BurmaNet News: December 6, 2000

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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
________December 6, 2000   Issue # 1677_________

NOTED IN PASSING: ?700,000 to 800,000"

The number of persons in Burma infected with HIV/AIDs.  See Channel 
NewsAsia: AIDS blooming in Myanmar, threat to Southeast Asia 

INSIDE BURMA _______
*Channel NewsAsia: AIDS blooming in Myanmar, threat to Southeast Asia 
*Shan Human Rights Foundation: November Report?excerpts

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Los Angeles Times: America Waits;  Seminole Ballot Challenger Paid for 
Anti-Cheney Ads 
*Agence France Presse: : Japan to work out support for Myanmar reforms 
within two years 
*Kyodo: Japan, Burma discuss economic support, USA unhappy 
*CAW: Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to receive Canadian Auto Workers 
union Human Rights Award 
*Bangkok Post: Soldiers to have Burmese lessons 
*Bangkok Post:  Chettha meets junta to boost party ties
*The Nation: Yunnan plans road link to SE Asia
*AP Online: Anti-Mine Campaigners Renew Pressure 
*Reuters: Landmines kill Bangladeshis along Myanmar border
*Foreign ministers head to icebreaking EU-ASEAN meeting 

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Xinhua: Myanmar's Machinery Equipment Import Drops 9 Percent in Eight 
Months

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Wall Street Journal: Suing Suu Kyi

The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________


Channel NewsAsia: AIDS blooming in Myanmar, threat to Southeast Asia 

December 4, 2000 Monday 

A health crisis is brewing in Myanmar. 

Experts monitoring the country's AIDS epidemic said it was now the 
fastest growing in Southeast Asia. 

In the northern rice fields, farmers are sowing their second crop of the 
year. 

But underlying these tranquil rural scenes, Myanmar is sitting on a 
major health crisis. 

Those monitoring the problem said it had reached epidemic proportions. 

A survey in 1995 predicted that half a million people in Myanmar would 
have HIV/AIDS by this year. 

That number now looks conservative. 

Dr Chris Beyer, Johns Hopkins University, said: "Unfortunately, epidemic 
is exactly the right word. It is much more on the order of 700,000 to 
800,000 cumulative infections. And there have already been 50,000 to 
100,000, if not many more, deaths." 

In a school for girls, health educators battle to get the safe sex 
message out, despite cultural sensitivities. 

Dr Nyun Nyun, AIDS educator, said: "Your body is what your valuable. 
Your life is of value. Keep your value and you keep your head up." 

At an annual festival, men dressed as women dance in a public display of 
their sexuality. 

High risk sexual activity is prevalent there, but the promotion of 
condoms is not allowed. 

AIDS is not an issue Yangon's military rulers want out in the open. 

Not only are they playing down the problem, they are also reluctant to 
disclose the extent of the epidemic. 

The rest of the world is also refusing to deal with the government, 
making it difficult for international health educators to do their job. 

The disease tends to spread along truck routes, with the highest 
incidents of HIV occurring on the country's border. 

Myanmar, which until now has labelled HIV/AIDS a foreign disease, is now 
at the epicentre of an epidemic, and this could mean trouble for its 
Asian neighbours. 

____________________________________________________


Shan Human Rights Foundation: November Report?excerpts

[Abridged]

NOVEMBER 2000



         On 16 November 2000, the International Labour Organization 
called  for its member nations to impose sanctions against the Burmese 
military  regime because of its widespread use of forced labour. The 
junta strongly  denounced this move, insisting that it had taken 
"concrete and detailed  legislative, executive and administrative 
measures (...) in accordance with  the ILO Convention No. 29 on forced 
labour".
 
        SHRF wishes to comment that it has seen no evidence of any 
effort  on the part of the junta to decrease its use of forced labour in 
Shan  State. SHRF newsletters in recent months, including this month, 
indicate  that forced labour is still rampant.

         This month SHRF wishes to draw attention to the continued use 
of  one kind of forced labour by the junta, namely "forced portering". 
This  issue details the brutal killing of two elderly porters who could 
no longer  carry their loads in Murng-Nai township.
         "Forced portering" is one of the worst forms of forced labour 
in  which civilian porters are forced to carry heavy loads and walk long 
 distances with little rest and food, often for several days. 

