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The BurmaNet News, June 4, 1997



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------       
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"       
----------------------------------------------------------       
       
The BurmaNet News: June 4, 1997       
Issue #741
     
HEADLINES:       
==========     
BKK POST: MORE THAN 300 MON REBELS SURRENDER 
SLORC: INFORMATION  SHEET NO-A-0051
LA TIMES: UNOCAL SHAREHOLDERS BACK MYANMAR DEALS
KOREA HERALD: HYUNDAI-DAEWOO-LG CONSORTIUM
THAILAND TIMES: THAILAND TO TAKE STRICT MEASURES
BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO BACK DOWN IN BORDER
BKK POST: PHILIPPINE PRESS OUTRAGED 
BKK POST: YADANA PIPELINE RUNS INTO FOREST BAN
WP: ROAD OF WWII FAME NOW BRINGS ARMS FROM CHINA
THE NATION:FOUR COUNTRIES SQUARE OFF ON THE BANKS 
S.H.A.N:FIAN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR SHAN REFUGEES
-----------------------------------------------------------------     

BKK POST: MORE THAN 300 MON REBELS SURRENDER 
June 3, 1997
Suthep Chaviwan

Solemn ceremony held at last stronghold

	More than 300 Mon rebels surrendered to the Burmese forces near the Thai
border in Prachuab Khiri Khan and handed over some 1,700 pieces of arms and
ammunition yesterday, a Mon rebel source said.
	The solemn surrendering ceremony was held at the last Mon stronghold in
Chong Chee, an unofficial border pass between Thailand and Burma, close to
the Thai border district of Bang Saphan.
	The rebels are now under the complete control of Burma's 2nd Tactical
Command, headed by Col Khin Muang Kyi who disarmed them, said the source.
	The 300, under the command of Lt-Col Aung Hliang, and more than 1,000
members of their families had broken away from the mainstream New Mon State
Party nearly two years ago. 
	They had denounced their leader, Nai Shwe Kyin, who is the president of the
New Mon State Party and also commander of the Mon forces, for contacting the
ruling junta and signing a ceasefire agreement with the Slorc.
	The 300 Mon rebels who opted for a new name, "Mergui Mon Army", also
rebelled against the mainstream NMSP's armed fighters, and their former
regional commander, Col Nai Aung Nai, who was in charge in this area and was
driven out after expressing support for NMSP president Nai Shwe Kyin's
decision to seek peace and negotiate with the ruling junta.
	The 300-strong force of the Mon rebels announced that they will fight until
they achieve their goal of obtaining autonomy for the Mon state.
	Two Mon rebel officers said they were under heavy pressure to give up
fighting because the rebel force had been surrounded by the 2nd Tactical
Command of Col Khin Muang Kyi since last week.
	"The 2nd Tactical Command had dispatched more than 1,000 armed soldiers to
our area. If we do not surrender we will die," said the two Mon officers,
who fled to Bangkok.
	The breakaway Mergui Mon Army was earlier regarded as tough. They had the
largest arms cache and many of these weapons were left behind by those who
left the force, seeking asylum in Thailand in an effort to resume normal
life, or surrendering.
	Some 700 family members of the 300 Mon rebels have moved into Thailand's
Bang Saphan district.
	A Christian relief worker who is familiar with Mon affairs said after this
latest Mon surrender that none of the Mon groups are now fighting against
the Slorc.
	It is too early to predict the fate of those who surrendered. The Slorc may
help them in some way, he said.
	There are about 17,200 Mon refugees in Thailand.
	There are an estimated four million ethnic Mons in Burma. (BP)

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

SLORC: INFORMATION  SHEET NO-A-0051
June 3, 1997

(1) The break away group from the mainstream New Mon State Party called Beik
Mon Army traded their arms for peace on the 31st of May 1997. This group of
(150) men headed by Battalion Commander Aung Thaik Hym handed over (470)
assorted arms to the local commander. This group is being assisted by the
authorities concerned to reside in Chaun- Chi area near Beik region. The
Beik Mon Army was part of the New Mon State Party which was lead by Chairman
U Naing Shwe Kyin. The NMSP came back into the legal fold on the 29th of
June 1995 and on the 6th of November 1996 a group headed by Aung Thaik Hym
broke away from the NMSP because of interparty differences. The Beik Mon
Army has brought in 90 family members together with them and the remaining
(150) men in arms and 700 family members stationed across the border are
expected to follow suit, it is learnt.

(2) On the 28th. of May 1997 at Myanmar-China border near Muse called
Kyu-Hkok an arrest was made where 100 kg of Amphetamine Base was seized. It
is learnt that the chemicals were caught on a vehicle coming in from across
the border.

