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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: May 2, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
May 2, 2000
Issue # 1523
This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$371
NOTED IN PASSING:
(1) "There is evidence that Suu Kyi has contacts with dissidents and
armed terrorist groups...[therefore] Suu Kyi and her accomplices
could face the death penalty or life imprisonment'' SPDC commentary
in Kyemon, (See AP: SUU KYI COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY)
(2) Forced labor related to the Yadana pipeline is a form
of "public works" and "simply [does] not amount to 'slavery' under
any meaningful sense of that term."
Unocal in an argument to a California court for why it should not be
liable for forced labor related to its pipeline in Burma. (See
WASHINGTON POST: UNOCAL 'SMOKING GUN' ALLEGED; BURMESE REFUGEES CLAIM
CABLE SUPPORTS ABUSE CHARGES)
*Inside Burma
AP: SUU KYI COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY
KYODO: TOYOTA, AJINOMOTO QUIT OPERATIONS IN MYANMAR
DPA: MYANMAR CLAIMS 10 PER CENT GROWTH IN 1999
*International
WASHINGTON POST: UNOCAL 'SMOKING GUN' ALLEGED; BURMESE REFUGEES CLAIM
CABLE SUPPORTS ABUSE CHARGES
HART'S ASIAN PETROLEUM NEWS: MYANMAR GAS TO THAILAND BY 2001
KYODO: YANGON WOULD NOT OPPOSE PYONGYANG JOINING ARF: WIN AUNG
AFP: MALAYSIAN FIRM SIGNS MILLION-DOLLAR BARTER DEAL WITH MYANMAR
COMPANY
JIJI: JAPAN MIN. CALLS ON MYANMAR TO TAKE DEMOCRATIC STEPS
*Opinion/Editorials
*Other
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: SUU KYI COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY
May 2, 2000
By GRANT PECK
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
her followers could face the death penalty or life imprisonment for
high treason stemming from alleged links to outlawed rebel groups, a
government newspaper said Tuesday.
A commentary in the Mirror daily accused Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991
Nobel Peace Prize, of being ``power crazy,'trying to block foreign
aid and investment, and attempting to foment disunity among the
country's
ethnic minorities.
The accusations came as the military regime played host to economic
ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan,
China and South Korea, its biggest diplomatic event since Myanmar was
admitted
into ASEAN in 1997.
The government, often criticized by Western nations for human rights
abuses, has recently arrested members of Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy for alleged links to rebel groups that maintain a
fading armed struggle against the regime along Myanmar's border with
Thailand.
``There is evidence that Suu Kyi has contacts with dissidents and
armed terrorist groups,'' the commentary said. Hence ``Suu Kyi and
her accomplices could face the death penalty or life imprisonment''
for high treason.
The newspaper also said people in Myanmar, also known as Burma, were
losing confidence in Suu Kyi and wanted the government to take
concrete action against her in the national interest.
Nearly all newspapers in Myanmar are run by the government.
Editorials and commentaries often rail against Suu Kyi, who was
vaulted to world prominence during a bloody, unsuccessful uprising
against military rule
in 1988.
Suu Kyi was placed under what became six years of house arrest in
1989, but a year later her party swept general elections. The
military, surprised that parties it had supported lost, never allowed
parliament to convene.
The National League for Democracy espouses nonviolence. According to
international human rights groups, hundreds of its members have been
jailed for their political views.
Last week, Aye Thar Aung, a senior party official responsible for
issues related to ethnic minorities, was arrested and reportedly
accused of connections to anti-government rebel groups.
The Mirror lashed out at Suu Kyi, whose activities are severely
restricted, for smuggling videotapes out of Myanmar. It said they
were sent to international conferences to discredit the government.
It accused Western embassies of abusing their diplomatic immunity by
helping to smuggle tapes out.
In one interview smuggled out Thursday, Suu Kyi said military
authorities arrested more than 40 NLD youth members in mid-April.
The government said a couple of NLD activists were being questioned
for alleged connections with a ``terrorist demolition team'' near the
Thai border.
