The BurmaNet News: February 23, 199

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Subject: The BurmaNet News: February 23, 1999

------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 23, 1999
Issue #1213

HEADLINES:
==========
AFP: INTERPOL TO GO AHEAD WITH BURMA MEET 
REUTERS: MYANMAR MEETING WON'T SOLVE DRUG PROBLEM 
ASIAWEEK: BOYCOTT DRUGS, NOT MEETING 
THE NATION: IS BURMA AN INTERNATIONAL PLAYGROUND? 
XINHUA: MYANMAR FERTILITY RATE DECLINES 
BANGKOK POST: NAVY CHIEF EXPECTED TO VISIT BURMA 
BANGKOK POST: LOGGERS SLAM BORDER DELAY 
AP: THAIS FEAR BORDER RAID ON CAMP 
****************************************************************

AFP: INTERPOL TO GO AHEAD WITH BURMA MEET
22 February, 1999

BANGKOK - Interpol will tomorrow brush off a Western boycott and open a heroin
conference in Rangoon, defying critics who accuse Burma of being the globe's
largest opium supplier and ridicule its anti-drugs drive.

A wave of protest greeted the decision to hold the Fourth International Heroin
conference in Rangoon, home to several of the world's most notorious drugs
lords who have cut immunity deals with the government.

The United States, Britain, France and a list of other European nations
blighted by the scourge of heroin have refused to send delegates, fearful
their
presence would imply the endorsement of Burma's much vaunted war on drugs.

Their boycott dealt a blow to the credibility of the conference and the
junta's
hopes of shedding its image as a "narco-dictatorship" shored up by the
ill-gotten gains of opium cultivation.

Bitter diplomatic quarrels raging between Burma's military rulers and Western
supporters of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi added fire to the political
mix
that convinced Western nations not to attend.

The US said its decision was partly motivated by Burma's persistent "disregard
for political and human rights".

Privately, diplomats in Rangoon question Interpol's decision to hold the
conference in the full knowledge of the political implications.

"If Interpol was serious about achieving anything with this conference they
should have held it elsewhere," said one.

However, members of non-governmental organisations fighting the drug trade and
the international police organisation (Interpol) believe progress is possible
at the meeting.

They say it will help coordinate and improve cross-border programmes to stem
the flow of opium and processed heroin from southeast Asia to addicts in the
West.

Drugs experts say Burma is tied with Afghanistan as the world's largest opium
supplier and produces 90 per cent of southeast Asia's poppy crop.

Thailand, Burma and Laos, which all have territory in the notorious "Golden
Triangle" opium-producing region, will be represented.

So will China, a boost for international anti-drugs efforts devoting mounting
funds to blocking trafficking routes out of Burma and Laos through China's
southern Yunan province.

"It is difficult to see the reasoning of those not coming to the conference
unless it is political pressure," said an international delegate on condition
of anonymity. "You have to work with the police on the ground, who are not
political, to improve their skills, to help them fight heroin production," he
said.

Burma will surely use the conference to trumpet its anti-drugs drive.

In recent weeks, the official press has high-lighted countless seizures of
opium and substances used to turn it into heroin.

The junta will use the West's no-show as a stick to beat hostile governments,
analysts say, and will pillory nations which refused to attend even though
they
are afflicted by some of the world's largest heroin markets.

Burma also hopes to make cracks in the wall of strict Western sanctions
intended to punish the junta for human rights abuses, which have along with
the
Asian financial crisis, throttled the economy.

As well as Britain, the United States, France, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Italy,
Denmark and Germany will stay away, diplomatic sources said. Australia is
still
expected to send a team of police officers from Canberra..

Critics of Burma accuse the junta of cosying up to drug lords following the
surrender of warlord Khun Sa to the military regime two years ago.

Khun Sa, along with other alleged narcotics traffickers, is believed to
live in
Rangoon under the protection of military intelligence after his insurgent Mong
Tai Army cut a ceasefire deal with the government.

The drugs question is closely linked to the junta efforts to broker ceasefires
with fractious ethnic insurgents opposed to rule from Rangoon.

Several ceasefire deals have granted limited autonomy to insurgents, which
makes it hard for the junta to crack down on narcotics in territory it does
not
control.

Officials say as of the end of 1997, 801 of its soldiers had died fighting to
eradicate narcotics.

Analysts say although there is no clear evidence  to link the government with
trafficking, drugs money has clearly infiltrated the economy and drug lords
have been accused of financing legitimate businesses.

