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AP Worldstream 
 
                   April  06, 1998; Monday 01:49 Eastern Time 
 

HEADLINE: Karen rebels say they have recaptured base from  Myanmar  army 
 Myanmar -Fighting 
 
DATELINE: BANGKOK, Thailand 
 
 BODY: 
    Ethnic Karen rebels said Monday they have recaptured one of their key
bases 
from the  Myanmar  army after abandoning it under heavy attack last month. 
 
   A force from the Karen National Union retook Tha Ko Sutha, the headquarters
of the guerrilla group's 7th Brigade located across the border from the Thai 

town of Mae Sot, last Thursday, said Ner Dah, a KNU spokesman. 
 
    Myanmar  troops abandoned the base after shelling and attacks on their 
supply routes by KNU guerrillas, Ner Dah said. 
 
   ''They retreated because of very high casualties,'' he added, although no
figures for either side were given. 
 
   The Karen have been fighting for autonomy from the government in Yangon for
50 years, but since 1994 have suffered serious setbacks at the hands of the 
 Myanmar  military which has increased troop strength and acquired more
advanced
weapons with funds from foreign investment. 
 
   More than 100,000 mostly Karen refugees are living in camps inside
Thailand, 
having fled offensives and abuse by the  Myanmar  military. 
 
   Although  Myanmar's  military government has reached cease-fires with more 
than a dozen ethnic insurgent armies, Karen and Shan rebels are still fighting
for autonomy, and a truce with Karenni rebels has broken down. 
 
   The  Myanmar  army occupied the 7th Brigade headquarters in mid-March after
the KNU abandoned it following five days of heavy shelling. 

   After the loss of their permanent base, Manerplaw, in 1994, the KNU has
been 
waging a hit-and-run guerrilla campaign from various mobile bases such as Tha
Ko
Sutha. 
 
   Ner Dah said that the KNU was stepping up its attacks on government troops
in
several areas inside  Myanmar.  
 
   He also said that three  Myanmar  soldiers and three members of a breakaway
faction of Karen allied with Yangon had surrendered to the KNU. 
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Copyright 1998 The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd.  
                             All Rights Reserved   
                                 EIU ViewsWire 
 
                                 April  3, 1998 
 
LENGTH: 384 words 
 
COUNTRY:  Myanmar (Burma)  
 
COUNTRY:  Myanmar (Burma)  
 
HEADLINE:  Myanmar  Politics: Image improvement  
 
 BODY: 
    COUNTRY ALERT 
  
FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT 
  
In mid-December a number of changes to  Myanmar's  cabinet line-up were  
made, only one month after a revamp of the ruling junta, in which the  
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), was replaced by the State 
Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Also in December the so-called  
advisory group--formed in November from former SLORC members--was  
scrapped, and a sweeping corruption investigation targeting at least three  
of its members was launched. 
  
These changes suggest that the junta is trying to improve its image, in a  
bid to lessen international criticism, and to head off mounting domestic  
discontent as the economy stagnates. The change in key economic ministries  
and the crackdown on senior members of the junta renowned for corruption  
is intended to boost the confidence of foreign investors as well as the  
public in the junta's ability to manage the economy. 
  
However, these developments should not be seen as a weakening of the  
junta's grip on power. The most high-ranking members of the junta have  
retained their posts in the SPDC and have benefited from the removal of  
some senior rivals. And far from "civilianising" the ruling council and  
cabinet, the reshuffles have brought active regional military commanders  
into the government. In 1998-99 the junta will seek to balance increasing  
international demands for dialogue with the opposition National League for  
Democracy (NLD) with efforts to strengthen its grip on power yet further.  
It will also seek to entrench its political role within a new  
constitution. The National Convention--the body whose task it is to draw 

up guidelines for a new constitution--has not met since March 1996.  
However, the National Convention Convening Committee (NCCC), appointed by  
the junta, appears to be continuing to work on a constitution. The  
guidelines drawn up to date indicate that the constitution will ensure a  
central role in government for the military. In a December reshuffle,  
individuals in the top NCCC posts were replaced, although it is as yet  
unknown if the new NCCC head will push the work forward more rapidly than  
his predecessor. 
  
