************************************************************* The BurmaNet News:21 March 1995 Issue #127 [Covering 18-21 March, 1995] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTED IN PASSING: The political history of Burma during the past 50 years is that of a continual battle between Burmese students(the forces of modernisation) and the Burma Army. The army always won these battles by shooting the students. But in the process it killed Burma's future. This is the tragedy of Burma. Myint Thein, Contents: *************************INSIDE BURMA************************* BKK POST: BURMESE OPPOSITION WELCOMES RELEASE OF DETAINEES BKK POST: BURMA'S WELL-EDUCATED ARE LEAVING BKK POST: CENSORSHIP REMAINS IN BURMA, SAYS NGO REPORT ********************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI******************** THE NATION: SET BACKS FORCE BO MYA OUT AS KNU COMMANDER IN CHIEF BKK POST: KAREN LEADER GIVES UP HIS MILITARY POSITION BKK POST: KAREN VILLAGERS SEEK MOVE TO HIGHER LAND BKK POST: BURMA SUGGESTS SALWEEN PROJECT **************************SHAN STATE************************** BKK POST:KHUN SA UNIT DESTROYS BRIDGE IN BURMA RAID NATION: RANGOON SENDS MORE TROOPS AGAINST KHUN SA BKK POST: WHEN NECESSARY EVILS TRAMPLE ON THE POOR BKK POST: SHELTER ON HAND FOR REFUGEES BKK POST: RANGOON REINFORCES TROOPS AGAINST MTA NATION: SHAN REBELS IN SUPRISE RAID ON THAI-BURMESE BORDER TOWN BKK POST: KHUN SA FORCES LAUNCH PRE-DAWN RAID ON TOWN BKK POST: DEFENDANTS DENY CHARGES OF HEROIN SMUGGLING ************************THAILAND****************************** NATION: THAI MILITARY NEEDS CLEAR POLICIES ON FRONTIERS BKK POST: EMBASSY: BURMA TO FREE THAI FISHERMEN BKK POST: BURMESE OFFENSIVE HURTS THAI EXPORTS BKK POST: WIMOL--NO ROLE IN BURMA ****************************REGION**************************** BKK POST: JAPAN GRANTS AGRICULTURAL AID TO BURMA, SAYS NOT BACKING MILITARY *************************INTERNATIONAL************************ BKK POST: EU CONCERNED OVER BURMESE ATTACK ON KAREN GUERRILLA BASE ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * Iti * covering Burma. 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Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains an archive of Burma-related documents. Views expressed in The BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect those of either NCGUB or Burma Issues] ************************************************************** *************THE BURMANET NEWS--MARCH 21, 1995*************** ************************************************************** *************************INSIDE BURMA************************* BKK POST: BURMESE OPPOSITION WELCOMES RELEASE OF DETAINEES 18 March 1995 Burma's main opposition alliance yesterday welcomed the release of 31 political prisoners and said it was hopeful the gesture could lead to a loosening of the military junta's grip on the country. The national coalition government of the Union of Burma also renewed its call for the immediate release of Burma's best-known dissident, nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. On Wednesday the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) released. Government-run Burmese media said the prisoners were released as a gesture to mark the golden jubilee of the Burmese armed forces. In a statement distributed to news agencies yesterday, the opposition coalition, which includes the National League for Democracy, said it "welcomes this positive gesture and hopes that this is the harbinger of what is to come in the process towards national reconciliation and democratisation of the nation." (BP) *************************INSIDE BURMA************************* BKK POST: BURMA'S WELL-EDUCATED ARE LEAVING 19 March 1995 Singapore and Rangoon were regarded as the most modern cities in Southeast Asia before World War Two. The world famous Raffles Hotel and Rangoon's Strand Hotel were built by the same architect at the beginning of the 20th century. At the end of this century, Singapore has the best standard of living in Asia and its per capita income equals that of Britain. Burma, on the other hand, is now one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and is often compared with Third World countries in Africa. Singapore and Burma both inherited the Britich educational system. Instruction was in English and, until the early 1960s, the quality of education at the University of Rangoon was comparable to that of the National University of Singapore. Burma's decline began when generals seized power in 1962. The generals' ill-defined Burmese socialism destroyed Burmese education. Instruction in English was banned and the generals' arrogant methods of governing forced Burma's best and brightest to leave the country. The political history of Burma during the past 50 years is that of a continual battle between Burmese students (the forces of modernisation) and the Burma Army. The army always won these battles by shooting the students. But in the process it killed Burma's future. This is the tragedy of Burma. A few yeears ago I met a highschool classmate. He had been chairman of a department at Rangoon's major hospital. I asked him why a successful doctor with no interest in politics would leave the country and seek employment overseas. His answer stunned me. He said his son was 10 years old and Slorc had sent soldiers with machineguns to the school since the boys were shouting anti-regime slogans. He could not sleep because of this situation and had to leave the country to enable his son to get a proper education. A generation of young Burmese is growing up hating the army. They have seen their older brothers and sisters killed by the army simply because they wanted their country to have freedom and democracy. This new generation, too, will clash with the army. The army is in constant denial of its role in destroying Burma during the past 30 years.Burma has no future until it is led by educated professioals. I n Taiwan, President Lee Teng Hui and 12 members of his cabinet hold PhDs from US universities (Business Week, March 6). In Burma, Lt-Gen Myo Nyunt, chairman of the National Convention, has a fourth standard education. For those not familiar with the Burmese educational system, Gen Myo Nyunt attended kindergarten and did not attend middle or high school. Last year Slorc sent a delegation on a public relations mission. It held many meetings in Europe, America and Australia. But the people it wanted to meet refused to turn up. One of them is an outstanding economist. Twenty years ago, when I attended meetings on the West Coast, many Stanford Business