[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

The BurmaNet News - 8 March, 1998 -



------------------------------ BurmaNet -----------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News, 8 March, 1998
Issue #951 - Weekend Edition

HEADLINES:
==========
THE WASHINGTON POST: A SLORC BY ANY OTHER NAME
REUTERS: MYANMAR SAYS RELATIONS STRONG WITH INDIA
THE NATION: CALL FOR FISHERMEN'S RELEASE
BKK POST: OPPONENTS RENEW THEIR CAMPAIGN
OSLO DVB: NLD REPORTS SPDC OBSTRUCTION, HARASSMENT
BBC: VIEW ON KHIN NYUNT'S DISOWNING OF SON
TV MYANMAR: KHIN NYUNT DENIES RUMORS ABOUT

Features:
THE IRRAWADDY: BURMA'S AIDS EPIDEMIC
BURMA TODAY WEEKLY: ASEM'S BURMESE CHALLENGE

KHRG: INFORMATION UPDATE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

THE WASHINGTON POST: A SLORC BY ANY OTHER NAME
6 March, 1998 / Page A24
Editorial

THE ODIOUS military regime that misrules the Asian nation of Burma
recently arrested 81-year-old U Ohn Myint, a respected democratic
politician. His whereabouts, according to Amnesty International, are
unknown, his health a worrisome question. One wonders whether this
latest assault on civilized norms reflects the advice Burma's military 
rulers have been receiving from their recently retained American image-makers.

These U.S. public relations employees of the cruel regime apparently have
persuaded it to change its name from the unappetizing SLORC (State Law
and Order Restoration Council) to the equally mendacious but more
neutral-sounding State Peace and Development Council. But the arrest of
U Ohn Myint, the continuing detention of the heroic leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and the detentions -- announced just last weekend -- of 40 other
activists show that, even with a new name, it's business as usual for the
ruling junta.

The junta seized power in 1988. Two years later, misjudging its own
popularity, it permitted general elections. The National League for
Democracy won in a landslide, even though the junta had put many of its
leaders under house arrest. The regime then refused to honor the results of
the election. Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's independence leader
and a Nobel Peace laureate, has been under house arrest pretty much ever
since, and Burma -- a naturally wealthy nation of 47 million people -- has
slid deeper and deeper into poverty.

Increasingly isolated, Burma's rulers have caught on that they have an
image problem in Asia and the West. According to a recent Post article by
R. Jeffrey Smith, companies with close ties to the junta have spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars on U.S. public relations firms and
lobbyists, including former television journalist Jackson Bain and -- most
astonishing, given the junta's ties to drug trafficking -- Ann Wrobleski, 
a former assistant secretary of state for narcotics control. It's not known
exactly what advice the Burmese have gotten for their money. But for far
less than what their lobbyists charge, we could give them a few hints on
how to improve their image: Put an end to the practice of forced labor and
press-ganging of peasants to become military porters. Stop torturing
political prisoners and release them from the infamous (and not yet
renamed) Insein Prison. Open a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and let
her meet freely with her supporters.

On one front, SLORC's -- or rather, SPDC's -- battle for legitimacy
gained some ground in recent days. Japan's government let it be known
last week that it is planning to resume foreign assistance to Burma after 
a decade of withholding all but humanitarian aid. Why the Japanese would
want to break ranks with most of the world now, when there has been no
improvement in Burma's human rights record, is a mystery. Japan says it
wants to help rebuild Burma's international airport, which is even more 
of a mystery: Why encourage investment and tourism? Aung San Suu Kyi,
Burma's rightful leader, has stated clearly that any aid and investment
would benefit not her compatriots but only Burma's corrupt rulers. It's 
not clear why Japan would want to weigh in on their side.

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

REUTERS: MYANMAR SAYS RELATIONS STRONG WITH INDIA 
5 March, 1998

YANGON - One of Myanmar's (Burma's) top generals praised
relations with India and said his country would never allow any 
activity on its soil which could hurt neighbouring countries, the 
Myanmar News Agency reported on Thursday. 

Some local analysts interpreted Khin Nyunt's comments as a sign 
of a thawing of ties which were strained when the Indian government 
granted sanctuary to some exile groups after the military seized power 
in late 1988. 

Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State Peace 
and Development Council (SPDC), made the comments after inspecting 
a road near the India border which was being renovated with Indian 
assistance. 

"I would like to reiterate that Myanmar will never allow any activity 
which will damage her neighbours to take place on her soil,'' the MNA 
quoted Khin Nyunt as saying in his address at a meeting in Tamu, a 
town near the Myanmar-India border. 

He said he was delighted to see a recent improvement in ties between 
the neighbouring nations, and thanked the Indian government for 
extending a $10 million loan late last year. 

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

THE NATION: CALL FOR FISHERMEN'S RELEASE
6 March, 1998

A GROUP of fishermen yesterday asked Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai 
to secure the release of Thai fishermen jailed in a Burmese prison, mostly
for illegally poaching in Burmese waters.

Rachaen Plengvittaya, who led the group, said they expected the premier to
ask his Burmese counterpart for the release of about 80 Thais still serving'
jail terms.

Rachaen also suggested that Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chetta Thanajaro
raise 
the issue during his official visit to Rangoon scheduled for this month.

Chetta successfully secured freedom for 98 Thai fishermen in November last
year, Rachaen said.

