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The BurmaNet News, July 16, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, July 16, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 00:12:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: July 16, 1997
Issue #773
Noted in Passing:
...who among us would be willing to fight against an army with 500,000
troops, if the so-called "peace" that is being offered to us could be
considered a genuine one?
--Karen Youth Organization, Canada
(see KYO: Burmanization and Ethnic Conflicts in Burma)
HEADLINES:
==========
MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: TURBULENT YEARS TAKE TOLL
NATION: AUTOMATIC AID FOR ASEAN ENTRANTS RULED OUT
THE NATION: BOOK EXPOSES JUNTA TACTICS
BKK POST: BURMESE BUILDING OBSERVATION TOWER
KYO: BURMANIZATION AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN BURMA
THE IRRAWADDY: WAGING WAR AGAINST THE TYRANTS
BKK POST: CHINA ANTI-DRUG SQUAD IN RANGOON
XINHUA: CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO BURMA LEAVES POST
THE NATION: PITAK TO LEAD CONVOY TO RANGOON
BKK POST: THAI-BURMA BRIDGE IMMIGRATION OFFICES SOON
BKK POST: FOUR HELD FOR ELEPHANTS DEATH
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: CONCERN FOR PRISONERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: TURBULENT YEARS TAKE TOLL
July 13, 1997
Aung San Suu Kyi
TURBULENT YEARS TAKE TOLL ON DEMOCRACY ADVOCATES:
"Transitions II"
Letter from Burma (No. 6) by Aung San Suu Kyi
During periods of transition there are usually a number of victims. The
turbulent years since 1988 have been particularly hard on those who have
been at the forefront of the democratic movement. The latest victim was U
Tin Shwe of Monywa, a member of the Central Committee of the National League
for Democracy (NLD). A lawyer and a writer, his involvement in politics
went back to the days when he was a university student. It was natural that
he should have been one of the vanguards in the founding of a party that
knitted together many different movements aimed at creating a democratic
society in Burma.
U Tin Shwe played a leading role in the election campaign of 1990, although
he decided not to contest as a prospective member of Parliament. The
resounding success of the NLD in those election days owed much to people
like him who worked tirelessly, without thought of personal gain, for a
cause in which they believed strongly.
It was during the disillusioning months that followed the elections that U
Tin Shwe was arrested and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. At the time
of his arrest at the end of 1990, U Tin Shwe was a healthy man entering the
61st year of his life. Conditions in the prisons of Burma are such that
even a robust young man cannot manage to keep his physical health intact
after a couple of years. Despite the food and medicine sent in by his
family to supplement the atrocious prison diet, for a man of U Tin Shwe's
age, six years of the prison regime was more than enough to bring on life
threatening diseases.
By April 1997 U Tin Shwe was suffering from a heart condition which was so
serious his family asked that he should be allowed to receive treatment in
the Rangoon General Hospital. The authorities did not accede to this
request. The chairman of the NLD then wrote to the chairman of the State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to urge that U Tin Shwe be allowed
proper medical treatment and to point out that should anything untoward
befall U Tin Shwe, the authorities would have to be held responsible. That
the SLORC sent no reply to this letter was hardly a surprise. Neither was
it altogether a surprise when U Tin Shwe died on June 6, 1997, of a heart
attack in his cell at Insein Jail.
U Tin Shwe's death is a great loss to those who wish to see Burma progress
towards intellectual and political freedom. This loss is part of the price
that we have to pay in making the painful transition from an authoritarian
to a liberal society. Some might question whether there is any evidence
that we are making such a transition at all. Where are the signs to
indicate that there is a loosening of the iron grip of military rule?
It is indeed difficult to find any tangible evidence of a liberal trend on
the part of the authorities. However, there has been wrought in the minds
of the vast majority of the people of Burma an unshakable conviction that
change is absolutely necessary if we are to achieve progress and stability.
That mental transition is the most important one of all. It is the
beginning of new era of perception which opens the doors to parts of
practical institutional changes towards a new society.
