[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
BurmaNet News: February 5, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 5, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 08:57:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
February 5, 2001 Issue # 1727
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*AFP: Myanmar dismisses coup plot rumour
*Mizzima: Bangladesh fishermen in Burmese jails face tough life
Bangladesh fishermen in Burmese jails face tough life
*Straits Times: Why Myanmar is taking soft approach
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: Euro-Parliament committee to hear from opponents of Yangon regime
*Bangkok Post: Burma policy vital before visit
*Bangkok Post: Sabotage Fear Forces Troop Boost
*AFP: Thai elephants falling prey to landmines: expert
*Burma Courier: Chins Set the Pace in Preparing State Constitution
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*The Independent (Bangladesh): Myanmar Cell? to be set up in Ctg soon to
boost trade, business
*Burma Courier: Military Company Sets up Disposable Syringe Business
OPINION/EDITORIAL_______
*International Herald Tribune: Get Burma's Minorities Talking
*Friends of Rohingya: "Malicious Misinformation about Arakan Resistance"
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AFP: Myanmar dismisses coup plot rumour
BANGKOK, Feb 4 (AFP) - Myanmar has dismissed rumours of a coup plot that
appeared in a Thai newspaper on Sunday.
The Nation newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, reported the rumours
in its Sunday edition, adding they had been circulating for some time.
A Myanmar spokesman said such rumours were unfounded.
"Recently there has been positive news reporting by the international
media on the political developments taking place in Myanmar", he said.
"Maybe this rumour of a coup is created by certain sectors with vested
interest with the ill intention of putting a negative spin so that news
reporting on Myanmar can continue to be negative as before," he added.
Myanmar's junta started top-level talks with opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi last October in a effort to build the framework for a dialogue,
the first since 1994, that could end a decade of political deadlock.
A European Union (EU) delegation last week completed a three-day
mission to Yangon and found that the recent developments were the most
"promising" in a decade.
___________________________________________________
Mizzima: Bangladesh fishermen in Burmese jails face tough life
Bangladesh fishermen in Burmese jails face tough life
Dhaka, February 2, 2001
The Bangladeshi fishermen who are in the jails of Arakan State of Burma
are facing hardship and difficulties and an appeal has been made to the
Bangladesh government to work for their immediate release, according to
the sources from the Taknaf Fishermen Association. There are nearly 200
Bangladeshi fishermen at present being imprisoned in Sittwe and Maung
Daw prisons of Arakan State and the fishermen are reportedly not given
enough food and medicine by the Burmese authorities.
According to some officials of the Association, who want to remain
anonymous, more than 100 Bangladeshi fishermen were arrested in last two
months alone while catching fish near Shin Ma Phyu Island and Sein Mar
Tin Island in the Bay of Bengal, reportedly inside the Bangladesh water
territory.
Mizzima News Group has learnt that the Taknaf Fishermen Association,
which is based in the Bangladesh border with Burma, appealed to the
Bangladesh government last month to work for the immediate release of
these fishermen in Burmese jails.
The Bangladesh fishermen accuse the Burmese border security force,
Nasaka, having often intruded into the Bangladesh water territory and
arrested them in the Bay of Bengal.
___________________________________________________
Straits Times: Why Myanmar is taking soft approach
Feb. 3, 2001
Economic sanctions by the US and European Union and punishment for using
forced labour may have driven the junta to the negotiating table
By James East
STRAITS TIMES THAILAND BUREAU
BANGKOK - There seems to be no outward reason for Myanmar's hardline
junta to even be talking with its political enemies and 'interfering
outsiders' like the European Union about reconciliation.
Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy has been
suppressed by mass jailings, its lower ranks intimidated into
resignation, while the party leader herself has been consigned to house
arrest.
Myanmar's rebellious ethnic minorities have also been crushed with
military offensives, a series of cease-fire deals and poverty.
Only a few guerilla battalions remain of what, until the mid-1990s, was
a serious military threat.
The reins of government appear firmly in place.
The hope of exiled activists that the military might tear itself apart
has come to naught.
The command and control structure is apparently as strong as ever even
if the generals are divided into camps that back either intelligence
chief and Secretary One Lt-General Khin Nyunt or General Maung Aye, the
conservative deputy chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC).
