November 1994 No.11, Volume 5 THE GENERALS MEET THE LADY - II On 29 Oct, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) met again with democracy leader and 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at No.1 Tatmadaw Guest House. He was accompanied by Judge Advocate-General Brig-Gen Than Oo and Inspector-General Brig-Gen Tin Aye. The first publicized meeting on 20 Sept was between Daw Suu, Khin Nyunt and Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of SLORC. Like the first meeting, what was discussed was not disclosed except that the discussions were frank and cordial. The meeting reportedly lasted 3 hours [F941110, WPD941029]. U.S. WANTS SLORC TO CHANGE On 31 Oct, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Thomas Hubbard, led a high-level delegation to Rangoon. This was the highest-level visit by a US official since 1988 and follows a US policy review on Burma. He delivered a message which offered better relations with the US if SLORC improved on human rights, democratization, and anti-narcotics activities, or increased isolation if SLORC remains intransigent [F941110]. BRITISH HOLD CRITICAL DIALOGUE David Dain, Foreign Office Under-Secretary for Southern Asia and the Pacific, visited Rangoon 9-11 Nov. A spokesman said that Dain had a `critical dialogue' with SLORC similar to which the US delegation had [B941109]. IS BURMA A CHINESE COLONY? According to the Economist, Burma is fast becoming an economic satellite of China. It claims that almost every infrastructure project in Burma is in the hands of Chinese contractors with Chinese engineers supervising the work. Some of the projects listed include: the Mandalay-Rangoon highway, the Myitkyina-Mandalay railway, the Mandalay-Rangoon railway, the Ye-Tavoy railway, the road-rail Rangoon-Syriam bridge, the Chindwin River bridge, the Mandalay International airport, housing estates for the Burma Army, 30 irrigation dams, the Rangoon ground satellite station, the Burma Navy's Coco Island base, and port facilities on Ramree Island [Ec941008]. NCUB CONSTITUTIONAL SEMINAR The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), comprising the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), the Democratic Alliance of Burma, and the National Democratic Front hosted a Constitutional Seminar in Manerplaw in Oct.94. The Seminar discussed the SLORC National Convention, the draft constitution for a Federal Union of Burma, and provided an opportunity for the various ethnic and democracy groups to consult each other regarding recent political developments in Burma [BA]. 7-15 YEARS FOR DISSIDENTS Khin Zaw Win, a former UNICEF employee, who was arrested on 4 July at Rangoon airport (BA No.9, Vol.5, September 1994) was charged on 6 Oct with violating the Official Secrets Act and foreign-exchange regulations and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A confidential Ministry of Energy report was alleged found in his possession. His `crime' included meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in December 1992 and giving `misleading' information. Writer Daw San San Nwe, who was arrested on 4 Aug with three others for having links with Khin Zaw Win, was given a 10-year sentence for spreading `information injurious to the state' and for having contacts with `anti-government' organizations. She is said to have met with 2 French reporters in April 1993. The reporters committed the crime of visiting Burma on tourist visas and making a video `for the purpose of propaganda'. It was alleged that she appeared on the video with her back to the camera. Daw San San Nwe 's daughter, Ma Myat Mun Mun Tun, was given a 7-year sentence for helping Khin Zaw Win put anti-government literature on computer discs. Journalist Sein Hla Oo and Khin Maung Swe, elected National League for Democracy (NLD) people's representatives were also sentenced to 7 years in prison [F941110, B/Reu/Net941020]. NEW