The BurmaNet News: January 13, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: The BurmaNet News: January 13, 1999
Issue #1184

Noted in Passing: "Therefore, on the thirty first day of December 1998, the
Chairman of the National League for Democracy lodged a criminal complaint
against the Director General of the Military Intelligence Services under
Section 4(a) of the Judiciary Law and the Criminal Procedure Code" - NLD
Statement No. 4 (see BBC: SUU SUES) 

HEADLINES:
==========
BBC: SUU SUES 
CHRO: NO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES 
XINHUA: MAGWAY DIVISION RECLAIMS LAND FOR FARMING  
NATION: OVERSUPPLY FORCES PTT TO CUT UNOCAL PURCHASES 
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BBC: SUU SUES 
12 January, 1999 

The National League for Democracy in Burma says it has started legal action
against a leading figure in the military government, Lieutenant-general
Khin Nyunt.

The NLD said in a statement [see below] the action accuses Khin Nyunt of
arbitrarily arresting party members and coercing them to resign from the NLD.

Last weekend the government-controlled press said that the Burmese military
authorities were considering whether to arrest the NLD leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi, on charges of making contact with illegal groups, including Karen
guerrillas. 

------

[BurmaNet Editor's Note: Below is the NLD Statement referred to in the
above article.]

National League for Democracy
97/b West Shwegondine Road
Bahan, Rangoon

STATEMENT- 4(1/99)

1. Despite the fact that the National League for Democracy is a legally
constituted political party and is engaged in legitimate political duties,
the rulers who have taken state power and the executive bodies appointed by
them are illegally interfering, preventing, destroying, and extinguishing
the party.

2. Adopting a process in conformity with law, the NLD announced its
intention to assemble the People's Parliament. The immediate reaction by
the Military Intelligence authorities was illegal arrests and imprisonment
of not only the elected members of parliament but also NLD organising
committee members at all levels (State, Division, Township, Ward, Village),
ordinary members, and members of working groups formed by the central
executive committee.

3. Furthermore, members of parliament have been forced to resign their
positions as elected representatives and from the party; others have been
forced to resign from their positions and from the party  by threats,
intimidation and illegal forceful pressure from members of the military
intelligence units for which there is not one iota of legal justification.

4.  In so doing , the military intelligence authorities have committed
criminal offences. The individuals against whom such illegal arrests and
action have been taken are aggrieved and injured. Therefore, on the thirty
first day of December 1998, the Chairman of the National League for
Democracy lodged a criminal complaint against the Director General of the
Military Intelligence Services under Section 4(a) of the Judiciary Law and
the Criminal Procedure Code to the Chief Justice of the Union of Burma for
adjudication by the proper court.

Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
6 January 1999

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CHIN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION: NO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
14 July, 1998 

>From the Rhododendron News Bulletin by the CHRO, Volume 2, Number 1,
January, 1999

(Interview with two Chin students, conducted in New Delhi on 14.7.1998)

Since December 1996, throughout Burma, all colleges and universities were
shut down by the military junta, in response to students demonstrations in
Rangoon. Up to now, most of the colleges and universities remained closed,
and most students cannot pursue their studies. This is the case of Kaley
College, in Kaleymyo, Sagaing Division, near the border with Chin State.
There is no university or College in Chin State, and Kaley College was
established primarily to provide further higher education to students of
Chin State and of the Kaley region.

Since 1997, for those who completed High School and passed the
matriculation, there is no option for further studies. Many Chin students
have started trickling into India looking for an opportunity to continue
their education. However, opportunities are few for them in India.  Being
Christian, their only hope is to join a Christian College, where food and
accommodation are sometimes provided. Those institutions are usually Bible
School or Theological College, which do not provide them with an
educational, vocational or professional background for their future. There
is no other choice.

CHRO interviewed two Chin students, Muana and Ngheta (not their real
names). These two young men passed their Matriculation in 1997. Since they
cannot continue their education in Burma, their parents sent them to New
Delhi to do theological studies.

Ngheta, 19, and Muana, 20, are both young Chin Christian from the Kaley
region in Sagaing Division, close to Chin State. Muana used to live in
Tahan quarter of Kaley town, while Ngheta is from Let Pan Chaung, a large
Chin inhabited village in Kaley township, about 10 miles away from Kaley.
Although their present situation is similar, their past experiences are
somewhat different. We have interviewed them separately.

Question :  Is education freely available in your village or town? 

Ngheta :  Each household in Let Pan Chaung village had to pay 2,500 Kyats
in February or March 1997 for school buildings. After collecting that
money, they did construct some buildings to the Middle School and to the
High School. However, they did not look so nice or big, and were not worth
all the money collected from the villagers.

