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The BurmaNet News, March 27, 1997



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------  
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"  
----------------------------------------------------------  
  
The BurmaNet News: March 27, 1997  
Issue #677

Noted in Passing:

" I can say with absolute confidence that the general public of Burma would
be very little affected, if at all, by sanctions. So far, the kind of
investments that have come in have benefited the public very little indeed." 
Aung San Suu Kyi, The Progressive Interview
  
HEADLINES:  
==========  
AUNG SAN SUU KYI : THE PROGRESSIVE INTERVIEW
THAILAND TIMES:MOSLEM GROUP CONDEMNS ATTACKS
ABSDF: SLORC ACCUSED OF DESTROYING ANCIENT PAGODAS
DVB-OSLO: MANDALAY MONKS' GRIEVANCES UNREST
BKK POST: FUGITIVE LI SETTLES DOWN IN RANGOON
FEER: HEROIN HAVEN
THE NATION: ARMY HUNTS KAREN LEADERS
THE NATION: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TARGETED
BKK POST: ARMY CHIEF TELLS UNHCR TO STAY OUT
BKK POST: CHETTHA AND SLORC TO DISCUSS FISHERIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---   

AUNG SAN SUU KYI : THE PROGRESSIVE INTERVIEW
March 1997
By Leslie Kean and Dennis Bernstein

"In some ways, it's better to have the people of the world on your side
than the governments of the world."

The Burmese Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi talked to us over a noisy phone
line from her Rangoon headquarters in mid-January. She informed us that the
repression against her had escalated to violent physical attacks. Suu Kyi,
who was under house arrest for six years until July 1995, was
tongue-and-check about the intrusive buzz on her telephone line. She said
the noisy line was due to the presence of military-intelligence tape
recorders, then laughed. "we couldn't survive without our sense of humor,"
she explained.

Aung San Suu Kyi may be the most surveilled human being on the face of the
Earth. The SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council), which took over
the country in 1988 and changed the name of Burma to Myanmar, sees Suu Kyi
as its primary threat. She heads the popular opposition and, by virtue of
her own extraordinary family history, she has a strong claim on the
intelligence of the Burmese people.

Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, led the successful battle against British
colonial rule 1947. He was assassinated that same year at age thirty-two,
when Suu Kyi was only two. Aung San is a legend and a national hero in
Burma in the eyes of the people and military alike. There are statues of
him, museums about him, and streets named after him. His image is featured
on Burmese one-kyat bill, which has been yanked from the circulation by the
SLORC. When you hold the bill up to the light, the portrait of the
independence hero greatly resembles his daughter. Students activists and
pro-democracy protesters have adopted the note, worth less than a penny, as
their flag of freedom, waving it during protest gatherings at risks of
arrest. It has come to be known as the "democracy note."

Aung San Suu Kyi says that she has no intention of shying away from the
legacy of her father. "I could not, as my father's daughter, remain
indifferent to all that was going on," she declared before an audience of
500,000 at the beginning of her campaign in 1988. "This national crisis
could in fact be called the second struggle for national independence."

For its part, the SLORC - buoyed by billions from Burma's booming drug trade
and foreign investment - shows no intention of turning over power
peacefully. Indeed, judging from our conversations and the increasing
violence in Burma, further repression and major bloodshed loom on the
horizon as a distinct possibility, although Aung San Suu Kyi and her
followers remain steadfastly committed to the path of nonviolence.

Suu Kyi won the overwhelming support of the people of Burma during her
"revolution-of-the-spirit" campaign for democracy in 1988-1989, following a
bloody takeover by the SLORC in which thousands of demonstrators were
massacred in the streets. Her party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections. She was under house
arrest and was not an official candidate, though the triumph of the NLD was
vindication for Suu Kyi.

In her most famous essay, "Freedom From Fear," released in 1991, Aung San
Suu Kyi explains the necessity for individual transformation to bring about
real change. "It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy, and
human rights. There has to be a united determination to preserve in the
struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the
corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance, and fear. Among the
basic freedom to which men inspire that their lives might be full and
uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end."

Until a few months ago, Suu Kyi was able to give speeches at her front gate
every Saturday and Sunday, answering questions the people submitted to her.
Undaunted by roving military-intelligence video cameras and the imminent
risk of arrest, thousands of Burmese would sit on old newspapers and plastic
bags on the sidewalk to cheer, laugh, and listen to "the lady."

But the junta has now banned these gatherings and in recent months has kept
Suu Kyi under de-facto house arrest. The authorities have arrested hundreds
of her party members and prevented Suu Kyi from meeting with journalists and
diplomats. If they leave her house, her bodyguards and assistants face being
hauled off to one of Burma's horrific prisons.

Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house
arrest, and was cited by the Nobel Committee as "one of the most
extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades." She is
the recipient of numerous other prestigious international awards, and she
presented the keynote address, smuggled out on videotape, to the United
Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995.

In early November 1996, she was riding in her car to visit supporters when a
mob of thugs - some throwing stones, some wielding iron bars -surrounded
the vehicle and smashed the windshield. This was in an area controlled by
government forces, who did nothing to intervene.

When we last spoke with Aung San Suu Kyi in January, she expressed a
heightened urgency about the situation. She was alarmed about the mass
arrests of her colleagues, the increasing poverty of the Burmese people, and
the upsurge of heroin use on university campuses. She was also outspoken
about the need for economic sanctions against the SLORC.

Q:	The attack on you and your colleagues in your cars in early
November was a serious threat to your security. What were your thoughts in
that moment when your car was being attacked?
ASSK:	It was quite interesting. (She laughs.) I was fairly detached. I saw
it all as an observer. There were all these faces crowding in toward the
car, and there was one man in front with an iron bar in his hand who I
assume was the one who made a big gash in my windscreen. I just said, "Keep
moving." I made the decision that we were simply going to continue on to
meet the crowds that had come to support us. One of the boys who was in the
car with us was a bit angry about the whole thing, so I spent some time
calming him down and telling him not to be angry. But it was clear to us
that the attack was a deliberate attempt to harm us badly or even kill us.
	It is, of course, very serious. But we do not consider our own personal
safety as any more serious than the safety and security of the people in
general.

Q:	Since President Clinton signed a law in September that would impose
sanctions if conditions worsened in Burma, repression against you and your
people has increased. Arrests of NLD members have increased; you were
physically attacked in your car by thugs; students have been arrested and
universities closed; your movements have been severely restricted; your
weekend speeches have been canceled; and you are
not allowed to meet freely with journalists and diplomats. Do you think this
satisfies the conditions in the U.S. law for sanctions to be placed on Burma?
ASSK:	Yes, I think so. If the restriction on the work of my party and on me
personally are not removed in the very, very near future - that is in a
matter of days - I think the United States should start thinking seriously of
sanctions. This is really about as bad as it has ever been.
	I do not like to encourage personalized politics, so we would not
like it to be thought that just because certain political personalities were
attacked, this means the situation is very grave. The true gravity of the
situation comes from the fact that ordinary member of the NLD are repressed
all the time. We don't want a completely paralyzed political organization,
while a select few leaders are protected by international attention.
Q:	How many NLD people have been arrested since November?
ASSK:	There must be about a hundred. Some are young members of the youth
wing who were arrested because they were supposed to have been involved in
the organization of the student demonstrations that took place over the last
few months.

Q:	Witnesses report that the car attackers were paid by the SLORC and bused
in to do the job. Some of them may have been members of the Union Solidarity
and Development Association (USDA), the SLORC so-called civilian
social-welfare organization. What has been the role of this SLORC front
group in the increasing violence?
ASSK:	The USDA is increasingly becoming a branch of the local authorities.
On Burmese New Year's Day, the USDA people were sent over to my house to
physically break up the NLD efforts to take up in a fish-releasing ceremony.
In another incident, members of the USDA, most of them students, were
instructed to throw tomatoes at me at the anniversary of the death of
Burma's first democratic prime minister, U Nu.
Fortunately, they didn't actually get into action with the tomatoes,
although they were in position with crates of tomatoes when my car came by.
	Sadly, many students are members of USDA because they're forced to be,
partly through incentives and partly through threats. In some schools, they
are threatened that if they don't become a member of the USDA, they will not
be allowed to take their examinations, or they will not be given good
grades. I received a letter from a teacher who said that in her school those
who want to go to the classes reserved for the best students have become
members of the USDA. So students must join for their own survival.
	The world community must realize that the USDA, is not an innocent
social-welfare organization, as it claims to be, but an organization being
used by the authorities as a gang of thugs. Their operations resemble those
of the Nazi Brown Shirts. The SLORC sent people from a so-called
social-welfare organization to beat up other people taking part in a
nonviolent, religious ceremony. I must say that that amounts to something
very, very close to what the Brown Shirts used to do in Germany.

Q:	There is a movement in the United States and Europe to pressure
corporations to stop doing business in Burma. How do these investments such
as those from Unocal and its partner, Total Oil of France - affect the
prospects for democracy for Burma?
ASSK:	These companies do create job for some people but what they're mainly
going to do is make an already wealthy elite wealthier, and increase its
greed and strong desire to hang on to power. So immediately and in long run,
these companies harm the democratic process a great deal.

