INFORMATION SHEET N0.A-0614(I)

[OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx]

MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
INFORMATION SHEET 
N0.A-0614(I) 19th September 1998

(1)		Chairman of State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than
			Shwe Receives Commander-in Chief of Royal Thai Army General Chetta
			Thanajaro
		Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, Commander-in-Chief of
Defence Services Senior General Than Shwe received the visiting Commander-in-
Chief of Royal Thai Army General Chetta Thanajaro and party at Dagon Yeiktha
of the Ministry of Defence at 11 am on 18 September.

(2)		Cash Donated for Construction of Drug Abuse Control Museum
		A ceremony to donate cash for construction of Drug Abuse Control Museum was
held at City Hall of Yangon City Development Committee on 18 September.  The
mayor, minister and officials accepted cash donated by 73 well-wishers.

(3)		Myram Gems Centre Opens for Flourishing of Gems Market in Myanmar
		Myram Gems Centre opened on 18 September morning at 34 on  Laydauntkan Road,
Tamway Township, Yangon.  Built by Myram Co. Ltd, a joint-venture of Union of
Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd and Ram Trade and Investment Co Ltd. of Israel,
the six-storey building will house jewellery shops on the ground floor, gems
polishing and carving workshop on the first floor and offices and a gems
training school on the second floor.  The remaining upper floors will
accommodate beauty parlours, fitness centres and shopping malls.  Set up with
an initial capital of $ 4 million, the joint venture will mainly engage in
polishing, cutting, carving and shining gems such as rubies, sapphires,
emeralds and peridots extracted in Myanmar to be sold in international market.
Forty per cent of the capital will be invested  by UMEHL and the remaining 60
per cent by the Israeli company.  Construction began in august 1996, the
building has been completed up to the third floor and the fourth and the fifth
are under construction, adding elevators, IDD phones, internal phone links and
faxs have already been installed at the center which has own transformer and
generator. Applying advanced Insraeli methods and using modern tools, the
joint venture will produce finest quality of jewellery to win best prices in
the world markets. Myanmar workers have been  trained under instructors from
Israel in Yangon for five months. The company will also conduct services such
as differentiating genuine and imitation stones, offering training and gems
trading in helping Myanmar to win back the gems market and to benefit
nationality gem entrepreneurs. Minister for Mines, Managing Director of UMEHL
and Director of Ram Trade and Investment Co. Ltd of Israel Mr Stern formally
opened the centre.

(4)		Export and Import Procedures Course No 12 Begins
		Export and Import Procedures Course No 12 for Entrepreneurs sponsored by
Ministry of Commerce was opened at the ministry on 18 September. Lectures on
export and import procedures, the investment law, banking and customs and port
procedures will be given at the course with the aim of disseminating knowledge
on trade to private entrepreneurs. Altogether 102 trainees -70 from the
private sector, 26 from government organizations and six from Kachin and Shan
Special Regions- are attending the five-week course. 

(5)		South East Asia Write Award Winner Honoured
		Writer Hsinbyukyun Aung Thein, who won SEA Write Award, was honoured by
Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association on 18 September afternoon at Royal
Karaweik Hall, Yangon. The SEA Write Award is presented to prominent writers
and poets of ASEAN member nations. Nine writers and poets of nine ASEAN member
countries including Hsinbyukyun Aung Thein (U Kyi Aye) of Myanmar will attend
the Third SEA Write Award Presentation Ceremony to be held at Hotel Oriental
in Bangkok, from 20 to 26 September this year. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of
Thailand himself will present the awards  to the nine winners at the ceremony.
A dinner in honour of the winners will be held at the hotel. The Award
Scrutinizing Committee will present 100,000 baht each to the winners. A one-
week tour programme will be provided for the winners.

(6)		Myanmar Delegation Leaves for Vienna
		At the invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 
a Myanmar delegation led by Deputy Minister for Science and Technology left
Yangon by air on 18 September evening to attend the 42nd General Conference of
IAEA in Vienna, Austria.

