September 1994 No.9, Volume 5 SLORC ARRESTS DISSIDENTS In a sudden crackdown against dissent, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) arrested three prominent writers. U Khin Maung Swe, U Sein Hla Oo, Daw San San Nwe and her daughter Ma Myat Mun Mun Tun, were arrested on 4 August. According to SLORC, they are part of a group that ``received, collected and redistributed publications from exiled organizations'' and ``fabricated and sent anti-government reports to some diplomats...foreign radio stations and visiting foreign journalists''. U Sein Hla Oo, a journalist, and U Khin Maung Swe are elected National League for Democracy (NLD) people's representatives. All three have previously served prison terms on political charges, including involvement with the NLD. The group was reportedly working with Dr Khin Zaw Win, 44, a dentist and former UNICEF employee, who was arrested at the airport on 4 July. He was leaving for the University of Singapore to complete his master's degree. Military Intelligence claims that he was carrying anti-SLORC documents in his luggage. He is being held in a military intelligence detention centre on Kaba-Aye Pagoda Road. He was allowed to meet with his wife to assure her of his well-being but she was blind-folded for the duration of the meeting. Amnesty International said that it feared for the safety of the prisoners in view of reports of torture and ill-treatment of detained opponents of SLORC [B940813, Reu940823, WA940820]. ANGLICAN BISHOP VISITS BO MYA Andrew Mya Han, head of the Anglican Church in Burma, visited Karen National Union (KNU) Chairman General Bo Mya at his headquarters in Manerplaw on 11 August. KNU Prime Minister Saw Ba Thinn said that ``we have no objections to anyone who comes'' but unless SLORC is willing to talk about a political settlement, a cease-fire is pointless. Mya Han told the Karens that he had not been sent by SLORC but later announced that he was assuming the role of mediator between the Karens and SLORC. Observers note that Mya Han would not have been able to make the trip unless it had first been approved by the ruling junta. Baptist ministers had been sent on 3 other occasions to try to persuade the Karens to agree to a cease-fire with SLORC. A Karen official said that the churchmen should stay out of politics. Many Karens are Christians and it is mistakenly believed that Christians make up more than half the KNU forces. According to Saw Ba Thinn, animists and Buddhists account for 95% of the KNU [F940811, B940819,0911]. BUDDHIST MONK MEETS DAW SUU Birmingham-based U Rewata Dhamma met twice with detained Burmese democracy leader and 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in August. U Rewata is the first Burmese and the second person outside her immediate family to have been allowed by SLORC to visit Daw Suu since her detention in July 1989. U Rewata also met with SLORC leaders Senior General Than Shwe and Lieut-General Khin Nyunt. He is reported to have persuaded both Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the generals to meet and begin a dialogue. U Rewata said that he is ``very optimistic'' about prospects [IRR940815/BBC/N]. KAREN COUP ATTEMPT DENIED KNU Prime Minister Saw Ba Thinn denied reports in the Thai press that there had been an attempted coup in Manerplaw. It was alleged that 50 people were killed including Saw Ba Thinn and that Bo Mya was wounded. According to Saw Ba Thinn, the incident that prompted the story was not related to politics and Bo Mya was not hurt. Pado Wie, a prominent Karen, had been detained for allegedly raping his sister-in-law. Before he could be tried, Pado Wie attempted a jail-break. He killed 3 guards and barricaded himself in a bunker under the jail. Explosives were used to blow up the bunker and Pado Wie was shot and killed in the shooting that followed. Some foreigners who knew Pado Wie initially doubted the KNU version because it seemed out of character. But others confirm that Pado Wie seemed to have lost touch with reality after suffering severe health problems last year and losing several close family members in a road accident. Analysts believe the unfounded press stories were planted by Thai sources who have been pressuring the Karens to negotiate with SLORC [B940915, BA]. Burma News: AIDS OUT OF CONTROL IN BURMA According to experts, the AIDS situation in Burma is