(3) On the 31st. of May morning the spouse of the British Ambassador Mr.
Gordon visited Mrs. Aris at the latter's residence at the University Avenue,
it is learnt.

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

LA TIMES: UNOCAL SHAREHOLDERS BACK MYANMAR DEALS
June 3, 1997
Evelyn Iritani

  Energy: Proposals critical of company's involvement in the country are
soundly rejected.

  Unocal shareholders cast a strong vote of support Monday for the company's
effort to transform itself into a global energy player and overwhelmingly
rejected two proposals critical of the company's controversial partnership
with Myanmar.
   While a group of 50 colorfully clad protesters kept up a steady chant
outside Monday's annual meeting in Brea, Chairman and Chief Executive Roger
Beach delivered an upbeat assessment of the "New Unocal," which has all but
abandoned its California roots in the last year.
  The biggest step was its $2-billion sale earlier this year of its domestic
refineries and gas station network to Tosco to free up money to invest in
more lucrative exploration operations abroad, particularly in Asia.
  To make his point that Unocal is headed in the right direction, Beach
highlighted the company's improved 1996 numbers: earnings of more than
double the previous year's, an   increase in shareholder value of 46% and
record energy production.
  "The challenge of the future is not finding the opportunities but deciding
which ones to pursue," Beach said.

  But the standing-room-only crowd heard a different interpretation from
critics who accused the company of jeopardizing its long-term profitability
by cozying up to dictators and profiting from forced labor, political
repression and environmental abuse.
  They were particularly critical of Unocal's participation in a
$1.2-billion pipeline in Myanmar (formerly Burma), whose repressive military
regime has been widely condemned for waging a war of terror against its
political opponents.
  Some also questioned Unocal's loyalty to the U.S., accusing the longtime
California company of pursuing a "de-Americanization campaign."
  The audience included at least a dozen former Unocal employees who had
lost their jobs in the Tosco sale. While the new owner agreed to keep all
but 100 of Unocal's union jobs, the employees are unhappy with their
slimmed-down work force and the terms of their new contract.
   Urban Showe, who was waving a protest sign outside Monday's meeting, was
hired by Tosco. But the longtime member of the Oil, Chemical & Atomic
Workers Union said he still felt betrayed by Unocal's decision to spend its
money in such political hot spots as China, Azerbaijan and Indonesia.
  "They gave up on American labor and took all their jobs overseas," said
the 28-year-old refinery operator from Long Beach.
   On Monday, the company announced it was joining an oil exploration
project off the coast of Brunei in the South China Sea. Numerous other big
U.S. oil companies are following similar overseas strategies, a response to
dwindling reserves and shrinking profit margins at home.
  While the two Myanmar shareholder resolutions were soundly defeated
Monday, Joe Drexler, a spokesman for the oil workers union, which backed one
of the measures, said he was "ecstatic" to have gotten enough votes--more
than 3%--to get the measures reintroduced next year.
   One resolution required Unocal to assess the financial cost of the
growing opposition to its business in Myanmar.  The other called for
investigation into charges that the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas
Enterprise, a Unocal partner in Myanmar, is involved in the heroin trade.
   Beach said he and other top Unocal executives could not speak freely on
Myanmar because they are defendants in one of two pending federal lawsuits.
The plaintiffs are attempting to hold Unocal responsible for human rights
abuses allegedly committed by Myanmar's leaders.
   Unocal's chief assured his audience that the lawsuits and other
anti-Myanmar measures--such as boycotts and selective purchasing laws--were
"without merit" and had only cost the company $1 million last year in lost
business or legal fees.
   Beach also reiterated that the Clinton administration's recent ban on new
investment by U.S. companies in Myanmar would not halt the company's present
projects, including the Yadana gas pipeline, a second energy project for
Myanmar and an additional offshore exploration project.