Q:	The SLORC claims that its economic programs for modernization, such as
building roads and infrastructure, are helping the people and bringing them
benefits.
ASSK:	A lot of roads, bridges, railways, and such are built through the use
of forced labor, and that is causing the people great suffering. What we put
into this in the form of human suffering is not worthy what comes out of it.
	I think corporations should give more attention to this suffering and
should wait to invest until there is a responsible government in Burma. I do
not think it is a good idea to separate economics from politics; in fact, I
do not think economics can be separated from politics. It's quite
understandable that many business concerns think only about their own
profits. It's up to the public to put as much pressure as it can on these
companies, through shareholder resolutions and public actions.
	Apart from the fact they should consider the moral implications of
investment in Burma, companies should also take into consideration that
investing in Burma now is not going to be of any benefit to them in more
than the very short term, because conditions in Burma are such that healthy
economic development is simply not possible. Unless there is free and fair
competition, there can't be healthy economic development, And what we have
in Burma now is not an open-market economy
that allows free and fair competition, but a form of colonialism that makes
a few people very, very wealthy. It's what you should call crony capitalism.

Q:	Does your support for sanctions impede your chances that the SLORC will
enter into dialogue with the NLD?
ASSK:	The government has hinted at this possibility. However, we cannot
accept this explanation for the lack of dialogue, because they did not do
anything toward entering into dialogue even in the days when we were very
careful not to call for sanctions. And we were very restrained for a long
time, because we wanted to keep the door opened. So I think that for the
authorities to say now that calling for sanctions will prevent dialogue is a
ploy to stop us from supporting sanctions. It has to be the other way
around: dialogue first, then we stop our call for sanctions, because
sanctions make people understand that you cannot exercise repression and at
the same time expect international support.
	We have been making constant efforts, all the time, to start a dialogue
with SLORC, but you know it takes two. We don't want  a monologue. We would
like a substantive political dialogue among the SLORC, political leaders
including myself, and leaders of ethnic groups -exactly as stipulated in the
U.N. General Assembly resolution on Burma.

Q:	How would sanctions impact on the people of Burma?
ASSK:	I can say with absolute confidence that the general public of Burma
would be very little affected, if at all, by sanctions. So far, the kind of
investments that have come in have benefited the public very little indeed.
If you have been in Burma long enough, you will be aware of the fact that a
small elite has developed that is extremely wealthy. Perhaps they would be
affected, but my concern is not with them but with the general public.
Because of rampant inflation, living standards have been dropping for the
great majority of the population. The people are poorer because standards of
health and education have fallen. And conditions
in the rural areas are worse off than they have ever been. So, you cannot
equate the so-called open-market economy adopted by the SLORC with any real
development that benefits people.
	Of course, there is a trickle-down effect but the trickle is a
very, very small trickle. And it's dissipated very easily.
	It is essential to institute a legal frame work that would ensure
justice and improve the quality of life in Burma immediately, because the
greatest suffering among the people at the moment is caused by lack of
justice and lack of the rule of law.

Q:	In the United States there have been some cities and the state of
Massachusetts that have chosen not to do business with companies that deal
with Burma. Is this an effective means of supporting democratization in Burma?
ASSK:	Very much so. We would like to see more of this. It's consumer
 power. It's good to know that the people of different countries are really
concerned and involved in the movement to help Burma. I think in some ways
it's better to have the people of the world on your side than the
governments of the world, even if governments can be more effective in
certain directions.

Q:	In November, the SLORC launched its tourism campaign called "Visit
Myanmar Year." Are you still calling for tourists to boycott Burma?
ASSK:	Yes, my mind has not changed in any way. I still oppose "Visit Myanmar
Year," and I would ask tourists to stay away. Burma is not going to run
away. They should come back to Burma at a time when it is a democratic
society where people are secure - where there is justice, where there is
rule of law. They'll have a much better time. And they can travel around
Burma with a clear conscience.

Q:	In Burma today there is an increasing availability and use of heroin on
college campuses. Why is that?
ASSK:	The government appears to be more interested in stamping out political
activity that drug addiction. Very few university students on the campus
could get away with engaging in political activities, but they seem to be
able to get away with taking drugs. We have heard that it is very easy to
obtain drugs on the university campuses.

Q:	Why do you think the heroin used by students is sometimes nicknamed
"freedom from fear" - the same name as your famous essay?
ASSK:	Perhaps it means that the only way the students can escape from the
fear of repression of the government is by taking drugs. That would be very
sad, wouldn't it?

Q:	The SLORC has a new partnership with drug kingpin Khun Sa, who is now
called "blood brother" by the generals even though he is one of the world's
most wanted heroin smugglers. Does this budding friendship contradict the
SLORC's public declarations of fighting the drug trade?
ASSK:	It's very difficult to have any faith in the sincerity of the SLORC
about stamping out drug production if they find it so easy to forgive a drug
baron whom at one time they said they would never, never forgive and would
never, never regard as anything but a drug runner. The SLORC is far more
aggressive in its attitude toward the National League for Democracy than
against drug traffickers.