out of control. In July 1993, a Harvard AIDS specialist estimated that 300,000-400,000 people in Burma are HIV positive. In Jun.94, SLORC's Health Minister Vice-Admiral Than Nyunt admitted that Burma has 261 full-blown AIDS cases and 200,000 people infected by the HIV virus. HIV infection rates among Burmese intravenous drug addicts are the highest in the world. A recent UN International Drug Control Programme report confirmed that 74.3% of all tested drug users, 9% of prostitutes, 0.5% of blood donors and 1.4% of pregnant women in Burma are HIV-positive. Dr Myo Thet Htoon, Director of the Ministry of Health's AIDS Prevention and Control Program said, ``We are seeing infection rates of 7% to 8% among patients with sexually transmitted diseases, so it shows that it is moving to the general population.'' Pre-natal testing in Tachilek on the Thai border revealed rates as high as 12%. ``We are getting a lot of sex workers returning from Thailand who are HIV positive,'' said the health official. Burma's AIDS problem is affecting its neighbours. Manipur which borders Burma has the highest rate of AIDS in India. Over 50% of its heroin addicts are HIV-positive. Yunnan, bordering Burma, also has the highest incidence of AIDS and HIV in China. According to officials, 85% of HIV-positive cases among intravenous drug-users and two-thirds of all HIV cases in China are from Yunnan. Similarly, Chiang Rai, has the highest rate of HIV infection and AIDS in Thailand. More than 40% of all AIDS-related deaths in Thailand occur in Chiang Rai and Payao. Although Burmese doctors and nurses are well-qualified, Burma suffers from a long-neglected health system. The AIDS program in Burma (US$1.2 million) is funded solely by the UN. SLORC claims that it cannot afford an AIDS program but it purchased US$1.4 billion worth of arms from China and is expanding its army. The UN cites the absence of independent non-government organizations (NGOs) in Burma as a major problem in coping with the mounting crisis. The only officially recognized `NGOs' are the Myanmar Red Cross Society, the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA) and the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA). These are not free of SLORC control [A940427, F940721,0825, WPD940630]. % OF HIV-POSITIVE DRUG USERS Bhamo Jail, Kachin State 96% Hpakan Jade Area, Kachin State 91% Mandalay, Central Burma 84% UNDCP Report (National) 74% Rangoon 74% Lashio, Shan State 40% Tachilek, Shan State 31-35% KACHIN NLD MEMBERS SURRENDER On 7 July, at a press conference in Rangoon, eight Kachin members of the National League for Democracy announced the disolution of the NLD (North Area) after two and a half years in the jungle. Five are people's representatives elected in 1990 - N Nam Gum from Machumbaw, Yaw Si from Putao, Ma Hpang Sim from Khawbudae, Kyar Mya from Monyin 2, and Kyaw Maung from Monyin 1. They travelled from Kachin State to Manerplaw in the south in September 1993 and returned to their headquarters at Pa Jau in March 1994. They said that they disbanded in April because of disillusionment with the leadership of the resistance. They said that they returned `to the legal fold' through the good offices of the Kachin Independence Organization [DPA940707]. SHAN NLD DELEGATE ARRESTED Sai Soon Sam, a Shan NLD delegate to SLORC's National Convention was arrested in Tachilek on 1 August for possessing forty-four 60ml bottles of cough syrup. Phensedyl, a cough syrup is banned as a narcotic in Burma [Reu940815]. INDIA SEIZES THREE CHINESE SHIPS On 19 Aug, Indian authorities seized 3 Chinese vessels off the Andaman Islands. The vessels were flying the Burmese flag. 55 Chinese crew members were arrested [BBC940822]. INDIA INVITES SLORC TO ANDAMAN In an attempt to counter China's influence in Burmese military affairs, the Indian Navy has invited SLORC's naval chief to visit Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The unprecedented get-together at the end of 1994 will include naval chiefs from Bangladesh and ASEAN and is part of India's strategy to dispel fears of its expansionist `blue-water' ambitions [F940901]. China is upgrading SLORC's naval facilities on Coco Island just north of the Andaman islands - Ed. Burma News: U.S. MAY CUT AID TO THAILAND On 23 Aug, US President Clinton signed into law the 1995 Foreign Operations Act which requires the State