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BurmaNet News: August 16, 2001




______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
           August 16, 2001   Issue # 1866
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________


INSIDE BURMA _______
*Shan Herald Agency for News:  A New hydro-electricity plant to be built 
near the Salween 

MONEY _______
*The Irrawaddy: Cooking Oil Shortage Continues-People are in line for 
cooking oil 
*Xinhua: Myanmar Increases Edible Oil Import in First Quarter 

GUNS______
*Far Eastern Economic Review:  Russian Spy Aids Burmese Military

DRUGS______
*Far Eastern Economic Review:  Border Tension Down, Trafficking Up
*Bangkok Post: A hundred arrested in huge Swiss bust--Wa smuggling pills 
with help of Triad 
*Reuters: Thailand sees worsening problem with speed pills
*Bangkok Post: Cross-border drug fight tops meeting 

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Kyodo: Lao premier to visit Myanmar from Sunday
*Bangkok Post:  Fisheries and border demarcation up for talks; Gen 
Chavalit to meet Khin Nyunt 
*AP: Former boy guerrillas want new life in US, official says 
*Bangkok Post: God's Army duo ask to stay 

EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*Asiaweek: Myanmar - a Land Where Nonsense Holds Sway - Call the country 
what you will, it's no place for a visit 

OTHER______
*PD Burma: Calendar of Events


					
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________



Shan Herald Agency for News:  A New hydro-electricity plant to be built 
near the Salween  

August 16, 2001

A New hydro-electricity plant to be built near the Salween A new 
hydro-electric power station is to be constructed 30 miles northwest  of 
the Tasarng Bridge over the Salween, said sources fleeing from the area. 


"It would be near the Fahpa Waterfall on the Teng River that is some 40 
ft  high," said one source from Kengtawng, Mongnai Township.

A Burmese survey team, led by U Thaung Htun, was there on 12 August. It 
was  estimated that 250 kw of power would be generated during the rainy 
season  and 75 kw in the dry season.

It was not however known when the plant was to be constructed that would 
 house two 100 kw generators.

Logging, as a result, has been going on the area, some 850 square miles, 
 since March. The contractors are reported to be Law Hsinghan of Asia 
World  and Mahaja of Homong.

Meanwhile, operations at Tang Palao, the projected dam site north of  
Tasarng, appeared to have ceased altogether for two months, said 
refugees  who rafted down the Salween.

"We saw only a sergeant by the name of Aung Myint with a handful of  
soldiers from IB 225 at Tang Palao collecting fees from the wayfarers,"  
said one. "No security forces were seen on the west bank either." 

The GMS Power, based in Bangkok, had been active in the area, conducting 
 feasibility studies, from 1997 until late last year. According to  
Japan-based Mekong Watch, the installed capacity of the proposed dam, 
would  be 6,400 mega-watts, while the scale of the project would be $ 3 
billion  "for technical aspects only."







______________________MONEY________________________




The Irrawaddy: Cooking Oil Shortage Continues-People are in line for 
cooking oil 

August 15, 2001

By Maung Maung Oo
 
Burma is facing a cooking oil shortage after the ruling military regime 
recently made it illegal for non-state owned businesses to import 
cooking oil. It is believed the government discontinued the imports in 
order to better control the flow of hard currency leaving the country.

Beginning on July 10th citizens of Rangoon and Pegu have been forced to 
wait in lines each day to receive rations of oil from the army-run 
Myanmar Holding Company Limited (MHCL). Mainly housewives and 
individuals who are unemployed have been lining up as early as six in 
the morning to get their rations, according to a source in Rangoon.

MHCL has been distributing the oil from its fleet of fifty oil tankers. 
The tankers carry 1,000 viss of oil apiece (1 viss= 3.6 lbs.) and each 
individual is allowed one-quarter of a viss a day. The government's 
price for one viss of cooking oil is 350 kyat (1 USD= 700 Kyat). Many 
citizens who cannot wait in these lines have seen the market prices of 
oil increase from 630 kyat for one viss last month to 980 kyat in 
August. 

