[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

BurmaNet News: April 17, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         April 17, 2001   Issue # 1782
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

NOTED IN PASSING:  "This will certainly play to their habitual paranoia. 
It's a mistake to think they don't believe their own propaganda that 
they are surrounded by a lot of bad people plotting against them."  

An unnamed diplomat on the regime?s view of US troops helping Thailand 
combat drug trafficking from Burma.  See South China Morning Post: 
American presence likely to anger junta 

INSIDE BURMA _______
*DVB : Firing by "unidentified" group in border area
*DVB: Junta troops, Chin group clash in Thangtlang
*Kachin National Organization: Burma Army Atrocities in Kachinland

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Bangkok Post: Burma urged to exchange drug officials
*South China Morning Post: American presence likely to anger junta
*The Nation: Net Gain: Zero

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*University of Michigan Daily:  U of Michigan passes Burma divestment 
resolution
*Xinhua: Myanmar Exports More Rice in 2000

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*The Nation: EU sends useful reminder to Burma

OTHER______
*Thinkcentre (Singapore): New book--Democratic Transitions In Asia


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________




DVB : Firing by "unidentified" group in border area 


16 April

DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] has learned that the townspeople of 
Myawadi in Karen State were terrified when a group of unidentified armed 
men fired heavy artillery shells at about 2000 on 15 April. Although 
there were no destruction it is not known whether there are any 
casualties. DVB correspondent Maung Tu filed this report.

[Maung Tu] A Myawadi resident said the firing came from the direction of 
Ywagyi Camp, the base of the DKBA, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which 
is located inside Burma about three miles opposite Htat Maha Village on 
the Thai side. Another Myawadi resident said the DKBA fired the heavy 
artillery last night in order to threaten the BDSC [Border Development 
Supervisory Committee] so that they will not inspect the blackmarket 
commodities illegally imported by the DKBA from Thailand. 

The DKBA and the BDSC are at loggerheads and they are frequently having 
problems with each other. On 26 March when BDSC commandant, Maj Thant 
Zin, tried to inspect the trucks owned and run by the DKBA at the 
checkpoint entering Myawadi, the DKBA members refused to be inspected 
and pointed their guns at him. The authorities are blaming the DKBA for 
the bomb explosion at Myawadi market on 26 March, while, a bomb 
discovered near the house of DKBA Maj Hla Tar on 28 March was thought to 
be the work of the BDSC. At the same time, although there are people who 
believe that it could be the work of the KNU forces, KNU General 
Secretary Phado Mahn Sha categorically denied their involvement.




___________________________________________________



DVB: Junta troops, Chin group clash in Thangtlang

16 April

DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] has learned that the Chin National Army 
[CNA] and the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] forces had a 
skirmish near a church in Thangtlang Village of Chin State on 1 April. 

The battle took place when the soldiers from SPDC's LIR [Light Infantry 
Regiment] No. 269 arrived at a prayer meeting held at a Christian Church 
in Thangtlang where a CNA member was singing a song and playing his 
guitar. The battle took about 15 minutes and there were no casualties on 
both sides. When the CNA retreated, officers from LIR 269 came to 
Thangtlang village and accused the village of aiding and abetting with 
the CNA. The village elders were made to stand in the sun all day as a 
mean of punishment.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 16 Apr 01 


___________________________________________________




Kachin National Organization: Burma Army Atrocities in Kachinland

April 2001

On March 21, 2001, the Burma Army Regiment (KMY 323) under the command 
of Lt. Col. Nyo Win and Maj. Hla Aung leading a force of 150 men 
attacked a demonstration crop replacement plantation at Sisa Pa being 
operated by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the 4th Brigade (KIA) 
area of northern Shan State.  The following KIA soldiers were captured 
on March 21 and after being tortured, were beaten and stabbed to death 
on March 22, 2001:  

      1.   2nd Lt. Hpau Wang Naw Seng (KC-1054) - Officer in charge of 
the plantation
2.	Sgt. Lamai Gam Seng (A-30885)
3.	LCpl. J K Nyi (A-40699) 
4.   Pvt. La Mai Brang Aung Mai (A-43848)	
4.	Pvt. Nane (A-43890)

Their bodies were burned by the Burma Army in an attempt to hide the 
evidence but they were found later by villagers and exhumed and examined 
before being given a proper burial.  One carbine and three M-21 
automatic rifles were captured by the Burma Army  as well. 

