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The BurmaNet News: August 15, 1998



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

The BurmaNet News: August 15, 1998
Issue #1073

HEADLINES:
===========
SCMP: JUNTA FEELS HEAT FROM ROADSIDE STAND-OFF
SCMP: FOREIGN ACTIVISTS GO ON TRIAL
THE STRAITS TIMES: JUNTA CALLS SUU KYI A TRAINED MONKEY
THE STRAITS TIMES: YANGON REJECTS OFFER OF VISIT BY UN ENVOY
THE NATION: PRESSURE GROWS AS SUU KYI DEFIANT
BKK POST: SURIN URGES BURMA TO SPEED UP ACTION AGAINST DETAINED
BKK POST: RELATIVES URGE RELEASE OF ACTIVISTS
BKK POST: MAKING A NOISE OVER PROTESTS
BKK POST: TEN YEARS ON AND STILL UNDER THE GUN
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: NATURAL RIGHTS, CITIZENSHIP BIRTH
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: JUNTA FEELS HEAT FROM ROADSIDE STAND-OFF

14 August, 1998

REUTERS IN RANGOON 

The military rulers faced pressure from inside and outside the country
yesterday as a roadside stand-off between opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and guards went into a second day.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, leader of the National League for
Democracy (NLD) party, and two drivers were still in a van on a small
wooden bridge over a creek near Anyarsu, 32km west of the capital, sources
said.

The four were stopped by police on Wednesday on their way to see supporters
in Pathein, 190km west of Rangoon. The trip was a repeat of a visit in late
July that led to a six-day stand-off.

Independent witnesses reported tight security in the area but said they
could not get close enough to the bridge to see if Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and
her companions were in the vehicle.

One unconfirmed report said the vehicle had been moved off the road.

International pressure on the ruling military was stepped up yesterday as a
US lawmaker headed for Asia to try to free 18 foreign activists detained in
Rangoon on Sunday for distributing pro-democracy leaflets.

New Jersey Republican Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the House
Sub-Committee on International Operations and Human Rights, flew to Bangkok
vowing to "make every effort" to get into Burma and help secure their release.

"The purpose of my trip is to verify the safety and help secure the release
of all 18 detainees," he said.

Burma has not said if it will prosecute the detainees - six Americans, an
Australian, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians and two
Filipinos - or deport them.

Government-run newspapers have accused the activists of plotting to
destabilise the country and said the authorities would take "necessary
actions against them".

The Government says the legal process is being prolonged as few of the
activists are fully co-operating.

Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said Thailand would not press Burma to
release the detainees because it did not interfere in the affairs of other
sovereign countries.

He gave his moral support to the detainees, saying: "But as a democratic
country we also praise and support anyone who acts in favour of democracy
and human rights."

The Burmese authorities have stepped up action against the NLD since it set
an ultimatum in June for the Government to convene a parliament by August
21 of members elected at polls in 1990.

This is the fourth time Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has tried to visit supporters
in recent weeks.

oBurma has rebuffed a request by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to receive
a special emissary to discuss "current developments," a UN spokesman said.

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

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: FOREIGN ACTIVISTS GO ON TRIAL

14 August, 1998

AGENCIES IN RANGOON 

Eighteen foreigners arrested last week for handing out pro-democracy
leaflets in Rangoon were put on trial on Friday.

The trial for the 18, from six Asian and Western nations, was being held at
a court just outside the walls of Insein Prison where political detainees
are usually kept. It began in the late morning after an unexplained delay.
Insein is a northern suburb of Rangoon. 

Those arrested include six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians, two Filipinos and an Australian. 

They were charged under the 1950 Emergency Provision Act, a sweeping law
that allows authorities to hand out 20-year jail sentences for attempting
to incite unrest or disrupt the peace and stability of the state.

A diplomat who visited the American activists on Thursday said they were
not aware then that they would be tried the following day. The diplomatic
community was also not informed until Friday morning, he said. 

"We didn't know. I hope they will be treated leniently,'' said Kent
Wiedemann, charge d'affairs of the US embassy, as he entered the courtroom.