7)		PRC to Present Stage Light, Air-conditioners to Myanmar
		The People?s Republic of China has agreed to present stage lights and 
air-conditioners to Myanmar under Myanmar-China bilateral goodwill relations
programme. Director General of Fine Arts Department and Economic and
Commercial Counsellor Mr Lin Jian of PRC Embassy signed the contract at the
Ministry of Culture on 18 September afternoon. 

OFFICE CALLS IN YANGON ON 18 SEPTEMBER

(A)		Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, Chief of  Office
of Strategic Studies, Director of Defence Services Intelligence Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt received the visiting Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army General
Chetta Thanajaro and party at Dagon Yeiktha of the Ministry of Defence at 1
pm.

(B)		Minister for Health received Senior Research Officers Dr Steven Wayling
and Dr Jeffery Hii of Tropical Region Diseases Research Department of WHO,
accompanied by WHO Resident Representative, at his office.

(C)		Minister for Cooperatives received Assistant to Executive Officer Mr
Suradej Kumponkanjana of TPI Polene Public Co Ltd of Thailand at his office.
They discussed cooperatives and export and import activities. 
Special Feature This office is presenting the Myanmar Monitor dated 18
September, for your information ,attached herewith.

Septembel 18, 1998       A balanced view of the Union of Myanmar       Volume
2.19

THE MYANMAR MONITOR 
Myanmar Ambassador to US Discusses 
External Relations and Internal Politics

		1998 has been a pivotal year for Myanmar as it marks the 50th anniversary of
its founding as an independent nation and the 10th anniversary of the military
Intervention which brought the current leadership to power. In recent months,
Myanmar has been the focus of much international attention as tensions rise
between the government and the opposition movement led by the National League
for Democracy (NLD). Despite the widespread media attention on Myanmar and its
political and economic future, the government and its leaders remain
relatively unknown and not well understood. To help provide the international
community with some insight into Myanmar and its current situation, The
Myanmar Monitor presents the following interview with U Tin Winn, Myanmar
Ambassador to the United States, held on September 15, 1998. 


Q. How would you assess the current state of US Myanmar relations?

A. Frankly speaking the current state of US-Myanmar relations are at the
lowest ebb One of the basic tenets of Myanmar's foreign policy has been to
promote and maintain good and friendly relations with all the countries in
tile world and the United States is no exception We wish to restore our
traditionally good relations with the United States, however, it takes two to
tango

In order to get US-Myanmar relations back on track, I believe that there must
first be recognition from Washington that the present government, SPDC, is
acting in the interest of the nation and the people Washington should also
have a better appreciation of the recent history of Myanmar, its ethnic and
cultural diversity, its deep-rooted traditions and the compelling reasons for
the military's leading role Unlike other armed forces around the world, ours
is quite different and very unique .The military is the most disciplined
institution and organized entity in our country

Secondly, the US should realize that democracy cannot be built in a day, in a
month, or in a year For democracy to find roots, it must take into account the
circumstances that I have explained tile country's history, the people's
traditions, the culture and purposes of a nation and its people We must be
allowed to transform ourselves into a democracy over time and be given
breathing space to develop our own institutions, infrastructure and
characteristics

Q. Recent events within Myanmar-including the arrest of foreign students in
August university protests in Yangon, and the "calling in" of National League
for Democracy members by the government-have attracted worldwide media
attention especially in the United States. Could you elaborate on Myanmar's
current internal situatioll7

A. The opposition group the National League for Democracy (NLD) and their
supporters abroad have been using all means that are fair and foul to
embarrass the government In recent months, they have been trying to seize the
opportunity presented by anniversaries, say for example 8.8.88, to foment
unrest so that they can grab tile reins of power. It is very significant that
the 18 foreigners were not arrested by the police or uniformed individuals,
They were arrested by ordinary citizens who do not wish to see our country
destabilized They will not tolerate acts of instigation such as inciting the
public to go against the government or to go out into tile streets to
demonstrate.

