The BurmaNet News: March 2, 1999

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

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

The BurmaNet News: March 2, 1999
Issue #1218

HEADLINES:
==========
AWSJ: MYANMAR'S VOICE OF DISSENT REMAINS FIRM 
RADIO MYANMAR: NO POLITICAL, ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES 
BKK POST: POLITICAL RECONCILIATION SUFFERS SETBACK 
BKK POST: WA ARMY TRIES TO BUILD AN EMPIRE 
THE NATION: US READY TO CONSIDER ANTI-DRUG AID TO BURMA 
THE ECONOMIST: MYANMAR SHUNNED 
BKK POST: DELAYED JCC MEETING MAY BE HELD SOON 
****************************************************************

ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL: MYANMAR'S VOICE OF DISSENT REMAINS FIRM 
27 February, 1999 by Barry Wain 

Yangon --  Determined. Defiant. Detached.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate,
shows no sign of capitulating. Ten years after she took on the country's
military rulers, she continues to campaign for democracy, undeterred by the
heavy cost and an apparent lack of progress.

Marginalized at home by a regime that has almost complete control, Ms. Aung
San Suu Kyi commands considerable influence abroad. To large sections of
the international community, her persistence is a rebuke to the ruling
State Peace and Development Council and a question mark over its legitimacy.

The West and Japan have responded to her calls to restrict aid and
investment and isolate Myanmar, though the rest of Asia takes little notice
and the generals aren't inclined to yield. "I don't think dictators ever
decide to give up," she tells me. "I think it is circumstances which decide
for them."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's attempts to create those circumstances constitute
one of the more intriguing -- and costly -- political confrontations in the
world today. The failure to resolve the impasse frustrates diplomats, who
despair at the country's near stagnation.

The situation is complex, personal and permeated with mistrust. Ms. Aung
San Suu Kyi's father, the late Gen. Aung San, is the country's national
hero and founder of the army that has become her deadly foe. Her ability to
attract grassroots sup-port, partly explained by the aura attached to his
name, delivered a landslide to her National League for Democracy in a 1990
election. Despite winning more than 80% of the seats, the NLD hasn't been
allowed to take over.

Released from six years of house arrest in 1995, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is
prevented from giving public speeches and is virtually confined to the
capital. The government says she can speak "within the framework of the
law" and isn't allowed to travel to the countryside for her own protection.

She is pilloried in state-owned media with a harshness that leads some
observers to believe that the NLD eventually will be proscribed. A National
Convention charged with writing a new constitution also has drafted
provisions that would bar her from holding office. But the convention,
without NLD participation, lacks credibility in international eyes -- and
it hasn't met for two years, anyway.

Both sides say their goal is a civilian ad-ministration in a democratic
state, with respect for human rights and the rule of law. Each accuses the
other of pressure tactics and a lack of goodwill.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's determination shows in her strategy of trying to put
the heat on the SPDC to begin a dialogue -- by opposing all forms of
economic and commercial engagement with Myanmar, which she still calls
Burma. With few cards to play, she deals them with care.

While noting that the factors that topple dictatorships are never the same
in any two countries, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi observes that the inability to
handle the economy is usually one of them. She entertains no doubts about
her approach, insisting that bans and boycotts hit the target, crony
capitalists.

But doesn't foreign investment in factories produce jobs? "Of course, it
provides a bit of work, but not much," she says. "As long as this
government isn't accountable -- and it is neither accountable nor
transparent -- investment isn't going to benefit the people."

Similarly, she is against tourism. "Now, who has shares in this large
hotel? Who has shares in the travel company? Who has shares in the airline?
People connected to the military authorities."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who says she maintains contact with U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright, was pleased that Washington blocked new
investment in 1997. "If necessary," she says, the U.S. should force
American investors to withdraw from the country altogether. "We're not
saying that the time has come for a further stage in sanctions," she adds.
"But if the authorities are going to continue with their repression, then
it may come to that stage."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
not to admit Yangon, then only an observer, in 1997. Asean went ahead, but
she feels vindicated. "There was talk of Asean being able to persuade the
authorities to take a more moderate line once Burma had become a full
member, but this has never been the case," she says. "They've just got
worse and worse."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's defiance is expressed in the formation of a
"committee representing the parliament." Having waited eight years in vain
for elected members of parliament to be summoned to a formal session of the
legislature, the NLD says it assumed that responsibility last year.

