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BurmaNet News April 26, 1997



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------  
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"  
----------------------------------------------------------  
  
The BurmaNet News: April 26, 1997  
Issue #704

Noted in Passing:

If the international community wishes to...send a clear signal to the Slorc,
the denial of its UN General Assembly credentials is one course of action to
be considered.

- Jose Ramos-Jorta, East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize winner
(TT: RAMOS-JORTA CALLS FOR EXPULSION)


HEADLINES:  
==========  
NATION: US COURT TO HEAR YADANA RIGHTS ABUSES CLAIM
THE NATION: NEB TO GE AHEAD WITH PIPELINE
BKK POST: BURMA SETS UP FIRST INTERNATIONAL DATA LINK
THAILAND TIMES: RAMOS-HORTA CALLS FOR EXPULSION 
THAILAND TIMES: DISSIDENTS POUNCE ON BURMESE CAMP
THAILAND TIMES: FOUR BURMESE SOLDIERS KILLED IN A KNU
FREE PRESS (IMPHAL): EIGHT KNA KILLED BY MYANMAR ARMY
SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: CHINESE TRAINING
SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: EXCERPTS FROM MARCH
NEW ERA JOURNAL: SLORC MILITARY RAPES KAREN GIRL
JAPANESE EMBASSY IN D.C.: JAPANESE PRESS CONFERENCE
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

NATION: US COURT TO HEAR YADANA RIGHTS ABUSES CLAIM
April 23, 1997
YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK

A FEDERAL court in Los Angeles will on Monday hear a class
action motion filed by a group of 14 Burmese nationals on behalf
of tens thousands of victims who suffered alleged human rights
abuses due to the controversial Yadana gas pipeline project.

US District Court Judge Richard A Paez earlier postponed a
hearing originally scheduled for March 3.

Unocal and Total are two of four partners in the consortium
exploring and tapping natural gas in Burma's Gulf of Martaban for
sale to Thailand via seabed and overland pipelines. The other
partners are the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and
Thailand's Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT).

The Yadana natural gas projects Burma's single largest example of
foreign investment and, under the 30 year contract signed on Feb
2, 1995, between MOGE and PTT on behalf of their respective
governments, Thailand will pay Bt 10billion annually for the natural gas.

The 14 Burmese plaintiffs  filed a lawsuit on Oct 3 last year
charging Unocal, Total, MOGE and the ruling Burmese junta, known
as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), with
committing international human rights abuses in the course of
implementing the Yadana joint venture.

They are seeking a court injunction ordering the multinational
oil corporations to stop their activities and to pay financial
compensation. The group was joined by Louisa Benson, a
representative of the ethnic guerrilla Karen National Union and
now a California taxpayer, who is suing the partners in the
Yadana consortium for unfair business practices.

Judge Peaz on March 25 signed a 38 page order accepting in part
the complaint submitted by the group. The court dismissed the
complaint against Slorc and MOGE on the grounds that they were
entitled to sovereign immunity.

The plaintiffs, however, are seeking to proceed with a class
action suit on behalf of tens of thousands of residents of
Tenasserim region who are alleged victims of human rights
violations which include being forced from their land and
subjected to forced labour, assault, rape and torture, in some
cases leading to death.

The success of the Burmese plaintiffs in getting the US court to
accept their complaint has prompted residents of Thailand's
Kanchanaburi province to consider filing a similar suit against the PTT.

They have charged that the PTT agreed on the pipeline route,
which will pass through their province, without informing or consulting
local people. The state enterprise was also accused of signing a contract
prior to completion of an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The PTT is alleged to have misled the public, withheld or provided
inaccurate information and conducted a hasty and incomplete EIA that did not
address all the concerns of Kanchanaburi's residents.

Thai environmentalists have expressed  concern over filing a
lawsuit in Thailand fearing the government may use its power to
influence a decision by the court.

But an American lawyer who helped initiate the Burmese lawsuit in
the US said she doubted that a US court would accept a similar Thai motion.

She said it was easy to prove that the Burmese plaintiffs could
not possibly get a fair trial in their own country, but the
argument might not work in the case of Thailand which has, "at
least nominally, a democracy and a pretty well developed legal system."

According to the lawyer, environmental harm is not a very strong claim under
international law and the reason the Californian court is listening to the
Burmese complaint is because of the alleged human rights abuses.

