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FYI (r)



SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

SHAN - EU

SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

HEADLINES:

  1. Follow-up News On Junta Troops Movement Near Thai Border
  2. Talk to Burma's Generals
  3. Go Figure
  4. Economic growth needs stability
  5. Statement on Attempt to Build a Dam on Salween River
  6. British woman faces long Myanmar jail term
  7. Guns silent but Basque peace volatile
  8. Revealed: the plot to crush Timor
  9. UN approves foreign force to end killing
10. Troop numbers
11. APPEAL - FREE RACHEL APPEAL TO THE TUC

***************************************************
SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

15 September 1999

Follow-up News On Junta Troops Movement Near Thai Border

The Burmese troops are still in Poongpakhem and Nakawngmu, another village
in Mongton Township, according to the latest report. They are combined
troopsfrom the local battalions, IB 65, 225, 333, 519 and 49, estimated
no more than 600 strong.

However, last night reinforcement was coming across the Salween. 24 trucks
carrying an unknown number of junta troops arrived in Mongton at 20:00,
according to the local source.

Ammunitions are also reported to be transported to a location near BP-1 in
requisitioned trucks. "The speculations are the Burmese might either
attacked the SSA forces near Loihtway or across the Thai border to attack
Thai villages where they believed the Shan rebels were taking refugee" said
the reporter from the border.

Thai troops, both regular and the paramilitary rangers along the border from
Maehongson to BP-1, Chiangmai, are also reported to be preparing themselves
to repel any spillover from both the Shan and Burmese troops.

S.H.A.N. is a non-profit making, independent Shan media group. It is not
affiliated to any political or armed organizations.

*******************************************************
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW - September 16, 1999

Talk to Burma's Generals

By David I. Steinberg

The writer is director of Asian studies at Georgetown University and senior
consultant to The Asia Foundation. The views expressed here are his own.

Australia has shown a way to deal with Burma that involves neither
confrontation nor appeasement, but rather engagement

Can anything alleviate Burma's political and economic problems? Foreign
countries and groups have tried contrasting approaches. The United States
is trying to strongarm the military into honouring the results of the 1990
election. Until it does, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on new investments.
But while this focus on democracy is morally appealing, it is unrealistic.
At the other extreme, Asean, which admitted Burma to membership in 1997
over strong U.S. objections, has been trying appeasement, though its
"constructive engagement" is nothing more than a euphemism for exploiting
economic opportunities. Both initiatives, along with others involving
nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations have failed.

At first brush, future progress seems equally doomed. The State Peace and
Development Council, the latest incarnation of Burmese military rule, is
unlikely to make the changes necessary to ensure progress on democracy and
economic reforms. It has no intention of loosening control; its leaders
find anathema the idea of sharing power with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi and the opposition National League for Democracy. Meanwhile, as the
military refuses to negotiate with the opposition, and as the opposition
itself creates conditions the military cannot accept, a stalemate ensues,
forcing Burmese to continue to suffer in misery.

Into this have come the Australians with a proposal seeking both change in
Burma and dialogue with the military. In early August, the Australian
commissioner for human rights, Chris Sidoti, travelled to Rangoon to
discuss with military authorities and the opposition the possibility of
establishing an independent Burmese Human Rights Commission. The
initiative, linked to the seven member Asia Pacific Forum of National Human
Rights Institutions, is modeled on the Indonesian human rights commission
that began work under adverse conditions -- long before President Suharto's
fall. On behalf of the secretariat of the forum, Sidoti invited Burma to
attend its meeting in Manila this month. He also made two suggestions for
cooperative action: training Burmese government officials in human rights
and a joint project on access to healthcare.

Surprisingly, the authorities welcomed this initiative, going so far as to
call Sidoti's visit both fruitful and successful. In addition, the
opposition, expected to oppose any engagement with the military and which
would have been understandably doubtful of the initiative's potential
effectiveness, proved less critical than anticipated. While this may not
amount to concord, it remains true that no other initiative has ever
elicited this level of approval from both sides.

