BurmaNet News: March 14, 1995 Issue #124 ************************************************************** Contents: BKK POST: BURMA GETS US WARNING OVER RIGHTS RECORD THE NATION: JAPAN WILL SOON PROVIDE FOOD PRODUCTION AID TORANGOON THE NATION: 9 MORE KAREN REFUGEES SEIZED IN THAI CAMP ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * * covering Burma. 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Tel/Fax: (in Thailand) (66)2 234-6674 By snailmail: Attention to BurmaNet, care of Burma Issues PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office, Bangkok 10504 Thailand By email: strider@igc.apc.org ************************************************************** BURMA GETS US WARNING OVER RIGHTS RECORD 11 March 1995 THE United States has warned Burma's ruling military junta of possible further downgrading of ties to protest against its lack of political reform, slow progress in fighting drug trafficking and what Washington regards as its abysmal human rights record. In a speech in New York on Wednesday night, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard said the junta had failed to take "even the modest improvement in bilateral relations. "We will continue to urge other nations to join us in exerting pressure for change. In the absence of progress on human rights and democracy, the second path of further restrictions in US-Burma relations remains a real possibility," he said in a prepared text. The text, made available by the State Department, did not discuss how the United States might carry out such a threat. But a department official told Reuters that among the possibilities was downgrading relations so that Burma's ambassador to Washington would have to be withdrawn. Currently, the United States is represented by a charge d' affairs "ad interim," a temporary arrangement that leaves open the possibility of appointing an ambassador any day. If it chose to downgrade, the United States could re-designate its current representative in Rangoon so that ties would no longer be at ambassadorial-level. Burma, in turn, would have to pull out its ambassador to Washington. A department official said any such action might be delayed until after July 20, when Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi may have to be released from house arrest under one reading of Burma's law. In November, Hubbard led the most senior US delegation to visit Burma since 1988. He laid out a series of steps the Slorc needed to take on human rights, democracy and counter-narcotics to clear the way for better ties, including naming an ambassador and restoring anti-narcotics cooperation. "Progress since my visit has been disappointing," he said in the speech to corporate executives at a forum. He said the Slorc had followed through on a promise to let US government experts conduct a joint opium yield survey, "an important step in the counter-narcotics field" for a country that now produces two-thirds of the heroin that reaches US streets. But it had failed to fulfil other commitments to continue a "dialogue" with Aung San Suu Kyi and reach agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross on regular, confidential visits to political prisoners, Hubbard said. He added that the Burmese military offensive that cost ethnic Karen guerrillas their headquarters on the Thai border earlier this year had introduced "a new, disturbing element into the equation." (BANGKOK POST & THE NATION) JAPAN WILL SOON PROVIDE FOOD PRODUCTION AID TO RANGOON Japan will soon provide food production assistance to Burma to help promote the country's pro-democracy movements and human rights improvement efforts, the top government spokesman said yesterday. Japan gives high marks to the dialogue between the military junta and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the nation's open-door policy towards the outside world, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kozo Igarashi said at a news conference. Igarashi said Tokyo has decided to extend cooperation with Burma in the humanitarian and basic life-related felds and is currently making preparations for the provision of the food production aid. While not mentioning the size of the planned assistance, Foreign Ministry sopurces have confirmed that Japan plans to provide one billion yen aid to Burma. Igarashi said the planned aid is limited and does not lead to an imminent resumption of Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to the country. ODA funds to Burma have been forzen since the 1988 military coup account a country's military spending trends and efforts too establish democracy and improve human rights when studying the possibility of providing ODA funds. Since Rangoon, the Japanese government signed an agreement on Thursday to donate 5.3 million yen to a local orphanage. The grant document was signed by Japanese Embassy Charge d' Affaires Nobutake Odano and Hla Nyein, principal of the Parahita school. (TN) 9 MORE KAREN REFUGEES SEIZED IN THAI CAMP 11 March 1995 Nine Karen refugees, including a community leader and his family, were seized in a camp in Thailand by members of a Karenguerrila splinter group and forced back to Burma, refugee leaders said yesterday. Thirty members of the splinter group, the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA), crossed from Burma into the campin northwestern Thailand and seized camp leader Saw Gay Phlo, six members of his family, and two others late on Thursday, the refugee officials said. The kidnappings were the latest in recent weeks involving members of the DKBA, who joined forces with Burmese government troops after mutinying against the leaders of the Christian-led anti-Rangoon Karen National Union (KNU) in December. The Karen refugee officials said the Burmese government wanted to pressure seized leaders to join them and then appeal to Karen refugees in Thailand to go back to Burma to undermine the support of the KNU. In a separate incident two refugees were shot and killed when DKBA members entered another camp and tried to rob some of the inhabitants, the officials said. Thailand has complained to Burma twice over such incidents saying the displaced Karen were staying in Thailand for humanitarian reasons Thai side of the border. There are more than 60,000 Karen refugees in Thailand. Reuter adds from Washington : The United States has warmed Burma's ruling military junta of possible further downgranding of ties to protest against