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

THE NATION: NEB TO GE AHEAD WITH CONTROVERSIAL PIPELINE  (abridged)
April 25, 1997
Piyanart Srivalo, The Nation

Premier attempting to sweep opposition aside 

THE National Environmental Board (NEB) decided yesterday to push ahead with
the laying of the Yadana natural gas pipeline along its controversial route
in Kanchanaburi, despite strong opposition from local residents. 

At a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, the board
charged environmental groups and local Kanchanaburi residents who oppose the
route of colluding with Burmese dissident groups. 

Board members were informed of Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's
decision to establish a committee, chaired by Kanchanaburi's governor, that
will try to negotiate and convince local residents to accept the
multi-billion-dollar Yadana project. 

Other ministers and officials attending the meeting included Industry
Minister Korn Dabaransi, Science Minister Yingphan Manasikarn and Saksit
Tridej, secretary-general of the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning. 

Korn told the meeting that the route of the 260-kilometre pipeline, from
Baan-I-Taung in Kanchanaburi to a gas-fuelled power plant in Ratchaburi, had
been properly calculated, studied and approved accordingly at various
levels, including governmental. 

The Cabinet, he said, had given ''special approval" to the route, which will
cut through a first-class watershed reserve at Huay Kayeng. 

Korn said that he has already consulted with Chavalit about the Kanchanaburi
protests, and quoted the premier as saying the demonstrators are actually
''dancing to the tune of Burmese opposition groups". 

Chavalit's view, said the industry minister, was similar to NEB findings,
which stated that non-governmental environmental groups ''were instigating"
the whole campaign because they see the Yadana project as a main financial
source of income for the Burmese junta to buy arms and weapons to suppress
ethnic minorities. 

The NEB insisted yesterday that the pipeline's route, carrying natural
offshore gas being bought by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), was
correct and legitimate. 

It added that the board will strictly control the construction of the
pipeline and the military will also be brought in to ensure work begins and
continues uninterrupted. 

The officials added that the Yadana project will not be affected by the
imposition of a US economic ban on new American investment in Burma. 

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

BKK POST: BURMA SETS UP FIRST INTERNATIONAL DATA LINK FOR EMAIL
April 23, 1997

SINGAPORE - Singapore Telecom Ltd said it has set up Burma's first
international link for email and computer communications.

State-owned SinGtel said it set up the link last month with Myanmar PTT,
giving companies in Burma access to computer networks in other countries.

Burma military government has outlawed the use of email by private
individuals and companies must register their email and data transfers with
state monitors.

International communications from Burma had been limited to telephone, telex
and telegraph. Use of a fax machine without official permission is
punishable by fines and jail terms. (BP)

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

THAILAND TIMES: RAMOS-HORTA CALLS FOR EXPULSION OF BURMA FROM THE UNITED NATIONS
April 23, 1997 AFP

BRUSSELS: Burma should be thrown out of the United Nations and
isolated the way apartheid South Africa was in the 1970's and
1980's, Jose Ramos-Horta, the East Timorese Nobel Peace prize
winner, said yesterday.

"The situation in Burma demands action beyond the annual ritual
of the UN General Assembly and CHR (Commission on Human Rights) resolution,"
Ramos Horta told the European Parliament.

"If the international community wishes to move beyond rhetoric
and send a clear signal to the Slorc, the denial of its UN
General Assembly credentials is one course of action to be considered."

Ramos-Horta's appeal followed reports that US President Bill
Clinton is about to approve economic sanctions against Burma.

The United States, the European Union and Norway have all imposed
sanctions on Burma but these have so far been confined to largely
symbolic steps such as visa restrictions on members of the
military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc). 

Ramos Horta went on to denounce those who cited "Asian values"
as an excuse for the failure of countries in the region to meet
universal standards on human rights or as a premise for rejecting
western criticism.

Hundreds of thousands of Asians had fought and died for basic
rights, he said. "It is not a European women that is in a Burmese
prison," he said in a reference to the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"If the EU stands up for human rights, it is standing up for
values Asians also stand for," he said.

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

THAILAND TIMES: DISSIDENTS POUNCE ON BURMESE CAMP
April 24, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong

TAK: A Burmese military base was the scene of an unexpected
attack yesterday, when the Karen National Union (KNU) and the All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) took retaliatory action
against the junta's troops.

The onslaught on Mor Ta camp, opposite Tak's Umphang district,
was motivated by the alleged torture of a Karen boy by soldiers
from the self-styled State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc).