The government reacted by detaining most NLD MPs, releasing some only after
they signed statements agreeing not to participate. According to NLD
sources, 150 are still "illegally" detained, five months later. Military
officials put the number at 101 and say they are held at state guest
houses, treated with respect and allowed weekend home visits.

In any event, the 10-member committee representing the parliament is an NLD
device to overcome the problem. It meets about twice a month and has set up
a system of parliamentary committees covering everything from ethnic
affairs to labor and social welfare.

It is this course of action that has triggered the sustained tirade against
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, Including the accusation -- denied -- that the NLD is
trying to organize a parallel government. Party supporters recently have
been jailed for longer terms than in the past -- 30, 40, 50 years and more.

"They obviously didn't like it," she says with a laugh. "That means it was
an effective move. They know that this committee has the support of the
people." And no way will the NLD back down. "We have said very clearly that
this committee will stand until such time as parliament can convene."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's detachment doesn't imply, that she is less than
fully engaged in her struggle. On the contrary, she exhibits an ability to
shut out almost every-thing that might distract her from the task.

For example, she avoids questions about her family and personal life. She
works at home for part of every week day and then moves to NLD
headquarters, usually after lunch, which is where I encountered her. She
says she handles "paperwork."

For the party? "Of course. For which other organization would I be
working?" Her days are consumed by the "usual political party work."
Usual? "The problems may not be normal, but it's normal party work."

What shape is the party in? "Good shape." Members don't get too dispirited?
"No. The ones who can't take it, leave." The NLD doesn't disclose numbers,
nor does it even keep lists of members, "because the authorities would go
and harass them."

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi declines to discuss plans, or to make predictions, on
the ground that there are too many variables and intangibles in politics.
"We do what we think is necessary under the circumstances," she says. 

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

RADIO MYANMAR: MAUNG AYE -- BURMA HAS NO POLITICAL ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES
23 February, 1999 

[Excerpted, translated from Burmese.  Radio Myanmar is state-run media in
Burma.]

Gen. Maung Aye, vice chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
[SPDC], deputy commander in chief of the Defense Services, and army
commander in chief; accompanied by SPDC Secretary-2 Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, SPDC
Secretary-3 Lt. Gen. Win Myint, ministers, and senior military officers
departed Mandalay by military aircraft on 21 February afternoon for
Myitkyina in Kachin State. [passage omitted on reception committee] 

[passage omitted.]

Gen. Maung Aye said due to the correct principles and objectives such as
the non-disintegration of the union, the non-disintegration of national
solidarity, and the perpetuation of national sovereignty, and the 12
national objectives for the establishment of a new modern developed nation,
the country has achieved peace and has developed to a certain extent.

He said the country has no political and economic difficulties and
explained concerted efforts must be made for economic development to gain
momentum. He emphasized the need to increase production, to reduce wastage,
and to boost export. He said, in working for the all round development of
the agro-based economy, paddy cultivation acreage has to be increased for
sufficient consumption of the growing population. He explained plans are
being made to cultivate 14 million acres of monsoon paddy and four million
acres of summer paddy. Furthermore, for self sufficiency in edible oil, the
cultivation of oil producing crops have to be increased together with basic
kitchen needs such as onion, garlic, chili, and potatoes. He then explained
the need to produce more than the consumption. He said the State is
encouraging private entrepreneurs to participate in agriculture development
works. He remarked that commercially viable agricultural products can be
produced only when vast private modern farmlands emerge. He noted Kachin
State has ample vacant, virgin, and fallow land and private entrepreneurs
should be encouraged to participate in agricultural development. He finally
urged for the expansion of agricultural activities since the climatic and
land conditions in Kachin State are suitable for cultivation of paddy, oil
producing crops, and sugarcane.

He then cordially greeted those attending the meeting.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: POLITICAL RECONCILIATION SUFFERS SERIOUS SETBACK 
1 March, 1999 by Rajan Moses 

ANALYSIS/BURMA'S PEOPLE'S PARLIAMENT

THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT AND THE NLD ARE UNLIKELY TO SIT DOWN AT THE
NEGOTIATING TABLE ANY TIME SOON, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NLD CALLING FOR THE
CONVENING OF A PEOPLE'S PARLIAMENT.