Q:	Burma provides 60 percent of the heroin imported to the United States,
and many of the ethnic peoples are financially dependent on the opium crop.
Do you think crop substitution in the areas where poppies are grown would be
an effective way to fight addiction?
ASSK:	Yes, it's one way. But basically, I think that in order to do
something like that, you have to win the confidence of the people, and I
don't think you can win people's confidence through intimidation and repression.
	We are in favor of crop-substitution programs, but first of all we
would like to talk to the people concerned and discuss the problem with
them. That is what democracy is all about. You talk over your problems with
the people because the people are involved in the whole process of government.
	As for the National League for Democracy, we are of course against the
proliferation of drugs because we recognize that they are harmful, not just
for our own people but for people all over the world. Certainly democratic
government would do its best to make sure that growing opium is eliminated
in this country and that the people who depend on growing opium for their
life will find other ways of earning a
living.

Q:	There is a burgeoning AIDS epidemic in Burma. Reports describe shooting
galleries that serve 200 addicts with one needle. Have you heard about this
problem, and do you have plans for dealing with the underlying causes of  AIDS?
ASSK:	We do hear that AIDS in on the increase, that's partly due to the
 fact that the authorities never really attack problems at their source.
They seem to think that if they insist that the problem does not exist, it
will simply go away. The best way to deal with AIDS is through education. So
we need a rally widespread AIDS education program. In fact, what we need in
Burma is education of all kinds - political, economic, and medical. AIDS
education would be part of a whole program for education, which is so badly
needed in our country.

Q:	In the past, you used to be able to go to your front gate every weekend
and address questions submitted to you during the week by the people.
Beginning with your release from house arrest in July 1995, numbers
increased until the weekend gate speeches grew to about 5,000. Now that your
speeches have been forbidden by the SLORC, do you feel totally cut off from
your supporters?
ASSK:	No, I don't feel totally cut off, but of course the weekend rallies
cannot continue to take place. The people still gather on Saturdays and
Sundays to demonstrate their solidarity with us, which is wonderful
considering how much intimidation is exercised by the authorities. I'm
 sure I will be able to resume my contacts with them, but when I can I'm not
prepared to say at  the moment.

Q:	Are you concerned that there might be other instances of physical
confrontation?
ASSK:	It's possible. But then we look at this kind of things as simply an
occupational hazard. Leaders of political parties need to keep in contact
with the people; that's what it's all about. If violence were to erupt,
 I am fairly confident that we could control our people. Whether or not the
authorities can control theirs is another matter altogether.

Q:	What do you tell people when they get discouraged?
ASSK:	We are confident that our cause will prevail, because that is what the
great majority of the people in Burma want. We all want justice and human
rights. Since what we want will benefit all the people in Burma, our cause
is bound to win.
	And for those who get discouraged, I would say they should search their own
hearts. I have a strong belief that those working for the truth will never
lose. We will be successful whether we have lost or win, since we are
working for the truth. Sacrificing for the truth means victory. The National
League for Democracy has promised the people that we will continue working
for their benefit, knowing that we will have to sacrifice and there will be
many difficulties. Our promise to them will never be broken. And we will not
use any methods that require the people to take risks. If there is something
to sacrifice for, we will take the risks. That is why our League has been
formed. We will sacrifice ourselves at the forefront, but we will also need
the goodwill, trust, and strong determination of the people.

Q:	How much personal danger do you feel? Have you been threatened that if
you leave your compound or try and speak to the people, you will be in
trouble or you might be imprisoned?
ASSK:	I haven't been told anything like that, but of course the official
papers are always talking about "annihilating" our forces (she laughs
again). But we don't think about that too much. There is no time to be
thinking about such things.
________________________________________________________
Leslie Kean, who writes regularly on Burma, is co-author of "Burma's
Revolution of the Spirit: The Struggle for Democratic Freedom and Dignity"
(Aperture, 1994). Dennis Bernstein is an associate editor with Pacific News
Service and is the co-host of "Flashpoints," a public-radio news magazine in
the San Francisco Bay Area.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Text provided by Leslie Kean and typed by the Free Burma Coalition (FBC).