SOURCE: Country Report 
  
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 
 
LOAD-DATE: April 03, 1998
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All Rights Reserved   
                                 EIU ViewsWire 
 
                                 April  3, 1998 
 
LENGTH: 213 words 
 
COUNTRY:  Myanmar (Burma)  
 
COUNTRY:  Myanmar (Burma)  
 
HEADLINE:  Myanmar  Investment: Difficult operating climate  
 
 BODY: 
    COUNTRY ALERT 
  
FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT 
  
Growth in investment will slow, to 7%, from 9% in the previous year.  
Domestic and foreign investment in key sectors such as hotels has  
collapsed and investment in the manufacturing industries which  Myanmar's  

junta is trying to promote--such as wood products and garments--will also  
be sluggish. 
  
Although the collapse of the kyat could in theory make  Myanmar  a cheaper  
place for foreign companies to invest in, foreign-exchange restrictions  
and rising inflation will increase the difficulties and costs of operating  
in  Myanmar.  The economic crisis gripping other countries in the region  
will also slow inflows of foreign investment--around 50% of  Myanmar's   
stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) comes from the Association of  
South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. 
  
Finally, the sanctions imposed by the US and the loss of trading  
privileges from the US, EU and other countries will be a further  
disincentive to international investors. In 1999/2000 on an output basis,  
industrial growth will pick up to 11% as import constraints are eased, and  
a pick-up in retail trade and tourism will boost services growth to 6.9%. 
  
SOURCE: Country Report 
  
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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The Independent (London) 
 
                             April  3, 1998, Friday 
 
SECTION: NEWS; Page 16 
 
LENGTH: 437 words 
 
HEADLINE: Put people first, urge Nobel winners; Steve Crawshaw on an 
'alternative summit' sponsored by this paper 
 
BYLINE: Steve Crawshaw 
 
 BODY: 
    THE Asia-Europe summit starting in London today is about relationships 
between the states in the two regions. In these, economics dominate. Human 
rights do not. 
 
    Yesterday, however, powerful alternative voices could be heard, saying 
economics should not obscure human-rights. Three Nobel prize-winners addressed
an "alternative state reception", by video and in person, at the Royal 

Institute in central London. 
 
    Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel prize-winning leader of the Burmese pro-democracy 
movement, said in a message smuggled out of her country that it was "time 
everybody stopped trying to separate human rights from economics". She argued:
"I am inclined to believe that a free and secure people have much more to 
contribute towards healthy trade relations than a repressed and insecure 
people." 
 
    The Dalai Lama, 1989 Nobel peace prize-winner, urged openness and honesty
in
dealing with China, whose Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, received a warm welcome
in
London this week. "To quote two Tibetan expressions, 'The closer a friend, the
more faults he will point out', and 'One never hears praise and appreciation 
from a true friend'." 
 
    Jose Ramos Horta, exiled leader of the East Timorese resistance and 1996 
Nobel prize-winner, told guests at the Independent-sponsored reception: "Human
rights are not only a moral imperative. Human rights, fundamental freedoms and
the rule of law are also the only real guarantee of peace and stability that
are
necessary for economic progress." Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary, met Mr Ramos 
Horta this week. He received "assurances" that Mr Cook would raise the East 
Timor issue with his Indonesian counterpart, but few are under any illusions 

that such matters will be centre-stage. 
 
    On the relationship with China, too, rights play little more than a
symbolic
role. The ghosts of Tiananmen Square have become an irrelevance to the EU-
China 
relationship, now entirely driven by business concerns. 
 
    Yesterday's official British gushing about Mr Zhu sidestepped the fact
that 
the slaughter of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square nine years
ago 
remains a central and unresolved historical fact in modern China. 
 