This perception is based to a large extent on an awareness that a dangerous
elitism has emerged in Burma over the last nine years. Ours has
traditionally been a casteless society without any insuperable barriers
between different classes. The gap between the haves and have-nots was
never one beyond the conquest of energetic, enterprising individuals.
However in recent years, there has been an enormous widening of the space
that divides the privileged few from the rest of the population. People
have learned that without the right connections it is well nigh impossible
to profit from the economic opportunities that became available since the
collapse of the Burma Socialist Programme Party Government.
Of course a mental transition that recognizes the need for change is not
enough by itself. Practical steps have to taken to transform the political
and economic climate in our country. Then we shall see the real transition
from repression to freedom, from fear to security.
**********************************************
THE NATION: AUTOMATIC AID FOR NEW ENTRANTS TO ASEAN
RULED OUT
July 15, 1997
ASEAN'S new members will not automatically receive assistance or
benefits from the grouping's current development programmes funded by
non-member countries, the director general of the Department of Asean
Affairs said yesterday.
Anucha Osathanond said it was understood that the new members would
participate and benefit in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's
development programmes on a case-by-case basis.
Laos and Burma will be admitted as Asean members at next week's annual
meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur. He said some of
Asean's 10 dialogue partners who finance Asean projects have reservations
about granting benefits to the two countries.
Canada conveyed its hesitation during the 11th Asean-Canada Joint
Cooperation Committee meeting on May 6 and May 7 in Montreal.
Anucha said the 30th Asean Ministerial Meeting has particular
significance because Burma and Laos would be admitted to the grouping
and preparations made for the 30th Anniversary Commemorative Summit
to be held in August.
The ceremony to admit Laos and Burma will take place on July 23 and will
be followed by the ministerial meeting from July 24 to the 25.
"With nine countries in the group, the Asean population will be well over
500 million," he said.
Anucha said both countries would assume full membership and attend the
ministerial meeting, the Asean Regional Forum on July 27, and meetings
with dialogue partners on July 28 and 29.
However, it would be another six years before they assume the roles of
Asean coordinators with dialogue partners.
Anucha said Cambodia would not attend the preparatory meetings on July
21 and 22. However, he said whether Cambodia would attend the opening
session of the ministerial meeting on July 24 and the Asean Regional
Forum as an observer was up to Malaysia, as host of the event.
Asean was forced to rethink on Cambodia's admission when Cambodian
Second Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his coalition partner Prince
Norodom Ranariddh.
All preparations for Asean's 30th anniversary were conducted with the
presumption that all 10 Southeast Asian nations would become full
members on the grouping's anniversary.
******************************************
THE NATION: BOOK EXPOSES JUNTA TACTICS
July 15, 1997
EXILED Burmese students will today launch the book "Letters to a
Dictator?, an important account of recent political events in Burma which
sheds light on the brutal tactics used by the ruling junta against democratic
activists.
The book is a collection of 33 official letters written between Dec. 1,1996,
and March 4,1997, and sent by U Aung Shwe, chairman of the National
League for Democracy (NLD) to State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) leader Gen. Than Shwe.
The letters, written in Burmese, were distributed as an internal NLD
document with a brief introduction by NLD general secretary Aung San
Suu Kyi. The document was smuggled across the border into Thailand at
great risk to the carrier.
The All Burma Students' Democracy Front (ABSDF) translated the
document and its translation will be published as "Letters to a Dictator".
The launching of the book at 11 am at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Thailand is timed to coincide with Burma's admission into the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), scheduled for July 23. The NLD,
exiled pro-democracy activists and armed ethnic guerrillas have failed to
persuade Asean countries to delay Burma's membership.
*********************************************
BKK POST: BURMESE BUILDING OBSERVATION TOWER
July 15, 1997
In disputed area
Burma is constructing a building in a disputed area in Tambon Tha Sai
Luad of Mae Sot, according to a border official.
Four or five Burmese workers have for the past week been working on a
two-storey observation tower on a plot near Wat Prathat Khok Chang Puek,
on orders from Myawaddy authorities.