CHINESE CONSULATE OPENS On Aug.25, China opened a Consulate in Aungmyethazan, Mandalay. The Consul-General is Shen Xiangkun. SLORC opened a consulate in Kunming on 1 Sep.93 [WPD940826]. Burma News: BRITISH BARONESS INVESTIGATES Baroness Caroline Cox, Deputy Speaker of Britain's House of Lords, led a team including tropical disease expert Dr Martin Panter into Karen-held territory in Burma in Nov.94 to investigate allegations of germ warfare (BA No.6, Vol.5, June 1994). A device suspected to have been used to deliver the substance, which caused cholera-like symptoms, was taken to London for analysis. An 8-page report by the Baroness, a Board member of Christian Solidarity, stated that there is ``very strong circumstantial evidence'' that SLORC used germ warfare. ``Villagers gave consistent, detailed accounts of direct association between the dropping of these devices and the onset of the epidemics''. Baroness Cox also noted that immediately after the boxes were dropped, SLORC troops stopped going into the areas and barred traders from entering the areas, an indication that they knew what had been dropped. Dr Panter, a member Christian Solidarity Australia, said that SLORC personnel were in Germany last year for germ warfare. He said that the devices which are manufactured in Philadelphia and are normally used in meteorological work could be modified. Once dropped from an aircraft, small detonations could be programmed to burst the balloons attached to the device, showering the area below with the germs. Canada also tested one of the devices but the results were `inconclusive' [N941115, N941115]. The Canadians say that the cholera- like symptoms reported by the villagers seem to indicate a new strain of cholera not previously known in Burma - Ed. GENERAL VISITS VIETNAM Lieutenant-General Maung Thint, SLORC Minister for Progress of Border Areas, National Races and Development Affairs, visited Vietnam on 8 Nov to discuss agricultural and narcotics control cooperation [ID941111]. SSNPLO `SURRENDERS' On Oct.9, Chairman Tha Kalei, 75, of the Shan State Nationalities Peoples' Liberation Organization (SSNPLO) renounced armed struggle and promised to work with SLORC for the peace and development of the Pa-O region. He and his group were received in Hsihseng by SLORC Secretary 1 Lieut-Gen Khin Nyunt who declared Shan State to be free of `ethnic insurgency' [WPD941010]. SSNPLO DENOUNCES ACCORD On Oct.11, SSNPLO Central Committee Member Lieut-Colonel Chit Maung denounced the cease-fire agreement negotiated by Tha Kalei as not being in the interest of the people of Burma. He promised to continue fighting and called on other SSNPLO leaders to join him in opposing the accord [SSNPLO941011]. SHAN TROOPS MOVE NORTH 1,000 Shan troops belonging to Khun Sa's Merng Tai Army, based near the Thai border in the south, are reported to have taken up new positions on the China-Burma border. Analysts suspect MTA is trying to open an alternate northern supply route now that Thailand has closed its border [Net941010]. JAPAN TO RESUME AID? Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono told Thai Foreign Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during bilateral talks in Jarkata that Tokyo will soon give about a billion yen (about US$10 million) in medical and humanitarian aid to SLORC. The resumption of full ODA assistance is unlikely since Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not yet been released [B/N/BBC/Irr941105]. U.N. INVESTIGATOR IN BURMA Yozo Yokota, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, made his 3rd visit to Burma from 7-16 Nov. He went to Ye, met with Lieut-Gen Khin Nyunt and visited Insein Jail but was not allowed to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. On leaving Burma, he visited Burmese refugees on the Thai border and met with Thai Foreign Ministry officials [B/Irr941111, Net/Reu941117]. INDIA