"However this time it would not be proper if Gen Chetta raised the issue on
his own behalf.  But it would look better if Gen Chetta discussed it on the
premier's behalf," Rachaen said.

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

BKK POST: OPPONENTS RENEW THEIR CAMPAIGN
6 March, 1998
by Chakrit Ridmontri

PTT 'IGNORES PANEL'S RECOMMENDATIONS'

Conservation groups have renewed their battle call against the
Thai-Burmese gas pipeline project, accusing the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand of ignoring mitigation measures recommended
by the Anand Panyarachun panel.

Their announcement yesterday came two weeks after the public
information panel chaired by the former prime minister concluded
its task and submitted its report and recommendations to the
government.

"The pipeline laying is being carried out at full steam without
caring about the impact on villagers living along the route,"
said Pibhop Dhongchai, a leading opponent.

"We will keep a close watch on the project and reveal to the
public how the PTT has lied and ignored the panel's-suggestions,"
he added.

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai tried to pacify the protesters by
appointing the panel last month to sort out differences of
supporters and opponents.
     
Although concluding that the decision making and implementing of
the project lacked transparency, the panel agreed that it should
go ahead.

It suggested the PTT and the government set up a committee
composed of a larger number of villager and NGO representatives
than officials to monitor construction work. The committee should
be authorised to suspend the project temporarily if the impact
becomes severe.

The panel also said the PTT should solve the problems of affected
villagers along the route immediately.

The groups said 10 days after the premier ordered the project to
proceed, the PTT has not solved the problems and Mr Chuan has
done nothing about setting up the committee.

"We will give Mr Chuan a little while to respond. If he remains
unresponsive, we may open the next chapter of opposition," said
Mr Pibhop.

Social critic Sulak Sivaraksa criticised the panel's conclusions
on the grounds that it did not address human rights abuses in
Burma and the fate of wild elephants and other rare species
inhabiting the area.

Protesting conservationists left their forest camp to block
pipeline laying after Mr Chuan ordered the PTT to proceed.

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

OSLO DVB: NLD REPORTS SPDC OBSTRUCTION, HARASSMENT
24 February, 1998 [translated from Burmese]

The National League for Democracy [NLD] has issued a statement 
stating that more than 500 NLD members were unable to attend the 
51st anniversary Union Day celebrations held on 12 February at the 
people's leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's residence compound because 
of obstruction and harassment by SPDC [State Peace and Development Council]
Military Intelligence personnel.

Elected People's Assembly member delegates from the districts, who
came to Rangoon to attend the Union Day commemorative ceremony, 
were also blocked and harassed.  The NLD statement noted the SPDC 
riot police pushed back the NLD members with their shields.  The 
statement also cited the rude behavior of the SPDC riot police and their 
harsh handling of NLD delegates.

The riot police threatened the NLD delegates who arrived at the corner
of Saya San Road in Bahan Township by saying: Previously we sent 
you  all back to a place where you could return, but in future we will 
send you back to a place where you will not be able to return. This 
means they will all be imprisoned, quoted the NLD statement.

All auspicious ceremonies and functions held by the NLD were 
obstructed by various means by the SPDC military clique.  The riot 
police and military intelligence personnel would round up some of the 
NLD delegates and members who were going to attend the ceremony 
near Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house, put them on trucks, and take 
them away and later release them when they were out of town.

The statement also reported that at a certain place in Rangoon the
riot police mockingly told the NLD delegates that they would be 
losing their human rights.

The statement said the NLD party severely denounced the authorities'
act of trying to disintegrate the union spirit instead of giving priority
to national reconciliation on this auspicious Union Day, which holds a
significant place in the annals of Burmese independence history.

All citizens and nationals should properly honor National Day--the
10th waning moon of Tazaungmon [between November and December]; Resistance 
Day--27 March 1945; Union Day--12 February 1947; and Martyrs Day--19 July
1947.  These are all historical landmarks in the struggle for national
independence.

The statement added that the SPDC military clique's obstruction of all
NLD ceremonies marking these auspicious occasions were unwarranted.

As the NLD is a political party, all NLD members are duty-bound to
attend all party functions, and the NLD is especially proud of its members
from far and near who made strong and active efforts to attend these
functions.

The NLD statement, issued on 19 February, also stated that NLD members
from afar have had to spend lots of money and overcome disruption in their
personal and professional lives to attend such functions.

[Description of Source: Democratic Voice of Burma--anti-government
radio run by the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma]

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

BBC: VIEW ON KHIN NYUNT'S DISOWNING OF SON
26 February, 1998
by BBC correspondent Larry Jagan

Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Burma's strong man and intelligence chief, has
publicly announced that he has disowned his son.  Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt 
and his wife announced in a newspaper published in Rangoon that they have
disowned their son, Ye Naing Win, for an unforgivable deed.  According to
widely circulating rumors in  Rangoon, Dr. Ye Naing Win was disowned for 
marrying a Singaporean citizen.  The draft state constitution of Burma
stipulates that those who marry foreigners, as well as the parents of 
those who marry foreigners, cannot be included in the government.  However,
Larry Jagan of BBC comments as follows that there are other reasons for 
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt to publicly distance himself from his son:

[Begin Jagan commentary] It is a very drastic action to declare that
one's own son has been disinherited.  Certainly, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, who
is the most powerful man among the military leaders in Burma, is very much 
ashamed of his son, Dr. Ye Naing Win.  The announcement stated that no 
further explanation would be given regarding the matter.