School graduates would say, "If you are Burmese, you must be smart". They would talk about their favourite from Burma. This professor served as an economics President Nixon in the 1970s and served on the very prestigiouos three-member Council of Economic Advisers. He was the first Asian to serve at cabinet-level. Another outstanding Burmese who refused to meet the Slorc delegation is the chairman of the economics department at an Ivy League university. In the 1970s he was kicked out of Burma by the generals because he was not "pure-Burmese". The army's intolerant policies have forced Burma's best teachers to leave the country. Its best doctors are also leaving. In 1988, doctors at the Rangoon General Hospital saw thousands of Burmese murdered in the streets. What made them hate the army was soldiers shooting six nurses inside the hospital compound for helping the wounded. Almost all the heads of department at the hospital have since left the country. In addition to Britain and the United States, Jamaica is a popular destination of Burmese doctors. One hospital in Hong Kong is staffed almost entirely by Burmese doctors. In Malaysia there are 500 doctors from Burma. In Burma, only 30 new doctors applied for 300 openinga as assistant surgeons this year. Slorc, to counter this crisis, now requires all new doctors to work three years before they can apply for a passport. Slorc is incapable of rebuilding Burmese education. Almost all the foreign-trained professors have left the country. To counter student protests, Slorc closed all colleges and universities for four years. But it is building luxury hotels for foreign tourists. It has spent $20 a month, but in Singapore their counterparts can earn as much as $100,000 a year. Hyperinflation caused by enormous budget deficits to finance the army has forced teachers to join the ranks of the poor. (BP) Myint Thein is an economist based in Dallas Texas. BKK POST: CENSORSHIP REMAINS IN BURMA, SAYS NGO REPORT 21 March 1995 Situation of censorship and freedom of expression have not yet inproved in Baurma as the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council still tighly controls the mass media, a report by a non-government organisation says. "The Slorc's maintenance of strict controls of freedom of expression, and the associated rights to freedom of association and assembly, suggests that the Burmese military is not yet prepared to loosen its grip on the political life on the country and hand over power to democratically-elected civilian leaders," said the report of London-based Article 19. The report "Censorship Prevails: Political Deadlock and Economic Transition in Burma" examines censorship laws and record of repression committeed by the Burmese government. The restriction by Rangoon, described as "one of the most heavily censored states in the world," violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which ensure everybody the right to freedom of opinion, its press release said. Article 19's report criticised the military regime for using the government-owned mass media as a mouthpipes for propaganda, adding that Burmese journalists and writers were used to exercising self-censorship to be safe from financial loss and imprisonment. The press Scrutiny Board is still powerful enough to enforce censorship because all publications have to be sent to the board under the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962, the report said. (BP) ******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI******************* NATION: SET BACKS FORCE BO MYA OUT AS KNU COMMANDER IN CHIEF 20 March 1995 GENERAL Bo Mya, leader of the only ethnic resistance group to the Burmese military government still active, has stepped down as commander in chief of the KAren NAtional Union. His decision follows political and military setbacks, including the recent loss of the KNU's HQ at Manerplaw to BUrmese government troops. A KNU spokesman said 69-year-old Bo Mya will continued to hold the largely ceremonial position of KNU congress, when a major reshuffle is expected. The change was made late on thursday at an emergency meeting called to discuss strategy and a possible changes within the organization. The meeting was held at Kanehlay, which is opposite Tak's Phop Phra district. "General Bo Mya has stopped down from the position but he will still carry on the position of president," said Arthur Shwe, who was appointed KNU minister of Foreign affair at the meeting. General Tamala Baw, who was previously the KNU vice president, will replace Bo Mya for now, shwe said. Bo Mya is one of the longest serving rebel leaders in the world, as the became the KNU commander in chief and president more than 21 years ago. The KNU was formed in 1949 to fight for Karen autonomy from the Burmese central government, right after Burma gained independence from Bratain in 1948. "General Tamala is acting commander in chief but all these positions are temporary. The real changes are to be discussed during the party congress to be held soon," SHWE SAID. Thai military sources confirmed BO Mya's resignation. Intelligence and Karen rebel sources said the forthcoming reshuffle was expected to elevate Shwe Hser, a more pragmatic Karen leader, to the position of commander and replace other ageing current leaders with younger people. Other appointments made at Thursday's meeting included David Thor as secretary-general for foreign affair and Karen as finance minister. A former Buddhist abbot of Kawmoora temple, Maung Satil, was made governor of Pa-an area, replacing Padoma, who is beleived to have been abducted by the DKBO. Maung Satila will be responsible for bringing back the members of the Buddhist DKBO, a breakaway group which recently took sides with the Burmese government. The project is being given priority by the KNU. A Thai sources said the Thursday meeting ended abruptly following reports that thousands of Burmese government troops were advancing on the Karens makeshift temporary hq in southeast Burma. The KNU suffered a major setback in December after a Buddhist faction staged a munity against the Christian-dominated group breaking away and eventually defecting to join the Burmese government side the DKBO.