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

KOREA HERALD: HYUNDAI-DAEWOO-LG CONSORTIUM SEEKING BUSINESS IN BURMA
May 29, 1997

A consortium of three Korean general trading companies (GTCs) has won
a $15 million contract to supply electric machinery and equipment to
Myanmar [Burma], company officials said yesterday.  In what the officials
said is another case of strategic alliance among domestic competitors,
Hyundai Corp., Daewoo Corp. and LG International Corp. will jointly supply
electric wires, transformers, insulators, circuit breakers and street lamps
to the Southeast Asian country by December.
Representatives of the consortium signed the contract with Myanmar
Electric Power Enterprise in Yangon Thursday.  The contract will be
financed with the low-cost loans from the Korean government's Economic
Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), said an official at Daewoo Corp.
"It illustrates a good example for the domestic trading giants to
develop overseas markets through mutual cooperation," said the official. 
"The contract carries particular significance for providing us with greater
cooperative potential."  The three companies plan to go all out to secure
more business opportunities in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and its neighboring
countries.
It is the second Myanmar project for Daewoo, which supplied $5 million
worth of power transmission and distribution equipment to the country in
1995, the company official said.  Daewoo was the largest Korean exporter to
Myanmar with $40 million last year, followed by Hyundai's $16.5 million and
LG's $8 million, he added.

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

THAILAND TIMES: THAILAND TO TAKE STRICT MEASURES AGAINST ENCROACHERS ON
DISPUTED ISLET
June 3, 1997

TAK: Thailand is to take strict action against every trespasser
encroaching on Mae Sot's disputed islet to prevent any possible trouble
there, a senior military official said yesterday.

Col Chatchaphat Yamngamriap, the 4th Infantry Special Task Force Commander,
said the 431 Infantry Company have established a checkpoint close to Tambon
Tha Sai Laud's Kok Chang Phuak islet where many hundreds of Burmese and
Karen people cross the border daily, any alien that enters the country
without the required documentation or border pass will be immediately arrested.

He said the country aims to prevent any troublemakers such as anti-Burmese
government ethnic groups from coming near the islet, where both countries
have been trying to play down disputes which have threatened to seriously
sour relations.

Chao Cham Huang, a son of former drug warlord Khun Sa, has reportedly
donated 100 million kyat to the Burmese government for the construction of a
dam near Myawaddy township in exchange for permission to go ahead with his
joint-venture to build a casino and business complex there.

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

BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO BACK DOWN IN BORDER DISPUTE
June 3, 1997
Wasana Nanuam

Claiming major flood changed river course

	Burma is intent on restoring its claimed border to the course of the Moei
River before a major flood in 1994, a military source yesterday.
	Rangoon's position is that flood changed the course of the river to create
a 150-rai islet now annexed to Thai territory, he said.
	Burma had moved in machinery and workers to dredge the river near Ban Rim
Moei, Mae Sot, last month drawing strong protests as the work in some areas
violated Thai territory.
	The source said the Royal Thai Survey Department and the Department of
Treaties and Legal Affairs were preparing aerial maps taken in 1989 and 1992
for discussions with Burma.
	Army commander Gen Chettha Thanajaro, who phoned Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt,
secretary 1 of Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council on Saturday,
called a meeting of senior government officials at army headquarters to
discuss the problem yesterday.
	"The army commander related what he had discussed with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt
and agreement reached during the talks," he said. "Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt wanted
us to speed up the case as it was concerned that the upcoming rainy season
could hamper the dredging," he said.
	The officer said the army commander was unhappy with development in Mae Sot
where villagers had taken him to task over the dredging.
	"There is attempt to make it a political issue," he said.
	Earlier, Paniti Tangpati, deputy chairman of Tak Chamber of Commerce,
expressed surprise at Burma's claim that the work had been approved by Gen
Chettha and Gen Chavalit.
	Mr Paniti said it was beyond his understanding how the army commander or
the premier could make a pledge that could have directly affected Thai
territory.
	So far, Gen Chettha and Gen Chavalit have not commented on the issue. (BP)

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

BKK POST: PHILIPPINE PRESS OUTRAGED 
May 3, 1997
AFP

Manila - The Philippine press slammed its government yesterday for backing
the entry of Burma into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean),
saying it debased Manila's democracy.

"Democracy has taken a step backward," said the Manila Standard newspaper in
an editorial titled: "Asean: Partners in Crime".

"The Philippines cast its vote to accept Burma under the generals when the
Philippines had the wherewithal, by the rules of consensus, to turn Burma
away at the door all by itself," the Today newspaper said in its editorial.

"We have now lost our international honour and become just one of the gang
of thuggish states that yet pretend their authoritarianism is but a
necessary step to what the Philippines already has: democracy," it said.(BP)  

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

BKK POST: YADANA PIPELINE RUNS INTO FOREST BAN
June 3, 1997
Chakrit Ridmontri and Suebpong Unarat

PTT yet to obtain ministry approval

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand does not have permission to build the
Yadana gas pipeline through forest in Kanchanaburi, the agriculture minister
said yesterday.

The ministry would have to consider if the project would have adverse
effects on forest, said Chucheep Harnsawat. "We will ask the PTT to clarify
its proposed environmental impact mitigation plan before approval can be
made," he said.