         With the escalation of a dry season offensive by the junta 
against  the Shan State Army along the Thai border, reports have reached 
SHRF that  porters have been used to carry supplies for the junta's 
troops.

          This has been the practice of the junta's troops for decades 
and  there is no sign that they have changed their tactics, despite the 
ruling  of the ILO.


CIVILIAN PORTERS SHOT DEAD IN MURNG-NAI

         On 16.10.00, a patrol of about 30 SPDC troops from 
Kun-Hing-based  LIB524 led by Capt. Win Maung conscripted 18 civilian 
porters, including  young and old men, from some villages in Kaeng Tawng 
area in Murng-Nai  township and forced them to carry their things and 
continued to patrol the  area.

         When they came to a field where 6 villagers' draught-oxen were  
grazing, the troops shot all the oxen dead and forced the porters to cut 
 them up and dry the meat. After some time, the troops forced the 
civilian  porters also to carry the meat back to their base in Kun-Hing 
township.          

After they had gone some distance, 2 of the porters who were quite  old 
became too weak and tired to continue carrying the meat, which was 20  
viss for each (about 35 kilos). Big drops of sweat ran down their faces 
and  bodies and they could not go any further and could not speak 
properly.  Thinking that they were pretending, the troops beat and 
kicked both of  them, causing them to fall down on the ground.

         Since the 2 men could not get up, some of the soldiers took 
away  the meat and told them to stand up. When they could not do that, 
some  troops pulled them up by the hands and told them to walk along 
with the patrol.          

The 2 old men, however, were too weak and were so badly kicked and  
beaten up by the troops earlier that they were unable even to walk 
slowly  on. The commander of the troops then became very angry and said 
that the 2  men were defying orders and did not want to even walk slowly 
without having  to carry anything, and ordered his troops to shoot them. 
The 2 porters were  shot dead and left on the road.


ARREST, EXTORTION AND FORCED LABOUR IN KAENG-TUNG

         On 15.8.00, 7 policemen from the SPDC's People's Police Force 
in  Kaeng-Tung township arrested 3 villagers at Wan Laao village in Loi 
Long  tract, Kaeng-Tung township, and locked them up at the police 
station in the  town.

         The 3 men, Zaai Sai, aged 36, Zaai Zaen Sen, aged 30 and Zaai  
Peng, aged 25, were Shan farmers who earned a simple living by growing 
rice  and some other crops and vegetables. They had been arrested on a 
charge of  dealing in methamphetamine.

         Since there was no evidence against them, when the village 
headman  and some fellow villagers came on 18.8.00 to plead with the 
police  authorities for the release of the 3 men, stating that they 
guaranteed  their innocence, the police released them, but only after 
the villagers  paid 3,000 Kyat to each of the 7 policemen for their time 
and effort used  in arresting them.

         During their detention in the police station, the 3 villagers 
were  forced to work from 09:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs every day. Each day, 
altogether  about 11-12 detainees were forced to work in the police 
station; doing  sanitary work, weeding grass, fetching water and 
polishing floors, etc. 

FORCED PORTERING USED IN DRUG TRADE IN MURNG-SART


         On 28-29.9.00, SPDC troops from IB49 conscripted 17 unpaid  
civilian porters from several villages in Murng Lung tract, Murng-Sart  
township.

         A column of about 60 SPDC troops from the said battalion seized 
6  villagers from Wan Long village, 8 villagers from Wan Hung village 
and 3  villagers from Wan Pen village in Murng Lung tract to be used as 
unpaid  porters.

         These villagers were forced to carry heavy bags without knowing 
 the contents from a remote place north of a village called Nawng Leo 
down  to Phak Tu Murng village near the main road.
  
       The 2 places were quite distant and the villagers could transport 
 the mysterious bags only 1 time per day. It took them 2 whole days to 
carry  all the bags that had been forced on them.

         The bags the porters had to carry on their soldiers were about  
half the size of a regular rice sack and the contents were felt like 
some  sort of seeds or grains, and were quite heavy.

         It was later learned by some of the porters that the contents 
were  hundred of thousands of amphetamine tablets, produced at some 
remote places  in the jungle in Murng Kok & Murng Lung areas by some 
dealers, but actually  protected by SPDC troops.


         In this particular shipment, the merchandise was produced and  
owned by a Chinese trader named Aa Jung. The SPDC soldiers were taking  
responsibility for the safe passage of the drugs.