A Burmese organization of whatever stripe -- political, social or economic
-- that is independent of state control is a contradiction today. With
civil society destroyed, institutions exist only to serve state goals, or
if not then they are under strict surveillance. Thus, despite the initial
guarded approval of the Australian proposal, it would seem doomed to
failure. But then, note that the needs of Burmese society are ever growing
even as the government has neither the competence nor the ability to
deliver. Thus, as the population becomes more exposed to new ideas --
through the Australian initiative itself -- and as the regime begins to
recognize its limitations, it is possible that state control over any group
deemed not overtly political will gradually erode. This will herald the
reintroduction of facets of civil society, and even perhaps a modest
pluralism. The Australian initiative, thus, is potentially the start of a
tortured, tedious process, without which only stasis can be expected to
reign.

Even if the commission were to be established, its effective operation
likely will be delayed. Still, the very existence of a body to which human
rights protests can be lodged -- if not yet acted on -- can begin an
incremental process towards change. Many say that such a commission would
only serve as a propaganda tool for the military, as well as prove
ineffective. For the near term, they are likely to be right, But neither
Burmese nor foreigners are fools and over the longer term the military will
not be able to keep up the propaganda charade. Indeed, it is best to
remember that the initiative represents only a modest first step in
engaging the military -- a "toe in the water," as Sidoti put it. Others
worry that the Japanese, for example, may follow up on this to renew major
economic assistance. But this underrates donors' understanding of the
dynamics of power in Burma and the lack of economic reforms urgently needed
before assistance may be employed effectively.

Australia, a mid-sized power, has taken a step the major powers have been
reluctant to take. It should be complimented. Even if this initiative
proves less successful than intended, or even fails, the effort is
nonetheless noteworthy and important. What Australia has done is to show a
way to deal with Burma that involves neither confrontation nor appeasement,
but rather engagement. Further engagement along this line may be the only
way to wrench Burma out of its political and economic morass.

****************************************************************
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW - September 16, 1999

Go Figure

Burma's economic figures are so bad that the government is not publishing a
statistical yearbook for 1998-99. The government normally issues a volume in
Burmese and English every July containing the country's latest import-export
figures and other economic data. But this year no statistics will be
published in any language. The Burmese authorities have even started to
withdraw from circulation the report for fiscal 1997-98. The reasons are
unclear but Burma-watchers surmise that the government is embarrassed to
release information confirming Burma's abysmal economic performance over the
past year. Industrial production has plunged, foreign  investment is down to
a tricle and prices of daily commodities are rising fast.

***************************************************
BANGKOK POST - September 16, 1999

Postbag

Economic growth needs stability

While the Indonesian army is cracking down on the East Timorese who voted
for independence, Asean has been busy calling for meetings on the haze.
Crises in Southeast Asia, whether political or economic, should be what
matter to Asean, the regional organisation.

Asean has never responded to the East Timorese situation. In fact, Asean is
an organisation that should cease to exist because instead of helping the
region's stability, the organisation has been a force that hinders the
democratic processes in the region.

Burma was about to break free from military dictatorship. With Asean
shielding Burma from international criticism, the generals in Burma
obviously have been shored up to repress their own people for the sake of
being in power.

Asean holds several meetings a week. Ten meetings are scheduled to be held
this week. How many meetings have produced results to stabilise the region
politically and economically? None so far.

According to Asean, "to accelerate the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta), the
leaders of the Asean nations agreed that the six original signatories to the
Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the
Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)-Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand-would advance the implementation of Afta
by one year from 2003 to 2002. They also agreed to achieve a minimum of 90%
of their total tariff lines with tariffs of 0-5% by the year 2000, which
would account for 90% of intra-Asean trade."There is a political crisis and
chaos in Indonesia. How does Asean imagine it can achieve these goals when
one of the target members is in upheaval?The human rights situation in Burma
is deteriorating and Asean is still holding to its status quo policies of
non-interference. The citizens of Indonesia and Burma are suffering
miserably under brutal military regimes.

