[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
The BurmaNet News - 16 March, 1998
- Subject: The BurmaNet News - 16 March, 1998
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 01:29:00
------------------------------ BurmaNet -----------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News, 16 March, 1998 (Two-part edition)
Issue #957 (Part 1)
Noted in passing:
"Borders should be inviolable and rigid, as should Bangkok's
foreign policy with regard to Burma." (see THE NATION:
BANGKOK MUST GET TOUGH WITH KAREN RENEGADES)
HEADLINES:
==========
Late Dry-Season Offensive Continues:
AP: PRO-MYANMAR FORCES HIT THAI CAMP
BRIEF UPDATE FROM SOURCES INSIDE MAELA / BEKLOW
ABSDF MEDIA RELEASE: BURMESE ARMY & DKBA PLAN TO
AP: MYANMAR TROOPS ATTACK REBEL BASE
BKK POST: GUNMEN KILL MAE SOT COUNCILLOR
THE NATION: BANGKOK MUST GET TOUGH WITH KAREN
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN: RANGOON FORCES TARGET
REUTERS: U.S., EXILES SLAM MYANMAR ON KAREN REFUGEES
GOVT OF CANADA NEWS RELEASE: AXWORTHY CONDEMNS
JUBILEE CAMPAIGN: HOUSE OF LORDS TO DISCUSS PLIGHT OF
NCGUB PRESS RELEASE: CONDEMNS ATTACK OF HWAY KALOK REFUGEE CAMP
MUSLIM LIBERATION ORGANIZATION OF BURMA: STATEMENT
SHAN: STILL LOTS OF HUAY KALOKE-S TO BE BURNT
Human Rights:
REUTERS: TURKEY, BURUNDI CITED AS OFFENDERS OF MPS'
ABSDF PRESS RELEASE ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
BWU STATEMENT ON BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 1998
Announcements:
IUF CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF FAO BURMA CONFERENCE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
AP: PRO-MYANMAR FORCES HIT THAI CAMP
15 March, 1998
by Don Pathan
MAE HLA, Thailand - A raiding party allied with Myanmar's military
government fired more than 10 mortar rounds Sunday into a refugee camp
in Thailand sheltering 30,000 people, a Thai general said. At least one
refugee was confirmed injured.
Maj. Gen. Chamlong Photong, chief of staff of the 3rd Army, responsible
for the rugged border area, said Thai soldiers returned artillery rounds
and drove off the attackers shelling the Mae Hla refugee camp.
The raiders belonged to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a faction
of the Karen ethnic minority allied with the government of Myanmar
against the Karen National Union, which has battled for more Karen
autonomy for 50 years.
The DKBA attacked and torched another refugee camp, Huay Koloke, last
Wednesday. Three people died and 9,000 were left homeless.
The border is strung with refugee camps filled with some 100,000 people,
mostly Karen, who have fled military offensives in Myanmar that survivors
and human rights groups say have brought rape, murder and torching of
villages to terrorize the populace.
The Myanmar army and its allies are staging a late dry-season offensive
against the Karen nationalists. Refugee camps are targeted to deny the
KNU rear-base support and to frighten the refugees into returning to
Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Tension has been high, especially at Mae Hla, the largest camp, with some
30,000 people. It was attacked a year ago. Chamlong said other camps were
vulnerable to attack, especially Maw Ker, with some 6,000 people.
DKBA and Myanmar troops had gathered for the past two days across the
shallow Moei River that defines the border to attack Mae Hla, aid workers
said. Many residents left the camp Saturday night to sleep across a
highway in relative safety.
The Ministry of Interior warned aid agencies not to send a scheduled
twice-monthly rice shipment into Mae Hla, saying the 10-truck convoy
would present a tempting target. Aid workers said the refugees have
sufficient rice for the time being.
Meanwhile, fighting was raging inside Myanmar between an estimated 1,000
government troops and some 300 KNU fighters near the KNU's 7th Brigade
headquarters at Tha Ko Sutha, north of the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
KNU officials said the pro-Myanmar forces were believed to have infiltrated
Thailand to open a new front against the 7th Brigade. The KNU has suffered
several defeats in recent years and controls relatively little territory
inside Myanmar.
The headquarters was taking artillery and mortar fire from two sides,
KNU officials said, but would be difficult to capture because it is
ringed by mines.