The move goes against an agreement made by the Thai and Burmese
authorities in Rangoon to ease the dispute over Burma's dredging of the
Moei River opposite Mae Sot to change the river course to the original
position, the source said.
According to the source, Burmese workmen started to move construction
materials to the area a fortnight ago, while Burmese troops have been sent
to guard the area at night.
The deputy chairman of the local Thai-Burmese Border Committee, Col.
Chainarong Thanaroon, submitted an aide-memoire to Burmese authorities
last week seeking the suspension of construction work, but there has been
no response.
A Thai villager said Burma believes Thailand would not dare protest the
move or send security forces for fear that Rangoon would suspend the
opening of the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge.
A Burmese source said he thought Burma could not open the Mae Sot-
Myawaddy checkpoint as agreed because the Burmese authorities were not
ready.
In May Burma sent troops and heavy equipment to a large plot near Wat
Prathat Khok Chang Puek to dredge the Moei River, and this led to a
military confrontation with Thailand.
At a meeting in Rangoon on June 30-July 2, representatives of the two
countries agreed to a plan to demarcate the border by dividing the troubled
areas into nine sectors.
********************************************
KYO: BURMANIZATION AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN BURMA
July 13, 1997
K A R E N Y O U T H O R G A N I Z A T I O N - C A N A D A
Since Burma is a multi-ethnic country, it has major ethnic nationalities
which have their own languages, cultures and traditions that can distinguish
them from one another. But instead of recognizing the country's diverse
ethnic reality and political sensitivity of various ethnic problems,
successive Burmese governments have tried to eliminate ethnic movements
mainly by means of military offensive. In fact, various methods of
Burmanization have been employed by the governments in an attempt to
transform the country into a homogeneous state.
Since independence, not only have the concerns of ethnic nationalities
never been addressed, but political, cultural and educational rights of
ethnic people have been systematically denied. It is true that Karens
achieved high positions in government a few years after independence (e.g.
Mahn Win Maung, the second president of Burma). But since General Ne Win
took power in 1962 through a military coup, the country had been ruled by a
centralized political system instituted by his Burma Socialist Programme
Party (BSPP). Unfortunately, Burma has since been completely classified as
an ethnocentric state in which the ruling government functions as the agency
of the dominant ethnic community in terms of its ideologies, policies and
resources distribution. Top leadership positions in civil services, armed
forces and the state administration were predominantly and
disproportionately taken by majority Burmans. After the 1947 constitution
was dissolved, in 1974, the
BSPP adopted a new constitution in which no specification was stated
regarding ethnic representation in its government. Instead of leaders duly
elected by their people, only a few ethnic leaders were selected by the
Burman leadership to symbolize ethnic representation in the BSPP government.
Hence, those handful of selected ethnic leaders most of the time acted only
at the desire of the central government rather than as a representative of
their own ethnic communities.
Until now in Burma, except for annual folk dance and costume parades on
traditional holidays recognized by the government, ethnic cultural life has
been tightened. In the so-called "Union" of Burma, only the Burmese
language is recognized as the medium of education; none of the ethnic
languages is allowed to be taught in schools. When Burmese became the only
official language used for every level of administration, ethnic languages
were banished to one's home and could not be used other than for local
purposes. Consequently, ethnic nationality schoolchildren have grown up
without speaking their own languages or knowing their own cultures, and in
this way social and culture domination by the Burman majority has
effectively taken place. After all, the "Union" that SLORC claims means
little or nothing to ethnic nationalities in the truest sense of the word.