Rumors are circulating widely that Dr. Ye Naing Win had married a
Singaporean citizen.  Under the provisions of the new state constitution of
Burma being drafted, this development would prevent Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt
from becoming president or minister in the cabinet.  According to legal
experts in Burma, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt's son will no longer have the right
to inherit from his father, and there is a clause in the draft constitution
that will prevent his father from heading a government department. 
Although no one in Rangoon could confirm the rumor that Dr. Ye Naing Win
had married a foreigner, Rangoon residents believe that Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt
may 
have other more important reasons for publicly disowning his son.

Dr. Ye Naing Win, who is a well-qualified doctor, does not practice
medicine, but has been in business.  He often visits Singapore, and his
business activities may not be all that scrupulous.  According to diplomats
in Rangoon, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt has made  enemies by recently purging a
large group of government ministers and officials in connection with
corruption in which many of their children are involved.  It may have been
his attempt to distance himself from his son's business activities to
preempt his opponents within the Defense Services from using his son's
business activities to attack him.

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

TV MYANMAR: KHIN NYUNT DENIES RUMORS ABOUT EDUCATION
24 February, 1998 [translated from Burmese]

Meeting No. 1/98 of the Myanmar [Burma] Education Committee [MEC] was held 
in Universities Central Council Hall at 1545 today .  
[passage omitted on attendance]

Addressing the meeting, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, chairman of the MEC and
secretary-1 of the State Peace and  Development Council, said unscrupulous
destructive elements are circulating fabricated and false rumors about
education.  He declared categorically that rumors are totally false and
baseless.  Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt said the government is spending a huge
amount of fund for preparations, including construction of required
buildings and teaching aids, to enable students to pursue their academic
studies peacefully when the schools are reopened.

He urged the departmental authorities to discuss their respective
departmental work on education at the meeting and said that the 
government will strive steadfastly for progress of education sector.

Next, U Myo Nyunt, director general of the Higher Education Department, 
presented the minutes of MEC Meeting No. 1/96 and special meeting of the 
MEC and their implementation.  Attorney General U Tha Tun explained draft
amendment of the 1973 Union of Myanmar University Education Law.  Next, 
U Myo Nyunt, director general of the Higher Education Department, explained 
on work of University Admission Scrutiny Board.  Participants of the
meeting discussed the draft amendment of the 1973 Union of Myanmar University 
Education Law and report of the University Admission Scrutiny Board.  
[passage omitted]

In his closing address, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt said steps must be taken
for enacting the law amending the 1973 Union of Myanmar University
Education Law as soon as possible.  He said preparations are being made 
to ensure peaceful pursuit of education by university students, 
transportation facility, and peace of mind for parents.  He said 
unscrupulous persons with ulterior motive are deliberately circulating 
the rumor that basic education schools and universities will remain shut 
for a long period.  He said he would like to categorically declare this 
rumor as false and baseless.  He added that the government is making 
arrangements at all fronts for reopening of universities and colleges
expeditiously.

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

THE IRRAWADDY: BURMA'S AIDS EPIDEMIC
28 February, 1998 / VOL6 NO1

Dancing alone on the floor of a popular Rangoon nightclub in front of 
a huge video screen playing music videos, the young Burmese woman 
repeatedly glances at the very few western men in the disco. She 
approaches them and makes it clear her charms come at a price.

Does she use condoms?

"Yes, condoms," says the prostitute, who calls herself  Suki, in the Pidgin
English taught to her by her mother.

Does she worry about AIDS?

The question provokes a laugh. She sips her Coca-Cola, stares straight
ahead and changes the topic.

Suki's laugh in the face of a disease that infects at least one in five
Burmese prostitutes is a laugh of ignorance and denial that echoes 
around Burma. 

This desperately poor Southeast Asian country of around 50 million people
is currently eye to eye with an HIV and AIDS epidemic. Fueled by burgeoning
prostitution and the widespread availability of high-purity heroin- Burma 
produces 60 percent of the world's opium, according to the U.S. State 
Department - Burma's AIDS epidemic faces none of the educational or 
health-care restraints that have in recent years been applied against the
neighboring Thai epidemic. International non-governmental officials in Burma
and Burmese doctors say the military government is largely ignoring the 
disease, which appears in a particularly virulent strain in Southeast Asia.
Testing is occasional, educational programs rare. 

"The whole country is in denial," said one European official at an
international nonprofit organization based in Rangoon, who insisted on
anonymity because the military regime might expel his organization for his
talking to a western journalist. 

Condoms are not openly available to the public because of government
restrictions. In all of Rangoon, there are only a few pharmacies that stock
and sell condoms. Illegal retail outlets often have poor quality products
that are of no use in either prevention of pregnancy or protection from
transmission of HIV/AIDS.

"There is no doubt that Burmese youth are having sex at an earlier age than
generations before them, but they remain as ignorant about safe sex
practices," says an official with an international organization in Rangoon.

Last year after a brief period of relaxation, condom advertisements shown
on state-run television were pulled by officials afraid of criticism from
conservative circles that insist such advertisements promote promiscuity.

Official surveys put condom usage among the country's sexually active
population at less than 50 percent. In some remote areas, the figure falls
to under just 10 percent. 

But despite the government's officially prudish attitude, prostitution has
been on the rise throughout Burma, especially along the more prosperous
border towns and in the gold and jade mining centers in the northern part
of the country.

Decades of economic decline and political isolationism have contributed to
this situation, officials said. 