Burma's opposition and military rulers are unlikely to be reconciled while
demands by prodemocracy forces for the convening of a People's Parliament
remain on the table, said Rangoon-based experts.

In harsh response to that demand from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy (NLD), the military has now launched a more damaging
offensive, striking at the heart of the NLD's membership and core
organisational structure, they said.

"Since the NLD floated the People's Parliament proposal, the regime has
stepped up its pressure on the NLD ... forcing members to resign and
dismantling township NLD bodies," said a diplomat from a Western country.

"This has been quite effective. It has made it increasingly difficult for
the NLD to operate as a political party. There is a lot of pessimism. It is
hard to envisage the regime will at this point agree to uphold results of
the 1990 elections," he said.

Mrs Suu Kyi says about 150 of NLD members of parliament elected in the 1990
general election, which the party swept but the military has refused to
recognise, are in detention.

The military was coercing members daily, offering them bribes and using
emotional blackmail to leave the party. About 17 MPs had quit, she told
visiting correspondents last Friday.

A government spokesman said 101 NLD MPs were under detention for national
security reasons -- to stop them from adhering to NLD demands for
assembling of a parallel government via the Peoples' Parliament, a proposal
flatly rejected by the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

"This call for a parliament may have been a tactical error. Now Suu Kyi and
NLD have incurred the wrath of the military and are further away from
dialogue or reconciliation than ever before. The military just won't have
it," said an Asian diplomat. .

"From what I have heard, even some of the Western supporters of the NLD are
concerned about this impasse caused by the parliament call and about where
all this is heading."

Other analysts said the latest military offensive against Mrs Suu Kyi and
her party was unlikely to lead to her re-arrest or deportation in the near
future as widely rumoured.

"The NLD will remain a symbolic expression of popular dissatisfaction... of
popular desire for change. In that respect even if the NLD is destroyed
organizationally, as long as you have Suu Kyi in place, she will play that
(symbolic) role," said the Western diplomat.

The Asian diplomat said that at some time in the future, when the military
was confident enough and ready to share power, it could hold dialogue with
Mrs Suu Kyi and her party. That is why it needed the Nobel laureate and
granddaughter of independence hero Aung San [BurmaNet Editor's note: Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San.] to remain as a symbolic
necessity for now.

Despite setbacks, Mrs Suu Kyi vows to see through the people's Parliament
despite heavier military pressure. The military must honour the results of
the 1990 polls and the people's choice.

Mrs Suu Kyi also believes there will be dialogue between the two sides,
some time in the future, although the political test of wills and stalemate
was being painfully prolonged.

Government spokesman Lt-Col Hla Min said the People's Parliament card held
out by the NLD was unacceptable as it meant a parallel government would be
set up. That proposal must be dropped before any reconciliation can re-start.

Diplomats project a grim political future ahead.

One factor that could change the political landscape would be a crack in
the ruling military's ranks, they said. While not excluding any military
split or coup at any time, they noted the ruling generals have been and
remain a tightly knit group.

Contagion from the Asian economic crisis on Burma, which some foreign
critics believe could sow the seed of mass unrest or uprisings, was seen
unlikely.

"Poverty has been here for centuries. Food is still available and that is
what sets Myanmar (Burma) apart from some other Asian countries (where
there has been mass social unrest) like in Indonesia," said another Asia
diplomat.

Experts said Burma's Buddhist culture, which espouses tolerance, could also
lead to political stagnation lasting a while as the gulf between the
military and the NLD widens. 

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

THE BANGKOK POST: WA ARMY TRIES TO BUILD AN EMPIRE WITH DRUG MONEY 
1 March, 1999 by Nussara Thaitawat and Subin Khuenkaew

DUBBED BY THE THAI AND THE US NARCOTICS AUTHORITIES AS THE BIGGEST DRUG
TRAFFICKER IN THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, THE UNITED WA STATE ARMY (UWSA) IS THE
CURRENT TARGET OF THE US EXPANDED ANTI-DRUG SQUADS IN THAILAND, ACCORDING
TO THE LATEST US DRUGS REPORT ISSUED OVER THE WEEKEND. BANGKOK POST
REPORTERS NUSSARA THAITAWAT AND SUBIN KHUENKAEW VISITED THE UWSA'S SOUTHERN
MILITARY COMMAND HEADQUARTERS IN SHAN STATE LAST WEEK FOR A FIRST-HAND LOOK
AT THE DRUG EMPIRE. SERMSUK KASITIPRADIT AND WASSANA NANUAM TALKED WITH
THAI AUTHORITIES ON THEIR VIEWS OF THE DEVELOPMENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF
THE BORDER.

