The BurmaNet News: April 9, 1998

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The BurmaNet News:  April 9, 1998
Issue # 979

Noted In Passing: : "The DKBA is an armed outlaw group. Thailand can do
whatever it wants to retaliate against its [future] operations on Thai
soil." -- Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Peace and
Development Council (see BURMESE JUNTA DENIES DKBA LINK).

HEADLINES:
===========

THE NATION:  JUNTA LASHES OUT AT SUU KYI PARTY
THE NATION: SUKHUMBHAND IN BURMA
BKK POST: RANGOON AGREES TO REFUGEE AID REQUEST
BKK POST: CHUAN TO CHAIR UN TALKS ON REFUGEES
THE NATION: BURMESE JUNTA DENIES DKBA LINK
BKK POST: BURMA CONFIRMS MINE DEATHS NEAR BORDER
BKK POST: TOP KAREN DEFECTS TO RENEGADES
BUSINESS WEEK:  LETTER FROM BURMA
AP:  US DISAPPOINTED OVER BURMESE REBUFF

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THE NATION: JUNTA LASHES OUT AT SUU KYI PARTY
8 April, 1998

RANGOON - Burma's state-run newspapers yesterday accused democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's party of sowing unrest between the military government
and ethnic minorities.

Government officials were unhappy that copies of a letter of complaint
written by the ethnic Shan State Army to intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt
had been circulated to people attending a celebration at Suu Kyi's compound
on March 27.

The day is observed by the military government as Armed Forces Day, while
democracy campaigners call it Resistance Day to commemorate the struggle
against British and Japanese colonial rule.

An article which appeared in the English-language New Light of Myanmar and
two Burmese-language dailies said the letter was not concerned with Suu
Kyi's party and was distributed to "create misunderstanding between the
government and nationalities and undermine peace".

It did not specify the letter's contents.

The article accused Suu Kyi's party of "subversive and destructive acts"
and warned it would be held responsible if discord between the government
and minorities erupted.

"The letter was to inform a responsible political leader of the policies of
the SSA peace group, steps to find solutions to some problems encountered
in their activities and the need to fulfill the requirements," the
commentary said.

"Copies of the [letter from the] SSA group, which has already made peace
with the government, sent to Secretary-One Lt Gen Khin Nyunt were
circulated stealthily among those present at the Resistance Day ceremony
organised by the NLD," the commentary said, referring to Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy.

"Their intention was to break up the peace restored by Tatmadaw [military]
government and nationalities armed groups, to undermine national unity and
to create misunderstanding and suspense," it said.  
     
"NLD's scheme to break up peace was a great sin, and as a consequence of
this sin NLD will have to face the nationalities and people's opposition,"
it added.

Burma is composed of a volatile mix of ethnic groups, many of which have
rebelled against the government.

The current military government has reached ceasefire agreements with many
of the rebels, but some are still waging war, and others have expressed
dissatisfaction with their agreements.

The Shan State Army is composed of remnants of the military force once
commanded by Khun Sa, an opium warlord who surrendered to the government in
January 1996.

Many of his former troops are still fighting for Shan independence.

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THE NATION:  SUKHUMBHAND IN BURMA
8 April, 1998

DEPUTY Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra  and Deputy Commerce Minister
Photipong Lamsam left yesterday for meetings with members of the ruling
military junta in Burma, officials said. 
     
It is the first high-profile round of discussions between Thai and Burmese
officials since the government of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai took control
in Bangkok last November. 

The two-day visit comes at a time of high tension between the neighbouring
countries, with trade and territorial disputes as well as a spate of
attacks by Burmese backed troops on Karen refugee camps in Thailand
expected to be high on the agenda.
     
Today, they are scheduled to hold talks with Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt,
 first secretary of the ruling State Peace and Development Council. 

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BANGKOK POST:  RANGOON AGREES TO REFUGEE AID REQUEST
9 April, 1998

The Burmese military government has agreed to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees taking a greater role in caring for refugees who
fled fighting inside Burma and taking refuge on Thai soil along the border,
the army chief said yesterday.

Gen Chettha Thanajaro said he had talked to Burmese leaders, especially
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the State Peace and Development
Council, about  the matter and they had no objection.

