News Related to Burma on Today's Pu

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Subject: News Related to Burma on Today's Publications

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

Saturday  June 7  1997

Burma 
Junta lifts clamp on 300 from League 



AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Rangoon 
The junta has released more than 300 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi who 
were prevented from attending an opposition party congress held last 
week, an aide to the pro-democracy leader announced yesterday.

"I've heard that everybody has been released," said the aide at Ms Aung 
San Suu Kyi's Rangoon residence.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) said on Thursday that although 
supporters had been unable to attend the congress, they had managed to 
approve 21 resolutions through letters, word-of-mouth and group 
discussions.

In an 11-page statement, the NLD called on the military Government to 
release all political prisoners, convene a parliament and initiate talks 
with the political opposition and ethnic minorities.

International human rights watchdog Amnesty International says about 
2,000 people were detained last year in Burma in connection with calls 
for improved human and political rights.

The NLD aide said 316 party members had been confined to their homes or 
detained by authorities around the country in the run-up to the May 
27-28 congress.

Rangoon has denied any detentions occurred, but said local authorities 
had asked NLD members to stay at home.

Malaysia yesterday vigorously defended ASEAN's decision to admit Burma 
into its ranks next month.

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said criticism of the decision and 
"talk of containment of certain Asian countries demonstrated a 
predilection to play to the gallery rather than face the realities of 
the region".



THE HINDU (India)
dated June 7, 1947: World anxiety over division of India 

Date: 07-06-1997 :: Pg: 20 :: Col: a 

Many nations reacted with shocked surprise at the British proposal to 
divide India into two nations. Political leaders of Burma, headed by U 
Aung San, the Deputy Chairman of the Interim Government in Rangoon, 
reminded all Indian parties of the need for a United India in the 
context of Asia's preeminent position in this part of the globe. They 
said India's division boded ill for world peace. The Chinese Premier, 
Mr. Chang Chun, appealed from Peking to the communities of India to 
achieve ``effective cooperation for the Unity of India and its 
preservation as a whole.'' 

U Aung San, giving expression to his country's anxiety, told Reuter's, 
``A divided India augurs ill not only for the Indian people but also for 
all Asia and world peace. I feel extremely sorry that the picture of 
India should be thus to-day and probably tomorrow as well. As India's 
next-door neighbors, we in Burma cannot but feel concerned over this 
portentous settlement - if a settlement this can be called.'' He added, 
``It is obviously an emergency plan improvised for the peculiar 
situation which obtains in India.'' However, Aung San was reluctant to 
discuss India's future on the basis of the plan for transfer of power, 
and said, ``It is a question on which even Indian leaders hold different 
views. Naturally, where Indian leaders themselves fear to tread, it is 
not for an outsider to rush in.'' 

U Tin Tut, Member of the Interim Government in Rangoon and Burma' High 
Commissioner-designate in London, described the proposed partition of 
India as ``unfortunate.'' He said, ``Some sort of partition however 
seemed unavoidable on account of the communal feeling in the country. We 
must hope that it is only a prelude to ultimate reunion when a period of 
close co-operation would lead to better understanding between the great 
communities of India ...The prospect of almost immediate transfer of 
power to the Indian people, however, gives us undiluted pleasure. We 
look forward to seeing our great neighbour, India, rise to sovereign 
status and play her due part as a great Asiatic Power.''




THE STRAIGHT TIMES (Singapore)
JUN 7 1997 
Anwar slams critics of Myanmar entry 

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's Acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar 
Ibrahim, yesterday slammed critics of the move by Asean to admit Myanmar 
for "playing to the gallery". 

He said at the Asia-Pacific Roundtable Conference that they were 
"influenced by the oscillating moods of the moment rather than a 
clear-eyed vision of the future". 

He said: "Criticism of Asean for admitting Myanmar into the grouping, 
together with Cambodia and Laos, and talk of 'containment' of certain 
Asian countries, for example, demonstrates a predilection to playing to 
the gallery rather than facing the realities of the region." 

Asean -- which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, 
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- last weekend decided to admit its 
final three members at its two-day annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur 
starting on July 24. 

The United States and the European Union had lobbied heavily against the 
move, citing Myanmar's poor human-rights record. 

Some 240 policymakers, scholars, journalists and corporate figures from 
24 countries attended the annual discourse organised by Malaysia's 
Institute of Strategic And International Studies. Datuk Anwar said a 
charter drawn up at last year's roundtable stressed the "three pillars 
of our Pacific community" -- peace, prosperity and a "celebration of 
civilisations". 

He said: "There should be a celebration of civilisations where we each 
fortify the values and the ways which make us strong and that makes us 
civilised in our own light while partaking of the values and the ways of 
all our Pacific partners. 

"We in the Pacific must reject and reject most vigorously the thesis 
that civilisations are destined to collide, especially in this part of 
the world." -- Reuter.


JUN 7 1997 
Myanmar turns out to be a non-talking point 

MYANMAR was the biggest non-issue at this week's security meeting in 
Singapore -- despite attempts by Western news agencies to play up the 
issue in their reports on the meeting. 

There were no in-depth discussion of the issue at any of the sessions, 
say CSCAP members. 

In fact, it is learnt the US view, expressed by its representatives at 
the meeting, was that Myanmar was not as big an issue as it was put out 
to be. 

The Americans apparently told the meeting that the issue should not be 
blown out of proportion. 

Mr Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs 
in the Defence Department, took part in the meeting, making a keynote 
speech on US-Asian security policy in "Clinton Two" -- President Bill 
Clinton's second term. 

