------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: May 21, 1995 Issue #177 SAR-PAY JOURNAL (LITERARY JOURNAL): THE ETERNAL FLOWER BURMANET: URGENT REQUEST--INFO RE. SLORC'S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS NATION: UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ON BURMA BORDER FORCE SCHOOLS TO CLOSE BKK POST:KAREN REFUGES TO BE MOVED TO A SAFER AREA BKK POST:ABSDF MEMBERS TRAVELLED REUTERS: BURMA REBELS RAID VILLAGE, 11 DEAD BURMANET: LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED DAW SUU'S ARREST REUTERS: BOORMAN BRINGS BURMA RIOTS TO SILVER SCREEN ABSL (INDIA): AUNG SAN SUU KYI--HERALDING A NEW DAWN IN BURMA ---------------------------------------------------------- o-------------------------------o The BurmaNet News is an | | electronic newspaper | Iti | covering Burma. 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[including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files] BurmaWeb: http://www.uio.no/tormodl Burma fonts: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html Ethnologue Database(Myanmar): http://www-ala.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rap/Ethnologue/eth.cgi/Myanmar TO ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA GOPHER: gopher csf.colorado.edu. Look under the International Political Economy section, then select Geographic_Archive, then Asia, then Burma. [If anyone knows the email address of the person running this gopher or the Burma section of it, please contact BurmaNet: strider@igc.apc.org] ---------------------------------------------------------- BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related to Burma. The scope of the subjects involved is simply too broad for any one person to cover. BurmaNet is therefore organizing a number of volunteer coordinators to field questions on various subjects. If you have questions on any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following coordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can: Arakan/Rohingya/Burma- [volunteer needed] Bangladesh border Art/archaeology/: [volunteer needed] Campus activism: tlandon@u.washington.edu Boycott campaigns: tlandon@u.washington.edu Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission, c/o NBH03114@niftyserve.or.jp Fonts: tom@CS.COLGATE.EDU History: zar1963@violet.berkeley.edu Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.com Karen history/culture: 102113.2571@Compuserve.com Karen Historical Society Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed] Naga history/culture: [volunteer needed] [Burma-India border] Pali literature: "Palmleaf" c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed] Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S. Sutcliffe" World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Volunteering: Dr. Christina Fink c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] ---------------------------------------------------------- SAR-PAY JOURNAL (LITERARY JOURNAL): THE ETERNAL FLOWER April 1995 Sar-pay Journal is a Rangoon-based magazine. This is the first poem to be published by Tin Moe since his release from Insein in February, 1995. The Eternal Flower Each year abundant nature's blooms burst forth Each year to fade and wither But human art in prose or rhyme Makes flowers that live for ever. Translated by AJA, AA, CB from the original Burmese BURMANET: URGENT REQUEST--INFO RE. SLORC'S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS Please reply to carol@gol.com A Japanese journalist, Schu Sugawara, is gathering evidence about SLORC's use of chemical/biological weapons against ethnic groups & dissidents. He intends to use the evidence to convince MITI and the Foreign Ministry that ODA to SLORC violates the terms of the ODA Charter. He believes the time is ripe to do so: Japan is now obsessed with AUM, the cult thought to be responsible for the March chemical attack on Tokyo's subway, which killed 12 and injured more than 5000. Sugawara already has Karen Human Rights Group's excellent reports; what he would like is corroborating evidence from other sources (e.g., articles from major newspapers in your country, UN reports, reports by well-known NGOs). Please fax any such documentation by Thursday, May 25 to: Schu Sugawara Fax: +81-3-3364-1228 or call him at: +81-3-3367-4255 Post queries about this message to carol@gol.com Thanks for your help. NATION: UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ON BURMA BORDER FORCE SCHOOLS TO CLOSE 21.5.95/The Nation Security concerns on the Thai-Burmese border has forced closure of five elementary schools in Mae Hong Son's Sop Moei district , provincial elementary school director Sayan Klaewkanikum said yesterday . Security is also to be provided to teachers travelling to seven other school in the border district , he said . After a visit to the area, Sayan said the five schools would remain closed until there is an improvement in security conditions along the border, adding the border will be closely monitored. He said authorities have been asked to coordinate with Border Task Force 35 in the provision of security guards to protect teachers travelling into the area. "Some schools lie in areas that are at risk because teachers and students need to cross the Salween River," Sayan said. The teachers will be provided with radios to keep them informed of conditions and to given them confidence, he said. Teachers and students affected by the closures could move to