UP TO 6,000 THAI WORKERS ARE EMPLOYED

The rugged hills of Mong Yawn opposite Thailand's Ban Santondu, Mae Ai
district of Chiang Mai, are undergoing a vast transformation.

A dam, roads, water and electricity supplies, fuel storage, a new military
school, a new hospital, new fortified houses for leaders and wooden houses
for soldiers and their dependents, experimental rice fields and fruit
orchards -- everywhere one looks, there are signs of construction, the
entire cost of which is estimated at a minimum of one billion baht.

It is clear the United Wa State Army, accused by Thai and US anti-narcotics
authorities as the biggest drug trafficker in the Golden Triangle, is ready
and willing to dig into its deep pockets to settle down in Mong Yawn.

At present up to 6,000 Thai workers are employed in the whole of the UWSA's
southern military command which stretches from Mong Yawn to Mong Hsat (see
map). There are also hundreds of Burmese and other ethnic minority workers,
and a few Chinese engineers.

In Mong Yawn alone, there are up to 500 Thai workers, including daily
labourers, foremen and operators of earth-moving machines who are paid 800
baht an hour; the UWSA pays them between 5-6 million baht each month in
salaries alone.

"We've earned it," said Ta Kap, deputy commander of the UWSA's 894th
Brigade, headquartered in Mong Yawn. "We've lost over 1,000 soldiers in the
battle for this land with Khun Sa (the former opium warlord)."

"We're here to stay. For the first time in years we are able to settle
down. I don't want to hear even one more gun shot," he told the Bangkok Post.

Under an agreement with the Burmese government following the 1989 breakup
of the Burmese Communist Party of which the UWSA was part, the 894th
Brigade was relocated south from the UWSA headquarters in Pang Hsan,
northeastern Shan State near the Chinese border, to help bring down Khun Sa.

The UWSA's 361st Brigade under Wei Hsueh-kang, who is wanted by the US for
drug trafficking, was already based near Mong Yawn and was competing with
Khun Sa in the heroin trade. In the 1970s, Wei and his two brothers worked
for Khun Sa. Wei, who was in charge of Khun Sa's finances, was jailed in
the opium warlord's former headquarters in Ban Hin Taek, Chiang Rai, for
embezzlement. He managed to escape only to return to join his brothers in
their own drugs trade.

The battle for Mong Yawn was fierce and long for both sides.

Khuensai Jaiyen, then Khun Sa's spokesman, said Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army
lost more than 500 soldiers and spent over 300 million baht defending Mong
Yawn, an area which the charismatic opium warlord called his "back door to
Thailand".

Senior Thai officials responsible for national security, including Army
chief Gen Surayud Chulanont, have expressed concern over on-going
developments in Mong Yawn. "We're keeping a close watch," Gen Surayud told
the Post

But it is clear that the speed of Mong Yawn's development over the past
four months has caught Thai officials off guard.

Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart and his team of national security
advisers were not aware that a temporary border checkpoint had been opened
between Mong Yawn and Ban Santondu. Since he took office, he has not
approved the opening of any temporary checkpoints with neighbouring countries.

They found out that the checkpoint had been approved quietly last July by
former National Security Council (NSC) secretary- general Boonsak
Kamhaengrithirong, former Army chief Chettha Thanajaro and Third Army
commander Sommai Wichaworn, bypassing normal channels by using the Customs
Act.

Normally requests to open a temporary border checkpoint, which usually come
from local business interests, goes through the provincial governor to the
Interior Ministry. Key issues taken into consideration are national
security, bilateral ties between Bangkok and Rangoon, and economic gain.

Maj-Gen Sanan told the Post that a meeting of the NSC would have to be
called to assess the situation and formulate measures to be taken.

