The BurmaNet News: October 16, 1998

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The BurmaNet News: October 16, 1998
Issue #1119

HEADLINES:
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BKK POST: JUNTA RELEASES 10, SAYS MORE WILL GO HOME 
REUTERS: BANGLADESH SAYS MYANMAR REFUGEE CAMP TENSE 
CNN: SLORC TURNS TO SONG AND DANCE TO BOOST IMAGE 
BBC: BRITAIN PROMISES TO GET TOUGH ON BURMA 
ANNOUNCEMENT: LA FREE BURMA LAW HEARING 
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THE BANGKOK POST: JUNTA RELEASES 10, SAYS MORE WILL GO HOME
15 October, 1998 

RANGOON, AFP

MORE PRO-GOVERNMENT RALLIES IN SHAN STATE

Burma's military said yesterday it had released 10 members of the country's
main opposition party last week after contacts with dissident groups.

"The government expects more of the view-exchanges to conclude in coming
weeks, and for more National League for Democracy members to return home,"
an official statement said.

"All those involved in view-exchanges are working together to achieve the
common goals: to build a stable, multiparty democracy and to preserve the
prevailing peace that Burma enjoys."

The junta had said the NLD members had been "invited" for a political
discussion. It said they were at government guest houses and had not been
arrested.

"While the view-exchanges between the government and other NLD members are
continuing under a cordial atmosphere in government guest-houses, the
government hopes the NLD leadership will contribute a positive and
meaningful way to achieve the common goals," the statement said.

The NLD says 967 members have been detained in recent months, including 203
members of the parliament elected in 1990 polls which the NLD-led
opposition won by a landslide.

Some 23,000 people attended a pro-government rally at a sports stadium in
eastern Burma's Shan State, officials said yesterday.

A statement from the office of the junta's spokesman said those at the
rally on Tuesday in Lashio Township adopted two motions supporting efforts
by the military to "safeguard and maintain" economic development and
stability in the country.

Similar rallies sponsored in recent weeks by the junta in Rangoon, Mandalay
and other cities each attracted 20,000 to 30,000  people showing support
for the military.

The rallies, attended mainly by civil servants and members of government
sponsored groups, have been among the ruling military's most visible
efforts to counter mounting pressure from the NLD demanding the convening
of the parliament elected in 1990. 

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REUTERS: BANGLADESH SAYS MYANMAR REFUGEE CAMP TENSE
15 October, 1998 

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Tension was running high at a
Myanmar refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh on Wednesday after refugees
who are refusing repatriation prevented officials from entering, police said.

The refugees at Nayapara camp in Teknaf, a Bangladeshi border town,
barricaded the entrance and threatened "violent action" if officials from
the government or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
tried to force entry.

"We are facing a tough situation here," said an official at Teknaf. "Police
have been asked to tighten guard around the camp and see that tension does
not trigger violence," he said, without giving details.

Police said some 21,000 Rohingya Moslems have been refusing to return home
for fear of military persecution in western Burma's Arakan province, which
they fled in early 1992.

The refugees live in Nayapara and nearby Kutupalong camps along the border
and have resisted moves to send them back, although over 225,000 other
Rohingyas have been repatriated under UNHCR supervision since September 1992.

Bangladesh said it had hoped to complete the repatriation by mid-1997.

One local villager was shot dead during clashes between refugees and police
last month. The refugees said he was shot by police, who deny the charge.

The refugees recently refused to accept food rations and thwarted a visit
by UNHCR officials trying to sort out disputes.

"Sometimes the Rohingyas become very violent. We believe they harboured
some armed cadres from various Moslem rebel groups seeking an independent
homeland in Arakan," one police officer said. 

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CNN: SLORC TURNS TO SONG AND DANCE TO BOOST IMAGE 
14 October, 1998 from FBC <dpbeeton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 

(This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may
be updated.)

ANNOUNCER: Now in its tenth year, serving classrooms the world over, this
is CNN NEWSROOM.

CASSANDRA HENDERSON, CO-HOST: Good to see you, everyone. I'm Cassandra.
Tony's on assignment. And here's what we're offering for your Wednesday
NEWSROOM. ...

HENDERSON: Well, here comes your Wednesday "Worldview." ...we'll start in
Myanmar. Government leaders there are turning to a little song and dance to
boost their image.