EXPEL CHIN REFUGEES On 29 Sep, India authorities rounded up 1,000 Burmese refugees in Mizoram and handed them over to SLORC at the border. The refugees were from the Chin State and have lived in Mizoram for many years. The Mizos of India and the Chins of Burma are from the Zo ethnic group. It was not clear whether the repatriation was ordered by the Mizoram State government or the Indian Government. Lian Ok, an elected member of parliament from the Chin State, now living in exile has protested to Indian Prime Minister Shri P.V. Narashima Rao in New Delhi and Chief Minister Lal Thanheawla of Mizoram in Aizawl, North East India [BAM9410]. Trade: CAMBODIA: GLOBAL COMMERCIAL BANK was granted a license to open a representative office in Rangoon [WPD941024]. CANADA: NORTHERN TELECOM wants to sell a 2,000 line cellular telephone system for Mandalay to SLORC. According to Arky Arduini, Director for Thailand, Northern Telecom has sold 25 digital phone switches to Burma over the past 10 years through an Israeli company. The Ericsson (Sweden via Australia) cellular phone system in Rangoon has 1,000 subscribers [G&M940527]. FRANCE: EUROPEAN GAS TURBINES (GEC ALSTHOM) will supply equipment to Myanma Electric Power Enterprise for a 100-megawatt power plant near the main power sub-station in Rangoon. The new plant is scheduled to go on line in May 1995 [WPD941020]. EUROPEAN GAS TURBINES (GEC ALSTHOM) will supply three 33-megawatt turbines for the Ahlone Power Station. They will use natural gas from the Aphyauk Gas Field. Scheduled on line date is Dec.94 [WPD940610]. HONG KONG: HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORP was granted a license to open a representative office in Rangoon [WPD941024]. JAPAN: SONY CORP and TMW Enterprise Ltd opened the Sony Showroom 2 at 181 Sule Pagoda Road (Myawaddy Building) in Rangoon [WPD941023]. KOREA: I.C. ENTERPRISE LTD opened the KOREA MERCHANDISE CENTRE at 103 Dhammazedi Road, Kamayut, to sell `foodstuff, household and personal goods, cosmetics, industrial products, and machinery and equipment' [WPD941028]. MALAYSIA: BANK OF COMMERCE (M) BERHAD was granted a license to open a representative office in Rangoon [WPD941024]. S.Y. HOLDING LTD Executive Chairman H J Shamshuudeen Yunus presided over the opening of PRIME COMMERCIAL BANK LTD at 437 Prome Road, Rangoon [WPD940908]. BRITAIN: IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES opened an ICI Paint Shop in Rangoon [WPD941017]. NETHERLANDS: Myanmar Airways has purchased several new FOKKER F-27s [WPD940619,0731,1016]. SINGAPORE: MYANMAR MEDIA INTERNATIONAL, the first foreign advertising agency in Burma, is 70% owned by AD GRAND chairman Tan Ching Koon [MB940504]. MYANMAR (S) PTE LTD Managing Director K.K.Shein signed an agreement to provide computers and cash counters for the Myanma Economic Bank [WPD940714]. SUPRA (S) PTE LTD opened its MYANMAR GOLDEN PEARL CO LTD Salesrooom at 105 Prome Road, Mayangon, to sell refrigerators, cassettes and air conditioners [WPD940904]. YOUR BEST (S) PTE LTD opened its MYANMAR LASER WORLD CO LTD Salesroom at `No.130 between Pansodan and 36th Street, Rangoon, to sell laser disks, laser video players, and neon lights WPD940904]. THAILAND: ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS agreed with Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications to publish and distribute 100,000 copies of the Myanmar telephone and Business Directory beginning in 1995 [WPD940730]. JV CONTROL LTD will undertake a feasibility study on luxury tours for Burma, for the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism [MB940406]. SIAM CITY BANK PUBLIC CO LTD opened a representative office at 102 Inya Road. Manager is Aroon Buranatanyarat [WPD940806]. MYANMAR INTERNATIONAL MOVING SERVICES CO LTD whose clientele is mostly from foreign oil companies was formed in 1989 and has its head office in Bangkok. It has branches in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia [MB940504]. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: DeGOLYER & MACNAUGHTON are the US petroleum reservoir engineers that certified the Yadana gas reserves at 5.8 Tcf [BA]. McCANN ERICKSON WORLDWIDE ADVERTISING AGENCY Chairman Mike Farrior signed an affiliation agreement with Sann Aung Imaging Ltd (SAIL) represented by Dr Khin Khin Kyawt [WPD940721]. Foreign Investments: CANADA: PLACER-DOME INC (BA No.4, Vol.5, April 1994) clarified that it is not active in Burma. However, its 75% owned Australian subsidiary PLACER PACIFIC LIMITED has had discussions with SLORC. No decisions have been made and the management of PPL is based in Sydney, Australia [OPIRG/PDI941108]. CHINA: YUNNAN MACHINERY IMPORT AND EXPORT CORP signed an agreement with Myanma Shipyards to upgrade the Sinmalike Shipyards. China will provide interest-free loans for the project [WPD940922]. FRANCE: ELYSEE INVESTISSEMENTS S.A. and the Myanma Timber Enterprises formed the YANGON WOOD INDUSTRIES LTD to operate a wood product factory [WPD940826]. HONG KONG: MACAU FROZEN FOOD CO LTD agreed to purchase US$1.2 million worth of prawns from the Union of Myanmar Joint Venture Corporation No.6 [MB940504]. PAGAN-INLE JOINT VENTURE was formed by ASIA VOYAGES (HK) and Myanma Hotel and Tourism Services to operate Pagan and Inle Hotels [MB940504]. VALUE INDUSTRIES LTD, Myanma Textile Industries and Yangon Garment Manufacturing Co Ltd established the YANGON SPORTSWEAR MANUFACTURING CO LTD (Kyat 11.8 million or US$ 2 million) to manufacture and market garments [WPD940831]. INDONESIA: MEIWA MARINE AND INDUSTRIAL PTE LTD placed a US$2 million order with Myanma Shipyards for a 125 ft fire-float and a cargo barge for `controlling sea pollution' [WPD940727]. JAPAN: Japan donated 3 ambulances and one four-wheel drive vehicle, worth US$68,700 to the Myanmar Red Cross Society [WPD941001]. KOREA: MULTIGATE CORPORATION has imported about 1,000 Burmese workers [WPD940825]. NETHERLANDS: VANLEEUWAN B.V. CO LTD signed an agreement with Myanma General and Maintenance Industries to purchase US$234,000 worth of blue wet chrome. The deal was arranged by Eagle Investment Fund [WPD940913]. THAILAND: L.S. GROUP, a subsidiary of RENOWN LEATHERWEARS, has agreed to invest US$21 million to convert the former state-owned Yadanabon Hotel in Mandalay into a 210-room, four-star NOVOTEL HOTEL. L.S.Group paid SLORC US$3.5 million for a 30-year licence [B941101,F941110]. Novotel is a French hotel chain that is managed by the Accor Asia Pacific Group and includes Sofitel, Mercure, Ibis, and Formule 1 - Ed. In Jan.94, L.P. HOLDING of Bangkok signed a contract with Accor to manage its HOTEL SOFITEL YANGON [BA9403]. The Sofitel will have 270 rooms, cost US$60 million and is scheduled for an 1998 opening [N941028]. L.P. HOLDING is also developing a 15,000 sq.m. office tower next to the Sofitel. It paid SLORC US$2.1 million for a 30-year lease [B941101]. Both L.S.Group and L.P. Holding are owned by Lertsak Nopburanond of Lamphun who has been purchasing low cost leather from Burma since 1981. L.P. INTERNATIONAL and L.P. LEATHER are wholly-owned subsidiaries. Lertsak is also planning to build hotels in Pagan and Taunggyi to hook up with his other hotels and serve foreign tour groups [B941101]. L.P. INTERNATIONAL is planning a US$1.6 million plant in Rangoon to produce 3,000 dozen pairs of leather gloves a day starting in 1996 [B941101]. Thailand will grant SLORC US$1.4 million in aid and provide US$3.2 million to build the Thai-Myanmar Friendship bridge linking Mae Sod and Myawaddy. Thailand is justifying the bridge by saying that it will be used to carry goods to Rangoon 300 km away. However, SLORC wants to limit Thai nationals from travelling more than 5 kms inside Burma [F941103]. Note: There is no highway linking Myawaddy to Rangoon - Ed. THAI INDUSTRIAL CONNECTION CO LTD