAND RESTORATION COUNCIL: MON NATIONAL DAY
NCUB: CONTACT NUMBER CORRECTION
--------------------------------------------------------------

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: SOEHARTO IN RANGOON
February 24, 1997
By Mark Baker, Herald Correspondent in Bangkok

Asean boost for Burma 

An extraordinary meeting between Indonesia?s President Soeharto and the
reclusive former Burmese dictator, General Ne Win, has cleared the way
for Burma to become a full member of the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN).

Mr Soeharto has spurned international protests over human rights abuses
by the Burmese military regime and declared that he wants Burma admitted to
ASEAN, without conditions, as soon as possible.

For an hour on Saturday, the veteran Indonesian leader held talks in
Rangoon with General Ne Win, who has received no foreign dignitaries
since his ostensible retirement from political life in 1988.

The meeting stunned political observers as General Ne Win is never seen
in public and rarely mentioned in Burma?s official media. The high-level
talks reinforced long-standing speculation that he remains a powerful
figure behind the scenes.

The 85-year-old general, who seized power in a 1962 coup and led Burma
down in a 1962 coup and led Burma down a path of socialist isolationism,
lives in a heavily guarded villa on the shores of Rangoon?s Inya Lake,
opposite the home of the democracy leader, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.

General Ne Win announced his retirement in 1988 during the political
turmoil which led to a military crackdown against pro-democracy protests
in which more than 3,000 people were killed.

The meeting between the two men, who were leading members of the
Non-Aligned Movement before General Ne Win pulled Burma out of the
official agenda for Mr Soeharto?s two-day visit to Rangoon.

?It?s purely personal,? the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr Ali Alatas,
said. ?Obviously these two leaders go way back.?

But the meeting underscored the stand by Mr Soeharto, the most
influential leader in ASEAN, in support of Burma?s early admission to
the regional grouping.

Analysts expect Burma, along with Cambodia and Laos, to be admitted to
full ASEAN membership as early as July when foreign ministers of the
region hold their annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Alatas said that while no date has been fixed, Indonesia hoped all
three countries could join ?as soon as possible?.

?I would like to reaffirm ASEAN?s stance that we have never and will not
make as a precondition or a criterion for membership the internal
situation of a country,? he said.

Indonesia and other ASEAN members would never accept conditions that
were ?tantamount to asking for changes or interfering in the political
or economic system? of prospective members, he said.

The comments are a direct rebuff to calls by Western governments for
ASEAN to pressure Burma to improve its human rights record and undertake
political reform.

These calls were reiterated by foreign ministers of the European Union
during talks with their ASEAN counterparts in Singapore 10 days ago.

But with both Indonesia and Malaysia now pressing strongly for Burma?s
unconditional entry to ASEAN, it is clear that regional government? with
the Burmese military regime.

Trade and investment links between Burma and ASEAN are growing rapidly.
About $200 million worth of new Indonesian investments have been approved
since late last year, and several new agreements, including a
joint venture for a new domestic Burmese air service, were signed during
the Soeharto visit.
-------------------------------------

[excerpts from related articles]

THE NATION: SUHARTO COMPLETES LANDMARK TRIP
February 24, 1997
AFP

Two memoranda of understanding were signed in Rangoon, on Indonesian
investment in Burmese industry - by the Citra Group headed by Suharto's
daughter, Siri Hardijanti Rukmana - and an airline services joint venture.

Suharto's trip was seen by many as upstaging planned visits by Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose country plays host to the annual
Asean foreign ministers' meeting and an informal Asean summit later in the year.

Asean membership would give Burma a greater degree of international
credibility and give it more access to the economic powerhouse family of
southeast Asia.

The two memoranda of understanding covered Indonesian investment in
industrial sectors in Burma and a joint venture to operate internal air
services in Burma with leased Indonesian aircraft.

