**************************BurmaNet*************************** "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ************************************************************* The BurmaNet News: Sunday, 9 April 1995 Issue #143 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Contents: **********************BURMA ON THE WEB************************ *********************CONTACT REQUESTS************************* ***********************INSIDE BURMA*************************** BKK POST: BURMESE JUNTA SLAMS FOREIGNERS VOA: BURMA'S ASPIRING JOURNALISTS VOA: WOOING THE TOURIST ***************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI************************** KHRG: WHITHER DKBA?: SLORC'S NORTHEN KAREN OFFENSIVE, 2 of 4 ***********************THAILAND******************************* BKK POST: THAI MAN KILLED BY RANGOON TROOPS NATION: TOP SLORC OFFICIAL EXPRESSES SCEPTICISM ABOUT THAILAND'S GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS ********************INTERNATIONAL***************************** BUSINESS ETHICS magazine: BURMA SHAVED NEW YORK TIMES: CAUSES--BAILING OUT OF BURMA VOA: BURMA--THE POLICY CHALLENGE (PT I and II) ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * Iti * covering Burma. Articles * snotpo * from newspapers, magazines, * werthatcor * newsletters, the wire * ruptsbutfea * services and the Internet as * r.Fearoflos * well as original material * ingpowercor * are published. * ruptsthosewhoare * The BurmaNet News is * subjecttoit...Theef * e-mailed directly to * fortnecessarytoremain * subscribers and is * uncorruptedinanenvironm * also distributed via * entwherefearisanintegralpar * the soc.culture.burma * tofeverydayexistenceisnoti * and seasia-l mailing * mmediatelyapparentto * lists and is also * thosefortunate * available via the * enoughtolivein * reg.burma conference on * statesgovern * the APC networks. For a * edbytherule * free subscription to * oflaw...fear * the BurmaNet News, send * is ahab it. * an e-mail message to: * Iam * * no * majordomo@igc.apc.org * taf * * ra * In the body of the message, * id. * type "subscribe burmanet-l" * Aun * (without quotation marks) * gSa * * nS * Letters to the editor, * uu * comments or contributions * Ky * of articles should be * i. * sent to the editor at: ********************************* strider@igc.apc.org In Washington: Attention to BurmaNet c/o National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) Information Office 815 15th Street NW, Suite 609 Washington D.C. 20005 Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343 In Bangkok: Attention to BurmaNet c/o Burma Issues PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office Bangkok 10504 Thailand Tel: (066) (02) 234-6674, Fax: (066) (02) 631 0133 [The NCGUB is the government-in-exile, made up of the people who won the election in 1990. 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--APRIL 8, 1995***************** ************************************************************** **********************BURMA ON THE WEB************************ Information about Burma is available via the WorldWideWeb at: BurmaNet News webpage: http://taygate.au.ac.th/~web/michael/bnn/bnn.htm BurmaWeb http://www.uio.no/~tormodl FreeBurma website http://199.172.178.200/freebrma/freebrma.htm. [including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files] *********************CONTACT REQUESTS************************* This is a new section of the BurmaNet News that you can use in trying to contact someone whose address you do not have. If you are looking for someone, send a note to burmanet@igc.apc.org with your name and return address. Your contact request, but not your name, will be posted with the next issue of the BurmaNet news. If the person you are looking for responds, he or she will be given your name and contact information. Whether to respond is of course, up to them. Send contact requests to: burmanet@igc.apc.org ****** 1 Looking for Cham Toik, does he have an email address? Reply to burmanet@igc.apc.org [contact #001] ****** 2 Looking for volunteers to help put out the BurmaNet News, reply to burmanet@igc.apc.org ***** ********************INSIDE BURMA******************************* BKK POST: BURMESE JUNTA SLAMS FOREIGNERS 3 April 1995 A senior member of t he country's ruling junta has accused foreigners of encouragng drug warlord Khun Sa and other rebels and of using human rights as a pretext to meddle in Burma's affairs. Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), made the accusations in a speech on Saturday at an ideological training course for teachers at Phaung gyi, near Rangoon. "To hide his drug trafficking operations, Khun Sa, an ethnic Chinese, put up a political front and sought international support, claiming himself a liberation fighter seeking independence for the Shan State National Congress in December 1993," Khin Nyunt said. Khin Nyunt also accused another ethnic rebel leader, Gen Bo Mya of the Karen National Union, of secretly trafficking in heroin since 1991. (BP) ***********************INSIDE BURMA*************************** VOA: BURMA'S ASPIRING JOURNALISTS DATE=4/6/95 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-20123 TITLE=BURMA'S ASPIRING JOURNALISTS BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON DATELINE=RANGOON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IS NON-EXISTENT IN MILITARY-RULED BURMA. DURING A PERIOD OF CIVILIAN PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN THE 1950'S, THE WERE MORE THAN 30 INDEPENDENT DAILY NEWSPAPERS. BUT A MILITARY REGIME THAT SEIZED POWER IN 1962 NATIONALIZED THE PRESS AS BURMA SLID INTO ISOLATION. ALTHOUGH STRICT CENSORSHIP IS THE RULE AND A GOVERNMENT SECURITY APPARATUS SUPPRESSES FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION V-O-A'S DAN ROBINSON REPORTS THAT A VETERAN BURMESE JOURNALIST IS TEACHING JOURNALISTIC PRINCIPLES TO YOUNG PEOPLE. HE SAYS HE HOPES ONE DAY THEY MAY HAVE THE CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN A FREE AND INDEPENDENT PRESS: TEXT: IT STRIKES VISITING JOURNALISTS AS ODD THAT A CLASS IN THE PRINCIPLES OF JOURNALISM COULD EVEN BE HELD IN DOWNTOWN RANGOON. AT 74, U SEIN WIN IS STILL GOING STRONG. THREE TIMES IN PRISON, BY HIS COUNT, AT THE HANDS OF THREE GOVERNMENTS DATING BACK SEVERAL DECADES, HE STARTED HIS JOURNALISTIC CAREER AT THE AGE OF 24. TODAY, HE IS RANGOON CORRESPONDENT FOR JAPAN'S KYODO NEWS AGENCY: // SEIN WIN TEACHING IN BURMESE // THIS IS THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS CLUB OF RANGOON -- STILL CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS SUCH OUTSIDE. LOCATED ON A NOISY MAIN STREET, THE DIN OF TRAFFIC AND FOOD VENDORS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO HEAR OR SPEAK. U SEIN WIN -- ONE OF A SMALL GROUP OF SURVIVING VETERAN BURMESE JOURNALISTS -- SITS AT THE HEAD OF A LONG WOODEN TABLE AROUND WHICH ARE SEATED 16 YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN. TO HIS RIGHT, AN OLD TYPEWRITER COVERED BY A TATTERED SHEET OF NEWSPAPER. BEHIND, A MARKER BOARD, CONTAINING THE BASICS -- WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW AND WHY: // SEIN WIN // NO POLITICS, BUT EVERY SATURDAY THERE IS FREE DISCUSSION AND THEY ASK MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT JOURNALISM AS WELL AS POLITICS AND WHAT IS GOING ON. JUST BEFORE YOU CAME I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO THEM ABOUT THE PRESS CONFERENCE WE HAD WHICH WAS NEVER PUBLISHED, NOT PUBLISHED IN THE GOVERNMENT MEDIA. THEY SHOULD KNOW, ACTUALLY, WHAT WAS GOING ON AT THAT PRESS CONFERENCE (BECAUSE IT) WAS PRETTY IMPORTANT. // END ACT // WHAT IS CALLED A SHORT-TERM TRAINING CLASS IS CLEARLY TAKING PLACE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOVERNMENT. U SEIN WIN SAYS HE IS TRAINING A NEW GENERATION IN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF JOURNALISM. SOMEDAY, HE SAYS -- PERHAPS WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS -- THE MILITARY WILL FORMALLY TRANSFER POWER AND ALLOW INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS TO OPERATE: // SEIN WIN ACT // UNFORTUNATELY THERE HAS BEEN A BIG GAP, MORE THAN 35 YEARS. THESE PEOPLE WERE BROUGHT UP DURING THE CONTROLLED PRESS AND THEY NEVER KNEW WHAT A FREE PRESS WAS, FREE AND PRIVATE MEDIA WAS. I'M JUST GIVING THEM A VERY VAGUE IDEA OF WHAT THE PRIVATE MEDIA AND WHAT THE FREE PRESS AND I CAN'T EXPECT REAL GREAT, IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR STANDARD IN