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

REUTERS: INTERVIEW-MYANMAR MEETING WON'T SOLVE DRUG PROBLEM
22 February, 1999

SHAN STATE, Myanmar, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A drugs conference in Myanmar this
week
will do nothing to stem the flow of Golden Triangle heroin because the
government protects the trade, an ex-lieutenant of the country's most
notorious
drugs lord has said. 

Heroin production in Myanmar's Shan State had increased since ruling State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) signed peace agreements with drug lords
like Khun Sa in 1996, Colonel Yod Suk said in an interview videotaped recently
and made available to Reuters on Monday. 

"Heroin production has not been reduced yet. It's increasing because in the
past Khun Sa used to control the heroin production area, but now these areas
are monopolised by the SPDC," he said. 

"After... Khun Sa surrendered, the Burmese army took control of that area and
now the number of refineries has increased." 

Yod Suk is a former Khun Sa underling who now heads the Shan State Army in its
opposition to the military government in Yangon. 

Yod Suk claims to have some 12,000 troops under his command and to control
about half of Shan State. 

He accused the Myanmar military of protecting heroin factories since accepting
Khun Sa's surrender. 

Khun Sa, one of the most notorious of the Golden Triangle drug lords, is
thought to be living in Yangon under government protection. The U.S.
government
believes he remains at least indirectly involved in the drug trade through
subordinates. 

Yod Suk said the more than 20 countries attending Interpol's Fourth
International Heroin Conference in Yangon from Tuesday would have been better
off joining the United States and many European countries in staying away. 

"They should not attend," he said. "The international community should know
the
SPDC are linked to drugs themselves. 

"If the international community attends, firstly they will not get a real
insight and knowledge of what is really happening inside Burma. (Secondly) the
international community may believe the SPDC," he said. 

Shan State, the Myanmar side of the "Golden Triangle" opium growing area
formed
with the borders of Laos and Thailand, is one of the world largest sources of
heroin. By U.S. estimates Myanmar's 1997 opium crop was 2,365 tonnes, enough
for nearly 200 tonnes of heroin. 

Washington has said it believes Yod Suk himself is still in the drugs trade,
but he said he was fighting against it. 

Like the Yangon government, he has staged public drug burnings to highlight
this professed commitment. 

The Myanmar government denies links to narcotics production. It has vowed to
destroy all opium poppy plantations within 15 years and says the Interpol
conference will show the seriousness of its commitment to drug suppression. 

Yod Suk said that in the past four years heroin trafficking routes from Shan
State had increased and more of the drug was being carried by truck rather
than
by traditional mule trains. 

Amphetamine production had also increased, he said. 

Yod Suk said that if the international community was serious about eradicating
heroin production it should deal with all sides, not just the government. 

"Do not rely on them, the SPDC, and do not support them. If you do, your
assistance will only reach the level of corrupted senior officials." 

The key was to ensure democratic rights, he said. 

"If we have democratic rights (we would be able) to replace the poppies with
other crops and then the people would grow opium no more," he said.

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

ASIAWEEK: BOYCOTT DRUGS, NOT MEETINGS
26 February, 1999

WHY AN ANTI-NARCOTICS CONFERENCE IN YANGON IS WORTH ATTENDING

Holding an international anti-narcotics conference in Myanmar is like
holding a
convention on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or one on women's rights in
Afghanistan. Well, yes. But does that make such a meeting wrong?

Interpol, the global police organization, is sponsoring a conference on
illegal
drugs in Yangon from February 23 to 26. The decision has sparked outrage in
the
Myanmar exile community and many world capitals. Myanmar, after all, is one of
the world's leading producers of opium and heroin.

Moreover, its illnamed military government, the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC), is believed to at least turn a blind eye to the activity of
drug barons in its territory, and quite probably to protect and abet them in
exchange for a cut of their profits. And Yangon has one of the worst human
rights records of any regime anywhere.

Anti-SPDC activists cited the parallels between the Yangon conference and
hypothetical meetings in Baghdad and Kabul to help persuade Belgium, Britain,
Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and the U.S. to
boycott the meeting. 

Washington explained that "the Burmese regime could use the conference to
create the false impression that it demonstrates international approval ...
for
its counternarcotics and anticrime efforts." It also criticized the meeting's
agenda for largely overlooking U.S. counternarcotics concerns in the region
(American drugenforcement agents based in Yangon have been working with local
counterparts on drugeradication and cropsubstitution programs) and objected to
Yangon's political and humanrights abuses.