The Burmese-language press said the joint venture airline would help develop
Burma's border areas, recently pacified now that 15 of the 16 armed
ethnic-based insurgent groups operating in the frontier areas have signed
ceasefire agreements with Rangoon in exchange for development assistance.

The other memorandum was to lead to a feasibility study on investment
potential in several sectors, from agriculture to manufacturing. Indonesia
has invested a total of about US$200 million (Bt5 billion) in Burma since
the junta assumed power in 1988.

Security was tight in the Burmese capital throughout the visit.

Supporters of the opposition National League for Democracy said they had
decided to stay away from the Shwedagon pagoda, where they sometimes
congregate at the weekend, to avoid the appearance of provocation. Suharto
toured the 2,500-year-old site on Saturday.

The Burmese-language Mirror daily hailed the Indonesian leader's "historic"
visit, recalling that it reciprocated a visit by the junta leader, Senior
General Than Shwe, to Jakarta last November.

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

THE NATION: BURMA'S ASEAN BID 'WELL UNDER WAY'
February 23, 1997
AFP

Alatas stressed that the main focus of Indonesian President Suharto's visit
to Burma was economic, dedicated to bolstering economic cooperation, two-way
trade and joint ventures.

Alatas noted that two-way trade values were "very, very low ... far below
capacity" but said: "We are trying to do something about that."

Indonesia lags well behind other Asean members such as Singapore and
Malaysia in business links with Burma. Indonesia is involved in fewer than
five projects, compared to a total of more than 50 for the other two.

Suharto met Ne Win on his last official visit to Burma, in 1974.

Since then, Burmese leaders have turned away from Ne Win's staunch advocacy
of non-alignment to make an effort to enter the international community.

Ne Win withdrew Burma, one of the founder nations with Indonesia, from the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) when he felt members were tilting towards one or
the other of the great powers and he opposed membership in Asean because of
the presence of foreign bases in some Asean states.

After the ruling junta took power in 1988, they decided to rejoin the NAM.
Most recently, Burma applied for Asean membership.

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

AP: SLORC OFFENSIVE CAUSED 41 KAREN LIVES
February 23, 1997

RANGOON, Feb 23 AP - Breaking a silence on its military  operations along
the Thai-Burmese border, the government announced  today its troops had
killed 41 ethnic Karen rebels in a continuing  offensive which began on
February 11.
	   State radio said government forces had clashed 53 times with the  Karen
National Union in three areas of south-eastern Burma since 
the push began against the country's last major insurgency.
	   "Mopping up operations" were continuing and more Karen fighters were
expected to surrender to the government side, the broadcast 
said.
	   The offensive has displaced thousands of Karen civilians and led  to
artillery exchanges between Thai and Burmese troops along the 
frontier. The report made no mention of the escalation of tensions 
with Thailand.
	   State radio said the offensive was launched after leaders of the 
Karen National Union unilaterally broke off peace talks with  Rangoon.
	   The rebels, who have been fighting since 1947, demand autonomy  from the
central government and have refused any compromise that  excludes Aung San
Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel Peace prize laureate and 
pro-democracy leader.
	   The broadcast claimed that 41 rebel bodies had been counted and 293
weapons along with 270,000 rounds of ammunition were seized. 
Another 243 weapons and 70,000 rounds of ammunition were brought in 
by 511 officers and soldiers who surrendered following  disagreements with
the "extremist leadership" of the rebel movement, the broadcast said.
	   "More KNU members who want peace and wish to exchange weapons for peace
are expected to come in," it said.
	   An estimated 20,000 people have crossed into Thailand or were 
attempting to since the fighting erupted, joining some 90,000 already there.
	   The proximity of the fighting to Thailand has led to exchanges 
of fire between the Burmese troops and Thais, who in the past have 
used the various ethnic armies along the border as a buffer against Burma.
	   Mahn Shar, KNU vice secretary-general, said last Friday that 
about 100 government troops had been killed or wounded in the  fighting. He
did not estimate Karen casualties, but said the KNU was waging hit-and-run
attacks to minimise casualties.
	   The KNU says the offensive began on February 8 and was led by 
Thura Sit Maung, whom it described as "notorious for human rights 
abuse perpetrated against the civilian population in southern Burma".
	   International human rights agencies have in recent years 
compiled detailed documentation of human rights abuses by the Burmese
military in areas held or influenced by ethnic minority rebels. These
include summary executions, torture and rape of civilians, forced
evacuations of villages and use of civilians as frontline porters.
	   Rangoon routinely denies charges of human rights abuse.

