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Burma News Update, No. 95
Open Society Institute
The Burma Project
Burma News Update No. 95
18 October 1999
UN Mission in Rangoon
U.N. Assistant Secretary General Alvaro de Soto was
scheduled to leave Burma's capital Rangoon on Tuesday,
19 October, after a five-day visit aimed at launching dialogue
between the country's army junta and the National League
for Democracy, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. De Soto,
special representative of the U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan, met with top junta generals, ethnic group
representatives, and Daw Suu Kyi. His last visit was in
October 1998.
Rangoon, "Kyodo," 17 October
US to Accept Student Exiles
The United States has pledged to support Thailand's efforts
to find third-country resettlement for at least 2,700 Burmese
students now in exile in Thailand. Thai authorities also
requested resettlement assistance from Australia and Canada
after several student exiles reportedly took part in the seizure
of Burma's embassy in Bangkok at the beginning of October.
Thailand has also requested increased involvement of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees to help deal with a
rising number of ethnic refugees fleeing Burma whose presence
could pose a security threat to Thailand.
"Bangkok Post," 15 October
Border Clash Reported
Thai troops exchanged fire with armed intruders in northern
Thailand as Burma's military regime built up forces along the
two countries' frontier. The Rangoon junta has closed all border
crossings into Thailand and revoked fishing rights for over 100
Thai fishing trawlers after Burmese student exiles who occupied
the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok on 1 October were given
safe passage to a rebel-held area of Burma. There were no
casualties in the fire-fight, which occurred near the town of Mae
Hong Son. The Thai army said it was unsure whether the group
which fled into Burma was comprised of Burmese soldiers or
amphetamine traffickers.
Bangkok, "Deutsche Presse-Agentur," 15 October
Reporters Said Murdered
Two Burmese reporters for a state newspaper have reportedly
died under military intelligence interrogation, and a number of
others remained in detention, after a photo caption in the
newspaper described top junta leader Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt as
a "crook." The Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma radio
station said 27 employees of the Kyemon newspaper were
arrested by military intelligence after the photo caption was
published on 25 September. The reporters' bodies were quickly
cremated after they were killed on 27 September and 02
October, and their family members warned not to disclose the
deaths, the radio said. [Agence France Presse adds from
Bangkok on 12 October that a junta spokesman denied the
allegations, claiming that a "Kyemon" reporter who died on 27
September was an alcoholic who had slipped into a coma, and
that the other alleged victim had retired from the newspaper
more than ten years ago.]
Tokyo, "Kyodo," 13 October
China-Burma Media Ties
The head of Chinese Communist Party Publicity Department,
Ding Guangen, met visiting Burmese Information Minister Kyi
Aung in Beijing on 14 October. Ding stated that China and
Burma share many similarities, and described the development
of China's radio, television, press and publication industries.
Junta Minister Kyi Aung said he hoped China-Burma cooperation
in field of media development would expand.
Beijing, "Xinhua News Agency," 14 October
Suu Kyi Warns on Drug Aid
Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has warned
that Canada's recently-proposed bilateral narcotics cooperation
with Burma's military junta will not reduce drug trafficking. In a
taped message smuggled from Burma, Daw Suu Kyi said, "If they
really want to stop the production of drugs in Burma, then they
have got to do something about instituting a responsible, accountable
government in Burma because simply to cooperate with the present
regime would be rather like treating the symptoms of a disease
rather than its root cause...."
Montreal, "Radio Canada International," 13 October
Junta Decries EU Sanctions
Burma's military regime said the renewal of sanctions announced
by the European Union on 11 October will would hinder the country's
"transformation to a stable democracy." The EU sanctions, first
imposed in 1997 in reaction to the junta's gross human rights
violations, include suspension of Burma's tariff privileges and a ban
on travel to EU countries by junta officials The United States has
banned new investment in Burma, and the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank have suspended all lending to the country.
Rangoon, "Deutsche Presse-Agentur," 13 October
More Elephants Injured
Two more elephants have been seriously injured after detonating
landmines along Thailand's border with Burma. A third elephant,
injured in early September in a landmine blast, is recovering at a
Thai elephant hospital after having one of its front foot amputated.
Thailand has outlawed anti-personnel mines and is attempting to
clear mines from its territory. [Recent reports indicate that Burmese
troops and some armed ethnic groups are increasingly using
landmines in contested zones along the Thai frontier-Ed.]
Bangkok, "Associated Press," 13 October
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