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SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

SHAN - EU

SEPTEMBER 17, 1999

HEADLINES :

1. Report on 29 August Clash
2. Thais Beefing Up Security Along Western Border
3. Myanmar Sentences British Activist
4. Myanmar Democrats Hold to Election
5. Closure of San Ton Du begins to bite
6. Muslim chiefs urge Aceh referendum
7. Taiwan's UN bid fails for seventh time
8. UN-force partners keep Australians waiting

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SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

16 September 1999

Report on 29 August Clash

Capt. Htoon, the SSA's public relations officer, told S.H.A.N. that the 29
August clash was not started by the SSA, but by the SPDC.

"They were lying in ambush for the SSA patrol led by Sgt. Sarm Lem, who
unknowingly stepped into the killing ground but was quick to rise up to the
situation. The fight began at 12:15 at Htamhpasao in Mongton Township and
lasted for about 20 minutes. The SSA suffered 1 KIA and 6 WIA. The enemy's
casualties were 2 KIA and 4 WIA".

One of the SPDC men killed was Capt. Han Tha of IB 65 (Mongton), who used to
command the troops at BP-1 on the Burmese side. The Burmese authorities were
reported to be furious over the incident.

N.B.    KIA     = Killed in Action
        WIA     = Wounded in Action

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SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

16 September 1999

Thais Beefing Up Security Along Western Border

An informed source in Thailand told S.H.A.N. that the Thai Army is moving
their crack units form the eastern border to the west.

"The Third Cavalry Regiment, long stationed in Nan Province in the east, has
recently been transferred to Chiangmai", said the source.

"Meanwhile the Naresuan Force that used to oversee the ex-KMT affairs is
moving to Tak Province from Chiangmai. All their previous positions along
the border from Maehongson to Chiangrai are being taken over by the Third
Cavalry". Other infantry units were also being transferred to the west,
raising speculations that the present maneuvers by the Burmese Army in
Monghsat District of Shan State opposite Chiangmai Province of Thailand
might somehow be connected to the Thai Army's exercises, and had little
to do with the campaign against the Shan States Army led by Yawdserk.

Thai units have been more or less staying idle since the end of the Cold
War, added the source.

Meanwhile, no further reports were coming from the border at BP-1.

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BURMANET - September 16, 1999

Myanmar Sentences British Activist

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A Myanmar court sentenced British democracy activist
Rachel Goldwyn to seven years in prison with labor today for a solo protest
against Myanmar's military regime.

Goldwyn, 28, of Barnes in southwest London, looked saddened by the sentence,
the maximum possible for the charge. She was led away almost immediately
afterwards by policewomen who were to take her back to Insein Prison in a
suburb of the capital, Yangon.

Her lawyer said he would appeal the sentence within the 90 days allowed for
the process.

Goldwyn was arrested after chaining herself to a lamppost and shouting
pro-democracy slogans in downtown Yangon on Sept. 7.

Asked by the judge if she was guilty of actions likely to cause public
unrest - the charge against her - she admitted the facts of her case but
denied that her motive was to disrupt stability.

``My demonstration was to show the extent of control,'' she said. ``It was
not to undermine stability. I did not want anybody to take any risk and I
did not want anybody to be arrested.''

Goldwyn's lawyer, Kyi Win, had told the judge that the pro-democracy slogans
she chanted were not a criminal offense because the nation's military
leaders have made similar statements favoring democracy.

The ruling junta in Myanmar took power in 1988 after violently suppressing
pro-democracy demonstrations. It held a general election in 1990 but refused
to let parliament convene after a landslide victory by the democratic
opposition.

Goldwyn's mother, speaking from her home in Barnes today, said she was
``absolutely desperate'' after being told of her daughter's sentence.

``We all cry, and then cry again all the time,'' said Charmain Goldwyn. She
said she has had to rely on the British consul in Myanmar for information,
and feared for her daughter's health and safety.

``We've had no chance to talk to her. We didn't even know where she was
until Monday,'' said Mrs. Goldwyn.

Mrs. Goldwyn and her husband Ed, a television producer, had thought their
daughter was going to Germany on holiday when she was arrested in Burma last
week.

Goldwyn's sentence of imprisonment with labor - such as road building or
plantation work - was seen by legal observers as a technical one reflecting
the severity of the crime, and they don't expect she will have to
participate in such work.

During much of her trial, Goldwyn looked relaxed and cheerful, wearing a
turquoise T-shirt and Myanmar sarong, or longyi. On her face was sandalwood
powder, a traditional Myanmar cosmetic.

Prosecution witnesses, including police and a passer-by, said that about
1,000 people gathered to watch Goldwyn's protest.

There were no defense witnesses.

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BURMANET - September 16, 1999

Myanmar Democrats Hold to Election

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's democratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, declared Thursday that it would never relinquish
the 1990 election victory that the ruling military refuses to recognize.

``We decide that we will never retract our call to convene a parliament and
we will never dissolve the committee representing parliament,'' said a
statement issued by the National League for Democracy.