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

THAILAND TIMES:BURMESE MOSLEM GROUP CONDEMNS MOSQUE ATTACKS
March 26, 1997
AFP

DHAKA: A dissident Burmese Moslem group yesterday blamed the military junta
in Rangoon for recent anti-Moslem riots and mosque
attacks in Burma and urged Islamic and international leaders to intervene.
	In a statement sent to AFP yesterday, the Rohingay Solidarity
Organization (RSO) of Burmese Arakan state claimed agents of the Burmese
junta disguised themselves as Buddhist monks to carry out
the attacks.
	In its one-page statement, signed by the group's fugitive head
Mohammad Yunus, the RSO claimed dozens of Moslems have been
killed or wounded and 18 mosques demolished since the trouble
began last week in central Mandalay, Burma's second largest city.
	The RSO condemned the latest assault on Burmese practice of
successive Burmese juntas was to "create an issue" and make Moslems
"scapegoat whenever they faced strong dissension from the masses." 
	It appealed to the 54 nation Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) and the international community to take urgent measures to protect the
religious  institutions of the Moslems in Burma, as well as their life and
property.

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

ABSDF: SLORC ACCUSED OF DESTROYING ANCIENT PAGODAS IN ARAKAN STATE
March 26, 1997    

Press Release On Restoring Arakan Pagodas

The Arakan Students and Youths Congress has accused the State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) of destroying the largest
ancient pagoda in Arakan State in western Burma while claiming
that it has been attempting to restore the pagoda. 

In a statement issued in Bangkok by the All Arakan Students and
Youths Congress (AASYC) yesterday alleged that the SLORC has been
excavating Arakan's historic pagoda known as 'Koe Thaung' or
'90,000 Buddha Images'. 

The Congress is demanding the immediate cessation of the supposed
restoration work on the pagoda, and is calling on SLORC to stop
the destruction of other historic buildings and sites across the
State of Arakan which shares a border with Bangladesh.  

On February 18 of this year, SLORC leader General Than Shwe and
his entourage of ministers visited Mrauk U in Arakan and examined
the historic relics, ancient Buddha images and gold ornaments
excavated from the Koe Thaung Pagoda.

The pagoda was built by Arakan King Min Teikkha in the years
1553-1555. The pagoda is called 'Koe Thaung' according to the
number of Buddha images enshrined in the pagoda. The people in
Arakan believe that many precious artifacts, including images
made of gold, diamond and emerald, were enshrined in the pagoda
when it was built.

The Congress also blasted SLORC's military intelligence chief Lt.
General Khin Nyunt for confiscating five six-inch high emerald
Buddhas found in a ruined pagoda located in Pashit village in
Ponna Gyun township in April 1994. The organization also accused
SLORC officers of taking several ancient Buddha statues from
Okathalin Pagoda located in Paletwa township in Arakan.

Since SLORC assumed power through a bloody military coup in 1988,
the regime has been accused of destroying cultural and historic
sites, pagodas and buildings belonging to the members of ethnic
minorities. Some of the more significant destruction includes the
bulldozing of Keng Tung Palace in Shan State for the construction
of a luxury hotel.

Source: All Arakan Students and Youths Congress  (AASYC)

For further information contact the AASYC in Bangkok on 731 8768,
or the ABSDF on 300 0631.

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

DVB-OSLO: MANDALAY MONKS' GRIEVANCES UNREST
(translated from Burmese)
March 23, 1997

The Information Department of the National Coalition Government of the
Union of Burma, NCGUB, and the Federation of Labor Unions of Burma issued a
news release today saying that the immediate cause of the current
demonstrations by monks is the theft by the SLORC [State Law and Order
Restoration Council] authorities of gems and gold from the Maha Myatmuni
Buddha image in Mandalay and other Buddha images.
On the morning of last Sunday -- 16 March -- Yedaw Abbot U
Pyinnyawuntha, who was in charge of ablution ceremony for Maha Myatmuni
Buddha image in Mandalay, noticed a hole in the stomach of the buddha image
during the ablution ceremony.  He immediately called a meeting with
responsible monks.  During the meeting it was reported that the SLORC
authorities had stolen gold not only from Maha Myatmuni Buddha image, but
also from Pakhan Buddha, Anyar Thiha Taw Buddha, and Pakokku Theingo Shin
Buddha images.   The monks reported at the meeting that a hole was found in
the stomach of the Maha Myatmuni Buddha image because the SLORC authorities
were looking for rubies.
It was decided at the meeting to report the matter to the authorities
concerned.
At the meeting, a monk also reported that his niece had been raped by
Moslems and the Moslem issue was discussed at the meeting.
Following the meeting, anti-Moslem riots began at about 1630 with the
destruction of a mosque at the corner of 35th and 84th Streets in Mandalay.
It is reported that so far 11 mosques have been damaged in the week
since 17 March.
U Pyinnyawuntha is being detained in the Mandalay Palace grounds.
The three main demands of Mandalay monks are:
-- Release of Yedaw Abbot U Pyinnyawuntha and other detained monks;
Investigation into the opening of the stomach of the Maha Myatmuni
Buddha image; and
-- Theft of gold from other Buddha images.
If the demands of the monks are not met by today, the monks gave the
ultimatum that they would take retaliatory action.
Sagaing Hill is being surrounded by the SLORC's 39th Infantry Division
and SLORC authorities are expected to go to Mandalay tomorrow.
The Moslem unrest has spread to Rangoon and Kanbe Mosque was stoned
yesterday.  It was reported that 50 persons in monks robes arrived in Kanbe
and stoned the mosque.  At about 2200 on Saturday, about 50 monks tried to
open the doors to Ma-ugon Mosque, but they were not able to enter.
The donation of dry rations to over 1,000 monks scheduled at Kaba-aye
Pagoda in Rangoon today has been called off by SLORC.  It was reported that
only 100 monks will be allowed.  Moslems armed with sticks and swords are
reported to be guarding their mosques. Although civilian anti-Moslem crowds
have not not seen in Rangoon, the situation remains very tense.