The development, threatening to further complicate the project which has
been strongly opposed by environmentalists, came amid a warning by Korn
Dabbaransi, the Industry Minister, that Burma will impose a daily fine of 40
million baht if the pipeline is not completed by July next year.

Mr Korn said re-routing the pipeline would pose a greater threat to forest
in Kanchanaburi.

Mr Chucheep expressed concern about the project when he went to Kanchanaburi
last weekend but declined to say if the pipeline should be re-routed if the
environmental impact is unacceptable.

Pitiphong Puengboon, deputy permanent secretary for agriculture, said
problems centred on Sai Yoke national park and Huay Khayeng national forest
in Thong Pha Phum district.

Part of the route through the national park would not have a severe impact
because the area is degraded forest, he said. But the process in allowing
the PTT to use the area would take time because the area's national park
status would have to be changed.

In contrast, the 6km pipeline that will pass Huay Khayeng forest would have
an adverse impact because the area is fertile. However, the approval process
is easier than the park.

"If it is inevitable to use this forest area, the ministry has make sure the
PTT sticks by environmental mitigation measures. Anyway, the Forestry
Department has yet to give the PTT approval to use these two forest areas,"
said Mr Pitiphong.

The PTT began work on the 260km project this year after the environmental
impact assessment was approved by the National Environment Board.

It will receive gas from Yadana and Yetagun fields in Burma at I-Tong
village in Thong Pha Phum. 

Apart from conservationists, international human right activists oppose the
project on the grounds the military junta in Burma is suppressing ethnic
minorities along the route.

Earlier, Mr Korn asked the PTT to tailor its public relations strategy to
counter growing opposition to the project.

Pala Sukhavech, the PTT governor, said the current route was suitable as an
environment study showed it would minimise the impact. "It's impossible to
re-route the pipeline as it will greatly affect the environment and forest
resources," he claimed.

Sources said work will proceed at 200m a day on rugged terrain and up to 2km
on flat land. Thailand will buy gas from Burma two years after completion of
the pipeline. (BP)