nearby schools. But when the schools re-open extra classes will be scheduled to help students catch up on missed lessons , Sayan said. Agence France-Presse adds : Some 15,000 Karen refugees who fled fighting in Burma to the northern Thai province of Mae Hong Son are likely to be relocated in a single area, the Mae Hong Son governor said yesterday. Governor Somjet Viriyadamrong said Karen refugees at two villages in Sop Moei district and five others in nearby Mae Sariang district would be moved to join other Karen at Mae Mala Luang village, which can house up to 20,000 people. Mae Mala Luang in Sop Moei covers a plain of about 50 rai, surrounded by mountains and woods. Located 10 kilometres from the border , the village is considered a safe haven , Somjet told AFP by phone. Mae Mala Luang would serve as a temporary shelter, as the " Thai government has no policy to set up a permanent refugee camp," Somjet said, adding that the Karen would be repatriated when the situation across the border normalized. Although Mae Mala Luang village was attacked once in April by armed intruders from Burma, it was considered the most suitable place, he said. Karen refugees along the border Mae Hong Song and nearby Tak province to the south are prone to attacks by armed units from Burma who Thai authorities have said were forces of the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organization [DKBO]. The DKBO split late last year from the mainstream Karen National Union [KNU], ethnic Karen rebels who have fought the Burmese junta for autonomy for decades. The DKBO joined forces with Rangoon to defeat the KNU early this year. Thai military, police and civilian officials met Friday in Mae Hong Son to map out plans to reduce refugee camps which dotted this stretch of the Thai border with Burma to a single site for security and management reasons. The relocation plan has yet to be approved by the Interior Ministry. The Bangkok office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] has sent officials to observe the new sanctuary for Karen at Mae Mala Laung but has not decided whether it would participate in the plan. The humanitarian organization Medecins sans Frontieres [Doctors without Border] has agreed to help , Somjet said. BURMANET: LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED DAW SUU'S ARREST May 21, 1995 As part of an article I'm researching on the events leading up to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest on July 20th, 1989, I'm trying to locate anyone who was in her compound that day or in the days immediately prior to the 20th. If you or someone you know has information that can help, please contact strider@igc.apc.org. KAREN REFUGES TO BE MOVED TO A SAFER AREA 20 MAY 1995 THE provincial authority plans to move 30,000 Karen refugees to Ban Mae Mala Luang in Sob Moei district, Governor Somjet Viriyadamrong said yesterday. Speaking after a meeting with military, police and civilian officials dealing with national security, Governor Somjet said it was agreed that Karen refugees will be moved from camps scattered along Thai border to a new shelter at Ban Mar Mala Luang. The site covers 1,200 rai and is sufficient to house a large number of refugees, he said. Thai authorities will be in a position to take care of and en- sure security for the refugees more easily if they are all in a single controllable spot, he said. If the Karen refugees remained attack from Burmese forces or the DKBA, he said. The recolation plan has been forward to the Interior Ministry. Ban Mae Mala id regarded as a temporary shelter for refugees, not a refugee camp, he said. The private sector and foreign NGOs will provide financial sup- port to the refugees while Thai authorities will handle securi- ty and supply medical services. Mr Somjet said the UNHCR may not get involved in the move on the grounds that Thailand did not officially announce the shel- ter as a refugee camp. According to the principles of the UNHCR, it will get involved in refugee affairs only if a refugee camp is set up. Asked what according to the principles of the UNHCR, it will get involved in refugee affairs only if a refugee camp is set up. Asked what measures will be taken to deal with a number of Ka- ren refugees continually fleeing to Mae Sariang and Sob Mei districts of Mae Hong Song, Governor Somjet said the Government has mapped out a repatriation plan if the situation in BUrma returns to normal.(BP) BKK POST: ABSDF MEMBERS TRAVELLED 20 may 1995 SEVERAL members of the ABSDF travelled from KNPP's Camp 99 northward yesterday, sources said. The students, armed with 12 M-16 assault rifles, 15 AK-47 rifles, 2 RPG rocket launchers and a pistol, were reportedly headed for Burma's Ban Naom in a bid to mobilise other students living along the Thai-Burmese border. It was reported that the ABSDF tried to contact leaders of Karen minority groups to step up security for women and children taking refuge along the Thai-BUrmese border in Mae Hong Son province. (BP) REUTERS: BURMA REBELS RAID VILLAGE, 11 DEAD RANGOON, May 21 (Reuter) - Eleven villagers in northeastern Burma's Shan state were killed in a raid by guerrillas loyal to opium warlord Khun Sa, Burma's state-run Myanma News Agency (MNA) reported on Sunday. About 30 members of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) raided Wanphwe village in Ke-Hsi Mansan township during a religious festival on May 13, killing four men and seven women and leaving 26 