The foreigners were detained on Sunday, the day after the 10th anniversary
of a nationwide democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the
military, for handing out small cards to Burmese telling them the outside
world supported their struggle for democracy.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sat in a minivan ona country
road for a third day on Friday as part of her campaign for democracy and
human rights. 

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and three other people are sitting in the
vehicle on a small wooden bridge over a creek near Anyarsu, 32 kilometres
west of the capital. The four were stopped there by police on Wednesday on
their way to see supporters in Pathein, 190km west of the capital.

The trip was a repeat of a visit in late July that led to a six-day
standoff that was ended forcibly by government security men on July 29. 

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

THE STRAITS TIMES: JUNTA CALLS SUU KYI A TRAINED MONKEY

14 August, 1998

AFP 

YANGON -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is "like an animal
with the long tail," the country's junta said yesterday, suggesting she was
a monkey being forced to perform by foreign masters. 

Without identifying her directly, a commentary in the official New Light of
Myanmar daily said she was unable to back down or make concessions in
dealing with the junta "or else those from outside will describe or
criticise her for deviating from the original course or softened her stance. 

"She will not allow it to happen," it said. "She has the pride." 

The National League for Democracy leader, in the second day of a roadside
stand-off with military officials after being blocked from travelling to
meet supporters outside the capital, has demanded the junta convene
parliament by August 21 or face unspecified consequences. 

The commentary added that foreign powers had given Ms Suu Kyi so many
plaudits that they "should be recorded on a computer." 

"The person concerned will not be able to remember all those awards," it
said. 

"She has been likened to one historic person after another. 

"As things have gone too far, she is like an animal with the long tail that
has been placed on the throne. 

"Under the circumstances, the animal could not jump down from the throne.
It is true." 

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

THE STRAITS TIMES: YANGON REJECTS OFFER OF VISIT BY UN ENVOY

14 August, 1998

AFP, REUTERS

MYANMAR SAYS THIS IS NOT THE APPROPRIATE TIME FOR A VISIT BY ANY "SPECIAL
EMISSARY" AS IT WOULD APPEAR DRIVEN BY SOME STATES AND SUU KYI.

UNITED NATIONS -- Myanmar authorities have rejected a proposal from UN
chief Kofi Annan to dispatch an envoy for urgent talks this week amid a
fresh roadside standoff between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
security guards near Yangon. 

UN diplomats here said on Wednesday that Mr Annan wrote to junta leaders in
Myanmar last Friday, proposing a visit by a "special emissary" to discuss
"urgent matters". 

However, the junta responded that this was "not an appropriate time," one
diplomat said. 

Mr Annan had planned to send former UN General Assembly president Razali
Ismail of Malaysia, currently a senior government adviser. 

He has also said that he hoped to send assistant secretary-general Alvaro
de Soto in October. 

The planned visit by Mr De Soto, a Peruvian diplomat who has made two
previous trips to Myanmar, is separate however from the urgent talks
proposed at present. 

According to the UN diplomats, Myanmar authorities told Mr Annan that a
visit at this time by a senior UN envoy would appear to be driven by a
campaign by some states and by Ms Suu Kyi. 

The Nobel peace prize laureate's attempt to meet her political supporters
last month prompted a six-day standoff with authorities outside the capital
Yangon. 

A new standoff began on Wednesday after she was again blocked from leaving
the capital. Police stopped her while she was on her way to see supporters
in Pathein, 190 km west of Yangon. 

Government sources in Yangon said Ms Suu Kyi, a member of her National
League for Democracy (NLD) and two drivers were still in their van
yesterday at Anyarsu, 32 km south-west of the capital. 

A local source said the vehicle had been halted on a bridge on the way to
Nyaungdoun, the crossing point over the Irrawaddy River. 

It was unclear whether Ms Suu Kyi was still in the van. One unconfirmed
report said the vehicle had been moved off the road. 

Meanwhile, a US lawmaker headed for Asia to try to secure the release of 18
foreign activists was also detained in Yangon on Sunday for distributing
pro-democracy leaflets. 