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

WASHINGTON POST: BURMA ROAD OF WWII FAME NOW BRINGS 
ARMS FROM CHINA
June 1, 1997
By R. Jeffrey Smith

Rangoon's Rulers, Shunned in West, Are Buoyed by Asian Neighbors

PYIN-U-LWIN, Burma -- Fifty-seven years ago, the main road through 
this small resort town northeast of Mandalay served as a gateway to the 
famous Burma Road, a vital supply line through the jungle for war materiel 
being shipped north by the United States and its allies into China for use 
against the Japanese.
	Today, the rutted, two-lane highway is still being used to transport 
armaments, but the flow has been reversed: Chinese-made weapons are 
coming south on Japanese-made trucks at the behest of the military 
government of Burma, which uses some of the arms to help keep its restive
citizens under strict control, according to Western officials.
	Burma's generals became notorious in 1988 for brutally suppressing  student
protests and in 1990 for annulling a democratic election won by an
opposition party. Since then they have been able to forge normal economic
relations with few developed nations.
	"Only the door to China has been open" without interruption since then, a
diplomat said in Rangoon, the capital. As a result, the government has
relied heavily on weaponry imported from China -- and lately from Russia as
well -- to keep its military forces equipped for offensives against 
insurgent ethnic minorities and to preserve domestic order.
	Buying military equipment from China is only one of several ways that Burma
has been able to evade a Western-led embargo on trade. Narcotics merchants
in China also have played a helpful role in Burma's continued export of
near-record levels of opium gum for heroin production, and wealthy investors
from a few other Asian nations have been spending just enough money on new
Burmese hotels, real estate, mining and
manufacturing projects to keep the country's economy afloat.
	The economic or political support Burma gets from other Southeast Asian
countries and from China has "effectively annulled the West's attempt to
induce domestic political change through international pressure," said
Muthiah Alagappa, a Malaysian political scientist and senior fellow at the
East-West Center in Hawaii.
	Besides providing access to weaponry and economic breathing room, Burma's
China connection also gives it important refuge from the world's
disapproval, according to a diplomat. "If they keep deepening the 
relationship, Burma will always have China to turn to" if needed to veto 
trade sanctions that might be sought by the U.N. Security Council, he said.
	Exact figures on China's military trade with Burma are elusive.  The
relationship is not openly discussed here. But the shipments include 
hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of tanks, personnel carriers, rockets, 
mortars, artillery, assault rifles, grenade launchers, trucks, attack aircraft 
and helicopters, according to a recent analysis by Andrew Selth, an 
Australian defense intelligence official, with which officials from
two other governments concurred.
 	China also has sold Burma naval vessels, including some armed with
anti-ship cruise missiles, and has trained Burmese military personnel.
Members of the ruling junta signify the importance they attach to this
relationship by making a rare public appearance each year at the Chinese
Embassy's national day celebration in Rangoon.
	Although most artillery and other heavy armaments have been deployed in
rural areas, some of the Chinese-made tanks and automatic weapons have been
used in displays of force aimed at dissenters in major cities.
	Western and local sources say some of the Chinese armaments have entered
the country near the town of Mongyu, then south along the road to Lashio --
a city with more than 50,000 ethnic Chinese -- before passing through the
teak forests and coffee plantations around here to reach Mandalay, Burma's
second-largest city.
	Pyin-U-Lwin is dotted with important military facilities, including the
Defense Services Institute of Technology.
	Much of Burma's arms purchases evidently have been financed by China at
discounted interest rates, according to these sources.  But China may also
have been paid in valuable Burmese goods,  such as timber, agricultural
products, minerals and gems.
	The road north to China also is frequently used to transport opium gum
derived from Burmese poppies. Chinese narcotics merchants then smuggle it
elsewhere in the region, and later ship the resulting heroin to the United
States, U.S. officials say.
	Some of the drug profits allegedly have been plowed into commercial
investments or been used to help buy food for troops and import additional
weapons. Having been blocked by Washington and its allies from gaining
access to international loans, "the regime is essentially depending on drug
money to get it through" and keep the economy afloat, according to a
longtime foreign observer in Burma.
	A recent visitor on a drive along the road near here saw a handful of green
Burmese army trucks dodging immense potholes on their way south, each packed
high with boxes and crates covered by heavy tarpaulins.
	The ruling generals in this country control a wide range of private 
businesses as well as military forces, so the items might well have been 
Chinese-made commercial appliances instead of armaments, and have been 
destined for the public marketplace in Mandalay, several Western officials 
said.
	The United States, Britain and Germany, which formerly had equipped much of
the Burmese army, imposed an embargo on military trade with the country
beginning in 1988, after the "retired" military officials that had ruled the
country with an iron fist since 1962 officially stepped aside in favor of
more direct rule by active military personnel.
	The Clinton administration, citing the forced closure of all Burmese
universities and other Draconian government measures to stifle dissent, last
month expanded controls on U.S. trade with Burma by barring most new
investments by American firms in commercial and energy projects. It also has
lent rhetorical support to Aung San Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
laureate and democracy activist in Burma whom the regime has barred from
making public speeches or meeting with foreign reporters.
	But Suu Kyi's calls for worldwide economic isolation of the country have
had no apparent impact on China or Burma's other Asian neighbors.
	Singapore is now the leading source of overall foreign investment in Burma,
with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan also playing 
important economic roles here. Officials in Thailand have been quoted by 
Thai newspapers as hailing the U.S. sanctions as a potential boon to that 
country's own commercial prospects in Burma.
	A visiting Singaporean businessman said in an interview here,  "We have a
different standard than America does for human rights and foreign trade.
These people are free to pursue their own work."
	Western diplomats here say many of Burma's neighbors are willing to
overlook the government's abuses because they seek access to its cheap labor
and abundant natural resources,  including rare hardwoods and some of the
world's finest jade and gems.
	Thailand, in particular, is said to be worried that serious political 
instability in Burma would push refugees across its border.
	
***********************************************

THE NATION:FOUR COUNTRIES SQUARE OFF ON THE BANKS OF  
THE MIGHTY MEKONG 
May 27, 1997 
Kulachada Chaipipat 
 
In spite of the financial gains that China,Thailand, Laos and Burma could 
make, plans for the Economic Growth Quadrangle are floundering on the 
river's shores, writes The Nation's Kulachada Chaipipat.  
 