The terror raids on the refugee camps have been condemned by several
Western nations and human rights groups, and Thailand has been urged
to improve security. Thai army troops in the area of Huay Koloke were
said to have done nothing to deter the attack.
Chamlong said more troops and artillery pieces have been sent to the area.
More checkpoints along roads are visible, but visitors to the camps say they
have seen little reinforcement between refugees and the likely lines of
attack.
Aid workers said the Thai army has forced refugees who sought shelter
outside the burned remains of Huay Koloke to return to the camp,
threatening to deport them to Myanmar if they did not.
Thai army and government officials and aid agencies are looking for
a safer site for the Huay Koloke refugees after discounting the initial
idea of moving them to Mae Hla.
**********************************************************
BRIEF UPDATE FROM SOURCES INSIDE MAELA / BEKLOW REFUGEE CAMP
15 March, 1998
8 AM:
The SPDC/DKBA statrted shelling the area around the refugee camp from
east of the camp (near the river/border). The shells fell on Thai soil
in the surrounding area. 105 mm mortars were used.
12.30 PM:
Seven rounds of 105 mm mortars were fired in the area of the camp, five
shells landed in the refugee camp itself. So far it is known that one man
was injured in the leg due to the shelling. Other casualties have not yet
been confirmed.
A message intercepted between the SPDC army and SPDC/DKBA commanders in
the field stated:
"Defence Land Forces Burma Command Directive. Must cross into
Thailand for destruction of refugee camps. Must eliminate all
obstacles on the way, personal or material" (direct translation)
Cars are still able to travel the road between Mae Sot and Mae Sariang,
although there are many checkpoints.
There are apparently still 200-300 DKBA/SPDC troops between the refugee
camp and the river/border. This area is mountainous jungle.
Some refugees have moved across the road to the east side to flee danger.
*********************************************************
ABSDF MEDIA RELEASE: BURMESE ARMY & DKBA PLAN TO
ATTACK KNU & REFUGEE CAMPS
12 March, 1998
Burmese Army troops and its ally Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA) are planning to attack the headquarters of the Karen
National Union's (KNU) 7th Brigade, according to escaped porters.
According to informed sources, Burmese army means to launch an
offensive against the KNU and occupy the 7th Brigade headquarters
before the celebrations of the 53th Anniversary of Burma's Armed
Forces Day.
The operation which is being led by Colonel Maung Toe from
Stragegic Command 3 based at Thaingan Nyinaung near Myawaddy on the
Thai-Burma border and Major Chit Thu, commander of the DKBA.
The combined troops of the Burmese army's Light Infantry Battalion
12, 119 and 111 and the DKBA numbering over 700, along with more
than 200 porters and DKBA soldiers began their operation against
the areas of KNU's 7th brigade on February 27, 1998. The porters
told the ABSDF that the Burmese troops attacked from the direction
of Lei Paw region.
At the same time Burmese army troops from Infantry 4 and 42 under
the command of Tactical Command 333 and DKBA soldiers led by Major
Maung Soe planned to attack the 7th brigade area from the direction
of Tar Lei and Mae La. The porters told the ABSDF that the group
had about 400 soldiers and 160 porters.
Aside from launching an offensive against the KNU, the refugees
living in Mae La, also known as Baegalaw camp were concerned about
the report that DKBA would attack them during the offensive.
According to a refugee living in this camp the refugees are more
worried about their safety after recent attack against the Huay
Kalok refugee camp, which resulted in two deaths, 30 injuries, and
the destruction of almost all of the houses in the camp.
[All Burma Students' Democratic Front]
For more information please call 375-0479.
Latest News: Approximately 300 DKBA and Burmese army troops have
intruded into Thailand near Mae La refugee camp since last night.
*******************************************************
AP: MYANMAR TROOPS ATTACK REBEL BASE
14 March, 1998
by Patrick Mcdowell
BANGKOK - An estimated 1,000 Myanmar troops firing mortars and
artillery attacked a key Karen insurgent base today, raising
tensions along the frontier with Thailand where thousands of
Karen refugees feared cross-border raids.
The attack on the headquarters of the Karen National Union's
7th Brigade, located at Tha Ko Sutha inside Myanmar, just north
of the Thai border town of Mae Sot, met fierce resistance from
about 300 Karen fighters, a KNU spokesman said.