Lt-Col Ta Thong, a senior KNU official, said over 80 KNU and
ABSDF soldiers clashed with the Slorc troops, retreating into the
jungle after 30 minutes. The junta lost one of its soldiers in the action
and three others were injured while the attackers escaped with only minor
injuries to two of their men, he said.

Ta Thong added that the fall of KNU bases to the Slorc has in
fact facilitated action against the junta, as the KNU, positioned
along the Thai-Burma border, are no longer so susceptible to attack.

A Thai source in Tak said yesterday's action by the anti-Rangoon
troops was sparked off by reports that the Slorc captured and
tortured a 10-year-old Karen boy on Monday in an attempt to glean
information from the boy's father.

The soldiers, wanting to gain knowledge of a cache of KNU weapons,
apparently held the boy's head under water as his father looked on.

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

THAILAND TIMES: FOUR BURMESE SOLDIERS KILLED IN A KNU ATTACK
April 5, 1997
BY ASSAWIN PINITWONG

TAK: The uneasy calm along the Thai-Burmese border was broken
yesterday when the Karen National Union (KNU) attacked Burmese
troops opposite Tak's Tha Song Yang district, killing four of the
junta's soldiers, according to an informed Thai military source.

Five more of the junta's troops were wounded, unprepared for the
eight land mines planted by the KNU some 10 kilometers outside
KNU controlled territory, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

Quickly retreating from the scene of the attack near Karen
State's Ban Lo Tee village, the uninjured troops proceeded to Ta
Meh Dee village where they fired on Karen residents, the source
said. Two of the villagers were killed.

The troops, intent on revenge, then made their way via Mae Hong
Song province to Koh Hae Dae and the Bo villages where they
captured  15 Karens in the mistaken belief that they were KNU
soldiers, the source said.

A KNU officer, who declined to be named, bemoaned the junta's
aggression against innocent people, saying that the litany of
human rights abuses perpetuated by the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc) is being added to on a daily basis.

The source said the Slorc's preemptive action has forced KNU
members to use military tactics against the junta despite their
desire to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the conflict, now in
its 49th year.

"Only when we reach the negotiation table will we begin to make
progress," the source said.

Talks held on four previous occasions have broken down due to the
Slorc's insistence that the KNU lay down its weapons before
signing a ceasefire accord, a concession which the KNU are not
prepared to make.

The fall of the last remaining KNU bases to the Slorc last month
dealt what many have interpreted as a death blow to the anti-
Rangoon Karens. But despite their loss, the KNU have repeatedly
said they will fight on to the last man or woman until they have
achieved autonomy form the military regime.

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

FREE PRESS (IMPHAL): EIGHT KNA (KUKI NATIONAL ARMY) 
KILLED BY MYANMAR ARMY
April 25, 1997  

        Imphal April 24: Eight Kuki National Army, KNF militants were 
killed in an encounter with the Myanmarese Army in the Nungtang jungle 
in Myanmar on April 19, a late reporter said. Police said the report has
been  confirmed from Myanmarese intelligence agencies, but that details of
the encounter were yet to emerge.

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

SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: CHINESE TRAINING SLORC BOMBER PILOTS   (excerpt)
March 1997

SLORC TROOPS TAUGHT TO FLY CHINESE FIGHTER PLANES

Since 01. 01. 97, at the Namzarng air base in southern Shan State (the
largest SLORC's air base in Shan State), 12 Chinese air force military
instructors have been training Burmese air force pilots how to fly, shoot
and drop bombs from 9 China-made fighter bomber planes. There are now
altogether 32 Chinese at Namzarng air base who are instructors in various
fields of expertise. By the end of March, 3 of the 9 Chinese fighter-bombers
which are currently practicing at Namzarng will be brought to practice in
Murngsart, east of Salween, together with 3 Chinese instructors.  

In the military base compound of No.49 IB in Murngsart, at a site just
behind the hill stronghold, a building to house the Chinese instructors is
being built. It is a teak wood structure with corrugated iron roof and 5 yd
by 9 yd big, with three 3 yd compartments. They started building it since
27. 02. 97 and it has not yet been completed up to now.  

SLORC RECEIVES NEW MILITARY TRUCKS FROM CHINA

On 26. 03. 97, deputy commander of the Eastern Command, Major General Myint
Thein went to Xiu Khok (Pang Sai), a border town near Muse in northern Shan
State, bordering with China, to receive 30 China- made 6-wheel military
trucks from China. They were empty trucks with only tools and spare parts on
them. They were brought to Taunggyi on 28. 02. 97 and are being kept at the
HQ of Eastern Command. Most likely, they will later be taken to Eastern Shan
State.  