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

BURMANET: INCREASING HARRASSMENT OF NLD MEMBERS
February 24, 1997

The SLORC is not only preventing the NLD from holding party congresses but
also harrassing NLD members in multiple ways in order to weaken the party.
NLD members in several parts of the country cannot travel without prior
permission from military intelligence.  Trips to Rangoon  in particular are
generally not allowed, because it is assumed the members will visit Aung San
Suu Kyi.  The SLORC is squeezing NLD members economically by making it
difficult for them to get jobs and threatening  those who employ active NLD
members.   The SLORC has not overlooked the pschological sphere either.
Monks have been told not to ordain or accept offerings from NLD members.

A pattern is emerging of NLD members being arrested and severely punished
for petty offenses and acts which may or may not be their fault.  In 1996,
one NLD member was sentenced to 3 years in prison for a very minor car
accident in which no one was killed.  Now Dr. Than Aung is being charged for
causing death, because he gave an injection to a sick man who later died.

This man first went to Dr. Than Aung's clinic and when he came back awhile
later, Dr. Than Aung recommended that he go to the general hospital.  It is
not surprising that the patient went to a private clinic first.
Goverment-provided medical care in Burma is woefully inadequate.  BurmaNet
has received reports from all over the country, including the capital,
Rangoon, that public hospitals have no medicine, no equipment for medical
procedures, and no disposable needles.  Patients must have friends or
relatives go out and buy everything from bandages to anesthesia.  In one of
her Letter's From Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi wrote that most hospital workers
must be bribed before they will provide service, because their salaries are
so pitifully low.

It is interesting to note that SLORC supporters who commit serious crimes do
not face equivalent punishments.  Recently, the Chinese government asked the
Burmese government to extradite 2 Burmese men from Muse, after they had
murdered a Chinese woman.  When the SLORC found out that the 2 guilty men
were USDA members, the SLORC refused to extradite them.  Even army deserters
are treated better than NLD members. In the Hsipaw area in mid-1996, it was
reported that 10 deserters from the SLORC army killed a man who was driving
a truck.  A teacher standing on the side of the road saw the incident and
was shot too.  The men then took off in the truck.  But when the family
asked the SLORC to catch and punish the criminals, the local officials
blamed the incident on the victims and refused to track down the criminals.

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

SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0023

February 23, 1997
OKKAR66127@xxxxxxx

Date. 23-2-97

(1)     Dr. Than Aung,   an elected member from the National League for
Democracy Party of Mingalar-Taung-Nyunt constituency (2) is facing charges
for causing death by negligence at the Mingalar-Taung-Nyunt police station
on the 21st of Feb. 1997. The incident took place on the 17th of Feb. at
8.15 p.m where a car parking attendance, U Win Htein visited Dr. Than Aung
at his private clinic opened at his residence in Mingalar-Taung-Nyunt
Township. U Win Htein complained to Dr. Than Aung that he was not feeling
well and was given one injection shot. On the way back
from the clinic U Win Htein met with two members of the Ka-Doe-Sait ward law
and order restoration council of the same township and the chairman of the
ward co-ops shop. U Win Htein told the (3) officials that he has just
visited Dr. Than Aung at his clinic and recounted his treatment there. He
later on was taken back to Dr. Than Aung when he complained that he was
feeling much worse after the shot given to him by Dr. Than Aung. 
        When arriving back at the clinic, Dr. Than Aung recommended that U
Win Htein be taken to Yangon General Hospital to be admitted there. The (3)
officials took U Win Htein by car to Yangon General Hospital and was
directed by the staff there to the New General Hospital which was on stand
by for emergency cases for the day. On arrival at the New General Hospital
at 21:20 hrs. U Win Htein was pronounced dead (15) minutes before his
arrival there by the doctor-in-charge of the emergency ward. This incident
was reported by the Mingalar-Taung-Nyunt Township
authorities to the township police station and an investigation has been
carried out. Consequently, case has been opened and action has been taken
against Dr. Than Aung for causing death by negligence it is learnt.