In addition, elements of Burma Army Regiment (KLY) 242 under the command 
of Maj. Khin Maw Aye, launched an attack about the same time in the 
village of Lau Lai in which the following four KIA soldiers were 
similarly captured, tortured and killed:

      1.   Cpl. Zutau Dau Hkawng (A-34734)
2.	Pvt. Dawshi Nawng Hkum (A-41654)
3.	Pvt. Kareng Tu Lum (A-41670)
4.	Pvt. Lahpai Zau Bawk (A-39518)

The following personal weapons were captured by the Burma Army: 1 M-21 
automatic rifle (AR), 2 M-22 AR, 1 M-79, and one transceiver 
(walky-talky).

Two villagers were killed as well.  They were Zum Zang Dong Lum and Su 
Sung Lang.  It is reported that the Burma Army troops still occupy the 
plantation and village.  Apparently General Khin Nyunt has been made 
aware of the incident but he has asked the local leadership to keep 
things under wraps for the time being.

	





___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				


Bangkok Post: Burma urged to exchange drug officials

April 17, 2001.

Thammarak's bid to boost co-operation

Burma will be urged to exchange its drug officials with Thailand's in a 
move to strengthen co-operation on drug suppression along the common 
border, Gen Thammarak Issarangkura na Ayuthaya said. 

The PM's Office minister, who supervises the government's drug 
suppression campaign, said the proposal was aimed at boosting 
co-operation against drugs, as agreed at the Regional Border Committee 
meeting in Kengtung, Burma, early this month. 

Gen Thammarak, who oversees the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, 
said he would raise the issue for informal discussion in Burma early 
next month with a senior Burmese official in charge of drug suppression. 


Gen Thammarak, a former armed forces security chief, was hopeful the 
Burmese side would respond positively to the idea. 

China had already agreed in principle to post drug officials in Thailand 
to strengthen co-operation against drugs, he said. 

Gen Thammarak said it was unlikely for Thailand to root out drug 
trafficking problems unless "we got help from our neighbour since the 
flow of illicit drugs came from that direction." 

The minister said he was much confident his idea would help strengthen 
understanding and co-operation on the narcotics issue, especially at a 
time of Thai-Burmese border tension which had stalled collaboration 
between the two sides. 

"This channel will always be kept open so that both sides can keep 
working on border drug problems even when there is a border dispute."


___________________________________________________



South China Morning Post: American presence likely to anger junta 

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok


The introduction of a score of US special forces soldiers into the 
northern Thai border is likely to rile Burma's military regime, 
diplomats in Rangoon said.  The highly trained team is expected to be in 
place by the middle of the year, after the annual Thai-US Cobra Gold 
exercise.  

They will become part of a special anti-drug taskforce of Thai soldiers 
and policemen designed to provide Bangkok with a sharper punch against 
the traffickers who bring hundreds of millions of amphetamine tablets 
across the border from Burma.  
Although Thailand has long had close military relations with the United 
States, previous Bangkok governments might have hesitated in making such 
a provocative move.  

Thai irritation over the activities of traffickers operating out of 
Burma's Shan state has reached such a point that it is no longer shy 
about taking such bold steps.  
There is little doubt that the move will be seen by the ruling generals 
in Rangoon as yet another scheme by the "perfidious" Thais to load the 
drug blame on to Burma.  

One diplomat said: "This will certainly play to their habitual paranoia. 
It's a mistake to think they don't believe their own propaganda that 
they are surrounded by a lot of bad people plotting against them."  

Burma habitually claims Thailand should take much of the blame for 
buying drugs and supplying traffickers with raw materials.  

The deployment of military personnel might even be counter-productive if 
it irritates the Burmese so much that they are less inclined to take 
action against ethnic trafficking gangs like the United Wa State Army, 
said one military analyst. "You can't say that the 
Thais don't have their own highly trained special forces," he said.  