Shan Human Rights Foundation
March 1997
P.O. Box 201, Phrasing P.O. Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

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

SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: EXCERPTS FROM MARCH REPORT  (excerpted by Ken
and Visakha Kawasaki <brelief@xxxxxxx>)
March 1997

Shan Human Rights Foundation
P.O. BOX - 201, Phrasing PO, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand

MASS FORCED LABOUR

Since mid-November 1996, SLORC troops No.99 IB and No.525 LIB have been
forcing people in Langkbur township to split stones for road-building up to
the present ------- they have to find and in many places dig out the stones
or rocks, some big enough for two men to embrace, by themselves and carry or
roll them to indicated places near the roads, split them and pile up along
the road sides. Roads under the project are said to be Langkhur Wan Hart (18
miles), Wan Hart Zalawng (20 miles), Zalawng- Sop Taeng (20 miles), Wan
Hart- Mawkmai (15 miles) and Mawkmai- Sai Khao (20 miles). Each person from
every house in the 4 village tracts in Wan Hart area has to go and work
every day. Any house which fails to provide a worker has to pay 200 Ks for
one day as a fine. 

This means nearly 2,500 people are being forced to work every day and this
is in Wan Hart area alone. These people now have to work between Ho Huay Hok
and Mark Keng Mon, 8 miles apart. Each house has to make 3-4 piles of gravel
----- each pile is 6 ft. square wide and 1 ft. high. Houses with fewer
people have to work until they finish at least 3 piles, and houses with more
people have to finish 4. They have to provide their own food and many people
from villages which are 7-8 miles away from the work sites, like Kun Kharn
village, cannot walk there every day and have to sleep near the sites under
makeshift huts. Burmese soldiers, at the outset, had provided 400Ks for
every 10 persons to buy a 3 lb. hammer to use for splitting rocks, but
hammers like that are nowhere to be found in the area so people just have to
bring their own axes and tools to work with. 

Now, in other parts of towns people have worked down south from Larugkbur to
Wan Hart and have reached about half the way. People from Zalawng area are
working towards Wan Hart. When the 8 mile distance designated for Wan Hart
people is completed, they will have to continue to the west towards Mawkmai. 

This and other several kinds of forced labour have greatly disrupted the
livelihood of the people so that hundreds of young people including married
couples and their families, are continually heading for Thailand to find
work and earn money to support themselves, their families and their elders
back home. Thus, in many houses, only older people are left to go to work at
the forced labour sites. 

According to a group of Khum Oot villagers, 31 of them including men, women
and children from ages 2 to 27, who arrived in Fang area, Chiangmai
province, on 14. 3. 97, the gravel is now piled up along the road-sides. But
when the time to spread it over the roads comes it will be no other than
these same villagers who will have do the work. 

TORTURE DURING FORCED PORTERING

On 26. 10. 96, SLORC troops No. 66 from Laikha seized a male villager named
Zai Long, 20, at Kung Mark Ki Nu village, Murng Khun village tract,
Murngkerng township.

They tied both his hands to a yoke and forced him to carry their things for
14 days straight, untying only one of his hands every time he needed to eat
his meagre rationed food. After much moaning and begging, they untied his
hands and continued their journey. 

After some days when he became too weak to bear the weight of his load, he
begged them to release him because he could not go any further and they beat
and kicked him and left him in the forest. Though he managed to get back to
his village, he was so weak and badly hurt that he had to be sent to hospital. 

MURDER

On 13. 11. 96, Zai Nyunt, 30, a male villager of Na Mark Khaw village, Nawng
Leo tract, Murugherug township, left his village to go to buy a cow. When he
got near Wan Lauy village he met some troops from Laikha-based No.515 who
stopped and searched him.

Since he was carrying some money, they accused him of being a rebel who had
come to collect tribute money from the villagers and tied him up with a
rope. They beat him repeatedly while questioning him for some time. When
they could not get any satisfactory answers from him, they tightened up his
rope and dumped him in the Nam Tacng river. His body was found after six
days by some villagers. 

TORTURE AND LOOTING

On 26. 10. 96, SLORC troops On 13. 10. 96, SLORC troops from No. 66 and
No.515 ransacked the village of Phak Phaet, Wan Zarm tract, Murngkerng
township, taking what they wanted from the houses. Nang Oo, 28, a female
villager, begged them not to pillage her house but they beat her with their
rifle butts until she was bruised all over and her head bled. They not only
took away bed, blankets and cooking oil but also women's clothes and shoes! 