its lack of political reform, slow progress in fighting drug trafficking and what Washington regards as its abysmal human rights record. In a speech in New York on Wednesday night, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard said the junta had failed to take "even the modest steps needed to merit a modest improvement in bilateral relations" "We will continue to urge other nations to join us in exerting pressure for change. In the absence of progress on human rights and democracy, the second path of further restrictions in US-Burma relations remains a real possibility," he said in a prepared text. The text, made available by the State Department, did not discuss how the United States might carry out such a threat. But a department official told Reuters that among the possibilities was downgrading relations so that Burma's ambassador to Washington would have to be withdrawn. Currently, the United States maintains full diplomatic ties wiht Burma, though Washington has not had an ambassador in Rangoon since 1990. Instead the United States is represented by a charge d'affaires "ad interim," a temporary arrangement that leaves open the possibility of appointing an ambassador any day. If it chose to downgrade, the United States could re-designate its current representative in Rangoon so that ties would no longer be at ambassadorial-level. Burma, in turn,would have to pull out its ambassador to Washington. An official said any such action might be delayed until after July 20, when Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi may have to be released from house arrest under one reading of Burma's law. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has been under house arrest for five and a half years. A co-founder of the National League for Democracy, which swept 1990 elections, Washington has campaigned for her release. The junta, which calls itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), ignored the election results in which the opposition won 80 percent of the vote, and jailed thousands of pro-democracy campaigner. In November, Hubbard led the most senior US delegation to visit Burma since 1988. He laid out a series of steps the Slorc needed to take on human rights, democracy and counter-narcotics to clear the way for better ties,including naming an ambassador. THE NATION ( March 11, 1995.) FIVE GAS PIPELINE WORKERS KILLED IN BURMA ATTACK Five members of a natural gas pipeline survey team were killed and 11 wounded by heavily armed attackers on Wednesday near the village of Kanbauk in Burma, the Prench oil company Total said yesterday. The victims were Burmese nationals, Total spokesman Joseph Daniel said in Paris. The wunded have been taken to Rangoon. occurred as the Burmese workers were carrying out preparatory work on the project, Daniel said. The pipeline is being built by Total and California-based Unocal. When completed, it will carry gas from the coast of Burma to Thailand, going through areas of southeastern Burma in which Karen and Mon ethnic-minority guerrillas operate. "We have no idea who is responsible for the attack, and no one has claimed responsibility," Daniel said. A spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Department of the Karen National Union (KNU) said the Karen attacked two battalions of Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) on Tuesday, but did not know if that attack was related to the pipeline incident. "We can confirm that KNU troops attacked two armed SLORC battalions on the 7th at 10:45 a.m.," the spokesman told Reuters in Bangkok. "But we do not know the results of that attack." He said the KNU attack was in a village called Kon Bauk, which could be the same as Kanbauk (Burmese words transliterated into foreign languages are often spelled differently). Daniel said the attack occurred near the western end of the planned pipeline and away from Burma's border with Thailand. The Karen guerrillas, who are seeking autonomy for the Karen people, object to the pipeline, saying the revenue will reinforce the position of the military rulers now in power in Rangoon. Under a 30-year agreement signed last month between Thailand and Burma, Thailand will buy 525 million cubic feet per day of natural gas worth 10 billion baht a year from Yadana, Burma's largest known offshore gas field. Burmese opposition groups have threatened to disrupt construction of the pipeline or attack it after it has been completed, but KNU leader Bo Mya played down those threats earlier this week in an interview with Reuters. "The Karens never said we would destroy the gas pipeline. WE only said it is not right to build such a huge project while the civil war is still going on," ne said. In a statement last month,the KNU said it would welcome construction of the pipeline when the war was over. Human-rights workers on the Thai-Burmese border say thousands of Mon and Karen villagers have been relocated to clear the way for the pipeline. Meanwhile, nine Karen refugees, including a community leader and his family, were seized in a camp in Thailand by member of a Karen guerrilla splinter group and forced back to Burma, refugee leaders said in Mae Sot yesterday. The kidnappings were the latest in recent weeks involving members of the DKBA, who joined force with Burmese government troops after mutinying against leaders of the Christian-led KNU in December. In a separate incident two refugees were shot and killed when DKBA members entered another camp and tried to rob some of the inhabitants, the officials said. - Reuters BANGKOK POST (March 11,1995.) ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News: Sunday march 12, 1995 Issue #100 Contents: BKK POST: PIPELINE FIRMS URGED TO REVEAL IMPACT DATA BKK POST: VETERAN BURMESE EDITOR LAUDS THAI PRESS DEMOCRACY STANCE NATION: EU STATES CONCERN OVER RANGOON'S CRACKDOWN ON KAREN ************************************************************** PIPELINE FIRMS URGED TO REVEAL IMPACT DATA Burma gas deal seen threat to Thailand's forests 12 March 1995 A consortium which will import natural gas from Burma's off shore Yadana field has been urged to make public the gas pipeline project's enviromental and social impact report. Toward Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA) director Witoon Permpongsajareon said the pipeline route, which would cross Burma for about 65 kilometres to reach the Thai border, would have a direct impact on Thailand's western forests. The route of the pipeline from Pilok, Kanchanaburi, to the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand's 2,800-megawatt power plant in Ratchaburi has yet to be confirmed by the authority. But it is certain that some parts of the small western rain forests and watershed areas spanning the two provinces will be adversely affected by the pipeline, according to Mr Witoon. "It seems impossible for the authorities to avoid the foretss and this will not only cause deforestation but disrupt animal life," he said. He said PTT Exploration & Production Plc (PTTEP), one of the companies responsible for the more-than-300 kilometre pipeline's construction from the border to the Ratchaburi power plant, should inform local people who would be relocated or affected of the social and environmental impact of the project. The gas field development consortium, comprising Total of France, Unocal of the US, PTTEP and Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE), will supply 130 million cubic feet per day (Mmcfd) of Yadana gas to the PTT in mid-1998 and increase the delivery to more than 525 Mmcfd within the following 15 months. Mr Witoon said public hearing should be held to gauge public opinion about the project. It would also give the authorities a chance to answer all questions about the project. A lack of access to information has blocked public participation in the decision-making process. "We have been trying to find out whether an environmental impact assessment has been conducted by the PTT but cannot get an answer," he said. According to Green November 32's environmental report, the piping of hundreds of millions of cubic feet of high volatile natural gas each day through areas full of anti-Rangoon guerrillas raises the spectre of major ruptures to the pipeline. Mr Witoon said problems of gas leaks in the course of exploration, development, production and transport could damage the environment. Mr Nai Shwe Kyin, president of the New Mon State Party's (NMSP), expressed doubt that Rangoon, which has never effectively enforced the environmental law, would weigh any negative fallout from the gas project. The 81-year-old leader of the ethnic group pointed out that the planned pipeline would cause vast damage to forests and could lead to extensive pollution. The Burmese junta, he said, has never tried to enforce laws it drew up to protect wildlife and natural forest reserves. "Worse still, those who helped write laws were among the first to break them. How then do you expect the people to comply?," asked the Mon leader. The pipeline will come ashore south of Heinze basin at Phaungdaw, a fishing village in the Ye Byu township, Tenasserim Division. It will then had east passing through Onpinkwin, Kanbauk, Kaleinaung, Kaungmu, Eindaryarzar and michaung Hlaung villages. After that it will snake through the Tavoy and Zin Ba River valleys, cross dense forest highlands before entering Thailand and Pilok. Mr Shwe Kyin said earthquakes, which can rupture the pipeline, were not uncommon in the region and several have rocked the area over the past few years. In 1932 Phaungdaw was hit by an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale resulting in a high number of casualities and vast damage to property. "How does that measure against the one that struck Kobe recently?" he asked. The Kobe quake measured 7 on the Richter scale. Besides, it was recently reported that a volcano in the Andamans had again turned active and had the potential to trigger a powerful earthquake in the area. If the pipeline was damaged, natural gas made up of between 80-95 per cent methane would leak and cause extensive damage, not only to people living in the vicinity but also wildlife and other natural resources. The NMSP president said big trees and animals abound, especially in the unaccessible centre of the forest, which is described as "virgin". Mr Shwe Kyin said the forest was also rich in gibbons, bears, monkeys, tigers, wild oxen, deer and rhinos. Some parts of this rich fauna and flora were recently declared national forests but, according to Mr Shwe Kyin, that has helped little to protect the priceless resources. Part of the 64-kilometre long pipeline is expected to run through Mon and Karen land in the Tenassarim Division, said to be one of the last remaining rain forests in Southeast Asia, he said. According to a former Mon state official, the forest along the Zin Ba River and Ye-Tavoy watershed area were still in good shape despite the fact that trees measuring over 200 centimetres in diameter were felled during the concession period. Evaluation of the impact on the environment of the project has been completed but the contractual companies said the route has yet to be determined. A refugee in the Payaw Camp said he learned that pipes have already started arriving in Kambauk, about 20 km from the camp which is located about 50 km f4om Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district. The NMSP, which opposes the puipeline project, is resorting to non-violent protest against the four contractual firkms. It has called on people in the United States and some European countries to urge their governments to ban sales of components for the pipeline project, according to the group leader.(The Sunday Post) VETERAN BURMESE EDITOR LAUDS THAI PRESS DEMOCRACY STANCE 12 March 1995 U THAUNG, former chief editor of the Burmese-language newspaper The mirror Daily, tells why he is in Bangkok and what his views are concering the Burmese military junta. The 67-year-old veteran journalist presently writes for the New Era Journal, and is based in Florida. I say that I come to Bangkok as a reinforcement. It sounds exaggerated, but not much. I repeat: I come to Thailand as a reinforcement for the Burmese democracy movement that just lost a battle. Though a battle was lost, though our liberated piece of land, manerplaw was taken, the war with the Rangoon military government continues. The Burmese will fight for their freedom until they succeed. Thus the democracy forces need me, and the overseas Burmese democracy forces send me as reinforcement for the cause. I come from Florida, America. What can this aliing old man do? It's good question. Yes. I broke my hip on my visit to Manerplaw in October of last year on the hazardous journey to our liberated camp. I was hospitalised here and was flown home on a stretcher. After six weeks post-operative bed rest I am strong