In Rangoon and Mandalay the military regime recently arrested most 
wholesale oil distributors, who until recently were the major suppliers 
of cooking oil to consumers. The regime accused the wholesalers of 
driving up prices. 

In Burma, most consumers use palm oil, which is an imported good and 
cheaper than the more traditional peanut and sesame oil. The prices of 
traditional deep-fried snack foods have risen in the markets as well.



___________________________________________________



Xinhua: Myanmar Increases Edible Oil Import in First Quarter 

Xinhuanet 2001.08.15 10:21:10 

YANGON, August 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar imported 21.9 million U.S. 
dollars worth of edible oil including vegetable oil and other  
hydrogenated oil in the first quarter of this year, a 69.7-percent 
increase compared with the same period of 2000, according to the  latest 
figures issued by the country's Central Statistical  Organization. 

Myanmar's increase in the edible oil import was seen as its bid to meet 
the country's demand, while domestic production was low.. 

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been extending oil crops cultivation in  the 
country by private entrepreneurs, to whom more vacant and  virgin lands 
have been leased for the undertaking since early 1999. 

Besides, the government encouraged the oil crop growers by  providing 
them with agricultural loans and advance payment for the purchase of the 
crops. 

According to official statistics, Myanmar cultivates 650,000  hectares 
of oil crops, of which 450,000 hectares are covered by  groundnuts and 
200,000 hectares by sunflower, the two major oil  crops in the country. 

In addition, cultivation of soy beans and oil palm is also  being 
extended for extracting edible oil. 

The statistics also show that annual production of edible oil  amounts 
to 200,000 tons, while annual import stands at 100,000  tons. 

Meanwhile, an edible oil industrial zone is being developed  near 
Yangon's Thilawa Port to boost the country's oil production.


_______________________GUNS________________________



Far Eastern Economic Review:  Russian Spy Aids Burmese Military


Issue cover-dated August 23, 2001


    Burma is gaining a new military partner: Russia. Following the 
recent deal to purchase 10 MiG-29s, Mikhail Dmitriyev, deputy defence 
minister and chairman of the Russian committee on military-technical 
cooperation with foreign countries, visited Burma in early August.     
While in Rangoon, Dmitriyev held meetings with Lt.-Gen. Tin Hla, 
minister of military affairs and deputy prime minister, to discuss 
military cooperation and the sale of Russian arms to Burma, Western 
diplomats in the Burmese capital say. 

While the arms deals may be commercially motivated, Russia's partnership 
with Burma is coming at a time when Moscow is establishing closer 
relationships with other Asian countries that are critical of the United 
States and the West, such as China and North Korea. Western intelligence 
sources note that Dmitriyev is a former hardline operative of the KGB's 
First Chief Directorate, which was in charged of foreign intelligence.   
  

Cold War-veteran Dmitriyev served in East Germany before German 
reunification. Burma's military rulers may have good reason to want to 
deploy the advanced Russian-made jet fighters as soon as possible. Some 
Western diplomats in Bangkok believe two Thai American-made F-16 
fighters sent to buzz Burmese troops who strayed over the Thai-Burmese 
border in June may, in fact, have dropped two bombs.     

The Burmese claimed at the time that they were bombed, while the Thais 
said the flights were only reconnaissance missions. Either way, the 
Burmese withdrew. 





________________________DRUGS______________________




Far Eastern Economic Review:  Border Tension Down, Trafficking Up


Issue cover-dated August 23, 2001

    The previously tense relations between Thailand and Burma may have 
improved considerably following visits to the Burmese capital by Thai 
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in late June and Defence Minister 
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh in July. But, according to Western narcotics 
officials based in Thailand, drug traffickers appear to be taking 
advantage of the now more relaxed situation along the Thai-Burma border. 
    