Moreover, they said Burma is ready to take the refugees back and will
guarantee their safety, he added.

He said the UNHCR will from now on take over the care of refugees while the
army will provide them safety and protect them from external threats.

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BANGKOK POST: CHUAN TO CHAIR UN TALKS ON BURMA BORDER REFUGEES
9 April, 1998
By Achara Ashayagachat

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will today chair high-level discussions on the
role that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should play
with regard to refugees at the Thai-Burmese border.

The meeting at the National Security Council follows consultations between
UNHCR representatives and officials of the ministries of Foreign Affairs
and Interior, the Supreme Command Headquarters and the Royal Thai Army, a
senior Foreign Ministry official said.

The cabinet on March 24 agreed in principle to let the UNHCR assist
refugees on the border in what was a policy shift as the UN agency
previously had limited access to the area. Authorities subsequently agreed
to move camps further inland before the end of the rainy season but other
steps have not emerged.

According to the official Thailand wants the UNHCR to play a limited role
in protecting the refugees and managing the camps, which it feels should be
largely left to the Interior Ministry.

But Thailand would like the UNHCR to play a "monitoring" role, with regard
to refugee movements on the border, as well as the reintegration of any
Burmese who are repatriated, the official added. For the latter, it would
be up to the UNHCR to negotiate with Burmese authorities, he said.

The policy framework-being discussed today is intended to foster
transparency along the border in general, and should help prevent illegal
practices such as logging and drug trafficking,  he added.

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THE NATION: BURMESE JUNTA DENIES DKBA LINK
April 9, 1998

Burma's ruling junta strongman yesterday denied any connections to the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and said he would not mind if
Thailand took drastic retaliatory action against any future violence on
Thai soil by the group.

Quoting Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Peace and
Development Council, Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Panhatra yesterday
said: "The DKBA is an armed outlaw group. Thailand can do whatever it wants
to retaliate against its [future] operations on Thai soil."

Sukhumbhand was speaking upon his return from a two-day visit to Burma late
yesterday evening. He was granted a one-hour talk with the Burmese general
while Deputy Commerce Minister Pothipong Lamsam, who accompanied him, had a
discussion with Burmese authorities over trade and general bilateral ties.

Burmese authorities have consistently denied they were connected to the
DKBA, provided assistance to the group in its attacks on Karen refugee
camps in Thailand, or been involved in operations with other minority
groups which affected Thailand.

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BANGKOK POST:  BURMA CONFIRMS MINE DEATHS NEAR BORDER
8 April, 1998

Burma has acknowledged eight people were killed when a vehicle carrying
guerrillas allied to the government drove over a land mine near the tense
border with Thailand. 

A government official, in a faxed statement seen on Monday in Bangkok, said
four soldiers of the government-allied Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and
four civilians were injured.

The DKBA has launched several cross-border raids over the past month
against refugee camps inside Thailand in an attempt to scare the refugees,
mostly ethnic Karen, into returning to Burma.

Most of the refugees support the Karen National Union, which has fought for
autonomy for Burma's ethnic Karen minority for 50 years.

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BANGKOK POST: TOP KAREN DEFECTS TO RENEGADES
April 9, 1998
By Supamart Kasem, Tak

Logging chief offered 'important position'

An estimated 38 guerrillas and bout 200 relatives have defected from the
Karen National Union to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. This was
confirmed by a senior KNU official last night.

The group went over to the DKBA on Monday after Pado Aung San, its leader
and the KNU's former forestry minister, accepted the offer of an important
position, a source said.

Pado Aung San is the first cousin of Phra U Thu Zana, head of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Organisation, who is lives at Myang Gyi Ngu
Temple on the
Salween River. It is also known as the Three Junction Pagoda by the Burmese.
The Pado, formerly a Buddhist, later became an Adventist.

The group leader is expected to oversee logging operations and protect DKBA
interests in the border timber trade, the source said.

After talks with DKBA officials at a village in Papun district, Karen
state, on Monday, Pado Aung San led his group and their families to the
temple.

Pado Aung San and his followers crossed the border into Ban Mae Wei in Tha
Song Yang district, Tak, in 1995, after his stronghold near KNU
headquarters in Manerplaw was seized by Burmese and DKBA forces.

