The BurmaNet News - 27 February, 19

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
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The BurmaNet News, 27 February, 1998
Issue #945

HEADLINES:
==========
BKK POST: HUNDREDS STARVING AFTER FLEEING BURMA
REUTERS: EXILED STUDENTS TELL MYANMAR TO OPEN
AP: U.S. WAIVES SANCTIONS VS. COLOMBIA
AFP: CRACKDOWN ON PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS CONTINUES
BKK POST: RIVAL FIRMS BATTLED FOR MONOPOLY
THE NATION: SALWEEN SALVO LEADS TO LETTER OF CONCERN
THE NATION: COMPROMISE SOUGHT ON KEY BORDER ISSUES

Economics and Trade
ASAHI EVENING NEWS: JAPAN TO RESUME ODA LOANS TO
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0329 (I)
THE NIKKEI WEEKLY: MYANMAR LIQUIDATING VENTURES TO
XINHUA NEWS: MYANMAR, SINGAPORE JOINTLY TRAIN
THE NATION: JEWELLERY BODY SEEKS BETTER BURMA TRADE

Human Rights
TACDB PRESS RELEASE: NO MORE BURMESE BLOOD ON THAI
LETTER FROM DETAINED STUDENTS HUNGER STRIKING IN SDC
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON BURMA

ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA.NET PUBLIC CHAT SESSION
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BKK POST: HUNDREDS STARVING AFTER FLEEING BURMA
26 February, 1998
by Subin Khuenkaew

NO HELP COMING FROM GOVT PRIVATE BODIES

MAE HONG SON -- Hundreds of ethnic minority people who recently 
escaped from fighting in Burma into Thailand are now starving with 
many children suffering from diarrhoea and malaria.

The human train of suffering surged over the border on Monday and
took refuge near Pang Yon, a village in  Tambon Na Poo Pong,
Pang Ma Pha district, after fighting erupted between Burmese
troops and Shan rebels near the border, said a Thai border
official.

Most refugees are facing food and water shortages, said the
official who added many of the children are suffering from acute
diarrhoea and malaria which have spread through their temporary
shelter.

So far there has been no help from government or private
organisations, the official said.

"The refugees are waiting for help from state and private
organisations. They lack food and water. Many children have
fallen ill." 

Meanwhile, border sources said about 100 Burmese soldiers from
the 525th  Battalion on Monday entered Thailand at Thong Na
village in Tambon Na Poo Pom, about two kilometres from the
common border.

The group reportedly sought permission from the village headman
to pass through to a Burmese village, but the request was-turned
down. 

The group retreated into Burma after learning a Thai border
patrol unit was heading towards the border village, said the
sources.

A Shan State Army source said yesterday about 180 of its
guerrillas had  launched attacks on Burmese soldiers at a
checkpoint near Ho Mong town  on February 11, killing two and
seriously wounding five others.

The guerrillas wanted to seize some government-controlled areas
in Ho Mong so they could retrieve firearms hidden in the town,
the source said.

'The rebels reportedly hid a large quantity of war weapons in Ho
Mong before their former leaders Khun Sa, surrendered to the
Burmese junta two years ago.

The surrender was reportedly made under a deal that Khun Sa had
to end his armed resistance to the government and give up drug
trafficking. 

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

REUTERS: EXILED STUDENTS TELL MYANMAR TO OPEN UNIVERSITIES
26 February, 1998

BANGKOK -- The exiled All Burma Federation of Students' Union
(ABFSU) on Thursday challenged the Myanmar (Burma) military junta to 
reopen universities shut in December 1996 after widespread anti-government 
street protests by undergraduates. 

The group made the call after official Myanmar media reported that the
powerful Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, had said the government was 
arranging the reopening of closed colleges. 

The official did not give a timeframe for the reopening in media reports 
on Wednesday. 

About 30 universities and colleges were shut by the government to prevent 
the student unrest from growing into civil unrest in December 1996. 

The ABFSU said in a statement that it wanted the SPDC to also give students 
the right to openly form a committee for the protection of students' rights. 

"We are demanding the immediate reopening of universities and schools," 
Aung Moe Zaw, an executive member of the ABFSU now living just across 
the border in Thailand, told Reuters. 