New Jersey Republican Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the House
Sub-Committee on International Operations and Human Rights, flew to Bangkok
vowing to "make every effort" to help secure their release. 

"The purpose of my trip is to verify the safety and help secure the release
of all 18 detainees," he said. 

The government has not said if it will prosecute the detainees -- six
Americans, an Australian, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians
and two Filipinos -- or deport them. 

Government-run newspapers have accused the activists of being part of a
plot to destabilise the country and said the authorities would take
"necessary actions against them". 

The government says the legal process is being prolonged because a few
activists are not fully cooperating. 

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

THE NATION: PRESSURE GROWS AS SUU KYI DEFIANT

14 August, 1998

REUTERS

RANGOON -- Burma's military rulers faced pressures from inside and outside
the country yesterday as a roadside standolt between opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and security guards went into its second day.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, a member of the National League for
Democracy (NLD), and two drivers were still in a van in a small wooden
bridge over a creek near Anyarsu, 32 kilometres west of the capital,
government and NLD sources said.

The four were stopped by police on Wednesday on their way to see supporters
in Bessein, 190 km west of Rangoon. The trip was a repeat of a visit in
late July that led to a similar standogthat lasted six days.

Independent witnesses reported tight security m the area but said they
could not get close enough to the bridge to confirm that Suu Kyi and her
companions were in the vehicle. One unconfimed report said the vehicle had
been moved off the road.

International pressure on the ruling military was stepped up yesterday as a
US lawmaker headed for Asia to try to secure; the release of 18 foreign
activists detained in Rangoon last Sunday for distributing pro-democracy
leaflets.

New Jersey Republican Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the House
Sub-Committee on International Operations and Human Rights, flew to Bangkok
vowing to "make every effort" to get into Burma and help secure their release.

"The purpose of my trip is to verify the safety and help secure the release
of all 18 detainees," he said.

Burma has not said if it will prosecute the detainees -- six Americans, an
Australian, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians and two
Filipinos -- or deport them. Govemment-run newspapers have accused the
activists of being part of a plot to destabilise the country and said the
authorities would take "necessary actions against them".

The government said on Wednesday that Suu Kyi and her companions were free
to return to Rangoon or stay on the roadside "as long as the conditions
remain safe".

But it said the group's trip was made "without proper security
arrangements" and asked them to return home.

An NLD statement said Suu Kyi was making her latest trip "to encourage the
NLD elected representatives against whom action has been taken by the
govermnent".

It said the military had broken the law by stopping Suu Kyi's vehicle and
said the government would be responsible if anything happened to her.

"It is not clear whether the bridge can stand the weight of the vehicle,"
the statement said.

Eight leading nations began a concerted action on Wednesday to press Burma
to lift restrictions on Suu Kyi and open a dialogue with the NLD.

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

BKK POST: SURIN URGES BURMA TO SPEED UP ACTION AGAINST DETAINED

14 August, 1998

Minister seeks faster solution to problem

BY SUEBPONG UNARAT, MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan has called on Burma to speed up legal
action against the 18 detained foreign activists -- including the three Thais.

Mr Surin disclosed the news when he addressed representatives of the Asia
Forum for Human Rights and Development yesterday.

Representatives submit a letter through him to the prime minister asking
the government to take action to secure the release of the three Thais.

Mr Surin said the foreign ministry had co-ordinated with the Burmese
government from the beginning and had asked it to speed up the
interrogation and legal process.

The Burmese ambassador to Thailand said there were still problems, with
some of the non-Thai activists who had refused to provide information when
asked.

"I told (the ambassador) that it would be good for all concerned if all
procedures can be finished as soon as possible.

"There are many other issues to be jointly dealt with in a constructive
way. He said my suggestion would be taken for consideration," Mr Surin said.

On the same day, the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development, led by
human rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao and Phipop Thongchai, also submitted
a letter to the parliament president, opposition leader and other officials
asking them to take steps to secure the release of the three Thais.

The human rights advocates also submitted a letter to Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai urging his government and other members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations to push for the unconditional release of all 18
activists.

Meanwhile, New Aspiration and opposition leader Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
suggested the government coordinate with the army chief to secure the
release of the three Thais.