(2)     After the Kayin National Union (the last remaining insurgent
organization) leadership one sidedly suspended the peace negotiations with
the government representatives after finishing the 4th round of talks. The
members of the K.N.U have been returning to the legal fold, individually and
in groups. Altogether (511) KNU officers and members together with (243)
assorted arms including (25) heavy weapons, (77,411) rounds of small and
heavy weapons, (155) mines have returned to the fold up to 11th Feb. 1997.
In the mopping-up area operations (53) clashes took place between the KNU
and the government troops where KNU suffered (41) dead with (293) assorted
weapons, (268,433) rounds of assorted ammunition and (645) mines were
captured by the government troops. The KNU also suffered heavy casualties.
On the government side, (7) members were killed while (3) officers and (29)
members were injured.

(3)     On the 22nd of Feb. a reporter from TV India who arrived by UB-222
flight from Bangkok was deported on the same day by UB-225 flight. The
reporter from TV India Mrs. Bhuvaneswari Sridharan was found to have falsely
stated her occupation and intention when she applied for her visa at the
concerning Myanmar Embassy. During her arrival at the Yangon International
Airport the immigration officials found documents revealing her true
intention and she was refused entry into the country it is learnt.

Source: Myanmar Authority Concerned

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

KNU: SITUATION UPDATE-NO. 6 AND NO. 4 BRIGADE AREA
February 21,1997
So_Nou@xxxxxxxxxxxx (So Nou)

KNU No.6 Brigade Area

Being trapped behind the enemy line and facing hunger for two days, a number
of 500 refugees in the area safely arrived on Thai soil on February 18,1997.
According to these escapees, many villagers were still trapped inside Burma
and were hiding in the deep jungle. These villagers were lack of food for
more than 4 days now. Some villagers while hiding in the jungle were found
by the Slorc troops and were sent back to their villages where they were
vulnerable to Slorc's persecution.

A company of eighty soldiers from KNU No. 16 Battalion that recently
defected to the Slorc had returned and joined hands again with their troops
on February 19,1997.

KNU No.4 Brigade Area

2274 families with a total number of 11877 people were homeless and
scattered in the deep Mergui-Tavoy jungle due to the Slorc's major offensive
launched against the KNU..Many of these villagers could not make their way
out to safety to Thailand yet but were hiding in the deep jungle. Those who
were caught while hiding received a severe punishment from the Slorc troops.
Young childeren and old people were killed, men were forced as porters and
women were raped in front of the family. 

Since the beginning of the offensive, 14 skirmishes occured between the
SLORC troops and the KNU troops which the Slorc side suffered 132
casualities and 7 from the KNU side.

KNU Information Center

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

BUSINESS WEEK: A TROUBLING BARRAGE OF TRADE SANCTIONS FROM ALL ACROSS AMERICA
February 24, 1997
Paul Magnusson, Washington

       Trade sanctions used to be Washington's almost exclusive preserve.
But now, to the consternation of U.S. business, states and cities across the
nation are muscling in and making sanctions a booming American growth
industry. Already, trade and investment with 35 nations that buy a fifth of
the world's $4 trillion annual exports are subject to U.S. penalties of some
sort, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. And the trend
is accelerating.