ONE MONTH'S TIME. // END ACT // ONE STUDENT, AN ATTRACTIVE, WELL-DRESSED YOUNG WOMAN, WORKS FOR A FOREIGN COMPANY IN RANGOON. WE WANT TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, SHE SAYS, SO WE CAN BECOME REPORTERS. OF COURSE, WE CAN'T DO THAT RIGHT NOW, SHE SAYS, AND ADDS THIS OTHER OBJECTIVE: // WOMAN ACT // I WOULD LIKE TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT DEMOCRACY IS AND KEEP HUMAN DIGNITY. AT THIS MOMENT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING, LATER FOR THE FUTURE WE CAN. I THINK AT THIS MOMENT I LIKE TO TRAIN MYSELF. LATER WE CAN BE QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO BE A JOURNALIST // END ACT // BUT SINCE THE MILITARY HAS ALREADY GUARANTEED ITSELF A PERMANENT ROLE IN BURMA'S POLITICAL FUTURE, JOURNALISM COULD BE A RISKY CAREER. U SEIN WIN IS OLD ENOUGH TO JOKE ABOUT HIS THREE EXPERIENCES IN JAIL: // SEIN WIN ACT // ONLY THREE TIMES (IN JAIL). BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE LAST. // END ACT // HE SAYS HE TEACHES ABOUT A FREE, BUT RESPONSIBLE PRESS, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURACY OVER SPEED. HE SAYS ANYONE SEEKING A CAREER IN JOURNALISM MUST ACCEPT THE RISKS: // SEIN WIN ACT // FIRST TIME WAS UNDER THE CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT. YOU KNOW IT IS VERY INTERESTING BUT THAT IS A PROFESSIONAL HAZARD I MUST BE PREPARED FOR, AND THESE PEOPLE MUST BE PREPARED IF THEY REALLY JOIN THEM (THE JOURNALISTIC PROFESSION). // END ACT // MOST OBSERVERS IN RANGOON SAY CHANCES FOR A RETURN TO A FREE PRESS, OR EVEN TO THE KIND OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SEEN IN NEIGHBORING THAILAND, ARE SLIM TO NON-EXISTENT. // OPT // THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOWED NEW PUBLICATIONS LINKED TO OPEN DOOR ECONOMIC POLICIES AND EFFORTS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN TOURISTS. BUT HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AND WESTERN GOVERNMENTS SAY BURMA REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY CENSORED AND REPRESSED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. ANYONE VOICING OPPOSITION POLITICAL VIEWS FACES ARREST. IN OFFICIAL MEDIA, SELF-CENSORSHIP REMAINS THE RULE. // OPT // A RECENT REPORT BY THE LONDON-BASED CENTER AGAINST CENSORSHIP SAID THAT THE REAL TEST OF THE COMMITMENT TO CHANGE WOULD BE THE MILITARY'S WILLINGNESS TO RESTORE THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. IN THE WORDS OF THE REPORT: WITHOUT IT, THERE CAN BE NO SERIOUS PROSPECT OF BURMA EMERGING FROM LONG YEARS OF DEADLOCK AND REPRESSION AND PROGRESSING TOWARDS DEMOCRACY. // END OPT // (SIGNED) NEB/DR/CF 06-Apr-95 8:39 AM EDT (1239 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America VOA: WOOING THE TOURIST DATE=4/5/95 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-20101 TITLE=BURMA: WOOING THE TOURIST BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON DATELINE=RANGOON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: ONE OF THE WORLD'S NEWEST AND MOST EXOTIC TOURIST DESTINATIONS IS BURMA (MYANMAR). THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT IN RANGOON DECLARED 1996 "VISIT MYANMAR YEAR" AND HOPES TO ATTRACT 500-THOUSAND TOURISTS. AS V-O-A'S DAN ROBINSON REPORTS, BURMA'S MILITARY RULERS ARE BETTING THAT MOST FOREIGNERS WILL FOCUS NOT ON CONTINUING POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEMS, BUT ON THE MANY ATTRACTIONS THE COUNTRY HAS TO OFFER: TEXT: THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT BURMA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE SOUTHEAST ASIA'S NEXT MAJOR TOURIST DESTINATION. GIVEN THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF FACTORS, TOURIST INDUSTRY EXPERTS SAY IT COULD EVEN EXCEED THAILAND'S DRAWING CAPACITY. // OPT // THERE ARE AMAZING THINGS TO BE SEEN -- IN RANGOON, THE GIANT GOLDEN SHWEDAGON PAGODA; THE RELIGIOUS CENTER AND LAST ROYAL CAPITAL OF MANDALAY; MORE THAN TWO-THOUSAND TEMPLES STRETCHING ACROSS THE PLAIN IN PAGAN; BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS IN THE NORTH; UNSPOILED BEACHES IN THE SOUTH. // END OPT // FROM EUROPE, JAPAN, TAIWAN, AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES -- TOURISTS ARE ARRIVING IN GREATER