    The event at the Royal Institute yesterday marked a joint collaboration 
between groups that described themselves as jointly representing "the 
unrepresented peoples of Asia". These included the Free Tibet Campaign, the 
 Burma  Action Group, the Tapol human-rights campaign on Indonesia, and the 
British Coalition for East Timor. The group is organising a march tomorrow 
through central London, from Jubilee Gardens to Trafalgar Square. 
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 
 
LOAD-DATE: April 03, 1998 
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Copyright 1998 Kyodo News Service   
                            Japan Economic Newswire 
 
                             APRIL  3, 1998, FRIDAY 
 
LENGTH: 158 words 
 
HEADLINE: EU voices concerns over  Myanmar's  situation 
 
DATELINE: LONDON, April 3 Kyodo 
 
 BODY: 
   The European Union (EU) voiced concerns over  Myanmar's  slow
democratization
and trafficking of narcotics at a banquet for ministers of the Asia-Europe 
Meeting (ASEM) on Thursday. 
 
   Foreign and economic ministers of the 15-member EU told their counterparts
of
10 Asian nations conditions that these two factors are the reasons for the 
European side's reluctance to support  Myanmar  which is currently ruled by a 
junta, Japanese government officials said. 
 
 

   Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defended the 
group's position that it would be able to exercise its influence over  Myanmar
because it had admitted  Myanmar  as a member along with Laos.  Seven of
ASEAN's
nine members, excluding  Myanmar  and Laos, belong to ASEM. 
 
   The ministers gathered at a banquet hosted by British Foreign Secretary
Robin
Cook after ministerial talks which were held in preparation for the ASEM 
leaders' meeting Friday and Saturday. 
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 
 
LOAD-DATE: April 3, 1998 
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April  2, 1998, Thursday, BC Cycle  
                          02:36 Central European Time 
 
SECTION: International News 
 
LENGTH: 323 words 
 
HEADLINE: U.N. urges U.S. to separate drug eradication from politics 
 
DATELINE: Yangon 
 
 BODY: 
    The U.N. Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) has urged the United States to 
continue donations to drug eradication projects in  Myanmar (Burma)  despite 
political objections to the military regime running the country, sources said 
Friday. 
 
    "The U.S. funding in eradication should be objectively viewed in
separation 
from politics," said UNDCP representative Richard Dickens, after wrapping up a

two-day seminar on opium crop substitution strategies held in Yangon on Monday
and Tuesday. 
 
    Dickens said that the United States and Japan have pledged 3.8 million 
dollars to support the UNDCP's opium crop substitution programmes in  Myanmar
-
the world's largest producer of opium and its deadly derivative heroin. 
 
    The U.S. government has severed all other aid programmes in  Myanmar
since 
a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Yangon in 
September 1988. 
 
    According to the U.S. State Department's International Narcotics Control 
Strategy Report (1997), there were 155,150 hectares under opium cultivation in
 Myanmar  last year which could yield a maximum of 2,365 tons of opium gum, 
enough to produce an estimated 197 tons of heroin. 
 
    The UNDCP has been trying to introduce alternative crops to opium growing 
areas in the country, a tactic that has proven successful in neighbouring 
Thailand. 
 
    "Normally the value of substitution crops cannot compare with the value of
poppy crops, but some crops can fetch the near value," Dickens told a press 

conference. 
 
    He said substitution crops that showed promise included sugar cane,
pulses, 
rice, coffee, tea, mulberry, walnuts, rubber, plums, chestnuts and Japanese 
buckwheat. 
 
    "So far experimentation with buckwheat from Japan has been encouraging,
with
the possibility for growing three crops per annum," said Dickens, who added
that
one drawback remained high transportation costs between the remote, 
opium-growing areas and the capital. dpa aso pj cm 

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               Copyright 1998 British Broadcasting Corporation   
                        BBC Summary of World Broadcasts 
 
                            April  2, 1998, Thursday 
 
SECTION: Part 3 Asia-Pacific;  BURMA;  FE/D3191/B 
 
LENGTH: 1346 words 
 
HEADLINE: Opposition leader moots power sharing; criticizes European stand 
 
SOURCE: Source: 'Publico' web site, Lisbon, in Portuguese 31 Mar 98 
 
 BODY: 
   [2] 
 