(TN) BKK POST: KAREN LEADER GIVES UP HIS MILITARY POSITION 20 March 1995 The commander-in-chief of one of the world's oldest rebel groups, the Karen National Union (KNU), has stepped down following setbacks for the ethnic minority, including the loss of their headquarters to Burma's army. KNU rebels and Thai sources said general Bo Mya will continue to hold the largely ceremonial position of KNU president until the next party congress, when a major reshuffle is expected. The change was made late on Saturday at an emergency meeting ended abruptly on reports that thousands of Burmese government troops were advancing on the Karen's makeshift temporary headquarters in southwest Burma. "General Bo Mya has stepped down from the position but he will still carry on the position of president," Arthur Shwe, appointed KNU minister of foreign affairs at themeeting, told Reuters. Bo Mya, 67, has acted as commander-in-chief of the 8,000-strong guerrilla force and president of the KNU for more than 21 years. The KNU was formed in 1949 to fight for autonomy from rangoon's central government, right after the Burmese gained independence from Britain in 1948. The rebels suffered a major setback last December after a Buddhist faction staged a munity against the Christian dominated group, breaking away and eventually defecting to join the Burmese government side. The split was key factor in the collapse of the KNU's headquarters at Manerplaw in late January, followed by the capture of the rebel's last major stronghold of Kawmoora. General Tamala Baw, previously KNU vice president, will replace Bo Mya for now, Shwe said. "General Tamala is acting commander-in-chief but all these positions are temporary. The real changes are to be discussed during the party congress to be held soon," Shwe said. Thai intelligence and Karen rebel sources said the reshuffle was expected to elevate Shwe Hser, a more pragmatic Karen leader one year older than Bo Mya, to the position of commander and replace other aging current leaders with young blood. Saturday's emergency meeting, the KNU's first major gathering since the setback, was held at the makeshift camp of Kanaelay in western Burma near the Thai border to discuss changing top positions and laying out a new strategy. But the meeting was forced to close on reports that more than 1,500 Burmese troops were advancing towards the hideout.(BP) BKK POST: KAREN VILLAGERS SEEK MOVE TO HIGHER LAND 20 March 1995 KAREN villagers behind Mae Wang Dam at Huay Ong Kot say they risk flooding unless they are given new land on which to resettle. They asked the local forestry office to find newland for them six months ago but they have not received a reply. New land must be part of any compensation package. Pha Kue village representative Hang. Phomuengsue said yesterday the community would be inundated during the next raining season if it was not moved by the end of May. The village is in Nong Prue sub-district of Borploy district in Kanchanaburi province. The Royal Irrigation Department Built the dam to provide water for the Huay Ong Kot agricultural project. The department offered to resettle the villagers as part of the projected but they refuse to move, citing loss of cultural identity. Although the villagers have occupied their present site for 97 years they did not have ownership rights to the land. Because of this, they sought new land in degraded forest through the Forestry Department. Local officials, Royal Deveploment Project Board officials and villagers assisted by representatives of the union for Civil Liberty met last week in an effort to resolve all problem. Sub district foresty official Niran Promtan said the BAn POng regional officaer sent him a letter on MArch 3 telling the village to provide document.(BP) BKK POST: BURMA SUGGESTS SALWEEN PROJECT 19 March 1995 Burma has proposed to Thailand that it conduct a feasibility study for a hydropower plant on the Salween River in Karen state, sources said yesterday. However, Thailand has so far remained silent on the proposed plan which Burmese Energy Minister Khin Maung Thein submitted to the Thai Ambassador to Burma, Poksak Nilubol, for consideration in late January. The Rangoon government made the move following former foreign minister Thaksin Shinawatra's call for Burma to speed up its consideration of Thailand's Memorandum of Understanding on the river's joint development during his visit to the country's capital on January 19-21. Under the proposal, the Burmese energy minister has picked a site for the feasibility study in Hutgyi town near Pa-an, the Karen state capital, 150 kilometres from Tak's Mae Sot District, a source said. The Burmese government selected the location because it is under the control of its armed forces, which should prevent the site from being attacked by minority groups, the source said. It is the first time Burma hs agreed to seriously study the possibility of building a hydropower plant on the river to fully exploit the country's enormous potential to generate electricity, another source noted. However, the Thai government agencies involved have not yet reached a conclusion on the proposed study, the source said. Thailand will sound out the stance of all related agencies before arriving at a decision, a senior Foreign Ministr5y source said. Thailand held an informalmeeting to consider the Burmese Energy ministry's proposal for the first time in mid-February with representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Department of Energy Affairs, Department of Irrigation and the Energy Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) taking part. The Foreign Ministry source expressed concern over the ownership rights because if built in the proposed location, the dam would belong to Burma. But if built along the Thai-Burmese border, the rights would be shared by both countries, the source said. "The question of ownership will determine who should be responsible for the [feasibility] study, costing$4-5 million plus an additional $10 million for the engineering design," the souce noted. "If the dam is built in Burma, the Rangoon government should pay for it," the source noted. An Irrigation Department official expressed doubt over the project, saying one difficulty would be the engineering design because it involves building tunnels some 100-kilometres long to divert irrigation channels into Thailand. If the dam is built, Egat would possibly bynelectricity derived from it, a source present at the February meeting quoted an Egat official as saying. Thailand submitted a draft of the Memorandum of Understanding on the joint development plan and the feasibility study of the Salween river to Burma in 1993.