____________________________________________________
KYODO: TOYOTA, AJINOMOTO QUIT OPERATIONS IN MYANMAR
May 1, 2000, Monday
YANGON, May 1 Kyodo
Frustrated with slow economic reforms in Myanmar, Toyota Motor Corp.
and Ajinomoto Co. have recently quit operations in the country,
Japanese Embassy officials in Yangon said Monday.
Ajinomoto, Japan's top seasoning manufacturer, built a factory for
bottled products in Myanmar in 1997, but the company was forced to
halt operations early last year because authorities imposed a ban on
the import of materials, saying they were harmful, according to the
embassy officials.
Ajinomoto products are, however, imported illegally from Thailand and
sold in stores in Myanmar, they said.
Toyota opened a dealership in Yangon in 1998, based on the
government's announcement that it would allow imports of automobiles
in the near future. The policy has never been implemented, the
embassy officials said.
Ironically, the withdrawal by the two large Japanese companies was
disclosed as
Japanese International Trade and Industry Minister Takashi Fukaya
visits Myanmar to discuss economic assistance to the country.
A number of Japanese companies, particularly financial entities, have
quit Myanmar since last year, the officials said.
There are about 90 Japanese firms still operating in the country, but
frustrations are building up among them regarding matters such as
sudden policy changes and the slow pace of deregulation, they said.
____________________________________________________
DPA: MYANMAR CLAIMS 10 PER CENT GROWTH IN 1999
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 1, 2000, Monday
Yangon
Myanmar's (Burma's) junta on Monday claimed it's economy grew a
whopping 10 per cent last year, demonstrating that the pariah state
was making its contribution to prosperity in the Southeast Asian
region.
"Preliminary figures show that Myanmar's economy grew by more than 10
per cent during the fiscal year which ended 31 March," said
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, First-Secretary of the military-led
State Peace and Development Council.
Khin Nyunt's economic growth estimate was about double the estimates
made by international development banks.
"Myanmar will never become an obstacle or hindrance to ASEAN. With
the emergence of the full economic potentials of the country, Myanmar
will surely be a great asset to the Association," Khin Nyunt told
visiting economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).
Yangon is for the first time hosting the ASEAN Economic Ministers
(AEM) retreat meeting and a follow-up powwow between ministers of
ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea on May 1-2.
The two-days of talks have drawn ASEAN Secretariat Rodolfo Severino,
Thai Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi and other senior
commerce ministers.
AEM, which meets Monday, will concentrate on Southeast Asian trade
issues, while the "ASEAN plus three" talks Tuesday will focus on
the "East Asian Economic Cooperation" plan first discussed at an
informal ASEAN summit in Manila last November.
Myanmar joined ASEAN in July, 1997, despite stiff opposition from
western democracies who warned that the junta's inclusion would
undermine their relations with the Southeast Asian bloc.
Myanmar's military regime, which has ruled the country since 1988, is
widely condemned for its poor human rights record, abuse of labour
rights and failure to introduce democratic systems.
But Khin Nyunt, the head of Myanmar's powerful Military Intelligence,
told the AEM that "an ASEAN without Myanmar will not be ASEAN in its
true sense."
"We in Myanmar are convinced that Myanmar can make valuable
contributions to peace, stability and prosperity of Southeast Asia."
The general's claim that Myanmar's economy grew 10 per cent last year
don't mesh with the estimates of most international observers and aid
organizations.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), for instance, estimated Myanmar's
real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 1999 at 4.5 per cent.
"Myanmar, does not rank particularly high it its socio-economic
achievements compared with its Southeast Asian neighbours," said the
ADB in its Asian Development Outlook 2000 report released last week.
The bank noted that Myanmar's inflation was high last year, suffered
a current accounts deficit of 546 million dollars and had less that
400 million dollars in foreign exchange reserves.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
WASHINGTON POST: UNOCAL 'SMOKING GUN' ALLEGED; BURMESE REFUGEES CLAIM
CABLE SUPPORTS ABUSE CHARGES
William Branigin , Washington Post Staff Writer
Attorneys for a group of Burmese refugees say they have discovered
a "smoking gun" document supporting their claims that a major U.S.
oil company should be held accountable for human rights violations
related to construction of a natural gas pipeline in Burma.
