The BurmaNet News: July 2, 1998

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: July 2, 1998
Issue #1039

Noted in Passing: " We have no way of confirming whether [Ne Win] is dead
or alive."  - Aung Naing Oo of ABSDF (see SCMP: SECRECY TO FOLLOW LEADER TO
GRAVE)

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: NLD DECRIES JUNTA'S CURBS, ARRESTS
BKK POST: NE WIN "ALIVE"
SCMP: SECRECY TO FOLLOW LEADER TO GRAVE
THE NATION: BURMA ALLOWS STUDENTS TO SIT FOR EXAMS
BKK POST: GAS PIPELINE MAY BECOME TOURIST ATTRACTION
NLOM: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES VP OF UNOCAL
THE NATION: MERCY MEDICS OFF TO BURMA
ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA DOCUMENTARY TO AIR IN NYC AREA

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The Nation: NLD Decries Junta's Curbs, Arrests 
1 July, 1998 

RANGOON -- Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) party sent a letter yesterday to the Burmese junta
protesting the on-going restrictions and arrests of its candidates.

"The elected candidates are prestigious persons who respect the peace and
stability of the nation and should not be treated as common criminals," the
letter, sent to Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), the official name of the junta, said.

NLD Candidates were made to sign pledges which restricted and limited their
movement to their respective townships, the letter, a copy of which was
seen by AFP, said.

"Those who refused to sign such pledges are arbitrarily put in prison while
those who are forced to sign such pledges are obliged to report to township
authorities twice a day," the letter said.

The letter went on to say that such actions were not only against
prevailing laws but a blatant misuse of Power and "an insult to the people
who had voted for the candidates".

It urged the authorities to unconditionally stop the action which would
only aggravate the prevailing social, political and economic difficulties
facing the country.

The NLD leadership has also issued instructions to all its candidates not
to sign the pledges.

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections taking 392 out of 485
parliamentary seats. The junta refused to recognise the results.

The NLD recently called on the military authorities to acknowledge the 1990
general elections by convening a parliament of elected candidates.

More than 80 opposition MPs have, been arrested since the elections and a
number have been forced to resign or "voluntarily" withdraw as elected
candidates. 

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The Bangkok Post: Ne Win "Alive"
1 July 1998 

Burma's ruling junta yesterday dismissed rumours former strongman Ne Win,
87, had died.

A junta spokesman said in a statement: "The rumourmongers want to create a
scenario where U Ne Win's death will cause disintegration in Myanmar and
(where) a fight to fill the power vacuum is imminent. 

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South China Morning Post: Secrecy to Follow Leader to Grave 
1 July, 1998 by William Barnes 

How will the world really know when the octogenarian founder of Burma's
military junta passes on?

Rumours that ageing former dictator Ne Win has died have swirled around
Rangoon in recent days, but were dismissed by an official at the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok yesterday.

The reclusive Mr Ne Win -- who rarely appeared in public even while
officially the country's leader -- has been virtually invisible to the
outside world for a decade.

Opposition observers in exile believe the military regime may well be
tempted not only to hide any decline in his health but also to delay news
of his death.

It is widely assumed he is, or was, hugely influential behind the scenes.

A Rangoon-based diplomat said the regime feared the departure of a man who
has been a shadowy presence over Burma for nearly half a century would
unlock anti-military pressures and perhaps even destabilise the military's
own unity.

"If the junta doesn't think the time is right they won't tell us. We have
no way of confirming whether he is dead or alive," said Aung Naing Oo,
foreign affairs spokesman for the All Burma Democratic Students Front in
Bangkok.

Mr Ne Win made a rare public foray last year when he visited his old
authoritarian friend, then-president Suharto of Indonesia.

For decades the state media and official walls ran photographs of Mr Ne Win
alongside those of independence hero Aung San.

But he never gained a fraction of the popularity and respect of his
charismatic former comrade, who was assassinated when his daughter,
National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was two years old. 

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The Nation: Burma Allows Students to Sit for Exams 
1 July, 1998 

BURMA'S junta is to allow students to sit for exams next month for the
first time since it closed the country's universities following campus
unrest in 1996, students and sources in Rangoon said yesterday.

A limited number of students have received letters or been told verbally
they can take their examinations in late July, they added.