   Burmese prime minister in exile Sein Win has advocated a "dialogue" with
the 
military government in Rangoon. In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper 
'Publico' he said that he wanted to see Europe follow the USA in imposing 
sanctions on Rangoon. He questioned the value of "positive engagement" . The 
opposition National League for Democracy did not rule out sharing power with
the
military government, he said, adding that the people still wanted democracy 

and opposition continued. Aung San Suu Kyi, he said, remained the movement's 
leader. The following are excerpts from a report from the ' Publico' web site
on
31st March; subheadings as published: 
 
   Sein Win, the Burmese prime minister in exile, advocates "dialogue" with
the 
junta and he does not rule out sharing power with the generals. All 
possibilities will be considered by the democratic opposition. Aung San Suu
Kyi 
[secretary-general of the National League for Democracy, NLD] will be the 
natural leader of a democratic government. Europe could help by imposing 
sanctions against Rangoon... 
 
   Sein Win has been in Portugal since Sunday [29th March]. It is the third
time
he has visited Portugal (which does not recognize Rangoon) for a "private"
visit
with official contacts... The visit was organized by the Karen National Union 
(KNU), led by Sarkis Istanbulyan, a Dutch citizen who has lived in Portugal
for 
more than 20 years. 
 
   ['Publico'] Joining ASEAN has broken  Burma's  isolation since 1989. Has
the 
junta stopped being a regime of pariahs? 
 
   [Sein Win] The generals are still pariahs in the international community. 
Joining ASEAN has helped them a lot but they have not obtained general 

recognition because they continue to commit atrocities and not honour the 
people's wish to participate in the political process. The generals will never
have a normal relationship with many countries such as the USA, because of
human
rights violations, drug trafficking and civil war. They cannot hide what is 
happening in the country. 
 
   [Q] What is the current economic situation? 
 
   [A] The junta is in the worst situation (since 1988). Rice production, 
traditionally  Burma's  main export, has dropped to very low levels. This is 
very bad. On the other hand there are investments which are not coming in and 
others which are compromised for political reasons. The Asian crisis has also 
played a role in the drop in investment in  Burma.  
 
   [Q] Who are the largest foreign investors, or in other words, who is 
supporting the junta? 
 
   [A] The United Kingdom is the main investor, followed by Singapore, the
USA, 
France and Thailand, and the projects are linked mostly to oil and gas. 
 
   [Q] Washington has been harder on the Burmese regime than Brussels. What
does
the Burmese opposition expect from the EU? 

   [A] There are certain political differences. In general, the USA and the EU
agree on the defence of democracy, but we feel a greater support from the US 
people and from Congress, this was reflected in the approval of sanctions 
against US investment in  Burma.  Europe has not gone this far, it has 
introduced restrictions on visas, arms embargoes and other measures, but we 
would like to see sanctions against the regime, on any level: multilateral, 
bilateral or selective. 
 
   [Q] What is the use of "positive engagement" with a dictatorship such as
the 
Burmese? 
 
   [A] We do not see any results from that type of engagement. We are not
saying
one should not talk to the junta, because we do not want to isolate it, and 
dialogue is always good. We are not inflexible. But the junta joined ASEAN a 
year ago and the problems of drugs, war and the refugees on the border with 
Thailand have not changed at all. 
 
   [Q] But do the sanctions have any effect? Texaco, Unocal and Arco are US 
companies doing business in  Burma,  as does France's Total and Britain's 
Premier. 
 
 

   [A] Texaco has to a certain extent transferred its projects and it has 
changed or withdrawn its business from  Burma,  and there is currently great 
pressure on Arco and Unocal including banning new investment. 
 
   "Firstly, dialogue" 
 
   [Q] Would the NLD accept negotiating with the junta to enter some sort of 
agreement? 
 
   [A] It is necessary to say two things. Firstly, the NLD has always invited 
(the junta) to a dialogue without any preconditions. It is the generals who 
impose preconditions. Secondly, the NLD has always favoured national 
reconciliation and could negotiate, in my opinion, with the military to obtain
this goal. It is a delicate negotiation, very subtle, and I cannot say on what
terms, when and how it would happen. 
 
