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The BurmaNet News: July 31, 1998



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: July 31, 1998
Issue #1061

Noted in Passing: "They even stole my car."  - Aung San Suu Kyi (see AP:
MYANMAR'S SUU KYI SAYS GOVERNMENT KIDNAPPED HER") 

HEADLINES:
==========
NLD: DAW SUU FORCED BY TROOPS TO RETURN 
AP: SUU KYI SAYS GOVERNMENT KIDNAPPED HER 
THE NATION: SUU KYI AND OTHERS MUST BE FIRM 
BKK POST: SIGNALS AT BURMA EMBASSY 
BKK POST: KNU AIMS TO ENLIST SUPPORT OF KNPP 
THE NATION: ASEAN SEES NO EVIL IN BURMA 
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NLD: DAW SUU FORCED BY TROOPS TO RETURN 
30 July, 1998 from ncgub@xxxxxxxxxxx

The following is the unofficial translation of the Statement issued by the
NLD on July 30, 1998.

National League for Democracy
97/B West Shwegondine Street
Bahan Township, Rangoon
Announcement No. 18 (7/98)

1. While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the National League
for Democracy (NLD), an NLD Central Executive Committee member, and members
of their party were staying near Anyarsu and Pandine villages because of
the blockade set up, the authorities, at 21:50 on July 30, 1998, ordered
the security forces to use force to remove them. The General Secretary was
physically forced into a car and driven back to her home without her
consent.  The authorities also drove the car belonging to the General
Secretary back to her home without her permission.

2. Similar to the General Secretary, the remaining Central Executive
Committee member and two other members of the party were also manhandled
and physically forced into the cars of the authorities and driven back.
Officials representing the authorities and security personnel were the only
other people in the cars that forcefully brought back the General Secretary
and her party.

3.  The National League for Democracy very strongly protests the
uncivilized way that the authorities conducted the incident, which included
physical abuse and constituted a criminal offense.

Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
Rangoon
The 7th Waxing Moon of Wagaung, 1360 
July 30, 1998 

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AP: MYANMAR'S SUU KYI SAYS GOVERNMENT KIDNAPPED HER
30 July, 1998 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi today accused the
government of kidnapping her to end a six-day standoff, saying police held
her down, took the wheel of her car and forcibly drove her back to the
capital.

The government admitted returning the democracy campaigner to the capital
against her will Wednesday evening, but has not explained its tactics.

"The government had no choice but to take the initiative to break the
standoff by sending her to Yangon," government spokesman Col. Hla Min said
at a news conference today.

With a feverish Suu Kyi lying in the back seat of her car, where she had
slept for five straight nights, two policewomen held her down and other
officers ejected two colleagues from the front seat, members of her party
said at a separate news conference today.

Another officer took the wheel and drove the car from the bridge on a rural
road 20 miles west of the capital, to Yangon, they said.

"I was kidnapped. They even stole my car," U Lwin, a member of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, today quoted her as saying after she
returned home about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Party leaders said today Suu Kyi had been determined to continue the
standoff until the military government agreed to open a dialogue with her
and her party, something the generals have refused to do.

Authorities had stopped her Friday morning as she attempted to drive to
Bassein to meet members of her party who won parliamentary elections in
1990 but were never allowed to take office because the government annulled
the vote. Other NLD members have been jailed.

It was the third time this month the government has blocked Suu Kyi's
efforts to leave the capital for party meetings. The military has allowed
her to leave Yangon only once since her release from six years of house
arrest in July 1995. She visited a Buddhist monk that year in the eastern
city of Pa-an.

After examining Suu Kyi today, her doctors said she had a large bruise on
her wrist, which they said was the result of rough police treatment, but
described her as being in good spirits.

Asked today to describe the manner in which police ended the stalemate, Hla
Min told reporters to ask the opposition.

Suu Kyi did not attend her party's news conference because "she is not well
enough. She is still very, very weak," said Tin Oo, NLD vice chairman,
adding that there had been no contact or negotiations between the military
and the party.

Speaking in Sydney, Australia, today, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright called the government's actions "an unacceptable violation of
human rights" that would "only contribute to the further isolation of Burma."

Hla Min accused Suu Kyi of provoking the clash outside the capital so that
"Mrs. Albright could berate Myanmar and induce other governments to put
pressure on Myanmar."

Suu Kyi's "objective has been achieved, and so it was time to break the
standoff," he said, adding the government had acted on the advice of Suu
Kyi's doctors.