will build a 200-room hotel and apartment complex on a 3.7 acre site at the corner of Natmauk and Po Sein Roads, Kandawgyi, Rangoon [MB940504]. Foreign Investments: MALAYSIA: BUTTERWORTH CO LTD purchased US$0.5 million worth of prawns from the Union of Myanmar JV Corporation No.6 [MB940504]. ELCON OF MALAYSIA formed MYANMAR ELCON GOLD LTD with Shwenga Leather Products Trading Cooperative Society. Elcon provided US$3 million worth of material to build a leather factory in the Shwepyitha Township Industrial Zone. The factory will employ 230 nationals [WPD941021]. IDRIS HYDRAULIC agreed to take over plywood maker MYANMAR TIMBER ENTERPRISE. The factory is located in Sagaing [MB940406]. IDRIS HYDRAULIC also agreed with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, to build two international hotels and a modern market complex in Rangoon [MB940406]. SINGAPORE: AYEYAR COOP MARINE PRODUCTS LTD was formed by SINMIAN INVESTMENTS (S) PTE LTD and Ayeyarwady Division Co-operative Syndicate [MB940504]. MYANMAR YAUNG CHI-OO CO LTD opened a brewery in Mandalay (see BA No.6, Vol.5, June 1994) [WPD941016]. SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION and LIANG COURT are investing US$12 million in a business hotel project [MB940406]. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: AMERICAN EXPRESS has denied that it is sponsoring `Visit Myanmar Year' [PM941017]. Vice Chairman John P Tatum of TRITON ENERGY CORP of Dallas, Texas, called on Deputy Prime Minister Lieut-Gen Tin Tun and Minister for Energy Lieut-Col Khin Maung Thein to discuss investing in the oil and gas industry [WPD940827]. TEAK IMPORTS INTERNATIONAL sells custom sculpture and furniture made from Burmese teak. Address: 201 Skylane Blvd, McKinnon Industrial Park, St Simons Island, GA.31522, USA. Tel: 1 (800) 886-8325. Fax: 1 (912) 634-1911. AMERICAN STANDARD (Thailand), a subsidiary of AMERICAN STANDARD INC, is exploring the possibility of expanding in Indochina and Burma [B941021]. PEREGRINE CAPITAL MYANMAR MMAI LTD (Miriam Marshall Segal) and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (SLORC) signed a memorandum of understanding to form the MYANMAR INTERNATIONAL TRUST AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION along the lines of China International Trust and Investment Corporation. CITIC belongs to the Chinese Government and it is China's biggest holding company [WPD940801]. PEREGRINE INVESTMENTS in Hong Kong has close ties with Chinese authorities in Beijing, Jiangsu aand Guangzhou. It is the only foreign broker on the Shanghai Stock Exchange which bars foreigners. Some of Peregrine's backers in Hong Kong have included Li Ka-Shing, Gordon Wu, Stanley Ho of Macau, and Larry Yung of CITIC Pacific [Ec940910]. NEWS SOURCES THIS ISSUE: B = Bangkok Post, BA = Burma Alert, BAM = Burma Affairs Monitor, BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation, Ec = Economist, UK, F = Far Eastern Economic Review, G&M = Globe and Mail, Toronto, ID = Indochina Digest, Washington,DC, Irr = Irrawaddy, Burma Information Group, Bangkok, MB = Myanmar Business, Rangoon, N = The Nation, Bangkok, Net = BurmaNet, OPIRG = Ontario Public Interest Research Group, Carlton U, Ottawa, PDI = Placer-Dome Inc, PM = Project Maje, New Jersey, USA, Reu = Reuters, SSNPLO = Shan State Nationalities Peoples Liberation Organization, and WPD = Working People's Daily, now New Light of Myanmar, Rangoon. VISIT MYANMAR YEAR - 1996 In Oct.95, BURMA ALERT began publishing fax numbers in Burma to help prepare for `Visit Myanmar Year 1996.' A British travel writer and tour consultant for Burma, wrote, ``Let me say quite frankly how utterly irresponsible it was for you to publish ... fax numbers - taken quite clearly from a recent edition of the `Today' magazine... The recipients run the risk of (a) imprisonment, (b) losing their livelihood or, at the very least, (c) being subjected to interrogation... Your