	Geometric growth zones that are sweeping the region and have 
been successfully exploited in other parts of Asia may be the right model 
for Southeast Asia. Yet, the idea is still a little before its time in a region 
that is warped by overwhelming security concerns.  
 	In this regard, China has made tremendous efforts to open up its 
southwestern region to Southeast Asia via the Economic Growth  
Quadrangle. This economic zone encompasses an area of some 250,000- 
square- kilometres: from China's southern Yunnan province to northern  
Thailand and Laos to Burma's Shan state.  
 	With a market size of an estimated 120 million people whose 
GDP output is set to reach US$545.4 billion (Bt14.18 trillion) and per 
capita income of $2,700 by the year 2000, the geometric growth zone offers 
a wide array of trade investment opportunities.  
 	But with a four-year framework in place, Beijing found that its 
push failed to move other participants at the same speed. The sole indicator 
of growth is tourism and that is only between Thailand and China.  
	At a seminar hosted by Chulalongkorn University's Institute of 
Asian  Studies in mid-May, Thai and visiting Chinese scholars argued that 
the  successful model of geometric economy among Asean states, namely 
Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia triangular cooperation,should also be the  
case for the quadrangular cooperation.  
 	But the team of seven scholars from two key research institutes in 
Yunnan spoke of the EGQ's potential and benefits to all participants at 
great length. The conspicuously hinted at the hindrances that have plagued 
the cooperation.  
 	China faces the dilemma in the development of the Lancang Jiang 
­ the Chinese name for the Mekong River ­ and the development alliance 
with downstream nations.  
 	While Thai scholars see the long-term potential of this geometric 
economy, they view the short-run beneficiary to be China. Moreover, they 
perceive Beijing to be the most active player, and is in itself a barrier to 
meaningful cooperation with its neighbours.  
 	Nevertheless, both Thai and Chinese scholars pointed out that 
political instability in Burma and Laos' lack of expertise to deal with rapid 
expansion of regional capitalism are major factors preventing the scheme 
from taking off.  
 	Academic experts also agreed that these factors were exacerbated 
by the competing capital demand for infrastructure development in the 
Mekong sub-region. Head of the Chinese team Prof Chen Lufan said that 
another reason for delay is a decrease in the governments' level of 
enthusiasm as a result of various changes of those governments.  
 	The slow progress in the two pilot projects ­ one on the ring road 
connecting these quadrangular territories and the other on navigation in  
the upper reaches of the Mekong ­ have been cited as clear evidence of  
political and economic constraints confronting the other partners, Burma  
and Laos, in the scheme.  
 	From the perspective of China, the quadrangular framework 
possesses all necessary conditions to become the region's new potential 
growth zone ­ vast deposits of natural resources in Laos, Burma and 
Yunnan along with land and cheap labour, the closeness of their borders 
and culture, and the political will of the region's leaders.  
 	Chinese panelist Zhang Guang Ping suggested that to move 
forward, the cooperation needs to streamline its present working measures. 
''It unnecessarily involves a massive volume of trade. There is no need for 
binding agreements, established rules and a uniformed system for trade  
and custom procedures," he said.  
 	But what the framework lacks is a coordinating mechanism in 
each  country. Such an agency would liaise among participating states 
through regular meetings and arrange services with lending and 
development agencies,said Zhang, an economist with the Yunnan Research 
and  Coordination Office for Lancang-Mekong River Subregional 
Cooperation.  
 	So far, only China and Thailand have such coordinating bureaus.  
 	However, when presenting this view, Zhang was selective and 
ignored the holistic approach to explore the constraints of the alliance.  
 	Chulalongkorn University's Sinologist Vorasit Mahathanobol said 
a failure to take a holistic view with this type of economic zone is itself an 
obstacle to its progress.  
 	Vorasit said China's selective approach to development strategies 
of the Mekong River in Yunnan and on quadrangular cooperation has 
raised suspicions among the other five river basin states, including 
Cambodia and Vietnam. Vorasit pointed out that while China defended its 
right to exploit the hydropower potential of the Lancang Jiang, regardless 
of downstream concerns and the impacts of such development, it has also 
pushed for  navigation of the river beyond its territory.  
 	China's ambiguous stance may have taken advantage of the 
newly-defined nation state irrespective of historical reality that the Mekong 
has long  been known as an international river, he added. Vorasit said that 
whether  it is called the Lancang Jiang or the Mekong, it is the same.  