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

NEW ERA JOURNAL: SLORC MILITARY RAPES KAREN GIRL
April 1997 (translated from Burmese to English by ABSDF)

(BurmaNet Editor's Note: The New Era Journal is published monthly by the
Burmese pro-democracy movement based in Thailand.)

The following is the translation of the rape case published by the New Era
(the girl's name has been changed for her protection) 

Name                     Naw Mo Ko
Age                      24 years old
Nationality              Poe Karen 
Religion                 Buddhist
Time of Incident         4 am, 12.11.1996
Place of Incident        Three Pagoda Pass Military Camp 
Rapist                   Ohn Lwin (61), Commander of Battalion
based at Three Pagoda Pass  

Naw Mo Ko was released from the Immigrant Detention Center (IDC) in 
Bangkok, Thailand after serving time in the center on charges of being an 
illegal alien. On November 10, 1996, she was deported back to the Thai-
Burma border at Halokhani Refugee Camp in Sankhalaburi Disrtict.  

Jobless and unable to survive, she went to the Three Pagoda Pass township 
in the hope that she could find someone who could help her to reach 
Bangkok and find work. Ma Ngae, another teenage girl, came along with 
her.

They arrived at Three Pagoda Pass at about 6 pm on 11 November, 1996. 
That night they stayed at Daw Phyu's house in No. 4 quarter. At about one 
o'clock that night, SLORC town officials and militia came to Daw Phyu's 
house and checked registration cards and guest lists. Daw Phyu had not 
informed the local authorities about her guests and the two girls were
detained. 

(Translator's Note: Every house in Burma is required to inform the local 
SLORC officials on the arrival of overnight visitors. Failure to do so means 
that the visitors, the host or both can be persecuted. This has been in 
practice since 1962 and has been reinforced since the SLORC assumed 
power in 1988).  

Naw Mo Ko and Ma Ngae were not the only ones taken in for questioning 
that night. There were others who were also taken in for failing to report to 
the authorities. However, the two girls were the only ones taken to the 
military camp, while the others remained at the police station. 

After half an hour of interrogation at the military camp the girls were 
taken to Commander Ohn Lwin's room for further questioning. 
Commander Ohn Lwin was there along with two officials from the quarter. 
The two girls sat in the room with them for about 15 minutes and were not 
told anything about what was happening to them. After a short while, Ohn 
Lwin went out of the room and seconds later the girls heard the sound of 
gun fire. 

At the same time two local SLORC officials told them that they should 
answer the commander's questions correctly and that they shouldn't be 
worried. 

Instead of questioning the girls, the commander asked the girls to help a 
soldier to prepare dinner for all of them. In the process, the commander 
touched Naw Mo Ko's back in an intimate way. After a while, Nan Tin 
Aye saw Ma Ngae follow a soldier. 

Without having a slightest idea of what would happen to her, Naw Mo Ko 
had dinner with the SLORC officials and Commander Ohn Lwin. It was 
only when the dinner was finished and the two officials left that the 
commander began asking her a few questions. 

He asked her simple questions such as 'Are you from Pa-an?', 'Are you 
Karen?', 'How long have you been working in Thailand?' and What's the 
job like?'. He then sat beside her and began to squeeze her shoulders. 
Fearful, she tried to break away from his grip suspecting what would 
follow. Ohn Lwin got up and slammed the door shut and came back to her. 
He kissed her and violently took her clothes off. He then raped her.

Naw Mo Ko was so afraid of what was happening to her, she dared not 
shout a word. She knew that shouting wouldn't save her from being raped. 

At about 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, one of the SLORC officials 
returned and brought her back to the office where they were first taken to 
in the military camp. Ma Ngae was already there.

On the way back home, Naw Mo Ko told Ma Ngae what happened to her 
the previous night. Then she learned that Ma Ngae was also repeatedly 
raped by two SLORC officials the whole night. When they learned of each 
other's plight they burst out crying, realizing the helplessness of their 
situation. Many other women have been forced to endure rape and 
humiliation at SLORC military bases. 

That same day the two fled back to the Halokhani refugee camp. 