"We were expecting this since a couple of days ago after Myanmar
troops began infiltrating the area," said Ner Dah, a son of the
KNU's commander, Gen.Bo Mya. "If we can't hold on, we'll have to
move to another area."
Myanmar's military regime and allies in a Karen splinter group, the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, have launched a late dry-season offensive
against the KNU along the rugged border, joined with a terror campaign
against refugees in Thailand.
KNU officials claimed that a third person, a teen-age girl, died
Saturday from wounds suffered in Wednesday's raid by 100 DKBA
marauders who penetrated into Thailand and torched the Huay Koloke
refugee camp, leaving 9,000 people without shelter.
Fears were running high of another terror raid against more than
30,000 refugees at Thailand's largest camp, Maehla. It lies 5 miles
inside Thailand, but was nonetheless attacked more than a year ago.
Aid workers said that Thai army troops fired blank artillery rounds
Thursday and Friday night in the direction of DKBA positions as a
warning against further raids.
KNU officials claimed Thai forces repulsed a 100-man incursion
Friday targeting Maehla. The raiders sowed land mines that destroyed
a Thai army truck and wounded two soldiers, the KNU said. Thai army
officials were unable to confirm the reports.
The Myanmar central government has been fighting the KNU, which
desires more autonomy, for a half-century. The regime has made
peace with a score of other ethnic armies over the past decade,
but talks with the KNU have failed.
But the KNU has suffered a series of defeats in recent years and
controls relatively little territory in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The DKBA terror raids against the refugee camps strung along the Thai
border, holding some 100,000 people, mostly Karens, are aimed at
scaring people into returning to Myanmar and denying the KNU rear-base
support.
The Myanmar government maintains the long wars against the ethnic
groups have been necessary to maintain territorial unity. But
human-rights groups and refugees accuse the government soldiers
of systematic murder, rape and destruction of villages.
The raid on the Huay Koloke camp triggered protests from several
Western countries and human-rights groups. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader
of Myanmar's harassed pro-democracy movement, has urged Thailand to
guarantee the safety of the refugees.
Thailand sent a formal protest to Myanmar over the raid, but refugees
and human-rights groups said that Thai soldiers staged in the area did
nothing to defend the camp, a complaint frequently heard after such raids.
Aid workers have urged Thai authorities to either better defend the camps
or move the refugees to more secure areas.
**********************************************************
BKK POST: GUNMEN KILL MAE SOT COUNCILLOR
14 March, 1998
by Supamart Kasem
PRO-RANGOON KAREN RENEGADES SUSPECTED
TAK - A local politician who owned the largest cattle market in this
province was gunned down on Thursday by armed intruders, believed
to be members of the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
Police said Khampho Samutla, a Mae Sot municipal councillor, was
travelling with three other men from the municipality heading for
Tha Song Yang village in Tambon Tha Song Yang to buy cattle.
His car was blocked by a large truck left on kilometre marker 130
on the Mae Sot-Mae Sariang highway at 9 p.m.
When the car stopped, it was showered with rifle fire from an
armed group. Mr Khampho was shot in the chest and died at the
scene. His driver turned the car round and drove to Tha Song Yang
police station.
Local police and soldiers then rushed to the scene but found no
trace of the attackers.
Pol Lt-Col Vinai Onsuwankul, deputy chief of the Tha Song Yang
police station, said the scene was a dangerous zone where the
military imposed a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. because alien
troops often intruded to commit robbery.
He assumed that the DKBA was responsible for the attack.
The incident is the latest in a spate of attacks on Thai
territory by alien troops over the past two years.
The latest such incident took place on Wednesday night when DKBA
forces attacked a Karen refugee camp at Ban Huay Kalok, Tak,
killing two and wounding more than 40.
The attack prompted .an outcry from the world community including
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which was
joined by the European Union yesterday.
Britain, acting as the EU presidency, called for the attacks to
stop, for the Burmese authorities to prevent such incidents from
recurring and for Thai officials to safeguard the security of the
refugees.
The situation prompted people in Tak to complain repeatedly to
local MPs about their lives being in danger. The complaints were
forwarded to the House military committee on Thursday, Democrat
MP for Tak Chaiwut Banawat said yesterday.
The panel was to inquire about the problem from Army
Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro, National Security
Council secretarygeneral Gen Boonsak Kamhaengritthirong and some
Interior officials in charge, because Tak villagers doubted the
efficiency of the government in protecting Thai people in the
border province, Mr Chaiwut said.