and ready for my duty. And I come here again. The Burma Army is launching a major operation with 15,000 troops against the Karen revolutionary headquarters. "China has reportedly agreed to provide Burma with 40,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 800 parachutes as additional assistance," stated a report in the Bangkok Post. I do not come with any rifle. I don't even know how to shoot a gun. But I do come carrying a laptop, stored with millions of bits of data about the Burmese military in its hard disk. And my head is bearing all of the scars of the wounds given to me by the Burmese military betaings. I was chief editor of the biggest daily newspaper in rangoon in the fifties. In 1958, General Ne Win, who took power as a caretaker government, confiscated my press and jailed an editor as revenge for his displeasure at my writings. I become a renegade too. I, my editor, and my press were freed only after an elected government took power. Again another coup, and in 1963 I was arrested and imprisoned for three years without trail. My press, The Mirror Daily, was nationalised without compensation. These scars, three years of jail life that turned me from a millionaire to pauper, are my weapons with which I fight the Burmese military. I am going to fight the Burmese military on the public opinion front. On this front the Burmese democracy forces are decidedly winning. There is not a single word supporting the Burmese military dictatorship in the world press, especially in Thai newspapers. For the total victory, however, we must strike again and again. I believe that the Thai press is vigorous in crusading for democracy and aggressive for the cause. This strong dynamism can crush the Burmese military which is equipped only with Chinese arms, not an ideology. I think the Thai press should highlight the dangerous trend of the pllicy that the present Thai ruling class is launching. The Thai rulers are trying to obtain gas and electricity from Burma for the furture. It is corret to procure energy from a neighbouring nation, but unless there is a stable governmental system established there, it is dangerous to depend on it. Thirty years of rule has proved that the Burmese military is incapable of building a stable government. Moreover, the Thais should recognise that the Burmese generals are the most unreliable leaders. If Thai industry depends on Burmese energy, the Burmese geneals easily gain the chance to blackmail at any time. Political in stability in a neighbouring nation is danger enough for Thailand. The Thais need to know very well of the character of the Burmese military. Please let me talk about this to any organisation or any individual, whoever wants to know. I can be reached through the office of The New Era Journal. U Tin Maung Win, editor of the publication, offered me the running of the editorial office as guest editor. I would be working for the Burmese to enjoy a free press. (The Sunday Post) EU STATES CONCERN OVER RANGOON'S CRACKDOWN ON KAREN 12 March 1995 The European Union said on Friday it was worried by Burma's military crackdown on the Karen ethnic minority and urged rangoon to seek a peaceful settlement to a long-running guerrilla conflict. "The European Union is following with the greatest concern the evolution of the situation these past weeks at the frontier between Burma and Thailand," the French Foreign ministry said in a statement on behalf of the 15-nation EU. It said it had raised the question of the crackdown and the resulting flood of refugees to Thailand with a senior official of the Foreign Ministry of Rangoon. Fdrance currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Burma's Karen Natioonal Union (KNU) has been fighting Rangoon for greater autonomy since 1949, one year after Burma finally gainerd its independence from Britain. In the early months of their campaign Karen forces, most of whom had fought in Britain's colonial army, nearly succeeded in seizing Rangoon but were held off in a northern suburb. Slowly but surely they have been pushed back sionce. The KNU are holding out in the remote mountains od southeastern Burma's karen state and in Burma's southern Tenasserim Division pan-handle. Separately on Friday, the French oil company Total said that five Burmese members of a natiural gas pipeline survey team were killed and 11 wounded by heavily armed attackers on Wednesday in southeastern Burma. Meanwhile in Hanoi, Burmese military leader Than Shwe met Vietnam's head of state, President Le Duc Anh, on the third day of an official visit to Vietnam yesterday. Than Shwe, chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) and prime minister, held talks with Vietnamese prime minister Vo Van Kiet on Thursday and met Vietnam's top leader, Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi, on Friday. The Burmese leader, accompanied by sevral other Slorc members and ministers, was due to fly to Ho Chi Minh City later in the day after the two governments signed agreements. Details of the accords have not been announced. Muoi accepted an inviation from Than Shwe to visit the Burmese capital Rangoon, the official Vietnam News Agency reported. The 78-year-old party boss has travelled to several Southeast Asian countries in the past two years as Vietnam has built up its regional links prior tojoining the regional grouping, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Vietnam is due to become Asean's seventh member next July, joining Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw, accompanying Than Shwe to Vietnam, said in a nwespaper interview that Burma also wanted to join Asean. (The Nation) ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News: MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1995 Issue #100 Contents: NATION:RANGOON JUNTA UNTRUSTWORTHY, CLAIMS OPPOSITION FEER:A STITCH IN TIME BKK POST:SHAN, THAI ARE BLOOD BROTHERS THE NATION: AGEING KAREN GUERRILLA LEADERS TO MAKE WAY FOR YOUNG BRIGADE BKK POST: BURMESE SOLDIERS TARGET NEW KNU BASE BKK POST:KAREN BASE THREATENED THE NATION:SKIRMISHES RAISE FEARS OF NEW SLORC ATTACK ON KAREN THE NATION: VN, BURMA IN FORESTRY PROTECTION AND ANTI-DRUGS PACT VISIT TO NLD IN RANGOON USDA RECRUITS BURMESE AUNG SAN SUU KYI: BURMA'SLAST HOPE ************************************************************** AGEING KAREN GUERRILLA LEADERS TO MAKE WAY FOR YOUNG BRIGADE 13 March 1995 Kanehaly, Burma - Several Karen guerrilla leaders