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

BKK POST: FUGITIVE LI SETTLES DOWN IN RANGOON
March 26, 1997
Nusara Thaitawat

Li Yun-chung, the fugitive drug suspect, is in Rangoon with the knowledge of
the Burmese junta and is unlikely to be returned to Thailand, according to a
source.
	A contract for the killing of Li is understood to have been issued by the
people who helped him escape, to shut him up should he return to Thailand,
said the source.
	Li's escape had been planned and executed by a sophisticated network of
brokers, known to prey on wealthy criminals, especially drug dealers.
	The brokers fear Li would incriminate them if he was returned to Thailand
and eventually extradited to the United States, where he is accused of
importing 486kg of heroin.
	Khun Sa and Lo Hsing-han, former drug warlords from Shan State, who are now
doing legitimate business with their drug money with the full knowledge of
the junta, have been asked to help Li settle in Rangoon, said the source.
	Li was not an aide to Khun Sa, former leader of the Mong Tai Army, but has
done business with him.
	"We know he will not be returned to Thai custody, but we still have to
monitor what he's doing and with whom," said the source.
	Li, alias Pongsak Rojanasaksakul, was granted a 30-day bail on February 7,
after two previous requests were denied, and is believed to have made his
way to Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, where it is easiest to enter Burma.
	By the time narcotics police and the US embassy in Bangkok found out about
the bail a few days later, Li was safely in Rangoon.
	An investigation into the decision by Somchai Udomwong, the Criminal Court
deputy chief justice who granted bail to Li, is under way and he has been
transferred to the Appeals Court.
	Pradit Ekmanee, Criminal Court chief justice, told a committee
investigating Mr Somchai it was standing policy of the Criminal Court not to
grant bail in extradition cases.
	The committee, which met for the third day yesterday, asked Mr Pradit to
explain the processes under which bail is considered.
	Born in Burma of ethnic Chinese ancestry with Thai residency and multiple
aliases, Li was indicted for the shipment of the heroin into Hayward,
California in 1991.
	He and Cha Chung-chang, his alleged accomplice, were arrested on July 23 at
the request of the US government, for their role in the shipments to 35kg of
heroin to New Jersey in 1992, 168kg to New Orleans in 1993, and 72kg to
Singapore in March 1996.
	Cha, alias Prapan Thongchaisawang, remains in custody pending extradition.
The source said he did not have the money nor the trust for the brokers and
Li was to be a test case. (BP)

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FEER: HEROIN HAVEN
March 27,1997
By Bertil Lintner in Bangkok

U.S. dismayed at drug suspect's escape to safety

American diplomats in Thailand were enraged when Li Yun-chun, an
alleged drug-trafficker awaiting extradition to the United States, jumped
bail in Bangkok last month. But even more worrying for U.S. and Thai
narcotics officials is that he had somewhere safe to escape to: Burma.

The number of major drug-running suspects now in Burma but wanted
in the U.S. has risen to eight. Drug-enforcement officials are even more
disturbed that the wanted men are not exactly in hiding, as one source put
it, but running supposedly legitimate businesses. "Burma is becoming a haven
for fugitive drug-traffickers,"says a Western narcotics official. "That's
far more serious than Li's actual escape from Bangkok."

Li, also known under his Thai name Phongsak Rojjanasakul, was arrested last
July along with another trafficker, Cha Chung-chang alias Praphan
Thongchaisawang, in the city of Thonburi, which adjoins Bangkok. Both were
linked to a 486-kilogram heroin shipment seized in California in 1991. Their
first two appeals for bail were rejected, but perhaps taking advantage of
the confusion around Chinese New Year in early February, Li went free on 5
million baht ($200,000) bail and failed to report back on March 7, as ordered.

Instead, he hurried north, and both Thai and Western intelligence officials
say he was last seen walking across the bridge from Mae Sai in northern
Thailand into Tachilek in Burma. "The escape must have been well-planned,"an
official says. "Once in Tachilek, he quickly took off for Rangoon."