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

JAPANESE EMBASSY IN D.C.: JAPANESE PRESS CONFERENCE
April 22, 1997  (excerpt)

RE: UPCOMING VISIT BY JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER HASHIMOTO TO WASHINGTON,
INCLUDING MEETING WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON

Briefer: Ambassador Kunihiko Saito
The Embassy of Japan Washington, DC

Question: On the issue of Burma, as you probably know, the U.S. today 
imposed some new sanctions on Burma.  And Secretary of State Albright made
it clear that she hopes that this will have an effect, a negative effect on
the investment climate in Burma.  Human rights groups here in Washington are
saying that they hope Mr. Clinton raises this issue of Burma with the Prime
Minister because there is some concern that if U.S. companies are not
allowed to open new investments that, you know, competition will come in and
Japanese companies, European companies will go into Burma.   What's the
Japanese attitude right now toward investments in Burma, and how do you
think the Prime Minister or the government would deal with such a discussion?

AMB. SAITO: We use the term Myanmar instead of --
Q Right.

AMB. SAITO: We are concerned about the human rights situation in Burma.  We
have expressed -- conveyed our concern to the Burmese -- I'm sorry, Myanmar
authorities, and we'll continue to press upon them the necessity to improve
the situation relating to freedom and human rights in that country.  

At the moment, as I understand it, the Japanese government does not intend
to impose any sanctions on our trade or on our investment with and in
Myanmar. We believe that our policy of continuing critical dialogue, it may
not be a very appropriate term -- but to talk, continue to talk with the
Myanmar authorities and try to persuade them that it will be in their own
interest to improve the human rights situation in that country.

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

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS 
April 13-22, 1997

APRIL 13, 1997:

SECRETARY-1 RECEIVES EDITOR OF NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN 
     
     YANGON, 12 April-Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order 
Restoration Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Asian News Editor of 
Nihon Keizai Shimbun Editorial Bureau Mr Kiyoshi Hasegawa and party 
at Dagon Yeiktha of the Ministry of Defence yesterday morning.     
Minister for Foreign Affairs U Ohn Gyaw and Director-General of     
Protocol Department Thura U Aung Htet were also present.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE PROVIDES CASH TO THOSE 
KILLED, INJURED IN BOMB EXPLOSION AT KABA AYE 
     
     YANGON, 12 April - A ceremony to provide cash by the Office of     
Adjutant-General for USDA members who were performing duties, those     
who were killed and injured when a bomb exploded in Maha Pasana Cave     
where the Buddha's Tooth Relic from the People's Republic of China     
was kept for -public obeisance was held in Yangon Division USDA     
Office at noon today. It was attended by Deputy Director-General U Aung 
San of the Information and Public Relations Department, Maj Nay Win 
and officials of the Office of Adjutant-General, Secretaries and Executives 
of Division/ District and Township Associations, injured people, parents of 
those who were killed and guests. Maj Nay Win gave K 45,000 each to 
those who were killed and K 10,000 each to those who were injured.
______________________________________________________

APRIL 16, 1997:

SECRETARY-1 RECEIVES AMBASSADOR OF INDONESIA 
                                        
     YANGON, 15 April Secretary- 1 of the State Law and Order 
Restoration Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Ambassador of Indonesia 
Maj-Gen (Police) A Poerwanto Lenggono at Dagon Yeiktha of the 
Ministry of Defence on 13 April. Present were Minister for Foreign Affairs 
U Ohn Gyaw and Director-General of Protocol Department Thura U Aung 
Htet.

MYANMAR DELEGATION ARRIVES BACK FROM MANILA 
     
     YANGON, 15 April - After attending the Seventh Ministerial-level     
Meeting on Economic Cooperation of six Countries in Mekong Region
in Manila,- Philippines from 7 to 11 April, Myanmar delegation led by     
Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Brig-Gen Abel     
arrived back here by Thai Airways on 12 April.
______________________________________________________