The 15 plaintiffs, representing thousands who fled to the Burma-
Thailand border in the early 1990s, charge that Unocal Corp. and the
French oil firm Total SA, partners in the project with the Burmese
government, were complicit in human rights abuses by Burmese forces.
The abuses allegedly included the forced relocation of entire
villages, the use of slave labor, and numerous deaths, beatings,
rapes and property seizures. Unocal denies the charges.
A federal judge in Los Angeles will hear arguments May 22 on whether
the suits, the first such effort to hold an American corporation
liable for human rights abuses abroad, can proceed to trial.
Attorneys for the refugees say State Department cables obtained under
the Freedom of Information Act contradict the company's denials. They
cite a 1995 State Department cable of an interview with Unocal
official Joel Robinson.
"On the general issue of the close working relationship between
Total/Unocal and the Burmese military, Robinson had no apologies to
make," the cable said. "He stated forthrightly that the companies
have hired the Burmese to provide security for the project and pay
for this through the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise," the Burmese
state oil company.
Robinson was quoted as saying that three truckloads of Burmese
soldiers typically accompanied project officials as they conducted
survey work and that Burmese military officers were informed of the
next day's activities so that soldiers could secure the area and
guard the work perimeter.
"I would call this cable the smoking gun, because it refutes
everything they [the defendants] said about the relationship between
Unocal/Total and the military," asserted Terry Collingsworth, a
lawyer representing one group of plaintiffs. He said the existence of
a "contractual relationship" with the Burmese military is also
supported by other documents that remain sealed by the court.
A Unocal lawyer, Edwin V. Woodsome Jr., said the cables are "not
factually accurate." He insisted that "there is no evidence the
military was hired by Unocal or Total or anybody else."
The 416-mile, $ 1.2 billion pipeline starts at Burma's Yadana
offshore gas field in the Andaman Sea and crosses 39 miles of the
Tenasserim region, which traditionally has been inhabited by ethnic
minorities including the Karen, who have been fighting for self-rule
for more than 50 years.
Construction began in 1992 and was completed in 1998. Limited amounts
of gas have flowed through the pipeline because facilities on the
Thai side of the border remain unfinished.
The class-action suits, filed against Unocal and its partners in 1996
by the International Labor Rights Fund, the Center for Constitutional
Rights and other groups, seek more than $ 1 billion in damages from
the giant California-based oil company.
They are also aimed at setting a precedent that would deter U.S.
firms from doing business with despotic regimes.
In 1997, the Clinton administration prohibited new U.S. private
investment in Burma, prompting some companies to pull out. Among them
were Levi Strauss & Co., Eastman Kodak Co. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Levi Strauss acknowledged that its investment had been
supporting "one of the leading violators of human rights in the
world."
In addition, four states and about 30 municipalities, including
Takoma Park, have declared some form of boycott against Burma to
punish the military junta that seized power in 1988 and brutally
suppressed a democracy movement.
A foreign trade group representing 580 corporations, including
Unocal, has challenged a Massachusetts law that penalizes companies
with Burmese investments. That case is now before the Supreme Court.
In defending itself against the lawsuits, Unocal has consistently
maintained it had nothing to do with alleged human rights
violations.
In a deposition last year, John F. Imle Jr., then president of
Unocal, said he knew of no "contractual obligation" for the Burmese
armed forces to protect the project. They did so, he said, "in the
same way the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department would provide security
for activities of any kind . . . in Los Angeles County."
Independent human rights groups say the Burmese army routinely rounds
up villagers and forces them to work on construction projects or
serve as porters--sometimes, in effect, as "human minesweepers"--for
military counterinsurgency operations.
"Robinson acknowledged that army units providing security for the
pipeline construction do use civilian porters" but said Unocal and
its French partner "cannot control their recruitment process," the
May 1995 cable said. It quoted the Unocal official as saying Total
was responsible for ensuring porters were paid. He "admitted that
villagers were not paid" for earlier work, including the arduous
clearing of forest on both sides of an access road along the pipeline
route.