ABFSU said it was sceptical about Khin Nyunt's remarks, but still demanded 
that the SPDC allow about 150 expelled students to rejoin universities and 
to release over 1,000 student activists detained by the junta since 1988, 
when the military seized power. 

"ABFSU doesn't believe that the rights and needs of the students will be 
met when the universities are reopened, so we make the following demands 
in order to avoid re-closure of universities," it said. 

The group also demanded the unconditional release of student prisoners,
including ABFSU chaiman Min Ko Naing, who has been detained since 1988.

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

AP: U.S. WAIVES SANCTIONS VS. COLOMBIA
26 February, 1998 [abridged]
by George Gedda

WASHINGTON -- Citing gains in Colombia's war on drugs, Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright said today the administration has decided to waive 
two-year old sanctions against that country. 

The government officials spoke hours before public release of formal
administration evaluations of the anti-narcotics performances of 
30 foreign countries. 

Most of the 30 were expected to be 'certified' as fully cooperating with
U.S. anti-narcotics efforts. The officials, asking not to be identified, 
said the administration has decided, as expected, to recertify Mexico, 
ignoring the objections of many in Congress. 

Colombia has been lumped together with Afghanistan, Burma, Nigeria and 
Iran on the list of decertified countries ineligible for most U.S. 
assistance. Two other countries - Belize and Pakistan - also have been 
decertified but have been spared sanctions for national security reasons. 

Other countries subject to the certification process were Aruba, the
Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, 
Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam. 

Syria and Lebanon were decertified last year but are no longer considered 
drug problem countries because of successful opium poppy eradication
programs. 

The certification process, first required by Congress in 1986, enrages many
countries, where it is seen as counterproductive. These nations say the 
root cause of the drug problem is insatiable U.S. demand, not lax enforcement
by source countries. 

But Clinton administration officials say the threat of public humiliation the
certification process entails has energized anti-narcotics activities in a
number of countries. 

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

AFP: CRACKDOWN ON PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS CONTINUES
15 February, 1998  
by Marc Lavine 
 
YANGON -- A much-vaunted shake-up in Myanmar's military junta last year 
heralded a major shift in the regime's focus, but its crackdown on 
pro-democracy groups shows no signs of easing, analysts say. 
 
November's dissolution of the State Law and Order Restoration Council 
(SLORC) was a key move which concentrated political power, purged top-level
corruption and launched a new drive to tackle the country's economic woes. 
 
The nine-year-old SLORC was replaced with a more streamlined and younger 
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which has set out economic 
development as its primary task, officials said. 
 
"We are now in the second stage of the government's plan for the country," 
a senior government official said. "But we'll still maintain stability and 
law and order, while giving priority to economic development." 
 
But while a sea change has taken place in government economic thinking, 
the official's comments indicate there will be no let up in repression 
against opponents of the regime, experts say. 
 
"It really was a major change which was probably long in the making," a 
foreign analyst said, dispelling reports that the change was simply 
cosmetic and aimed at easing world criticism of the junta's rights record. 
 
The expert said the changes could already be seen in the way ministries 
did business, while the junta's priorities were clearly changing to cope 
with the economic crisis. 

Four senior generals were put under virtual house arrest on charges of 
corruption following the ominously-named SLORC's demise, while several 
senior ministry figures under them are now also being investigated. 
 
Some 14 other elderly SLORC members were effectively sidelined into an 
advisory group which was dissolved a month later, putting them out to 
pasture. 
 
The lightning strike served to rid the regime of "incompetent and corrupt 
figures who had lingered for too long," while refining the junta's power 
in a few men at the top, analysts said. 
 
"There were worries that growing graft would seriously endanger  Myanmar's
economic survival and its image within ASEAN, while the clean-up was also 
a very useful pretext for entrenching the power of the key leaders," 
one said. 
 
Myanmar  was admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
last year. 
 
The four core members of the junta -- chairman Senior General Than Shwe, 
powerful first secretary Khin Nyunt, second secretary Tin Oo and 
vice chairman General Maung Aye -- have been left sharing ultimate power. 
 
Only the five top SPDC chiefs live in the capital, while other members are 
regional commanders living in the countryside and only come to Yangon when
summoned by the supreme leaders. 
 