He said the government should assign Army Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro to
hold negotiations with Burmese authorities.

Gen Chettha, who is known to have close ties with top Rangoon military
figures, has secured the release of Thais arrested by Burmese officials on
several occasions.

The NAP leader expressed confidence the army chief would help solve the
problem and free the three activists.

The detained Thais are: Jaran Dithapichai, 51, a Rangsit University
lecturer and member of the Union for Civil Liberties; Sawat Uppahad, 37, of
the Forum of the Poor and Chanakan Pandermvongse, 22, of the Student
Federation of Thailand. They were arrested along with 15 other foreigners
last Sunday for handing out leaflets urging a return of democracy.

The detainees have not been charged formally but the junta accused them of
attempting to in unrest.

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreig Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said Mr Chuan has
expresses concern over the arrest of the Thai people and has asked the
foreign ministry to closely follow up the case.

M.R. Sukhumbhand said he received reports from the Thai ambassador in
Rangoon that the three Thais were in good health and had received proper
treatment from Burmese authorities.

Asked why the Thai government did not join other countries in calling for
the release of the detainees, the deputy foreign minister said the
government wanted Burma to clear the problem first, adding it was a
diplomatic etiquett to respect another country's ability to settle problems
within its own borders.

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

BKK POST: RELATIVES URGE RELEASE OF ACTIVISTS

14 August, 1998

MANILA, DPA

Relatives of two Filipinos detained among 18 foreign democracy activists
for handing out anti-government leaflets in Burma travelle to Thailand
yesterday with hopes of entering Rangoon to secure their release.

Eva Sana, mother of Ellene, and Cynthia Huerto-Resuena, wife of Pon ciano,
said they will try to get visas to enter Rangoon from Bangkok and hope to
meet Burmese authorities to personally ask for their relatives' immediate
freedom. 

The two will be accompanied by Sister Cres Lueero, head of the Task Force
Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP). They plan to meet other relatives of
the detained foreigners in Bangkok. The detained include: six Americans;
three Thais; three Malaysians; three Indonesians and an Australian.

Kaloy Anasarias, a spokesman for TFDP, said the families of Sana and
Resuena raised money for the trip after Myanmar Embassy officials in Manila
refused to meet with them.

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

BKK POST: MAKING A NOISE OVER PROTESTS

14 August, 1998

The Burmese embassy in Bangkok has complained that demonstrators outside
the building are disturbing its work and have called on the Thai government
to abide by international laws over the issue.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul affirmed that the Thai
government abides by the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, which
requires host countries to protect foreign-representatives.

But he maintained that the Thai government respected the rights to freedom
of expression by Thai and foreign people -- provided they comply with the
law and do not violate the rights of other countries.

Mr Kobsak said it was intemational practice for demonstrators to station
themselves at a distance. He asked Thai students representatives who
attended yesterday's briefing to persuade demonstrators to move to the
other side of the road. 

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

BKK POST: TEN YEARS ON AND STILL UNDER THE GUN

14 August, 1998

EDITORIAL

BURMA'S MILITARY REGIME HAS KEPT THE PEACE. IT BRAGGED THAT THE BURMESE
PEOPLE WERE SO INTIMIDATED THAT THEY DARED NOT SHOW ANY OPPOSITION TO THE
RULING JUNTA. IT NOW CLAIMS IT WILL TEACH FOREIGN ACTIVISTS NOT TO
INTERFERE BY THREATENING 18 PEOPLE IT ARRESTED LAST SUNDAY. EVENTS ARE
CERTAIN TO REBOUND ON RANGOON.

Burmese authorities were understandably happy that the anniversary of their
1998 democracy massacre passed without serious incident. Who could blame
them? The regime grabbed Aung San Suu Kyi from her countryside sit-in and
locked her into her home behind a wall of security forces. They issued
stern warnings that dissent would be suppressed ruthlessly, again. And
Saturday's 10th anniversary of the Aug 8 massacre passed quietly.