According to SLORC, at least fifteen ethnic armed groups have entered into
cease-fire agreements with them and the only organization that is left is
the Karen National Union (KNU). In fact, SLORC thinks that those cease-fire
agreements will legitimize its holding onto power. However, beneath the
surface of cease-fire agreements between SLORC and fifteen different ethnic
nationalities lie a deeper reality of human right abuses and of ethnic
annihilation campaign in Burma today. We urge the international community
to think about this: who among us would be willing to fight against an army
with 500,000 troops, if the so-called "peace" that is being offered to us
could be considered a genuine one? When the SLORC launched massive
offensives against KNU this year, villages were burnt, many young women were
raped and many Karen villagers including children, women and elders were
arbitrarily tortured and killed by the SLORC soldiers. As a result,
hundreds and thousands of Karen villagers have fled their villages to the
Thai-Burmese border where they hope to find a temporary safe place. While
they are afraid of SLORC brutality, those refugees choose to stay in the
border refugee camps with a possibility of being forced to return by the
Thai authorities. The question is who knows the SLORC's mentality and
brutish character better than
these refugees do? More than a hundred thousand Karen refugees remained
suspicious of SLORC and are afraid to return to Burma. Politically naive as
they may be, their painful experience have taught them enough lessons. How
can someone whose village was burnt, whose father was brutally murdered and
whose sister was raped by the SLORC soldiers easily learn to "trust?" And,
how can the Karen leadership ignore the plight of these refugees when they
talk with the SLORC? If these people, the refugees, cannot have peace, who
will? In one case, a young Karen soldier agonizingly asked: who could solve
the painful dilemma of a young Karen girl who was allowed by SLORC soldiers
to choose whether she be raped passively and live or be killed instantly at
gun point? The SLORC must bare the responsibility of answering all these
questions.
Some, who are eager to see peace in Burma, remain untouched by the
realities going on in the remote jungle where hundreds of thousand of Karen
people live. Some fall into the trap of SLORC's media propaganda, and many
of us from the outside world take so much for granted of what is really
going on. Actually, peace is not merely the absence of battles; it is
something that must be achieved by the people of Burma regardless of their
ethnic backgrounds and creeds. SLORC seems to be winning the battles, but
not the peace. Unfortunately, peace is unforeseeable in the near future.
As long as the military regime is in power, genuine peace is very unlikely.
And, as long as the ethnic annihilation campaign continues, the spirit of
revolution will remain strong in the minds of millions of Karen people.
*****************************************************
THE IRRAWADDY: WAGING WAR AGAINST THE TYRANTS
Vol. 5, No. 3, June 30, 1997
Editorial
In 1938 Aung Gyaw became Bo Aung Gyaw when he was beaten to death by
colonial police in Rangoon.('Bo' in Burmese means lieutenant or leader of a
group). He was protesting British rule and became Burma's first student martyr.
Burma's tradition of student activism dates back to 1920 when they became
involved in the nationalist movement. From the ranks of these students came
many of the prominent nationalist leaders, including U Nu, Aung San, Ba Swe,
and Kyaw Nyein.
However, the 2 March 1962 military coup staged by Gen Ne Win brought drastic
changes to the focus of student activism. Since then, there have been
thousands of Bo Aung Gyaws in Burma.
The day after the power seizure, protests broke out on the Rangoon
university campus. The Rangoon University Students' Union and the All Burma
Students Union issued a statement condemning the coup. In response, Ne Win's
newly established Revolutionary Council issued a series of regulations
restricting student freedoms.
On 7 July 1962, students staged a protest condemning the regulations. Former
student, Tint Zaw later recounted in an article, "the military intelligence
officers entered the compound and arrested a number of student leaders
including Ba Swe Lay, the chairman of the RUSU. Other students rushed to the
scene and a fight broke out inside the campus. Police used tear gas and
batons while students used stones, bottles and anything that could be thrown
at the police. The police abruptly withdrew and the fighting stopped.
Students closed their main gate and dispersed. But within minutes many
soldiers came on two trucks and took up position. Students went back to the
scene and confronted the troops."
Subsequently, Lt-Col Sein Lwin, field commander of the No. 4 Burmese Rifles
Battalion waved his hand above his head and the shooting began. Hundreds of
students fell down while others ran for their lives."
The next day Ne Win declared that 17 students had died, but at Mandalay Hall
alone, more than 17 students were killed. The actual death toll was more
than a hundred students.
Ko Kyaw Win, a student from Myaung-may in the Irrawaddy delta, wrote on a
wall of the Union Building with blood from his body: "7-7-62, do not forget it".
The atrocities did not stop. At dawn on July 8, the Union Building was blown
up. Tint Zaw said, "A number of injured students including Ko Kyaw Win were
never heard from again."