Department to prepare a report by 1 Feb ``on the efforts of the Thai Government to impede support for Burmese democracy advocates, exiles and refugees.'' The act calls for the aid given to the Thai military under the International Military Education Training (IMET) programme to be stopped if it is found that Thailand is in fact hindering the Burmese democracy movement. The amount involved is small (US$875,000) but the warning has raised nationalist hackles in Thailand [F940915]. MILITARY BLOC IN PARLIAMENT According to SLORC's new constitution, 33% of both houses of parliament will be reserved for the military. They will be nominated by the Commander-in-Chief. Similar proportions will make up State and Regional parliaments. Only those born of parents who are both Burmese citizens and are themselves `free of foreign privileges' will be eligible to stand for elections, regardless of level [N940904, BBC940902]. MON-SLORC TALKS BROKEN OFF The New Mon State Party broke off cease-fire negotiations with SLORC because of SLORC's refusal to discuss political issues. Nai Pe Thein Za, a NMSP Central Committee member, said, ``We do not want a cease-fire agreement without a full political settlement'' [N940830,31]. MON TROOPS SURRENDER IN YE On 7 Sep, Nai Talapan, 54, a NMSP batalion commander and 25 men surrendered in Ye to SLORC Secretary 2, Lieut-General Tin U. Nai Talapan said that he was tired of fighting and disillusioned with his leaders at the central committee level. Nai Pantha, 73, an NMSP central executive member and associate of Nai Talapan, gave himself up to the SLORC Embassy in Bangkok in Mar.92 [B940910, BBC940907]. MON POLITICIANS RELEASED In a related move, SLORC released 2 Mon leaders from the Mon Democratic Party which contested the 1990 elections - Nai Tun Thein, an elected representative, and Nai Ngwe Thein, a party executive committee member. They were sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1991 for allegedly having contacts with the NMSP. At least eight other prominent Mon political prisoners remain in jail [Reu940824]. MON REFUGEES REPATRIATED The 6,000 Burmese Mon refugees from Halockhani who fled to Thailand in July (BA No.8, Vol.5, Aug.94), were forced back across the border between 7-9 September. Responding to Amnesty International's protest, over the forced repatriation, the Thai Supreme Command said that ``...the Thai forces did not use any force...'' and that they had ``coordinated with the Burmese armed forces, asking them to stop attacking the Mon'' and that, therefore, there was no danger for the Mon. Earlier, Thai Foreign Minister Prasong Soonsiri had said that Thailand would not use force to expel the Mon refugees. The UN High Commission for Refugees in Bangkok also appealed to Thailand to allow the Mon to remain on Thai soil. Analysts believe the refugees were caught in a political game where Thailand was trying to appease SLORC by pressuring the NMSP to negotiate with the military regime. The Thai army at first set an August 10 deadline for the refugees to leave. When this was ignored, they started to cut food supplies to the refugees. A Thai officer said, ``We blocked the supply route because we regard them as illegal immigrants, not refugees.'' In order to justify this position, the Thai Supreme Command claimed that the July 21 SLORC attack prompted ``...the Mon who wanted to migrate to Thai territory to burn down their own houses and move to Thailand....'' In actual fact, SLORC troops burnt down the refugee camp in Burma. Not satisfied with the pace of the blockade and the continued refusal of the Mon to move, the Thai Army on 31 August notified the refugees that their rice storehouse which was located on the Burmese side of the border, was no longer in Burma. This allowed the Thai Army to seize the storehouse and starve the refugees. To hasten the process, Thai authorities dumped 400-500 people who had been deported from the Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, into Halockhani. They also told Mon refugee officials that they were planning to move 2 Mon refugee villages who had fled from the Three Pagoda Pass area in 1989/90, to Halockhani. By 7 September, the refugees could no longer face the prospect of starving and moved back across the border. ``I would not call it a voluntary repatriation,'' said a UNHCR official [AFP940910, B940907, KHRG940913, N940811, Reu940819] Publications: THE YE-TAVOY RAILWAY In April'94, the Karen Human Rights Group published a 15-page report documenting slave labour and human rights abuses perpetuated by SLORC troops in the area of the Ye-Tavoy Railway, which will service the natural gas pipeline from the Gulf of Martaban to Thailand. Address: P.O. Box 22, Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand. FORCED LABOUR IN MON STATE The Committee for Publicity People's Struggle in Monland pubished an 18-page report in April'94 detailing SLORC's use of slave labour on the Ye-Tavoy Railway construction program in support of the natural gas pipeline to Thailand. It is an excellent report. For copies: GPO Box 227, Bangkok 10501, Thailand. HUMAN LIVES FOR OIL & GAS The Southeast Asian Information Network (SAIN) has published a 32-page report - ``BURMA: Human Lives for Natural Resources (Oil & Natural Gas)'' on the proposed gas pipeline. The report documents SLORC's forced relocation of villagers and the use of slave labour to constuct the pipeline. It also explores the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration, and finally the responsibilty of oil companies involved in exploiting Burma's resources. For copies contact: Michele Bohana, Institute for Asian Democracy, or Dr Thaung Htun, c/o NCGUB Office, 815 Fifteenth St N W, Suite 609, Washington, DC.20005, USA. Tel/Fax: (202) 393-7342. THE CHAIN SAW GANG In April, Greenpeace issued a 22-page report, ``The Chain Saw Gang Debacle in Burma - The Martaban Gulf Natural Gas Pipeline and the Plight of Burma's Forests and Indigenous People''. The report is based on a mission in February 1994 to investigate claims made by activists about the ecological and human devastation occurring in the pipeline area. For copies contact Greenpeace. DEATH IN CUSTODY A 16-page booklet describing the background and circumstances surrounding the death of 23 people who died while under SLORC custody (monks, political activists and students). Three of the students who died had returned to Rangoon from the Thai border under SLORC's amnesty program in 1988. Published by the Burma Information Group (BIG). WOMEN IN POLITICS In July, BIG published an 11-page report, ``Women in Politics''. It documents Burmese women in politics and gives a list of those arrested since 1988. Brief biographies of the better known women leaders are included. Address: P.O.Box 14154, Silver Spring, MD.20911, USA. Passage: BRANG SENG, 63, Chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) since 1976, passed away on 8 August 1994. Brang Seng suffered a stroke in October 1993 and was put under intensive medical care in China. He recovered sufficiently and was exercising when he suffered a second stroke on 29 July 1994. Chinese surgeons in Kumming performed brain surgery but he never recovered consciousness. He was being transported back to Pa Jau, the KIO headquarters, when he passed away. Born 16 June 1931, Brang Seng graduated with a B.Ed from Rangoon University in 1954. He taught and was later headmaster and principal of the Myitkyina Baptist Mission High School. He joined the KIO in 1963 and rose through the ranks. Brang Seng led numerous KIO delegations to Rangoon and Beijing to try and resolve the civil war. He also broke the geographical isolation of the Kachin movement by travelling extensively through Europe and Asia in 1986-7. He became the chairman of the northern military zone of the National Democratic front in 1987. He was a founding member of the Democratic Alliance of Burma in 1988 and served as its first Vice-Chairman. A charismatic leader known for his pragmatism and farsightedness, he will be missed by the KIO currently negotiating with SLORC. Brang Seng is survived by his wife and seven children. KIO Vice-Chairman and Chief of Staff of the Kachin Army Major-General Zau Mai, 58, replaced Brang Seng. Zau Mai joined the KIO in 1963. NEWS SOURCES THIS ISSUE: A = Asiaweek, AFP = Agence France Presse, B = Bangkok Post, BA = Burma Alert, BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation, DPA = Deutsche Presse-Agentur, F = Far Eastern Economic Review, IRR = The Irrawaddy, Bangkok, KHRG = Karen Human Rights Group, N = The Nation, Bangkok, Reu = Reuters, WA = West Austrialian, and WPD = Working People's Daily, now New Light of Myanmar. Foreign Investments: KOREA: Following is a partial list of