The move has made the cumbersome process of making decisions by consensus 
more streamlined, allowing better economic management. It has also entrenched 
the future of the leaders, analysts said. 
 
Government officials conceded the junta was in need of "housecleaning" and 
young blood to replace the old soldiers to revive the flagging economy. 
 
They warned that the graft probe could be broadened if further wrongdoing
was uncovered, while the guilty would be "punished accordingly." 
 
One cadre said the new economic phase of Myanmar's development was a 
further move towards democracy, stressing that the military junta still 
regarded itself as a temporary institution until polls can be called. 
 
He rejected criticism of Myanmar's human rights record, saying the people's
"basic human rights" were assured. He also warned of the danger of popular 
unrest if any government failed to ensure the most basic right -- food. 
 
"There is no such thing as democracy when people haven't got food to eat. 
We have to ensure our people's basic human rights," he said, adding these 
included food and shelter as well as health and education. 
 
But the shift will not mean a relaxation of policy towards the opposition of 
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy
(NLD), ethnic insurgency groups or other opponents of the government. 
 
"The repression continues and there are no signs of relaxation towards the 
opposition," an analyst said. "The shake-up shows that some leaders intend 
to stay in power for a long while and will do whatever's needed to ensure 
that." 
 
A senior NLD figure says his leader's movements are still essentially 
restricted by the junta, while NLD supporters are being sentenced to 
long jail terms. 
 
"Yes, since she was released from house arrest she can go out to lunch 
or go shopping, but she is followed wherever she goes and she is not 
allowed to take part in political activities," U Tin Oo said. 
 
But, a foreign observer said, while there were currently no signs of 
political flexibility among government leaders who "lack confidence in 
their position," there was hope for change over the long term. 
 
"I'm quietly confident that in time the two sides will begin talking and
that slowly the repression will ease, but I don't think this will even 
begin for the next year or so." 
 
*************************************************************

BKK POST: RIVAL FIRMS BATTLED FOR MONOPOLY
26 February, 1998 [abridged]
by Onnucha Hutasingh

RENEGADE KARENS PROVIDED STAMPS

While officials are piecing together relevant details about the
Salween logging scandal, a suspended policeman familiar with such
illegal activities says log poachers are fighting among themselves to 
gain a monopoly. 
     
According to Police Senior Sergeant-Major Thaweesak Kantha,
loggers turned to the Salween National Park after having chopped
down all trees on the Burmese side of the border about two years
ago.

"Heavy log poaching started when there was no forest left in
Burma and  further logging in Burma seemed to cost too much and
involve too many risks," said the officer attached to  Mae
Sariang police station.

Only three companies- Ska-B. Thai Industry Venir and SPA
Richwood-were allowed to import timber into Thailand through
border passes. They reported their last imports last year,
according to Customs records.

However, the policeman said "Tycoon Nong" who undertook logging
activities under Ska-B was still in  the business though the
company itself was pulling out.

"The turn of 1996 was when heavy logging in the park started. We
don't know where the logs came from," he said.

While Ska-B was quitting with reports of illegal logging in the
park, he said, a large number of logs to be taken to Ban Mae Sam
Lap Pass were spotted in the Salween River.

But the logs were reportedly hijacked by another group of log
poachers, he said calling them "the pirates of the Salween".

These pirates set up a trap in the river to prevent logs from
reaching Ban Mae Sam Lap, he said.

"And the owners of these logs yielded to the power of the pirates
who took complete control of the transport route," he said.

Local villagers and Karens were hired to fell trees in the park.
The logs were shipped to Burma to be stamped at a stronghold of
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, then imported into Thailand
via Ban Mae Sam Lap, he said.

A fee of 300 baht per log went to the DKBA, he claimed, adding
money was paid through a manager in Mae Sariang to be handed over
to smaller operators.

According to the policeman, the poachers went as far as having
logs stamped on Thai soil before hauling them out of the forests
to a destination in Tak.

"The trucks leave Mae Sariang about 8 p.m. daily. Each has a
sticker. The drivers flash the headlights when the trucks
approach checkpoints and they don't have to stop for inspection,"
he said.

He estimated  some 100 trees were felled daily to produce 300
logs, and so far more than 75,000 trees had been chopped down.