The union building has played a prominent role in the history of Burmese
independence. A home for the students, it was a place where meetings were
held against British rule, and it was also a hideout for student leaders.
Ne Win justified the building's destruction by arguing that it had been used
by communists and it was also a refuge for student leaders. Ne Win said, "If
it was done purposely to oppose us, I have nothing to say except that we
will fight them with sword against sword, and spear against a spear. That is
the solution."
The university compound was quiet as its union was declared an underground
organisation in 1964 by the authorities. But between 1964 to 1988 students
engaged in dozens of uprisings at Rangoon University and other schools and
colleges.
Each time the government closed the schools, sent students home, forced
their parents to guarantee their behaviour, and arrested the leaders.
Again, in 1988, students led the nationwide democracy uprising that took
place exactly 50 years after Burma's 1938 or '1300 movement' against the
British.
Before he resigned as party chairman and president in July 1988, Ne Win
denied any involvement in the destruction of the union building. Dr. Maung
Maung, was the Burma Socialist Programme Party's last president, and he
promised to rebuild the student union. But the current regime has never
honoured that promise.
Rather, the junta has stepped up its campaign to discredit the student
movement. Arrests, torture, severe surveillance and killings continue ?
pro-democracy students are still treated as criminals.
At present, Min Ko Naing (Conqueror of Kings), and the prominent student
leader in 1988, is still being detained and severely tortured in jail.
In Insein prison alone there are over 100 students being detained. "Some of
whom were arrested either in 1988 or 1989. They have spent their youth life
in jails."
In December, more students were apprehended after staging a peaceful sit-in
in Rangoon. But according to Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, they were no more than
"destructive elements." Ironically, the only "crime" they committed was
asking for freedom, a democratic Burma and a resurgence of their students'
union.
But sadly, in the police state, the schools are often shut down and since
1988 more students have spent their time in homes or prisons than in their
classrooms.
But as the oppression in Burma continues the students who have been playing
a major role in national politics for decades will not ignore the fact that
so long as a dictatorial government is in power they will have little chance
to return to the classrooms.
A few years ago, student leader Min Ko Naing sent a message to his
colleagues in and outside of Burma: "Don't give up."
******************************************************
BKK POST: CHINA ANTI-DRUG SQUAD IN RANGOON
July 14, 1997
AFP
Rangoon - A six-member Chinese anti-narcotics delegation has arrived
here for talks with their Burmese counterparts on drugs control, the official
press reported yesterday.
Headed by Bai Jingfu, vice-minister of public security, the Chinese
delegation arrived on Saturday and will hold one day of talks on today on
enhancing bilateral cooperation on narcotics control, an official source
said. (BP)
************************************
XINHUA: CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO BURMA LEAVES POST FOR
HOME
July 9, 1997
Rangoon, July 9 (XINHUA) -- Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar [Burma]
Chen Baoliu left here today for home after completing her term of office in
the country. Among those seeing off the Chinese Ambassador at the Rangoon
International Airport were Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy Yu
Tiegen, officials of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry and foreign diplomats in
Myanmar. Chen Baoliu took up her post as Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar in
September 1994.
***********************************************
THE NATION: PITAK TO LEAD CONVOY TO RANGOON
July 12, 1997
DEPUTY Foreign Minister Pitak Indravitayanan will lead a motorcade
from Mae Sot district to Rangoon on Aug 15, right after the official
opening of the Thai-Burmese friendship bridge across the Moei River.
In Rangoon on Aug 16, Pitak and his Burmese counterpart U Nyunt Shwe
will co-chair a Joint Boundary Committee meeting to discuss several
pending bilateral problems and territorial disputes, including the
demarcation of the 2,400 kilometre border.
The motorcade, with 30 to 40 people, will be part of a survey of the
highway between the Burmese border gateway of Myawaddy and Rangoon.
Thailand has shown strong interest in helping Burma improve or
reconstruct the road which is part of the Asian Highway linking Europe
and Asia.