The former Thai policy of getting tough along the border was obviously 
working as many traffickers felt the squeeze and were unable to move 
their wares. Since June, however, traffickers in the Burmese sector of 
the Golden Triangle have been successfully making more deals involving 
not only methamphetamines but increasingly also heroin.     

Burma's heroin production is up again after a few years in the doldrums 
due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. Reports from drug trafficking 
centres inside Burma indicate that business is brisk. Meanwhile, Thai 
authorities have seized more heroin than earlier this year: In the 
latest bust, on August 8, they seized 37 kilograms of pure No. 4 heroin 
from a car on its way from Chiang Mai to Bangkok




___________________________________________________





Bangkok Post: A hundred arrested in huge Swiss bust--Wa smuggling pills 
with help of Triad 

August 16, 2001

Bangkok Post, AFT

A huge drug bust of 450,000 methamphetamine pills in Geneva early 
yesterday revealed that the Wa-Chinese Triad drug cartel has begun 
smuggling speed abroad.



Police arrested 102 people in co-ordinated raids across Switzerland. It 
was the climax of an international effort that also included drug 
fighters from Thailand, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein.

In Bern, officers displayed the seized speed pills and described how 
they were smuggled into Europe. Smugglers mostly shipped the 
methamphetamines by air freight, hidden among normal-looking Thai 
exports like canned food, clothing or stuffed children's toys. Most 
items were imported through the Zurich airport.

It was the first major bust of Golden Triangle methamphetamines in 
Europe. Police said the so-called ``Thai pills'' appeared on the illicit 
drug market in Geneva and other major Swiss cities several months ago.

Thai drug experts said there was no doubt the drugs were made by the 
United Wa State Army. Probably, they were smuggled to Europe by their 
allies in the 14K Triad.

The groups formed an alliance last year, mainly to smuggle heroin from 
the UWSA region.



The Bangkok-based experts identified the speed pills by appearance, 
colour and marking. Many were marked with the distinctive ``Wy'' brand 
long seen on the Thai drug scene.

``Maybe now, the world will take our drug problem a little more 
seriously,'' said a member of the Thai anti-drug police. Thai officials 
said they were kept informed of the Swiss police action.

Thai police helped track shipments of yaba. Smugglers used a wide range 
of products to hide the pills, including sealed cans of Green Nuts which 
had more than hard peas, bright yellow plush ducks supposedly meant for 
children, and clothing with tiny plastic bags of drugs sewn into the 
seams.

The head of a regional Swiss police anti-drugs squad, Christian 
Hochstaettler, said that after the drugs reached Switzerland they went 
to the town of Bienne, which has rapidly become a ``breakdown point'' 
for storage and distribution to street dealers.



Dieter Stussi of the federal criminal police said the Wa-14K ring was 
using Switzerland as a test market. They believed they could get the 
pills into Switzerland, and then distribute them to neighbouring 
countries, across undefended borders.



The profits were massive. On the street, the speed was selling for 15 to 
20 Swiss francs, or 400 to 530 baht per pill. That price rose by 50% 
this week when police began making seizures. Officers said they had only 
mid- and lower-level dealers in custody, with apparently no big fish in 
the net.





__________________________________________________




Reuters: Thailand sees worsening problem with speed pills


BANGKOK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Thailand is expected to be flooded with over 
900 million methamphetamine pills next year, 200 million more than this 
year, due to higher demand and new plants in Laos, a senior security 
official said on Thursday. 

 General Pallop Pinmanee, a security adviser to Prime Minister Thaksin 
Shinawatra, told Reuters the greater popularity of the stimulant pills 
in Australia and Europe had also encouraged drug factories in Myanmar 
and Laos to step up production. 

 Methamphetamine pills are increasingly supplanting heroin as the main 
drug produced in the infamous Golden Triangle region where the borders 
of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge. 

 The drug, known in its crystallised form in the West as ``ice,'' is 
produced by ethnic minority militia groups in Myanmar. 