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

THE NATION: SALWEEN SALVO LEADS TO LETTER OF CONCERN
26 February, 1998
 
THE Foreign Ministry yesterday lodged a letter of concern with
the Burmese embassy over an alleged shooting incident on the
Salween River.

Burmese troops are accused of firing into the river near boats
that carried the chairman of a House Committee and his aides,
ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said.

The letter was handed by Virasak Futrakul, the director general
of the ministry's East Asian affairs department, to Burmese
Ambassador to Thailand U Hla Muang, Kobsak said.

"The Burmese envoy was informed that Thailand is deeply concerned
over the incident during which four shots were fired into the
water from the Burmese side as chairman of the House committee on
agriculture and cooperatives Charoen Chankomon was surveying
along the Salween River," Kobsak said.

Virasak was quoted as stressing to the Burmese that Thailand and
Burma have an equal right to use the river which flows between
both countries in the north of Thailand and that people of both
countries should be able to use the river safety.. 
     
"Thailand and Burma have traditionally used the river like
brothers drinking water from the same well," Kobsak quoted
Virasak as telling U Hla Muang.

Bangkok also called for Rangoon to investigate the incident and
then to report the results as soon as possible, said Kobsak.

An informed source said that U Hla Muang told Virasak that the
area where the shots were fired is controlled by Karen
minorities. Kobsak added that the Burmese envoy said he would
forward the letter to his government.

The spokesman said that the rules in using the Salween River will
be discussed at the Thai-Burmese Joint Commission, the date of
which has yet to be fixed.

The Salween River forms parts of-the northern borderline between
Thailand and Burma. Under a Siamese-British  treaty, the river
bank on the Thai side represents the end of Thai territory. 

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

THE NATION: COMPROMISE SOUGHT ON KEY BORDER ISSUES
24 February, 1998 [abridged]

Stressing that flexibility and friendship are necessary for
speeding up border demarcation between Thailand and its
neighbours, Army chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro said he will seek
talks with Burmese authorities on illegal migrants and Thai
prisoners in Burma.

"We need to show our neighbours that we are ready to compromise.
We may yield some areas, and we hope that next time they will
give us the same treatment," Chettha said in an exclusive
interview with The Nation at the weekend.

Under such framework, he said, "the map of Thailand will be
re-shaped a bit, but the size will be the same. The border issue
is very sensitive. If the parties concerned had been too
aggressive, we would have ended up in war."

The army chief pointed out that. Thailand is at a disadvantage
since negotiations have been based primarily on treaties drawn up
when Thailand's sovereignty was threatened by colonial powers.
The country had to accept whatever the colonial powers
demanded. For example, the treaty signed during the French
occupation of Laos states that most islands in the Mekong River
belong to Laos.

"lf we want to keep our land based on the maps in use, a strong
relationship with our neighbours must go together with border
negotiations," Chettha said. The army chief said the budget
shortfall has temporarily suspended the work of the marking team,
which had made some progress, particularly on the Thai-Lao
border, although there has been little progress on the
Thai-Burmese border.

Chettha, who was known to have developed a good relationship with
Burma's ruling junta which recently renamed itself the State
Peace and Democracy Committee (SPDC), said the Burmese
authorities now understand that Thailand no longer allows its
borders to be used a base for the ethnic groups fighting against
Rangoon.

"We had to admit that the policy of past Thai governments was to
use the ethnic groups as a buffer zone. But such policy is not
appropriate for the current situation," he said.
     
He reaffirmed the policy of non-interference in neighbours'
domestic affairs. "We have to recognise those in control
regardless of how they obtained it," he said.
     
"Our neighbours want to have good relation with us in terms of
trade and diplomacy. But we must admit that sometimes problems
arose from our own people who tried to cheat their counterparts,"
he added. Chettha believed that in the future all rebellious
ethnic movements  will be integrated into the Rangoon regime as
all of them, except the Karen National Union led by Gen Bo Mya,
have reached peace agreements with Rangoon.

Concerning Thai prisoners in Rangoon's In Sein prison, Chettha
said he was not entirely convinced by the reports of harsh
conditions Thai prisoners face as he had earlier seen that things
were not too bad. However, as there were complaints, he will try
to seek more information.

In Sein's oppressive conditions were disclosed to the Thai public
after Burma late last year released a group of Thai prisoners,
the majority of whom were fishermen. About 20 Thais have died in
Burmese prisons since 1994. There are now 82 Thais in In Sein
jail.