Apart from Thai officials, others participating in the journey will be a
small group of Thai journalists and some businessmen and investors who
are interested in the road reconstruction project and who are keen to probe
Burma?s economic potential.
Pitak yesterday signed into creation a Thai committee that will oversee the
management and usage of the Moei River bridge linking Mae Sot and
Myawaddy. The committee is headed by Tak Governor Pongpayom
Wassaput.
Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan said yesterday that a meeting in
Rangoon between June 30 and July 2 with Somboon Sa-ngiembutr, director
general of the Treaty and Legal Affairs Department, and his Burmese
counterpart U Aye, Lwin produced "very positive" results.
The two senior officials have held several rounds of talks to try to settle
a number of territorial disputes, particularly the latest ownership dispute
over Khok Chang Pheuk islet in the Moei River near Mae Sot.
Prachuab said that any unresolved matters from the talks between
Somboon and Aye Lwin will be raised at the Joint Boundary Committee
meeting on Aug. 16.
He said that Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will chair the official
opening of the bridge. He added that Thailand is awaiting official
confirmation that Burmese junta leader Gen. Than Shwe will co-chair the
inauguration ceremony.(TN)
****************************************************
BKK POST: THAI-BURMA BRIDGE TO GET IMMIGRATION
OFFICES SOON
July 14, 1997
Supamart Kasem, Tak
Immigration and customs offices will open near the Thai-Burmese
Friendship Bridge on August 15 to deal with cross-border transport and
trade.
Governor Pongphayome Wanaphuti said provincial authorities wanted to
build a U-shaped office at the foot of the bridge which links Mae Sot
district and Myawaddy in Burma.
The decision was approved at a meeting on Friday involving provincial
officials, Tak MP Chaiwuth Banthawat, the Highways and Customs
departments and the Immigration Division.
Construction work will start once the Foreign Affairs Ministry approves
the project, which will cost no more than 20 million baht.
Requests to use the bridge before the official opening ceremony will be
dealt with on a case-by-case basis, said the governor.
About 100 people are due to take part in a car rally running from Mae Sot
district to Rangoon and Moulmein in Burma to promote tourism, added Mr.
Pongphayome.(BP)
*******************************************************
BKK POST: FOUR HELD FOR ELEPHANTS DEATH
July 11, 1997
Reuters
RANGOON - Four Burmese have been arrested and punished by the
military authorities for overworking a state-owned elephant in illegal
logging activities until it died of exhaustion, official newspapers reported
yesterday.
An illegal logger, a mahout leader and two mahouts were held for their
involvement in the death of the elephant, belonging to state firm Myanma
Timber Enterprise, that they used to pull illegal logs in the north-western
Kalon Forest Reserve.
"One of the two elephants they used to pull the logs died of exhaustion
while pulling logs on May 11," one of the newspapers said without detailing
their punishment.
************************************
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
[excerpts only]
July 3, 1997
MINISTER FOR COOPERATIVES RECEIVES CHAIRMAN, PARTY
OF OISCA INTERNATIONAL
YANGON, 2 July-Minister for Cooperatives U Than Aung received
Chairman Dr Yoshiko Y Nakano and party of Organization for
Industrial Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) International
of Japan at his office 3 p.m. today.
MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT RECEIVES M D OF C & C CO LTD
YANGON, 2 July - Minister for Transport Lt-Gen Thein Win received
Managing-Director Mr. Yasuo Tanaka of C & C Co Ltd at his office on
Merchant Street at p.m. today.
CANNED TODDY FRUIT EXPORTED
YANGON, 2 July- The Export Division of Myanma Agriculture
Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, exported over 15 tons
(1,135 cartons) of canned toddy fruit by mv Bago to Malaysia.
MINISTER INSPECTS SPORTS FACILITIES IN KAYIN STATE
YANGON, 2 July-Minister for Sports Brig-Gen. Sein Win,
attended a ceremony to hand over applications for the
USDA membership in Thaungyin Hall in Myawady. He accepted 459
applications of wards and villages.
In the evening, he attended a ceremony to hand over applications for
the USDA membership at Basic Education High School in Kyondoe
Village-tract in the township and accepted 500 applications of 14
village-tracts in the township.