       Frightened business groups are mounting a lobbying counteroffensive.
Former U.S. trade ambassador Clayton Yeutter is heading a push by the
National Foreign Trade Council, which represents 560 U.S. companies, to
persuade Congress to stop the epidemic. Yeutter wants congressional hearings
to broadcast the message that sanctions enacted in a fit of outrage, however
justified, gnaw at American corporate sales and profits. ''We need to
evaluate each situation carefully and determine if we are going to achieve
the desired result,'' he says.

       ALARM BELLS. Yeutter's chances of radically changing matters are
slim. The lobbying campaign raises hot-button issues, such as states' rights.
Alarm bells started jangling, for instance, when Massachusetts joined a slew
of American cities--from Oakland, Calif., to Ann Arbor, Mich.--in imposing
trade sanctions on companies trading with Burma last year. The measures ban
or penalize bidding by sanctions-busters for public contracts. Massachusetts
is now mulling a similar move against Indonesia, whose human rights abuses
in East Timor are the focus of growing protests.

       The state-imposed sanctions have angered America's trading partners
as well. Both Japan and the European Union have complained to Washington
that the measures are illegal because they flout World Trade Organization
accords. Business argues that the rules, adopted at U.S. insistence, are
important weapons against unfair foreign trade practices.

       But business won't be getting much help from Congress. Some
legislators have their own agendas, from beefing up sanctions against Cuba
to renewing those against Colombia. And many want the White House to use its
powers to ban future U.S. investment in Burma. If that happens, warn
business advocates, the U.S. could be pitched into a major fight with the
nine-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Burma is
scheduled to join in July. In that event, contends Ernest Z. Bower,
president of the U.S.-ASEAN Council for Business & Technology Inc., ''we not
only lose business, we lose the opportunity to affect the pace of change in
the entire region.''

       Business' biggest beef is that U.S. sanctions are mostly Lone
Ranger-style unilateral efforts. Too often, they result in foreign companies
being handed contracts on a plate while the offending regime goes
unpunished. Along the way, the U.S. also loses its capacity to influence
other nations' policies on outstanding issues ranging from drug enforcement
to human rights. That's just what El Segundo (Calif.)-based Unocal Corp. is
arguing as it attempts to rescue its 28% share of a $1 billion offshore
natural gas well and pipeline project in Burma.

       But Yeutter is going to need more compelling arguments to stem the
rising tide of U.S. trade and investment restrictions--and quickly. New York
City is considering boycotting Swiss financial institutions over the Nazi
gold affair. And the handover of Hong Kong to China in mid-year could stir
up new sanctions demands if Beijing tampers with democratic rights there. At
this rate, exporters may soon be looking back on today's Burma sanctions as
the good old days.

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

BKK POST: BURMA MAY PLAN ANOTHER MILITARY OFFENSIVE
February 23, 1997

Chumphon

Four battalions seen near KNU base

Burmese forces are expected to launch another military offensive against a
Karen rebel base on the border of this southern province next week, said an
army officer from the Fourth Army Region yesterday.

Col Kolachai Suwannaboon, deputy chief-of-staff of Thep Sat-tri Forces, said
no less than four Burmese battalions had already been moved into the area
near the Karen National Union's 12th battalion at Ka-miew Pass, straddling
the Thai-Burmese border in Tha-Sae district.

The colonel said KNU bases in the North have already been attacked by Burma
and the Ka-miew Pass might be the next target.

The officer said he did not think that KNU forces in the area would be able
to sustain the onslaught as the 12th battalion only had around 200-300 soldiers.

Col Kolachai said hundreds of Karen refugees would inevitably cross the
border into Thailand once Burma launches its new military drive. However, he
said the 4th army had already mapped out a plan, called Sri Soontorn 01, to
tackle the problem.

The officer said the army's stance on the issue was quite clear - no foreign
forces would be allowed into the country unless they were disarmed.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front, which unites Burmese rebel groups,
yesterday issued a statement condemning Burma over its military drive
against KNU bases.