(SP) **************************SHAN STATE************************** KHUN SA UNIT DESTROYS BRIDGE IN BURMA RAID BY SUBIN KHERNKAEW CHAING RAI DRUG warlord Khun Sa's soldiers yesterday blew up a steel bridge about eight kilometres from Tachilek twonship, virtually cutting off land communication between the Burmese border trading post and the hinterland. Heavy fighting continued yesterday between Burmese government forces and Khun Sa's Muang Tai Army in Ban Pang Ma O and Ban Pang Kaw, about 30 kilometres to the south of Tachilek, opposite Mae Fa Luang Subdistrict. The powerful bridge explosion, which took place at 3.35p.m., completely destroyed the steel bridge across the Ruak River. It came two days after the MTA threatened to sabotage the border twonship. A Thai tradeer who witnessed the incident said he saw ten Burmese troops who were patrolling near the bridge run for cover together with Burmese civilians. No injuries or causalities were reported. A high-ranking MTA officer said Shan State National Congress chairman Zhao gan Sede announced earlier that the MTA would sabotage Tachilek for self-defence. The bridge bombing was inmtended top disrupt the movement of Burmese reinforcements to the border, said the officer who added the MTA would try to avoid causing injury to civilians. Destruction of the bridge has stranded hundreds of Thai and foreign tourists in Kengtung, a popular Burmese tourist attraction, according to tour operators. They said planned trips to Kengttung and beyond had been cancelled temporarily until the situation inside Burma improved. Several THai traders appear to be angry because goods sold to their Burmese counterparts were held up in Tachilek and could not be transported to Kengtung, effectively postponing trading. Thai officials said it would take several days before the Burmese could repair the bridge and reopen communications with Kengtung. They anticipated it might be possible that a Thai contractor be hired by Burmese autthorities to undertake repairs. Informed MTA sources said more than one team of sappers were in Tachilek to carry out sabotage attacks. MTA and Thai provincial sources claimed about 100 Burmese troops were killed after becoming trapped under heavy gunfire by Khun Sa's men in a valley of Ban Pang Ma O and Ban Pang Kaw. (BP) NATION: RANGOON SENDS MORE TROOPS AGAINST KHUN SA 19 March 1995 In Shan State, Burma_Burmese government reinforcements were moving into the mountains of northeastern Shan State yesterday to try and reach comrades locked in battle with guerrillas loyal to Burma's opium warlord Khun Sa. Guerrilla officers said 14 government army trucks packed with soldiers and heavy weapons were advancing towards their mountain stronghold in the eastern part of the state where 600 government soldiers have been pinned down by the ethnic minority rebels since Wednesday. "We were hoping they would just withdraw but it dosen't look like that will happen now. We're going to have to fight them," a regional commander in Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) told Reuters. The officer, who asked not to be identified, said his men were ambushing government troops as they moved into the mountains from the town of Tachilek on the border with Thailand. Artillery explosions bomed across the mountains from the battle as he spoke at an MTA outpost near the border. The MTA blew up a bridge on a main supply road linking Tachilek to the battle on Friday and detonated a large bomb killing several government troops at another location on the road on Thursday, the officer said. Burmese forces began their push against the MTA-held area, 25 kilometres west of Tachilek, on Tuesday. Heavy fighting erupted early on Wednesday and continued throughout the day as the guerrillas attacked the advancing government troops and managed to cut them off in a valley overlooked by mountain-top rebel strongholds, rebel officer said. Intermittent clashes have continued since then with the rebels and government troops dug in just 50 metres from wach other in some places. "This area is very close to Tachilek and Tachilek is important for the Slorc economy," said another guerrilla officer, Chit Shwe, referring to Burma's ruling military body, the State Law and Order Restoration Council. Tachilek lies at the centre of a planned economic development zone known as the growth quadrangle linking booming Thailand and southern China with resource-rich Burma and Laos. Khun Sa says he is a Shan nationalisty fighting for the independence of Shan state. He says he only taxes opium traders moving through his zone of control in the Golden Triangle opium growing region. Shan political sources say the despite his reputation as an opium warlord and a heroin trafficker Shan nationalists have rallied to Khun Sa as he is the only person in Shan state commanding a viable force opposing Slorc. MTA officers said Burmese forces were preparing a coordinated offensive against Khun Sa's whole zone of control in southern Shan state including his headquarters at Ho Mong, 180 kilometres to the west of the current battle. Burmese troops dispatched by rangoon to crush opium warlord Khun Sa's Muang Tai Army (MTA) have been under siege in the border town of Tachilek, another report from Thai military-run television said on Friday. Channel 7 quoted Chit Swe, a senior MTA official, as saying the MTA has encircled the Burmese ground troops between Ban Pang Ko and Ban Krung Sa, some 10 kilometres from Thailand's Mae Fa Luang district. The trapped Burmese troops defended themselves by digging trenches and setting up traps, forcing the MTA to delay their strike, the television said. Chit Swe reportedly said Rangoon had earlier sent in a unit from Tachilek to rescue their besieged comrades but the relief force stumbled on an MTA unit at Ban Pangma-O Nua and Ban Huay Hae, 12 kilometres away. About 20 Burmese soldiers were killed in the fighting, three were taken prisoners. Four Burmese porters were also captured and a large number of arms seized, he reportedly said. Khun Sa is the self-proclaimed leader of the Shan people and has demanded autonomy for the region from rangoon. His MTA controls much of Shan State, which US anti-drug authorities say is the main opium producer in the world. A government media report from Rangoon on Saturday said that Burma has arrested five members of Khun Sa's MTA on charges of extortion. Official television and newspapers reported that military intelligence officiers arrested the five men who were alleged to be extoring money from entrepreneurs in Taunggyi in the southern part of Shan state in northeastern Burma. The intelligence officers first arrested two men on March 10 and with information obtained from them later arrested other members of the group, the reports said.