Yet Bangkok-based analysts believe such fears miss the point. "The 
Burmese have had their chance," one observer said. "From the Thai point 
of view things are getting worse, not better, in the Shan state - and 
the Burmese are hardly doing a thing about it."  

Privately, Thai drug officials expect little from a regime that has 
higher priorities than smashing a drug trade that - directly or 
indirectly - helps prop up a shattered economy.




___________________________________________________



The Nation: Net Gain: Zero

April 16, 2001.
Focus


The fishing industry in Mahachai is manned mostly by Burmese migrants 
hoping to improve the lot of their families back home. But in most cases 
they have little to show even after years of hardship. Subhatra 
Bhumiprabhas reports.  

IT was the late afternoon when the Rue Lak Khoo (two trawlers with a net 
in between) chugged into port at Saphan Pla in Samut Sakorn province. On 
board the boats, young men smiled. Home again. Thao Kae, the boat's 
owner, was waiting on the jetty next to the trucks from a fish sauce 
factory.  

It takes about two hours to unload the tons of small fish onto the 
trucks, so the crew can reckon on being with their families again by 
sunset after their eight days at sea.  

"They have to back here again at midnight to unload the larger fish for 
the Saphan Pla market," said Thao Kae, "and tomorrow afternoon, the 
Taikong (captain) will take them back out to sea for another ten days."  


Thao Kae is about 45 and inherited the business from his father who 
started running fishing boats out of Mahachai (Samut Sakorn) 40 years 
ago. The Taikong has been working with his family for decades. Although 
Thao Kae is always there when the boats come in to take care of 
business, out at sea the day-to-day operations are left to the 
50-year-old Taikong - one of only two Thais on Thao Kae's boats. The 
other 15 men were migrant workers.  

"There are three Burmese and 12 Mons," he revealed. 

With 30 years experience on fishing boats, the Taikong has taught many 
young men to accept the life of a seaman.  

"They know they only have a few hours on shore, then it's goodbye and 
back to work," he said. It's a tough life.  

However, having spent years at sea he knows all too well how the men get 
homesick. But in this case most of his crew are not just pining for 
shore leave; they are longing to return with their families to their 
real homes - in Burma.  

"They say they will go home when they have saved enough," said Taikong, 
but as they only earn Bt4,000-Bt5,000 a month and have to feed their 
family here, returning home remains a distant dream.  

"Yao" is now 28 and comes from Yangkon. He began working in Ranong 
province as a seaman when he was only 13 years old. The boat he was 
working on got caught in Burmese territorial waters and Yao was jailed 
in Burma's Insein Prison for three years. After his release, Yao came 
back to Thailand and worked on a boat out of Samae-sarn (in Sattaheep 
district). This time he saved a little money and returned home to marry. 
 
On his third venture in Thailand Yao came alone and signed a three-year 
contract to work on a large deep sea trawler that fished the waters 
around Indonesia.  

"But I changed my mind after working for a year and asked to leave when 
the ship docked in Pattani Port. My employer agreed but refused to pay 
me anything, claiming I had broken the contract." Yao watched speechless 
when he saw his employer pay his Thai colleagues who had also decided to 
quit the job - as an illegal migrant worker there was nothing he could 
do.  

When he found a new job with a fishing boat at Mahachai, Yao was paid 
Bt4,000 a month. "But my health is really bad and I can no longer work 
as a seaman. I will have to quit," he said.  

What's more, his wife had only arrived in Mahachai three months ago and 
Yao had to spend Bt6,500 of his savings to the broker who brought her 
here.  

"So I don't have money to see a doctor and can only take five bags of 
yah thamjai (cheap pain killers) every day," he said. "I feel ashamed to 
see my wife working alone to earn our living," he said despairingly, 
adding that he is thinking about giving himself up to the police and 
getting sent back to Burma.  