Silence is not golden but a crack that will tear down the regional group's
credibility and its current policies that go nowhere. Economic growth can
never be sustained if there is no political stability.

Julien Moe

*******************************************************
Statement on Attempt to Build a Dam on Salween River


Regarding the project to build a dam on Salween for the generation of
electrical power, at a location where the river serves as a boundary between
Thailand and Burma, the NCUB has to make a statement as follows:

1.  This project would result in the widespread destruction of environment,
at the site in the part of Burma. It would also result, on an extensive
scale, in the destruction of cultivated fields, farms and homes of the
natives living in the environs of Salween. As the project was intended to
bring in foreign exchange for the SPDC regime rather than to benefit the
people, it would be of no benefit to the country.

2.  Moreover, a dam on the river would obliterate the traditional cultures
of the indigenous peoples, their native homes, large tracts of forests,
natural fertility of the soil, and cause the emergence of wetlands,
contamination of the drinking water, and thus, further causing serious
health problems for the natives.

3.  The SPDC military regime is merely a regime that came into being by
seizing power and spilling the blood of the people, like a river. It is not
a government formed on the consent and will of the people. Only a government
elected by the people, or a people's parliament, has the right to manage and
use the natural resources such as water, forests and the rivers, and the
export of them. The management of the natural resources of the country by
the SPDC military clique arbitrarily in such a way, without the consent of
the people, amounts to the high crime of misappropriation against the
nation.

4.  We, the NCUB, demand the countries, which have invested in Burma, not to
act solely in self-interest, but to take into consideration the plight of
the people of Burma, who have to bear widespread violations of human rights,
and reconsider their plan to work in cooperation with the SPDC for the use
of Salween water, which would cause more harm and hardship to the country.

September 13, 1999

*****************************************************
BURMANET - September 15, 1999

FOCUS-British woman faces long Myanmar jail term

04:54 a.m. Sep 15, 1999 Eastern
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A British woman arrested for a pro-democracy
protest in Myanmar was told by a Yangon court on Wednesday she would be
tried for breaking the country's draconian emergency laws.

Londoner Rachel Goldwyn, arrested on September 7 after tying herself to a
lamp post in central Yangon and shouting pro-democracy slogans, faces a jail
sentence of at least seven years if convicted under the Emergency Provisions
Act, which has been used by the military government to suppress dissent.

Goldwyn nodded when asked if she planned to mount a defence and the brief
session of a special court outside the jail where she has been held was
adjourned until Thursday morning to allow her to arrange legal counsel.

Local political analysts speculate that while Goldwyn could receive a long
sentence she may then have that suspended and be deported since it was her
first offence.

Goldwyn was the second Briton arrested in Myanmar for pro-democracy activism
in just over a week. She has been held at the notorious Insein Jail where
many political prisoners have been detained in the past.

On September 1, James Mawdsley, 26, from Lancashire, who also holds an
Australian passport, was jailed for 17 years after entering the country
illegally carrying pro-democracy leaflets.

On Wednesday, British vice consul Karen Williams and an Australian official
saw Mawdsley in jail in the northeastern town of Kengtung for the first time
since his arrest.

``He's fine and the vice consul's been in touch with his father and there's
no cause for concern in that sense,'' the British embassy official said.

Mawdsley had asked the British embassy to handle his case, but the official
said he was unable to say whether the activist intended to appeal against
his sentence.

Goldwyn, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, appeared calm when she appeared
in court flanked by two policewomen. She wore a blue shirt, a pink
traditional sarong and ``thanaka'' -- facial makeup made from roots that is
popular with women in Myanmar.

The British official said a lawyer had been arranged for Goldwyn who would
be with her in court on Thursday.

``She was in good spirits and fairly fit and well and she told me she is
certainly not being mistreated,'' the official said.

On Monday, the government's daily information sheet published a letter from
a Myanmar historian describing both Britons as ``criminal mercenaries.''

The arrests came amid a crackdown to thwart an uprising dissident exiles
called for last week that did not materialise.