(TN&SP) BKK POST: WHEN NECESSARY EVILS TRAMPLE ON THE POOR 20 March 1995 Fighting has began again in rugged northern Burma, close to Thailand. The target of the latest offensive by the Burmese army is the drug warlord and self-professed Shan freedom fighter Khun Sa. The head of rangoon's State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), Khin Nyunt, has vowed to overrun Khun Sa and his private army this year. The 61-year-old commander of the Mong Tai Army has faced such threats in the past. Run out of his headquarters in Thailand by force years ago, Khun Sa may finally be caught in a trip. Despite his claims as a champion of Shan ind3ependence, it is Khun Sa's dark side which has brought him problems. Behind the twin shields of mountainous terrain and his own Shan United Army, Khun Sa has built the world's largest centre of heroin production and sale. Some 70 per cent of the drug found around the world_and 100 per cent of that in Thailand_ comes from Khun Sa's area. Other heroin-producting areas in Latin America and the Golden Crescent of South Asia are dwarfed by the size of the Golden Triangle output. Whether Khun Sa is a legitimate leader of Shan independence is questionable. Whether he is the world's largest heroin manufacturer is clear. Slorc, of course, has its own set of reasons for prusuing Khun Sa. Not all of them are admirable, to be sure. Khin Nyunt's refusal to negotiate in any way with the half-Shan, half-Chinese rebel commander seems ill-considered, to put it charitably. It is well-known that some of the most oppressed victims of the heroin trade are the opium farmers themselves. A military victory over Khun Sa may satisfy Slorc, but many innocent and poor are likely to die in the fighting. Rangoon has failed to put forward any suggestions of what it will do about, or for, the many civilians in case it wins its battle against Khun Sa. But it must also be remembered that Khun Sa himself has long been contemptuous of his own people. In true warlord tradition, he has rewarded the close followers on whom he depends. But he has kept farmers in virtual serfdom, dependent upon the single and unrewarding crop of opium. In Burma, as previously in Thailand, he has resisted all efforts and suggestions he move out of the drug trade and liberate farmers. As crop substitution programmes in Thailand and even Laos have given workers opportunity, Khun Sa and his lieutenants have ignored chances to spread freedom. Since last October, a special Thai military unit, the Naresuan Force, has been moving into position along the 500-km stretch of Thai-Burmese border across from Khun Sa's area. The mission of the new force is to end cross border movement of weapons, food, medicines, narcotics, and the chemicals needed to produce heroin. Lt gen Thanom Watcharaphut, the Naresuan commander, said he intended to tighten border controls with a dual aim:to curtail delivery of supplies to Khun Sa, without denying needed goods to villagers. Special checkpoints now promote lawful trade and restrict delivery of goods vital to the survival of the Khun Sa drug empire. This has put Khun Sa in a bind he has never faced before. Up until now, he has used the border like a guerrilla. Not until now has he had to consider both a determined Burmese army on one side and a Thai border force determined to block criminal infiltration into our country. Several Thai military officials in the region have stated openly this new development could make Khun Sa vulnerable to a concentrated Burmese attack. It remains to be seen whether rangoon is serious in its threat to cut into the heroin trade. Clearly, Slorc's main concern is to overwhelm and forcibly control all opposition to its dictaqtorial rule. For years, it has permitted an unprecedented rise in opium and heroin production on the grounds it was too difficult to attack the well-entrenched army of Khun Sa. In the more than six years it has ruled from Rangoon, the junta has failed to match the concern over the growing heroin trade shown by its neighbours. Fighting is already underway at the edges of Khun Sa's territory. The next few weeks will tell whether Slorc is serious about moving against the drug trade. If the Burmese army succeeds in its offensive and overwhelms Khun Sa, much will still remain to be done. Khun Sa is the undoubted leader of the heroin trade, but the battle against the lucrative Golden Triangle trafficking will still ne long and tough. If Slorc is serious about combatting this drugs scourge, it will deserve congratulations.(BP) BKK POST: SHELTER ON HAND FOR REFUGEES 20 March 1995 TEMPORARY shelter have been prepared in Mae Homh Son to cope with a possible influx of Burmese refugees from fighting between Rangoon forces and guerrillas of drug warlord Khun Sa. Mae Hong Son provincial authority and the Third Army Region jointly prepared the shelter in anticipation of heavy fighting in the area, provincial governor Somjet Viriyadamrong said yesterday. Border district authorities in Mae Hong Son have been told to set up relief centers to help Thai villagers who might be affected by the fighting, he said. A border Patrol Police source said Burmese government infantry were preparing for a major offensive against Khun Sa's force at Hua Maung village, opposite Mae Hong Son village. (BP) BKK POST: RANGOON REINFORCES TROOPS AGAINST MTA 20 March 1995 THE Burmese government id bringing 3,000 more troops into action against Khun Sa's MTA after several reverses have been at least 300 Rangoon soldiers killed in ambushes, according to Thai military sources. Only about 150 MTA soldiers have been killed because they have more weapons and are more familiar with the terrain, according to the sources. Heavy fighting between government and MTA soldiers resumed about 10km from the border with Chaing Rai province, around 2 a.m yesterday. Government troops, according to the sources , suffered setback as they were ambushed. Fighting continued at Doi Pha Daeng Laung, Doi Pha Daeng Noi and Pang Ma-o. Just over 50 soldiers from either side were treated in Thailand on humantarian grounds, the source said. The soldiers were sent to Mae Sai District Hospital or, in serious cases, to Chaing Rai Prachanukroh Hospital. Rangoon's reinforcements, with artillery, motors and intelligence units, yesterday reached. Tachilek district opposite Mae Sai district in Thailand, the source said. The reinforcements were divided in two part under the command of Lt-Gen Swe Win. About 1,000 troops were deployed to patrol the town of Plark and Hai. About 2,000 were told attack the MTA in Tamboon Palaew, Tachilek district. They have set up a command post in Tachilek only about 300 meters from the Mae Sai checkpoint. Khun Sa's force of 3,000 has set up its command post at