But the one opposition force the regime has been unable to control is
the international band of hardball players - the US, the EU, and of
late, the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Asian diplomats in Bangkok now acknowledge that US and EU sanctions, and
the November decision by the ILO to apply its own punishment for
Myanmar's use of forced labour, seem to have finally driven the junta to
the negotiating table.
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the regime's intellectual, is the front man for the
talks, having met Ms Suu Kyi twice, according to reports.
But he must have been backed by Army commander-in-chief General Maung
Aye and SPDC chairman Senior General Than Shwe who hold higher ranks.
This indicates an across-the-board softening by top brass. How the
sanctions message got through remains unclear.
Although poverty stricken, Myanmar's economy has crawled along for years
and China's trade-what-may attitude has helped shore up what drug money
could not. The junta could have continued for years.
But the message that elections and a softening of the grip might be a
better way forward was conveyed not by the US and the EU but an Asean
friend last month - Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir
Mohamad, who may have helped persuade the junta that change was
required.
The EU troika, after a fact-finding mission to Myanmar this week,
liberally sprinkled comments on the SPDC-Suu Kyi negotiations with words
like 'fragile', 'cautious' and 'delicate'.
The SPDC has begun releasing NLD activists and stopped blasting Ms Suu
Kyi in the press. It has also talked with the EU about political
prisoners, forced labour, the ILO decision and its goal to introduce
democracy.
The EU mission also got to meet representatives of the ethnic
minorities.
It is unlikely that the SPDC would take these measures if it was not
serious about making progress.
With the EU due to reassess sanctions in April - they automatically
expire every six months - Asean, the EU and the US are waiting to see if
the talks are merely an attempt by the regime to wheedle its way out of
sanctions or are the prelude to lasting political change.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: Euro-Parliament committee to hear from opponents of Yangon regime
BRUSSELS, Jan 5 (AFP) - A European parliament committee on Monday was to
hear from supporters of Myanmar's opposition after an EU delegation last
month visited Yangon with an eye toward improving strained relations
with the military junta.
James Mawdsley, a 27-year-old British human rights activitist who spent
14 months in a Burmese prison for staging pro-democracy demonstrations
in Moulmein, capital of Myanmar's Mon state, was one of those to testify
before the Committee on Cooperation and Development Monday afternoon.
He told AFP he would be giving the committee insights into the darker
side of the Burmese justice system.
"I will be telling of the advents of genocide that I've seen in the
border areas, conditions in the prisons, and the absolute mockery the
Burmese make of the law out there," said Mawdsley, who was released and
returned to Britain in October.
A five-member EU team spent three days in Myanmar last week.
They met with Burmese ministers to investigate reports of a thaw
between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
peace laureate whose National League for Democracy won 1990 elections,
which were subsequently thrown out by the junta.
She has been confined by the military to her lakeside house since
September 22.
But Myanmar's junta started top-level talks with her in October in an
effort to build the framework for a dialogue, the first since 1994, that
could end a decade of political deadlock.
The EU delegation was to officially report their findings to a meeting
of EU foreign ministers in Brussels later this month, but were to give
the committee a briefing at the Monday meeting.
"We had the impression that the contacts were the most interesting
thing to happen since 1990," Borje Ljunggren, representing the EU
presidency, said in Bangkok last week after the three-day mission to
Myanmar.
The EU delegation found Aung San Suu Kyi "in a very good mood and well
in all respects," said Ljunggren, adding the mission had been held "at
an interesting but delicate moment."
Nirj Deva, a Euro MP who has been a champion of Burmese democracy and
who was also to address the committee meeting, said he was "keen to put
a line, some sort of wall, between Burma and the rest of ASEAN (the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations".
ASEAN, ignoring EU protests, admitted Myanmar as a member in 1997.
"I feel that bringing Burma into ASEAN without any conditions at all
was a great mistake," Deva said in a telephone interview.
He said pressure from Malaysia and Singapore was largely responsible
for Myanmar's acceptance, calling it "a huge structural mistake for
ASEAN.
"Part of their financial problems are due to that," he said. "And so
there are global economic implications as to what has happened with
Burma."