Even official government figures, compiled with the help of the World
Health Organization (WHO), chronicle a country in the grip of an epidemic.
But doctors and officials from international aid organizations say these
figures are unreliable and optimistic. 

"I don't think it's a matter of potential disaster," said Dr. Bruce
Weniger, former director of the AIDS field station of the American Centers
for Disease Control in Thailand. "The reality is it's already a disaster."

The government, meanwhile, defends its efforts but says it also needs help. 

"The policy of the government is to try to sensitize people to this problem
and to try to solve it the best way they can, to try to face this challenge," 
said Thaung Tun, deputy chief of mission at the Burmese Embassy in
Washington, D.C.. "And not just AIDS but all the communicable diseases. If
it is a problem,
I think the world should come to the help of Myanmar."

One example of international cooperation is a monitoring program commissioned
by the government, working with the WHO. The report shows that at the start 
of 1996, up to 475,000 people were infected with HIV in Burma. The first 
known case of HIV in the country was in 1988 and the first reported case of 
AIDS occurred in 1991.

But it's clearly not enough. For instance, among the estimated 145,000
intravenous drug users in this heroin-producing country  the level of
infection in September, 1996, was found to be between 60 percent and 65
percent.

In one town in the north of the country, Myitkyina, near an area of large
opium production, infection rates among intravenous drug users fluctuated
between 86 percent and 95 percent in the years 1993 through 1996. And the
two towns that recorded the highest levels of HIV infection in the September
1996 survey were Tachilek and Kengtung, both of which lie in the heart of 
the opium-producing Golden Triangle.

Faced with an unlimited supply of heroin and stern penalties from the
Burmese police, Burma's addicts have gone underground. Even the
international non-governmental organizations that manage to work in these
distant parts of the country find it hard to reach and educate the addicts.

"We know where the shooting galleries are, but we can't visit them because
we'll be followed by military intelligence and all the addicts would be
arrested," said one foreign aid worker in a town where HIV infection rates
among addicts are very high.

"It's very hard to get access," the officials said. "It's very frustrating." 
This attitude typifies the government's response to the AIDS crisis, 
officials say. "They don't want to listen to any bad news in the country," 
a Burmese doctor said. "They'd rather close their eyes."

According to international health officials in Burma, the government funds
only 25 medical professionals in the Ministry of Health's National AIDS
Program. "They are dedicated, hard-working and competent," said one foreign 
doctor in Rangoon. "They're doing a lot, but they're low in manpower."

Dotted around the country are a few public health billboards that describe
how HIV is transmitted. State television also features increasing numbers
of public-service announcements about the disease.

Last year, the government began to cooperate with its neighboring countries
on AIDS education programs, said Bai Bagasao, program development officer 
for the region at UN AIDS in Geneva. He noted there was "serious thought" 
being put into the development of community-based care programs in the 
country, but added that "it has not really taken any dramatic leap forward." 

In the face of government suspicion about their motives - some officials
say their phones are tapped and their movements traced by military
intelligence - the aid organizations have to make compromises as they seek
to educate Burmese people about AIDS. 

So, instead of leading government officials directly to the shooting
galleries and budget guest houses that local people say are the town's
brothels, the international officials deliver lectures and
question-and-answer sessions about HIV at bus stops, in tea shops and at
their own offices. 

In one distant town on a recent afternoon, a group of 15 young men who 
had walked off the street to attend the regular lecture at an international 
aid office sat on benches watching an AIDS-education video made by UNICEF. 
As usual, no women turned up to the lecture - a result of women's submissive
role in sexual relations, a Burmese doctor said.

When the video ended, the young men moved to benches in front of a
chalkboard. With the help of illustrated cards, a syringe, a condom and a
teak carving of a penis, a Burmese man explained to the young men how best 
to avoid contracting HIV.

"How many of you know what AIDS is?" the man asked.

About half of the men raised their hands or said yes. When the lecturer
explained to everyone what the disease is and how it's transmitted, many 
of the formerly joking young men grew somber. 

"Some people think wearing two or three condoms will help," the lecturer
said. "In fact, that will only help them tear. Just use one." 

"Once you've got AIDS, can you make it go away?" asked one young man.

"No," the lecturer said. Silence followed. 

Warnings about having sex with prostitutes featured prominently in the
lecture. The survey conducted by the government and the WHO found that 
one in five prostitutes are infected with HIV. 

Twenty-one-year-old Suki's proposition in the Rangoon nightclub is one that 
is becoming increasingly common in Burma, now that the once-closed country 
has opened its door to foreigners who come to conduct business, marvel at 
gold-covered pagodas, and, in some cases, boost the already burgeoning sex 
trade, health officials say.

"Girls, sexy girls?" a taxi driver in Mandalay asked a reporter, who had
not inquired about prostitution. 

"I know where the girls are," said a Rangoon taxi driver, taking a fare
from the airport. "When the businessmen come from abroad, I need to know
where they are."

The survey estimates there are 53,600 commercial sex workers in Burma. Many
of those, health officials say, are women or girls who have returned from
working 
as prostitutes in Thailand, where an AIDS epidemic swept the huge population 
of sex workers in the early 1990s.

In at least knowing that AIDS exists and how it is transmitted, Suki is far
ahead of many Burmese in preventing infection. The artificially low number
of reported AIDS cases signals another danger, health workers say: People
with AIDS don't necessarily seek treatment. 