Deputy Foreign Minister M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra will raise the
issue with Burmese authorities during his visit on March 27 and
28 originally intended for trade talks, he added.
It was reported yesterday that the refugees have to live in
makeshift shelters which lack hygiene and are beginning to suffer
fever, diarrhoea and infections from burns and bullet wounds.
Parichart Khiawcha-on, a public health officer at Ban Huay Kalok
village, said his clinic had treated over 200 refugees from the
camp.
Under the current situation the refugees refused to leave their
families to go to Mae Sot hospital 12- kilometres away for
treatment, he said.
*********************************************************
THE NATION: BANGKOK MUST GET TOUGH WITH KAREN RENEGADES
14 March, 1998
The six-kilometre trip from the Burmese border to the Huay Ko Lo
refugee camp in Tak province is not a particularly taxing one.
Well maintained dirt roads lead directly to the camp, and for
anyone who loses their way there are two checkpoints manned by
border police to help provide directions.
The 70 Karen marauders who attacked the camp early on Wednesday
morning with heavy machine-guns and mortars were apparently in no
need of such help. They managed devastatingly well on their own.
For more than an hour they ran amok, terrorising the 9,000
residents of the camp and setting alight all 1,613 hamlets in it.
Two women, one of them pregnant, were killed in the raid. Another
33 refugees were injured.
All that was left standing was a Buddhist temple.
Border-patrol officers who stood by and watched the raid provided
reliable witness to the ruthless effectiveness of the raiding
party.
Asked about the incident on Wednesday, Army chief Gen Chetta
Tnanajaro offered the trusty refrain that the attack was an
internal conflict among Karen groups. Stung by criticism that
Thailand's sovereignty' had been trampled on - this bloody
patricidal conflict was after all, being played out on Thai soil
- the military vowed to get tougher in, the future, saying the
army-would beef up border security and keep an eye out for
further incursions.
For the 100,000 mostly Karen refugees living in the string of
camps within easy striking range of the border such pledges offer
little reassurance. The raids have become a regular feature of
life for camp dwellers, and with signs that the 50-year-old war
between the Karen armed group and the Rangoon military
government is warning up again with the arrival of the dry
season, they have little reason to hope for genuine protection
from Bangkok.
Thailand has made it clear it considers the refugees, who have
fled their homes in Burma because of attacks and harassment by
the Burmese military, an irritation to bilateral relations.
Rangoon claims the camps provide sanctuary for Karen guerrillas
and wants the refugees to return to its side of the border. As
part of its strategy to end ethnic resistance to its rule Rangoon
has fostered and employs the breakaway Kayin (Karen) Buddhist
Democracy Army, responsible for Wednesday's carnage, in regular
attacks against the refugees.
To those involved, protecting the national interest is often
viewed as a zerosum game, but it need not be, and in the end such
thinking often leads to more pain than gain.
Thailand has little to show for its pro-Rangoon Burma policy,
first implemented during Gen Chavalit Yonghaiyudh's reign as army
chief. The military junta in Rangoon has been uncooperative he
ending border disputes, businessmen have found little profit from
their ventures in central Burma, Bangkok has been vilified in the
international press, and the security situation along the border
remains as precarious as ever. The armed groups that carried out
Wednesday's attack have previously destroyed Thai property and
killed Thais.
The mercurial leaders of the ethnic armies do not make for
effective foreign-policy partners either, and this being the
case, Thailand's best option would be to ally itself with a code
of conduct in dealing with Burma and stick to it. It should
honour its international obligations to offer sanctuary to the
Karen refugees (even if its insists on calling them displaced
people). It should demand Burma behave in an internationally
acceptable fashion along the border. It should promote honest
dialogue between the ethnic armies and Rangoon. It should no
longer take sides.
Borders should be inviolable and rigid, as should Bangkok's
foreign policy with regard to Burma.
************************************************************
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN: RANGOON FORCES TARGET REFUGEES
15 March 1998
by Ron Corben in Bangkok / agencies
TENS of thousands of Burmese refugees are living in fear of attack
from pro-Rangoon junta forces after the near total destruction this
week of their camp inside the Thai border.