Deva said a major issue in any normalization of EU-Burmese relations
was the drug problem.
"Besides chasing people around the streets in police cars in England,
or in Paris, we won't make any difference unless we do something to stop
the drugs from coming over at the source," he said.
"And who are the biggest propogators of the drugs trade? The Burmese
regime."
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Sabotage Fear Forces Troop Boost
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2001
Refugee camps could be target for attacks
Security has been stepped up at four refugee camps to prevent the
possibility of attacks by border insurgents.
Mae Hong Son governor Pote Uthana, as director of the province's
Thai-Burmese border centre, said he ordered tighter security to guard
against the possibility of sabotage attacks by guerrillas.
The shelters are Ban Nai Soy in Muang district, Ban Mae Surin in Khun
Yuam district, Ban Mae Khongkha-Sala in Mae Sariang district and Ban Mae
Lama Luang in Sop Moei district.
Some foreign troops were thought to be operating along the border and
likely to storm Ban Nai Soy and Ban Mae Surin shelters, he said.
Meanwhile, officials were reportedly questioning a suspected Burmese
spy who was recently arrested at Ban Nai Soy shelter.
They said he posed as a monk to spy for Burmese troops stationed
opposite Ban Nai Soy after five Burmese soldiers were killed by a group
of Karenni National Progressive Party guerrillas.
___________________________________________________
AFP: Thai elephants falling prey to landmines: expert
BANGKOK, Feb 5 (AFP) - At least 10 elephants were injured by landmines
in Thailand last year, an expert said Monday after the death of a calf
whose mother stepped on a mine in the country's north.
The calf suffered no serious injuries in the blast but collapsed and
died suddenly Sunday, said staff at the Lampang Elephant Hospital where
the pair were brought late last month.
The mother, named Mo-hay, suffered severe wounds to her left front foot
but keepers were now more worried about her mental state, describing her
as distraught and tearful after the death of her calf.
Staff believe the baby may have been injured during the truck journey
down from the Myanmar border where 29-year-old Mohay had laboured in the
timber forests.
Elephants as the innocent victims of landmines along the border of
Thailand and Myanmar came to worldwide attention last year when an
elephant named Motala lost her front left foot to a landmine.
She was also taken to the Lampang centre where vets amputated part of
the limb and began intensive rehabilitation.
"There have been more than 10 elephants injured by landmines in the
past year," said senior veterinarian for Thailand's Forest and Industry
Organization Preecha Phoangkum.
"This year there has been more monitoring than in the past. The
elephants are stepping on landmines near military encampments along the
Myanmar border. The soldiers keep putting landmines near water sources,"
he said.
Veterinarians said Mo-hay's condition is "unpredictable" but better
than Motala's, although she would need surgery in the future.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Burma policy vital before visit
Feb. 4, 2001
Senator tells Thaksin to tread carefully
The Thai Rak Thai-led coalition government's policy on Burma must be
carefully thought out, given the sensitive nature of problems between
the two countries, the chairman of the senate foreign affairs committee
said yesterday.
Kraisak Choonhavan said Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Rak Thai party
leader, should work out his government's foreign policy in detail before
undertaking his planned visit to Burma.
Mr Kraisak said this is because the sensitivity of issues between the
two neighbours touching on drug trafficking, illegal immigrants,
minority groups and fishing disputes could not be taken lightly.
He said unlike many of the party's other policies spelled out in detail
during the election campaign, its foreign policy initiatives were not
clear-cut. The party also has not made it clear whether Surakiart
Sathirathai or Pitak Intrawityanunt will be the next foreign minister.
"I can't say whether Mr Thaksin will choose a policy of friendship first
with Burma like when Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was the prime minister.
But such a relationship benefited only a small group of businessmen,
such as log merchants and hotel and casino operators.
"In the long run it won't be good for Thailand because it increases our
social problems," Mr Kraisak said.
The Nakhon Ratchasima senator said the Chuan Leekpai government's
foreign policy which was decidedly "cool" towards Burma was responsive
to the US position and forced Rangoon to negotiate with Aung San Suu
Kyi.
But it also had its drawbacks as it failed to solve drug and illegal
labour problems.