 Thailand says most of the pills are produced by the United Wa State 
Army (UWSA), a militia allied to the Yangon government. 

 Pallop, also deputy director of the country's Internal Security 
Operations Command, said despite closer cooperation with Myanmar to 
intercept smuggled pills, the drugs producers have shifted five to six 
plants from Myanmar to Laos. 

 Pallop said the drug was also increasingly being exported to Australia 
and Europe. 

 ``Now people all over the world have said the pills are from Thailand, 
which has damaged our reputation,'' Pallop said. Swiss drug busters 
seized almost half a million methamphetamine pills in Geneva on 
Wednesday and arrested 102 people in coordinated raids across 
Switzerland, the Bangkok Post reported on Thursday. Swiss officers said 
smugglers shipped the pills by air freight mostly through Zurich 
airport, hidden among normal looking Thai exports like canned food and 
stuffed toys, the newspaper said. 




__________________________________________________




Bangkok Post: Cross-border drug fight tops meeting 

 August 15, 2001.

Anucha Charoenpo 

Thai and Burmese officials meet in Phuket today to strengthen 
cross-border efforts against drugs trafficking from Burma to Thailand. 

This would be the focal point of their fifth official meeting, said 
Chatchai Suthilklom, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the 
Narcotics Control Board. Mr Chatchai, who takes 10 delegates to the 
two-day meeting with Pol Maj-Gen Soe Win, Burma's police chief, and 12 
Burmese officials, said trafficking had reached a critical point. 

Delegates were expected to exchange information on a list of suspects to 
enable arrests. 
Thai drug officials, he said, were worried about trafficking at sea and 
would ask their Burmese counterparts to pay attention to this trend, 
which originated from Burma.  

Thai officials seized eight million methamphetamine tablets and 116 
kilogrammes of heroin from two Thai trawlers off the Surin islands this 
year. 

The drugs came in from Burma and were destined, via Thai waters, for 
Singapore and the world market.





___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				



Kyodo: Lao premier to visit Myanmar from Sunday 



YANGON, Aug. 16 


Lao Prime Minister Bounnyang Vorachit will pay a four-day visit to 
Myanmar from Sunday, diplomatic sources in Yangon said Thursday. 

Earlier Thursday, the official daily New Light of Myanmar reported that 
Bounnyang was due to visit in the near future at the invitation of Prime 
Minister Senior Gen. Than Shwe, who chairs Myanmar's ruling State Peace 
and Development Council. 

It would be Bounnyang's first visit to Myanmar since becoming prime 
minister in March, though he visited last year as deputy prime minister 
and finance minister and in 1994 as mayor of Vientiane, according to the 
Lao embassy in Yangon. 

Myanmar shares 233-kilometer border with Laos, but the volume of trade 
between the two countries is minimal. 





___________________________________________________




Bangkok Post:  Fisheries and border demarcation up for talks; Gen 
Chavalit to meet Khin Nyunt 



August 16, 2001 



Closer co-operation on border and economic issues will highlight next 
month's meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and 
Burma's State Peace and Development Council First Secretary Lt-Gen Khin 
Nyunt. 

Gen Sanan Kachornklam, secretary of the deputy premier's advisory team, 
said Gen Chavalit was confident that Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt's trip would lead 
to more economic co-operation. 

"The defence minister will be directly responsible for the meeting's 
agenda and measures to strengthen bilateral ties will be raised for 
discussion with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt," said Gen Sanan. 

Gen Chavalit hoped for progress on fishery and border demarcation. So 
far only 60 kms of their common border had been demarcated. 

Gen Chavalit invited Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, Burma's intelligence chief, 
during his trip to Burma last month. 

Gen Chavalit suggested that engineering and medic soldiers from both 
sides should develop the border area. 

    


___________________________________________________



AP: Former boy guerrillas want new life in US, official says 

August 14, 2001

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Johnny and Luther Htoo, twins who as boys 
fought Myanmar troops in the jungle, still want to move to the United 
States rather than live as refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border, an 
official said Wednesday. 