As Thai authorities and refugees workers met in the northern Mae Sot
district yesterday to discuss moving 10,000 Karen refugees after the
murderous attack on their camp on Tuesday, aid sources told The
Australian tension was high among thousands in other camps as well.
The Karen are living in makeshift tents, schools and temples around
the Wangka (or Huay Kolok) camp, which was almost totally burnt to
the ground late on Tuesday, leaving tow dead and about 40 injured.
Mae Sot district chief Thawatchai Fakangkul said yesterday: "Everyone
agrees that the old site of the camp is not safe, and should be moved.
But not all the refugees wanted to leave the camp, despite the state
of panic," he said.
The next target of the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA)
is expected to be the Mae La refugee camp, about 70km north of the
Wangka camp, 480km from Bangkok.
"In the Mae La camp, there are some 30,000 refugees -- making it the
biggest camp along the border," an aid source said.
Refugee organizations at Mae La were already evacuating the camp
hospital after days of the sound of mortar fire from inside Burma.
"Thai authorities had said the mortar fire was just manoeuvres by
the Burmese forces," the sources said. But after the attack on Tuesday,
Thailand was readying to beef up its border security. Both the Thai
Foreign Ministry and Thai army have condemned the attack.
Army generals warned that Thai forces would adopt a policy of hot
pursuit into Burma if the DKBA guerillas --believed to be backed by
Burmese army troops -- again intrude into Thailand.
The US and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Amelia Bonifacio,
condemned the action.
Ms Bonifacio said the UNHCR was "deeply distressed" by the attack.
A senior official from the Burmese junta, the State Peace and Development
Council, rejected claims its troops were involved in the attack.
***********************************************************
REUTERS: U.S., EXILES SLAM MYANMAR ON KAREN REFUGEES RAID
12 March, 1998 [abridged]
BANGKOK - The United States and a group of exiled pro-democracy
supporters lashed out at the Myanmar (Burmese) military government
on Thursday for attacking a Karen refugee camp in Thailand earlier
this week.
"The United States condemns the attack by armed elements associated
with Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on unarmed
civilians in a Karen refugee camp in Thailand on Tuesday, March 10,"
U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said in a statement
obtained in Bangkok.
The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), made up of
pro-democracy exiles from Myanmar, issued a statement condemning
the attack and the Myanmar junta which supported it.
"It is a heinous and detestable act to launch a military attack
against a refugee camp which has nothing to do with military matters,"
an NCUB statement said. "This act of inhumanity has lowered the dignity
of the country in the eyes of the world."
The United States also condemned the Myanmar government and urged it
to find a solution to ethnic problems and put an end to violence.
"We call on the government of Burma to end its campaign of terror and
violence against ethnic minorities and instead to engage in dialogue
with the ethnic groups and with the National League for Democracy (NLD)
to bring about national reconciliation in Burma," Rubin said.
The Buddhist-DKBA split from the predominantly Christian Karen National
Union (KNU) in 1994 and has been fighting its former comrades with
assistance from Yangon ever since.
The KNU continues to battle Myanmar's military government for autonomy
for the Karen state.
*************************************************************
GOVT OF CANADA NEWS RELEASE: AXWORTHY CONDEMNS
ATTACK ON BURMESE REFUGEE CAMP
12 March, 1998 / No. 53
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today condemned yesterday's
attack on a Burmese refugee camp near Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma
border, and expressed deep concern for the victims and their families.
He also welcomed the Thai government's assertion that it will do its
utmost to prevent such attacks in the future.
The Burmese Ambassador to Canada has been called in by the Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to be advised of the
Government of Canada's condemnation of this act.
"Canada is appalled by the cross-border attack on Burmese refugees
in Thailand, a painful reminder of the Burmese government's continued
abuse of its citizens," said Minister Axworthy. "In addition to
transgressing international boundaries, the attack represents an
unacceptable violation of basic human rights."
On March 11, 1998, Burmese military forces, supported by a group
of Karens allied with them, destroyed the Huay Kalok refugee camp
in Thailand. Current reports indicate that four people were killed,
39 wounded, and thousands of refugees left without shelter.
"We urge the Burmese military regime to make a commitment to democratic
reform and to its own stated objective of national reconciliation," said
Raymond Chan, Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) .