Li, a Burma-born Chinese, has good connections in Burma, where he once
cooperated with heroin kingpin Khun Sa. Having surrendered to the
Burmese authorities in January last year, Khun Sa, now a businessman in
Rangoon, is also under indictment in America. In November 1994, U.S. and
Thai authorities launched a coordinated sweep code-named "Tiger Trap"against
Khun Sa's heroin network in Thailand, shortly after indicting 20 of its
members, including Khun Sa himself.

Ten men on the Tiger Trap list were apprehended during the operation, while
four others were captured later, one of them in Kunming, China. Of those
arrested, three have so far been extradited to the U.S., among them Chao
Fu-sheng, a sales representative for Khun Sa's organization and procurer of
refining chemicals.

That leaves six men wanted under Operation Tiger Trap still at large in
Burma. Well-placed sources say they include Khun Sa himself; his uncle,
Khun Hseng; the chief of staff of his former Mong Tai Army, Chang Chu-shuan;
and the kingpin's accountant and aide-de-camp, Lao Tai; and two others.
Following Khun Sa's surrender a year ago, all of them followed him to
Rangoon where they went into the real estate and transport business.

A senior U.S. drug-enforcement official insists that they are also still
running heroin refineries along the Thai border. Heroin prices in the areas
opposite Khun Sa's former territory in eastern Burma first shot up from
around 130,000 baht per 700 grams to almost 500,000 baht immediately after
Khun Sa's surrender. But prices have now stabilized at around 190,000 baht
for the same amount, lending credence to the allegation of continued activity.

Li has now joined those seemingly able to operate with impunity and official
protection in Burma along with Khun Sa's five remaining top
lieutenants. An eighth drug-trafficker has also established himself as a
prominent businessman in Burma: Wei Hsueh-kang, one of the three notorious
Wei brothers, who controls the economic activities of Khun Sa's rivals in
the heroin business, the United Wa State Army, based along the Yunnan
frontier in northeastern Burma. Wei has been indicted in the U.S. for his
drug-trafficking activities, and he is also a wanted man in     Thailand.

Following Li's escape, the Thais reacted quickly to contain the damage.
Justice Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced on March 16 a government
investigation into how and why Li was granted bail. Investigators will also
look into suspected bribe-taking. U.S. officials emphasize that the Thais
have been cooperative, but Burma appears to be an entirely different case.
Li's reappearance in Rangoon is bound to affect already strained
U.S.-Burmese relations. The U.S. is concerned about not only the acceptance
of Khun Sa but also long-time trafficker Lo Hsing-han, whose son Steven Law
was refused a U.S. visa last August.

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THE NATION: ARMY HUNTS KAREN LEADERS
March 26, 1997

Kanchanaburi - Two key Karen guerrilla leaders in hiding are wanted by local
Army officers for what they claim will be Thai-mediated talks with the
Rangoon junta on the resettlement of Karen refugees fleeing Burma.
	An informed border source yesterday said officers of the Army's Ninth
Division have urged Karen refugees at Tha Ma Piew in Suan Phung district of
Ratchaburi to help locate Maj Gen Oliver, commander of the Karen National
Union's (KNU) 4th Brigade, and Padoh Khwe Htoo, KNU civil governor for
Mergui and Tavoy districts.
	"They want Gen Oliver and the governor to talk with the Slorc within 10
days and then they want to send the refugees back to Burma," said the source.
	Slorc, or the State Law and Order Restoration Council, is the military
regime in Rangoon which has ruled the country since taking over in a bloody
coup in September 1988.
	The source said refugees in Tha Ma Piew do not know the exact whereabouts
of the two Karen leaders, who, along with other leading KNU members,
abandoned and fled the 4th Brigade headquarters at Htee Kee late last month
as Burmese Army troops advanced.
	The Army officers were hoping refugees could pass on the message to both
Gen Oliver and Padoh Khwe Htoo.
	Although the Ninth Division, which oversees border security from
Kanchanaburi down to Prachuap Khiri Khan, has in the past few days allowed
several thousands Karen fleeing Burmese forces to take refuge in Ratchaburi
province, KNU officials and relief workers have said they believe the asylum
"Is just temporary".
	They added they believe the refugees in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi will
eventually be pushed back into Burma, as the Thai government and military
has already reached a consensus to send them home.
	According to the source, there are about 2,300 refugees at Phu Muang in
Kanchanaburi, with around 2,800 Karen civilians from Huay Khi Ma and another
700 from Ta Ko Bon taking refuge in the vicinity of Tha Ma Piew in Ratchaburi.
	He said about 2,000 Karen refugees in Burma's Thu Kha and another 1,000 in
Huay Ne Phia "are stranded right on the Burmese frontier" across from
Thailand's Thong Pha Phum district, while several thousand more will likely
move towards the border should Burmese forces, currently about 10 kilometres
away, advance closer to their villages.
	The source said about 400 refugees are taking shelter at Hua Him in
Prachuap Khiri Khan province and a few hundred more in Burma are on the move
towards the Thai border.
	The Ninth Division plans to relocate the 3,500 refugees in Phu Muang, who
were earlier relocated by the Army from Phu Nam Rawn, will be sent to Huay Sud.
	Thailand has been severely criticised for pushing Karen refugees into the
Bongti Pass area in Burma, via Tha Ma Piew, only a few days after their arrival.
	Although Thai leaders have insisted the refugees returned of their own
accord, relief workers and refugees themselves say they did not want to go
back to Burma because the situation was still unsafe.
	Facing strong international criticism for their handling of the Karen
situation, government leaders have moved to publicly reassure the world
community the country still strictly adheres to humanitarian principles in
its refugee policy and that refugees fleeing an immediate threat of fighting
would be allowed to cross the border into Thailand. (TN)