will retire or step aside to make way for younger people when the Karen National Union (KNU) holds its upcoming congress to decide the ffuture of the 46-year-old movement. The ethnic group also intends to establish an advisory board and will ask ssever ageing leaders, with extensive political and military experience, to help guide and lead the KNU through the difficult period following the recent loss of two strategic stronghold in the North to the Burmese army. Although the KNU has not yet released the names of leladers who will step down after the next congress, it is believed that the majority of the outgoing leaders are retiring for reasons of health or advanced age. KNU leader Gen Bo Mya has rejected as "pure rumour," recent press reports carrying the names of KNU leaders they say will be asked to resign from their current positions. The 68-year-old guerrilla leader denied he had any ambitions to hang on to his presidency but said that even if he has to retire, he "will carry on the fight against the enemy". There has been much speculation over the past few months there would be a change in the KNU leadership after the movement suffered a severe political and military setback when the Burmese army resumed as all-out offensive in early December in an attempt to crush the armed group. IN an interview over the weekend with The Nation, Gen Bo Mya conceded that there would be a change in the Knren leadership once the KNU holds its 11th congress "in the very near future". "The new leaders will be elected when the KNU holds its congress in the very near future ... those who are too old and who are no longer able to work wilwl retire and let younger people take over their places. Several leaders have expressed a desire to retire but I don't want to reveal their names. There are three or four people involved," he said. Bo Mya, who also commands the KNU forces, would not reveal whether he was one of those intending to retire, but sid "even if I have to retire, I will still cary on the fight against the enemy." The KNU, he said, intends to set up an advisory board on which older leaders will be asked to serve as political and military advisers to the next generation of Karen fighters who will emerge after the forthcoming elections. In a separate interview, Padoh Mansha, Bo Mya's personal secretary, ssaid the KNU congress usually elects a new 45-member central committee and new asministrative and military leaders. The congress is held every four years and is attended by hundreds of political and military representatives from the district level right down to township and villages. At the moment some 40 top KNU leaders are holding an emergency summit at temporary headquarters set up at Kanehlay, opposite Phop phra district in Tak province, to discuss, review and assess military and political policy after the KNU was driven out of its strongholds at Manerplaw and Kawmoora by the Burmese army offensive. "Over the past week, we have been discussing and studying our experiences and eviewing our military and political policies. We also analysts the [current]situation," Mansha said. He described the meeting, which continue this week, as "the most frank and open" discussion ever and said participants have helped identify "mistakes and weak points [in the movement] which need to be corrected". KNU General Secretary Padoh Ba Thin said the group will make "amendments and new arrangements wherever necessary in order to carry on the revolution" and that thosse attending the meeting "don't have many differences in their views and opinions" about the organizational, military, political and leadership problems confronting the KNU. According to Bo Mya, part of the ninepoint agenda has already been dealt wth and discussions will continue this week on plans for the future of the KNU. "Our military and political policies are good. The problem lics with implementation. We have not implemented them accordingly and fully," he said. According to Ba Thin, the KNU adopted the idea of using guerrilla warfare tactics right from its inception but this strategy has not been fully implemented. "We've been using 'deal posotion warfare' tactics, defending static strongholds. This strategy gives the enemy a lot of advantage since it's so easy for them pinpoint our location and attack us. If we implemented guerrilla warfare tactics effectively, it would raise the morale of our troops and reduce casualties. We must admit that we have made mistakes with that," Ba Thin said. On the political front, Ba Thin said the KNU needs to carry out a "good popular campaign" to increase support among the local population, make the Karen people understand the KNU's political aims and objectives and "the real intention" of the Burmese junta towards the ethnic Karen populace. (TN) KARENS FLEE CLASH ACROSS BORDER 13 , March 1995 About 1,000 Karen refugees fled into Phop Phra district after a calsh between Burmese soldiers and the Karen National Union (KNU) on Satuarday morning. District officials said the refugees were women, children and elderly people who either set up temporary camps at Ban Mae Ok Su or stayed with relatives at Ban Vallley Nua and Mawkier Yang refugee camp under the care of the Border Patrol Police and voluntary Territorial Defence students. A Border Patrol Police report said 1,000 Burmese troops from three battalions were marching from Tinkanyinaung Command Centre to take position before Maekala camp to launch an offensive against KNU troops. The KNU withdraw its forces from Kawmoora camp, the last of its strongholds opposite Mae Sot, after heavy attacks by Burmese troops late last month. (BP) BURMESE SOLDIERS TARGET NEW KNU BASE 13 March 1995 Burmese troops were manoeuvring yesterday to attack a makeshift Karen rebel headquarters along the Thai-Burmese border, as Thailand warned it would retaliate for any incursions. Some 1,000 Rangoon soldiers, supported by 100 trucks carrying weapons and ammunition, were travelling from Pha-an for the assault on the Karen National Union (KNU) at Kanaelay, Thai military-run TV reported. Burmese patrols, attacking in three-pronged formation, had already clashed with Karen insurgents in a village near the camp early yesterday, a Thai Border Patrol Police (BPP) official told AFP by phone. "We have means to retaliate against any intrusion," Thai Army Assistant Commander Chettha Thanajaro told reporters yesterday, though he said he was confident any action