The Government of Canada has repeatedly condemned all actions by
Burma's military regime that deny basic human rights to the people
of Burma. Canada suspended bilateral aid to Burma following the
1988 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Rangoon. On August
7, 1997, Canada adopted further economic measures to underscore its
concerns over the suppression of political freedoms. Since 1992,
Canada has provided $685 000 in aid to Burmese refugees in Thailand.
*******************************************************
JUBILEE CAMPAIGN: HOUSE OF LORDS TO DISCUSS PLIGHT OF
THE KAREN AFTER ATTACK ON REFUGEE CAMP
13 March, 1998 [abridged]
The House of Lords is to discuss the plight of the Karen people,
following the devastating Burmese military attack on Wangkha
refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border on March 11th. The House of
Lords debate is scheduled for 25th March and has been initiated by
cross-bench peers.
The motion is to be moved by Lord Alton of Liverpool and supported
by Lord Chalfont, OBE, MC, who was Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs from 1964 to 1970. As an army officer, Lord Chalfont had
participated in the military campaign against the Japanese in Burma
during the Second World War and a contingent of Karen soldiers served
under his command. Describing the bravery of the Karen soldiers, Lord
Chalfont says, "They were extraordinarily loyal and valiant men."
So loyal were the Karen to the British, that General Bill Slim, the
commander of the Burma campaign, wrote, "The Karen are no-fair weather
friends." The British government was not so loyal and their promises
of an independent Karen state were never fulfilled.
Since 1949 the Karen have been engaged in conflict with the Burmese army,
in their struggle for autonomy for Karen state in eastern Burma. There are
approximately 7 million Karen in Burma, about 40 percent of whom are
Christians and the rest are mainly Buddhists and animists.
Widespread atrocities and ethnic cleansing by Burmese soldiers have
driven nearly one hundred thousand Karen across into Thailand where
they seek refuge.
Only a few weeks before the attack, Lord Alton had visited Wangkha camp
as part of a fact-finding mission by the human rights group, Jubilee
Campaign. The camp had a population of 8,769 refugees and was previously
burnt down in an attack by Burmese soldiers on 28th January 1997.
The Lords will also be discussing the genocide currently taking place
in eastern Burma, where over ten thousand Karen men, women and children
are hiding in the jungle, fleeing for their lives from the Burmese army,
who will not hesitate to shoot them on sight. Karen villages are being
systematically destroyed by Burmese troops and those who do not flee are
killed or forced into slave labour, working on government projects such as
building roads and laying railway tracks. Working conditions are harsh,
with long hours and little food. No mercy is shown to those who are too
exhausted to continue and it is common for the soldiers to kill those whose
"usefulness" has ended. In Wangkha camp, Lord Alton had interviewed two
women whose husbands had been murdered when they were too ill from malaria
to continue carrying heavy loads for the Burmese army.
Lord Alton and the Jubilee Campaign are calling for global economic
sanctions against Burma and for the setting up of a War Crimes Tribunal to
try the Burmese military regime and all others responsible for atrocities.
Lord Alton says, "What is happening in Burma today is every bit as evil
as the atrocities committed by the Bosnian war lords. Atrocities in Bosnia
shocked European sensibilities because courageous reporters ensured that
the story was told. Politicians reacted with international and judicial
sanctions. Trials for war crimes have been established at the Hague.
Compare that with our reaction to Burma or to Cambodia. What is intolerable
in Europe should not be any more tolerable because it is in South East Asia.
Is a life in South East Asia worth less than a life in South East
Europe?"
[Jubilee Campaign is an inter-denominational Christian human rights
pressure group.]
For further information you can contact Wilfred Wong on
0171 219 5129.
**********************************************************
NCGUB PRESS RELEASE: CONDEMNS ATTACK OF HWAY KALOK REFUGEE CAMP
12 March, 1998 [abridged]
Asks Quickest Assistance for Refugee Victims; Urges United Nations
Inquiry
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
strongly condemns the calculated and deadly cross-border attack
of Tuesday, 11 March, against unarmed and defenseless Burmese
Karen refugees on Thai territory by forces of Burma's ruling
military junta.
"These repeated cross-border attacks against defenseless refugees
are nothing less than premeditated murder," NCGUB representative
for United Nations Affairs, Dr. Thaung Htun said in New York.
"They are also an insult against the sovereignty of Thailand and
an affront to international standards for treatment of refugees.
We are asking the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to
actively investigate the attack and to publicize its findings and
suggestions to prevent further incidents."