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THE NATION: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TARGETED
March 26, 1997

THE Interior Ministry has proposed setting up a committee to deal with the
increasing number of illegal immigrants in Thailand, currently estimated to
be in excess of one million, a senior ministry source said yesterday. 
	The proposed committee is expected to increase cooperation among various
government agencies assigned to handle and suppress the presence of illegal
foreign workers ­ mostly from Burma, Laos, Cambodia and South Asian countries. 
	The Interior Ministry, which will act as the core agency, will host a
meeting to establish the committee early next month. 
	The committee will be assigned to deal with the situation as recommended by
a National Security Council (NSC) resolution in March, which also alerted
government agencies of the unknown number of illegal immigrants. According
to the NSC, the uncontrolled number could pose a threat to national security. 
	The committee will comprise representatives from the Police Department, the
Immigration Division, the Labour and Foreign ministries, the NSC, the
National Intelligence Agency, the Budget Bureau and the Supreme Command
Headquarters. 
	Meanwhile an adviser to the Interior Minister, Supasit Techatanont,
yesterday referred to a government regulation which allows Cambodian, Lao
and Burmese migrants who entered Thailand before June 1996 to work on a
temporary basis. 
	''By the March 15 deadline for illegal immigrants to register with the
ministry, 351,706 illegal immigrants had registered, but only 328,097 of
them sought permission to work temporarily in Thailand. Among the 328,097,
285,662 are Burmese, 29,954 are Cambodians and 12,481 are Laotians," he
said. However, an intelligence report from the NSC reveals that there are
many more of those nationals, as well as additional numbers from China,
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, illegally working in the country,
he said. 
	It is estimated that there are about 700,000 unregistered illegal
immigrants in the country, he added. (TN)

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BKK POST: ARMY CHIEF TELLS UNHCR TO STAY OUT
March 26, 1997
Wasana Nanuam and Cheewin Srat-tha

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro said yesterday that the
government had no policy of allowing the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide humanitarian aid to Karen refugees seeking
shelter along the Thai-Burmese border.
	Gen Chettha made the remark in response to last week's request from the
Karen Refugee Committee which urged the government to allow the presence of
UNHCR in border areas.
	The army chief said the government had made it quite clear that it would
prohibit the UNHCR from providing humanitarian aid to Karen refugees.
	"The government has deemed the UNHCR presence unnecessary," said the
59-year-old army chief.
	Gen Chettha said the government considers Karen refugees victims of
fighting inside Burma and not victims of warfare which was the precondition
for the presence of the UNHCR.
	The army chief said the Thai government, with the support of
non-governmental organisations working at the border, has provided aid and
humanitarian assistance to Karen refugees.
	The Karen Refugee Committee claims that around 92,000 Karen refugees
camping along Thailand's western border with Burma were vulnerable to
further attacks as their refugee camps were reportedly located adjacent to
Burmese troop concentrations on the other side of the border.
	A security source said the government was concerned that if UNHCR was
allowed to work in the border area it would not only cause difficulties for
border work but also heighten border tension that could be harmful to
Thai-Burma relations.
	"They should go and work on the other side of the border and not on our
side," noted one security official.
	In a related development, Mae Hong Son Governor Pakdi Chompuming said the
government had no policy to allow UNHCR to work on the country's western border.
	The governor said around 30,000 Karen refugees had sought shelter along the
border and would all be repatriated once the situation turned to normal.
	Governor Pakdi said it might be better for the UNHCR to provide aid and
other humanitarian assistance through the Thai Red Cross.
	He said fighting along the Thai-Burma border was much different from the
situation in Cambodia whose people had to flee civil war in the country. (BP)

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