NLM APRIL 19, 1997

PROJECTS IN MAGWAY DIVISION TO IRRIGATE OVER 145,000 
ACERS WHEN COMPLETE 
                                        
     YANGON, 18 April - Chairman of the State Law and Order 
Restoration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior 
General Than Shwe inspected dam projects in Magway Division, 
yesterday. Sadan Dam is being built on Sadan Creek upstream 
Htanaungkwin village in Myothit Township. On completion, the dam will 
irrigate 16,000 acres. The project for building chains of dams, part of the 
plan for greening of the nine arid regions, covers construction of Bwetgyi,
Pade, Palin, Natmauk, Sunchaung, Sadan, Ngamin, Yinmale, 
Kinpundaung, Bangon and Yanpe dams, Daungthe diversion weirs and Pin 
Creek Diversion Dam on the eastern sector of Magway Division. Of them, 
Natmauk, Kinpundaung and Bangon dams have been put into service. 
Completion of all these dams will affect 98,000 acres of farmland.     
Deputy Director U Aung Khin of Construction Division 9 of Irrigation     
Department briefed them on progress of work, the Chairman of Division     
Law and Order Restoration Council on the programmes for resettlement     
of the villages from the catchment area. The Senior General gave 
instructions on maintenance of the irrigation canals and proper drainage 
on self-reliance in cooperation with the public.  Mann Creek Dam, on 
completion, will directly irrigate 10,000 acres and affect a total of 49,500 
acres including the irrigated acreage of Aingma Dam and Pyankyi 
Diversion Dam. Mone Creek Multi-Purpose Dam Project
  The Senior General gave necessary instructions. He later presented gifts 
to construction group leader Mr Tadao Mashiba and supervisor Mr Toshio 
Hirakawa of Kajima Co of Japan undertaking building of diversion tunnel 
and project personnel.

MYANMAR WELCOMES PARTICIPATION OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, WELFARE
ASSOCIATIONS, PUBLIC TO HELP REALIZE NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN 
                                        
     YANGON, 18 April National Health Committee held the 23rd meeting 
at Medical Research Department this morning with an address by 
Chairman of NHC Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration 
Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt.

The nation will accept participation of international and welfare     
organizations in public health care services with sincere goodwill if their 
assistance does not hinder or disturb the State's political, economic and 
social objectives, he pointed out.

The Ministry of Health has successfully devised an anti-Hepatitis B drug,
which is a success and a contribution for the entire mankind, he said,
assuring Government assistance in the ministry's research programmes.
_________________________________________________

APRIL 21, 1997:

SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE SENDS FELICITATIONS TO 
QUEEN ELIZABETH II OF THE UNITED KINGDOM 
     
     YANGON, 21 Apri-Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State 
Law and Order Restoration Council of the Union of Myanmar, has sent a
message of felicitations to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the-United 
Kingdom, on the occasion of llea Majesty's.Birthday which falls on 21 
April, 1997.

SECRETARY-1 INSPECTS CONSTRUCTION OF YANGON 
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL 
                                        
     YANGON, 20 April - Chairman of Tourism Development Management    
Committee, Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council     
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt this morning inspected construction of Yangon     
International Hotel on Alon Road. On arrival at the construction site of 
Yangon International Hotel at 8 am he was welcomed by Minister at the 
Office of the Chairman of State Law and Order Restoration Council Brig-
Gen Myo Thant,  President of Myanmar MCG Corporation Ltd Mr Koki 
Onodera and officials.  At the Guest Room, Mr Koki OnoNera greeted the 
Secretary-1, ministers and party and briefed them on the master plan of the 
Yangon International Hotel, completion of construction works, internal 
and external decoration, arrangements for soft opening of the hotel and
 receiving tourists.

SECRETARY-2 CALLS ON YOUTHS TO BUILD UP POWER OF 'LOVING KINDNESS' TO BE
ABLE TO RESIST OUTSIDE TEMPTATIONS 
                                        
YANGON, 20 April - The Archdiocesan Youth Apostolate (Yangon) 
hosted a dinner to mark the Fifth Archdiocesan Youth Day at Karaweik Hall
this evening. Secretary-2 of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Lt-Gen Tin Oo attended it:and gave counsel to the youths. After a
chorus singing of youths in honour of the Youth Day, Daw Geraldine Williams
explained opening of the Yangon Youth Camp and 
the Youth Day.
     
Giving counsel, the Secretary-2 spoke of three points-
1. views one and all should have on religion;
2. combination of religious concepts with a sense of duty for nation
     building; and 
3. adherence to Jesus Christ's teachings.

MANDALAY MAYOR LEAVES FOR JAPAN 
                                        
     YANGON, 20 April- Secretary-2 of the State Law and Order 
Restoration Council Lt-Gen Tin Oo this evening saw off Chairman of Mandalay
City Development Committee Mayor Col Sein Win Aung who left for Japan at the
invitation of Mayor of Sendai for promotion of bilateral goodwill relations
and cooperation.
     
The mayor was seen off at the airport by officials and familymembers.
He is accompanied by Head of Water and Sanitation Department of  MCDC U Tun
Kyi. The mayor will study urban ctnstruction projects such as Sendai
Airport, port, hotel service, market, hospital and rail transport service in
Japan.