         Some SPDC authorities are making good money from giving 
protection  to the drug trade, and more so by using free forced labour. 




_



____________________________________________________



___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				

Los Angeles Times: America Waits;  Seminole Ballot Challenger Paid for 
Anti-Cheney Ads 

December 5, 2000, Tuesday, Home Edition 


SCOTT GOLD, TIMES STAFF WRITER  


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. 

The attorney behind a lawsuit charging that Republican operatives 
altered flawed absentee ballot request forms in Seminole County spent 
more than $ 100,000 on Al Gore's campaign, including as much as $ 60,000 
on a television spot attacking Dick Cheney. 

Details of Harry Jacobs' involvement in the Gore campaign--and the 
extent to which he has sought advice from Gore representatives--were 
revealed in a transcript of a deposition obtained Monday night. The 
deposition, which hints at questions Bush lawyers are likely to pursue 
when the case goes to trial Wednesday, was taken Saturday in Orlando, 
Fla. 

In the deposition, Jacobs said he spent as much as $ 60,000 this year 
financing a television spot attacking Cheney's business dealings at 
Halliburton Co., the oil services firm he headed until he became the 
Republican vice presidential candidate. The company dealt extensively in 
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which has well-documented human rights 
violations, including forced labor. 

Jacobs and his West Palm Beach attorney, Gerald F. Richman, have also 
said repeatedly that they are acting on their own--that no one from the 
Gore campaign has been involved in their lawsuit. 

The deposition does not indicate that Gore's campaign is directly 
backing the lawsuit, a notion Republicans would relish proving. But 
Jacobs acknowledged that he spoke to several Democratic Party 
representatives in mid-November before filing his lawsuit, including 
friend Mitchell Berger. 

Berger, an influential Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney, is a Gore 
campaign insider and fund-raiser. 

Jacobs said he discussed with Democratic insiders an election "protest" 
that he was preparing to file--a legal precursor to the lawsuit--but not 
the lawsuit itself. And he said that he briefly discussed "whether or 
not the Democratic Party, I guess Vice President Al Gore . . . would 
provide assistance, join this particular lawsuit. 

"And they did not, have not, would not," Jacobs said. 

"Have they encouraged you or discouraged you?" asked GOP attorney Terry 
Young, who is representing the Seminole County election canvassing 
board. 

"Neither," Jacobs said. 

The election supervisor in Seminole County, an elected Republican, has 
conceded that she let two GOP operatives use her office to correct the 
flawed absentee ballot request forms. Without the corrections, about 
2,000 Bush supporters would not have received ballots. 

Jacobs is seeking to persuade a Leon County Circuit judge to throw out 
all of Seminole County's 15,000 absentee ballots--about two-thirds of 
which were cast for Bush. 


____________________________________________________


Agence France Presse: : Japan to work out support for Myanmar reforms 
within two years 

TOKYO, Dec 5 

Japan and Myanmar have agreed to work together to produce a 
recommendations on Yangon's economic reforms over the next two years, 
the government said Tuesday. 

"Japan and Myanmar agreed to aim to make policy suggestions for 
structural adjustment within the coming two years," a foreign ministry 
official said. 

The report will be based on the discussions of three working groups 
looking at economic and financial, trade and industry, and agricultural 
issues. 

The working groups will be composed of about 40 government officials, 
businessmen, and economists from both countries, the official said. 

The agreement was reached after two days's of talks here between 
officials from Japan's foreign, finance and international trade 
ministries and a Myanmar team lead by David Abel, a minister in 
Myanmar's ruling body, the Office of the Chairman of the State Peace 
Development Council. 

No agreement to provide yen loans was made in the course of the 
meetings, the foreign ministry official added. 

Japan suspended all but a small amount of humanitarian aid to Myanmar in 
the aftermath of the 1988 military takeover, but resumed in 1994. Tokyo 
agreed in February last year to help finance the reconstruction of 
Yangon airport. 

Japan has stated its willingness to increase its supply of humanitarian 
aid if the military government embraces reform. 
 
____________________________________________________


Kyodo: Japan, Burma discuss economic support, USA unhappy 


[Abridged]

Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0923 gmt 5 Dec 00 


Tokyo, 5th December: Japan and Myanmar Burma agreed Tuesday 5th December 
to work on creating a report over the coming two years on Japanese 
support for economic structural reform in Myanmar, a Japanese Foreign 
Ministry official said. 