Chettha said he will seek a chance to explain to Rangoon about
the necessity for Thailand to repatriate illegal foreign workers,
most of whom are from Burma.

"It's normal that they are dissatisfied with our policy since we
just simply drive their people away when we don't need them
anymore. It's also our own fault that we did not prevent the
problem at an early stage, allowing a million foreign workers to
flow into the country," he said.

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

ASAHI EVENING NEWS: JAPAN TO RESUME ODA LOANS TO MYANMAR
February 26, 1998

KYODO -- Japan is planning to resume providing low-interest official 
development assistance (ODA) loans to Myanmar (Burma) after a 10-year 
suspension following the 1988 military crackdown on the country's 
pro-democracy movement, government sources said Wednesday.

Japan is considering extending 2.5 billion yen in loans to help Myanmar 
fix a dilapidated runway at Yangon (Rangoon) international airport, 
the sources said.

An official at the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Bureau said, "The
decision to thaw the freeze was made as an emergency step designed to 
secure the safety of the airport and the provision of the loan will not
lead to a full-fledged resumption of yen loans to the country"

Japanese airlines servicing Yangon airport have complained to the 
government that the runway needs quick fixing, the sources said.

But the plan to resume yen loans may draw criticism from Myanmar's
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as possibly opening the way for 
yen loans of larger amounts, political sources said.

Japan and Myanmar earlier signed agreements for Japanese loans totaling
27 billion yen in ODA to help Myanmar expand its international airport.

But Japan stopped the project midway after the military government cracked 
down on pro-democracy demonstrators and politicians.

Construction contractors had completed about 15 percent of the work on the
airport expansion project before it was suspended, officials said.

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

SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0329 (I)
25 February, 1998

MYANMAR JAPAN SIGN EXCHANGE OF NOTES ON DEBT RELIEF

Minister for Finance and Revenue and Ambassador of Japan signed an 
exchange of notes on debt relief at the ministry on 24 February. 
Japanese Government was to grant Y 2 billion as debt relief to the 
Myanmar Government which repaid the amount for the loan in February. 

The grant was the 19th of its kind granted by the Japanese Government 
as debt relief assistance. The cash assistance will be spent on purchasing
machinery and equipment, raw materials and accessories for the ministries 
and organizations.

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

THE NIKKEI WEEKLY: MYANMAR LIQUIDATING VENTURES TO CUT GOVERNMENT TRADE ROLE
MOVE SEEN AS EFFORT TO REDUCE CORRUPTION
16 February, 1998 
by Katsuhiko Meshino, staff writer 
 
BANGKOK -- The  Myanmar  military regime has decided to liquidate nine 
joint ventures it created with private-sector partners in an effort to 
invigorate the economy and reduce government involvement in trade, officials 
said. They particularly noted the move should do a great deal to cut down
on corruption. 
 
The companies played a key role in  Myanmar's  import and export market, 
handling huge volumes of rice, marine products and construction materials. 

They also controlled many of the country's distribution networks. Local 
businesses and Japanese trading houses welcomed the government's decision,
counting on lots of new business opportunities. 
 
"We can expect change now that the socialist-era relic has been removed," 
a Japanese trading-house executive said. 
 
The joint-venture system began to show cracks in 1996 when foreign-currency
shortages worsened. The military administration delayed closing the
weakened enterprises for quite some time, maintaining control of trade and
wholesale distribution even as it abandoned its socialist rhetoric. 
 
Private industry consistently cried foul whenever the joint ventures were 
awarded big contracts in which the government had at least partial influence. 
But it took the dramatic depreciation of Asian currencies to really get the
changes made. 
 
The kyat's weakness against the U.S. dollar finally forced the Myanmar  
government to reconsider its economic policy, according to a senior 
executive at a Japanese trading house. 
 
Private-sector development will be encouraged by eliminating the 
joint-venture firms and decentralizing management of the nation's trade,
said a senior government official. 
 
Secretary U Maung Maung at the Union of Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and 
Industry described the government's decision as a step toward trade
liberalization. 
 
Sources say liquidation of the companies is also part of a campaign to 
expose corruption within the Ministry of Trade. 
 