It was known as Burma since 1886. But in 1990, the military government
there changed the country's name to Myanmar. Many citizens there oppose the
military and still refer to the country as Burma.

And the opposition is not just limited to Myanmar. There is worldwide
condemnation of the military junta there. So, the regime is trying to
soften its image through dance and music. But ex-patriot Myanmar dissidents
are keeping up their criticism of the regime for what they say is
widespread oppression and human rights abuses.

John Raedler has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN RAEDLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The intricacies of Myanmar,
or Burmese, folk dancing and the distinctiveness of its' folk music
displayed by a troupe of Myanmar dancers and musicians on a recent cultural
exchange tour of Thailand. This performance for school children in Korat,
Thailand's second biggest province.

The tour was an attempt by the much-criticized military junta of Myanmar to
show the world a different, softer face.

LT. COL. ZAW THAN, TOUR LEADER: To be a close friendship with neighboring
countries, like Thai and so on.

RAEDLER: But the tour leader would not discuss Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's
pro-democracy leader, or the state of human rights in his homeland.

(on camera): Has that issue come up at all on your visit?

THAN: I have no idea. We come only for our culture, not as soldiers.

RAEDLER: But while the Myanmar dance and music troupe was performing here
in Korat, a four hours' drive away in Bangkok, another group of Myanmar
people were putting on a quite different performance.

(voice-over): Zaw Wint is a refugee from what he still calls Burma. Along
with up to 100 other refugees, he has been participating in a live-in
demonstration outside the Myanmar embassy in the Thai capital.

ZAW WINT, MYANMAR REFUGEE: They are very terrible you know, they are the
most human rights violations government in the world.

RAEDLER: Moe Moe is another refugee demonstrating outside the embassy. The
daughter of a shopkeeper, she fled Rangoon five years ago for Thailand,
where her interests now are her daughter and righting what she sees as the
wrongs of the regime in her homeland.

MOE MOE, MYANMAR REFUGEE (through translator): I want my daughter to grow
up in a country which has freedom of movement, human rights and democracy.

RAEDLER: A few days after talking to CNN, Zaw Wint and Moe Moe were
arrested. Along with other Myanmar demonstrators outside the embassy, they
were rounded up by Thai police and detained. It's expected they will be
returned to one of the refugee camps along Thailand's border with Myanmar.

John Raedler for CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE). 

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BBC: BRITAIN PROMISES TO GET TOUGH ON BURMA 
15 October, 1998 

The British government is to step up pressure on the military authorities
in Burma to try and persuade them to respect democracy and human rights.

At a conference in London, a British foreign office minister Derek Fatchett
said that unless Burma started political and economic reforms within the
next three months, Britain would seek to have it expelled from the
International Labour Organisation.

He also said Britain would be pressing the rest of the European Union to
discourage trade, investment and tourism in Burma.

He said one of Britain's aims was to get the Burmese authorities to start
dialogue with the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: LA FREE BURMA LAW HEARING 
15 October, 1998 from bfla@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"You helped us [people of South Africa] to become free. Please help Burma
to become free by passing this ordinance" - Archbishop Desmond Tutu to
members of L.A. City Council

"The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor calls on members of the City
Council to ... take a stand to end massive human rights violations in Burma
by supporting the selective purchasing legislation" - Miguel Contreras,
Executive Secretary Treasurer, L.A. County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Companies like UNOCAL that do business with the ruthless military regime in
Burma should not be getting our tax dollars! Already, more than 20 cities
including New York, San Francisco and Oakland have passed Free Burma laws
which limit city contracts with business partners of the illegal regime.
Come Show your Support for the L.A. Free Burma Ordinance at a City Council
Committee Hearing 12:45pm, Tuesday, October 20 Room 317 L.A. City Hall
East, 200 N. Main Street

Unocal has spent thousands of dollars on high-priced lobbyists to defeat
the Free Burma law. This committee hearing is a critical juncture in the
campaign.

We Need Your Support to Win!

Call the Burma Forum at (310)399-0703 if you have any questions or if you
need a ride.

Kevin Rudiger, Burma Forum, Los Angeles, 2118 Wilshire Blvd #383, Santa
Monica, CA 90403

(310)399-0703 - phone; (310)392-9965 - fax; (310)588-3404 - pager

bfla@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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