others wounded, the MNA reported. The news agency did not say why the guerrillas attacked the village, 140 km (90 miles) east of Burma's second biggest city Mandalay, nor did it explain the delay in reporting the incident. Burmese government forces captured an MTA area of control in mountains to the west of the Shan state border town of Tachilek in a two-month campaign which ended earlier this month. Burma's military government has denouced Khun Sa as a ``terrorist'' drug trafficker. Meanwhile, military authorites in southeastern Burma have ordered a Moslem village of some 2,000 people to move, traders arriving in the Thai border town of Mae Sot told Reuters. The traders said all inhabitants of Na-Bu village, near the town of Kawkareik, have been ordered to leave as soon as possible or their homes would be burnt down. Military authorities gave no explanation for ordering the inhabitants of Na-Bu, the majority of whom are Burmese Moslems, to leave their village, the traders said. REUTERS: BOORMAN BRINGS BURMA RIOTS TO SILVER SCREEN CANNES, France (Reuter) - British director John Boorman, best known for his escapist adventure films, Friday entered the Cannes festival with a highly political film about Burma's crackdown on democracy protests in 1988. ``Beyond Rangoon'' is dedicated to Nobel Peace prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who symbolizes the protest movement in the Southeast Asian country and has lived under house arrest in Burma since 1989. Boorman, 62, said he had to overcome pressure from Burma's military government to picture its bloody repression on the silver screen -- it went largely unseen abroad because foreign television crews were expelled. ``A film can't change the world but I do think that when people have had the emotional experience of seeing a movie like this they will read more about Burma. We plan to show it to as many politicians as possible,'' he told a news conference. ``You could say this is my first film with a powerful political content but much more important for me is the courage and the overcoming of fear shown by the characters,'' said Boorman, who made ``Excalibur'' and ``The Emerald Forest.'' A young American doctor (Patricia Arquette), vacationing in Burma to try to forget the murder of her husband and child, rallies behind the protesters and flees with them as troops hunt her down. Sickened by the repression, she saves an activist and regains the will to live after crossing rainforests and rapids. Boorman, who made several clandestine forays into Burma for research, shot the film in Malaysia but Rangoon authorities put pressure on his hosts and he was told to leave after several months of shooting. ``We were horrified. We'd built pagodas, villages and a giant statue of a reclining Buddha,'' he said. He managed to negotiate permission to stay provided he strike out all references to Burma in the script. He obliged and got the script approved, but went ahead and shot his original plan anyway. The team worked from eyewitness accounts and photographs to recreate crowd protests outside the U.S. embassy in Rangoon and the army's shooting of protesters. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were killed. One electrifying scene has Aung San Suu Kyi, confronted by soldiers pointing their guns at her at a Rangoon demonstration, walk up to them and lead the crowd through unharmed. Leader of the National League for Democracy, she lives separated from her family and her British husband is allowed only rare visits. She has refused an offer from authorities to go into exile. The NLD swept more than 80 percent of the seats in 1990 elections. But the government ignored the results, claiming a new constitution had to be drawn up before any transfer of power to a civilian government could occur. Professor and pro-democracy activist U Aung Ko was asked of the risks he had taken in appearing in the film as himself: ``I am aware of the danger and of course I will be careful but that is not the important thing to me. What is important is to have made this film.'' ABSL (INDIA): AUNG SAN SUU KYI--HERALDING A NEW DAWN IN BURMA An Indian Tribute Kailash S. Aggarwal "It is not power that corrupts but fear", exhorted Suu Kyi. "Fear of losin g power corrupts those who are subject to it. "Prior to her detention in 1989, Suu Kyi described courage as "grace under pressure, grace renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh , unremitting pressure. "These crisp descriptions of the two antimonies human fac es of fear and courage sum up both simultaneously-Suu Kyi and Burma. The fates of bot h are inextricably linked and when she speaks of herself, she speaks also of Burma. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ('Daw' is a title of respect for women and the rest o f her name is pronounced "aung sahn soo chee" and she is simply Suu to her frien ds and relatives) is the daughter of Burma's redoubtable national hero, Aung San, the man who would have been Independent Burma's first prime minister had he not been assass inated on 19 July 1947, shortly before he was to take office. Suu Kyi, born on 19 June 1945, was only two years old then and has only the dimmest recollections of her fathe r. In 1960, her mother, a great friend of Jawaharlal Nehru, was appointed Burma's Ambassador to India. Suu Kyi, then a young girl of 15, came with her mother to India. She went to school at LSR, New Delhi, before going to Oxford. About Suu Kyi's d ays at St.Hugh's College in Oxford in the 60s, her freshwoman friend, Ann P.Slater (who used to call her Suu Burmese) says, "Suu's tight, trim lungi (the Burmese versi on of the sarong) and upright carriage, her firm moral convictions and inherited social g race contrasted sharply with the tatty dress and careless manners, vague liberalism and uncertain sexual morality of my English contemporaries." At the same time Suu was not a 'sanyasini'. She also had the curiosity to experience the European, the alien. In 1972, Suu married an Englishman, Michael Aris, a fellow at St.Antony's College, Oxford and an expert on Tibetan and Himalayan Studies. Suu took the or thodox Burmese community by surprise when she married the British national of no great standing. But it was perfectly in tune with her character-upright, independent and sincere in her relations. Initially they lived for several years in Bhutan, where their two sons, Alexander and Kim, were raised. Back in Oxford, she faced enormous difficulties to eke out a living-with two more mouths to feed, to house and to educate. They had to change houses as finances remained hard with expenditure. In early 1988, Suu's mother suffered a severe stroke and she went to Rango on to care for her. Suu Kyi's visit to Burma coincided with the outbreak of a spon taneous revolt against the 26 years of fascist political repression and economic disast er. During this visit, Suu Kyi saw in Burma that was had reminded was a generation brought up under tyranny and with complete subversion of all values in a system which had attempted to arrest the march of history. At first Suu Kyi watched the massive demonstrations from her mother's bedside. But for how long could she remain a p assive witness? Ne Win, who had ruled Burma since he led a military coup in 1962, announce d on 23 July that he was resigning forthwith and that a referendum on Burma's pol itical future would be held. This announcement electrified the whole country. And perh aps, pushed Suu Kyi to make up her mind to step forward. At last the people had a ch ance to take control of their own destinies. But then the announcement went hand in hand with mass upsurges demanding democracy and with increasing military repression. Augu st'88 saw the number of arrests, beating and army violence that peaked on 8 August 19 88 (8- 8-88), when the army brutally killed hundreds of innocent students of Rangoon University. In fact, after Ne Win's resignation in July 1988 and the immediate refusal by his party to agree to a referendum on Burma future, Suu Kyi's house quickly became the epicenter of all political planning and activity. Suu focussed on human rights, an expression which had no meaning in Burma till then. On 26 August she made her m aiden public speech at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda. Addressing a colossal rally of se veral hundred thousands of people, she declared: "I could not as my father's daughter , remain different to all that was going on." While some argue that she had virtually re nounced her glorious patrimony but had to embrace it to embrace the cause of the people of her country, others would say that "she became obsessed with the image of her fathe r she never knew." After 8-8-88 (popularly called four eights) there was all round discontent and despair. Having decided to directly intervene, Suu Kyi launched into a phase of intense political activity. Establishing instant rapport, she took the leadership of al l democracy- loving peoples, groups and parties and provided direction to the movement. Thou gh she had lived for so long outside, she found no problem in quickly closing the cult ural gap. Suu's mother died on 27 December 1988. Milling crowds of thousands came to attend the funeral on 2 January. This was the only occasion that the junta offe red whatever co-operation, knowing well the disastrous consequences of doing otherw ise. As a leader of masses, Suu is non-pareil. She captivated ever-larger audiences wit h her revolution of spirit campaigns. Relentlessly touring the Burmese divisions and ethnic minority states to raise public opinion, to shed fear and consolidate alliances , she displayed astonishing tactical skill in navigating the rapids of politics in Bu rma.She not only emerged as the unique spokesperson of Burma, of the Burmese, and the ethni c minorities, of students as well as monks, but she also commanded their unstinti ng faith and respect. Her speeches have sent electric waves through the masses. She remains, in spite of, or rather because of, military defeats, the mother and symbol of the cause of democracy and human rights in Burma. Apart from the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, Suu Kyi has been the recipient of Sakharov Prize of Freedom of Thought (European Parliament,1991), Humantitas Hum an Rights Award (USA 1991), Marisa Bellisario Prize (Italy 1992) Simon Boliver Pri ze (UNESCO 1992) Honorary Professional Fellowship, Law and Society Trust (Shilanka,1992), Victor Jara International Human Rights Award (Los Angeles 1993 ) and a host of others. Being pragmatic as any pragmatist could be, Suu Kyi responded to the chang ing conditions, in both her role and speech. That she was not in the rat race was c lear. At the end of August 1988, she had asserted, "A life of politics holds on attracti on for me. At the moment, I serve as a kind of unifying force because of my father's name and because I am not interested in