by Rangoon would not split into Thailand. Rangoon is "trying to play by its rules and manners," he said. Thailand was forced last month to evacuate a border village 30 kilometres north of Kanaelay, shifting hundres of Thai inland when a Rangoon artillery attack on the rebel camp of Kawmoora strayed into Thai territory. By midday, tensions at the Thai-Burmese border appeared to have abbed slightly, with border sources reporting villagers freely crossing the Moei River for trade. Roughly 1,000 karen rebels have been stationed at Kanaelay, on Burma's eastern border. Directly across the river from Thailand's Phop Phra District, the camp was hastily erected for a meeting of the KNU's central committee last week. The meeting is expected to resume today, border sources said. (BP) KAREN BASE THREATENED 13 March1995 The KNU has been reeling from a concentrated military campaign that saw Rangoon take the KNu's 20-year-old headquarters at Manerplaw in late January and then its final stronghold, Kawmoora camp, on February 21. The latest junta troop movements come two days after unidentified gunmenstruck at a Rangoon gas pipeline project in Karen territory. Wednesday, armed gunmen struck for the first time at an international gas pipeline project in Karen-majority territory in southern Burma, killg five workers and injuring 11 others. No one has claimed responsiblity for the attack, though the KNU has officialoly stated it considered the pipeline a target. The pipeline, which would bring millions of doolars in revenues to the junta eachyear, is a joint venture between Total of France, Unocal of the United States and the Burmese oil authority. Thailand is to purchase the gas once the pipeline is up and runing. (BP) RANGOON JUNTA UNTRUSTWORTHY, CLAIMS OPPOSITION 13 march 1995 Two Burmese oopsition groups in exile said yesterday that the junta's crackdown on the ethnic minority karen in Burma proved it could not be trusted, and urged the international community to boycott Rangoon. The All Burma Students' Democratic Front and the Democratic Party for New Society issued statements to mark the seventh anniversary on March 13 of the start of a student uprising against the military dictaorship. On that day in 1988, troops fired on a crowd of prosters in Rangoon, killing 23-year-old Ko Phone Maw. The students said the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) had broken its own ceasefire by attacking jungle bases of the Karen National Union (KNU) on the Burmese-tahai border this year. "The Slorc cannot be trusted, should not be recognized as the de jure government and should be strongly denounced," the students said in a statement. The Slorc seized power with military backing in September 1988 after suppressing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising with the loss of thausands of lives. The European Union and the United States have expressed concern about the army campaign against the Karen and have renewed calls for the junta to seek a peaceful settlement with the country's numerous wthnic minorities. At the same time, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are following up their policy of "constructive engagement" towards the Slorc with a vigorous expansion of trade. (TN) SKIRMISHES RAISE FEARS OF NEW SLORC ATTACK ON KAREN 13 March 1995 Two Burmes troops were killed and one wounded during two minor calshes ealy yesterday with karen guerrilla forces patrolling the border area opposite Thailand's Phop Phra district ot Tak province. The clashes, though small, have provoked fear of the resumption of Burmese military offensives against the Karen National Union (KNU), which recently lost its Manerplaw headquarters and another startgegic northern stronghold to the Burmese army. Thai border forces were placed on alert after the incidents, which took place at 8 am and 9am about five kilometres from the Thai-Burmese border and opposite the Thai village of Baan Valley Tai. Thai border sources said each calsh between one company of about 80 Burmese soldiers and KNU forces lasted about 3-4 minutes only, but resulted in two burmese killed and one wounded. There was no report of casualties on the guerrillas' side. The sources said some time Thai and Karen villagers, working at a saw mill in the area, fled into Thailand after the clashes, carrying with them wood processing equipment and some processed wood. KNU and Thai sources said they could not confirm if the movement of Burmese troops in the area was part of the Burmese army's preparation for another major military strike agaisnt KNU bases located south of Myawaddy, a Burmese border town. KNU leader Gen Bo Mya told The Nation in an interview on Saturday that he believed the closure of Myawaddy to cross-border transportation from Thailand's Mae Sot district and the cutting of communications links with the same area, was probably to facilitate the transportation of Burmese army reinforcements and military hardware to the town. He said he is uncertain if the reinforcements are meant to provide extra security protection for Myawaddy, or to strengthen or reinforce the Burmese forces for another attack against the KNU 6th Brigade area located south of Myawaddy. "I think they closed Myawaddy because they don't want villagers and passers-by to notice the movement and reinforcement of Burmese forces to the area," he said. Senior KNU officers said they have intelligence reports of about 100 trucks loaded with fresh troops and alarge quanity of arms and ammunition sent from Pa-an to Tingannyinaung and Myawaddy. "We don't know where these troops and military hardware are destined for and whether they are meant to attack us," said one KNU officer. Without prior official warning, Burmese authorities in Myawaddy announced on March 5 that they would temporarily close the border begining the next day. No reasons were given, nor was the expected duration of closure announced. Commander of Task Force 34 in Mae Sot Col Direk Yaem-ngamreap sasid earlier that he did not know the real resons behind the Burmese move. Thai border sources suspected that the Burmese authorities were upset with Direk's decision to retaliate with force agaisnt any territorial incursions by armed Burmese troops and breakway forces of former KNU members. Itruders have been illegally crossing the Moei River into refugee camps to kidnap and harass Karen refugees and KNU leaders. (TN) SHAN, THAI ARE BLOOD BROTHERS 13 March 1995 Sir; I