NUMBERS, BY AIR AND ON CRUISE SHIPS. GOVERNMENT STATISTICS SHOW SEVEN-THOUSAND ARRIVALS IN 1991, 61-THOUSAND LAST YEAR AND PREDICT 91-THOUSAND IN 1995. // OPT // IN RANGOON, A NEW SINGAPOREAN-MANAGED HOTEL -- COMPLETE WITH INTERNATIONAL DIRECT DIAL PHONES -- CATERS TO FOREIGN BUSINESSMEN. DOWNTOWN, A SHANGRI-LA HOTEL IS RISING. THE HISTORIC STRAND HOTEL, RENOVATED AT A COST OF MILLIONS, CATERS TO FIVE-STAR TRAVELERS ABLE TO PAY 200 DOLLARS A NIGHT. // END OPT // OF COURSE, THERE ARE PROBLEMS. BURMA IS EXPENSIVE, WITH AN UNNATURAL EXCHANGE RATE THAT KEEPS PRICES HIGH DESPITE THE USE OF SPECIAL FOREIGN EXCHANGE COUPONS. INFRASTRUCTURE -- ELECTRICITY, COMMUNICATIONS, GOOD ROADS, CLEAN WATER, RELIABLE AIR AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION -- IS STILL POOR IN MANY AREAS. AS ONE FOREIGN BUSINESSMAN INVOLVED IN ASSESSING HOTEL VENTURES TOLD ME -- THE PLACE IS JUST NOT "USER FRIENDLY" (ACCOMMODATING). GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SAY FREE MARKET COMPETITION SHOULD HELP BRING PRICES DOWN, AND EXPAND THE RANGE OF FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO FOREIGNERS. BUT WHILE IT SEEKS A SHARP INCREASE IN ARRIVALS, THE GOVERNMENT IS CONCERNED NOT ONLY ABOUT THE KIND OF VISITORS BUT THE IMPACT THEY COULD HAVE. HTAY AUNG IS HEAD OF THE DIRECTORATE OF HOTELS AND TOURISM: // HTAY AUNG // SOCIAL IMPACT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, PHYSICAL IMPACTS, AND CULTURAL IMPACT ALSO. OUR PEOPLE ARE VERY RELIGIOUS, SO WE DON'T WANT TO COPY THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION, WESTERN STYLES, WESTERN CULTURE. BECAUSE EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST. VERY DIFFERENT. // END ACT // BURMESE OFFICIALS RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL OF SO-CALLED FOREIGN INDEPENDENT TRAVELERS -- BACKPACKERS IN A WORD. BUT THE GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO PREFER WHAT IT CALLS QUALITY TRAVELERS, AND PACKAGE TOUR GROUPS, ESPECIALLY IN CERTAIN AREAS SUBJECT TO RESTRICTION FOR SECURITY REASONS. THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM OF COURSE. IT IS UNDERSCORED BY THE IMAGE OF A BURMESE SOLDIER, HOLDING A LARGE AUTOMATIC RIFLE, GUARDING THE ENTRANCE TO THE TOURISM OFFICE IN RANGOON. BURMA'S REPUTATION IS STILL THAT OF A POLICE STATE, A LAND OF REPRESSION IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT POLITICS, AND ESPECIALLY AGAINST MILITARY RULE. HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS SAY ORDINARY CITIZENS RISK INTERROGATION OR ARREST FOR TALKING TO FOREIGNERS, ESPECIALLY JOURNALISTS. HTAY AUNG SAYS THE WESTERN PRESS HAS DISTORTED BURMA'S IMAGE, A VIEW SHARED BY HIS COLLEAGUE AND CO-OFFICIAL IN THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM, NAW ANGELENE. BOTH TELL VISITING REPORTERS TOURISTS SHOULD NOT BE TURNED OFF BY THE SIGHT OF GUN-CARRYING SOLDIERS. BURMA, THEY SAY, IS A PEACEFUL COUNTRY: // HTAY AUNG ACT // (HTAY AUNG) IT CANNOT GIVE ANY TROUBLE TO TOURISTS. THEY ARE NOT IN THE TOURIST AREA, THEY ARE IN THE BUILDINGS, THEY ARE IN THE SECURE PLACE. (NAW ANGELENE) WE ARE QUITE USED TO IT. EVERYWHERE IN ASIA WE ARE QUITE USED TO IT. ONLY IN AMERICA IN EUROPE, THIS IS AN UNUSUAL THING FOR YOU. SO IT IS QUITE STRANGE WHEN YOU SEE THESE SOLDIERS OUT ON THE WAY, BUT ONCE YOU COME HERE YOU BEGIN TO FEEL RELAXED. // END ACT // BURMESE OFFICIALS SAY THEY HOPE TOURISM, WHICH BROUGHT IN AN ESTIMATED 31-MILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR, WILL BECOME THE NUMBER ONE FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER BEFORE TOO LONG. NEW AIRPORTS ARE BEING BUILT, EXISTING ONES EXPANDED, BEACH RESORTS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. BUT DESPITE UNDENIABLY FRIENDLY PEOPLE AND WONDERFUL SIGHTS, THERE REMAINS AN OBVIOUS DILEMMA. HOW TO MAKE VISITORS FORGET ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL ISSUES THAT HAVE KEPT BURMA IN THE WORLD SPOTLIGHT SINCE 1988. AS ONE HAPPY, BUT AWARE TOURIST ON HER FIRST VISIT TOLD ME IN A HOTEL LOBBY -- THEY SEEM TO BE SAYING COME SEE US, BUT FORGET ABOUT THE PAST, AND DEFINITELY DON'T CRITICIZE OUR METHODS. (SIGNED) NEB/DR/CF 05-Apr-95 9:02 AM EDT (1302 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America