ignorance and naivety are clearly demonstrated by, for example, your inclusion of Charle's Michels Garment under the fax number 89960. You are clearly unaware of the fact that the 89960 (and indeed 89961) numbers are those belonging to a communal government fax bureau and used by literally hundreds... I have a number of friends - some ex-NLD and all anti-SLORC - who use the 89960 number (and other numbers) and they are now terrified of receiving faxes... The upshot of your foolishness will be that the SLORC will simply shut down all fax machines. Thank you so much...Many of the fax operators will be petrified... and will either throw it in the garbage or ... show it to their superiors. In the case of the Mya Yeik Nyo Hotel Group, that is Khin Nyunt; in the Nawarat's case, Ne Win's daughter...My Burmese friends ... have urged me to request you to IMMEDIATELY inform all your readers NOT to send ... faxes... send them instead to various Embassies, etc. Please note that BURMA ALERT No.10, Vol.5, did caution its readers not to endanger their fax recipients. However, since all the numbers published in the ALERT are being publicized by SLORC, we wonder why the writer should be upset with the ALERT circulating the numbers. If SLORC wants to shut down all the faxes, that is their business but how will tourists then be able to visit `Myanmar' in 1996? On the other hand, if innocent businessmen cannot receive unsolicited faxes without risking `imprisonment, losing their livelihood or, at the very least, being subjected to interrogation', how responsible is it for tour agencies to be sending tourists to visit `Myanmar'? Nevertheless, to accommodate the request of the writer's friends, we are publishing in this issue, the numbers of SLORC Ministries and Embassies: Myanmar Airways International 95 (1) 89609 Public Fax Bureau 95 (1) 89960 Public Fax Bureau 95 (1) 89961 Mya Yeik Nyo Royal 95 (1) 38318 Mya Yeik Nyo Deluxe 95 (1) 65052 Nawarat Hotel 95 (1) 67777 Nawarat Hotel 95 (1) 30407 Myanmar Timber Enterprise 95 (1) 21816 Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise 95 (1) 22960 Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise 95 (1) 22964 Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise 95 (1) 22965 Myanma Shipyards 95 (1) 30613 Myanma Textile Industries 95 (1) 56053 Myanma Ceramic Industries 95 (1) 56063 Myanma Pearl Enterprise 95 (1) 57309 Livestock Breeding & Fisheries 95 (1) 65182 Ministry of Mines 95 (1) 65092 Companies Registration Office 95 (1) 82101 Dir, Hotels/Tourism 95 (1) 82535 Ministry of Construction 95 (1) 89531 Myanma Five Star Line 95 (1) 89567 Ministry of Trade 95 (1) 89578 Ministry of Transport 95 (1) 89583 Ministry of Tourism 95 (1) 89588 Ministry of Tourism 95 (1) 89604 Ministry of Communications 95 (1) 89911 Ministry of Health 95 (1) 90581 WHO Rangoon 95 (1) 30429 UNDP Rangoon 95 (1) 92739 Embassy - Bangkok 66 (2) 236-6898 Embassy - Beijing 86 (1) 532-1344 Embassy - Belgrade 38 (11) 235-1802 Embassy - Bonn 49 (228) 219-316 Embassy - Cairo 202 (43) 16793 Embassy - Canberra 61 (6) 273-4357 Embassy - Colombo 94 (1) 580-460 Embassy - Dhaka 88 (2) 883-740 Embassy - Geneva 41 (22) 738-4882 Embassy - Hanoi 84 (2) 52404 Embassy - Hong Kong 852 827-6597 Embassy - Islamabad 92 (51) 820-123 Embassy - Jakarta 62 (21) 327-204 Embassy - Katmandu 977 (1) 523-402 Embassy - Kuala Lumpur 60 (3) 248-0049 Embassy - London 44 (171) 629-4169 Embassy - Manila 63 (2) 817-5895 Embassy - Moscow 956-3186? Embassy - New Delhi 91 (11) 687-7942 Permanent Mission - New York 1 (212) 737-2421 Embassy - Ottawa 1 (613) 232-6435 Embassy - Paris 33 (1) 4256-4941 Embassy - Rome 39 (6) 841-3167 Embassy - Seoul 82 (2) 796-5570 Embassy - Singapore 65 235-5963 Embassy - Tel Aviv 972 (3) 549-3866 Embassy - Tokyo 81 (3) 3447-7394 Embassy - Washington DC 1 (202) 332-9046 Please send new numbers to Fax: 1 (819) 647-5403, E-mail: yawnghwe@hookup.net