There are three reasons for this, health officials note. First, like half
of the young men attending the AIDS education lecture in the rural town,
many who contract the disease have no idea what AIDS is. Second, HIV
testing in Burma is primitive and expensive.

The test costs around two month's salary for an individual, said one of the
Burmese doctors, "but it's not really reliable. It's not 100 percent. To be
sure you have to test three times. We have a lot of false negatives and
false positives."

On the rare occasion that a Burmese citizen who is HIV positive can afford
the three tests to discover his or her antibody status, there is none of
the follow-up care that meets Westerners when they go for an HIV antibody
test. "They are without proper counseling to help them understand the
results," the doctor said. "This is not a help to people."

The third reason that HIV-positive Burmese do not seek treatment is simple
- it barely exists. "It does exist somewhere in the country for the elite
but there's pretty much no access," said one American working for an
international aid organization in Burma. "I really don't factor it into my
work at all. It's irrelevant. The cost of one year's treatment - say,
$20,000 - could fund a whole township's education."

If only the cash-strapped and politically restricted aid organizations had
the luxury of such a choice, officials said. "It's a tragedy not to do
anything," said one official. "It is preventable. We know how to prevent it."

[Sources: Inter Press Service]

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

BURMA TODAY WEEKLY: ASEM'S BURMESE CHALLENGE 
26 February, 1998 [No.8]
by Glennys Kinnock, member of Parliamentarians for Democracy in Burma  

I travelled to Burma on a tourist visa in 1996 and I was able to meet
Aung San Suu Kyi. I left with proof on videotape of her staunch support
for the economic and political isolation of Burma. Changing planes in
Bangkok, I learnt that her car had been attacked and that she would no
longer be allowed to hold public meetings outside her house. Tragically,
nothing has changed in the last 18 months other than the acronym behind
which the military junta camouflages its particularly brutal brand of
government.  

Burma is ruled by a military junta as tyrannical and secretive as any
the modern era has seen, and has been engaged in a systematic repression
of human rights. What sets the SPDC apart is slave labour and massive
displacement of whole sectors of the population. Indeed, no modern
state, however totalitarian, has relied so much on forced labour. The
truth is that tyrants only understand one language and that is the
reason why our object is a return to democracy in Burma. We have to call
for tough and workable economic sanctions.  

On a recent visit to the United States, I learnt about their remarkably
successful grass roots disinvestment movement - modelled on the
campaigns intended to isolate apartheid South Africa. Selective
purchasing laws have been brought in by cities across America.
Unfortunately, in the European Union strong measures continue to be
blocked because of the determination of certain Member States to put
business and commercial advantage above values and principles.  

The combination of the growth of the narcotics trade, and the economic
and social consequences of the Asian financial crisis clearly sounds
alarm bells around the region. In addition, the message has gained
ground that good governance - rather than unelected strongmen - is more
likely to deliver economic growth and political stability. As a result,
the political culture seems to be shifting and this is a recognition of
the practical value of a more transparent, democratic approach. This
approach sits uneasily beside Burma's Generals who have managed to
cripple their country's economy long before the financial crisis in
Asia.  The rise of the Burmese "narco-state" can largely be put down to
the financial and economic crisis which confronts the country's rulers,
and which, put bluntly, that there are less funds available to be
siphoned off by the military into their private bank accounts.  

The country's foreign reserves have now been run down to levels which
foreign experts estimate will cover only a few weeks' imports. Sanctions
imposed by the US - which the EU should surely now emulate - are hitting
hard, repelling foreign investment, pressuring firms already operating
there to pull out, and blocking vital financial assistance from the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund. I hope that European
companies such as Total, with its $1 billion gas pipeline investment
which sustains a regime employing forced labour to build the infrastructure 
such projects require, will decide that the time has come to do the decent 
thing and pack up and leave.  

This is also a critical time because the Asian crisis is clearly affecting
investment levels from Burma's previously stable neighbours. A massive 39% 
of proposed investment projects in Burma are from ASEAN countries, now seem
unlikely to materialise. South Korea's Daewoo Group,for instance, has
either halted or suspended its 35 industrial projects in the country, and
this 
looming economic crisis is surely yet another lever which can and should be
exploited to force democratic reform.  

Tragically the deficit is being filled by Burma's drugs barons, who
apparently enjoy increasingly favourable trading conditions and now
export a massive 61% of the world's production of heroin, a fact which
the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, highlighted on his visit to
South East Asia. The most famous of these barons, Khun Sa, has given up
the rigours of the jungle for a villa in Rangoon, but his troops
apparently still operate in opium country, on the Thai border. With
illegal funds still pouring into his bank account, the newly respectable
Khun Sa has now become an important investor with Government backing. He 
has major shares in a number of casino projects, and is developing an
amusement park in Rangoon which required the forced removal of people
from the site and the destruction of a cemetery.  

The Government has actually dropped a policy of confiscating bank
deposits and foreign currency of dubious origin - instead, it has opted
for a 25% "whitening tax" levied on questionable repatriated funds. This
financial complaisance is completed by helpfully low key policing:
according to one study, Burmese police seize only 0.25% of annual
amphetamine production, 0.01% of opium, and less that 0.05% of heroin
exports.  

It's hardly surprising that, in these circumstances, the drugs trade is
literally "blooming," and the consequences can, of course, be felt here
in the West as well as among Burma's direct neighbours. In the words of
Asia Week, "shadowy figures long associated with the drugs trade have
insinuated themselves into the political and business fabric of the
nation." 