Ban Prachang and has been deployed in town of Kan, Toum and Sard, according to a source in the MAi Sai border district. (BP) NATION: SHAN REBELS IN SUPRISE RAID ON THAI-BURMESE BORDER TOWN 21 March 1995 Fighters loyal to Burma's opium rebel Khun Sa yesterday raided a Burmese army barracks in a northeastern town, the least in a series of guerrilla attacks aimed at deflecting a government army offensive. Some 60 fighters from Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) staged the early morning raid on a Burmese army barracks and military guest houses in Tachilek, a bustling border town opposite the Thai town of Mae Sai, rebel sources and Thai officials on the border said. The rebels, firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, attacked for about one hour before withdrawing, one MTA official said. Burmese troops kept up an artillery barrage in the directiion of the retreating rebels for several hours after the hit-and-run raid, the guerrilla source said. Casualties on both sides were not yet known, he said. Seven MTA guerrillas crossed in Thai territory during the attack and were disarmed and detained by Thai forces, he said. A senior local Thai government official in Mae Sai said Thailand had closed the border yesterday. Tachilek's market, where hundreds of foreign and Thai tourists go sightseeing and shopping every day, was completely closed and the town's streets were deserted, he said. The attack was the latest in a apate of guerrilla raids since Burmese forces began an offensive against a guerrilla base in mountain 25 km west of Tachilek last week. MTA guerrillas ambushed a Burmese army unit ambushed a Burmese army unit Tachilek's airfield on Saturday and destroyed a bridge near the town of Kengtung, on the main road linking Tachilek with central Burma and China, on the same day, the guerrillas said. The rebels blew up another bridge on the road nearer Tachilek last Friday and killed several government soldiers with another bomb on a road on Thursday, they added. Guerrilla officer say they are trying to harass government forces and prevent reinforcements reaching troops locked in battle with the MTA in the mountains. The guerrillas say Bsurmese forces are trying to clear them from the economically important eastern section of Shan state. MTA commander Khun Sa says he is a Shan nationalist fighting for the independence of Shan state. Burma's military government says he is a drug-trading bandit and must be destroyed. Khun Sa, who say he only taxes opium traders in his area of control in the opium-growing Golden Triangle region, has been indicted in the United States on narcotics trafficking charges. (TN) KHUN SA FORCES LAUNCH PRE-DAWN RAID ON TOWN 21 MARCH 1995 THE forces of khun Sa's MTA launched a pre-dawn attack yesterday on Burmese government position in the border town of Tachilek. Some 60 MTA fighters, firing rockets and grenades, slipped into the township under the cover of darkness and pinned down Burmese troops for more than five hours before withdraw. The MTA first clashed with a Burmese patrol unit at about 4.a.m at Kong Thoon village, about two km to the south of border township. The fighting eventually spread to other part of the town and escalated when Burmese troops responded with motors and recoilless rifle fire. One M79 grenade fired from a launcher strayed across the border and hit a guest-house on the Thai side, causing some damage but no injures. At about 7 a.m, 15 MTA troops retreated by wading across the Mae Sai River to Ban Sob Sai where they were immediately disarmed by Thai security forces. One fighter who identified himself as Ai Suey said his unit leader, Capt Jai Mon, had disappeared while escaping and might have been killed in Tachilek. Five MTA fighters were wounded and are now receiving treatment at Mae Sai district Hospital. The fierce firefight, the first in many year at the town, left at least 10 hours in Tachilek ablaze as Burmese troops fired rockets to flush out MTA intruders suspected of hiding there. Reporters of casualties suffered by the two sides were not available. More than 1,500 Burmese civilians have fled across the border and are now being sheltered at Wat Wieng Pang Khan and Wat San Sai. The fighting yesterday is the latest in a spate of guerrillas raids after Burmese forces began and offensive against the MTA base about 25 km west of Tachilek. The incident yesterday forced the closure of the border. Thai and foreign tourists heading for Tachilek and Keng Tung, a Burmese town deeper inland, were told to return to the provincial township or Chaing MAi. District officer Padee Ratanaphol held an emergency meeting yesterday afternoon with authorities to be briefed on security measures. Police and troops were put on alert and Thai civilians living close to the border were warned top be extra careful. (BP) BKK POST: DEFENDANTS DENY CHARGES OF HEROIN SMUGGLING 21 March 1995 TWO defendants alleged to be underlings of drug warlord Khun Sa yesterday denied charges of smuggling heroin into the united state and asked the Criminal Court not to send them to stand trail there. Chao Fu Cheng alias Vicha Suthipan, and Kao Chang Ping alias Chamoon Thanakiatpaiboon are among 10 men wanted by the US on drug smuggling charges. As state witness, Pol Col Voravet Vinitnetayanoon and Pol Capt Adis Charoensawat from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau told the court the two defendants were Khun Sa's subordinates who were involved in smuggling more than one kilograms of heroin into the US from 1994-1988. But the two men insisted they were Thai and had never been to the US. The Criminal Court yesterday set April 24 and May 2 for more hearings of the case. (BP) ************************THAILAND****************************** NATION: THAI MILITARY NEEDS CLEAR POLICIES ON FRONTIERS 19 March 1995 Without restraint or warning, the Thai Army decided to vent its anger over the intrusion and killing of two Thai paramilitary sergeants of the Suranaree Task Force on Feb 28 by a group of armed Cambidian Government forces. This resulted in the killing of at least 10 intruders in the hot pursuit by the Thais, which was fully supported by artillery and surveillance aircraft. The official Thai warning and protest over the Cambodian ambush on a Thai military jeep in Si Sa Ket's Khun Harn district, in which four other Suranaree forces were also injured, only came four days after the Cambodians were killed in an apparent revenge bid. Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Wimol Wongwanich expressed his frankness by saying: "I have told my men to reciprocate such violence with violence. We cannot let our people die for nothing. Thais were not born to be killed by others." Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was even more vocal, stating that his administration would formally protest to Cambodia over the targic mishap and demand compensation for the families of the dead and injured. "We will drastically respond. We won't let our people die for nothing," he said. Early this week, the Thai government demanded its Cambodian counterpart for an explanation and an investigation into the arrest on March 9 of three Thais for ransom by local Khmer authorities at the Poipet border crossing. The hostages were freed only when a huge sum of money was paid and a document signed to affirm that they had not paid a ransom. As an immediate reprisal, the Thai Army threatened to close the crossborder checkpoint unless the ransom was returned. The sudden Thai miliatry tretaliation over the Cambodian attack has stunned the general public, who have not been kept well informed of violations of Thai territory by Cambodian troops. On the contrary, daily news reports, both in the press, and radio and TV, were flooded with numerous stories of incursions by armed Burmese and renegade Karen forces into refugee camps along the Thai western frontier with Burma. For the past two months, The Thai government and the military have failed to convince the Burmese junta and the breakaway Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organization (DKBO) to stop their illegal intrusions into Thai territory to violently harass tens of thousands of karen refugees in Thai border camps. Unlike the Cambodian incident, surprisingly, no military actions or retaliations were carried out when the Burmese and DKBO intruders failed to heed repeated Thai threats and warnings of drastic reprisals. Groups of armed Burmese and DKBO troops continue to cross the Moei and Salween rivers illegally, at will, into refugee camps in Thailand's Mae Hong Son and tak provinces. Apart from violent physical and verbal harassments, the intruders loot, maim, and have killed a number of Karen and Burmese refugees as well as Thai villagers. Also, a number of high ranking and senior leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) who have been taking temporary refuge in the camps, were forcibly kidnapped. The latest incident in which a Thai paramilitary ranger was killed and another seriously wounded by a group of armed intruders, who crossed the Salween River into Baan Mae Samrap in Mae Hong Son's Mae Sariang district, did not receive the same official attention as the incident in Si Sa ket, when Thai paramilitaries were ambushed and killed by Cambodian forces. Why the double standard we wish to ask? The sad fact is that despite frequent reports of Burmese and DKBO territorial violations and criminal actions, the Thai Government and military do not seem to take the worsening border stability and security along its western border with any amount of seriousness. KNU guerrilla leader Gen Bo Mya was right when he said the Burmese junta has "no respect for Thailand and Thai authorities." Predicting a more chaotic scenario, the Karen general has or many occasions urged the Thai government, particularly Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, to provide security and protection for 70,000 Karen refugees taking shelter in a dozen or so camps along the border. About 8,000 refugees, who feel unsafe residing in Baan Huay Manok in Tak's Tha Song Yang, decided to move deeper into Thailand on Thursday for fear of more threats and violence from Burmese and DKBO troops who sneaked into their camp a day earlier in an attempt to kidnap a karen camp leader. The intruders threatened to return by this weekend if the fugitives fail to return to Burma. The refugees have to take their own preventive measures when they feel that they cannot rely on Thai security authorities, who fail to protect not only the fugitives but also their own territory from foreign incursions. Time and again, the Burmese junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), has taken advantage of Thailand's couldn't-care-less attidute towards the Burmese pro-democracy movements, both inside and outside Burma, and armed ethnic struggle for autonomy, to exploit Thai sovereignty and territorial integrity. In fact, the Slorc has, on numerous occasions, publicized slanderous accusations against Thailand and Thai authorities in its media. Although the name of the country is never mentioned in the reports, the words, "the third country" or "the other country," clearly identify Thailand as the target of Slorc. Gen Wimol seems to have forgotten that the western border is currently in a more chaotic situation than the eastern front, and the refugees from Burma need an immediate guarantee of physical protection, not just verbal guarantees. Perhaps the economic stakes in Burma are higher than that in Cambodia and government ministers, security authorities and politicians are more than willing to sacrifice humanitarian principles for economic exploitation. The arguments put forward by the Thai government and the Army that the Thai-Burmese border is very long (being over 2,300 kilometres) and that it is impossible to for security forces to oversee every kilometre of the frontier is absurd. If the Thai people at the frontiers and refugees cannot entrust their safety, lives and properties in the Thai military, who else can they turn to in times of emergency. Clearly the role of the Thai military is to prevent foreign intrusions into the country. Not only is the situation on the western frontier in a state of confusion but also the attitude of the Thai armed forces in protecting it. Clearly the Thai military needs a complete overhaul of its border policies. The double standard practiced now between different frontiers will only make them laughing stocks in the eyes of the international community. (TN) BKK POST: EMBASSY: BURMA TO FREE THAI FISHERMEN 18 March 1995 A Total of 120 fishermen impresoned in Burma will be set free as a gesture of friendship from Rangoon, according to a release from the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. According to the release, seven prisoners are above 60-years-old, 11 between 40 and 50 and 102 have served longterm sentences. Arrangements are being made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thai Embassy in Rangoon for carrying out their deportation. This gesture coincides with the 50th anniversary golden jubilee celebrations of the Myanmar Tatmadaw and the 50th anniversary golden jubilee of the