U.S. District Judge Richard Paez has dismissed Total and the Burmese
government as defendants in the case. Woodsome said Unocal is
confident that its summary judgment motion "will dispose of this case
in its entirety."
According to excerpts from the company's motion, most of which
remains sealed, the company says U.S. courts have repeatedly ruled
that the 13th Amendment prohibition against slavery does not prevent
state and federal governments from compelling citizens to "perform
certain civic duties" such as road building. The Burmese villagers'
alleged forced labor consisted of "public works" activities that do
not violate U.S. law and "simply do not amount to 'slavery' under any
meaningful sense of that term," the motion argues.
Moreover, it says, Unocal cannot be held liable for the actions
of "indirect" subsidiaries. Among these is Unocal Myanmar Offshore
Co., which holds Unocal's interest in the Yadana gas field.
Besides, Unocal says in a report published on its Web site, Total was
responsible for "day-to-day operations" on the pipeline, "including
hiring all labor."
Robinson, who has since retired from Unocal, gave a sworn deposition
last year, before the State Department documents were released. Thus,
he was never asked about the meeting with embassy officials. He
declined to talk about the case.
Unocal attorney Woodsome denied that any villagers were relocated or
that any forced labor was used in the pipeline construction.
Collingsworth said most of the "dirty work" of forced relocations and
slave labor was done before the pipe-laying phase. The oil companies'
later insistence on paying the workers was a charade because soldiers
confiscated the money, he added.
Even if some workers were paid, they were still forcibly recruited in
the first place, he argued. He pointed to another U.S. Embassy cable,
dated January 1996, that quoted Total briefing materials as saying
local villagers were "hired by the army" and incorporated
in "battalions."
The cable said a Unocal consultant on the scene "claimed that the
rate at which these workers run away has decreased sharply since the
start of the project."
Woodsome maintained that villagers in the area appreciated the
employment opportunities the oil companies provided. "People who live
there are delighted this pipeline project was done," he said.
____________________________________________________
HART'S ASIAN PETROLEUM NEWS: MYANMAR GAS TO THAILAND BY 2001
May 1, 2000
SECTION: Vol. 4, No. 17
A TotalFinaElf-led consortium plans to transport 525 MMcf/d of gas
from its Yadana field in the Andaman Sea, off Myanmar, to Thailand
through a pipeline from the beginning of 2001.
The French conglomerate has tied up with a 2,800 MW power plant set
up by the Electric Generating Authority of Thailand at Ratchaburi,
southwest of Bangkok.
"Eventually, the gas could be used to supply other Thai consumers
upon completion of a gas pipeline being built by PTT that will
connect Ratchaburi to the existing Thailand gas pipeline grid," a
TotalFinaElf official told APN. TotalFina is the operator of the
Yadana gas field with a 31.24% interest. The other investors are:
Unocal (28.26%), Thailand's state-owned PTT Exploration & Production
Public Co Ltd (25.5%), and state operator Myanmar Oil & Gas
Enterprise (15%). The consortium has already laid the pipeline from
the Yadana offshore gas field to Ratchaburi. The pipeline project
involved the installment of a 36-inch diameter, 412km long pipeline -
mostly subsea with the final 63km crossing the Tenasserim region of
southern Myanmar and stretching to Ban-I-Tong at the Myanmar-
Thailand border.
The Thai portion of the pipeline, from the border to the Ratchaburi
power plant, is the responsibility of the Petroleum Authority of
Thailand (PTT), which is purchasing the Yadana gas. For this
purpose, the promoters have floated a separate company - Moattama
Gas Transportation Company. Besides gas sales to Thailand, the
promoters have signed a separate sales agreement with Myanmar
government for supplying 125 MMcf/d of gas for domestic use. The
Yadana pipeline is part of the field development project, which
included construction of four offshore platforms with 14 wells. The
US $1.2 Bn estimated cost of the Yadana project represents the
investment required to build and install four offshore platforms,
related seaport facilities, the onshore and offshore sections of the
pipeline, and all other necessary equipment and facilities. The
Yadana gas field - in Block M5 and M6 - lies at a water depth of
150ft, 69km offshore Myanmar in the Andaman Sea. The field contains
more than 5 Tcf of gas and is considered one of the largest gas
reserves of the world. However, the development - the first major
cross-border energy project in South East Asia - has become a
controversial with human right activists accusing the promoters for
developing the project despite the sanctions imposed by countries
like the US and European Union.