 Phayakkaphan Phowkaew, a district chief in Ratchaburi province, 
discounted a local press report that the twins, now 15, had changed 
their minds and wanted to remain in Thailand. 

 The teen-agers, their parents and followers of a rebel group known as 
God's Army had earlier begun procedures to resettle in the United 
States. 

 The twins gained international attention in late 1999 when the 
Associated Press and AP Television News met with them in the jungles of 
Myanmar, also known as Burma. Gun-wielding Johnny and Luther exhibited 
traits of hardened soldiers and playful boys. 
 They had acquired near-legendary status as leaders of an offshoot of 
the Karen National Union, an ethnic minority insurgent group which has 
been battling the Myanmar government for decades. 

 When Myanmar troops entered their village during a sweep of Karen areas 
about four years ago, Karen National Union soldiers reportedly fled 
while the twins rallied some locals and directed a successful 
counterattack. 

 After that, the twins' followers said the boys _ who are Christians _ 
had powers from God. Their followers believed bullets could not hit them 
and mines would not explode under their feet. 

 ``The policy is clear that we want these people to be resettled in a 
third country as soon as possible and they are being processed for 
resettlement in the United States,'' Phayakkaphan said in a telephone 
interview. 

 He said he has not heard the boys or their relatives talking about 
reconsidering their plans to emigrate to the United States. 

 U.S. Embassy officials interviewed the group three months ago but there 
has reportedly been no final decision taken on their cases. 

 Currently, the twins are living in a border patrol police base in 
Ratchaburi, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Bangkok. They 
surrendered to Thai authorities in January after fleeing attacks by the 
Myanmar military. 

 The twins are reportedly healthier now than when they emerged from the 
jungles but are still unable to ditch their chain-smoking habit. 

 ``We tried to help them quit smoking but it's difficult because all 
their family members are heavy smokers,'' a police officer said.



___________________________________________________



Bangkok Post: God's Army duo ask to stay 

Wednesday 15 August 2001

Wassana Nanuam 

Johnny and Luther Htoo, the twin boys who led the Karen God's Army 
ethnic rebels, have decided to stay in Tak instead of migrating to the 
United States under a refugee repatriation programme.

A Kanchanaburi-based Surasee taskforce source said the boys decided not 
to leave despite passing repatriation interviews with the US embassy and 
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The chain-smoking twins gave no reason for their decision but sought 
permission to stay at Ban Ton Yang shelter in Tak, the source said.

The army wants the brothers and their family to resettle in the US so 
they could benefit from better living conditions and education.

The boys were believed to have gained weight but were unable to quit 
smoking.

They continue to keep their hair long in the belief it ensures their 
good health.

They are currently at a border patrol police unit in Suan Phung 
district, Ratchaburi, awaiting transfer to Ban Ton Yang shelter in Tak.



___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________



Asiaweek: Myanmar - a Land Where Nonsense Holds Sway - Call the country 
what you will, it's no place for a visit 

By Dominic Faulder

Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Web posted at 02:50 p.m. Hong Kong time, 02:50 a.m. GMT 

A combat-ready infantryman fixed me with an unfriendly gaze, his assault 
rifle pointed in my direction. Before I could pass, he flicked open the 
flap on my bag and rummaged through my cameras, lenses and tape 
recorder. Presumably satisfied that I was not an off-duty ninja, he 
pushed open the door into a gloomy chamber I knew all too well. Right 
beside the Sule Pagoda in the center of Yangon, I was once again in the 
reception room of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. In fact, I was 
there to meet Myanmar's 'Mr. Hospitality' himself. 