The UWSA's southern military command is well armed and though certain
sections within the UWSA are trying to give up trafficking in drugs -- Mong
Yawn was declared drugs-free and the United Nations International Drug
Control Programme has begun implementing a development project in Ho Tao in
the southern portion of the northern Wa area -- the UWSA remains the
dominant drug trafficking organisation in the Golden Triangle.

It has not only diversified from heroin to amphetamine, but persistent
reports from the Shan-Thai border indicate that they are investing on the
development of a local version of the European synthetic drug ecstasy.

Last June, the US announced a US$2 million (74 million baht) reward for
information leading to the arrest or conviction of 361st Brigade commander
Wei Hsueh-kang.

Thai anti-narcotics officials have expressed their frustration at their
inability to stop the influx of amphetamines from refineries on the Burmese
side of the border, and have repeatedly asked Rangoon to return the UWSA to
their original home in northeastern-Shan State near the Chinese border.

It is clear that Rangoon, which concluded a ceasefire deal with the UWSA in
1989, is unable to do so. And now with the massive development of Mong Yawn
which is strengthening the UWSA's position, it is unlikely to decamp.

Ta Kap, deputy commander of the UWSA's-894th Brigade said the UWSA would
never give in to the Burmese government, which had promised them Mong Yawn
and surrounding areas in exchange for helping them bring down Khun Sa.

"The Burmese tried to back down after we won, but after eight years of
battle and 1,000 lives lost, we're determined to stay," he said.

Both the UWSA's 361st and 894th brigades have kept their own arsenals and
Burmese soldiers coming into Mong Yawn have to disarm.

"The Burmese say we're part of Burma but our Wa state is not marked on the
map and we've not been issued identity cards. As long as the Burmese do not
treat us as equals, we'll be keeping our weapons," Ta Kap said.

More than 10 years have gone by since the conclusion of the ceasefire
agreement with Rangoon, and relations remain uneasy.

Ta Kap said the most important thing for the UWSA now was to maintain as
smooth a relationship as possible with Rangoon and that is why the UWSA
cannot join other ethnic minority groups, such as the Shan State Army,
which are seeking UWSA support in their continued struggle against Rangoon.

"We must strengthen unity among the Wa ourselves first," he said.

There are eight branches of ethnic Wa, and 16 Wa dialects. In addition to
the UWSA, which was part of the Burmese Communist Party, another group has
been closely aligned with the former Kuomintang and received support from
the Taiwanese government during the Cold War.

Ta Kap and other 894th Brigade commanders have expressed the hope that
relations with Thailand could be established to cooperate on border
security and to apprehend drug fugitives or criminals who take refuge in
UWSA-controlled areas. But so far only business interests have come into
contact with them.

In addition to the estimated 6,000 Thai workers in the southern military
command, businessmen with close links to certain military figures are
making fortunes supplying the UWSA with rice and other basic food supplies,
consumer products, clothes, gasoline and construction material.

The hottest items are four-wheel trucks and satellite phones. At the home
of 894th Brigade commander Ta Tang, there are at least 10 such trucks.

Ta Kap has opened a gas station bearing the logo "MP" of Deputy Interior
Minister Vatana Asavahame's MP petroleum company.

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

THE NATION: US READY TO CONSIDER ANTI-DRUG AID TO BURMA 
1 March, 1999 by Yindee Lertcharoenchok 

THE United States has said that it is prepared to consider resumption of
"appropriate" anti-narcotics assistance to Burma pending the military
junta's "unambiguous demonstration of a strong commitment" to fight drugs
and money laundering and to respect human rights.

The announcement was made in the 1998 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report which was just released last week by the US State
Department. It is the first time Washington has indicated its willingness
to resume anti-drug aid to Burma which has been cut off since the 1988
military coup and bloody crackdown on unarmed pro-democracy uprisings.

The report said Washington recognised that "ultimately large-scale and
long-term international aid, including development assistance and
law-enforcement aid, will be needed to curb, fundamentally and
irreversibly, drug production and trafficking.

"The US government is prepared to consider resuming appropriate assistance,
contingent upon the Burmese government's unambiguous demonstration of a
strong commitment to counter narcotics," it added.

The report said the counter-narcotic measures that Rangoon should undertake
before resumption of drug assistance should include punishing traffickers
and major trafficking organisations, enforcing an anti-money laundering
legislation destroying poppy cultivation and drug processing refineries,
and greater respect for human rights.