"If I stay here but can't work hard enough, I know I won't be paid," he 
said.  
There are almost 2,000 fishing ships in Samut Sakorn. Depending on the 
size of the ship, crew numbers can vary from 10 to over 100 men. It is 
no secret that around 95 per cent of these crews are illegal migrant 
workers from Burma. This doesn't include their family members in the 
town that make Mahachai seem like 'Little Burma' today.  
The men go to sea while the women and children work in the factories and 
shrimp markets. These people somehow survive on the pitifully low wages 
for long hours of work.  

"I would ask the Thais to understand that these people don't take jobs 
from Thai workers. They came because the brokers said they were needed," 
said Thon, another Mon who has been living in Thailand for 30 years. 
Thon has a special card granted by an initiative of the late Mother 
Princess that allows people from ethnic groups to live in Thailand.  

"This is from the kindness of Somdej Yah (the Princess Mother)," said 
Thon, proudly showing the card. He now works as a volunteer for a 
non-governmental organisation that provides information about HIV-Aids 
to migrant workers and their families in Mahachai.  

"I'm an unpaid volunteer but I'm happy to do something for these 
unfortunate people," said Thon, adding "as far I can see they are 
working at jobs in conditions that that no Thai would accept."  

Thao Kae agrees with Thon and admitted that he used to pay a broker 
Bt3,000 for every migrant worker. He can't remember how long it was 
since Thai workers refused to work on his boats. "Maybe it was seven 
years ago. In any case, I paid them much more money than these Mon and 
Burmese," he said.  

Meanwhile "Sa", an 18-year-old Burmese woman said she had paid Bt6,000 
to the broker who brought her to work in a shrimp factory in Mahachai. 
Sa shares a room with 20 other Burmese women, and wakes up at 1am. An 
hour later, they have to leave to start work. At the factory, everyone 
wears boots and rubber gloves while they clean however many shrimps the 
employer has ordered.  

"Normally we work until 5.30pm," said Sa, and complained that sometimes 
her hands continued to work after she falls asleep. "I cry everyday 
because I miss home. I don't know how long I'll continue working here. I 
only know I won't return home before I have saved money."  

Sa's dream is no different from many other migrant workers around the 
world. But she is well aware that her wage of Bt500 to Bt1,000 
(depending on the weight of shrimp) per ten days makes her dream seem 
just that - a dream. At the moment, all she can do is send money home to 
her parents via the broker.  

The young woman looks down at her hands and notices how raw and chapped 
they have become from wearing rubber gloves 12 hours a day. Yet, these 
hands can still earn money for the five members in her family back in 
Burma.  

"My parents have no job and my three younger sisters are still in 
school," she said.  
Like other migrant workers, Sa knows that her job in Mahachai will end 
on August 31, due to the government's planned deregulation law that 
forbids certain industries from using illegal migrant workers.  

"I still have no plans, but if I can continue working here I will. I 
don't want to go home poor."  

Good luck to both her an all migrant workers who dream that one day they 
can earn enough to go home.  






_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


University of Michigan Daily:  U of Michigan passes Burma divestment 
resolution

MSA takes up local, international issues
Carrie Thorson
Daily Staff Reporter, April 17, 2001

Treasurer Josh Samek was one of many Michigan Student Assembly members 
who, at last night's special meeting, posed the question "Where do we 
draw the line?"

This question was in reference to the three controversial resolutions 
the assembly passed last night regarding divestment in Burma, the New 
Era hat company's alleged use of sweatshop labor and intelligent design 
creation theory in schools. Although these resolutions were pertinent to 
the University in some way, assembly members questioned how involved MSA 
should be in matters of state, national and international governments. 
The first resolution opposed Michigan House Bill 4328, which would 
require students be taught not only that evolution is an unproven 
theory, but that life is the result of the "purposeful, intelligent 
design of a creator." 

"The sponsors of the bill do not understand what is meant by a 
scientific theory," Rackham student John Solum said. Solum was one of 
several graduate students in science who came to the meeting to speak 
for the resolution. "There should be an avenue in the classroom to maybe 
be able to talk about creation," LSA Rep. Omari Williams said.

Another resolution asked the University to withdraw any money it has 
invested in companies that do business with the government of Myanmar, 
which is accused of perpetuating human rights violations against its 
people. "I pay tuition to the University of Michigan and I do not want 
that money to support human rights abuses and military dictatorship," 
LSA freshman Mara Neering said.