 	He suggested that China should come up with a holistic and 
coherent explanation about its development strategies for the Mekong 
region. For failure to bring clarity to this position may further delay 
China's bid to open the river for navigation.  
 	China's vacillating stance has obviously been the cause of worry 
for Burma. But Burma's larger concern is security in Shan state which 
forms part of the quadrangle with its 31-kilometre border edged by the 
Mekong River.  
 	In a paper presented by Yunnan Institute of International Studies' 
researcher Huang Guan Yang, China believed that Rangoon's inability to 
control Shan state ­ where various ethnic groups including the United Wa 
State Army group live ­ is a major setback to Burma's full cooperation in 
the framework, specifically to the river's navigation.  
 	Yet Burma's initial reluctance to take a 300-million-baht soft loan 
offered by the Thai government for construction of the 164-kilometre-long 
route  from Chiang Rai to the Burmese border town of Kentung was also 
used as another pretext for this concern, Pornphimol Trichote of the 
Institute of Asian Studies said.  
 	Both agreed that the navigation and easy road access will further 
expose Shan state to outside influences, particularly from China and the 
United States.  
 	Huang's paper revealed Burma's immediate concern over China's 
direct political and economic influence due to their cultural and geographic 
links as well as the increasingly economic interdependence between Shan 
state's opium-growing Fourth Special Region and Yunnan's 
Xishuangbanna.  
 	He said Burmese leaders feared that the prosperity that would be 
brought in by Rangoon's full participation in this cooperation would 
strengthen the Wa and other minority groups against Rangoon's junta and 
revive Chinese assistance to the now-defunct Communist Party of Burma. 
 	Pornphimol said apart from security concerns, Burma also 
worried that the water and road links would make Kengtung a mere transit 
point that facilitates Thailand's and China's commercial gains.  
 	Huang concurred with Pornphimol that Rangoon's security 
concerns will continue to outweigh benefits and will not encourage Burma 
to be fully active in the four-party cooperation. This will continue despite 
the country's dependence on neighbours' cooperation to ease economic  
sanctions spearheaded by Western countries as a punishment for Rangoon  
human rights' abuse.  
 	As for Laos, some panelists also agreed that the constraints it 
faces are more reasons for the cooperation's postponement.  
 	However, Songrit Ponern, researcher of Manager Group's 
Indochina Information Centre said that Laos' reservation has more to do 
with its inability to absorb foreign investment than its politics.  
 	Ironically enough, the establishment of a joint venture company 
between Thailand-based Usa Family Group and the Lao government in 
August  1995 was the first concrete evidence of quadrangular cooperation.  
 	Yet the company's running problems have become an obstacle for 
going  from the passive to active stage. These problems are with the firm's  
management and coordination with its Laotian partner, also the limited  
experience of that market economy. Additional problems for progress stem  
from the company's capital constraint.  
 	The company has a couple of major contracts. The short-term 
project is to improve the route between Chiang Rai via Bokeo and Luang 
Namtha  provinces in Laos to Yunnan's border town of Mong Han. Over 
the medium and long term, it is to develop Laos' northern region into a  
commercial and tourism centre. To finance the projects, it is seeking loans  
from the Asian Development Bank.  
 	But there is a downside to this. According to Sujintana 
Chanatipsakul, a senior official of the company, the contracts exceed the 
capacity one private company can handle.  
 	Offsetting its aggressive push under the Chuan administration, 
panelists detected a slow down in the Thai government's effort to promote 
the quadrangular concept.  
 	Li Xun, a Chinese expert on Thai studies said the present 
government has shifted its priority of national development to Thailand's 
northeast and southern regions, leaving the quadrangular under the care of 
the  bureaucracy.  
 	Yet Li said the country's present economic crisis is a limitation on 
Thailand's financial and investment clout that is vital to the realisation 
of the cooperation.  
 	However, Manager Group's Indochina Information Centre's 
Suphalung Kanchankoodee said the Thai government has purposely 
adopted a more cautious approach toward the cooperation, fearing that the 
opening up of  border areas will aggravate the problems of drug trafficking 
and illegal immigration already facing the country.  
 	Suphalak noted that careful consideration of a proposed upstream  
navigation pact is a case in point. Thailand has asked for more clarity in  
drafting the agreement to reflect a commitment of the parties concerned to  
remove trade barriers including customs and tariffs, and to observe rules to  
minimise environmental damage of the water route.  (TN) 
 