The activists have alleged that the TotalFinaElf-led consortium has
been collaborating with the totalitarian government in Myanmar,
which denies basic human rights for its civilians. Interestingly,
the Yadana development project includes a $6m socio-economic
development programme in places close to the pipeline. The
consortium claims that the socio-economic development initiatives
have brought significant, long-lasting benefits to the 35,000
villagers living in the remote region through which the pipeline
passes.
The promoters say the Yadana project would give impetus to Myanmar's
economic development. The project will give Myanmar the opportunity
to develop its natural resources, including the eventual delivery of
electric power to the regions of Yangon and Tenasserim.
____________________________________________________
KYODO: YANGON WOULD NOT OPPOSE PYONGYANG JOINING ARF: WIN AUNG
Varunee Torsricharoen
YANGON, May 1 Kyodo
Foreign Minister Win Aung said Monday he would not oppose North
Korea's entry into the Asia-Pacific region's main security forum
despite the fact that the two countries' ties have been suspended
since 1983.
'We have no problem accepting North Korea's participation' in the
forum. 'We separate bilateral issues from regional ones,' Win Aung
told Kyodo News on the sidelines of a meeting of economic ministers
of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
here.
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is the Asia-Pacific region's premier
consultative body on security issues. ASEAN has been the core of the
forum since its creation in 1994. Currently, the group comprises 22
members -- the 10 members of ASEAN plus Australia, Canada, China, the
European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.
This year's ARF ministerial meeting is scheduled for July 27
following an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting July 24-26 in Bangkok,
according to the Thai Foreign Ministry.
Myanmar suspended ties with North Korea in 1983 after an
assassination attempt in Yangon on then South Korean President Chun
Doo Hwan, who was leading a South Korean delegation.
Chun narrowly escaped with serious injuries, but four of his cabinet
members and 13 senior officials in his delegation were killed. Yangon
blamed the attack on North Korean agents.
Myanmar has said it wants an apology from Pyongyang.
Win Aung said Monday he told Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan
last month when they met on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement
ministerial meeting in Cartagena, Columbia, that Yangon would not
stand in the way if ASEAN decides to admit North Korea into the
security forum.
He indicated that Pyongyang should be admitted to the forum as
security on the Korean Peninsula has been part of its agenda for
years.
Last month, North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun told Surin
that Pyongyang is 'very keen' to join the ARF. Surin subsequently
told reporters in Bangkok that ASEAN was considering inviting Paek to
join the ARF ministerial meeting in July.
Senior officials of the ARF member countries are scheduled to meet in
Bangkok on May 17-19. North Korean representatives are expected to
participate in the meeting to discuss procedures for North Korea's
admission.
Pyongyang has submitted a formal request to join the ARF once before -
- in 1994, before the death of the late President Kim Il Sung in July
of that year.
But when ARF members decided to admit Pyongyang in 1996, North Korea
withdrew its application, saying the forum's members did not
understand the situation on the Korean Peninsula and that it did not
have diplomatic relations with all ASEAN members.
Pyongyang currently has no diplomatic relations with the Philippines.
But Paek is expected to visit Manila in July to establish ties before
his visit to Bangkok for the security forum.
____________________________________________________
AFP: MALAYSIAN FIRM SIGNS MILLION-DOLLAR BARTER DEAL WITH MYANMAR
COMPANY
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (AFP) - A Malaysian firm said it signed
Tuesday a barter trade deal worth one million dollars with a company
in military-ruled Myanmar.
Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) said it would supply rice milling
machinery, equipment and spare parts to Myanmar Agricultural Produce
Trading (MAPT).
Bernas group managing director Mohamad Ibrahim Noor, in a
statement from the Myanmar capital Yangon, said it would receive
commodities including rice and other vegetables in exchange.