The NCGUB urges the international community to join it in denouncing
this latest in a series of illegal and murderous assaults on refugees
by Burma's military regime. The NCGUB also asks the Royal Thai Government
to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all people on its
territory, and to assist in expediting quick aid to the victims of the
attack.
"We urgently ask for immediate assistance from the international community
to provide food, shelter and medicines for nearly 9,000 people who have
lost all of their few possessions," Dr. Thaung Htun added. "And we implore
the Thai authorities to take action now to stop these attacks before they
escalate to an even more deadly level."
Contact: Dr. Thaung Htun, Tel: (212) 3380048
***********************************************************
MUSLIM LIBERATION ORGANIZATION OF BURMA: STATEMENT
REGARDING ATTACK ON THE HUAY KALOKE REFUGEE CAMP
13 March, 1998 [abridged]
We, on behalf of the Muslim Liberation Organization of Burma ,
strongly condemn the SLORC(now SPDC) / DKBA attack on March 11, 1998
against Huay Kaloke refugee camp in Maesot township which has been a
mere shelter to about 10,000 poor refugees who were forced to leave
their homes and hearth due to the 50 year-long civil war and inhumane
brutalities committed against innocent civilians since 1962.
We count it as an inhumane act of violence against poor and unarmed
civilians and a serious violation of the sovereignty of Thailand.
We would like to demand the SLORC/ SPDC regime to immediately stop all
heinous acts and inhumane brutalities against all Burmese nationalities,
respect sovereignty of neighbouring countries and try to engage in
dialogue with ethnic nationalities and with the National League for
Democracy (NLD) in order to bring about national reconciliation and to
solve Burma's long standing political problems by political means.
Central Executive Committee,
Muslim Liberation Organization of Burma
******************************************************************
SHAN: STILL LOTS OF HUAY KALOKE-S TO BE BURNT
14 March, 1998
What happened at Huay Kaloke on 10 March is in fact a grim reminder
of what can also happen along the rest of the 2,500 km long border
with Thailand.
It is not just those in Huay Kaloke that are in danger but also
hundreds of thousands of others who have homes along the border,
Thai or non-Thai alike.
As long as there are SLORC / SPDC - or whatever name the Rangoon
military junta assumes - and quislings like the DKBA, nobody on
this side of the border is safe.
We, therefore, call upon the Royal Thai Government to promote a
mechanism for the security and safety of the border area people.
S.H.A.N. is certain that everyone along the border is ready to
sacrifice even his life for the protection of his own loved ones.
Let not those in the rush for a fast buck drown the prestige of
Thailand and her proud ancestors over and over again.
S.H.A.N.
*****************************************************
REUTERS: TURKEY, BURUNDI CITED AS OFFENDERS OF MPS' RIGHTS
11 March, 1998 [abridged]
GENEVA - Burundi, Myanmar and Turkey were cited on Wednesday
by a Geneva-based rights watchdog as being among the worst
offenders against the rights of parliamentarians.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which defends legislators
subject to civil and human rights violations, said it would
bring up the cases of 134 deputies in 12 countries at the
Geneva forum of the world's supreme rights body, the U.N. Human
Rights Commission, which starts on Monday.
High on the list was Burundi where the IPU said at least 33
members of a parliament disbanded in a July 1996 military coup
were assassinated, injured in attacks, forced into exile or were
jailed on false or political charges.
Next on the IPU list of offenders was Myanmar (Burma) where it said
12 members of the National League for Democracy were still in detention.
The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990, but the military
government never recognised the results.
The IPU, which groups 137 legislatures around the world and was set
up in 1889, also expressed concern about the arrests of what it said
were scores of NLD parliamentarian-elects in Myanmar in May 1996 and
February 1997.
******************************************************
ABSDF PRESS RELEASE ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
13 March, 1998
ABSDF Repeats Its Call for Political Dialogue on Burma Human
Rights Day
To mark the 10th Burma Human Rights Day on March 13 1998, the All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) is repeating its call
for a substantive political dialogue between the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), the democratic forces and members of
the ethnic nationalities in order to bring peace, democracy and
human rights to Burma.
ABSDF General Secretary, Aung Thu Nyein, says the military must
work towards national reconciliation and release all political
prisoners and begin a process of genuine cease-fire throughout
the country.