The party, led by the charismatic Suu Kyi, won 82 percent of the 491 seats
in the 1990 polls. The military, which has ruled Myanmar - also known as
Burma - since 1962, never recognized the result.

The statement came as the party marked the one-year anniversary of its
setting up a 10-member committee to represent the parliament that was never
convened.

The government views the committee as a direct challenge to its authority
and has branded it a blatant violation of the law.

Authorities set up checkpoints on the approaches to party headquarters early
Thursday, blocking traffic and refusing entry to diplomats and journalists.
Only party members were let in for Thursday's meeting.

``We strongly condemn any act by the authorities aimed at discrediting or
belittling the elected representatives,'' the party's 11-page statement
said.

More than 850 party members, including nearly 200 elected members of the
parliament that never was, were rounded up for questioning by military
authorities last year when the party was pressing its claims for parliament
to be convened.

Last month, the government said that 55 party members were still held. The
opposition claims that many were made to resign or sign disclaimers to
secure their release.

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BANGKOK POST - September 17, 1999

BORDER

Closure of San Ton Du begins to bite
Food prices surge in Wa stronghold

Subin Khuenkaew

Traders are turning to the Kok river to get around the closure of the San
Ton Du crossing and resume trade with the United Wa State Army.

Demand for food has surged in Mong Yawn, headquarters of the southern
command of the UWSA, the biggest drug trafficking group in the Golden
Triangle, since last month's closure.

The UWSA has stocked construction materials and fuel for its ambitious
infrastructure projects at Mong Yawn, 30km from San Ton Du, but perishables
have become harder to find.

Prices have doubled and even tripled over the past month. Three eggs, for
example, cost 12 baht and a packet of instant noodles, eight baht.On the
Thai side, an egg costs 1-4 baht and instant noodles, 3-5 baht.

Border sources have noticed increased traffic on the Kok river, which flows
across the border and has many tributaries that reach UWSA territory.

Long-tail boats leave almost daily from Tha Ton, Mae Ai district, and head
against the current to the border where they are inspected by government
forces manning riverside outposts.

The checks ensure the boats are carrying consumer goods, not strategic
goods, such as construction materials, fuel, weapons and chemicals that
could be used for Wa drug operations.

Once across the border, the loads are transferred to Wa boats which head
further up the Kok and into the Yawn tributary to their destination.

The sources said it was too early to assess the quantity of goods being
diverted via the Kok but the volume was small scale and mainly in food. A
Burmese businessman who exported goods worth millions of baht through San
Ton Du said the closure was creating difficulties. Cement shipments exported
via Kiew Pha Wok in Chiang Dao district, 40km from San Ton Du, were taking
more than a month to reach Mong Yawn by land.

While a road network linking border towns in eastern Shan State is almost
complete, red tape, corruption among Burmese officials and insurgent
activity were proving major obstacles, he said.

The Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing is open but is 130km from San Ton Du.

The government is resisting pressure to open San Ton Du and the San Maked
crossing in Mae Fah Luang district, which provides access to a town being
developed by Wei Hsueh-kang, a commander of the UWSA, who is wanted by Thai
and US authorities on drug-trafficking charges.

The town, known officially as Ban Hong, is 3km from the border and has a
road link to Mong Yawn.

One billion baht, much of it drug profits, has gone into development at Mong
Yawn, which has attracted Thai businessmen and workers.

Goods worth more than 70 million baht worth have been traded via San Ton Du
since it was opened a year ago by the National Security Council, and 6,000
Thais have found jobs in Mong Yawn.

The southern command stretches from Mongsat to Mong Yawn, and areas under Wa
influence or control stretch from opposite Tha Ton to Mae Sai, Chiang Rai.

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Friday, September 17, 1999

INDONESIA

Muslim chiefs urge Aceh referendum

VAUDINE ENGLAND in Jakarta

A two-day meeting of 500 Muslim scholars and leaders in the largely Islamic
province of Aceh has ended with a strong call for a referendum to choose
between autonomy and independence.
"We are pressing the Government for a referendum to be held under
international supervision as is the wish of the people," Teungku Nuruzzahri,
who chaired the meeting, was quoted as saying yesterday.

Having entirely miscalculated the East Timor situation, Jakarta-based
politicians are joining the bandwagon in an attempt to avoid a similar fate
for Aceh, where separatist demands have grown against a backdrop of
military-sponsored violence.

Leading Muslim Abdurrahman Wahid, with fellow oppositionist Amien Rais,
added their voices - and their tears - to the Aceh cause this week and
reiterated local demands for a referendum.

Mr Wahid was attacked the last time he visited Aceh when he said a
referendum was not the answer, while Mr Rais' National Mandate Party (PAN)
has been more sympathetic to ideas of a federalist state.

That both men prayed together with about 4,000 Muslims in Aceh's capital,
Banda Aceh, showed not only a softening of their anti-independence stance
but also a softening of past enmities between them.

"Even though I am sad, I do respect the results of the meeting," Mr Wahid
said.