Fair enough. Myanmar's brutal junta certainly should not be allowed to score
any easy propaganda points. Only 22 of the 43 invited nations are expected to
attend, certainly undermining the credibility of the meeting. 

But is boycotting an Interpol conference the best way to combat the global
scourge of drugs? The meeting is meant for the world's antidrug agencies to
share information and strengthen cooperation. Surely, that is a worthy goal no
matter what the venue. If the agenda is weak, surely Washington and its allies
could have pushed Interpol into addressing their specific concerns. 

And if the Yangon regime is more a part of the problem of illegal narcotics
than the solution, then surely holding a conference in its hometown is a
way to
make sure they cannot duck out when criticized. 

As for the meeting's propaganda value for the SPDC, that depends on what the
participants do. The junta will say what it wants, boycott or no boycott, to
the local media. It is already spinning Washington's and London's absence into
a refusal to deal with the demandside of the problem _ the huge appetite for
illegal drugs in their markets.

But to the international media, the participants can say what they want, about
how Yangon's counternarcotics efforts fall short, how allegedly retired drug
lords like Khun Sa and Lo Hsinghan go unpunished, and how drug money courses
through the economy. Would not stating those accusations in public in Yangon
counteract the regime's propaganda? 

There are many good reasons to shun the military men who rule Myanmar. But
refusing to attend a conference aimed at eradicating opium and heroin will
neither help the victims of illegal drugs nor curb the drug barons and their
protectors.

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

THE NATION: IS BURMA BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL PLAYGROUND?
19 February, 1999 by Moe aye

ON ONE HAND, JAPAN WANTS DEMOCRACY FOR BURMA. ON THE OTHER, IT WELCOMES THE
DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE FEARED MIS. IS IT PURE ECONOMICS OR BEING WARY OF THE
WAXING INFLUENCE OF BURMA'S BIG BROTHER' CHINA.

The Japanese government has said that it pressed for democratisation within
Burma during a recent 10 day visit to Japan by Brigadier General Kyaw Win,
deputy chief of strategic studies at Burma's Defence Ministry and Deputy Chief
of Burma's Military Intelligence Service (MIS). At the same time, however,
three National League for Democracy (NLD) township offices were forcibly
closed
and many NLD members were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for their
alleged involvement in recent student demonstrations.

Although one Japanese political commentator said "no democratisation, no aid"
for Burma, the Burmese ruling military regime claimed that the visit was very
fruitful m enhancing friendship and understanding between the two
countries. At
the same time a prominent young student leader, Thet Winn Aung, was given 52
years imprisonment for his leadership of student demonstrations in August and
September 1998. Meanwhile, the substantial investment in Burma by Mitsubishi
and other Japanese companies is on the record.

"We could understand if they invited government ministers, even though they
are
not the representatives of Burma, to visit them. But we absolutely cannot
understand why they invited the MIS officer. It clearly means that the
Japanese
government recognises not only the military regime but also the notorious MIS
who torture political activists", said an NLD division organiser who declined
to be named. "How do they really want to be involved in our situation - to
solve the political  deadlock or to invest in Burma?" he asked.

Another NLD division organiser who also declined to be named said, "What is
their real concern about our country the situation of our people or 'the
influence of communist China'? We are confused. If they want to communicate
with both sides they should invite a representative from the NLD. And they
should try to arrange such an opportunity for the NLD. Don't forget the NLD
was
elected by the majority of our people."

His comments suggest that the recent statements of Mike Jendrezic from Human
Rights Watch in Asia are true. Jendrezic said in an interview about Kyaw Win
trip to Japan, "From my conversations with politicians and policy makers in
Tokyo, I think there is growing concern about Chinese military influence
projecting into Burma as well as in Southeast Asia generally. There in fact is
a pro-Burmese government lobby now in the Japanese Diet - the Japanese
Parliament - that is motivated in part by  economic interests, but also by
this
concern about Beijing's influence over Rangoon."

Jendrezic 's explanation is useful to understand the Japanese government's
policy. In 1995 Japan lifted its ban on economic aid, imposed after thousands
of democracy activists were shot dead on the streets of Rangoon in 1988.
Subsequently Tokyo has taken a softer stand than the US or the European Union.
And then, there are the many Japanese companies in Burma.