The report will be prepared based on discussions by three bilateral 
working groups, covering the fields of finance, industry and trade, and 
agriculture and rural community development, the official said. 

 ...The Japanese government argues the kind of support it envisions for 
Myanmar would be humanitarian in nature and aimed at creating an 
atmosphere that would lead to democracy in the country. 

At the time of the Yangon meeting, the United States complained that 
Japanese support would mean backing the military government and urged 
Japanese officials to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi while 
in the country. 




____________________________________________________



CAW: Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to receive Canadian Auto Workers 
union Human Rights Award 

DATELINE: TORONTO, Dec. 5 

Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi will receive the  
Canadian Auto Workers union first Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award on  
Saturday, December 9, 2:00 pm at the Sheraton Centre, Toronto, in front 
of  
1,000 CAW delegates gathered for the CAW's Council.  

    Under house arrest by the military dictatorship that rules Burma 
(renamed  
Myanmar by the junta), Aung San Suu Kyi will be unable to accept the 
award in  
person. The prime minister in exile, Dr. Sein Win of the National 
Coalition of  
the Union of Burma will receive the award on her behalf. Presenting the 
award  
will be Warren Allmand, president of the International Centre for Human 
Rights  
and Democratic Development, a Canadian institution based in Montreal.  
    The CAW's Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award recognizes "struggle, 
courage  
and achievement in advancing human rights and social justice."
  
    Aung San Suu Kyi was a founding member of the National League for  
Democracy which emerged out of the pro-democracy uprising in Burma in 
August  
1988. Since then she has been placed under house arrest many times. In 
1991  
she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for  
democracy and human rights.  

    As recently as November 2000 the International Labour Organization  
invoked Article 33 of its constitution for the first time in its 81 year 
 
history calling on employers and governments to cease any activity with 
Burma  
that could directly or indirectly assist the practice of forced labour 
which  
Burma's notorious military and government engages in.  

    Companies such as Wal-Mart of Canada, Reitman's and Saan stores have 
 
recently come under criticism for importing garments made in Burma.  
    The CAW commissioned Sylvie Boulanger to create the original 
sculpture  
award to be given out once every three years. The union worked with A 
Show of  
Hands, a contemporary craft gallery in Toronto. A photograph of the 
award is  
attached to this press release.  

    The Sheraton Centre hotel is located in downtown Toronto at 123 
Queen St.  
West and the presentation will take place in the lower level ballroom. 
  
CONTACT: Jane Armstrong, CAW Communications Dept., Toronto, (416) 
495-6548 




____________________________________________________


Bangkok Post: Soldiers to have Burmese lessons 

Dec. 6, 2000

Soldiers will be taught Burmese and trained in the art of negotiations 
to combat a spate of terrorist activities involving Burmese nationals, 
says a source at the Supreme Command.

Three incidents involving Burmese criminals highlighted the need for 
Thai soldiers to learn Burmese so they could negotiate in that language.

Burmese nationals were involved in the seizure of the Burmese embassy in 
October last year, the seizure of the Ratchaburi regional hospital in 
January, and last month's jailbreak from Samut Sakhon prison.

Lt-Col Thanongsak Khanongsuek, the only officer fluent in Burmese, has 
served as an interpreter for Thai military leaders. 

Two soldiers have been sent to Rangoon to study the language, to be 
joined by others soon.


___________________________________________________


Bangkok Post:  Chettha meets junta to boost party ties

- Dec 05, 2000.

Rangoon says things to improve after poll
Wassana Nanuam

Former army chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro visited Rangoon last week, 
apparently to boost the stature of Thai Rak Thai party. 

Gen Chettha, contesting the Jan 6 general election on Thai Rak Thai's 
party list, met Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt to discuss the situation between 
Thailand and Burma, a source said. 

The two discussed a proposed road construction project worth more than 
US$230 million (9.9 billion baht), fishing concessions and tax cuts for 
Thai exporters, the source said. 

The 130km road project linking Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri and Burma's 
Tavoy is being considered by Myanmar Investment Committee. 

Burma revoked fishing concessions for Thai fishermen following the siege 
of its embassy in Bangkok by Burmese rebels in October 1999. 