The US has over the past decade strongly criticised the Burmese regime, now
known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), for its failure to
combat illicit drug production and trafficking. It also criticised the
junta for its refusal to prosecute several key armed ethnic leaders who
have been heavily involved in illicit drug activities.

Last week, the US, along with Britain and some European countries, had
boycotted the Interpol-sponsored conference on heroin in Rangoon, saying
that it did not want its participation to send a wrong signal. It also
cited the SPDC's continuing crackdown on democracy activists and serious
human rights abuses to stay away from the Feb 23-26 conference.

In return, the SPDC and some Western countries, including Australia,
criticised the US and the British decision, arguing that international
cooperation was required to effectively combat the illicit drug trade and
related activities.

In the drug report, Washington, while lauding Burma's poppy eradication
efforts, criticised its tolerance of drug trafficking and money laundering
by ethnic ceasefire groups active along the porous border of the Shan State
-- the main narcotic-producing area of the Golden Triangle.

It said the SPDC's highest priority in negotiating ceasefire deals with the
armed ethnic groups "is to end insurrection and achieve some measure of
national integration." Thus "counter-narcotic interests in these areas
[controlled by armed groups] are a lesser priority," it said.

"Moreover, the ceasefire agreements have had the practical effect of
condoning money laundering, as the government encouraged these groups to
invest in legitimate businesses as an alternative to trafficking," added
the report.

In the chapter on Money Laundering and Financial Crimes, the report said
there was no reliable information on the extent of money laundering in
Burma. But "there is reason to believe that money laundering and the return
of narcotic profits laundered elsewhere are very significant factors in the
overall Burmese economy."

It said the SPDC has encouraged ethnic ceasefire groups, which have been
involved in narcotics trafficking, to invest in legitimate businesses
instead of narcotics. But Rangoon "has not instituted a system of
safeguards to prevent the investment of drug-related proceeds."

It stated that Rangoon's failure to inquire about the source of assets has
facilitated drug money laundering.

The report identified the Chinese underground banking system in conjunction
with import/export businesses as "probably the most prevalent mechanism for
laundering money in Burma today."

Washington has criticised the SPDC for its failure to confront some of the
ethnic drug-trafficking armies with whom it has negotiated ceasefires, such
as the Wa and the Kokang groups which remain "heavily involved in the
heroin trade."

It noted the SPDC's refusal to prosecute several key drug warlords,
including Khun Sa or Chang Chi-fu, who has enjoyed immunity from government
punishment.

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

THE ECONOMIST: MYANMAR SHUNNED 
27 February - 5 March, 1999 

PERHAPS they should ask for a refund. When Myanmar joined the Association
of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997, the country's military rulers
assumed that membership of the regional club would entitle them to a range
of new perquisites. Chief among those was a cherished seat at the table
during swanky international gatherings. But still the generals find
themselves shunned. This week America, along with several European
countries, refused to send representatives to an international heroin
conference organised by Interpol and held in Myanmar's capital, Yangon.
They objected to such a conference being held in a big drug-producing
country -- and one that shelters notorious drug barons. Much of the world's
heroin originates in the "golden triangle", a region bordering Myanmar,
Laos and Thailand. The generals boast of their efforts to stem the trade.
Others claim that they benefit from it.

The generals are now facing another affront. The European Union has refused
to allow Myanmar's foreign minister to attend a meeting of ASEAN and EU
ministers in Berlin in March. The EU's 15 members are staunchly opposed to
Myanmar's regime, which seized power in 1988 and staged an election in 1990
but subsequently refused to honour the winner: the National League for
Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who then won the Nobel peace
prize in 1991.

Among the many sanctions the EU imposes on Myanmar is a ban on visas for
its senior officials. Since the ASEAN-EU gathering is conducted
block-to-block, and since ASEAN's eight other governments are sticking by
their fellow member's side, the meeting could be cancelled. ASEAN
officials, however, were hoping this week that a compromise could be
reached with the EU.

Although they are unlikely to roll Myanmar overboard, many ASEAN leaders
would love to tuck it safely down in steerage. The country will remain a
pariah state so long as the regime continues to persecute the opposition.
Since September, when the NLD formed a parliamentary committee to represent
the outlawed assembly, the government has arrested at least 1,000
dissidents. Many have been charged with threatening national security. One
exiled opposition group claims that in a single day recently some 270
people were given jail sentences ranging from seven to 52 years. Thousands
of NLD members have also been pressed to report to military outposts and
police headquarters and to renounce their loyalty to the party.