Aside from passing these resolutions, the assembly created the Campus 
Improvement Taskforce Initiative but tabled the creation of a Greek 
Relations Taskforce until next fall. They also distributed money 
garnered from student fees to student groups for the second time this 
semester. "MSA has never done a second funding cycle before, and that's 
absolutely amazing," said President Matt Nolan.

LSA Rep. Rob Goodspeed moved to adjourn the meeting after old business, 
forcing the voting on MSA code amendments to be postponed until next 
fall. "We were going to discuss code amendments that could be 
controversial," Goodspeed said. "I wanted more assembly members present 
and interested." When the meeting began there were slightly more than 
enough members to legally vote on resolutions, and by the time the 
meeting was adjourned, only the minimum voting block remained.
"I was disappointed that we adjourned," Nolan said. " But what we did do 
tonight was great."

Although the year ended on a tense note, several assembly members said 
they were happy with the new assembly and anticipated a successful 
semester in the fall.
"When we come back in the fall, campus will notice a change in MSA," 
Vice President Jessica Cash said.


___________________________________________________



Xinhua: Myanmar Exports More Rice in 2000

YANGON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar exported a total of 141, 600 tons 
of rice in 2000, earning a foreign exchange of 141.5 million U.S. 
dollars, the country's Central Statistical Organization said in its 
latest data. The export volume and foreign exchange earning were 
respectively up 122 percent and 84.2 percent compared with 1999. To meet 
its food demand and to export more rice, Myanmar has since 1999 
reclaimed 467,370 hectares of vacant, virgin, fallow and wetlands in the 
country for cultivation by private entrepreneurs. At the same time, it 
has also exempted the import customs duties levied on agricultural 
implements including pesticide, fertilizer, improved variety and 
machinery. Myanmar's cultivable land stretches 18.22 million hectares, 
of which 9.31 million are utilized, while 8.91 million remain to be 
reclaimed. The country's agriculture accounts for 37 percent of the 
gross domestic product and 25 percent of the export value





_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________




The Nation: EU sends useful reminder to Burma 

 April 16, 2001.


Rangoon's angry reaction to the European Union's decision last week to 
extend its sanctions against Burma for another six months was to be 
expected. Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung said that the regime would 
disregard the EU's "bullying tactics", calling Burma "a dignified 
country that refuses to beg".  

Behind the strong words though was probably a certain amount of relief.  

With Burma's economy in freefall, Western sanctions and the "local 
agents of foreigners" have provided the junta with their last refuge 
from attacks they have led the country to ruin. If not for the 
sanctions, the only explanations left for Burma's dire predicament would 
be gross economic mismanagement and private greed.  
Rangoon actually has nothing to "beg" for. The generals simply need to 
make some genuine progress on their seven-month-old talks with the 
opposition and begin paving the way for handover of power to a 
democratically elected government, as they promised to do 12 years ago.  


As the EU foreign ministers, who announced their decision in Luxembourg 
following their monthly meeting, explained, none of that has yet 
happened. Despite the release of a few token political prisoners and a 
muzzling of the libellous state-run press, there have been no signs of a 
substantial improvement in Burma's human rights situation.  
And the EU had already eased its pressure on Burma, granting the country 
a duty-free access to the European market as a least-developed country 
as of last month. The sanctions that remain include an arms embargo and 
a ban on non-humanitarian aid and visas for members of the Burmese 
regime.  

Whether sanctions actually work remains the subject of much debate - 
even many exiled activists aren't convinced of their effectiveness. The 
new Bush administration is also reviewing the sanctions the US has 
imposed on 75 countries, including Burma.  
Whatever the doubts, the EU's action serves as a timely reminder that 
little has materialised to date from the talks in Rangoon, which started 
last October.  
Rangoon has released some political prisoners, and by talking to Aung 
San Suu Kyi, granted de-facto recognition of her importance on the 
political landscape in Burma.  
But elsewhere little has changed. As last November's International 
Labour Organisation report on the use of forced labour in the country, 
and other human rights reports have noted, the country remains a grim, 
repressive source of regional instability. And as the Mae Sai border 
clash earlier this year demonstrated, living next door to dictatorship 
is never easy.  