PAN's Jamaluddin Ahmad said: "Mr Rais said he also could understand the
scholars' demand."

He said many intellectuals in Aceh wanted the province to stay within
Indonesia as part of a federal republic, a proposal the Government has ruled
out.

"This is the compromise solution, an autonomous Aceh within an Indonesian
unitary republic, just like Hong Kong and China," Mr Ahmad said.

Given the failure of the East Timorese referendum to gain acceptance within
Indonesia's military, this might seem an odd moment to propound a similar
approach for Aceh.

However, human rights groups point out that more than 200 people have been
killed in Aceh in the past six weeks, implying that Indonesian generals seem
unconcerned with world condemnation.

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Friday, September 17, 1999

Taiwan's UN bid fails for seventh time

ASSOCIATED PRESS at the United Nations

Taiwan's allies failed for a seventh time to get the UN General Assembly to
consider membership for the economically powerful but politically weak
island.
As it had done for the past six years, China again led the opposition on
Wednesday to membership for Taiwan.

After a debate in which opponents of United Nations membership for Taiwan
outnumbered supporters by two to one, the General Assembly's steering
committee decided without a vote not to include the issue of Taiwan on the
assembly's agenda.

Some 62 nations signed up to speak on the issue.

Rex S. Horoi - ambassador from the Solomon Islands, one of 13 nations trying
to get the issue on the agenda - cited Taiwan's economic vitality and
overseas development assistance as reasons why it should be a UN member. He
said tensions between Taiwan and the mainland made Taiwan's UN membership
critical.

"Our request for the inclusion of the item in the agenda is an act of
preventive diplomacy," Mr Horoi told the steering committee.

By rejecting UN membership for Taiwan, he warned that "the committee will be
turning its back on the dangerous situation in the Taiwan Strait, which
could explode into an armed conflict that this organisation will be forced
to deal with, too late".

In a letter last month to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, China's UN
Ambassador, Qin Huasun, said the attempt by Taiwan's allies to create "two
Chinas" in the UN "would only fan the flames of Taiwan's separatist
activities and hinder China's peaceful reunification".

The UN vote "demonstrated attempts to use the 'two states' theory to fight
for a seat in the UN is futile, and further demonstrated that [President]
Lee Teng-hui's attempt to seek international status will end in failure",
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said in Beijing yesterday.

Taiwan, as the Republic of China, held the Chinese UN seat until 1971.

Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Gambia, Grenada, Liberia, Malawi, the
Marshall Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Swaziland and
the Solomon Islands backed Taiwan's attempt for inclusion.

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Friday, September 17, 1999

EAST TIMOR

UN-force partners keep Australians waiting

ROGER MAYNARD and AGENCIES in Darwin, Australia

More than 2,000 Australian troops are standing by to fly or sail to East
Timor at a moment's notice.
But D-day continues to be put back as the Australian military waits for its
international partners in the United Nations peacekeeping force to reach
Darwin.

First it looked like a Saturday morning departure. Now it appears as though
the main force will not arrive in East Timor until early next week, Defence
Minister John Moore said yesterday.

Indonesia's military commander in East Timor, Major-General Kiki Syahnakri,
said he expected an advance team of peacekeepers to arrive tomorrow,
followed by 2,500 of the expected 8,000 troops on Monday.

His men would begin leaving once foreign troops arrived. "Once they get in,
I will pull out. I hope the process will take not more than one week," he
said.

Indonesia has more than 20,000 soldiers and police in the territory.

British troops were the first to join the Australians yesterday, with 65
Gurkhas of a planned 250-strong force arriving in Darwin.

The head of Australia's defence forces, Admiral Chris Barrie, said the
peacekeepers would not hesitate to get tough if they met resistance.

The peace-enforcement mission could be short and successful if the
Indonesian army co-operated.

"If . . . we do have to do some of the more serious things that are
required, I think there is going to be a risk of casualties," he said.

Admiral Barrie expressed concerns about possible covert spoiling operations
by Indonesian irregulars or special forces.

The deputy commander of East Timor's pro-Indonesia militias, Eurico
Guterres, warned that the militia would put eight of the territory's 13
districts off-limits to the peacekeepers if they did not accept his "agenda
 . . . about what has to be done".

He said the militias controlled eight western districts and, as native East
Timorese, had more rights over the territory than the UN force.

The commander of the UN force, Australian Major-General Peter Cosgrove, said
he believed threats by pro-Jakarta militia leaders to target Australian
soldiers were mere rhetoric. Nevertheless, he expected it would "take
several months for us to bring the mission to a satisfactory conclusion".

Yesterday, New Zealand pledged up to 800 troops for the UN force, the
Philippines prepared to despatch an initial 240 men and Brazil and France
each said they would send 50. China said it would send civilian police.

Thailand agreed to serve as second-in-command of the force and put the first
of 1,500 men on standby to leave for Darwin within hours.

Malaysia, which Indonesia hoped would have the deputy leadership, said
yesterday its troops would not take part in the first phase of peace
restoration, but reversed its decision last night without explanation.

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