*************************************************************

XINHUA NEWS: MYANMAR, SINGAPORE JOINTLY TRAIN SKILLED WORKERS 
16 February, 1998

YANGON -- Myanmar  and Singapore are jointly training skilled construction 
workers here for employment in Singapore to meet the need of the regional 
market.  

An advance course for Myanmar skilled construction workers, jointly conducted
by the labor department of the Myanmar Labor Ministry and the Sinmartech 
Co. Ltd. of Singapore, began here Sunday, official newspaper The New 
Light of Myanmar reported Monday.  

A total of 164 Myanmar workers are being trained in accordance with the
standard set by the Construction Industry Development Board of Singapore.  

In recent years, Singapore has conducted various courses for Myanmar 
trainees in the sectors of health, hotels and tourism, trade management 
and construction.   

Myanmar is also striving for the development of human resources. According 
to official statistics, a total of 116,441 persons were registered in the
country's labor department in the first ten months of 1997. Of them, 11,758 
got employed through the department. 
 
************************************************************

THE NATION: JEWELLERY BODY SEEKS BETTER BURMA TRADE
26 February, 1998
by Nitsara Srihanam

THE Thai Gems and Jewellery Traders Association has proposed that
the Commerce Ministry negotiate with the Burmese government in a
meeting next month on ways to relax some export rules for border
trade.

The association also suggested the ministry tell Rangoon it will
allow Burmese to work in Thailand.

The existing rules have prevented Thai gems and jewellery
importers from bringing in cheap raw materials from Burma, the
major source of precious stones, which could help lower
production costs for Thai manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Thailand is currently forcing out foreign workers,
especially from Burma, because of the economic crisis and to help
ease the plight of Thai jobless.

Deputy Commerce Ministry Potipong Lamsam is scheduled to visit
Burma to negotiate with Rangoon on trade facilitation between the
two countries late next month.

Exports from Thailand to Burma through border trade dropped from
Bt300 million a month to Bt40 million a month after Burma
announced important conditions as a solution to its trade
deficit. Those measures are limiting imports to not over
US$50,000 a year for each importer.

"Thailand will not allow Burmese labourers to stay in Thailand to
work. It will not help the government to control illegal
workers," Komson Opassathavorn, president of the association,
said.

Komson said hiring Burmese labour benefitted jewellery exporters
because of the low wages. Moreover, Burmese workers tend to be
patient and work hard.

He said the Commerce Ministry will negotiate with Burma on
opening its  existing three custom offices as permanent offices
to facilitate imports. The offices are often open and closed on
political whim. He said this uncertainty is likely hit to trade 
on both sides.

As a result of the problems, Thailand has to import its materials
from further afield, such as Europe and Africa, which leads to
higher costs.

Burma is an important source of precious stones, including jade,
sapphire and ruby. However, Thailand imports very little from
Burma because of its export regulations announced in February
1993, . prohibiting the export of a list of 28 goods through
border trade including gems and jewellery.

Konson said local manufacturers had moved their factories to
provinces close to Burma, such as Tak, to enjoy lower-costs. The
overall export value of the gem and jewellery sector reached
Bt55.62 billion last year, an increase of 2.5 per cent against
1996. Major import countries are the United States, Hong Kong,
Belgium and Japan.

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

TACDB PRESS RELEASE: NO MORE BURMESE BLOOD ON THAI HANDS!
26 February, 1998 

Protect San Naing!

San Naing, a Burmese prisoner in Thailand accused of involvement in the
attempt to assassinate SPDC's ruling military intelligence chief, Lt. Gen.
Khin Nyunt in 1993, is due to be released from Bangkhen Special Prison, 
Ngam Wong Wan Road, on Friday the 27th February at 7pm. San Naing has 
been serving a prison sentence in Thailand for illegal possession of 
weapons and is seeking protection from the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR), who have been reluctant to grant refugee status to
him whilst in prison. San Naing is a former Burmese student who remains
committed 
to the pro-democracy movement, but who has renounced the use of former
methods.

Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB), along with 
a large number of Thai and regional human rights advocates, is 
concerned that San Naing will be released into the hands of Burmese
'government' representatives on Friday, or that he is at risk of 
deportation from Thailand as an illegal immigrant. 