The gentleman concerned rose from his chair. He wasted little time on 
pleasantries before sounding off on one of his pet peeves: foreign 
journalists. Lt.-Gen. Kyaw Ba was a powerfully built man who bristled in 
his crisp, dark-green uniform. He brought rare experience to Myanmar's 
embryonic hospitality industry. Previously, he had held one of the 
northern commands, a job that involved shooting Kachin insurgents when 
they popped up from their jade mines. One of the greatest 
disappointments of his career was failing to capture a Swedish 
journalist who had taken an extended walking tour across northern Burma 
with his wife and daughter but without, shall we say, "official 
permission." 

Kyaw Ba was still vexed by this incident from nearly a decade before, 
and an aide had to remind him gently that I was actually a different 
journalist. With that cleared up, we got down to talking serious 
hospitality. We discussed hotel developments, airline capacity, visas, 
and promoting winter sports (that's another story). I have to say this 
was one of the stranger interviews in my career. Kyaw Ba spoke good 
English but was a big-picture man who didn't trouble himself much with 
detail. Whenever I asked a specific question, he would nod in the 
direction of a large pot plant. A junior officer would pop up from 
behind this camouflage, stand to attention and bark out the correct 
answer. "Can you tell me how many visitors came here last year?" Pot 
plant rustles. "Sixty-one thousand, sir." 

That odd encounter came flooding back to me as I read the latest issue 
of Holiday Asia, which devotes many pages to the charms of Myanmar, 
unquestionably one of the most enticing and photogenic countries in 
Asia. Some things never change. Amid glorious scenes from the Irrawaddy, 
Pagan and Inle Lake was an announcement from Myanmar's Ministry of 
Transport concerning a new aviation tie-up with Singapore's Region Air. 
And what Burmese delight is showcased in the accompanying photograph? A 
welcoming inflight crew? A golden pagoda? No. It is a mug shot of the 
transport minister, Maj. Gen. Hla Myint Swe, in full uniform with all 
his campaign medals on display. Nice gongs. 

Clearly, it still has not dawned on the powers that be in Myanmar that 
the last thing prospective visitors want to see is generals flaunting 
their battle honors. Holidaymakers and soldiers just aren't a natural 
mix. But it's very hard to explain this kind of thing to soldiers. Take 
just one example: Myanmar's delegation to the Beijing Women's Conference 
in 1995 was led by a man, the social welfare minister, Maj. Gen. Soe 
Myint. Keep that in mind next time you read some overly optimistic 
prediction of an early political settlement with Myanmar's most famous 
lady, Aung San Suu Kyi. 

In November 1996, Kyaw Ba launched a massive charm offensive on all 
fronts. Visit Myanmar Year was slated to attract 500,000 foreign 
tourists, never mind the problems of accommodation and airline capacity. 
"Negative publicity will not dampen the success of Visit Myanmar Year," 
boomed Kyaw Ba. The target was hopelessly missed -- even after Visit 
Myanmar Year had been extended for another year. Did foreigners stay 
away because they perceived Myanmar to be unsafe or because of the 
boycott campaign endorsed by Suu Kyi? Hard to say. But however safe 
Myanmar actually was and is, there is no question that most foreigners 
do not want to visit a country where the military may be prowling around 
on the streets living up to its well-earned reputation for treating the 
locals badly. That's a bit of a non-starter, boycott or not. Perception 
is everything. 

The generals can't understand this sort of argument because for them 
uniforms, gongs and guns are the stuff of normal life, just like 
ordering people around. The bizarre highlight of the Visit Myanmar Year 
opening ceremony was a vast parade, mostly of young women dressed in 
ethnic costumes. They looked superb, but the effect was totally ruined 
by a senior army officer standing ramrod straight out front barking 
instructions at them over the PA system. To Kyaw Ba and the other 
generals beaming from the grandstand, this was just a march past in 
fancy dress with everybody following orders. Situation normal. 