If the Japanese say that they have to compromise with the Burmese military
regime and invest in Burma because of Beijing's influence over Rangoon, the
suffering of the people of Burma and democracy movement in Burma is not in
their minds. It may be that Tokyo's concerns have increased since Rangoon
allowed the Chinese language newspaper to circulate in Burma.

Khin Zaw, (not his real name) a prominent political activist, said, "I
absolutely believe in Jendrezic's words. The Japanese government's policy
is to
protect their interests, not to help our democracy movement. Every time the
military regime claims that they never care about any sanctions from the west
or from anywhere because they have their Big Brother China - the Japanese
government seems to pour so-called humanitarian assistance into Rangoon.
Ultimately, the Burmese military rulers will survive and the Japanese
companies
will have substantial profits. We will still have to suffer and pay the price
for seeking democracy.

It may be that this year will leave the people of Burma more confused than
before. Just before Kyaw Win was invited to visit to Japan, a US Congressmen
had a chance to visit to Burma and meet with Lt General Khin Nyunt and Daw
Aung
San Suu Kyi. In a press conference held in Bangkok on his way back to the US,
he appealed for the international community to pour large-scale humanitarian
aid into Burma. He argued that this aid would survive the clutches of the
despots running Burma.

He also explained that the powerful general in the SPDC promised him the
regime
would deal gently and softly with the opposition. It is not apparent, however,
whether or not the US congressmen knew about the trial in front of the
notorious Insein prison which took place just before his press conference in
Bangkok. Many young student activities were sentenced to from seven to 52
years
imprisonment for their peaceful involvement in politics.

"We know about more our own harsh rulers than outsiders do. If the
international community pours in large-scale humanitarian aid, those who will
really be happy are not the people of Burma who are in need, but the junta who
want to extend the military and their power", said one businessmen who
declined
to be identified.

A retired professor of Rangoon University commented, "We understand that
the US
Congressman expressed his concern about our people. It must be much
appreciated
but the problem is that the military regime never respects the value of the
lives of its own people. They never treat their people as human beings.
Another
problem is who will monitor and guarantee that the aid will be properly
used in
suitable sectors. Remember there are no independent NGOs here and the military
regime will never allow any foreign independent NGOs onto Burmese soil. In my
opinion, anyone who is concerned about our people should firstly persuade
those
guys [the military regime] to allow the NGOs to work in order to help the
humanitarian needs of our people. If the regime is concerned about its own
people it will have to allow this. But I think that if NGO's could set up,
they
would be targets of the regime's criticism, as in Iraq."

His prediction may be true. The military regime will surely accuse those NGOs
of being from the CIA or of interfering m internal issues, and will often
deport them. A few years ago the military regime nearly allowed a US Veteran
organisation to help with a crop substitution programme (in which farmers in
Kachin state, northern Burma, were to be helped to substitute other crops for
their poppy fields). The agreement was terminated without any reason.

However, something is better than nothing. If anyone believes that
humanitarian
aid should be poured into Burma before democracy is restored, what he should
first do is obtain permission from the military regime for foreign
independent 
NGOs to monitor the aid. At the same time he should not forget that the NLD is
the winning party elected by its own people. The NLD must also be a key player
in using this aid.

So far, nobody except the Japanese government and the military regime knows
what the two countries have agreed for the future of Burma. Sadaaki Numata, a
spokesmen for the Japanese government defended Japan's policy of keeping the
channels of communication open to both sides in Burma because of the
importance
that Japan attaches to the progress of democratisation and improvement in the
human rights situation in Burma. Despite this, the NLD did not seem to be
informed of anything that occurred during Kyaw Win's trip to Japan.

Many Burmese people, already confused by the Japanese government, are now
focusing on an acrimonious dispute over the terms of the military regime's
presence in the EU-Asean summit scheduled for Berlin at the end of March,
1999.
However, it's not enough for the people of Burma to just emphasise events in
the outside world. They should also focus on themselves, on what really
happens
on their own soil and on what they urgently need.

If they think that they urgently need humanitarian aid before political change
and if they don't believe that they can fully get that aid through their
rulers, they will have to dare to fight for NGOs to work in Burma. And any
outsiders who really sympathise with the Burmese people and want to help with
humanitarian assistance at the moment will also need to work to allow NGOs to
enter into Burma, not to pour investment in for the military regime.