Also participating were members of the US CSCAP. 

The seven Asean members agreed last weekend that Cambodia, Laos and 
Myanmar would be admitted to the grouping at the July summit in Kuala 
Lumpur. 

This came after the US slapped trade sanctions on Myanmar for continued 
violation of human rights. 

There are fears that the issue could bring the US and Asean on a 
collision course. But it is believed that, contrary to press reports, 
the US would not boycott future Asean meetings, including the Asean 
Regional Forum talks, even if Myanmar attended these events. 

"Asean has already got Myanmar on board. It will cope with the issue," 
said an Asean source.



JUN 7 1997 
East and West must open up, tap each other's strengths: SM 
By Chua Mui Hoong 

THE East and the West have to open up and build on complementary 
strengths in an increasingly convergent world, Senior Minister Lee Kuan 
Yew said yesterday. Countries which isolated themselves ended up in 
decline, he said, citing the example of China which closed itself to the 
West in the late 18th century under Emperor Qian Long and suffered for 
200 years, until the late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping opened 
the country up to the world in 1978. 

Changes to the global economy also meant that corporations or societies 
which tapped only one culture would lose out, he said, urging the East 
and West to build on strengths in each other's economic zones. 

"If either side turns inward to avoid the competition to preserve a 
comfortable present, opportunities will be lost and we shall all be 
poorer." 

But even as the world became more convergent and economies became more 
intermeshed, political and cultural norms would not become uniform, he 
said. Asian countries would reshape their civil societies but retain 
their own balance between individual and community interests. Western 
values and institutions may also change as "the pendulum swings away 
from excesses" of unbridled individual rights and the welfare state, he 
predicted. 

He spelt out this vision of the new economic order during a symposium 
organised by Dutch bank ABN-AMRO on economic complementarity and 
convergence in Asia, America and Europe. The symposium was held in the 
Netherlands, which Mr Lee visited as part of a 15-day private visit to 
Europe. 

He began his speech by tracing the economic rise of East Asia in the 
last 30 years, pointing out that the region's combined foreign reserves 
went up from US$4 billion in 1965, to US$580 billion in 1995 -- more 
than half the world's official foreign reserves. 

But East Asia's rise posed no threat to America and Europe, he stressed. 

While the technological gap between America and Europe on the one hand 
and Asia on the other, would narrow over the next 20 to 50 years, 
America and Europe would remain superior in human resources and 
organisational ability well into the next century. 

America and Europe also had a lead in research and development and 
enjoyed "first-mover advantage" in many industries, with reputable brand 
names and strong capabilities in inventive flair and product 
development. America's dominance in information technology was also 
unchallenged. 

He also argued that it was not trade with East Asia which caused the 
high unemployment and sluggish wage growth of the advanced OECD 
countries. 

These resulted from industries restructuring their operations to meet 
technological advancements, shifting away from lower-skilled 
manufacturing to services and higher-end manufacturing. Trade with East 
Asia "merely accentuated the effects of these structural changes", he 
pointed out. 

Far from being a threat, a resurgent East Asia presented fresh 
opportunities. 

For example, it offered the fastest growing export market for European 
exports and the highest rates of return on investment in the world, said 
Mr Lee, who peppered his speech with examples of American and European 
companies which had done well in Asia. 

There was also tremendous scope for infrastructure investment. 

"The greater intermeshing of economies across the regions will provide 
everyone with a vested interest in participating constructively to build 
upon the existing institutions." 

Urging East and West to open up, he said: "We should draw a lesson from 
the courage of Deng Xiaoping. He discarded a lifetime of communist dogma 
to embrace the global economy. 

"Together, Europe, America, and East Asia can make the next century an 
unprecedented era of peace." 

Full text of Mr Lee's speech will be published in the Perspective 
section of the Straits Times Interactive tomorrow.



Foreign Investment in Burma Rises 

Wednesday, June 4, 1997 9:33 am EDT 


RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Total foreign investment in Burma rose to $6 
billion by April from $5.3 billion in December 1996, the Myanmar 
Investment Commission reported Wednesday. 

The figures were compiled before economic sanctions were imposed by the 
United States against Burma, also known as Myanmar, to punish the 
country's military rulers for repressing the democracy movement led by 
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The commission, Burma's regulatory body for foreign investment, 
announced it had approved $6 billion in foreign investment in 250 
projects as of April 1997. 

Britain was the largest single investor, with some $1.3 billion, 
followed by Singapore at $1.2 billion and Thailand at $1 billion. The 
United States moved from sixth place in December with $243 million to 
fourth in April with $542 million. 

The statistics did not give a breakdown by sector, but the bulk of U.S. 
investment is in a pipeline that U.S. oil giant Unocal is building with 
France's Total to carry natural gas from Burma to Thailand. 

Oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate and the hotel and tourism 
industry account for about 80 percent of the total foreign investment in 
Burma. 

The military government that came to power in 1988, succeeding an 
earlier military regime, has opened the long-isolated Burmese economy to 
foreign investment but keeps a tight lid on political dissent. 
© Copyright 1997 The Associated Press




"THERE WILL BE NO REAL DEMOCRACY IF WE CAN'T GURANTEE THE RIGHTS OF THE 
MINORITY ETHNIC PEOPLE.  ONLY UNDERSTANDING THEIR SUFFERING AND HELPING 
THEM TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS WILL ASSIST PREVENTING FROM THE 
DISINTEGRATION AND THE SESESSION."  "WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THEIR 
STRENGTH, WE CAN'T TOPPLE THE SLORC AND BURMA WILL NEVER BE IN PEACE."



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