The source said Khin Nyunt told Gen Chettha things would change for the 
better with a change of government after Thailand's election. 

"Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt also wished Thai Rak Thai party and Gen Chettha 
success in the election. He hopes things will get better after the 
change," the source said. 

Gen Chettha, who has maintained close ties with the Burmese military 
leader, is placed 17th on Thai Rak Thai's party list. 

His visit to Burma is seen as a move to lure support from business 
groups with vested interests in Burma. 

Gen Chettha is scheduled to help the party's campaign in Ranong during a 
rally on Dec 17-18. 

Supreme Commander Gen Sampao Chusri and military top brass are scheduled 
to visit Rangoon on Dec 12-13.



____________________________________________________


The Nation: Yunnan plans road link to SE Asia

SA-NGUAN KHUMRUNGROJ 

Dec. 5, 2000

CHINA's southwestern province of Yunnan will become an international hub 
for land transportation, linking the country with Southeast Asia and the 
sub-continent through a comprehensive network of roads, the state-run 
Xinhua news agency quoted provincial governor Li Jiating as saying. 

According to the agency, Li said the network would increase the number 
of air routes, while the existing roads and railroads, as well as 
waterways, would also be enhanced. Li introduced the ambitious plan to 
the Beijing government last week, it added. 

Moreover, according to Li, Yunnan has been dredging the water channels 
running from the Mekong River in order to enhance the navigation system. 
The work is also in line with a commitment China has with the Mekong 
River Commission, which includes Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma. 

Beijing will also help Laos and Burma dredge their waterways, in order 
to ensure that transport services in the upper reaches of the 
4,200-km-long Mekong River can operate as soon as possible. 

Li said the highway from Yunnan's capital Kunming to Bangkok was an 
important road for both China and Asean in terms of economics and trade. 


Chinese authorities have said that once the conditions are ripe, they 
would seek support from Thailand and the Asian Development Bank to help 
Laos build the remaining 247-km stretch of highway inside Laos, which 
has been described as the project bottleneck. The highway is scheduled 
to be completed by 2004. Yunnan was dubbed as "The Silk Road of the 
South", and served as a strategic international route during World War 
II. 



____________________________________________________

AP Online: Anti-Mine Campaigners Renew Pressure 

GENEVA 

December 4, 2000
 
Anti-land mine campaigners marked Monday's third anniversary of the 
signing of a global treaty to ban the weapons with a call on 54 
governments to drop their ''excuses'' for staying out of the accord. 

The treaty, clinched in Ottawa, Canada on Dec. 4, 1997, has now been 
signed by 139 countries and ratified by 109. It bans stockpiles of mines 
and commits nations to destroy stocks within four years and clear all 
mines from their territories in 10 years. 

The United States, China and Russia among the world's major holders of 
land mine stockpiles have yet to sign. 

''The civilian victims of land mines are tired of being told excuses,'' 
Jody Williams, who won the 1997 Nobel Peace prize for campaigning 
against land mines, said in a statement. 

''They are tired of being told that this nation has unique 
circumstances, that that nation has special security requirements,'' she 
said. 

The United States says it needs land mines to deter North Korea from 
invading South Korea. President Clinton wants Washington to approve the 
treaty by 2006, but only if the armed forces can produce an alternative. 
Russia and China say they need land mines for defensive purposes. 

The International Campaign to Ban Land Mines condemned Russia, 
Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Congo and Angola which has signed the 
treaty for continuing to lay the mines. 

It also blasted their use by rebel groups in places including Congo, 
Angola, Sudan, Myanmar, Colombia, Chechnya and Kashmir. 


____________________________________________________


Reuters: Landmines kill Bangladeshis along Myanmar border

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Landmines have killed seven 
Bangladeshis and four Myanmar nationals along the country's border with 
Myanmar in the last month, security officials said on Tuesday. 

 They said border guards of the two countries recently held a meeting to 
discuss the spate of landmine blasts and to find out who laid them and 
why. 


____________________________________________________


Foreign ministers head to icebreaking EU-ASEAN meeting 

Dec. 5, 2000

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Amid threats of boycotts by his European counterparts, 
Singapore's foreign minister announced Wednesday that he will lead a 
delegation to a meeting of European Union and Southeast Asian ministers 
next week in Vientiane, Laos. 