The financial crisis in Asia has also led to the expulsions of foreign
workers. This particularly affects illegal Burmese workers - fleeing
their own vicious regime and its tendency to commandeer them into forced
labour - have been particularly affected. Thailand, desperate to reduce
its mounting unemployment, has said it will repatriate about 300,000
illegal workers over the next six months, 85% of which have come from
Burma. Bangladesh is now reported to be taking a similar approach,
despite the obvious dangers for political refugees pushed back over the
borders into war zones where fighting between the military and ethnic
groups continues. Equally, Amnesty International has raised concerns
about the situation of Burmese Chin refugees in India.  

All of these factors mean that there is growing disquiet among Burma's
neighbours. ASEAN's actions in Cambodia do, however, demonstrate that
its members will challenge national sovereignty if domestic unrest is
likely to have regional consequences.  

Dealing with either the drugs or the refugee problem will involve
putting pressure on the military junta, but we know and Asian countries
realise that will not be enough: for a start, dependence on drugs
revenue is clearly far too great to enable them kick the habit. There is
only one way forward for Burma at this time, and that is for the junta
to enter into political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi with a view to
establishing a transition to civilian democratic rule.  

Burma's neighbours certainly have the clout to force political dialogue
onto the agenda - the question is whether they have the will. It is the
role of the West to make sure that this opportunity is grasped, and the
forthcoming ASEM summit on April 4th provides us with an ideal
opportunity to make this point in forceful and decisive terms.  

It was James Wolfensohn, the President of the World Bank, who recently
said that "Asian leaders must recognise the link between good economic
performance and open government," and Burma provides a dramatic
illustration of this point. Last week in Strasbourg, the European
Parliament called yet again for an end to all links between the European
Union and Burma based on trade, tourism and investment in Burma by
European companies. It's only by responding to that call, and by taking
the opportunity provided by ASEM to influence Burma's neighbours, that
Europe will help deliver open government to the people of Burma - and,
for that matter, halt a drugs trade with global repercussions. For the
sake of the impoverished and oppressed people I met on my journey to
Burma, I only hope this opportunity will be grasped.   

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

KHRG: INFORMATION UPDATE
24 February, 1998

Developments in the SLORC/SPDC Occupation of Dooplaya District

Dooplaya District of central Karen State, a large region which stretches 
from the Myawaddy - Kawkareik - Kyone Doh motor road in the north to 
the Three Pagodas Pass area in the south, was largely controlled by the 
Karen National Union (KNU) until 1995.  In that year a major SLORC 
(State Law & Order Restoration Council) offensive completed SLORC's 
control of the Thai border from Myawaddy southward to Wah Lay and 
captured the northern part of the 'hump', a mountainous portion of 
Dooplaya which projects eastward into Thailand.  In a much larger 
offensive in February-March 1997, SLORC succeeded in capturing almost 
all of the remainder of Dooplaya District.  Over 10,000 new refugees fled 
to Thailand and are now interned in Noh Po refugee camp, but most 
villagers remained inside the district, either trapped by the speed of the 
SLORC advance or hoping to survive under the SLORC/SPDC 
occupation.  Many of these villagers have subsequently fled or tried to
flee  to Thailand due to forced labour and other abuses by the occupation 
troops.

After occupying areas such as Dooplaya, normal SLORC practice is to 
forcibly relocate all small or remote villages to garrison villages where 
they are under direct military control, then to use the villagers as forced 
labour building and servicing new military camps in the area and to build 
military access roads into the area.  This has been the case during the one-
year occupation of Dooplaya, though it has been enacted in various ways 
and to varying extents in the different parts of the region.  Under the
SPDC (State Peace & Development Council, the new name of SLORC since
November 1997) the program of occupation is continuing.

Currently an entire network of roads is being constructed and/or improved, 
primarily centred on the main trading village of Kyaikdon, on the Hong 
Thayaw river in Dooplaya's central plain.  The principal roads being 
constructed include a road to Kyaikdon from Kya In Seik Gyi to the west; 
improvement of the bullock-cart roads northward from Kyaikdon to Kyone 
Doh and Kawkareik, a new road from Wah Lay southward across the 
'hump' to Kyo G'Lee, then turning west to Po Yay and Kyaikdon, another 
new road from Kyo G'Lee eastward to Tee K'Pler through the mountainous 
southern portion of the 'hump', and a planned road from Saw Hta (a.k.a. 
Azin) southward to Tee Hta Baw, a site on the Thai border north of Three 
Pagodas Pass.  Work is also ongoing upgrading the existing dirt road from 
Kyaikdon to Saw Hta and on to the Thai border at Lay Po Hta / Ber Kler.