However, university campuses will remain closed and undergraduate students
will sit their exams at schools around the country, which will cease normal
operation for that period.

"They [the junta] don't want a situation where a large number of students
gather together," a foreign diplomat in Rangoon said, adding that students
from outside the capital would sit for their exams in their home towns.

"The exams will be held in various school buildings but not central campuses."
Another diplomat queried how worthwhile exams would be when students had
been unable to study for more than 18 months, saying the arrangements were
"ramshackle".

"It's all very informal and by word of mouth," they added.

"Some students are being told to report for exams at a certain place and
date while others have heard nothing."

Officials of the junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), could not immediately be reached for comment.

The move was welcomed by Bangkok-based Burmese student activists, but they
said only students from selected institutions would be allowed to sit for
exams and that universities should be completely operational.

"This is the first step," All Burma Students Democratic Front foreign
affairs, Secretary Zaw Min said.

"But the SPDC don't want to open universities or have lots of students
together.

"I think it is better than nothing, because students can meet each other
and talk about what the situation in Burma is," he added.

The junta closed down universities in December 1996 after breaking up a
protest by students from the Rangoon Institute of Technology.

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The Bangkok Post: Gas Pipeline May Become Tourist Attraction 
29 June, 1998 by Preecha Sisathan Ban I-Tong, Thong Pha Phum district
Kanchanaburi 

[BurmaNet Editor's Note: The road adjacent to the pipeline, now being
heralded as key to cross-border trade, was built with forced labour. Many
of those who suffered while they or their family members constructed that
road have now become internally displaced in Burma or have fled to refugee
camps in Thailand.  Unfortunately, they will not reap the alleged benefits
of the project.  Others who have remained in the area are still subject to
portering and forced labor to clear the road.  Earlier this week, several
villagers were forced to scour the jungle in the area to root out potential
rebels who could possibly disrupt the pipeline opening ceremony.]

Cross-border trade and tourism are expected to flourish at this border town
where the final section of the Thai-Burmese Yadana gas pipeline will be
sealed on Wednesday.

Col Samphan Youngtrakul, deputy commander of the Army's Ninth Infantry,
said that Thai and Burmese authorities have discussed a plan to open a
border pass here to facilitate cross-border trade.

He said the construction of roads and infrastructure on the Thai side has
largely been completed.

On the Burmese side, a road had been built along the pipeline leading to a
town with a large community adjacent to Tavoy some 40 kilometres away. Many
smaller communities also line the pipeline road. They would ensure
flourishing cross-border trade, he said, although he did not say what goods
people would trade.

New and improved roads on the Thai side make it possible for tourists to
visit old mines, reforestation sites and a waterfall.

Col Samphan spoke to reporters after a meeting among Thai and Burmese
energy officials to discuss the final preparation for Wednesday's ceremony.

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New Light of Myanmar: Deputy Prime Minister Receives VP of Unocal 
30 June, 1998 

YANGON, Deputy Prime Minister Lt-Gen Tin Tun received vice-president of
UNOCAL Mr Darcel L Hulse and Director Ms Carol Scott of the United States
of America at his office at 2 pm today.

Present also were officials of the Government Office.

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The Nation: Mercy Medics Off to Burma 
1 July, 1998 

THAILAND will dispatch a mobile ear-nose-and-throat medical team to Burma
from July 19 to Aug 1 to help examine and provide medical assistance to the
people as part of celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations
between the two countries, a Foreign Ministry official said yesterday.

Somkiati Ariyapruchya, director general of the Economic Affairs Department,
said that as part of the policy to help neighbouring countries and
strengthen bilateral relations, the specialists would visit Mawlamyine and
conduct examinations and operations, particularly for otitis media, the
main cause of hearing impairment.

A similar visit last year by a Thai medical team to Pae, Pakho and Rangoon
was successful and well received, he said.

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Announcement: Burma Documentary to Air in NYC Area 
1 July, 1998 from <moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 

Dear Friends in New York ,NJ and Long Island,

On Thursday , the 2nd of July 1998,  WLIW , Channel 21, will televise a
programme called "International Dispatch". It is a documentary on the
Burmese military regime, their human rights violations and their democratic
opponent, Nobel Peace laureate Auns San Suu Kyi and her triumph on the
military government by means of non-violent political defiance.  The
programme will be aired at 8pm/9pm on Channel 21.

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