respond to your report "Burmese army to move against drug warlord Khun Sa" on March 4. The boast of a senior intelligence officer, Kyew Thei, that Khun Sa was excluded from the truce offer because he is a criminal, is absurd. Why would Khun Sa, who declared an Indepandent Shan State on December 12, 1993 and "total war" against the Burmese government on April 14 last year, as for a truce? A massive offensive launched by the Burmese army against Khun Sa's mong Thai Army (MTA) in mid-1994, which caused heavy losses on the Burmese side, raised the political profile of Khun Sa and increased the support for him among the Shan people. Although morally and menatally weak, the Burmese army has been temporarily strengthended by its recent offensive against the Karen National Union, and it will be prepared for sure to launch a heavy offensive against Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army before revolution spreads to the whole Shan State. It is not now a war between Khun Sa and the Burmese army, but one between the people of Shan State as a whole and the Burmese army, which is an imperial force. We the Shan people believe that the Thai people are our blood relatives, our brothers and sisters, and that the Thais, except a handful of opportunists who benefit from deals with the Burmese government, do not do any damage to the Shan State and the souls of the Shan people. The Hsen wi battle, in which Phra Nareson halped the Tai (Shan) fight the Burmese king, has not been forgotten. (BP) VN, BURMA IN FORESTRY PROTECTION AND ANTI-DRUGS PACT 13 March 1995 Hanoi - Vietnamese and Burmese leaders signed agreements on Saturday to cooperate in combatting narcotics and improving forestry management. Officials met for a brief signing ceremony before a delegation led by the head of Burma's ruling military junta left for Ho Chi Minh City, the second leg of its five-day trip to Vietnam. Than Shwe, who also serves as Burma's prime minister, agreed with Vietnam's Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet to hold a second round of state visits in the future. Than Shwe is the first Burmese leader to travel here since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and his Burmese counterpart, Ohn Gyaw, signed a pact to exchange information to help fight cross-border trafficking in heroin and opium. Burma is the world's beggest cource of the two narcotics, according to a recent US State Department report. Vietnam is struggling to wipe out its own crops of heroin poppies. Vietnam's Forestry Minister Nguyen Quang Ha signed a memorandum of understanding with his Burmese counterpart, Chit Swe, to share knowledge about preserving valuaable hardwood trees such as teak. An agreement to set up commercial air links between Hanoi and Rangoon may be signed soon, said Khin Maugn Win, deputy director general of Burma's foreign ministry. Burma and Vietnam are both trying to integrate their fledgling freemarket economies into the region, which is dominated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Vietnam plans to join Asean in July. Burma also hopes eventually to become a member, its foreign minister told Vietnam's Communist party newspaper Nhan Dan (The People) in an interview published on Fridasy. The association already includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. Vietnam and the six Asean members are concerned about China's growing influence in Burma, which must of the world has treated as apriah nation since the military junta seized power in 1988. China is Burma's believed to have granted the Chinese navy base privileges in the Andaman Sea. "That is absolutely not true," said Khin Maung Win, when asked about the reported naval agreement. (TN) MARCH 16(FEER) A STITCH IN TIME Businessman-turned-artisan help preserve local craftsmanship By Michael Vatikiotis Sein win Myint is an unlikely campaigner for the revival of Mandlay's traditional art. The 50-year-old former literature student hails from a merchant family and was himself inn business for 20 years. But the long time watercolor painter left trading to dabble in traditional tapestry-making. He's keen to promote Burma's crafts-people, and his trade experience and an eye for beauty qualify him for the jub. "Since Burma has started moving towards an open market, artist, sculptors and woodcarvers have been quite busy," says the jovial Sein Win Myint, squinting through his one good eye. "But we need to worry about quality." Under the "Burmese way to socialism" - the idology behind the economic polices of Burma's former strongman, Gen.Ne Win - art languished in Burma along with the economy.. Now that is posied to change, as Burma throws open its doors to tourists to earn much-needed foreign exchange. According to Sein Win Myint, Burma's artisans were not deprived altogether of a livelihood during the long years of isolatiion from 1962 to 1988. They fed neighbouring Thailand's increasing appetite for art and curios from Burma. But quality yielded to quanity as demand increased. Characteristic red ochre-hude Burmese lacquer-ware, for example, is widely available in Thailand - though the quality is poorer than that sold inside Burma. Tourist bazaars like the one that has sprung up along Bangkok's famed Patpong road - best known for its "go-go" girlie bars - sell cotton T-shirts with Burmese tapestries stitched to the front, bearing the slogan "Visit Thailand." "Most people think these tapestries come from Thailand," says Sein Win Myint, who shudders at the thought that Burmese art is being identified with Thailand. Even Burma can't take all the credit for introducing the art of tapestry: it is likel;y to have arrived in that country from India. The art of sewing Kalagas - a term derived from Sanskrit that refers to large tapestries used as wall hangings or room dividers - probably originated there in the 18th century. Typically, artisans areate kalagas by sewing sequins, galss beads, and coloured threads onto back velvet. The raw meterials attest to the benefits of overseas trade: the sequins and thread were often sourced from India or Europe; the velvet came from China. Kalaga motifs and styles vary. Some tapestries depict traditional Burmese mythical animal motifs: the peacock, lion and elephant. Other portray a scene from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. By padding out some areas of the tapestry, craftsmen achieve a three-dimensional effect. Thai buyer typically