In the case of the Yangon Institute of Technology, some disgruntled students
initiated a protest against the university administration for what they
consider as exceedingly tough examinations due to lack of preparation time But
political figures tried to redirect the anger against the government-they
issued some statements supporting tile students and turned it into an anti-
military government protest To their credit, the authorities working with
university administrators were able to blockade the students and reassure them
of a fair consideration. All untoward actions were avoided and the students
finished their examinations at the Yangon Institute of Technology this week
The tact and understanding with which those perturbations were dealt
underscore the orderly manner in which internal issues are being resolved in
Myanmar. Those who wish Myanmar ill would of course like to see a more heavy
handed response by the Government causing civil unrest. If the government
makes some wrong actions, for example by dispersing students with force with
water cannons or batons, the opposition will take issue.

The reason why the NLD has become emboldened is that when the government
allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to hold larger and larger party conventions and
conferences in her compound since 1996, she became confident and challenged
the government. That is the reason that the NLD issued an ultimatum last May
calling on the government to convene the parliament by August 21, 1998. Now
that the day has come and gone and the government has refused to accede to
their unreasonable demand, they are planning to convene the parliament
unilaterally. This unilateral action is not only unlawful but also treacherous
according to our criminal codes. The government has therefore warned the NLD
that it could face serious action if it tried to realize this threat. In order
not to have to take drastic action, like outlawing the NLD and arresting
leaders of the party, the authorities have tried to diffuse the situation by
inviting some NLD members from outside of tile Yangon area to come to the
guest house and discuss the situation and the NLD's intention. I think that
all these people are very cooperative with the government. In fact, they are
not charged with any criminal law nor are they put in a jail or prison or even
in the police station, just in the government guest house.

This is not the first time, you see. In 1996 the government detained about
300-350 people, and last year about 400-450 people were detained, and so on.
So whenever there seems to be a danger that can destabilize the situation, the
government uses this as a preventative measure. The Western media, not fully
aware of the way differences are resolved among ourselves, have been making a
mountain out of a mole hill and have seized every opportunity to lash out at
the Myanmar government.

I think from the side of the United States they can help improve relations by
abandoning or jettisoning prejudices and focus on positive developments. For
example, it should not hold the entire bilateral relationship hostage to the
single issue of human rights. There are many fields where we can cooperate
with each other such as narcotic drug suppression, health, education,
exploitation of natural resources, and so on. As a first step the US should
seriously consider lifting sanctions Without lifting the sanctions, I think it
is very difficult to cooperate in the economic field.

Q. How is Myanmar's economic climate? Is it attractive to American businesses?

A. Not only to American businesses, but after promulgating our New Investment
Law in 1989, it is favorable for all foreign nations to invest in Myanmar.
Those who have invested in Myanmar-Asians, Europeans as well as Americans-have
noticed quite a number of changes in the legal and investment climate.

Notwithstanding the US sanctions, investment opportunities in Myanmar abound
We are the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia with abundant natural
resources and a motivated and educated population The thirty years of self-
imposed isolation that kept it from fulfilling its potential have ended and
investment is now encouraged even as the logistics of it are still being
ironed out Consider that Myanmar's population of 46 million is 85% literate
and that two-thirds of the population still earns its living in agriculture
Despite these facts, only 12% of Myanmar's cultivatable land is being farmed
Myanmar has a continental shelf of 230,000 square kilometers by the fishing
industries extract barely half its sustainable stock Also, our country has 80%
of the world's teak forest, and huge reserves of oil, gas, coal, tin,
tungsten, zinc, iron, copper, gold and a variety of precious tones, that await
extraction . The question is not whether Myanmar will become a major center of
economic activity, but when, and who will be best positioned to participate
when this happens.