   [Q] Would the NLD agree to share power? 
 
   [A] What Suu Kyi herself has said is that it is necessary first to start a 
dialogue and then discuss that question, if it is raised. But in principle we
do
not rule out that possibility. 
 

   [Q] There have been reports of divisions at the heart of the NLD. Are there
any internal rifts? 
 
   [A] What I know is that there has been no official declaration on this
issue.
The NLD held its national congress in September 1997 and it took an important 
political decision concerning dialogue, when it decided that the chairman (of 
the party), Aung Shwe, and the secretary-general, Suu Kyi, could participate
in 
any process. I would also like to say that as the NLD is a democratic party,
it 
is normal for there to be different opinions. That is in the nature of a 
democratic institution, which does not have the rules which guide the
military. 
Perhaps there are different strategies. 
 
   [Q] Do you think that the people, 10 years after the student uprising, 
maintain their position in favour of democracy? 
 
   [A] There has been no change in the position of the people because there
has 
been no progress from the regime, and people remain unhappy for many reasons. 
The opposition still has the support of the people. Although people live in a 
state of fear, there is a great aspiration for democracy and no repression can
stop that. Over the last few months there have been activities by trade unions
and Buddhist monks, who have staged a number of small strikes in textile 
factories throughout the country, the latest one in the Shan state. The 

workers demanded better salaries and better working conditions. The regime
fears
another uprising like the one in 1988 and it reacts to these strikes with 
violence. Students, in banned movements, also continue with their activities. 
 
   Suu Kyi in government 
 
   [Q] How to you propose to resolve the problem of ethnic diversity in
Burma, 
for example the Karen majority or the "Shan state" ? 
 
   [A] In principle, we all agree with a federal state, multiethnic, with wide
autonomy for all groups and a democratic system. It is on this basis that we 
will have to hold talks time and again. 
 
   [Q] Do you think it is possible to reduce the production and traffic of 
drugs? 
 
   [A] We are optimistic with regard to drugs because the main problem is 
political, even if in many areas it is cultivated for quick profits. Crops
from 
which heroin can be produced are easier to grow than others, in areas of 
instability or fighting. If there is peace, drugs will cease to be produced in
many areas where it now grows, furthermore because the production and traffic
of
drugs is linked to the financing of the junta's war effort. 

   [Q] What would be Suu Kyi's role in a democratic  Burma,  since she did not
stand in the 1990 elections? 
 
   [A] She did not stand because she was not allowed to by the military. 
Technically she was not allowed, because she could have stood even without 
leaving her home; she did not need to campaign. But that will not be a
problem. 
She is the leader of the democratic opposition. Suu Kyi has the support of all
the ethnic groups. At the moment she is still under surveillance. The junta 
allows her only a small number of outings and allows her visitors in her home,
albeit in controlled numbers, the telephone is bugged and it is necessary to 
contact her by other means. But all these obstacles will fail, just as six
years
of house arrest failed. 
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 
 
LOAD-DATE: April 1, 1998 

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Xinhua News Agency. 
 
                             APRIL  3, 1998, FRIDAY 
 
LENGTH: 262 words 
 
HEADLINE: british- myanmar  firm to set up soap factory in yangon 
 
DATELINE: yangon, april 3; ITEM NO: 0403123 
 
 BODY: 
   a british- myanmar  joint venture company -- myanmar  cole and win co ltd 
--will set up a soap factory in yangon, and 40 percent of its products will be
exported, the new light of  myanmar  newspaper reported friday.  the factory
is 
to be established in the hlaingtharya industrial zone in the northwest of 
yangon, one of the five such zones developed in the capital in recent years. 
under the land-lease contract signed here thursday between the joint venture 
company and the human settlement and housing development department of 