"We, the National Democratic Front, strongly condemn the ongoing Slorc's
(Burma's military junta) military offensive against the Karen people and the
KNU. This offensive is appalling yet it is the most recent of the Slorc's
traitorous and criminal actions," said the statement, which also called for
international support for its struggle for autonomy.

Meanwhile, the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge and recent cross-border
assaults by Rangoon-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army will be raised for
discussion when Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro meets his
Burmese counterpart Gen Maung Aye next week.

An army source said Gen Chettha was hopeful that the meeting scheduled at
Burma's Thachilek, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Sai border town, on Tuesday
could lead to more cooperation between the two countries.

The army chief was optimistic that Gen Maung Aye would positively respond to
his request urging Burma to help play a role in maintaining peace in the
border area and prevent any more cross-border attacks from the DKBA, noted
the source.

"Though they (DKBA) are not Burma Army regulars, we all know that the DKBA
has its bases and army support inside Burma. Burma could help play a role to
maintain peace and order in the area," said the source.

Over the construction of the friendship bridge in Mae Sot which has been
suspended since early 1995, the source said Gen Chettha hoped that the
pending meeting could create more understanding paving the way for a
resumption of construction of the bridge, which has been 95 percent completed.

Burma has unilaterally suspended the construction after it alleged in early
1995 that Thai officials had encroached on the Moei river, considered a
natural border line between the two countries.

The source noted that Gen Chettha would like to openly discuss the issue
with Gen Maung Aye as the army chief felt that further delay in the bridge
construction would not benefit anyone.

"Any misunderstanding or mistrust should not be left untackled as it could
harm border cooperation," noted the officer.(BP)

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

THE NATION: EXILES CLAIMS SLORC SHOT AT THAI PATROLS
February 22, 1997

BURMA'S government in exile, the National Council of the Union of Burma
(NCUB), said that Burmese troops attacked Thai security forces in Tak
province on Thursday and claimed it was the second clash between the two
sides on Thai soil this month, demonstrating Rangoon's lack of respect for
its neighbours. 

In a statement, the NCUB alleged that the first incident took place on Feb
18, when troops belonging to the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) attacked Thai border patrol police and security personnel. 

The NCUB said that a member of the Thai forces was killed during the attack.
It also claimed that the incident took place inside Thai territory, however
details surrounding the attack are vague. 

The group also alleged that a 15-minute exchange between Thai border patrol
police and Burmese soldiers took place at 8 am on Thursday, inside
Thailand's border. 

The Thais retreated after one of their troops was seriously injured, the
statement said, adding that the Burmese pursued them, only to pull back
after coming under artillery fire. 

''The incidents clearly show that the Slorc troops have no respect for the
sovereignty of a neighbouring country like Thailand. Such violent acts will
have serious consequences for security and stability in the region," the
NCUB said. 

The NCUB also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take into
account the many incursions by Slorc troops into Thailand before admitting
Burma into the regional grouping. 

Thai officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that hundreds of
Burmese soldiers exchanged gunfire and even shelled Thai border police on
Thursday when they met along the border, Associated Press reported
yesterday.(TN)

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

THE NATION: SNOH WILL VISIT TAK TO GAUGE BORDER SITUATION
February 23, 1997

The Nation, AFP

Interior Minister Snoh Thienthong said yesterday he will visit Tak province
on Tuesday to gain first hand experience of the Thai-Burma border situation.

"I have been receiving conflicting reports in the last few days on what is
happening at the border," Snoh said, adding that the situation might have
deteriorated further.

He was speaking after reports about an exchange of gunfire between Thai and
Burmese troops along the border on Thursday.

Burmese forces have been conducting mopping up operations since early this
month against the Karen National Union, a Karen minority rebel group, in the
area opposite the border province.

Snoh said the fighting in Burma caused a surge of people across the border
seeking safety in Thailand. Snoh said the press should not focus on the
human rights of fleeing Karen while neglecting the rights of Thais living
near the border, who also suffered from the fighting.