Sanctions may not do much to change Rangoon's behaviour but they are an 
important indicator of Rangoon's legitimacy.  

Burma has much to do.


______________________OTHER______________________



Thinkcentre (Singapore): New book--Democratic Transitions In Asia

Democratic Transitions In Asia
edited by Uwe Johannen and James Gomez,  Singapore: Select Books, 2001, 
ISBN-981-4022-17-9, pp. 280, S$ 29.00. 
Available from 2pm Today at
Select Publishing Pte Ltd
19 Tanglin Road
#03-15 Tanglin Shopping Centre
Singapore 247909
Tel: (65) 732 1515
Fax: (65) 736 0855
Email: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Website: www.selectbooks.com.sg
Contact person: Ms. Nancy Chng


ABSTRACT
Democratic Transitions In Asia focuses on the political changes in the 
East  and Southeast Asian region. Post-Asian crisis developments show 
that the  countries of the region are seeing greater demands for 
freedoms by its  peoples. The symbol of the region?s democratisation 
struggle was marked with  the issuance of the Nobel Peace Prize to the 
President of South Korea, Kim  Dae Jung in 2000, who joined the 
still-growing list of recent Asian  Nobelists including Aung San Suu 
Kyi, the Dalai Lama, Bishop Carlos Belo and  Jose Ramos Horta.

But where does the region stand in real terms with regards to  
democratisation? Indonesia?s presidency under Gus Dur continues to be  
problematic as the country deals with internal challenges. In the  
Philippines, popularly elected President Joseph Estrada was facing an  
impeachment trial when he was forced to step down by massive 
demonstrations  popularly known as People Power 2ö The constitution of 
Thailand is only  slowly being translated from paper to practice but 
Thaksin Shinawatra was  still popularly elected as Prime Minister even 
though he was under  investigation for corruption charges. In Malaysia, 
the sacking and  conviction of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar 
Ibrahim has heightened  the political process. In Singapore, talk of 
civil society is rife but the  rules of the game have not changed. Many 
are sceptical of the government?s  setting up of the Speaker?s Corner in 
the Republic. Meanwhile, in Burma Aung  San Suu Kyi remains under house 
arrest. The regimes in Vietnam and Laos are  still reluctant to open up. 
The politics of violence continues to plague  Cambodia.

Under this struggle to democratise politicians, civil society activists, 
 journalists and academics go beyond the usual theory and talk about how 
to  translate democracy into practice. In this volume they examine the 
reforms  needed for democratic transitions in Asia to take place. 
Independent  political institutions, human rights, the rule of law, free 
media, civil  society, demilitarisation, local economy and the 
development of free market  economy are examined. The aim is to 
consolidate democratic gains thrown up  by the Asian crisis and to 
tackle the problem areas, head on. 

The contributors in this volume present their arguments and solutions 
for  the process of transition to move smoothly and what needs to be 
done after  identifying the obstacles ahead. It goes beyond the usual 
academic discourse  and talks about practice. The way politics should 
be.

Students, observers, commentators and promoters of democracy will find 
this  volume crucial to the understanding of this region.

CONTRIBUTORS
Surin Pitsuwan, Uwe Johannen, James Gomez, Donald Emmerson, Marzuki  
Darusman, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Mulyana W. Kusumah, Prakob Chirakiti,  
Lung-chu Chen, Martin Lee, Kanishka Jayasuriya, Sein Win, Malou 
Mangahas,  Kim Sei-ung, Steven Gan, Michael Vatikiotis, Bi-Khim Hsiao, 
Agus Widjojo,  Harold Crouch, Kim Sang-woo, Michael Backman, Lily 
Zubaidah Rahim, Andi A.  Mallarangeng, Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr, Yoo 
Jay-kun and Rainer Adam. 






________________


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)




________________

==^================================================================
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?b1dbSX.b1CGhI
Or send an email To: burmanet-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This email was sent to: reg.burma@xxxxxxxxxx

T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
==^================================================================