If the Burmese people think that democracy must come first, they will need to
have the courage to fight for it along with the NLD they voted for in the 1990
election, and to whom the Japanese government was deliberately remiss in
explaining about Kyaw Win's trip.

Finally, the people of Burma must know that it is not outsiders who will
change
the situation of Burma under the harsh military regime. They will have to
decide about whether living under those bad guys is heaven or hell. What's
more, they will need to prove that Burma is not a playground for Tokyo, Bejing
and the military regime.

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

XINHUA: MYANMAR'S FERTILITY RATE DECLINES
18 February, 1999 

YANGON (Feb. 18) XINHUA - The fertility rate of Myanmar women declined and the
contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) increased between 1991 and 1997, according
to the findings of the country's fertility and reproductive health survey
(FRHS).

The CPR of Myanmar women was found to be 33 percent in 1997, said U Saw Tun,
Myanmar Minister of Immigration and Population, at a dissemination workshop on
findings of FRHS for entry into the country report to be issued, official
newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

The two-day workshop, which began here Wednesday, is jointly conducted by the
Myanmar ministry and the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

U Saw Tun quoted the findings of the FRHS as saying that "the birth and death
rates are declining and the population growth rate is also declining finally
resulting in a decline in the proportion of the younger ages, the growing
number of the population in the working ages and the old age population."

As for fertility, it is higher among rural women than urban with the western
Rakhine state having the highest fertility rate which reflects the slow
progress of the region in the past, he said.

He disclosed that about 55 percent of Myanmar women and over 12 percent of
those aged between 45-49 are of never-married category, indicating an unusual
finding about Myanmar.

This high proportion of never-married accounted for 50 percent of the
fertility
decline of the country, he added.

As part of the country's birth-spacing program, the Myanmar ministry undertook
the FRHS in 1997, the second countrywide demographic survey, to produce
reliable estimates of major survey variables for the whole country, including
both urban and rural areas.

The first survey, which was population changes and fertility survey (PCFS) and
conducted in 1991, showed Myanmar's fertility rate standing at 3.5 but it
dropped to 2.8 in the 1997 survey.

The contraceptive prevalence rate in the PCFS in 1991 was 16.8 percent.

In 1997, the infant and maternal mortality rates in Myanmar were 48.6 and 1.7
per 1,000 births respectively.

Myanmar's population is estimated to have reached 46.4 million in the 1997-98
fiscal year, maintaining an annual growth rate of 1.84 percent, according to
official statistics.

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

BANGKOK POST: NAVY CHIEF EXPECTED TO VISIT BURMA SOON
21 February, 1999 by Achara Ashayagachat, Bhanravee Tansubhapol and Yuwadee
Tunyasiri 

High-level trips to improve relations

Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Admiral Theera Haocharoen will visit Burma
shortly, under a Thai-Burmese agreement signed yesterday and aimed at
improving
relations by exchanging high-level visits.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan made the disclosure after taking his Burmese
counterpart Win Aung to Ranong, the Thai province bordering disputed waters in
the Andaman Sea which have seen the two countries' navies drawn into clashes
sparked by illegal fishing.

Mr Surin said Admiral Theera will call on Burma's navy chief Admiral Nyunt
Thein in Rangoon, before senior military officials of the two countries
meet in
Phuket mid-March under the Regional Border Committee.

The disclosure came after Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, during talks with Mr
Win Aung on Friday night, called for joint efforts to settle the long-standing
dispute over maritime boundaries.

The Prime Minister also urged the launching of a joint patrol, noting that
Vietnam had agreed to a similar arrangement as a means of curbing problems in
overlapping Thai-Vietnamese waters.

Thai-Burmese relations have soured over violent clashes in the Andaman Sea in
the past two months that have left three Thais and a number of Burmese dead.

Mr Win Aung said his trip to Ranong showed political will on both sides to
solve outstanding bilateral problems.

"The most impportant thing is improving our contacts," he said.

According to Mr Surin, the Burmese minister on Friday night noted that the
"hotline" set up last month enabled the two sides to consult each other on all
matters.

Mr Surin cited smuggling, violations of territorial waters and the levying of
transit fees as serious problems.

He emphasised the need for both sides to exercise maximum restraint, to ensure
proper identification of boats with flags.

A senior official said Admiral Theera's forthcoming visit to Rangoon will help
promote understanding between the two countries' naval forces.

