"40 ARRESTED IN RANGOON" - BBC

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

40 ARRESTED IN RANGOON
 
According to BBC World Service News of 11.00 GMT of Suday 1
March 1998, 40 "students" with "links to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and the NLD" have been arrested in Rangoon,  accused of
planning terrorist attacks on public buildings and
assassinations of government leaders. A student spokesperson
said the charges were fabricated, and part of the military's
campaign against the NLD (this summary from memory -- DA)
 
 
Note from David Arnott: The last lines of Gerald Roberts'
25/2/98 piece in "The Nation" (Bangkok), "Trouble ahead for
Burma", state that "... the Burmese junta had done everything
it could to stop the fall of the kyat, but it was to no avail.
However, on the day when the junta announced it had held a
secret meeting with some leaders of the NLD, against all
economic trends and expectations the value of the kyat rose
against both the dollar and the yuan." It will be interesting
to see what happens to the Kyat in the light of these arrests.
 
 
I enclose a posting from "OKKAR" on the arrests.  I could not
download the full message for technical reasons.
 
David Arnott 
 
Geneva 1 March 98
 
 
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** Topic: Press briefing on 1st March **
** Written  3:23 AM  Mar  1, 1998 by OKKAR66127@xxxxxxx in
cdp:reg.burma **
Press briefing on 1st March
********************************
     
       A press briefing was held  at Myanma Radio and
Television Department, Yangon on 1st March. Present were
Deputy Ministers, journalists and invited guests of about 72,
it is learnt. 
 
     The following is the  speech given at the press
briefing:-
 
---------------------
 
 TIMELY ARREST OF CONSPIRATORS OF THE ABSDF INSURGENT GROUP
AND BCP-UG INVOLVED IN TERRORIST PLOTS AND SUBVERSIVE
AGITATION NLD CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH APPREHENDED TERRORISTS
 
DAW SUU KYI'S PERSONAL BODYGUARDS OF THE NLD YOUTH FOUND TO BE
MEMBERS OF ABSDF INSURGENTS.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,
 
 
     "Today's news briefing concerns the timely apprehension
of terrorists led by Ko Thein (a) Thein Tun who were caught in
attempts to commit terrorist acts under the supervision of the
ABSDF insurgent group in Yangon and other bustling towns.
 
     Their aim was to undermine public confidence in the
Government and to deceive the international community into
believing that peace and stability was deteriorating in the
Union by committing a series of terrorist acts by bombing
buildings and busy, crowded places. It has been brought to
light that they had even hatched a plot to assassinate State
leaders if an opportunity arose and to launch bomb attacks
against embassies of ASEAN nations.
 
     While plotting to commit such acts of terrorism on the
one hand they also collaborated with the subversive,. BCP-UG
(Underground) remnants to launch a destabilization campaign
and to instigate unrest by spreading rumours and sending false
reports on the internal situation to other insurgent groups.
 
     Now all these ruthless terrorist plots have been exposed
along with concrete evidence relating directly to their
destabilization campaign, instigation programmes aimed at
inciting public unrest, their contacts with insurgent
groups, the collaboration with the Ba Ka Tha and BCP-UG (Burma
Communist Party - Underground ) remnants.
 
     It is a well-known fact that the ABSDF was set up in
Manerpalaw Camp in the KNU insurgent area on 5 November, 1988
with Tun Aung Kyaw as Chairman, Yu Nwe as Vice Chairman (1),
Dr. Naing Aung as Vice Chairman (2) and Than Win as General
Secretary . Then at the meeting held on 20 February 1989 it
was reorganized with a 15-member Central Committee with Moe
Thee Zun as adviser. But at the Second Conference held in the
Minthamee Camp (KNU Area) on 11 November, Moe Thee Zun was
appointed chairman. But the ABSDF disintegrated into two
factions one led by Dr. Naing Aung and another by Moe Thee Zun
on 27 September, due to internal struggles with student
killing student, and the KNU killing other students. They were
also in financial difficulties. After the collapse, each
faction operated independently. 
 
     At the Conference held in Htee Ka Pale Village in the KNU
area from 23 to 28 May, 1996, the two factions were reunified
after a bargain was made to appoint Dr. Naing Aung as
Chairman, Moe Thee Zun as Vice Chairman and with the General
Secretary appointed from Moe Thee Zun's faction. But the ABSDF
was again reconstituted on 15 September, 1996 with a 27-
member Central Committee headed by Dr. Naing Aung as Chairman,
Moe Thee Zun as Vice Chairman and Aung Thu Nyein as General
Secretary. After this a Central Military Commission was formed
to coordinate and step up underground activities and military
action with terrorist bomb attacks within the country. That
commission was headed by Dr. Naing Aung as Chairman, Moe Thee
Zun as Vice Chairman, Sai Myint Aung as Secretary ( I ) and
Myo Win as Secretary (2). Myo Win was given the responsibility
of closely supervising terrorist bomb attacks, but he in turn
delegated authority to Ko Thein (a) Thein Tun - a former ABSDF
Central Committee member and Central Committeee Chairman of
ABSDF - Unit 207 to carry out subversive programmes and
acts of violence. Ko Thein (a) Thein Tun established his base
in Be Klot refugee camp near Maela village from which to
launch his campaign of subversion and terror.
 
     Before the 1988 unrest Ko Thein (a) Thein Tun had once
run a photographer's shop on Sule Pagoda Road, but during the
period of unrest he had participated in demonstrations under
the banner of the Hiking and Mountaineering Association while
eking out a living by distributing an illegal journal under
the name Nyi Nyut Ye (Unity). At the end of the unrest, he
went underground and underwent military training in various
camps and served in the other ranks of the ABSDF unit 207. At
the Second ABSDF Conference held in 1989, he was elected as
chairman of Unit 207. Then he was chosen together with 31
other trainees to attend a political training course known as
GREEN NOVEMBER 32 in Bangkok. The training was organized by
the National Democratic Front and was conducted by instructors
from England, Thailand, Colombia and Norway. Towards the end
of 1990, when he had completed demolition training in the KNU
Popahta Camp, he dispatched fellow trainees Nyi Nyi Tin and
Soe Min ( Thaton) into the country fully equipped with
Explosives and demolition equipment in August 1997. This
terrorist group dispatched by Ko Thein was apprehended and
their terrorist schemes were foiled. The news was reported in
all Myanmar Newspapers issued on 31-8-1991. Furthermore, in
April 1992, Ko Thein dispatched Thant Zaw Swe (a) Thant Zin of
Wakema and a member of ABSDF unit 207 who had completed
demolition and telecommunications training to the country to
gather information and recruit new members. According to
reports, Thant Zaw Swe while in Thaton, recruited workers,
Khin Tun, Soe Myint and Min Thu of the Yangon Railway Station
by deceiving them with offers of  
 
WARNING: the rest of this message was a binary, which is only
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