Diplomats estimate authorities arrested more than 100 local activists in
Yangon and others in the provinces in the past month to prevent the
uprising. Dissidents put the number of arrests at about 500 while the
government has reported fewer than 40.

Myanmar's military does not tolerate dissent and has been widely criticised
for rights abuses since taking direct power in 1988 by killing thousands to
crush a pro-democracy uprising. It then ignored the last general election in
1990 when the opposition National League for Democracy won by a landslide.

****************************************************
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Thursday, September 16, 1999

EUROPE TODAY

Guns silent but Basque peace volatile

SPAIN by MATT SPETALNICK of Reuters in Madrid

When Basque guerillas silenced their guns a year ago this week after a long
and bloody fight for independence, they left little doubt they were
following the example of the IRA in seeking a negotiated peace.
But the outlook for the peace process in Spain's Basque region looks no more
promising than the now-faltering Northern Ireland settlement that helped
inspire it.

The first round of secret negotiations between the separatist group ETA and
the Spanish Government was barely off the ground when talks collapsed last
month, each side blaming the other.

Even as ETA has kept its own forces in check, radical youth groups linked to
the guerilla movement have persisted in waging a campaign of firebombings
and vandalism across the region.

The political situation has become so volatile, according to Spain's La
Razon newspaper, that a hardline faction is pressing ETA's leadership to
break its unilateral ceasefire.

Not even the surprise announcement last week of the imminent transfer of 105
jailed ETA members to prisons closer to their homes in the Basque provinces
has been enough to rekindle hopes for progress. ETA's political wing greeted
the Government's conciliatory gesture with derision, and even moderate
Basque nationalists who had spent years lobbying on behalf of rebel
prisoners dismissed it as a political ploy.

While government officials believe there is little reason to expect a
renewed cycle of ETA violence, they privately acknowledge the fragile peace
effort is facing its most serious threat since the ceasefire took effect on
September 18 last year.

When the ceasefire was declared, many Spaniards welcomed it as an historic
opportunity to end a violent campaign blamed for more than 800 deaths.

The ceasefire announcement followed intensified secret contacts between
ETA's Basque political allies and Sinn Fein, the IRA's political arm.

The result has been a year without a single ETA attack in the Basque region
of 2.2 million people which had been terrorised by bombings and
assassinations for a generation.

But just as the Northern Ireland peace effort has stalled in its tracks, so
have any immediate prospects for achieving a permanent solution to the
Basque problem.

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar offered late last year to open direct talks
with ETA. But in their first meeting, a brief encounter in Switzerland in
May, both sides refused to budge. Then, on the eve of a second round in
August, ETA announced it was suspending all contacts. It charged that Mr
Aznar's centre-right administration was using peace moves to reap political
gains ahead of general elections due by spring 2000.

Mr Aznar accused the rebels of being afraid of peace.

Analysts say the two sides hold such diametrically opposed views that any
peace talks could drag on for years.

Madrid has demanded ETA put a definitive end to its armed struggle. It is
only willing to discuss terms for ETA's disbanding and how to reintegrate
its members into society. ETA so far has refused to renounce violence in its
fight for a homeland carved out of northern Spain and southern France. It
wants a peace deal that grants the Basque people self-determination.

The question remains whether the two sides can ever find common ground. The
Basque region is no longer the oppressed province of Madrid it was under
dictator Francisco Franco.

Opinion polls show no more than a third of the Basque population in favour
of outright independence. The rest are divided among maintaining regional
self-rule or seeking expanded powers within Spain.

Compounding the problem is an increasingly bitter rift between mainstream
Spanish parties and moderate Basque nationalists.

Despite that, ordinary Basques have not given up hope.

Unemployment is down, tourism is up and business interests, though still
targeted for ETA's "revolutionary tax", are painting an ever-brighter
investment picture.

Banners proclaiming "We want peace" flutter from town halls across the
rugged countryside. In many places, however, they compete with scrawled
graffiti declaring "Long live ETA" coupled with the group's emblem - a snake
coiled around an axe.