"We believe that only a political dialogue can bring about
genuine peace in Burma," said Aung Thu Nyein. It's time for the
SPDC to stop human rights abuses and consider entering into a
dialogue for the sake of the national interest."
The Burmese military have since 1962 under various names
committed all forms of human rights atrocities including rape,
forced labour, summary executions, arbitrary arrests, forced
porterage, forced conscription of children into the army, torture
and forced relocation.
"Despite repeated international condemnation of the regime, these
atrocities have continued with the latest being this week's
heinous attack on the Huay Kalok refugee camp in Thailand by
SPDC-allied troops," Aung Thu Nyein said.
After more than 35 years of military rule, economic problems have
also had a tremendous impact on the people of Burma. Despite its
natural riches, Burma was declared a "Least Developed Country' by
the United Nations in 1987. Burma's economic woes will remain
without the introduction of transparent laws, democratic
governing bodies and independent institutions.
The military regime has refused to recognise the results of the
1990 election in which the National League for Democracy (NLD)
won an overwhelming majority. Instead, through intimidation and
threats, the military has forced elected representatives of the
NLD and other parties to resign. As of January 1998, the military
has forced 53 elected NLD representatives to resign from the
party, while 68 others were forced to resign as Members of
Parliament (MP). Another 37 NLD MPs currently remain in prison,
along with more than 1,000 other political prisoners.
Burma's Human Rights Day was recognised after the death of a
student leader known as 'Phone Maw' on March 13, 1988 during a
demonstration which sparked series of massive widespread protests
resulting in the abolition of the Burma Socialist Programme Party
(BSPP) and creation of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC).
[All Burma Students' Democratic Front ]
For more information please call 01-923 1687
***********************************************************
BWU STATEMENT ON BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 1998
13 March, 1998
Today, the 13th of March 1998, marks Human Rights Day in Burma.
It was this historic day that in 1988 caught the attention of the
international community and highlighted the struggle of the Burmese
people who have suffered all kinds of human rights abuses under a
military dictatorship. This abuse occurred in Burma long before the
events of 1988 caught the attention of the international community.
The nation-wide uprising in 1988 called for an end to the appalling
violations of human rights that were occurring in Burma. Burmese peoples
from all walks of life, all classes and ethnic nationalities, joined
together in a way that they had never done before.
On the 13th of March, 1988, oppressed peoples and monks from all across
the country were peacefully called for the restoration of democracy and
human rights throughout Burma. Despite the peaceful protests, the military
regime crackdown on demonstrators with violence. The result of this
crackdown was bloodshed, death and detention.
Ignoring international appeals and pressure to reform, the Burmese
military regime has continued to implement it's iron-fisted policy of
repression and subordination. Cosmetic changes, such as the military
regimes name change in November 1997, are meaningless in the face of
their human rights record and only serve to conceal the misery of
Burmese people from the eyes of the international community. Women
particularly, have been suffering the brunt of the military's violence
and discrimination and live in a situation of extreme personal danger.
Burmese Women's Union strongly believes that democracy in Burma cannot
be achieved while the military regime remains in power. Similarly, human
rights, especially women's rights and ethnic people's rights, will never
be fully realized under a military government'. Fully committed to this
belief, Burmese Women's Union determines to work, with hands united, to
bring an end to the military dictatorship.
Thus, on this occasion, Burmese Women's Union urges the international
community, human rights organizations, revolutionary forces and the
people of Burma, to join hands in the same belief and hope so that
the military dictatorship in Burma prevails no longer and so our
country can enjoy democracy, human rights and the fruits of real
development for all of it's peoples.
Central Executive Committee
Burmese Women's Union
*************************************************************
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
IUF CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF FAO BURMA CONFERENCE
9 March, 1998
The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel,
Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations
(IUF) is asking the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to
change the venue of its 24th Regional Conference for Asia and
the Pacific (20-24 April) from Rangoon. The IUF will initiate
a boycott campaign of the conference if the venue is not
changed.
For further information on the boycott campaign visit the IUF WEBSITE:
www.iuf.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET No.A. 0349 (I)
14 March 1998
MEETING 2/98 ON ORGANIZING 24TH ASIA AND PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE
The Working Committee for Organizing 24th Asia and Pacific Regional
Conference of the FAO held the meeting No 2/98 at the Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation on 13 March.
*********************************************************************