Party leaders vehemently denied that claim. Prior to her return, the
military told diplomats that the democracy leader's trip outside Yangon had
been stopped to avert possible disturbances, diplomatic sources said.

Suu Kyi's party follows a policy of nonviolence, and no riots or other
unrest has been associated with her trips or public speeches.

Since Suu Kyi emerged from house arrest, the government has installed
police checkpoints near her home, refused journalists entry and restricted
access by diplomats and party members.

Democracy activists say harassment of her followers has increased in recent
months.

The government refused a request in the middle of the standoff this week by
seven Western nations that U.S. and Japanese diplomats in Myanmar be
allowed to see Suu Kyi. 

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

THE NATION: SUU KYI AND OTHERS MUST BE FIRM 
30 July, 1998 by Kavi Chongkittavorn 

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

SOMETHING very extraordinary is happening at the international front
concerning Burma.

For the first time, the seven most powerful countries have put joint
pressure on Burma, urging the military leaders to enter into a dialogue
with the opposition groups headed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi. They have also urged the Burmese junta to allow her more freedom
of movement.

Foreign ministers from Australia, Canada, EU, Japan, New Zealand, South
Korea and the US made the points during the meeting with Burmese Foreign
Minister U Ohn Ghaw in Manila early this week. Later on, United Nations
Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson also called on the junta to respect
the human rights of all its citizens and to allow Suu Kyi to travel freely.

The US, Australia and Japan, the three most active countries in engaging
Burma, have finally started anew their collaborative effort to help end the
crisis between the military junta and Suu Kyi, who is still inside her car
for the sixth day at a military checkpoint, 40 kilometres northeast of
Rangoon.

In the two past years, while Washington has maintained a tough position
against Burma, both Canberra and Tokyo have been adopting a "softer"
approach towards the regime there. They hope that it would encourage the
military junta to open up and engage in a dialogue with the opposition.

Australia last year dispatched senior diplomats to Rangoon to find ways to
persuade the junta leaders to hold talks with the opposition. So did the
Japanese. They have pledged to respond positively in terms of assistance to
any new undertaking by the regime that would positively contribute to the
national reconciliation policy. But their efforts have failed.

Tokyo has been the most forthcoming in treating the Burmese, hoping that
its approach would bring about positive changes inside Burma. Japan, the
largest aid donor to Burma, decided to resume the official development aid
last year and is now reviewing its policy which could severe all official
aid, barring humanitarian help.

However, the event in the past week, especially the welfare of Suu Kyi, has
already become the most important issue and indeed has become a rallying
point for the Asean dialogue partners to bridge the gap between them. It
has an immediate effect of increased solidarity among the international
community against the junta as long as the pro democracy leader is not
allowed to travel freely. The picture of her car with her trapped inside
has now been transfixed in the mind of all justice-loving people.

Strange enough, the Burmese leaders have accused her of staging a publicity
blitz. If that is the case, the whole media attention and the international
concern will disappear if her car is not stuck at the checkpoint. The news
of her free access would improve the much-needed image of the Rangoon leaders.

The Burmese regime has said that there are no travelling restrictions on
Suu Kyi and she could travel anywhere. But this is the third time she was
been stopped from going to see her supporters. It has become an established
pattern of the regime's strategy to threaten her on and off.

At the Asean Regional Forum in Manila, US State Secretary Madeleine
Albright was first to throw in the gauntlet when she attacked the Burmese
regime and subsequently called on its leaders to open talks with the
opposition. She and other foreign governments have said they hold the
Burmese military responsible for Suu Kyi's well-being.

Derek Fatchett, the British Foreign Office minister, demanded that foreign
ambassadors in Burma should be granted immediate access to Suu Kyi. But
Rangoon has rejected all the requests.

This is an important development because it occurs at the time when the
region is at its lowest ebb as far as economic development is concerned. At
the same time, the just-concluded Asean meeting in Manila was unable to
defend Burma and its dismal records on human rights and democracy. Worse,
Rangoon's economic difficulties are increasing from day to day.

In its six-month review of conditions in Burma recently required by the US
law imposing sanctions against the country's military junta, the US State
Department reported that the Burmese economic situation is grim and appears
to be worsening. It added that the regime is virtually bankrupt with regard
to foreign exchange reserves.

As a result of sanctions and the on-going financial crisis in the rest of
Asean, new investment in Burma is not forthcoming, causing it to nosedive
into a financial mire. The quality of life of the average Burmese citizen
has continued to worsen, according to the report.

