The BurmaNet News: June 26, 1998

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

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

The BurmaNet News: June 26, 1998
Issue #1035

HEADLINES:
==========
U.S. NEWSWIRE: PRESIDENT NAMES WIEDEMANN 
BKK POST: NEW DEALER ON THE BLOCK
BKK POST: LAST LINE OF THAI BURMA PIPELINE LAID
THE SEATTLE TIMES: SINGAPORE MAY END BAN ON FILMS
NCGUB: PRESS RELEASE: CONVENE THE PARLIAMENT!
BAG-UK: METHODISTS TO BOYCOTT TOTAL OIL
****************************************************************

U.S. Newswire: President Names Wiedemann as U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia
17 June, 1998 

[Article has been edited, with the most relevant information for BurmaNet
readers placed earlier in the article -- BurmaNet Editor.]

WASHINGTON, June 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The President today announced his
intent to nominate Kent M. Wiedemann to be U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom
of Cambodia.

[His career [...] includes Senior Policy positions in Washington,
successively serving as Senior Director for Asian Affairs and Special
Assistant to the President at the National Security Council, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Asia),
and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
 Most recently, he was Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon,
Burma.]

Kent M. Wiedemann, of San Mateo, Calif., is a Career Member of the Senior
Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor.  Prior to his Foreign Service
career, Wiedemann served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia, and was
a Manager for supervisory training at Hewlett Packard Company working in
both California and Europe.

With the Department of State since the 1970s, Weidemann was first assigned
as Economic and Consular Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Poznan, Poland,
and then as International Relations Officer in the Inter-American Affairs
Bureau on foreign aid and human rights issues. Wiedemann served in Beijing
following Chinese (Mandarin) language training.  He was transferred to the
U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai to direct political and economic reporting.

He was awarded a one-year position as Senior Fellow and
Diplomat-in-Residence in the International Affairs Program at the East-West
Center in Honolulu, and was reassigned to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as
Counselor for Economic Affairs.

Wiedemann was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore
before returning to the Department of State to be Director of the Office of
Chinese and Mongolian Affairs.  He was honored with a one-year Senior
Seminar in International and Domestic Affairs and was later Deputy Chief of
Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Wiedemann earned a B.A. in History at San Jose State University in l967,
and an M.A. in International Relations at the University of Oregon in l973.
 He speaks Chinese, Polish, German, and Trukese (Micronesia). 

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

The Bangkok Post: New Dealer on the Block
25 June, 1998 

Ethnic Wa drug traffickers are reportedly not totally happy about
inheriting Khun Sa's formidable heroin empire following his surrender to
Rangoon in Jan 1996, but they have done very nicely by diversifying into
amphetamine production.

Over one million tablets flow into Thailand each month, most of them from
Wa-controlled areas, according to a police source.

Intelligence from the Burmese border since early this year indicates the
traffickers are diversifying even further, with Ecstasy for the Thai market
coming on line as a new product.

At least one European chemist has been flown in, reportedly from the
Netherlands, to carry out experiments in an area just across the border,
say the reports.

Apparently, though, there are problems with the lack of certain key
ingredients and a controllable laboratory environment.

Ecstasy is one of the most sought after synthetic drugs among affluent
Thais. It currently costs at least 1,000 baht a tablet and is produced in
Europe. Wa traffickers hope to put their version on the market at below
half that price.

Thai narcotics officers are worried by the presence of armed Wa groups just
across the border from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son, and have
sought the help of both Burma and China as they wield considerable
influence with the Chinese-speaking ethnic group.

The Wa, originating from the northeastern Shan State on the Burmese border
with China, are feared warriors. A branch was long a part of the now
defunct Communist Party of Burma (CPB).

In recent history, the Wa have been used by both Rangoon and Bangkok in
not-so-covert operations to counter the influence of whoever was the
warlord of the day. The most recent example of this was when Wa soldiers
were moved from the north to help Burmese soldiers in their fight with Khun
Sa.

Sources say Rangoon has been having problems with the Wa since Khun Sa's
surrender as they have refused to return to their northern homes and have
grown rich and powerful through the drug trade.

The Wa's new-found drug success is attributed to their warrior nature,
their ample arms and ammunition left over from the days when China
supported the CPB, their continued Chinese connections, and their
familiarity with the opium trade.

The Wa region is one of Southeast Asia's most fertile areas for growing
opium poppies and the group has had a share of the trade since the British
Colonial days.

They have comfortably taken over Khun Sa's operations, and sources say they
may have linked up with his eldest son in the Doi Lang area while small but
well-protected groups are making for Myawaddy. 

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

The Bangkok Post: Last Line of Thai-Burma Pipeline Laid
25 June, 1998 by Bhanravee Tansubhapol 

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand yesterday laid the last stretch of a
Thai-Burmese gas pipeline after clearing a last minute doubt over border
demarcation, a PTT official said.

The work went ahead after high-level prompting by Burmese authorities, who
were anxious to ensure that the pipeline could begin delivering gas from
Burma to Thailand on Wednesday July 1 as scheduled.

PTT authorities laid the final stretch, measuring about four metres, at Ban
I-tong, in Kanchanaburi province, after receiving assurances from Thai and
Burmese authorities that it would not obstruct subsequent border
demarcation work in the area.