order small pieces in large quantities from Burma, then smuggle them across the border between the two countries. While the pices may look similar, Sein Win Myiint insists that each tapestry should be considered an individual work of art. Sein Win Myint himself ranks as one of Burma's master tapestry artists. In the forecourt of his modest two-storey house on the outskirts of Mandalay, teams of young girls sit around streatched lengths of balck velvet. They siitch in pieces of silver, glass, and gold thread, following Sein Win Myint's design drawn onto the cloth. "I make the beginign, and then I add the finishing touches," says Sein Win Myint, who always sign his work in gold thread. Even a small Sein Win Myint tapestry can fetch about $20. "You're luckly if he has any in Rangoon, who has bought his tapestries. "They are much in demand." Six years ago, the Burmese Government commissioned Sein Win Myint to sew a large tapestry that reflected Burma's essence; the kalaga was their gift to the United Nations headquarters in New York. It took 11 months for Sein Win Myint to complete the 17-by-7-foot work. As Sein Win Myint describes it, "the tapestry despicts Burma as a peaceful, industrious country still relying on agriculture." Today's visitors may not view the country that yaw. But from the tiny workshop above his house, it's a bucolic side to modern Burma that Sein win Myint is anxious to preserve. And he's already broken ground for an arts and crafts museum and gallery that will safeguard it.(FEER) The Irrawaddy Independent News & Information Vol3 No 11 28 Feb 1995 ADDRESS; BURMA INFORMATION GROUP P.O.BOX 14154 SILVER SPRING MD 20911 U.S.A VISIT TO NLD IN RANGOON Like other parties, the National League for Democracy is permitted to maintain an office in Rangoon. But a visit to the site, past the cement and wood rubble of an abandoned first floor room and up a back staircase, reveals that this, too, is just for show. Five elderly men sit quietly in the dark office of rickety wooden chairs and tables. One of them says It is impossible to talk about the situation. Appearing frail and afraid, they refuse to say more. Residents say the vast majority of the people still support opposition leader Ms. Suu Kyi but are too afraid of being turned in by informants to mount any resistance. They have the guns. We don't, says a hotel worker. What can we do? A sense of oppression affects even a foreign observer in the capital, who asks not to be named by country or occupation. He says that while Slorc's open military presence has receded into the background, no one feels free in Burma. I've found pretty much universal loathing of the government, a lot of bitterness, he says. But with the tight grip the junta now has over the people, it could be yearseven decadesbefore it is ousted, he adds, there's such a tight lid on things. Residents say authorities have bought the silence of some of the opposition by helping select political opponents start business. Monks, many of whom fought the regime in 1988, have been given cars or trips abroad for their support. The government has done its best to placate university students. As the sun sets back in downtown Rangoon, a 26-year-old woman is selling noodles in a temple. A fourth-grade dropout, she looks malnourished and unwashed. Piling spicy noodles on a plate for a customer with her filthy hands, she says she earns about 1,000 kyat (9.52) a month to live a life that is sometimes so diffi Aung San Suu Kyi, who Burmese call Daw Suu or Ma Suu is not forgotten.(Inside sources) AUNG SAN SUU KYI: BURMA'SLAST HOPE KYAW ZWA She is indeed Burma's most prominent opposition leader. At present, she and her followers should be running the country as their party the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in a 1990 general election. But instead they were all thrown into jail. Aung San Suu Kyi, described as the only hope for Burma to restore peace, democracy and freedom may be the junta's next target. As Slorc troops captured Manerplaw and Kawmoora the generals in Rangoon gained more confidence over their foes. Recently, the military regime, announced Suu Kyi will not be freed until a new constution is adopted. It is hardly surprising as the junta push Tatmadaw's leading role in politics and they bar Suu Kyi from ever becomming a leader because of her marriage to a foreigner and her life overseas. With the fall of Manerplaw, the from opposition groups lost their main bases where they opposed the junta. Moreover, the NLD leaders and other opponents in Burma are still being detained on have been marginalised. As analysts put it: Like the Chinese democracy movement, the Burmese equivalent is infighting and factionalism. It may be doomed to irrelevance. On the other hand, Asean leaders continue their constructive engagement policy with the junta while the west's protest over Slorc mean only double standards and hypocrisy . In this case, Asean leaders could play a key role for a real change in Burma. Asiaweek's recent editorial suggested they (Asean leaders) know how to appeal to Burmese sensibilities and help induce positive changes. Asean avoid confrontation and the often counter-productive-rhetoric of Western human rights groups, but its members agree that the Slorc regime lacks ligitimacy. By stepping up their constructive engagement with Rangoon, Asean continues can draw on their own experiences to help their neighbour make economic and political progress. An increasingly stable, prosperous and open Myanmar would enhace those same attributes throughout the region. Once Ms. Suu Kyi becomes involved in government, Rangoon will be able to atract home the of thousands of educated Burmese now in exile. Their expertise is essential if the country is to modernize. Indeed, if Suu Kyi was not detainee but president of Burma she and her able followers will find a peaceful way to solve Burma's problems. For instance. she will not order Burmese troops to shell and kill their brothers, the Karens. Asiaweek cotinues: On the other hand, if the generals make a mess of the economy, internal pressures could intensify to the point where Miss Suu Kyi would be the only person with the charisma and moral authority to save the day. Most analysts agree that economic reform alone will sustain a modest level of growth, but that a quantum leap won't come without a political transformation. End =========================================================