Maj Gen Pairach Kemkon, deputy commander of the 4th Army Region, yesterday
inspected the Burmese border in the southern province of Chumphon.

Pairach said the situation was under control, although he had received
reports about Burmese reinforcements, possibly in preparation for an
operation against Karen rebels in the area.

Should there be an incursion by foreign troops, Supreme Commander Gen
Mongkol Ampornpisit had already given approval to repel them, Pairach
disclosed. 

The military was prepared to disarm fleeing rebel troops and would ensure
that all those displaced were settled in the camp run by the Interior Ministry.

An offensive into the last stretch of land still in the hands of rebel
ethnic Karens close to the Thai border could drive as many as 10,000
villagers into Thailand, a rebel source said yesterday.

Forces of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), as Burma's
ruling junta is known, are pushing from the north and west towards the Karen
base at Minthamee in its Fourth Brigade area in southeastern Burma.

"There is fighting all over Fourth Brigade Area. Slorc battalions are about
20 kilometres away from us," said Kwe Htoo Win, district chairman for the
Karen National Union (KNU) at Minthamee. (TN)

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

BKK POST: INTELLIGENCE WORK TO BE UPGRADED
February 24, 1997

To protect Thais from Burmese raid

Military intelligence work is to be upgraded along the Thai-Burma border in
order to protect Thais from the Burmese offensive against Karen rebels.

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro is to meet commanders of the
First, Second, Third and Fourth Army Regions and the Special Warfare Command
Unit to thrash out what improvements can be made, says an army source.

Areas of Kanchanaburi, Chumphon, Ranong, Tak and Mae Hong Son may be
targeted as offensives against minority groups along their borders are expected.

The commanders and the Supreme Command Headquarters are also thought to have
agreed to closer coordination of their intelligence work.

Matters arising from the planned meeting are expected to be raised with the
army chief's Burmese counterpart Gen Maung Aye at a meeting between the two
men on Tuesday at Tachilek on the Burmese side of the border.

The source said these high-level talks would concentrate on the problem of
the partially built Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge linking Tak's Mae Sot
district and Myawaddy in Burma. No work has been done on it since 1995.

Border problems, particularly the encroachment into Thailand by the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which attacked Karen refugee camps in
Thailand, will also be on the agenda.

Gen Chettha will ask Burma's ruling junta, the State Law and Order
Restoration Council, to keep the DKBA out of Thailand.

He will also suggest that the area of Doi Lang in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai
district be made a military-free zone.

Both countries claim the area as their own and have a military presence there.

Gen Chettha is said to believe keeping the troops there is a waste of money.

Saroj Chavanaviraj, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, will also
attend the meeting and will discuss a possible official visit to Burma by
Premier Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.(BP)

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

BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO RETURN TRUCK BELONGING TO POLICE
February 24, 1997

Committee talks prove unsuccessful

Tak - Burma has refused to return a pick- up truck belonging to the Thai
Police Department which a group of Burmese soldiers seized during a raid on
Thursday at Mae Odoh in Tambon Klothor, Umphang district.

Talks over the return of the vehicle in Myawaddy yesterday during the local
Thai-Burmese Border Committee meeting between Col Suvit Maenmuan and his
Burmese counterpart Lt-Col Saing Phone proved to be unsuccessful.

Deputy Commander of the Third Army Region Maj-Gen Sommai Vichavorn said that
Thai authorities were informed that the return could not be made at a local
level because their Burmese counterparts had already reported the incident
to their superiors.

Therefore, any decision on the matter would need a higher level negotiation.

According to Maj-Gen Sommai, over 100 Burmese troops exchanged fire on
Thursday with the combined forces of 12 Thai soldiers and Border Patrol Police.

Although some of the Burmese were injured, the BPP could not protect its
belongings, allowing a pick-up, rifle ammunition, communication radios and
dry food to be snatched.