All in all, the generals show few signs of letting up. They recently made a
show of releasing Ma Thida, a dissident writer and associate of Miss Suu
Kyi, who had been jailed since 1993. But they also scooped up three more
senior NLD members. Such tactics make it unlikely that the generals will be
able to wriggle free of the aid embargoes that continue to strangle the
economy. America, along with multilateral agencies such as the IMF, the
World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, shut off the tap a decade ago.

A spoonful of aid trickles in from the United Nations, through its
Development Programme and its anti-drug operation, and Japan and China
continue to help to pay for some infrastructure projects. But in its
current state of poverty, made worse by East Asia's economic difficulties,
Myanmar would welcome the $1 billion or so in aid that it could expect if
it had a democratic government. Even its poor neighbours do better at
attracting aid.

The generals were undoubtedly hoping to get their cash without having to
bother with democracy. Last October, after representatives from some 40
countries held an informal chat in London, there was widespread talk that
aid would begin to flow in. Though no firm offers were made, the idea was
dismissed by Miss Suu Kyi herself, who said the money would be misspent and
urged the world to keep up the pressure on the junta. This prompted one
American congressman to complain that she did not speak for the whole
country, and to question, absurdly, whether she knew how much poverty
existed in Myanmar.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: DELAYED JCC MEETING MAY BE HELD SOON 
1 March, 1999 by Achara Ashayagachat 

EUROPE LIKELY TO AGREE ON 'ADJUSTED FORMULA'

The European Union may agree to Thailand's proposal to proceed first with
the delayed technical joint cooperation committee (JCC) meeting early this
month in light of the deadlock in the EU-Asean dialogue, said Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan.

Speaking after returning from Europe yesterday, Mr Surin said he was
convinced the European counterparts would agree to "a slightly adjusted
formula" of the JCC meeting.

According to Mr Surin, Dutch Foreign Minister Jozias van Aarsten said he
would coordinate with other strong opponents of the meeting such as the
United Kingdom to agree with Thailand's formula in proceeding with the
delayed JCC meeting.

He said: "Everybody (I met) seemed to agree that (having the JCC meeting)
is the strategic move to get Asean-EU relations back on track.

"Once the official-level talks start, we could evaluate the success when we
meet during the Asia-Europe meeting at the end of March," he added.

He did not elaborate what slight changes in the formula were, saying that
he had already discussed the issue with his Burmese counterpart Win Aung
during the latter's visit to Thailand on February 19-20.

The German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, as the EU president, has yet
to coordinate the EU position on the matter, and Mr Surin has to inform his
Asean counterparts on the result of the negotiations.

"It (the JCC) should be able to proceed within a week or two," said the
Thai foreign minister.

The joint cooperation committee meeting has been delayed since November
1997 due to the EU's sanctions against Burma's poor human rights records.

The resumed meeting scheduled in January in Bangkok stumbled in the last
minute when the European Commission officials imposed new conditions of the
meeting protocol, saying that a "non-signatory" sign should be placed on
the table and the Burmese delegate must refrain from speaking.

The EU council has also challenged the Asean solidarity by strengthening
its hardline stance not to hold the Asean-EU ministerial meeting, scheduled
on March 30 at the sidelines of the Asem meeting in Berlin, with the
Burmese ministers' participation.

After meeting with his Swedish, German and Dutch counterparts during last
weeks trip, Mr Surin concluded that he was not ambitious enough to see the
Asean-EU meeting taking place as earlier scheduled.

However, there will be "informal consultations" between the two groups,
perhaps at the corridor or over a coffee break, so as not to let the
bloc-to-bloc cooperation derail, said the Thai foreign minister.

"It might be the whole seven Asean and the 15 members of the EU or just
representatives. The German minister and I have to discuss with our
colleagues on the matter," he said.

Although Mr Surin failed in salvaging the planned Asean-EU meeting due to
the position of hardliners -- Netherlands, Sweden and Britain -- against
any relaxation of the EU's stand not to allow the Burmese foreign minister
to attend the meeting, he said all sides were somehow relieved.

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