July 4, 1997
SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE SENDS FELICITATIONS TO
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
YANGON, 4 JULY-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 the Honourable William Jefferson Clinton,
President of the United States of America, on the occasion of the
Independence Day of the United States of America which falls on 4 July
1997.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF NUTRI
PHARMACEUTICALS INC
YANGON 3 July - Member of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Deputy Prime Minister Lt-Gen Tin Tun received President of
Nutri Pharmaceuticals Inc of United States of American Dr David T W
Yew and member and Victor Seah at his office this afternoon.
SECRETARY-1'S SPEECH CLARIFIED AT MINISTRY OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
YANGON, 3 July - Minister for Science and Technology U Thaung
recounted the clarification of the Secretary-l of the State Law and
Order Restoration Council on how some Western powers had been
aiding and abetting terrorism committed by certain organizations
operating under the guise of democracy and human rights by giving
them assistance in cash and kind at Myanma Science and Technology
Research Department this afternoon.
Present were directors-general, rectors and officials under the
ministry and service personnel of Minister's Office and MSTRD.
MINISTER FOR COOPERATIVES MD, PARTY OF GAMA
ALUMINIUM LTD
YANGON, 3 JULY -Minister for Cooperatives U Than Aung received
Managing Director Mr. Plada Zvi and party of Gama Aluminium Ltd of
Israel, accompanied by Ambassador of Ismel Mr. Gad Nathan, at his
office on Bogyoke Aung San Street at 2.30 p.m. today.
July 5, 1997
SECRETARY 2 EXPLAINS PREVAILING POLITICAL SITUATION,
ACTIVITIES OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DESTRUCTIVE
ELEMENTS
YANGON, 4 July - Secretary-2 of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Chief of Bureau of Special Operations Chief of Staff (Army)
Lt-Gen Tin Oo met officers and other ranks of the Tatmadaw (Army,
Navy, Air) of the Ministry of Defence and elaborated on the political
situation prevailing in the country, what should be known about
activities of internal external the destructive elements and the
salient points which Tatmadawmen must observe, at the Ministry of
Defence this morning. Present also were Chief of Staff (Navy)
Commodore Nyunt Thein, Chief of Staff (Air) Brig-Gen Kyaw Than,
Vice-Adjutant-General BrigGen Than Tun, Vice-Quartermaster-
General Bng-Gen Thein Tun and directors of the Ministry of Defence.
MINISTER FOR PBANRDA RECOUNTS SECRETARY-1'S
CLARIFICATION
YANGON, 4 July Minister for Progress of Border Areas and National
Races and Development Affairs Lt-Gen Maung Thint this morning
recounted the clarification of the Secretary-1 of the State Law and
Order Restoration Council on how Western powers had been aiding and
abetting terrorism committed by certain organizations operating in
the guise of democracy' and human rights by giving them assistance in
cash and kind.
Deputy Minister U Kyaw Tin, officials of departments under the
ministry and personnel of the Minister's Office, Department for
Development of Border Areas and National Races and Development
Affairs Department, numbering 320, attended ceremony at the
Government Office meeting hall in the Office of Ministers.
SECRETARY 1'S CLARIFICATION RECOUNTED TO SWD
PERSONNEL
YANGON, 4 July -Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement
Maj-Gen Soe Myint this afternoon addressed a ceremony to recount the
clarification of the Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order
Restoration
Council on how Western powers had been aiding and abetting terrorism
committed by certain organizations operating in the guise of
democracy and human rights by giving them assistance in cash and
kind.
Deputy Minister BrigGen Maung Kyi recounted the clarification to the
officials and personnel of Social Welfare Department at a head office
on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road.
MINISTER INSPECTS GANTRY CRANES IMPORTED FROM PRC
YANGON 4 July - Minister for Transport Lt-Gen Thein Win inspected
three gantry cranes imported from the People's Republic of China at
Thilawa Port today.
The cranes will be used for the container wharf project, Myanmar
International Terminal, Thilawa, being undertaken by C & P
(Myanmar) Pte Ltd of Singapore.