The high school teachers are all paid by the villagers who provided them
with paddy. Every 9th Standard student has to provide 10 baskets per year
and every 10th Standard student 12 baskets. Each teacher received thus 200
baskets per year, which is a lot [13/14 baskets is enough to feed one adult
for one year]. They can sell the rest for 400 Kyats per basket.  The high
school has 450 students. This way they can collect a lot of rice.  In fact,
this arrangement has been set up by the School Committee, and the Village
Tract PDC is part of the School Committee. Actually, the Chairman of the
Village Tract PDC is also the Chairman of the School Committee.    They are
very corrupt. The School Committee keeps half of the rice given from each
student and the teachers only received the other half. Let Pan Chaung has
more than 2,000 houses. It is mostly Chin, only 10 houses are Burman. The
language of education is only Burmese. [Note: In Chin State, Chin language
is allowed up the 2nd Standard, but Let Pan Chaung is located in Sagaing
Division where only Burmese language is recognised] Until 1992, our big
village only had one Primary School. Then the government set up a Middle
School, but there were not enough teachers.  Then, our village created a
High School with volunteer teachers who received paddy as their salary. The
Primary and Middle School students also need to give rice to the extra
teachers. If the parents are unable to provide the rice, the child cannot
go to school.

Muana :  I studied 9th Standard in the Tahan quarter of Kaley town and 10th
Standard in Mandalay. At the High School in Mandalay, the admission fee was
750 Kyats which included registration, sports facilities, etc.. But other
fees were constantly collected for festivals, pagodas, monasteries,
furniture, computer, etc.. School books and exercise books had to be bought
by the students themselves. The computer fee is 150 Kyats per year. The
school bought one computer and only 10 students a year were selected to
learn computer skills.

There were so many rules and regulations in my school. If we ever mention
anything political, we would be beaten and expelled from the school. Those
who didn't wear their school uniform were be expelled too. And, every week,
every month, we have to give donations.

Private tuition 

Teachers in Burma are very badly paid by the government. In order to
increase their income, they organised private tuition. However, many
students complained that attending and paying for these private tuition is
compulsory in order to pass their examinations.

Question :  Did you take private tuition? 

Ngheta :  I had to attend 2 months of private tuition. The teacher did not
explain the subject properly in the classroom, and he invited the students
for private tuition. He was doing one hour per day and had to pay 250 Kyats
for one month.

Muana :  In Mandalay, I was doing one and half hour of private tuition
three times a week for each subject. He had to get tuition for five
subjects:  Math, English and three Science subjects. Private tuition for
each subject cost me between 2,500 and 3,000 Kyats a year depending on the
subject.

Question :  How can they afford this? 

Muana :  I have 6 brothers and sisters who are all at school. My father is
a carpenter as well as a pastor. My mother was a businesswoman trading
between India and Rangoon. She was supporting us all. Unfortunately she
died in a car accident last year.

Ngheta :  My parents are farmers. I have 6 brothers and sisters, and 3 of
us are students. Therefore, our family had to provide a total of 26 baskets
of paddy per year, only for our education -- 12 baskets for myself as a
10th Standard student, 10 basket for my sister who is a 9th Standard
student, 4 baskets for my younger sister who is attending 4th standard

My family owns 10 acres of paddy fields. We can only get one crop per year
because of irrigation problems. We usually harvest an average of 800
baskets a year. We manage to save 200 baskets a year for ourselves. Each
year we are forced to sell 12 baskets per acre to the Government at
government rate [much lower than market rate] and donate one basket per
acre for the Army. We also have to donate one basket per house for the
Village Tract PDC. They sell this rice to get money for entertaining VIP's
and to cover their office costs.

Forced Labour 

Question :  Did you have to do voluntary labour while you were student? 

Ngheta :  The Let Pan Chaung villagers are forced to work on road
construction every year. The villagers have to repair all the roads linking
the various villages in the township. They also have to repair the bridges.
 This work is usually taking place in the summer. Every villager ends up
doing one day of road work per week for 4 or 5 weeks every year.

Then, in the rainy season, we have to repair the dam and canals for
irrigation. There is little rain in Kaley area, so the villagers have to
use an irrigation system to grow their crop. The dam is built with stone
and mud, so it often breaks during the monsoon, and we have to go and
repair it. I often missed school or arrive late in class, because that dam
is quite far from our village. I am the only young man in my family, so I
always have to go. The labour is ordered by Village PDC, and everyone
failing to go to labour is fined 100 Kyats. 

Muana : In Tahan quarter, the largest forced labour projects have now been
completed: the Kaley to Gangaw railway and the Ye Chaung hydro dam.  Since
then, people are ordered to clean the ground in front of their house and to
paint the façade, the fences and the trees around it whenever a high-level
leader of SPDC is coming to Kaley. This is happening 4 or 5 times a year.
We were also forced to build a platform in front of our house because the
main road is a little higher. Also every household had to build a drain for
sewerage water in front of his house. The Township PDC gave the measurement
and ordered it to be built with brick and cement, but they did not provide
the material. 