"We were worried that there would be problems with border demarcation work
later if we laid the pipeline in that area," an official said.

With only finishing touches, mainly joining work, to be done, the official
expressed confidence that the pipeline would be ready to deliver by Wednesday.

The controversial pipeline, measuring 270 kilometres altogether, is set to
supply gas from Burma's Yadana field in the Gulf of Martaban via
Kanchanaburi province to a power plant in Ratchaburi.

A foreign ministry source said pressure for the last stretch to be
completed came from Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council.

Their concerns were expressed by Burmese Energy Minister Brig-Gen Lun Thi
to Thai ambassador in Rangoon Pensak Charalak on June 4.

The Burmese ministry at the same time turned down a proposal -- put forward
in April by Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra -- for technical
teams to discuss border demarcation at Ban I-tong and two other disputed
areas he identified as priorities. 

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

The Seattle Times: Singapore May End Ban on Films 
15 June, 1998 

SINGAPORE - Singapore is reviewing bans on two films, "The Year of Living
Dangerously" about Indonesia and "Beyond Rangoon," set in Myanmar, a
government official said today.

"We hope to complete the review of these and other films quickly so that
distributors can bring them into Singapore for public screening, if they
wish to do so," the official said.

"The Year of Living Dangerously" is set during the bloody events of 1965
around what the Indonesian government calls a failed communist coup.

The events led to the replacement of President Sukarno with President
Suharto, who resigned last month amid the country's worst economic crisis
in decades and calls for reforms.

The film, starring Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, was banned in Singapore
shortly after its release in 1983.

"Beyond Rangoon," a John Boorman film starring Patricia Arquette, was seen
as critical of the military government of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

It is believed the two films were banned because of Singapore's desire not
to show films critical of friends and neighbors.

Its relations with Indonesia, a giant neighbor of 200 million people and a
major trading partner, have been particularly sensitive.

Singapore has strict guidelines on broadcasting and publications, censoring
films, magazine and books deemed controversial.

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

NCGUB: Press Release:  Convene the Parliament! 
24 June, 1998 

COVENE THE PARLIAMENT!

The leadership of the National League for Democracy on June 23, 1998, has
called on the military junta to convene the Parliament within 60 days.  As
a party which won the elections by a landslide victory in 1990, the
National League for Democracy has every right to make that  demand.

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), which is
comprised only of legitimately elected Members of Parliament from the 1990
national elections, completely supports the call by the National League for
Democracy.

The military commanders have publicly said time and again that they are
preparing the country for democracy.  What better way then now to show that
they mean what they say.  The Parliament must be convened immediately and
the people, chosen by the people to speak for them, should be allowed to
decide what is best for the country.

The generals know that they are  in trouble. Foreign exchange reserves have
dwindled to an emergency level; regular importers have been denied foreign
exchange to buy goods; several banks have been ordered closed; investors
are leaving in droves; with the exception of some classes, schools remain
closed to prevent student unrest; border trade is being restricted to
prevent free flow of goods; rice exports have trickled to a new low; and
production has declined drastically.

Conditions today are worse than the situation in 1988 when a nationwide
uprising took place.  The country is on the verge of a massive unrest again
and the offer by the National League for Democracy should be taken as a
blessing for the generals.  If they genuinely have the interest of the
country in mind, the path to choose is clear: Convene the Parliament and
let the people be the masters of their own destiny!

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

Burma Action Group - UK: Methodists to Boycott Total Oil 
25 June, 1998 

METHODIST CHURCH SET TO CALL BOYCOTT OF TOTAL

The Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, meeting in Scarborough, will
on Friday decide whether to call upon Methodist churches, individuals and
bodies to boycott Total petrol stations, sell shares in Total and write to
Total with their concerns. These measures have been called for because of
Total's investments in Burma, where an oppressive military dictatorship
rules against the will of the people.

Total's investments have been criticised because the company operates in
partnership with a military owned Burmese company, thereby generating large
profits for a regime which spends 40% of its income on the army, to oppress
its own people. Refugees have also alleged that forced labour has been used
by the military to clear land for Total's gas pipeline which crosses Burma.

The proposal was brought to the Methodist Conference by the Bristol
regional body (Synod) and follows the dis-investment of Methodism's shares
in Total by the church's Central Finance Board in May 97. Inspired by a
national campaign run by the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC),
the boycott was first proposed by Lukas Meagor and Evie Brooks both young
people in the Methodist Church. The campaign, called Liberate '98, is
jointly run with Christian Aid and Burma Action Group and has involved
young people in a wide range of actions.

Dressed as forced labourers and soldiers and standing beside a model petrol
pump, MAYC young people and representatives of the Bristol district will
lobby representatives as they enter the Conference Hall on Friday morning
(9-10am).

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace prize winner (and leader of the
democratically elected government prevented by the military from taking
power) has described Total as " the strongest supporter of the Burmese
military".

For further information or an interview contact : 
Katherine Cash of MAYC at 0171 467 5205 until Thursday 3pm and then on 0411
756 608 or 01723 379 684. ISDN line available.

Photo opportunity: Young people demonstrate their concerns as delegates
enter the conference centre. 9.30am The main entrance, The Spa Complex,
South Bay Scarborough.

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