Of course, in most other places army officers marching ethnic maidens 
around stadiums would be considered distinctly abnormal. But if you want 
clearer evidence of the huge gulf between the way the generals think and 
the way most others think, look no further than the country's name 
problem. In 1989, it was changed officially from Burma to Myanmar by the 
de facto military government, the State Law and Order Restoration 
Council (SLORC). In fact, the country went from Union of the Socialist 
Republic of Burma, to the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar in 
about six months. A lot of people were very upset, and have carried on 
calling the country Burma to register their disgust with an illegitimate 
regime that rose up out of a sea of blood. Twelve years on, most 
English-speakers still call it Burma. If that is not a ringing, 
inexpensive, international, vox pop rebuke, what is? 

Some argued that it should have been Myanma, and others plunged into 
obscure and pedantic debate about whether Burma or Myanmar was more 
etymologically correct. In fact, if the generals had renamed the country 
Slorcland, the issue would have been the same. "Although in Burmese 
'Bama' and 'Myanma' are used interchangeably for the name of the 
country, the choice of names in English has political connotations," 
explains Cristina Fink in Living Silence, a recent study of the country 
under military rule. "The military unilaterally changed the English name 
of the country without consulting the country's citizens." 

To be even more contrary, the generals changed a lot of place names too. 
Rangoon became Yangon, Pagan became Bagan, Pegu became Bago, and so on. 
For a country supposedly promoting tourism, this was asking for trouble. 
The confusion continues to this day. There is also a muddle over the 
correct related adjectives and nouns. For example, are the good people 
of Myanmar (the Burmese as most people still call them) Myanmars, 
Myanmarish, Myanmaries, Myanmies, Myanmaies, Myanmaese, Myanmese, 
Myanmarese, or what? Got a headache? Join the club. I fear the 
militarily correct, but linguistically sad, answer is that the Burmese 
are now, officially, Myanmars. 

The good news is that this battle will be fought not in Myanmar, but in 
the English-speaking world, and it will be common usage that dictates 
whether the people of Myanmar are referred to as Burmese or Myanmars, 
not the junta. I hope it's Burmese because at the end of the day it is 
simply a much more beautiful word in English. Saying that, of course, 
invites immediate official condemnation for being a sentimental 
colonialist stooge, so I'll go a step further: Burma is one of the most 
evocative and enchanting place names in the world -- a name to conjure 
up unforgettable holidays. 

The more clipped Myanma would be an improvement on Myanmar, but I fear 
that irritating 'r' will be rolling around for years to come. But I 
shall of course be calling the country Myanmar in print except when 
referring to it when it was still known as Burma. Like it or not, this 
is the official name of the country accepted by the United Nations, 
ASEAN, etc., and tacitly by any country that accredits an ambassador 
there. 

It does not matter whether I approve of that state of affairs or not. 
The world is chaotic enough already without having journalists running 
around making gratuitous political statements. Perish the thought.
 






______________________OTHER______________________




PD Burma: Calendar of Events

 
 August 24th  :Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri will 
pay a one-day visit to Burma.

 

 August 27th  : UN Special Envoy Ismail Razali to visit Burma. 
 

  August 29th  : European Burma NGO meeting in Brussels. 
 

 Aug. 31st- Sep.7th : World Conference against Racism and Racial 
Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance, South Africa. 
 

 September 1st   : Burmas intelligence chief, Lt General Khin 
Nyunt, will make an official visit to Bangkok. 
 

 September 12th  : Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand: 
Panel--Unraveling Burma's Crisis. Bangkok. 
 

 September 21-23rd : The Fifth Annual Working Conference of the 
Free Burma Coalition American University. For More Information, Contact: 
Free Burma Coalition at info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
 
 December 1st   : Worlds Aids Day 
 

 December 8th   : World wide celebration for the Nobel Peace 
Prize for Aung San Suu Kyi. 
 
 December 10th   : 10th Year Anniversary of the Nobel Peace 
Prize for Aung San Suu Kyi. 
 

 February 2002    : The fourth Bangladesh, India, Burma, Sri 
Lanka and Thailand-Economic Cooperation (BIMST- EC) meeting, Colombo. 







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