Such an exchange is provided for under the May 1997 agreement between the then
Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Burma's Premier Than Shwe, which the
two sides agreed to reactivate, the official added.

The naval commanders are expected to discuss confidence-building measures that
will be examined in greater depth during the upcoming meeting of the RBC,
which
has not convened for more than a year, the official said.

The Border Fishery Coordination Centre set up two years ago in Ranong has not
been as effective as hoped for since only Thailand was involved in the effort
to solve related problems, he added.

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

BANGKOK POST: LOGGERS SLAM BORDER DELAY
21 February, 1999 by Onnucha Hutasingh

Closure of border 'has cost millions'

Timber importers are lashing out at the government for delaying the re-opening
of border passes in Mae Hong Son, describing the action as "brainless" which
has cost their business millions of baht.

Somchai Eiwsuay, assistant manager of S.A. Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, said the
company has lost tens of millions of baht as a result of the closure of border
passes after the Salween log laundering scandal.

"We have lost tens of millions of baht and are still counting. We have about
180 workers to pay, 30 elephants to feed and three tractors to maintain," said
Mr Somchai.

Workers and equipment have been put on stand-by and are ready to haul timber
into the country once an order to reopen the border passes comes, he said.

The company has received a logging concession from Myanmar Timber Enterprise
(MTE) and plans to import 30,000 tonnes of timber seized along the border.

Mr Somchai appealed to the government to reopen the border passes as soon as
possible, saying the concession licence is about to expire in April.

The government has closed border passes since the log laundering scandal in
Salween National Park broke early last year, saying the action would prevent
log laundering.

However, such an action has been branded by some timber importers as
"nonsense".

One of them, who refused to be identified, said the government's claim is a
show of brainlessness.

"It is all about the government's indecisiveness and the brainless state of
government officials who think closing the border passes would prevent log
laundering," he said.

He said he has paid more than US$300,000 for the concession, plus interest on
the bank loans.

The importer said he has come to terms with the fact that "nothing is free in
the world" but asked the parties concerned not to be "greedy".

To import logs, importers are required to ask for a permit from the Customs
Department and the Forestry Department. In addition, the request will be
considered by the National Security Council and the Interior Ministry. The
final decision rests with the cabinet.

Four companies have asked for reopening of border passes in Mae Hong Son to
haul logs into the country via border passes.

S.A. Pharmaceutical Co Ltd asks to import 8,000 cubic metres of timber via
Huay
Phueng in Muang district; Songkraoh Sahai Ruamrop Korea Co Ltd asks to import
1.4 million cubic metres of timber via Doi Saeng pass in Muang district;
Polpana Co Ltd seeks to import 1,210 logs and 480 cubic metres of timber via
Mae Ngao in Khunyuam district; and B and F Goodrich Co Ltd seeks to import
1,200 cubic metres of timber through Huay Ton Nun in Khunyuam district.

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

AP: THAIS FEAR BORDER RAID ON CAMP
22 February, 1999 

BANGKOK - The Thai army has stepped up security along its northwestern border
in recent days as fighting between Burmese government troops and ethnic Karen
rebels has escalated, Thai army officers and border relief workers said on
Saturday.

In one indication of the intensity of the fighting, guerrillas of the Karen
National Union were forced to abandon a brigade headquarters on Thursday, said
one relief worker, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Karen spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

The Thai army is concerned that Burmese government soldiers and their
allies in
a breakaway Karen group will attack Mae Hla refugee camp, which houses some
30,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand's Tak province, 370 kilometres
northwest of
Bangkok, said a Thai army officer.

In recent days, Burma's army and the pro-government guerrillas of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army have mobilised several battalions in the area
near Mae Hla, said the-officer, who asked not to be named.

The guerrillas crossed over the border in March last year to stage several
attacks on refugee camps. They burned down Maw Ker camp, leaving 9,000 people
homeless, and also shelled Thai territory. Hundreds of Thai troops have been
sent to safeguard the border, said the Thai officer.

The fighting in the recent days has forced the Karen rebels to abandon their
7th Brigade Headquarters in Ta Doh Tu Ta, opposite Thailand's Tha Song Yang
district in Tak province, along the Moei River.

According to Thai officers, the rival DKBA Grossed the shallow river to
Thailand to lay mines around the area to keep Thai soldiers at bay.

One Thai border patrol policeman was killed and four were injured just over a
week ago when their vehicle ran over one of the mines, a Thai army officer
said.

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