"By just saying that we will pursue a good and close relationship with
Burma is not sufficient," Mr Kraisak said
___________________________________________________
Burma Courier: Chins Set the Pace in Preparing State Constitution
Courier News Service: January 31, 2001
WASHINGTON - The publication of an initial draft of the constitution of
the state of Chinland has focused attention on efforts by Burma's ethnic
minorities to carve out a place for themselves in negotiations on
Burma's future as a federal state.
The draft constitution, along with other background papers, was
published in January by the Chin Forum, a group representing Chin exiles
in many parts of the world. It is currently being circulated to get
feedback and amendments.
The document, described as a "framework" for discussion, provides
preliminary definitions of the Chin people, territory and emblems, as
well as proposals for the legislative bodies and executive and judicial
branches and the designation of the official languages of the State of
Chinland.
The Chin group is believed to be the first among Burma's minority ethnic
nationalities to produce a draft of this nature. Representatives of
several ethnic nationalities of Shan state, including the Lahu, Pa-O,
Palaung, Shan and Wa peoples are also reported to be engaged in drafting
a constitution for their state which is due to be published in draft
form later this year.
The Chin constitution would appear to be in line with federal principles
espoused in a statement issued by the United Nationalities League for
Democracy (UNLD), at the end of its congress at the Thai-Burma border in
January.
The UNLD statement affirmed a view of a "decentralized" federal Union of
Burma consisting of eight "national states" to be constituted "in terms
of ethnicity, rather than geographical areas". It named the national
states as Chin State, Kachin State, Karen State, Kayah (Karenni) State,
Mon State, Myanmar or Burman State, Rakhine (Arakan) State, and Shan
State. According to principles put forward in the statement, a future
central government in Burma would be entrusted with control over
monetary and defense policy, foreign relations and only such other
matters as the member states chose to vest in it temporarily.
The vexed matter of the "division of powers" in any future Union and the
relationship between Burma's ethnic minorities and the central
government is also reported to be the subject of continuing study and
discussion by the National Convention Convening Commission, which
functions as a branch of the military government. The group, chaired by
cabinet minister Maj-Gen Saw Lwin is said to meet regularly, but it has
never published substantive reports of its findings or proposals.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
The Independent (Bangladesh): Myanmar Cell? to be set up in Ctg soon to
boost trade, business
Feb. 5, 2001
by Economic Reporter
In order to create a new avenue of increased trade and business, a cell
titled Myanmar Cell?, would be established immediately at the Chittagong
Chamber to conduct all the business activities to be done through
Myanmar-Bangladesh border.
This was disclosed at a meeting of the Chamber leaders with Md Abdul
Mojid, Director, Board of Investment (BOI) held at the Chamber office at
Chittagong yesterday, says a press release. Earlier, President the
Chamber Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed welcomed the guest. Urging the
visiting government official to update and to well equip the Chittagong
based BOI office Javed said that the entrepreneurs has to rush to Dhaka
to get permission from the concerned ministries and departments together
with the Department of Environment for establishing new industries which
causes the entrepreneurs waste their time and money.
The Director of BOI informed that some Tk 100 crore has been earmarked
for equity finance to develop information technology and agro processing
industry. He also revealed of the consent of Japan to resume the project
work such as construction of a tunnel under the river Karnaphuli and
establishment of a special economic zone as earlier proposed by JICA.
The visiting BOI official also informed that a two-day international
standard seminar regarding the matter will shortly be organised in
Chittagong.
SM Nurul Hoque, Senior Vice-President of the Chamber spelled out the
various hindrance being faced by the RMG sector and observed that a
complete list of industries along with relevant data and information of
those should be kept with the BOI for the ready reference of new
entrepreneurs. He said that this will facilitate investment process with
less time consumption.MA Latif, Vice-President of the Chamber said that
investment of Tk 200 crore was required to flourish the hatchery sector.
But Tk 500 crore has already been invested in this sector. From which a
lot of industry has become sick.
He pointed out that Tk 100 crore has been wasted due to negligence of
the government recently. Chamber member Syed Mahmudul Hoque said that
Bangladesh shall have to strengthen the regional cooperation to cope
with this age of globalisation. In future the economy of Bangladesh will
be more prosperous if the country could be linked up with trans Asian
Railway and ASEAN countries. He also gave importance to boost up
Bangladesh?s business and investment with Myanmar, which has huge
natural resources.