In addition, for the past one year, Asean has failed to use the so-called
peer pressure to bring about positive changes in Burma as it has been
arguing. That is not the case because in the past one year Asean has become
embroiled in their own economic quagmire and had no time to go beyond these
issues.

For Asean, it was Philippine Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon who saved the
day. Just fresh from stepping down from the Asean chairmanship, he minced
no words in urging the Burmese people to emulate a bloodless uprising as in
the Philippines that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. He also
asked educated Burmese who studied abroad and are currently living overseas
to return home and carry on the democratic revolution.

Siazon's views reflected the dilemma of the Burmese peoples, Asean and the
international community. For the past eight years since the military
takeover, thousands of students have fled the country. The majority of them
are now in the industrial world and are receiving the best education. At
the same time, a little over a thousand students are now residing in
Thailand hoping that they would be able to return to their homeland one day.

Maybe, the stand-off this week indicates that the time has come. Both the
international community and the Burmese people have to act in concert in
standing up against a rouge regime.  A frail lady is about to topple the
almighty Tatmadaw.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: SIGNALS AT BURMA EMBASSY 
30 July, 1998 

Burma is operating a major signals intelligence station at its embassy in
Bangkok and has similar capabilities in Bangladesh and at least one other
overseas diplomatic mission, Jane's Defence Weekly reported yesterday.

The station's main targets include international telephone conversations,
facsimile traffic, satellite-telephone transmissions, E-mail messages on
the Internet and radio broadcasts, AP quoted the respected military
magazine as saying in a report from London.

The Bangkok station, controlled by the Directorate of Defence Services
Intelligence, is located in a compound housing the office of Burma's
military, naval and air attaches in the diplomatic district, Jane's said.

There are at least nine antennas on the roof of a five-storey
apartment-style building in the compound, most of them probably ordinary TV
antennas, a high-frequency system and two satellite communications dishes,
the magazine said. It published photographs of two satellite dishes and an
aerial which it said appears to be a high-frequency mast.

The high-frequency antenna allows the Bangkok station to monitor short-wave
or high-frequency radio broadcasts and the satellite dishes are used to
monitor international telecommunications in Bangkok and the surrounding
area, Jane's said.

The magazine quoted sources familiar with the intelligence directorate's
operations as saying Burma installed a similar system in neighbouring
Bangladesh. The location of a third signals intelligence station is not
known with certainty but some sources suspect it may be in Vientiane, the
capital of Laos, Jane's said.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: KNU AIMS TO ENLIST SUPPORT OF KNPP 
30 July, 1998 

Mae Hong Son -- The anti-Rangoon Karen National Union (KNU) has begun
negotiations with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) to get
their cooperation in fighting against the Burmese junta, a Thai border
official said.

The source said KNU leader Gen Bo Mya and other leading members left a
KNU-occupied area opposite Mae Sot district of Tak last Wednesday for talks
with KNPP leaders at their stronghold opposite Mae Hong Son to enlist their
support.

The Burmese army has deployed seven more battalions in recent weeks to
support its operations in Kayah and Shan states being carried out by some
12,000 troops in a bid to pressure Burmese minority groups into entering
ceasefire pacts.

Earlier, ceasefire talks held in Rangoon between the Burmese government and
the KNPP met with failure.

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

THE NATION: ASEAN SEES NO EVIL IN BURMA 
30 July, 1998 by Aung Zaw 

Asean should change its thinking of Burma, address its "constructive
engagement" and help free the 50 million people held hostage by the
military junta, writes AUNG ZAW.

IN June, Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan proposed the "flexible
engagement" policy saying the Asean members need to discuss existing
problems more openly and frankly.

Although the proposal did not receive a warm welcome at the Asean Summit in
Manila, Burma's democrats, including ordinary Burmese who listened to
foreign broadcasts, quietly showed a keen interest and welcomed it.

The reason: few Burmese except the ruling junta known as the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC) support Asean's controversial and unpopular
"constructive engagement" policy.

Burma joined the regional club last year despite strong noisy protests in
the West, and from human rights activists in the region and the opposition
inside and outside of the country.

Since the brutal crackdown in 1988 and on-going human rights violations and
repression in Burma, the military government had been shunned by democratic
governments. The only club the sullen generals could join was Asean. To
boost its image and to borrow legitimacy, the junta leaders realised Asean
is the best choice. Indeed, after all, most Asean leaders have much in
common with them. It is no doubt that blessing Burma undermined Asean's
reputation. Asean's image was tainted as it embraced Burma's military
government which has no legitimacy.