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S.H.A.N : FIAN LAUNCHED INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR 
THE SHAN REFUGEES
May 19, 1997

FIAN ( Food First Information and Action Network ), an international
organisation which promotes for the Human Rights to feed oneself, 
launched an urgent action to respect the right of the Shan refugees to feed 
themselves. The campaign is based on the fact of forced relocation of about 
100,000 Shan peoples by the Burmese military regime.

The report said : Burma's ruling junta is constantly oppressing the national
minorities of Burma in the border areas of Burma. This oppression and 
denial of minority rights has resulted in quasi permanent fighting with 
various resistance groups of these minorities.

One of the strategies of the Burmese army to fight these groups has been to 
cut them off the assistence they could get from the local villages, namely 
food, funds, intelligence and recruits. For this purpose the army has been 
relocating the population of the regions where the resistance group could 
get help. The depopulated areas are declared " fire-free " zones.

In 1996, Burma's ruling SLORC ( State Law and Order Restoration 
Council ) has started another systematic forced relocation program in the 
Central Shan State in the west of Burma. Until now more than 100.000 
persons, from 600 villages have been forcibly evicted. The conditions of 
the village families were forced to live in the relocation sites along the 
roadside are very bad and many of them do not have enough to eat. That is 
why about 20.000 of the forcibly relocated persons tried to escape the 
desperate situation by fleeing across the border to Thailand.

Contrary to its former policies towards Burmese refugees, the government 
of Thailand doesn't acknowledge the Shan refugees who fled Burma in 
1996 and became refugees. Therefore, they cannot stay in refugees camps 
and do not have the right to receive the humanitarian assistance from 
international aid organisations, including food aid. The families are trying 
to feed themselves by working on farms near Chaing Mai or on 
construction sites in the town. The irregular and underpaid work they can 
get as illegal migrants isn't enough to nourish the whole family. Starvation 
and undernourishment are the result and the right to food of the refugees is 
at stake. Some people, especially elders and children are dying because of 
diseases related to undernourishment.

The refusal of the Thai government to allow the setting up of Shan refugee 
camps is a manifestation of the transformed relation of the Thai 
government with the SLORC.

The government of Thailand has, in the past, ensured the right to food of 
the Burmese refugees by approving  the construction and maintainance of 
refugee camps by international aid agencies. However, the government 
now changes this policy because it doesn't want to impede its good business 
and diplomatic ties with SLORC which would provide them with natural 
gas and other economically wanted resources. In order to maintain its good 
relation with SLORC, the Thai government wants to get rid of the refugees 
and thus refuses to recognise them as refugees.

The Thai government is obliged by the Declaration of Human Rights to 
respect the right of the refugees to feed themselves.
*****

Reasons for the urgent action :
An international  letter protest action may urge the government of 
Thailand to review its policy towards the Burmese refugees and allow the 
construction of refugee camps for the Shan refugees.

Recommended action :
Please send faxes or letters to the Government of Thailand, the embassy of
Thailand in your country and the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees. Please express your concern about the violations of the refugees 
right to feed themselves and demand the Thai government to ensure the 
right to food of the Burmese refugees by allowing them to live in the 
refugee camps and to be provided with food by international aid agencies.

! ! !   End of Action : 30.06.1997
     
Participation is easy : send the copy of the letter attached, to the addresses
mentioned below. Please take note that the attached letter are models, 
though these could be used by those without a good command of the 
language - or who don't have time to write a letter. However, if you are in 
the position to write, it will undoubtedly have a bigger impact. We 
encourage you therefore to send personalized letters.

We count on your active participation in FIAN Actions ! ! !


Prime Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Office of the Prime Minister
Government House
Nakhorn Pathom Road
Bangkok 10300
Thailand.


Honourable Prime Minister,

Recently, I received very alarming information about the situation of 
around 20.000 refugees from the Central Shan State of Burma. Forcibly 
evicted by SLORC from their villages they fled across the border to 
Thailand, where they now face hunger and malnutrition.

Being refused the refugee status by the authorities of Thailand they have to
live as illegal migrants. This threatens their right to food as they do not 
live in refugee camps and have no access to the provisions of international
aid-organisations.

As a person working Internationally for the realisation of Economic, Social 
and Cultural Rights, I am deeply concerned about the situation of the 
refugees and especially their right to food, which is enshrined in Art. 25 of 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The current point of the Thai government supports the gross violations of 
human rights perpetrated by the SLORC on the population of Burma.

It is with these concerns in mind that I respectfully ask you to : 
- acknowledge the Burmese refugees as refugees
- allow for the setting up of refugee camps for the Shan refugees who had 
to flee Burma
- stop any direct or inderect support for the gross violations of human 
rights by the Burmese government 

Please inform me about all measures you intend to take to ensure the 
inalienable right of the Burmese refugees to be free of hunger.

Sincerely yours,

*******
Addresses :  

Prime Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Office of the Prime Minister
Government House
Nakhorn Pathom Road
Bangkok 10300
Thailand
Fax :  +66 2 2801443

copies to :  

United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees
Case postale 2500
Ch - 1211 Geneve, N0. 2 Depot
Switzerland

The Embassy of Thailand in your country
-------------------------------
Please inform the International secretariat of FIAN of any response to your
letters.

FIAN International Secretariat
P.O. Box 102243
D- 69012 Heidelberg, Germany
Tel :  ++49 - 6221-830620
Fax : ++49 - 6221-830545
email :
FIAN-IS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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