___________________________________________________
Burma Courier: Military Company Sets up Disposable Syringe Business
Based on a news item in the New Light of Myanmar: January 31, 2001
RANGOON - A company whose only shareholders are active-duty personnel of
the Burmese military has gone into the business of producing disposable
medical syringes.
A sales centre for the syringes manufactured by a subsidiary of the
Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) was officially opened Monday on
Pansodan street in Kyauktada township in Rangoon. The ceremony was
attended among others by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Military
Affairs Lt-Gen Tin Hla, Rangoon Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, the
Attorney-general, the Chief of Staff (Navy), senior officers of Ministry
of Defence, Ministry of Health brass and invited guests. After Deputy
Minister of Health Dr Mya Oo spoke on the prevention of infectious
diseases through the use of disposable syringes, the ceremony came to an
end.
According to public health experts, one of the reasons for the high rate
of HIV infection in Burma has been needle sharing by addicts who inject
heroin and other drugs intravenously. Habitual drug users work in "tea
stall" shooting galleries, where they reuse needles. The country has
been plagued by an extreme shortage in the supply of medical syringes.
It not known whether the measures to increase the syringe supply will
also lead to changes in the "paraphernalia" laws in Burma which make
carrying needles without a medical licence a crime. However, with
products in hand blessed by the deputy prime minister, the attorney
general and the deputy minister of health, prosecutions under the law
will hopefully become rarer.
The syringes are produced in a plant equipped with machinery imported
from Germany. In addition to its newest venture, MEC is invested in the
banking, insurance, real estate, cement, gems mining and information
technology sectors.
_______________OPINION/EDITORIAL________________
International Herald Tribune: Get Burma's Minorities Talking
Feb. 5, 2001
Josef Silverstein
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey As representatives of the military government
in Burma continue secret talks with the opposition leader, Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, both sides should be aware that the central problem today, as
it was when Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, is national
unity. It does not exist because there is a lack of equality and trust
between majority Burmese and other ethnic groups, and between the
military and the people.
.
Restoration of democratic rule and respect for human rights and civil
liberties are, of course, important. But if the talks are to be the
first step in solving long-standing problems, then the interests of the
ethnic minorities must get high priority. They represent a third of the
national population, but most do not feel part of the nation.
.
After so many years of war, misunderstanding and division, the basic
issues of unity, trust and peaceful resolution of problems must be
discussed openly, honestly and in depth so that a new social basis can
be found and built upon.
.
The military rulers defend their seizure of power in 1962 and again in
1988 as necessary to preserve national unity, territorial integrity and
sovereignty. They claim that any mistrust is a legacy of colonial rule.
They say that the cease fires they negotiated with ethnic minorities
were first steps toward equality, sharing of power and trust. Such
principles, they claim, will be in the new constitution.
.
In 1989, when the Burma Communist Party imploded and the minority
representatives who served as its cadres broke away and formed ethnic
groupings, the government offered them cease-fire agreements to end
their wars against the state. It allowed those who accepted to keep
their weapons, administer their areas and run their economies with a
minimum of interference.
.
However, the government did not allow them to discuss their political
future. That was to be put off until a new constitution was in place.
.
In 1993, the junta created a national convention at which invited
Burmese and minority representatives were supposed to develop the
principles for a new constitution. The move failed because it was
tightly controlled and the participants were denied free speech and
interaction. After a walkout by Shan minority delegates, Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi withdrew the delegates of her National League for Democracy.
.
Most of the ethnic minorities contend that the conditions that drove
many to fight the central government or resist in other ways have their
roots in inequalities inscribed in the 1947 constitution and in the
absence of full autonomy, resource-sharing and participation in
decisions affecting their future. They also deeply resent the emergence
of Burmese culture as the national culture, instead of a multiculture
reflecting the diversity of the population.
.
For half a century the minorities have been victims of rules made in
Rangoon, the central government's violence and unwillingness by those in
power to discuss the grievances of ethnic minorities and work together
to find real solutions.
.