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XINHUA: MYANMAR'S MAGWAY DIVISION RECLAIMS LAND FOR FARMING
10 January, 1999 

YANGON (Jan. 11) XINHUA - Thousands of hectares of vacant, fallow and
virgin land as well as wetlands in Myanmar's northwestern Magway division
have been reclaimed by local private enterprises and cultivation of crops
have started in the division along with two others.

A total of nine private companies have been granted to engage in over
75,700 hectares of such lands in different townships of the division along
with those in Yangon and Ayeyawaddy divisions.

The Myanmar government is encouraging domestic private entrepreneurs to
turn part of their investment in agriculture, which is the mainstay of the
country's economy.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has formed a special group under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation to assist the private entrepreneurs to undertake
the large-scale farming, disseminating to them technology for the
transformation efforts.

According to official statistics, in the 1997-98 fiscal year fallow land in
Myanmar came to 1.1 million hectares and cultivable wasteland 7.89 million
hectares.

The country expanded cultivated land under crops to 12.51 million hectares
in the year, 185,540 hectares more than the previous year.

Myanmar's paddy production fell from 19 million tons in 1995-96 fiscal year
to 17.66 million tons in 1996-97 and then to 17.3 million tons in 1997-98
with its rice exports reducing from 354,000 tons to 93,100 tons and then to
28,300 tons correspondingly.

On the other hand, the country's population is estimated to have reached
46.4 million in 1997-98, growing by 1.84 percent annually.

In view of these facts, Myanmar is adopting the above-mentioned measures of
reclamation of more land for cultivation.

Myanmar's agriculture, accounting for 36 percent of the gross domestic
product and 35 percent of the exports in value, grew by 2.9 percent in
output value in the fiscal year. 

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THE NATION: OVERSUPPLY FORCES PTT TO CUT UNOCAL PURCHASES 
11 January, 1999 by Watcharapong Thongrung

THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) has reduced the amount of gas it
will purchase from Unocal Thailand Ltd from this year until 2003 because it
will retain its purchasing deal with the Bangkot gasfield and other producers.

PTT will purchase 935 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), down from the
previous 999 mmcfd. Between 2000 and 2002 PTT plans to purchase 788 mmcfd,
697 mmcfd and 620 mmcfd of gas from Unocal and will gradually increase its
volume in 2003.

The reduction in the purchase results from a surplus in the market
following the recession. PTT has projected an increase in consumption to
1,800 mmcfd this year compared with the 1,600 mmcfd in 1998.

Meanwhile this year PTT has increased its purchasing deal with Bangkot from
304 mmcfd in 1998 to 322 mmcfd. Purchase from Bongkot, where PTT
Exploration and Production holds a majority stake, will be retained at 322
mmcfd from 1999 to 2005.

Industry Minister Suwat Liptapanlop urged power-producers and industrial
manufacturers to increase their gas use in a bid to bring the country's
consumption in line with supply, which currently stands at 3,000 mmcfd. A
meeting with the Mineral Resources Department and PTT on gas-use policy
will be held tomorrow. A proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet on Monday.

Use of natural gas instead of coal by Independent Power Producers (IPP)
will increase the demand by 800 to 900 mmcfd. If the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (Egat) shifts from coal to gas in its Bangpakong
Power Plant and South Bangkok Power Plant, consumption will increase by 600
mmcfd.

In the economic and social development plan, gas use accounts for around
64.1 per cent of the total energy source. If power-producers and industrial
manufacturers can change from coal and tanker oil to gas, the proportion
will rise by around 70 per cent.

If coal-based IPP operators change to gas, the gas-pipeline charge will
increase from 18.89 million British Thermal Units (BTU) to 22.91 million
BTU in 2002. An increase in gas use will reduce the cost of generating
electricity per unit to US$0.041 per kilowatt-hour. The cost per unit of
coal will be $0.053 per kilowatt-hour, a source said.

To ensure that the country's main energy source is natural gas, PTT has set
aside Bt40.6 billion to construct a gas-pipeline network linking
natural-gas sources in the Gulf of Thailand and Burma between 2002 and 2009.

Of the total budget, Bt6.68 billion will be used for the expansion of the
gas pipeline to Prachuab Khiri Khan, Bt1.3 billion for the installation of
a pressure meter, Bt30.9 billion for the construction of a pipeline from
the Joint Development Area project to the existing network and the
installation of a compressor and Bt1.72 billion for the construction of new
pipeline projects.

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