Malaysia's International Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, visiting
Myanmar for a meeting of trade ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), witnessed the signing.
"With the capital goods, MAPT will be able to upgrade its rice
mills and reprocessing plants which in turn will improve the quality
of rice intended for export to international markets," Ibrahim said
in the statement carried by Malaysia's Bernama news agency.
He said his firm would also buy commodities from the Myanmar firm
in excess of the value of the barter deal.
Ibrahim said the barter trade was a crucial first step towards
minimising US dollar transactions for both parties and would also
strengthen bilateral and regional trade relations.
ASEAN says it prefers "constructive engagement" with the military
regime rather than sanctions imposed by the West in protest at human
rights violations.
____________________________________________________
JIJI: JAPAN MIN. CALLS ON MYANMAR TO TAKE DEMOCRATIC STEPS
Jiji Press Ticker Service
May 01, 2000, Monday
Yangon, May 1
Japanese Minister of International Trade and Industry Takashi Fukaya
Monday called on Myanmar to make moves toward democracy and a market
economy.
Fukaya proposed in his meeting with Khin Nyunt, first secretary of
the State Peace and Development Council, the decision-making body of
Myanmar's military junta, that the country reopen its colleges in the
near future and take other clear steps to promote democracy and human
rights.
Fukaya is in Yangon, the Myanmarese capital, to attend a conference
Tuesday of economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations member states, Japan, China and South Korea. He is the first
Japanese cabinet minister to visit Myanmar in 17 years.
The Myanmarese official told Fukaya that there are differences
between industrial and developing nations and that Yangon is striving
to bridge the gap. He urged Fukaya to understand that Myanmar is
making efforts to build a peaceful and safe society.
Calling on Myanmar to improve the investment environment quickly,
Fukaya offered Japanese assistance for the promotion of small and
midsize firms, human resource development in the information
technology sector and the construction of agricultural chemical
plants, among other things.
____________________________________________________
XINHUA: MYANMAR LEADER PRAISES WORKERS' EFFORTS
May 1, 2000, Monday
YANGON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar leader Senior-General Than Shwe
Monday praised workers in the country for their efforts in the nation-
building, saying that their earnest efforts have brought about
favorable conditions in the economic sectors such as industry,
energy, forestry, mining, livestock and fisheries, and trade.
In his message on the occasion of May Day, Than Shwe, chairman of the
Myanmar State Peace and Development Council and Prime Minister, said
the government has given serious attention to fulfilling the
aspirations of the blue and white collar workers.
"As success has been achieved in the short-term plans laid down and
implemented by the government, the value of gross domestic products
and services has now increased resulting in the rise in per capita
income of the citizens," he noted.
Accordingly, he added, wages and salaries of the workers engaged in
the commodity production and service enterprises have been duly
enhanced.
He warned against attempts by "neo-colonialists" and others to
tarnish the image of Myanmar through false accusations not relevant
to labor affairs at a time when favorable conditions for national
progress have been created and the standard of living of workers has
been enhanced accordingly.
He urged the workers in the country to strive for the realization of
political, economic and social objectives of the nation; the speedy
success of economic projects being implemented; and the raising of
the productivity and the services in the state, cooperative and
private sectors.
_______________
Acronyms and abbreviations regularly used by BurmaNet.
AVA: Ava Newsgroup. A small, independent newsgroup covering Kachin
State and northern Burma.
KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group. A non-governmental organization
that conducts interviews and collects information primarily in
Burma's Karen State but also covering other border areas.
KNU: Karen National Union. Ethnic Karen organization that has been
fighting Burma's central government since 1948.
NLM: New Light of Myanmar, Burma's state newspaper. The New Light of
Myanmar is also published in Burmese as Myanmar Alin.
SCMP: South China Morning Post. A Hong Kong newspaper.
SHAN: Shan Herald Agency for News. An independent news service
covering Burma's Shan State.
SHRF: Shan Human Rights Foundation
SPDC: State Peace and Development Council. The current name the
military junta has given itself. Previously, it called itself the
State Law and Order Restoration Council.
________________
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