In mid-February 1998 two convoys totalling 50-70 military trucks loaded 
with convicts from prisons in other parts of Burma were brought to 
Kyaikdon and Saw Hta to begin forced labour on several of these roads.  
Each truck was packed tightly with 30-50 prisoners, so the total may be 
anywhere from 1,500 to over 3,000 people.  However, villagers also 
continue to be used as forced labour on roads around Kyaikdon.  The 
exception is the Wah Lay - Kyo G'Lee - Po Yay road, which has to cross 
mountainous terrain and is being built with earth-moving equipment by 
soldiers under the direction of a battalion of Army Engineers currently 
based at Kyo G'Lee.  In this area of the 'hump' and in some areas right 
along the Thai border further south, most SPDC and DKBA (Democratic 
Karen Buddhist Army, a Karen group allied with SPDC) units are not 
using local villagers as forced labour except as guides; instead they are 
bringing in civilian forced labour for portering and other work from
further  inside Burma, from as far as Pa'an and other towns.  Many of the 
porters seen in the area are ethnically Burman.  The apparent reasoning for 
this is to prevent villagers near the border from fleeing to Thailand, to 
lure refugees in Thailand into returning and to make it easier for Thai 
authorities to justify forced repatriation operations.  However, SPDC and 
DKBA may begin to clamp down on villagers in the southern part of the 
'hump' in retaliation for the early February attack on Dta Law Thaw (a.k.a. 
Sakanthit) village by the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army).  The 
KNLA claims that SPDC forces were temporarily driven out of the village, 
and that more than 20 SPDC troops in the attack.  The KNLA also 
recaptured and continues to hold the villages of Bo Kler Kee and Kyaw 
Plaw near Dta Law Thaw.

Further inside in the central plain of Dooplaya things are somewhat worse 
for villagers.  SPDC troops have a very heavy presence at Saw Hta, 
Kyaikdon and all other main villages, and villagers continue to be used for 
forced labour.  A recent visitor to the Kya In area, along the Atayan River 
in the west of the district, reports that all small villages in the Kya In
/ Kya In Seik Gyi area have now been given orders to relocate to big SPDC-
controlled villages.  Muslims continue to be persecuted and banned from 
most areas where they previously lived, particularly the Kyaikdon area in 
the central plain of the district.  According to villagers from Kyaikdon, 
SPDC troops there have threatened to kill any Muslims in the area, and 
there is a population of Muslims who have 'converted' (at least in public) 
to Buddhism because this is the only way they can still live there.  SPDC 
authorities in Kyaikdon say they want to 'develop' Kyaikdon, and have 
been realigning and reparcelling much of the land in the village.  In the 
process there are reports that some of the betelnut orchards, which occupy 
much of the land in and around the village and are central to the
livelihood  of the villagers, have been cut down.  All villagers who want to 
live in  Kyaikdon, including those who live there and never left, those who 
fled but have returned, and those who move there, are being forced to 'buy' 
their land, even if their house is already on it.  SPDC authorities have 
divided all land in the village into plots big enough for a house and small 
surrounding garden, and villagers must pay 50,000 Kyats to the Army to 
buy their plot.  If their house and garden already span more than one plot 
they must buy as many as necessary to keep their land.  However, there are 
reports that if a villager is already living on the land he/she can get a 
'discount' of part of the price.

The situation in Dooplaya is now growing more complex due to the 
formation of a new army, the "Nyein Chan Yay Sit", or "Peace Army", led 
by Thu Mu Heh.  In English they are now calling themselves the KPA 
(Karen Peace Army).  Thu Mu Heh was the commander of the KNLA's 
16th Battalion until February 1997, when he shocked the KNLA by 
surrendering to SLORC without a fight at the start of the offensive.  
The surrender had clearly been prearranged, and made the SLORC's rapid 
capture of Dooplaya possible.  As a KNLA officer Thu Mu Heh was 
notorious among villagers of the region for his corruption and 
mistreatment of villagers, and he is known to particularly despise the 
Muslim population of Dooplaya.  However, since his surrender he has 
been paraded in the SPDC media, given gifts by SPDC leaders and 
publicly handed authority over several townships of Dooplaya.  He formed 
the KPA, declared himself a General, and according to villagers from the 
area he has now been given authority over the entire region from 
Kawkareik in the north to Three Pagodas Pass in the south.  In the process, 
the SPDC has ordered all DKBA forces in Dooplaya back to Pa'an District 
further north, with the exception of those in the 'hump' and along the Thai 
border north of the 'hump', from Wah Lay to Myawaddy; the KPA does 
not yet operate in these areas.  On a political level, SLORC and SPDC 
have never trusted the DKBA, and it appears that they consider Thu Mu 
Heh and his KPA more reliable and predictable.  Observers in the area 
report that the DKBA and the KPA already do not like each other, and it is 
possible that DKBA forces are being left in the 'hump' so that the SPDC 
can pit the two groups against each other at some point in the future.

After Thu Mu Heh surrendered, most of his troops fled and either returned 
to the KNLA or deserted.  At present villagers report that he only has 200 
or 300 troops.  These are mainly untrained villagers who joined because 
the KPA is now promising that the families of all KPA members will be 
exempt from forced labour, extortion and other harassment by the SPDC 
(a similar promise was used to expand the DKBA when it was first 
formed).  Villagers report that in at least some villages, once a person
joins KPA a mark is made on his house to indicate that people in that house 
are exempt from forced labour.  Right now the KPA has begun an intensive 
training course of all its troops, and in the meantime its officers and 
members who are already trained are acting only as adjuncts to SPDC 
Battalions, 2 or 3 of them assigned to each large SPDC unit.  All KPA 
material supplies, including arms and ammunition, reportedly come from 
the SPDC.