While the Karens continue their war against the government, their
leaders have been on record since 1984 as saying that they no longer
seek independence. They refuse to accept a cease-fire because its terms
say nothing about the future. A significant portion of the Christian
Karens also have religious differences with the Burmese, who are
Buddhist.
.
As dialogue between representatives of the military and the people
progresses, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the logical person to speak for the
people. She is committed to a free, democratic and peaceful Burma based
on equality for all, the rule of law and human rights. She respects the
cultural diversity of the nation and the rights of the people to retain
their identities, languages and traditions. She trusts the people, as
most trust her.
.
She should have minority leaders at her side to participate in the
discussions and speak to the issues which directly effect their people.
That would be the best symbol possible of equality, unity and trust as
efforts are made again to build a united Burma.
.
The writer, professor emeritus of politics at Rutgers University,
contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.
___________________________________________________
Friends of Rohingya: "Malicious Misinformation about Arakan Resistance"
Feb. 3, 2001. Posted on the Maykha mailing list.
Recently, members of a Burma resistance group, ARNO,
have been taken into custody in Bangladesh, simply for
their expression of political views against the rulers
of the neighbor country, Burma (Myanmar). This was
accompanied with a very vicious campaign of lies and
slander through the Bangladesh press. In reality, ARNO
is a coalition of Rohingya Muslims and also Rakhaine
Buddhist groups aimed at bringing democracy to Burma
and its province Arakan which they share as a homeland
in happier times. They are most certainly not
fundamentalists or extremists, but are believers in
tolerance and equal rights for all regardless of
ethnicity, faith or gender. They are a small group
simply struggling to survive, with no real source of
support in finance or arms, and have sought to expose
the terrible narcotics trade linked to the Burmese
generals.
The ARNO's main actions are as a voice of advocacy for
the oppressed in Arakan who suffer tortures, slave
labors and murders at the hands of Burma's army, on a
routine daily basis. This mistreatment of Arakan
people is verified by the UN, ILO and Amnesty reports.
The Burma military dictatorship's genocidal policies
has led to thousands and thousands of refugees flowing
away from Arakan.The ARNO group was simply trying to
stay nearby Arakan, to monitor and publicise the
situation and encourage some small level of local
resistance. It must surely be emphasized that this has
had nothing whatsoever to do with Bangladesh, or with
any political parties or conflicts within Bangladesh.
The last thing ARNO wanted was to be involved in any
of that. So it is to be regretted if this small
Burmese democracy group is being made a "political
football" and lied about in Bangladesh, which after
all enjoys its own democracy, free press, etc. unlike
Burma. Also, any contacts with foreigners by
resistance members have been made in efforts to ask them to use
their countries' diplomatic skills to pressure the
Burmese government to observe human rights. It is to
be desired that all of Burma's neighbors spend their
time encouraging Burma towards democracy, and not
harassing those who promote Burma's freedom.
Friends of Rohingya
USA
________________
The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing comprehensive
coverage of news and opinion on Burma (Myanmar) from around the world.
If you see something on Burma, you can bring it to our attention by
emailing it to strider@xxxxxxx
To automatically subscribe to Burma's only free daily newspaper in
English, send an email to:
burmanet-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe to The BurmaNet News in Burmese, send an email to:
burmanetburmese-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:
Voice mail or fax (US) +1(202) 318-1261
You will be prompted to press 1 for a voice message or 2 to send a fax.
If you do neither, a fax tone will begin automatically.
Fax (Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143
________________
Burma News Summaries available by email or the web
There are three Burma news digest services available via either email or
the web.
Burma News Update
Frequency: Biweekly
Availability: By fax or the web.
Viewable online at http://www.soros.org/burma/burmanewsupdate/index.html
Cost: Free
Published by: Open Society Institute, Burma Project
The Burma Courier
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail, fax or post. To subscribe or unsubscribe by email
celsus@xxxxxxxxxxx
Viewable on line at: http://www.egroups.com/group/BurmaCourier
Cost: Free
Note: News sources are cited at the beginning of an article.
Interpretive comments and background
details are often added.
Burma Today
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail
Viewable online at http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/today.html
To subscribe, write to pdburma@xxxxxxxxx
Cost: Free
Published by: PD Burma (The International Network of Political Leaders
Promoting Democracy in Burma)
________________
____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01