Q. Last month Human Rights Watch proposed a new strategy focused on co
-ordination and engagement to encourage improvement in Myanmar's human rights
situation, as well as to develop positive relations with the international
community Do you have any comments7

A. You may notice that Human Rights Watch has been In the vanguard of those
opposing the Myanmar government. That it is now proposing a new strategy
focused on coordination and engagement  underscores tile fact that in the past
it was guided more by the heart than the head Once there b recognition that
the situation in Myanmar is unique and that the Myanmar citizens are capable
of resolving their problems and differences among themselves without outside
interference, a good start can be made. The international community can best
help in the process by being patient and refraining from interfering in what
is essentially domestic affairs of our

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

NLD FORMS COMMITTEE

The National League for Democracy (NLD) announced on September 17 that ten of
its members, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have formed a committee
representing the over 800 opposition members currently being detained in the
government guest houses called the "Committee Representing the People's
Parliament." According to the new group, "which is vested with the authority
of the parliamentary representatives, shall carry out tasks on behalf of the
parliament." The committee, calling for full political rights for all parties
and the release of all political prisoners, also stated that "laws, bylaws,
regulations, orders and announcements which were enacted since September 18,
1988 are not legal so long as they are not approved by the 'People's
Parliament"

STUDENTS PROTEST IN YANGON

A series of student protests erupted in Yangon leading up to the September 7th
university examinations-the first tests held since the government closed the
schools in 1996. On August 24, approximately 150 students and 1,000 onlookers
staged a protest at Yangon Institute of Technology (YIT) and the Hledan
junction located beside the university. In the largest anti-government rallies
since 1996, students reportedly unfurled flags, sang democracy songs and
passed out leaflets supportin9 Aung San Suu Kyi's call for a "People's
Parliament." Witnesses report that rocks were thrown and riot , police were
called in to disperse the crowd. Two truckloads of students were detained.

Citing anger with the lack of examination preparation time and potential plans
to relocate their campus, students again gathered in protest on September 2 at
YIT and its Hlaing campus. Government sources report that students at YIT will
not be relocated to another campus, but rather an existing technology high
school located 200 miles from Yangon will expand into the university level.
The YIT program in Yangon will still be offered. Between 800 and 2,000
individuals participated in the demonstration, chanting "end the military
government ," before university official intervened. There were no reports of
firearms or clashes with the military police.

According to one Yangon -based diplomat, "The government is handling these
things pretty well...They are trying to avoid violence and confrontation
because they know that is only a short-term solution. Obviously, there must be
change in Myanmar. But at least the process is peaceful at the moment "
another protest occurred overnight on September 3re resulting in a military
blockade of the YIT on September 4th, Approximately 500-900 students
participated and again no clashes were reported. On September 7th,  2,325
first, second and third students sat for examinations without incident. All
examinations were completed by September 17.

BUSINESS & TRADE UPDATE

Thai-Myanmar Border trade reopened on September 16 after a year-long hiatus
imposed to restrict rampant smuggling and bring border trade under control.
The U.S. dollar is now tile medium of exchange-a key condition made by Myanmar
prior to trade resumption. Both Thai and Myanmar officials are encouraged by
tile cooperative agreement and hope to reestablish and surpass the US$7.4
million in annual peak border trade made in the past.

Ericsson, a world leader in telecommunications systems and related terminals,
announced on September 1 that it  has suspended all business ties with Myanmar
effective immediately. According to the Swedish company, their decision to
pull out was influenced by potential conflicts with the United States,
although their current level of business with Myanmar is negligible.

Emerson Radio Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, recently entered into
an exclusive agreement with Firoza International Limited, a distributor of
consumer products based in Bangladesh, to promote and support the sale of
Emerson Radio-branded consumer products througout the South East Asia region,
including Myanmar. Emerson designs, markets and licenses full lines of
televisions and other video products, microwave ovens, audio and home theater
products.

The World Bank announced on September 4 that it will not consider sending any
more financial assistance to Myanmar because tile nation failed to make
repayments on past loans in the amount of $14 million. Myanmar has not made
any new loan requests since July 1987.

Mitsubishi Corporation, in conjunction with Nichimen Corporation, Malaysia
Export Credit Insurance and the Export - Import Bank of Thailand signed an
agreement to provide $130 million in syndicated loans to Myanmar  Oil and Gas
Enterprise to develop a natural gas field off tile coast of Myanmar. The
public oil and gas company's project, estimated at $800 million, is also
assisted by Premier Oil Plc (UK), Nippon Oil Company (Japan) and an
unidentified Thai public oil company.

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