In the past, Burma's military leaders who were hungry for recognition
visited Asean countries to foster stronger diplomatic and economic ties as
well as solidarity between authoritarian governments. Asean leaders were
pleased with the junta's window-dressing: limited economic freedom,
diplomatic flurry, cease-fire talks with armed groups, and the
government-organised national convention. Thus, Asean's unpopular and
much-criticised "constructive engagement" policy toward Burma has only
served to entrench the pariah regime and extend the legitimacy it so
desperately desires.

In the past, Rangoon's new-found allies were strongly convinced that
engaging constructively with its neighbour would result better. So far they
have proved to be wrong. Evidently, Burma is not on the right track and
this reflects that Asean's policy is a total failure.

Recently, a senior Thai official admitted in the Far Eastern Economic
Review saying "the generals remain arrogant, brittle". But dissidents think
the generals are as ruthless as ever. The country's human rights records
are not better. Approximately 2,000 political prisoners remain in Burma's
gulag. They are not given proper medication and since 1988, almost 100
political prisoners had died from maltreatment.

According to inside sources, some elderly political prisoners are waiting
to die in the notorious Insein prison. Reports about arrests, harassment,
execution, forced labour, forced relocation and summary execution of
villagers, religious persecution and maltreatment of ethnic minorities are
widely known in Burma. These appalling stories go on for decades and it
seems never ending. But sadly Asean leaders rarely mention these problems.

On the other hand, Asean is a forum for the junta leaders to present a
distorted picture of Burma. Last year, Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw
said Burma's membership "will be contributing to peace and stability in the
region".

Ironically, Burma's domestic affairs affect neighbours. Over one million
illegal immigrants are working in Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India.
Approximately, 100,000 refugees are currently taking refuge on Thai soil.
They have no home, no future. Despite this they have to brace the wrath of
the Burmese troops: their camps are attacked. Additionally, millions of
speed pills and tonnes of heroin are flowing into Thailand, Malaysia, China
and to the rest of the world.

In Thailand alone, while discovering many more drug addicts, Burma's most
wanted drug traffickers are sipping tea in their offices in Rangoon or
under the army's protection. After staging a bloody coup in 1988, opium
production in Burma is increasing and cease-fire groups along the
China-Burma border continue their heroin trade and opium cultivation
without the army's interference. Indeed, to solve long-standing problems
and to end the decades old civil war in Burma, analysts and Burma's
democrats strongly believe that Asean is now in the best position to play a
major role in changing Burma for the better since it did not mind the
pariah becoming a member of the grouping. Last year and this year,
Malaysian and Philippines foreign ministers met opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi in Rangoon. Though critics acknowledged that the meetings were
significant they were hesitant to be optimistic.

The reason? The situation in Burma has worsened. Ironically, when the junta
leaders unexpectedly released Suu Kyi in 1995 Asean leaders did not
hesitate to take credit for her release. So who will take credit when the
SPDC could not even allow the opposition leader to travel outside Rangoon?
This month Suu Kyi and her senior party members went to provinces to meet
supporters and party members but they were blocked.

Now is time for Asean leaders to enhance the organisation's reputation and
international image by urging the Rangoon generals for genuine change and
to open a productive political dialogue with the opposition.

More importantly, Asean should start exercising open criticism in order to
prevent bloodshed or crisis in neighbouring countries. Recently, Manila and
Bangkok expressed their concern over rising political tension and possible
social unrest in Burma. Although Rangoon rebuffed the pair's statements,
their remarks were very effective and praised by the Burmese people who
strongly believe that pressure is still working.

To maintain peace and stability in the region, Asean leaders should not
turn a blind eye to Burma's problems because Burma's despots who attended
the Asean Summit in Manila will not last long as they continue their grip
on power and ignore the people's desires.

In appearance it seems calm and is in firm control. In reality, the
military junta in Burma today is unpredictable and shaky. It is time for
Asean to rethink about future relationship between Asean and a new Burma.
Handshakes, sweet-talks and the junta's "peaceful Burma lecture" at the
Manila Summit won't help Burmese people unless Asean take firm action and
reviews the outdated "constructive engagement" policy.

Under the repressive regime, the Burmese people are hostages and helpless.
It is shameful for Asean as it lets the military commit crimes against the
Burmese people. The ball is now in Asean's court. If Asean countries are
committed to an open society in the future, it is the right time for Asean
to ask Burma's leaders to free the 50 million hostages.

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