 Some EU ministers have threatened not to show up at the meeting if 
Myanmar was represented _ in protest of the crackdown on pro-democracy 
leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 
 Talks between the EU and Association of Southeast Asian Nations were 
suspended three years ago when military-ruled Myanmar was admitted to 
the Asian block organization. 

 In a statement, Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar said the meeting next 
Monday would strengthen links between ASEAN and Europe.
 
 ``The leaders will discuss regional and global political-security 
issues, exchange views on the regional and international economic 
situation and review ASEAN-EU cooperation,'' said Jayakumar. 

 During a recent ASEAN meeting in Singapore, the group held steadfast to 
its controversial doctrine of non-interference in members' domestic 
affairs and defended Myanmar against criticism from the EU. 

 ``If EU wants to exclude Myanmar and the dialogue is going to be called 
off, then let it be called off,'' Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong 
said during the meeting. ``We can't allow an external organization to 
dictate who should be in ASEAN.'' 

 Suu Kyi, whose party won general elections in Myanmar in 1990 but was 
never allowed to take power, has been kept under virtual house arrest 
since Sept. 22 after she made her second bid in a month to travel 
outside Yangon on party business. 

 Dozens of supporters of her National League for Democracy have been 
rounded up. NLD vice chairman Tin Oo is being detained at a state guest 
house and other party leaders are confined to their homes without 
diplomatic contact. 

 These developments have drawn a barrage of international criticism and 
again led to a hardening of opinions in the EU, which had recently said 
it didn't want the Myanmar issue to hold relations with ASEAN 
``hostage.'' 



_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


Xinhua: Myanmar's Machinery Equipment Import Drops 9 Percent in Eight 
Months 

YANGON, December 6 

Myanmar's import of machinery equipment, which include electric and 
non-electric ones, dropped by 9 percent in the first eight months of 
this year, valuing at 481.75 million U.S. dollars as compared with the 
same period of 1999, according to the latest figures released by the 
country's Central Statistical Organization. 

During the period, the import volume of such machinery equipment 
accounted for 26.8 percent of the total import volume which was 
registered at 1.792 billion dollars. 

Of this, the import volume of non-electric machinery and transport 
equipment reached 353.45 million dollars, increasing by 6.3 percent as 
compared with the corresponding period of 1999. 

Meanwhile, the import volume of electrical machinery and apparatus 
amounted to 128.3 million dollars, a drop of 31.54 percent from the same 
period of 1999. 

Myanmar is an agricultural country lacking development in industry. It 
has to depend on import for the majority of its different machinery 
equipment. 


[BurmaNet adds....One of the best forward looking measures of an 
economy?s prospects is its imports/production of machinery equipment 
because this kind of machinery is a prerequisite for producing more 
goods in the future.  Declining imports of machinery is an indication of 
a further slowing economy.]



______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________


Wall Street Journal: Suing Suu Kyi

Dec. 4, 2000

Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace laureate and leading voice of 
democracy in Burma, defended herself in court last week against a 
lawsuit filed by her older brother, Aung San Oo, a California 
businessman sympathetic to the oppressive State Peace and Development 
Council.  The junta's latest tactic--using the courts as a vehicle to 
eradicate the democratic opposition under the guise of protecting 
property rights is particularly insidious.

Ms. Suu Kyi's borther is claiming half-ownership of the estate that has 
been both her refuge and prison since 1989 when she was first placed 
under house arrest.  Under Burmese law, inherited property must be 
equally divided among siblings.  But a 1987 law prohibits foreigners 
from placing claims on immovable property in Burma without special 
government dispensation.  The Home Affairs Ministry granted Ms. Suu 
Kyi's American brother an exemption on July 28, according to his lawyer.

It's not hard to see the regime's fingerprints.  Ms. Suu Kyi's party 
already faces eviction from its
headquarters.  The legal moves come amid an especially virulent effort 
to break the back of the democracy
movement.  Score of NLD organizers and democratic sympathizers have been 
intimidated, jailed and beaten
in recent months.

The SPDC may well succeed in shutting down the formal operations of the 
NLD, but its doubtful
that this will finally pacify the increasingly impoverished country.  No 
matter how the military
junta tries, it will not be able to silence voices like Aung San Suu 
Kyi, whose party overwhelmingly won 
national elections in 1990.


________________


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