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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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