The KPA's major activity at the moment is recruiting, and the group they 
are most actively targetting are the Dta La Ku (a.k.a. Telekoo) people. 
The Dta La Ku are a Karen religious minority who have very strict beliefs 
and practices which in some aspects resemble Buddhism, in others Christianity 
as well as Animism.  They are very devout, following strict codes regarding 
food, dress and lifestyle, and many other Karen regard them as being 
particularly holy and having special powers.  The men are easily
recognisable because they grow their hair long and wear it in a top knot,
held by a 
kerchief or bandana.  The Dta La Ku number an estimated four or five
thousand, living in certain villages of Dooplaya and a small part of
Thailand adjacent 
to the Burma border.  About 1,500 of them fled to Thailand in September 1997 
due to forced labour after the SLORC/SPDC occupation of their villages, but
most of these have returned to their villages over the past one to two
months after agreements were reached that the DKBA would keep them from
being used continually for forced labour.  Their greatest fear in returning
has been the presence of KNLA landmines around the villages, and one Dta La
Ku villager has already been blown to pieces by one such high-powered mine
in the fields around 
his village.

Over the decades the Dta La Ku have been caught between many sides in 
the struggle all trying to coerce or force their support, including the
KNU,  the DKBA and the SLORC; they usually manage to stay independent, 
though they have often paid a heavy price for this in the form of 
retaliations by the Armies of all sides.  Now the KPA is trying to force 
their support; this may be at the instigation of the SPDC, as a way of 
dividing the Karen population even further.  The four main villages of the 
Dta La Ku (Kwih Lat Der, Kwih Kler, Maw, and Kyaw Kwa) have been 
ordered to report the numbers of all Dta La Ku men aged 40 and above, 
and all those aged 15 to 40.  All boys and men aged 15 to 40 are then to be 
trained as KPA militia for their villages.  Joining an armed group goes 
directly against the religious beliefs of the Dta La Ku and against their 
desire to remain above politics.  So far they are refusing the order to 
become militia members, though they report that they are in fear of what 
retaliation they may face as a result.  Dta La Ku elders and villagers
report that if the SPDC and the KPA act against them, they will have to
flee to Thailand rather than join the KPA.

Once the KPA has finished its training it is hard to predict how it will 
operate; however, its words and actions thus far appear to indicate that it 
may try to work on a village militia basis, sending many of its trainees 
back to their home villages to exert direct KPA/SPDC control.  This 
would probably make life much more difficult for the villagers in terms of 
forced labour and extortion (particularly given the known corruption of 
Thu Mu Heh himself), though it may also reduce the number of villages in 
the central part of the district which SPDC troops would otherwise force to 
relocate.  For example, Thay Pa Taw village was initially forced to move 
by SLORC/SPDC, but now the KPA is telling them to return to their 
village.  The SPDC and KPA may decide to impose a system whereby any 
village which fails to provide KPA recruits is forced to relocate.

Regardless of the KPA's existence, the number of SPDC troops occupying 
Dooplaya continues to be very high.  Observers and villagers in the area 
state that the numbers of SPDC troops in the camp at Lay Po Hta, directly 
opposite the Thai Karen trading village of Ber Kler, have increased in 
February, and that enough supplies have been brought in for a year or for a 
significant operation.  Under an agreement with the Thai Border Patrol 
Police and Thai Army, these troops can walk into and out of Ber Kler 
village anytime during daylight hours.  Many of them can be seen walking 
around Ber Kler village in civilian clothes; they bring charcoal, stolen 
cattle, looted furniture and other items to sell, then use the Thai money 
they obtain to buy alcohol, clothing, and dry or tinned foods to augment 
their insufficient rations.  Shopkeepers in Ber Kler state that they have
to watch the Burmese soldiers at every moment because they try to steal 
small items and slip them into their bags.  All soldiers are supposed to be 
in civilian clothes and unarmed, but according to the shopkeepers the 
SPDC officers usually carry pistols half-hidden in the backs of their  
longyi (Burmese sarong).  One Ber Kler shopkeeper has already been 
beaten up by a drunken SPDC officer for refusing to sell him more 
alcohol.  The Thai Border Patrol and Army take no action in response to 
such incidents, "because they are afraid", according to the villagers.  
Instead, the Thai Border Patrol Police regularly drink together with the 
SPDC officers.

Thai forces have only one post in Ber Kler and they have no post at all on 
the road which the SPDC forces use to walk into the village.  Burmese 
soldiers have begun crossing the border into people's betelnut orchards and 
stealing the betelnut from the trees.  Many villagers and shopkeepers in 
Ber Kler are very nervous, feeling that the SPDC may want to take Ber 
Kler and that the Thai Army and the Thai Government have no will to 
defend it.  Half of one hill just outside Ber Kler has already been given
to SLORC/SPDC by local Thai forces as an appeasement offer.  Villagers 
from parts of Dooplaya close to the Thai border furthermore say that 
SPDC officers have told them that if the KNLA mounts any attacks on 
SPDC troops in the area, the SPDC troops will retaliate by launching an 
armed attack on Noh Po refugee camp in Thailand.

Many of these villagers report that given the choice they would rather flee 
to Thailand than stay in their villages because of the forced labour, 
harassment and insecurity under the SPDC occupation.  However, they say 
they are staying in their villages because they are afraid of losing their
land and houses if they leave, and because they have heard that no new
refugees are being allowed in Thailand.

* An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
February 25, 1998 / KHRG #98-U1

[Information Update is periodically produced by KHRG in order to provide 
timely reporting of specific developments, particularly when urgent action 
may be required.  It is produced primarily for Internet distribution.  
Topics covered will generally be reported in more detail in upcoming 
KHRG reports.]

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