A source close to Gen Bo Mya, the KNU president, said Pado Aung San had
been a close aide of the KNU leader and trusted by the Karen leadership. He
had helped build a strong arm and as forestry minister was responsible for
securing income.

It was possible the defection was linked to allegations of corruption
against him by other KNU members following a drop in income.

Pado Aung San had attributed the drop to the loss of vast areas to Rangoon
and the DKBA, they said. Furthermore, he was said to have been concerned
about renegade attacks on KNU leaders.

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BUSINESS WEEK:  LETTER FROM RANGOON
13 April, 1998
By Sheri Prasso
Edited by Sandra Dallas

Rendezvous In Rangoon

As my taxi crawls from the airport through downtown Rangoon, the repression
in the air hangs as heavy as the night's humidity. Speed bumps slow the
traffic, and along both sides of the street, hundreds of soldiers with
bayoneted rifles stand every 50 paces. ``They are preparing for Armed
Forces Day,'' explains the driver. But that's three weeks from now. What
could so many heavily armed men be preparing to do? Isn't it scary? ``No,
we are used to it,'' says the driver, resigned to the police state that 10
years of military dictatorship in Burma has produced.

The sight of such weaponry makes me clutch my bag a little tighter, for it
contains dangerous contraband: I am carrying a message, given to me by an
intermediary, from exiled Chinese political prisoner Wei Jingsheng to
Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace prize winner, Aung San Suu
Kyi. ``We find ourselves struggling for the same goals--namely, the rights
and happiness of our people and the peace and progress of humanity,'' the
message, written in Chinese inside the cover of Wei's book, The Courage To
Stand Alone, begins. ``Let us unite, hand-in-hand, to continue our struggle
against dictators.'' In this heavy atmosphere, the book feels electric, as
if it carries a power greater than all these guns combined.

That Burma ended up like this is a tragedy. Fifty years ago, this country
was the most developed in Asia. It was rich in oil, gems, and hardwoods,
and almost every adult was literate. Now, Burma--called Myanmar by the
military regime-is one of the least developed nations on earth, synonymous
with repression, civil war, and human-rights abuses.

Hard-line generals have suppressed dissent for more than a decade,
imprisoning and torturing opponents and refusing to honor the results of
1990 elections. In them, the charismatic Suu Kyi, despite being under house
arrest, won an overwhelming majority. She has not been permitted to take
power, even though many regard her as the rightful ruler.

At the hotel, I make plans to deliver the message. I pack a change of
clothing, and in the backseat of a taxi, I pin my blond hair up underneath
my baseball cap. Using instructions given to me by contacts back in New
York, I direct the taxi to stop a block from the home of an intermediary
who will give the book to Suu Kyi and arrange for me to meet her.

It's nearly 9 p.m. when I hammer on the gate out front. I try to avoid
giving the government security men, parked across the street behind tinted
windows, a glimpse of my face. The dogs begin howling. A woman comes out
and then runs back in. It is several minutes before they open the
gate--heart-pounding moments during which, I later learn, the occupants
decide I am not the late-night knock at the door that they fear might
ultimately take them away.

PRECAUTIONS.  They warn me that the generals in power seem particularly
jumpy lately. I should take precautions. So on the way back to my hotel, I
stop en route to let down my hair, change into a dress, have a well-needed
drink, and, I hope, throw off anyone who might have followed me.

With the meeting set for a few days later, I have some time to see the
city.  I find it full of people starved to speak English, to have contact
with the world outside. At the central market, I ask one young man who
wants to practice his English what he thinks of Suu Kyi. He looks alarmed
but says quietly: ``Very good.'' When I press him for his political views,
he places a finger to his lips, looks nervously from side to side, and puts
his wrists together as if he were being handcuffed. ``Spies everywhere,''
he says. It is illegal for Burmese to discuss politics with foreigners, or
even among themselves.

But what he is most angry about, he says, is that it's hard to make a
living under the military regime. People earn one-tenth of what they need
to survive and must hustle for extra cash. The price of rice is double what
it was last year. The currency has fallen more than 40%, in line with
currency depreciations in the rest of the region. Foreign companies for now
have stopped investing. ``I want to go to your country,'' he says. ``U.S.A.
is very good.''