It is one more sign that while the killing has stopped, the struggle goes
on.

****************************************************
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Thursday, September 16, 1999

Revealed: the plot to crush Timor

ANNEMARIE EVANS in Macau

The political cleansing of East Timor was planned as early as February, one
of the militia leaders present at a meeting which hatched the deadly plot
has revealed.
Tomas Goncalves, 54, the former head of the 400-strong PPPI (Peace Force and
Defender of Integration) militia said the killings had been agreed at a
meeting on February 16 in the East Timorese capital, Dili. He said the talks
were organised by the head of the SGI, the secret intelligence organisation
of the military's Kopassus special forces.

The head, Lieutenant-Colonel Yahyat Sudrajad, called for the killing of
pro-independence movement leaders, their children and even their
grandchildren, Mr Goncalves said. Not a single member of their families was
to be left alive, the colonel told the meeting.

Mr Goncalves said that also present were the heads of other militias
covering the 12 regions of East Timor, including Eurico Guterres, of the
Aitarak militia, and Joao Tavares of Besi Merah Putih.

According to Mr Goncalves, the colonel said many soldiers had died in East
Timor and that it would be difficult for troops to leave the enclave because
if they did, they would lose face. They were determined not to abandon their
supporters in the territory.

The meeting came after President Bacharuddin Habibie announced on January 27
that he might consider independence for East Timor.

On February 11, a day after resistance leader Xanana Gusmao was moved from
jail to house arrest, Mr Habibie said East Timor's future could be decided
by the end of the year. Mr Goncalves said: "The agenda for the meeting
included funding and arming of the militias, food and other supplies."

His revelations leave no doubt about the connection between Jakarta and the
militias, or about the direct line of command.

Mr Goncalves said Colonel Sudrajad had received orders before the meeting
from regional military commander Colonel Tono Suratman, who was answerable
to General Adam Daimiri in command of Bali, East Timor and West Timor.
General Daimiri in turn answered to General Zacky Anwar in Jakarta, himself
the former head of Kabia, Indonesia's national intelligence body.

The meeting set the hour for the start of the political cleansing as
midnight on May 1. However, on February 17, the following day, the militias
began to kill throughout East Timor, launching attacks in Maliana, Atabai,
Kailako and elsewhere. The survivors fled to churches and priests' houses
for protection.

On March 26, Governor of East Timor Abilio Soares gave orders at a meeting,
again attended by Mr Goncalves, that the priests and nuns should be killed.

Mr Goncalves said: "I could not stand it. I told them I have no problem
fighting the [pro-independence] guerillas, but as a Catholic I could not
kill priests and nuns and attack the Church."

Because of his stand, Mr Goncalves came under suspicion. He fled Jakarta on
April 18 and is now in Macau.

Violence worsened dramatically in East Timor after the result of the
UN-organised ballot was announced on September 4, showing support for
independence.

Hundreds, possibly thousands of people were killed by the militias,
encouraged or helped by troops.

Government and military spokesmen were unavailable for comment last night.

***************************************************
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Thursday, September 16, 1999

EAST TIMOR

UN approves foreign force to end killing

AGENCIES in Jakarta and CANBERRA

The United Nations Security Council authorised a multinational force
yesterday to restore order in East Timor, where thousands have died in the
wake of last month's vote for independence.
Advance units of the force are expected to arrive by Monday at the latest.
Australia, which is heading the operation, said the force could stay in East
Timor for up to three years.

"We're ready to go," an Australian military spokeswoman said in Darwin.
Australians will be the first wave of a 7,000-strong peacekeeping force that
has been given authority to shoot on sight.

Indonesia reluctantly agreed on Sunday to allow in foreign troops to put an
end to the army-backed violence in East Timor. Since then, political and
military leaders had fought to avoid having Australia lead the force.

However, Information Minister General Yunus Yosfiah said Indonesia welcomed
the choice of Australia to head the force. He also said the Indonesian
military would act only as advisers to, and provide liaison for, the UN
force.