MYANMAR DAEWOO INTERNATIONAL and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings joint ventures: - Daewoo Electronic Myanmar (DEMCO), Jul.90 - Myanmar Segye International (garment), Jul.90 - Pyinmabin Garment Factory, Mingaladon, Feb.91 - Myanmar Korea Timber International, Dec.91 MALAYSIA: MALAYAN BANKING and the PUBLIC BANK OF MALAYSIA were granted licences to open representative offices in Rangoon [F940825]. SINGAPORE: PIDEMCO LAND through subsidiary YANGON INVESTMENT PTE LTD (Singapore), signed a 30-year contract to build a hotel in Rangoon for US$30 million. Pidemco will provide 65% of the funding and state-owned Vehicle, Machinery and Equipment Trading Corp will put up the rest. The 350-room Yangon Hotel will be built at the corner of Sule Pagoda and Yawmingyi Roads. Expected completion date is 1997. Larry Chua is the Group General Manager of Pidemco [F940811, WPD940727]. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: EASTMAN KODAK in Feb.94 appointed three executives of KODAK (Thailand) to regional positions: Thavee Chowrungrat (Consumer Imaging Markets, Thailand) becomes ASEAN Business Development Manager (including Vietnam, Burma and Laos); Supong Javanasudara (Marketing Communications, Thailand) becomes ASEAN Product Cluster Coordinator, Marketing Communications, and Consumer Imaging; and Suphot Hudakorn becomes Asia Business Development Director. Thavee said that Eastman Kodak will adopt more agressive steps to increase its presence and sales by ... increasing points of purchase (such as) Kodak Express Mini-lab Service.'' The Nation reported that in Nov.93, KODAK's CONSUMER IMAGING MARKETS (CIM) Indochina, signed four contracts to open Kodak Express Colour Labs in Rangoon in 1994 [N931124]. HIMALAYAN TRAVEL is offering three package tours to Burma in 1994. Address: 112 Prospect St, Stamford, CT.06901, USA. Tel: 1 (800) 225-2380, (203) 359-3711 and Fax: (203) 359-3669. WAL-MART formed a joint-venture with Hong Kong-based C.P. POKPHAND, to operate discount stores and warehouse-membership clubs in Hong Kong and China [F940901]. C.P. Pokphand is a subsidiary of Thailand's CHAROEN POKPHAND GROUP which owns 35% of PETRO-ASIA (BA No.6, Vol.5, June 1994). Petro-Asia, also 35% owned by the PETROLEUM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND, is planning a retail oil business in Burma. Arms: CHINA: According to Jane's Defense News, SLORC has signed an agreement to buy three Jianghu Class ships from China. The vessels can be fitted with surface-to-surface missiles [BBC940824]. Corrections It was incorrectly reported in BA No.5, Vol.5, May 1994 that PEPSICO's Thai subsidiary, SERMSUK CO, invested US$35 million in Aug.90 to operate a brewery and a factory to process raw material for the brewery in Burma. The Thai company that invested in the brewery is SONGSERM INTERNATIONAL, not Sermsuk. Our sincere apologies to Pepsico and Sermsuk for any inconvenience caused - Ed. It was also reported in BA No.8, Vol.5, August 1994 that HERTZ is planning to `establish a presence' in Burma. Hertz has denied that it is planning such a move. Apologies - Ed. Foreign Investment: YADANA GAS SOLD TO THAILAND On 9 Sep, the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), TOTAL SA of France and UNOCAL (USA) signed an agreement to sell natural gas from the Yadana field in the Gulf of Martaban to the PETROLEUM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND (PTT) for thirty years. The Yadana field is located 70 km south of the Irrawaddy River delta and its estimated reserves are 5.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). The Yadana gas will be produced on offshore platforms and transported by a 350-km undersea pipeline to Phaungdaw village in Tenasserim Division. The pipeline will then cross overland following the Zinba River valley for 60 km to the Thai border at Nat-Ein-Taung. The gas will then be transported over a 300 km pipeline to Ratchaburi to fuel a 2,800 megawatt power plant to be built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Gas delivery is scheduled to begin in 1998 at an initial rate of 130 million cubit feet per day (mcfd) rising to 525 mcfd in 15 months. Total SA has a 52.5% interest in the project and Unocal (USA) has 47.5%. PTT's exploration and production subsidiary, PTTEP, has the option of taking a 25.5% interest in the project and MOGE 15%. If both exercise their options, Total's share will be reduced to 31.2% and Unocal's to 28.3%. Total will be the operator for the development of the Yadana gas field and for the pipeline to the Thai border. PTT will operate the pipeline in Thailand. PTT is paying US$3 per million British Thermal Unit (BTU) for the gas, delivered to the Thai border. The contract will cost PTT US$400 million a year. Pipeline construction will begin in 1995. Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) estimates that the pipeline will cost US$1 billion [AP-DJ940913, AWSJ940909/10, B940911,13, N940831, EFL/RNS940909]. YETAGUN NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN TEXACO (USA) has begun negotiations with PTT, TOTAL SA and UNOCAL (USA) to supply natural gas from the offshore Yetagun gas field to Thailand. The Yetagun field is 420 km south of Rangoon and its estimated reserves are only 1.5 Tcf but its quality is reportedly better than Yadana's. Texaco is hoping to deliver 200 mcfd of natural gas to Thailand by the year 2000 via a second pipeline to Ranong or Kriba. From there, it could be taken to Nakhorn Si Thammarat, a center for oil/gas industries that form the nucleus of Thailand's ambitious Southern Seaboard Development Programme. Texaco Exploration Myanmar Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texaco has a 50% share in the project. Premier Petroleum Myanmar Ltd (UK) has a 30% share and Nippon Oil (Myanmar) Exploration of Japan has a 20% share. Sources: AP-DJ = Associated Press - Dow Jones, AWSJ = Asian Wall Street Journal, and EFL/RNS = Extel Financial Limited/Regulatory News Service STOP THE PIPELINES! The multinational oil companies claim that they are not involved in politics and that they are only doing business. But it is clear that their business contract with the military will provide SLORC with hard currency to buy more arms and continue suppressing the Burmese people. The military in Burma was rejected by the Burmese people in 1988 when they brought the country to a stand-still. Again in 1990, they voted for an end to military rule. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 392 seats while the military won only 10 seats in the 485-seat parliament. The oil companies have no excuse. By working with the military, they are involved in the internal affairs of Burma. They are hindering the political process by enabling the military to ignore the clearly expressed will of the people. When a democratic government takes over under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, do the oil companies think their contracts with SLORC will still be valid? How will they explain to their shareholders how they lost millions? Write: * Serge Tchuruk, CEO, Total SA, Tour TOTAL, 24 Cours Michelet, La Defense 10. 92800 Puteaux, FRANCE. Tel: 33 (1) 4291-4000, Fax: 4291-4291. * R J Stegemeier, CEO, Unocal Corp, 1201 West 5th St, Los Angeles, CA.90061, USA. Tel: 1 (213) 977-7600, Fax: 977-7454. * Chairman, Petroleum Authority of Thailand, 555 Viphavadee Rangsit Highway, Bangkok, Thailand. Tel: 66 (2) 537-2173, Fax: 537-3499. * James Dunlap, Chairman, Texaco Inc, 2000 Westchester Ave, White Plains, NY.10650, USA. Tel: 1 (914) 253-4000, Fax: 253-4039. * Roland Shaw, Premier Consolidated Oilfields Plc, 23 Lower Belgrave St, London, SW1W 0NR, UK. * Y Takeuchi, Chairman, Nippon Oil, 1-3-12 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, Japan. Tel: 81 (33) 502-1111, Fax: 502-9352. In addition, to ensure the safety of the proposed gas pipeline, SLORC is building a 176 km railway from Ye to Tavoy. It will facilitate the movement of troops sent to guard the pipeline. To build the railway, SLORC has conscripted tens of thousands of labourers. The oil companies claim the railway has nothing to do with the pipeline. Can they prove it? A Unocal spokeswoman said, ``We are convinced the pipeline will be kept secure.'' How? What about the pipeline itself? Will the oil companies be able to prove that human rights abuses will not occur and that slave labour will not be used to build the pipeline? At least 15 villages have already been forcefully relocated to secure the pipeline area. As for slave labour, Ruprecht von Arnim, UNHCR representative in Bangkok said, ``I know slave labour has been used for other purposes, and once the pipeline is to start, it is most likely that it will be done the same way.''