Two days later, I meet Aung San Suu Kyi. I go again to the intermediary's
house, but this time it is daylight and there are security agents out front
waiting to take my photo. I put my hand over my face, and they do not get a
clean shot. I wait for Suu Kyi to arrive.

GRACEFUL. I am expecting a slender, articulate woman with an air of calm
tranquility. She does not disappoint. If there is a definition of
gracefulness walking, she is it. She hurries me into her white Toyota, and
we sit, tense and in silence, as the driver races to her home. Agents from
five branches of internal security and military intelligence pursue us at
high speed. I crane my head to look. She warns me not to turn around. The
government cars follow until we pass the barricades surrounding her white
University Avenue home, where she spent six years under house arrest.
Technically, she has been free since 1995, but heavy surveillance cripples
her every movement.

Over lunch of rice and fish, she talks of the importance of maintaining
U.S. sanctions against the military regime and of her hope for a democratic
Burma. ``People who come and invest now are not doing the people of Burma
any big favor,'' she says in Oxford-accented English. Her voice is soft but
firm. ``If companies from Western democracies are prepared to invest under
these circumstances, then it gives the military regime reason to think
that, after all, they can continue violating human rights.''

Although I tape our discussion, I transcribe it by hand immediately,
smuggle the pages out of the compound in my underwear, and walk in the
glaring sun toward the armed men at the barricades.

I am stopped for questioning. Name? Passport? What are you doing here? What
is your occupation? They are businesslike and insistent. Hotel? Room
number? Departure flight? The questioning takes place in full view of one
of the many billboards posted around Rangoon. It reads: ``People's Desire:
Crush All Internal and External Destructive Elements as the Common Enemy.''

Am I an external destructive element? Would security men be waiting at my
hotel to crush me? Trembling, I hail a cab and decide to leave immediately,
32 hours ahead of schedule. At my hotel, the desk clerk stops me. ``You
leave now?'' she says, suggesting it more than asking. But just this
morning I had arranged to stay another night. Someone, obviously, has been
asking about me. ``Free car to the airport,'' she says, pointing to a van
with its motor running.

At the airport, each stamp of the immigration counter, departure tax, and
customs brings a growing sense of relief. Even so, boarding is delayed
until well after nightfall. My anxiety grows again. Are they searching the
passenger lists? As I step out from the terminal onto the tarmac, my fears
are confirmed. Internal security agents are waiting with cameras. Flash. In
a split second, I had held my U.S. passport like a shield over my face to
block the picture.

Am I clear? I don't yet know it, but a black-clad security agent is
stalking me in the dark under the plane wing. Flash. Full on this time.
There can be no mistaking my identity. My heart beats wildly as I climb the
steps to the plane. Would they cruelly allow me to take my seat and then
come to take me away?

I fumble for the seat belt and think of home. Land of the free. I try to be
brave. The captain apologizes for the delay--my delay. As the plane begins
its taxi, my breath comes more evenly. I close my eyes. When I get home, I
think, I will not take my liberty for granted. I will cherish my freedom. I
will vote in every election. Maybe I will write a letter to the White
House, just because I can.

My thoughts turn to the Burmese people, those struggling for democracy who
cannot leave, who endure this haunting repression every day of their lives.
According to Amnesty International, at least 80 ``prisoners of conscience''
are being held in Burmese prisons solely for the peaceful expression of
their political beliefs. ``You are so lucky to be American,'' one of them
had told me. Yes, I am.

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AP:  U.S. DISAPPOINTED OVER BURMESE REBUFF
8 April, 1998

WASHINGTON (AP) The United States is disappointed that Myanmar rejected
plans by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to make an official
visit to that country, the State Department said Wednesday. 

If Bill Richardson had been allowed to visit, spokesman James P. Rubin
said, he would have encouraged the Myanmar's military government to begin
meaningful dialogue with the democratic opposition in the southeast Asian
country. 

Leaders of Myanmar, formerly Burma, said Tuesday that Richardson will not
be allowed to visit so long as their government's top officials are barred
from entering the United States. As U.N. ambassador, Richardson is a member
of President Clinton's Cabinet. 

In Myanmar, Richardson had hoped to meet with government officials as well
as dissident leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate. 

Richardson leaves Saturday on a tour that will take him to Bahrain and the
South Asian countries Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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