San Naing has publicly stated he was visited four times by Burmese 
officials in Bangkhen prison throughout June and July of 1997. 
He recounted how they had tried to persuade him to go home by 
showing video footage of his distressed mother.

The deepening relationship between the Thai government and Rangoon's
military regime, despite the recent changes in the government of both
countries, gives further cause for alarm. The level of cooperation 
between the Thai and Burmese governments on such matters remains unknown.

TACDB urges the Thai government to make provisions for the personal 
safety of San Naing and recognize that the Thai population, being a 
kind and tolerant population, share these same concerns over his safety.
Thai government complicity in some of the many human rights violations 
suffered by Burmese people must be acknowledged. Additionally, Thailand's
treatment of people who have fled human rights violations in Burma must be
significantly improved. 

TACDB calls for protection of San Naing because there has been enough
Burmese blood on Thailand's hands. 

Contact Adisorn Kerdmongkol on (+662) 216 4463 for further information or 
for a Thai language version of this statement.

[Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma]

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

LETTER FROM DETAINED STUDENTS HUNGER STRIKING IN SDC 26 February, 1998
[English slightly corrected]

Chief Officer
Police Detention Centre, Bangkok

Subject: Request for taking legal action into a matter of inhumane abuse

Gentleman,
We are the Burmese students who are being detained here. Since being placed
in the detention centre, we have never violated the detention rules.
Despite that, we are now undergoing an inhumane power abuse by one of the 
duty officer. On the morning of February 18th the officer and a group of 
policeman came into our room ordering us to leave the room and stay out 
and immediately afterwards we were all taken to another room upstairs while
one of us [was taken] to a separate room.  Until now we have no idea why we 
were taken into another confinement.

However the duty officer promised as that we would be sent back to our
former room in the evening. Although the evening went by he did not appear. 
We were very disappointed with his promise and then called him out to come
to our room pounding the iron bars of the door. At last he appeared with 
his unit and entered our room using abusive language. Then the five of us 
were repeatedly beaten and kicked, lasting about half an hour. We never 
thought the police in a democracy, like Thailand, treated like this the 
detainees who were not criminals by using inhumanly abuse power.

This incident eventually prompted us to enter fast to death hunger strike.
We are now on a hunger strike. Regarding the facts, mentioned above, we
would like to appeal to you for the following.

1. To take into the inhumane abuse of power and take legal action on the
person involved.
2. To return us the basic prisoners rights

We will go on trying the fast-to-death hunger strike if our requests
are not meet. We also believe you can address the serious problem in your
capacity as the chief officer of the Detention Centre.

Burmese Students detainees
Date: February 20, 1998

Release detainees form SDC
Mr. Saw Joseph	Mr. San Oo	Mr. Win Myint
NI 2968		NI 4274	NI 2093	

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON BURMA
26 February, 1998

Resolution on Burma, by the European Parliament, 19 February 1998
8 (b) B4-0146, 0150, 1054, 0157, 0162 and 0168/98

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma, particularly that of
12 June 1997 on the continuing human rights abuses in Burma( ),

- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) 552/97 temporarily withdrawing 
access to tariff preferences from the Union of Myanmar ( )

- having regard to Council Decision 97/688/EC concerning the extension of
common position 96/635/CFSP on Burma/Myanmar ( ),

A. deeply concerned at the continuing and extremely serious human rights
abuses committed by the military authorities in Burma,

B. noting that on 15 November 1997 the State Law and Order Restoration
Council abolished itself and created the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) instead,

C. whereas, in its resolution of 24 November 1997, the Third Committee of
the UN General Assembly expressed its grave concern over the continuing
violations of human rights in Burma, as reported by the UN special
rapporteur on human rights in Burma,

D. deploring the continued detention under house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi 
and the continued arbitrary detention of numerous political prisoners,
particularly the members of the National League for Democracy (NLD),

E. noting that the SLORC permitted the NLD to hold a party congress on 27
September 1997, on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the party's
founding, but prevented several hundred of people from attending,

F. condemning the blocking by the military authorities of attempts by the
NLD to conduct party meetings at various NLD offices by barricading the
locations and detaining its supporters,

G. whereas Aung San Suu Kyi, a winner of Parliament's Sakharov Prize, has
on several occasions called on the international community to impose
political and economic sanctions on Burma,