 myanmar  construction ministry, the company will build a soap powder and
liquid
factory on a 0.47-hectare plot of land in the zone to produce household toilet
requisites and chemicals to be used in manufacturing soap, the report said.
the
453-hectare hlaingtharya industrial zone was initially developed by local 
entrepreneurs who set up such industries as food processing, textile, 
engineering, electrical goods, chemicals, forest products and animal
foodstuffs.
the development of the zone was later joined by multi-national foreign firms 
including those from britain, france, japan, singapore and thailand, as well
as 
by  myanmar -foreign joint ventures, leasing land in the zone and running
dairy 
products, galvanized iron sheet, and sanitary and garment factories.  thanks
to 
improvement of infrastructure in the zone, local developers are applying for 
more industrial land, and at the same time attracting more foreign
entrepreneurs
to invest in export-oriented industries. 
 
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Copyright 1998 COMLINE News Service   
                       COMLINE Daily News Transportation 
 
                                 April  6, 1998 
 
LENGTH: 150 words 
 
HEADLINE:  Myanmar  Authorities Would Welcome Auto, Bike Assembly Plants 
 
 BODY: 
   The government of  Myanmar (Burma)  is indicating a desire to welcome auto 
and motorbike assembly factories in the country. Currently  Myanmar's
populace 
owns fewer than 370,000 vehicles. The Asian fiscal crisis has caused grave 
conditions for  Myanmar  as well, but the country, which entered ASEAN in
1997, 
recognizes the importance of an auto industry to the building of a market 
economy among its population of 47 million.  The director of ASEAN's auto 
federation revealed  Myanmar's  desire to open the way for auto assembly, 
according to the Bangkok Post. Thailand, which has the highest concentration
of 
parts industries in the ASEAN region, has seen auto and parts manufacturers 
cutting back on production since last summer, but there is a recognition of a 
need to include  Myanmar's  market in any strategy to take advantage of a
future
recovery. 

   Ref: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, 04/02/98, p. 4 
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Copyright 1998 Info-Prod Research (Middle East) Ltd.   
                             MIDDLE EAST NEWS ITEMS 
 
                                 April  5, 1998 
 
LENGTH: 120 words 
 
HEADLINE: TELECOMMUNICATION DEAL SIGNED WITH  BURMA  
 
 BODY: 
    A ceremony to sign a credit agreement and supply contract between the 
 Myanmar  Posts and Telecommunications and Ucom International of Singapore to 
install 20,000 more CDMA radio telephone lines in Yangon (Rangoon) was held
last
week in Yangon. The CDMA radio telephone system is the most modern telephone 
system using wireless radio telephone technology. Under the contract, the 
Singapore company will supply CDMA equipment manufactured by Qualcomm Inc. of 
America. CDMA, like auto-telephone exchange system, allows direct dialing to
be 
made between  Myanmar  towns with auto-exchange stations and abroad. Another 
3,000 CDMA lines are being installed in Yangon under the agreement reached on
26
August 1996. 
 

LANGUAGE: English 
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Copyright 1998 Agence France Presse   
                              Agence France Presse 
 
                            April  03, 1998 16:10 GMT 
 
SECTION: Financial pages 
 
LENGTH: 140 words 
 
HEADLINE: Singaporean firm to build luxury hotel in southern  Myanmar  
 
DATELINE: BANGKOK, April 3 
 
 BODY: 
   A private hotel firm from Singapore signed an agreement in Yangon on Friday
to build and operate a hotel on an island in southern  Myanmar's  territorial 
waters, state-run media reported. 
 
   The agreement was signed by  Myanmar's  Tourism Ministry and Victoria 
Entertainment Resort Club Ltd., Television  Myanmar  said in a broadcast 
monitored here. 
 

   It said the 250-room international class hotel costing 40 million US
dollars 
would be built with 100 percent Singaporean investment on the Nawarlay-
Nawargyi 
Island in the Andaman Sea, located near Kawthoung, the country's southern
border
landmark town. 
 
   The hotel is scheduled to be ready in three years, the report added. 
 
   The signing ceremony was presided over by the  Myanmar  junta's first 
secretary Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt and Yangon-based Singaporean
diplomats. 
 
   smo/bl 
 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 
 
LOAD-DATE: April 03, 1998 
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