Resistance leader Xanana Gusmao said the peacekeepers "will be very helpful
to peace" but the restoration of law and order would also depend on the
Indonesian side.

As peacekeepers prepared to arrive, UN sources said pro-Jakarta militias who
had ransacked Dili were deserting the East Timorese capital.

In a unanimous vote, the UN Security Council endorsed "all necessary
measures" to halt the killing and destruction in the former Portuguese
colony by anti-independence militias.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Australia expected a significant
contribution from Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.

"It will be dangerous. There must be a readiness to accept a possibility of
casualties," Mr Howard said.

Australian soldiers were warned that they may be prime targets once on East
Timorese soil.

US President Bill Clinton urged Indonesia to "stop the most egregious forms
of violence [in East Timor] and let the [non-governmental] groups in to
provide humanitarian relief right now . . . in two or three days a lot of
people could die".

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has said more than 200,000 East
Timorese who fled to the hills to escape the militias' onslaught might
starve.

Australian defence sources in Darwin said food drops would get under way by
tomorrow, adding 300,000 food packs would only arrive in Darwin from the US
territory of Guam tonight.

Indonesian Resettlement Minister General Hendropriyono said in West Timor
yesterday the Government wanted to resettle the 150,000 East Timorese
refugees there inside Indonesia, mostly in eastern islands, within two
months.

Police in Darwin said suspected members of militias had been identified
among refugees sheltering there.

In Jakarta, security forces opened fire outside the UN office as students
protested against Indonesian military atrocities.

Groups protesting against Australia's involvement in the UN force were
allowed to picket without interference.

*******************************************************
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Thursday, September 16, 1999

EAST TIMOR

Troop numbers

The force will number about 8,000, with peacekeepers supplied by:
Australia: 4,500, plus 2,000 on standby.
Britain: A contingent of Gurkhas, plus 250 on standby.
Canada: Up to 600.
France: About 500.
Malaysia: Up to 1,000.
Philippines: Up to 1,000 support troops.
Portugal: About 1,000.
South Korea: 400.
Thailand: 700.
United States: Several hundred.

Japan will provide logistical support, Singapore medics, support units and
possibly military observers, while Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Fiji, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sweden have pledged to provide unspecified
numbers of troops.

********************************************************
SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

FREE RACHEL APPEAL TO THE TUC

URGENT APPEAL TO JOHN MONKS AND THE TUC
CONFERENCE BRIGHTON


PLEASE ASSIST RACHEL GOLDWYN, WHO WILL BE
SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN A BURMESE PRISON TODAY
FOR SINGING A SONG OF DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM.

Also : PLEASE SEE THAT THE TASMANIAN UNIONS HAVE
ALREADY DEMANDED THAT THE IOC  (LAUSENNE)
DOES NOT INVITE BURMA TO THE SYD 2000 GAMES.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THE UK TRADES UNION
CONFERENCE TO DEMAND THE SAME.

86% OF ALL THE HEROIN  ON THE STREETS OF
AUSTRALIA COMES VIA THE BURMESE JUNTA. THE
PROFITS FROM WHICH BUILDS NEW HEROIN
REFINERIES FOR THE MILITARY.

IT IS OF MOST IMPORTANCE THAT THE TUC BRINGS
THIS IMPORTANT MATTER TO THE PODIUM BEFORE
END OF CONFERENCE,

17,000 JOURNALISTS WILL ATTEND THE OLYMPIAD.

WHEN THE BURMESE FLAG DOES NOT ARRIVE.
MASS EDUCATION TAKES PLACE.

ON BEHALF OF RACHEL'S PARENTS, THE
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA,  AND OUR MEMBERSHIP,
OUR GREATEST THANKS


You are all welcome to visit the Burma OUT Rachel
page.  http://www.mihra.org/2k/rachel.htm

cc. Marques De Samaranch. President of the IOC.


ROGER BUNN


DIRECTOR OF POLICY
MUSIC INDUSTRY HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION
HTTP://WWW.MIHRA.ORG
POLICY.OFFICE@xxxxxxxxx
44 181 742 2803

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