On Sunday, authorities bragged about peaceful Rangoon. The government
newspapers -- there are no other kind -- said people didn't dare
demonstrate. Never mind that no opposition figure or group had scheduled a
protest. According to the regime, Burmese fear the regime so much they
would never protest publicly against it.

This is probably correct. How sad that any government could be proud of
such a fact. After 10 years, unable to win the confidence of the people
through positive action, the Burmese junta reaches the lowest level of the
tyrant. It threatens every citizen with massive punishment including death
-- again -- if he demonstrates dissatisfaction.

Even as those words were sinking in on Sunday, a small group of foreigners
was beginning its operation against the junta. Members posing as tourists
set off across Rangoon handing out business cards to any Burmese who would
accept them. Thousands did. The cards were red, printed in English and
Burmese and headed "8888" -- meaning Aug 8, 1988, the day that 3,000
Burmese and democracy were massacred.

Apart from that, the cards said simply that many foreigners remembered that
massacre. They said that foreigners would always provide moral support for
Burmese who wished to establish democracy and freedom. It was all pretty
harmless stuff from young idealists -- until the clumsy Burmese security
forces noticed.

>From their reaction, you might have thought that Burma was under massive
foreign military attack.

The 18 men and women were rounded up, isolated, jailed, interrogated. The
over-reaction was climaxed by the announcement that the 18 might be
imprisoned for subversion and illegal printing of pamphlets. The charges
would be laughable if Rangoon had not already killed thousands in order to
maintain its power. 

Three Thais were among those arrested. As usual, our bureaucrats have been
slow off the mark and seem more concerned about not offending Burma. They
might show more concern over our fellow Thai citizens. Two men and a woman
sit mostly incommunicado in a Burmese police lock-up. This is for the
alleged "crime" of handing out a totally non-violent message small enough
to fit on one side of a business card.

The government and army could use a lesson from Kusuma Pandermwongse, whose
daughter Chanakarn is one of the three Thais imprisoned. Denied the company
of her daughter on Mother's Day by Burmese forces, Mrs Kusuma said she is
proud of her daughter for calling for democracy.

Some of our officials have complained about Thais getting involved in
Burmese politics. This time it is Burma that needs the lesson in civility.
Our three fellow citizens have done nothing to be ashamed of, personally or
as Thais. They deserve the strongest diplomatic support to be freed.
Thailand has steps it can take if Burma continues to threaten and to hold
Thai citizens under such ridiculous circumstances. Our authorities must
demand their freedom, now,'in terms that Burma's rulers can understand.

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FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: NATURAL RIGHTS, CITIZENSHIP BIRTH

20 August, 1998

EDITORIAL

Last week, Thailand announced that Hmong tribesmen found guilty of
drug-trafficking would be stripped of their Thai nationality. While we're
no friends of druggies and dope smugglers, something about the plan
disturbs us.

To begin, the Hmongs live in jungle areas where the Thai border meets Laos
and Burma (let's call it the Golden Triangle), and pinning down exactly
where any Hmong was born is, to put it mildly, tough. But let's say that a
Hmong able to document his Thai nationality is collared carrying some
opium. If the plan is put into effect, he loses his nationality. Stripping
a naturalized person of his citizenship for committing a serious crime is
one thing, for he has explicitly sworn to uphold the laws of his new
country. What a state provides, it can take away. It is another thing,
though, to strip someone of his natural right of citizenship based on birth.

The plan conjures up another question. Why only Hmongs and not ethnic
Thais? In a year in which grave worries over the rights of minorities in
the region have surfaced again and again, the plan, as announced by the
commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, appears to us at best
imprudent.

The good news is that enabling laws for the plan aren't likely to see
light. They would be futile, since it's near impossible to determine a
Hmong's citizenship in the first place, let alone whether he holds Thai
nationality. Likely, we are told, the announcement may simply be to placate
Laotian grumblings that the Hmongs in Thailand are really Laos resistance
fighters who should be repatriated.

We've read a lot about possible solutions to the drug problem. But
stripping a person of his natural-born nationality would not appear to us
to be one of them. Or did we miss something, and that fighting some crimes
actually merits committing an injustice.
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