BRIG-GEN TIN AYE TO ATTEND 45TH ANNIVERSARY INDONESIAN ARMY  SPECIAL FORCES DAY 
     
YANGON, 20 April - Secretary-2 of the State Law and Order  Restoration
Council Chief of Bureau of Special Operations Chief of Staff (Army)
Lt-Gen Tin Oo this morning saw off Brig-Gen Tin Aye of the Ministry
of Defence and members who left to attend the 45th Anniversary Indonesian
Army Special Forces Day to be held in Indonesia. Brig-Gen Tin Aye is
accompanied by Lt-Col Thein Oo and Lt-Col Ohn Myint of the Ministry of Defence.

45 MEMBERS OF ARMED GROUPS EXCHANGE ARMS FOR PEACE 
     
     YANGON, 20 April - The State Law and Order Restoration Council is
     building national reconsolidation and upholding Our Three Main
     National Causes, and is striving for emergence of a modern nation
     after laying down the political, economic and social objectives. 
     The Government is also providing help for the families who, after
     realizing their wrongs, had exchanged arms for peace, for their
     security, livelihood, establishment of model villages, reclamation of
     land for cultivation, domestic production and agriculture services
     and for assisting them in health, education and social sectors.
     
     After realizing that the subversive-and destructive acts do nothing
     good to the nation and understanding the genuine goodwill and
     nation-building tasks of the Government, the armed groups keep on
     swapping arms for peace individually and in groups.
     
     In the South-East Command region from 1 to 6 March this year, pvts
     Zaw Htoo, Saw Tatho, Saw Cha Dowah, Saw Pha Bi and Saw Thali of 
     the KNU from Dupalayar District, members of Metharawhta security
     committee Pha Nyein, Pha Kalok and Pha Kalo, pvt Tet Kalar of
     Leinkhwe security committee, sgt Saw El Soe and pvts Atit, Awin,        
     Than Oo Soe, Saw La Di, Saw Lu Phaw, Saw Jabin, Saw Gae, Saw Zaw 
     Lay and Naw Hse Layar of the 16th Battalion pvt Pha Ye Pha of Kyar- 
     in forest group, school principal Chet Thalin of the 6th brigade, pvts 
     Naung Soe, Kyaw Bo, El Leiwa, Saw Min Maung, Ei Hnit Wa and Saw   
      Ki,  health officer Saw Ngwe La, deputy jail war+den Maung Nyunt (a)   
     Zat Laik, member of regional forest group Saw He Lei Mu, officer-in- 
     charge of  Kyar-in executive committee Saw Brandy, chairman U Palar 
     Tu, pvt Saw Pi Paroe Na, pvt Pha Ka Mu of regional security unity and   
     sgt Saw Nay Tun of the 6th battalion exchanged arms for peace   
     bringing in one AR machine gun, one M-22 automatic rifles, six 
     carbines, three AK-47 automatics, eight M-16 automatics, two    
     revolvers, two 62mm launchers, one RPG, six grenades, three US-made  
     grenades, 878 rounds and pvt Nyi Nyi of ABSDF 207th battalion with  
     one grenade.
     
     In Taninthayi Division, sgt Mahn Kyaw Win of KNU brigade 4, wife 
     Khin Win Kyi and son Kyaw Aung officer-in-charge of the region Saw  
     Pa Det, wife Naw Phawt Hla and sons Saw Lwe Mu, Saw Lwe Kanyaw 
     and Po Da Pi and daughter Naw Hse Mular Phaw exchanged arms for 
     peace bringing with them one M-16 automatic, one AK-47 automatic 
     and 62 rounds.
     
     The 45 who swapped arms for peace were accorded warm welcome at
     respective military camps. 
____________________________________________

APRIL 22 1997:

ASEAN SEOM FACT-FINDING MISSION CALLS ON MINISTER FOR NPED 
  
YANGON, 21 April-A 18-member ASEAN SEOM fact-finding 
mission comprising officials of ASEAN Secretary-General's office called on
Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Brig-Gen 
Abel at his office today.

The minister explained Myanmar's preparation for ASEAN membership, economic
development, international trade, cooperation with economic organizations
and investment. Also present were officials of the ministry and Customs
Department. They also discussed ASEAN Free Trade Area with officials of
Trade and Customs Departments.  The minister hosted dinner for the
delegation at Mya Yeik Nyo Royal Hotel.

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