Burma News Update #49 (r)

[thaung@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

At 10:28 AM 1/26/98, you wrote:
>BURMA NEWS UPDATE
>Burma Project, Open Society Institute
>No. 49; 23 January 1998
>
>-UN Presses Burma Reconciliation
>-Gingrich Calls for "All-Out Embargo"
>-Burma Now "Narco-State"?
>-Refugees Fight Repatriation
>
>UN Presses Burma for Reconciliation
>Assistant United Nations Secretary-General Alvaro De Soto met in Rangoon with
>generals of Burma's ruling junta and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the National
>League for Democracy (NLD), during a three day visit aimed at breaking Burma's
>political deadlock and paving the way for a democratic transition in the
>country. De Soto was sent to Burma as a special envoy of Secretary General Kofi
>Annan, who in December met the chief of Burma's junta, General Than Shwe, in
>Malaysia. The UN is said to be pressing for a tripartite dialogue involving the
>junta, the NLD, and ethnic groups opposed to the current regime. 
>(Rangoon, Reuters, 19 January; Agence France-Presse, 21 January)
>
>Gingrich Calls For "All-Out Embargo"
>United States House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich told an
audience of
>Hollywood "movers and shakers" that "There are good reasons to have sanctions
>against Burma" and that such sanctions should be expanded to an all-out
economic
>embargo. Gingrich had been questioned regarding a trip he had recently taken to
>London that was paid for by the Los Angeles-based ARCO petroleum corporation,
>which is one of the largest American investors in Burma.
>(Beverly Hills, Reuters, 15 January)
>
>Burma Now a "Narco-State"?
>In an article detailing links among top figures in Burma's 
>narcotics trade, the ruling army junta, and the country's economic and
financial
>institutions, Asiaweek warned that Burma may be the first Asian country to earn
>the dubious distinction of a 
>"narco-state." The article stated: "Many of the shadowy figures long associated
>with the drug trade have insinuated themselves into the political and business
>fabric of the nation. Heroin 
>production is close to an all-time high, while narco-profits flood the economy.
>Given the power and connections these 
>people wield, Myanmar seems well on its way to becoming a narco-state - a
>country where officialdom, if not directly involved in trafficking, is
certainly
>providing drug lords tacit sanction."
>(Asiaweek, 23 January)
>
>Burmese Junta Accused Of Inaction On Drugs
>A senior Thai drug control official harshly criticized Burma's army junta for
>not keeping pledges to fight drug trafficking, the Thai language Siam Rath
>newspaper reported. Director of the Northern Region's Narcotics Suppression
>Center, Banphot Piamdi, was quoted as saying that the son of surrendered heroin
>warlord Khun Sa had "received permission from Rangoon to produce narcotics in
>the areas along the Thai-Burmese border" and that massive amounts of
>amphetamines were also being produced in Burma.
>(Bangkok, Siam Rath, 6 January)
>
>Refugees Fight Repatriation
>Refugees from Burma's southwestern Arakan State have forcibly taken control of
>their camp near the southern Bangladesh town of Cox's Bazar to avoid being sent
>back to Burma, according to UN officials quoted in a Dhaka newspaper. There are
>about 21,000 Burmese refugees in camps in Bangladesh, mostly Rohingya Muslims
>who charge persecution by Burma's military junta. The refugees are reportedly
>armed and are supported by Bangladeshi Muslim groups.
>(Dhaka, Agence France-Presse, 21 January)
>
>Junta Media on Suu Kyi
>The Burmese language Kyemon newspaper renewed attacks on democracy leader Daw
>Aung San Suu Kyi, describing her as "the famous, unrivaled democracy princess
>[who] is being advertised as Myanmar's democratic leader and manipulated by
>international imperialist bloc." The article accuses Suu Kyi of aiding
>insurgents and subversion and not understanding human rights. The article
>rejects international calls for greater respect for fundamental freedoms in
>Burma, adding: "[I]t amounts to the hegemony of neocolonialists. Now, would the
>advocates of human rights and a group of deranged fools like to respond to
this?
>To state clearly, the people of Myanmar accept the disciplined democracy
>prescribed by the [army junta] State Peace and Development Council. . . ."
>(Rangoon, Kyemon, 1 January)
>
>***************************************************************************
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>
>BURMA NEWS UPDATE is a publication of the Burma Project of the Open Society 
>Institute.  400 West 59th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019 tel: (212) 548-0632 
>fax: (212) 548-4655 email: burma@xxxxxxxxxxx 
>Website:www.soros.org/burma.html
>
Thanks. It's a useful reference. Please continue the service.
uthaung>