jostling for any kind of position." But since th e military authorities rather than moving towards the referendum and the formation of a ci vilian government, seized power on 18 September 1988, Suu Kyi joined in the founding o f the National League for Democracy (NLD) and became its general secretary. Suu Kyi began to represent a real danger to the military junta-now in the guise of State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)-soon her very struggle of po litical mobilisation, her own lifestyle became a living critic of the life of fear and the pervert western culture promoted by the junta. The SLORC virtually declared war on Suu Kyi, which she condemned day after day, and subjected to her every kind of provocati on.In an interview to Asia Week on 1 July 1989, Suu blurted out, "They have been tryi ng that all the time with false propaganda about me - all sorts of nonsense. Things lik e I have four husbands, three husbands, two husbands.That I am a communist-although in s ome circles they say I am CIA. They have been trying to get prominent monks to say I have been insulting Buddha. They can say I am married to a foreigner-but I've always admitted that freely-I'm not trying to hide that." On 20 July 1989, the SLORC put Suu Kyi under house arrest. People visiting her, including her family members, have been stripped, searched and intimidated . The junta even went to the perverted extent of pasting obscene pictures of Suu Kyi all over the towns of Burma. Normally a woman who had lived for so long in the west and had married a foreigner is likely to prove most vulnerable following such onslaught . But, she remained unscathed in the months to come. Rather she received greater support f rom her followers whose anger got intensified against SLORC for its vandalism and rumor mills. In July'89, soon after her house arrest, Suu demanded a transfer to Rangoo n's Insein Prison and asked to be kept under the same conditions as her supporters. SLORC of course ignored the request. She immediately began a hunger strike that laste d 12 days and broke it only after receiving solemn assurances that her supporters were no t being subjected to inhuman interrogation and that their cases would be dealt with by due process of law. Under extensive pressure and with confidence in their Machiavellian plot, the SLORC held elections on 27 May 1990. Despite all attempts at sabotage, manoeuve ring and manipulations by the SLORC, Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory capping 3 92 of the total 485 seats(81%) in the National Assembly while the junta won only 1 0 seats. It was a stunning and humiliating upset for the junta. By now, Suu has languish ed under house arrest for about five years, without any trial. But she has moved to grea ter heights not for her political manipulations and skills but for her commitment to truth. On 10 December 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The official statemen t read, "The Norwegian Peace Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflag ging efforts and show its support for the many people in the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means. On December 1992, a mission of ten Nobel Laureates and representatives of Laureate organizations, from Costa Rica to Tibet, including Bishop Desmond Tutu , Dalai Lama, Else Wiesel and Oscar Arian marched to Thailand to demand in one voice th e release of Suu Kyi and the restoration of democracy, human rights and the true rule of law in Burma. They also made a pilgrimage to the Thai-Burma Border where they c alled for her release. SLORC's latest boldest move was a renewed attempt to force Suu Kyi into ex ile. Early May 1992, the junta allowed her husband to visit Suu for the first time i n over two years. As interesting event occurred on 15 May 1992 when Suu's 19 years old son , Alexander delivered a speech written by his mother. This was the first statemen t the world has received from Suu Kyi since her detention. Among other things she wro te, "The world is watching Burma to see whether the will of the people as expressed through free and fair elections will truly be respected; and whether there will be seri ous moves to protect human rights by promoting the rule of law and by establishing an ind ependent judiciary." As of today, it appear too exacting to reconstruct the many strands that m ake the fabric of her life. Only history can and will do it. At 48, Suu has created his tory - and it is a five year magic. Both SLORC and the international media have lionised h er and have secretly remained in awe of her. She is the archetypal lioness without who m the future history of Burma would be ahistoric. At two this great woman saw the end of an era and the beginning of another. At 48 she finds herself in the gridlock of ty ranny and freedom, fear and courage, truth and falsehood and has consciously chosen to ri de through the storm no matter what. The author is the Convener of Initiative for Democracy in Burma, New Delhi . The original article was published in the August 1993 issue of EVES. ------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET: ------------------------------------------------------------ ABSDF-DNA: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [DR. NAING AUNG] ABSDF-MTZ: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [MOE THEE ZUN] 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 ----------------------------------------------------------