H. noting that on 20 May 1997 President Clinton imposed economic sanctions
on Burma by prohibiting United States citizens from making new investments
there,

I. noting the continuation of business activities by certain European
companies in Burma; noting that multinational oil company investment
provides the largest legal source of foreign currency to the regime,

J. noting the continuing violation of humanitarian law during the
offensives of the Burmese army into ethnic minority areas, such as the
killing of 400 villagers from Shan State during May and June 1997,

K. concerned about the arrests and summary deportations of Burmese 
refugees in Thailand and reports that some of the deported are being 
forced into labour camps on their return to Burmese territory,

L. noting that the ILO has decided to establish a formal Commission of
Enquiry into the non-observance by the government of Burma of the ILO
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29),

M. noting the visit on 22 - 24 January 1998 by the special envoy of UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, on a mission to seek political dialogue
between the military and the opposition,

N. noting that most of the world's heroin comes from Burma and deploring
the strong ties between the military regime and the drug producers,


1. Reiterates its condemnation of the military dictatorship in Burma and
all human rights violations by SLORC/SPDC;

2. Calls again on the Burmese Government to guarantee the fundamental
rights of the Burmese people, to release all political prisoners and to
release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest;

3. Expresses its support for all the forces of democracy in Burma,
particularly the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi, who are campaigning for the
establishment of constitutional government and respect for human rights;

4. Calls on the Burmese Government to fulfil its obligation as a State
Party to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, (No 29), and to the Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No 87),
of the ILO;

5. Calls on the SPDC to cooperate with the ILO Commission of Enquiry into 
forced labour in Burma;

6. Urges SPDC to allow the visit, without preconditions or restrictions, of
the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma in order to enable him to discharge his 
mandate fully;

7. Urges Thailand to refrain from deporting Burmese refugees back to Burma;

8. Reaffirms its opinion that foreign direct investment in Burma makes an
important financial contribution to the SPDC, while failing to provide even
indirect benefits to the Burmese people; welcomes the decision by several
European and American companies to suspend their business activities in
Burma and hopes that their example will be followed by other companies;

9. Calls on the Council to ensure that the current CFSP common position on
Burma is strictly enforced, in particular with regard to the ban on entry
visas, the embargo on sales of arms, munitions and military equipment, and
to the suspension of non-humanitarian aid or development programmes;

10. Calls on the Council to respond to Aung San Suu Kyi's request for EU
economic sanctions against the SPDC by ending all links between the
European Union and Burma based on trade, tourism and investment in Burma by
European companies; as a first step, calls on the council to expand the 
measures taken in the common position by ending trade promotion and 
expanding the ban on entry visas;

11. Supports the Council's decision not to accept the participation of
Burma in EU-ASEAN meetings and ASEM until there are significant
improvements in human rights and democracy in Burma;

12. Calls on the Commission to come to an agreement with the US
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other local governments on a common
effort to sanction Burma economically outside of the dispute settlement
panel laid down by WTO rules;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission,
the Council, the NLD, the SPDC, ASEAN and the WTO.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA.NET PUBLIC CHAT SESSION
25 February, 1998

PUBLIC CHAT SESSION - MONDAY MARCH 2ND

Everyone with fingers is welcome to join in a public discussion via internet
"chat room" on Monday March 2nd at 9:PM EST (6:PM PST, 9:AM March 3rd in
Thailand).

The topic of discussion will be the schools in Burma.  Universities have
been closed for over a year.  Education is absolutely vital to the future of
every state.  What are the students doing instead?  Why were the primary
schools closed?  Were any 8-year-olds found to be destructive elements?
What can be done?  What's going on and how long can it last?

To join in, just enter the Burma.net chatroom.  There are two ways to enter:
1. Goto http://burma.net/chat with netscape or internet explorer (faster if
you get the ichat plugin from www.ichat.com)    OR
2. Use Telnet to connect to "burma.net" on port "4000".  (Use the command
"telnet burma.net 4000")

Once you're in, you can read what everyone else is typing, and they can all
read what you type!

The chatroom is free and open 24hrs/day.  So you might want to try it out
once before monday so you're familiar with the program.

If you have any questions contact sysop@xxxxxxxxxx
Hope to "see" you there!

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