The two sides led by Deputy Commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment Task
Force Col Chainarong Thanarun and Capt Tin Tun of Burmese Division 88's Wing
301 met for the first time on Friday to discuss the problems.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, the Burmese military attache sent a letter to
Thailand's Third Army Region expressing regret at Thursday's incident in
Umphang saying it was caused by a "misunderstanding."

A Burmese television news programme monitored in Mae Sot yesterday also
reported that over 400 members of the Karen National Union have surrendered
to the Burmese government at Kya-In Seikkyi Military Command, opposite
Umphang district about 80 kilometres from the border.(BP)

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

MONLAND RESTORATION COUNCIL: MON NATIONAL DAY
February 23, 1997
Pon Nya, honsawatoi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

LOCAL OBSERVANCE OF MON NATIONAL DAY SPOTLIGHTS ABUSE IN BURMA

February 23-1997- Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Mon National Day,  
marking that  the day of establishment of the Mon Kingdom of Hongsawatoi,
today¹s Pegu in lower Burma,  by Prince Samala and  Vimala in 825.    Mon
people celebrate the Mon National Day  at  Indiana-Purdue  University at
Fort Wayne, Indiana.
	An independence Mon Kingdom flourished for nearly a thousands years in  the
Southern part of what is  now Burma or Myanmar. In 1957, the kingdom was
invaded by a Burman dynasty and ever since the Mon people have been
struggling to regain thier independence.
	For the last thousand years,  Burma was in turmoil as the Burmans fought to
suppress other ethnic nationalities. Memory of this long and  bitter  strife
prompted the ethnic nationalities to seek to protect their rights after
independence from Britain.  In 1947, the Burman and ethnic and ethnic
leaders signed the Panglong Agreement which   acknowledged  the right of
self-determination, autonomy and equality for each of the 
ethnic nationalities.  But when the constitution was actually drawn up, 
it turned out to be a unitary system of government dominated by majority 
of Burmans who refused to recognize the rights of established in the 
agreement. As result, ethnic nationalities were forced to fights for 
their rights shortly after independence from Britain 1948.  
	 The situations of the Mons has grown considerably worse in recent years.
Under the control of the current military regime, thousand of 
Mons are suffering severe poverty,    political oppression and racial 
discrimination in Burma. Worst of all, military seizing them  for forced 
labor on projects funded by foreign investors. For example, the 
construction of a gas pipeline  from Martaban Gulf across the Monland to 
Thailand is notorious for its dependence on forced labor under the 
cruelest conditions.  Unocal is a major investor in this venture.  
	In addition, rapes and murders of Mons by Burmese troops in the area are
common.  
	To escape the oppression, thousands of Mons and other ethnic 
nationalities have fled from the gas pipeline area to the Thai-Burma 
border. 
	On the fiftieth anniversary of Mon National Day,  Monland Restoration
Council is calling for three step that could lead to genuine federal union
that guarantees ethnic self-determination:
	1. dialogue among the  National League for Democracy Party, ethnic leaders
and military junta (SLORC).
	2. U.S. sanctions against the Burmese military junta.
              3. rejection of  Burmese membership in ASEAN  until democracy
and human rights are restored. 

Central Committee
Monland Restoration Council
http://user.centralnet.net/honsawatoi/Monland.html

Contact: Pon Nya
2807 Westbrook Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
Tel: 219-471-3961

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

NCUB: CONTACT NUMBER CORRECTION
February 24, 1997
"All Burma Students' Democratic Front" <lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Dear Friends,

Please accept our apologies for stating the WRONG telephone number, 055 561
062, to contact Pado Mahn Shar, for further information in KNU and NCUB
press releases dated February 21st and 22nd, 1997.

Pado Mahn Shar can ONLY be reached on 055 561 040, for further details
information regarding the current fighting between SLORC and KNU troops and
situation of Karen Refugees.

Information Committee
National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)
Tel/Fax: 055 561 040

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