U S PROFESSOR CALLS ON MINISTER FOR H & T
YANGON, 4 July - Professor Karl Lian of International Hospitality and
Tourism Institute, USA, paid a courtesy call on Member of the State
Law and Order Restoration Council Minister for Hotels and Tourism
Lt-Gen Kwaw Ba at his this morning.
Director-General U Khin Maung Latt of the Directorate of Hotels and
Tourism and other officials were also
MINISTER FOR F&R RECEIVES ISRAEL AMBASSADOR
YANGON, 4 JULY -Minister for Finance ,and Revenue Brig-Gen Win
Tin received Ambassador of Israel Mr Gad Nathan at his office today.
Governor of the Central , Bank of Myanmar U Kyi Aye was also were
present.
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: CONCERN FOR PRISONERS
July 11, 1997
EXTERNAL AI Index:
11 July 1997
Further information on UA 187/97 (ASA 16/19/97, 24 June 1997) - Fear for
safety / Fear of ill-treatment
MYANMAR Khin Maung Win alias Ko Sunny
Cho Aung Than
Daw Khin Ma Than (f)
U Shwe Myint Aung
U Ohn Myint
and new names: U Myo Aung Thant, trade unionist
U Khin Kyaw, trade unionist
and their family members
Amnesty International has obtained the names of two other political
activists recently arrested in Myanmar. U Myo Aung Thant and U Khin Kyaw
are believed to still be in custody, as are the five other people named
above. All seven detainees are feared to remain at risk of torture and
ill-treatment during interrogation by the authorities.
U Myo Aung Thant and U Khin Kyaw are Executive Committee members of the
Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB). Myo Aung Thant was arrested on 13
June on his return to Myanmar from Thailand at Mingaladon Airport, Yangon
(Rangoon), the capital. His wife and children were also reportedly arrested
at the same time but it is not known if they are still held. U Khin Kyaw
and his wife were arrested later that day at their home in Yangon. The
whereabouts of U Myo Aung Thant, U Khin Kyaw and their families are not
known. However Amnesty International has received reliable information that
the two men are still in custody and will soon be charged.
Khin Maung Win alias Ko Sunny, Cho Aung Than, Daw Khin Ma Than, U Shwe Myint
Aung and U Ohn Myint are still detained and are expected to be charged
shortly. The names of all seven detainees appeared in a 27 June 1997 press
conference by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC, Myanmar's
military authorities).
The FTUB is not legally recognized in Myanmar, as independent trade union
activity there is completely prohibited under the military government. It
was formed in 1991 by trade union members who were dismissed from their jobs
and harassed by the SLORC for their trade union activities.
The Government of Myanmar is a party to the International Labour
Organisation (ILO, the UN specialized agency dealing with labour issues)
Convention No 87 on freedom of association and the right to collective
bargaining. Over the past several years the ILO has been concerned with the
SLORC's non-compliance with Convention No 87 and at the June 1997
Conference, Myanmar's failure to implement this convention was identified
as a situation of particular gravity.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/ express/airmail
letters in English or in your own language:
- calling on the authorities to immediately make known the whereabouts of
the seven detainees and the reasons for their detention;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that all seven are allowed access to
their lawyers, doctors and family members;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that while detained all seven are
safeguarded from any form of ill-treatment and are held in accordance with
international minimum standards.
APPEALS TO:
Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman
State Law and Order Restoration Council
c/o Director of Defence Services Intelligence (DDSI)
Ministry of Defence, Signal Pagoda Road
Dagon Post Office
Yangon
Union of Myanmar
Telegrams: General Than Shwe, Yangon, Myanmar
Telexes: 21316
Salutation: Dear General
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1
State Law and Order Restoration Council
c/o Director of Defence Services Intelligence (DDSI)
Ministry of Defence, Signal Pagoda Road
Dagon Post Office
Yangon
Union of Myanmar
Telegrams: Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Yangon, Myanmar
Telexes: 21316
Salutation: Dear Lieutenant General
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Myanmar accredited to your
country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 25 August 1997.
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