accession to the throne of His Majesty the King of Thailand, said the release. (BP) BKK POST: BURMESE OFFENSIVE HURTS THAI EXPORTS 20 March 1995 Thailand's exports to Burma and China are being blocked by the Burmese government's drive to wipe out Khun Sa's Muang Tai Army, according to Thai teaders. Fighting, which yesterday moved into its tenth day near Doi Pha Daeng Laung, less than 10 kilometres from the Thai border, is delaying exports of consumer products and construction materials to the Burmese town of Keng Tung and to southern China, through Burma. Goods were standed in warehouses in Tachilek and in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province, because there were no trucks to take them from Tachilek to Keng Tung, said a Thai trader who asked not to be named in case his business was adversely affected. The government has seized all trucks and even private cars in Tachilek to carry soldiers and weapons. "Cars of Thai businessmen working there were also taken away," said the trader, whose pick-up truck, loaded with gods, was destroyed by gunfire in Burma. Truck drivers in Keng Tung would not dare to head for Tachilek owing to the danger enroute, he said, suggesting the Thai authorities should not allow Thai tourists to drive their cars to Tachilek. If the situation continued until the end of March exports through Mae Sot, worth about 20 million baht a day, will be adversely affected. Transport of goods from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces would have to be suspended because warehouse in Mae Sai would be full, he said. A Thai immigration police officer, who declained to be named, said some Thai and foreign tourists were stranded in Keng Tung as there wee no vehicles to bring them to Thailand. (BP) BKK POST: WIMOL--NO ROLE IN BURMA 21 March 1995 THAILAND will not interfere with Burma's internal affairs but will provide assistance on humanitarian grounds to refugees suffering under heavy fighting, Army chief Gen Wimol Wongwanich said yesterday. "We insist we will neither get ourself involved in the internal matters of Burma nor support any activity against its government," he said. Gen Wimol said he received reports that 20 members of Khun Sa's MTA had fled into Thailand and those injured were receiving treatment as part of humanitarian assistance. He denied the arrangement was intended to help the MTA. Those being helped would be disarmed on Thai soil and sent home as soon as the situation returns to normal. (BP) ****************************REGION**************************** BKK POST: JAPAN GRANTS AGRICULTURAL AID TO BURMA, SAYS NOT BACKING MILITARY Japan formally decided yesterday to provided Burma with a grant to promote food production, but Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said the decision was not to be taken as a shift in its policy towards the military junta. Tokyo will provide a grant worth one billion yen ($11.1 million) to be used to buy fertiliser and farming equipment, which it hopes will help relieve extreme poverty. Kono said it was humanitarian aid, and should not be seen as illustrating a new Japanese policy towards Burma. "Japan has not made a policy shift," Kono told reporters. "Unfortunately Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has not been released, but efforts at a dialogue continue," he added. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been under house arrest without trial since 1989. The Japanese government has said that it will work patiently for the promotion of democratic reforms and an improvement in the human rights situation in Burma. Tokyo is also wary of being seen as violating its own guidelines on overseas aid, which call for reviewing aid provided to countries accused of blatant human rights abuses or those seen increasing military spending too fast. Japan stopped providing loans to Burma after the 1988 military suppression of a pro-democracy uprising. But grants to Burma have continued. They amounted to 6.2 billion yen ($68.8 million) in fiscal 1993/94. Of this, only 18 million yen ($200,000) was used as purely humanitarian aid, and over six billion yen ($66.6 million) was provided to relieve Burma's debt burden. The foreign ministry official acknowledged that the one billion yen grant represented a jump from previous years. But he said it was a demonstration of Japan's strong interest in promoting democratic government in Burma. Kono said Tokyo wanted Burma to understand that the grant did not represent a new Japanese policy. "I'm using various channels to tell (the Burmese government) that this assistance does not mean Japan approves of the situation in Burma." "It is a message, rather, that we want Burma to push democratic reforms," he said.(BP) *************************INTERNATIONAL************************ BKK POST: EU CONCERNED OVER BURMESE ATTACK ON KAREN GUERRILLA BASE 18 March 1995 The European Union has expressed grave anxiety at the consequence of Burma's offensive against ethnic Karens along the Thai-Burmese border and the resultng exodus of refugees into Thailand. French president Edouard Balladur made the statement on behalf of the EU on March 13. The offensive was in "total opposition to the policy of national reconciliation preached by the Burmese government," he said. The EU "wishes to reiterate its hope that a peaceful solution will be found quickly for the problem of the ethnic minorities," he said. The EU also reiterated its concern at the extension of the house arrest of dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi to July 11,1995. It was the second time the EU has expressed concern. On February 15, following a military offensive against the Karens, the EU voiced concern at the consequences and at the flood of refugees to Thailand. (BP) ************************************************************** NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET: ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE AW: ASIAWEEK Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX), BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION BF: BURMA FORUM BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK) BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN CPPSM:C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET 106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL 6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC) THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN BANGKOK NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON) NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY **************************************************************