------------------------- BurmaNet --------------------------- "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" -------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: 28th June 1995 Issue #192 NOTED IN PASSING: "She has endured six long years solitary detention without trial at the hands of Burma's military regime. There is no sign at all of her release. We resolutely oppose political oppression disguised as criminal detention." 11 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates on the Detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, see Contents: BURMANET: NOTES ON A TRIP TO RANGOON SLORC: TO BE NOTICED BY THE PUBLIC WHO LIVE IN 'SHIN SAW PU' WARD BKK POST:KAREN REFUGEES TO BE RELOCATED BKK POST: THERDPONG OFFERS GOOD BURMA TIES THE NATION: POLICE ARREST 61 BURMESE KAREN THE NATION:ELECTION CLEARS THE WAY FOR OVERHAUL OF BURMA AP: DEVELOPERS CHANGING THE FACE OF THE EXOTIC OLD CITY OF RANGOON BURMANET: LETTER--" SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA" THE NATION:NOBEL LAUREATES URGE UN TO ACT ON SUU KYI'S PLIGHT NATION:'MON REBELS TO SIGN CEASE FIRE' BKK POST: BURMESE-THAI FURNITURE PROJECT BKK POST: FIGHTING HIV XINHUA: HILTON GROUP DEALS IN HOTEL BUSINESS IN MYANMAR IPS: U.S. MOVES TO BROADEN ANTI-DRUG TIES CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: SPEECHES ON AUNG SAN SUU KYI AND BURMA WHITE HOUSE: STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY NATION: BURMESE MONK SOUGHT IN BRUTAL KNIFING, MURDER NATION: MON REBEL LEADERS LEAVE FOR BURMA FOR FINAL ROUND TALKS WITH SLORC -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- ===== item ===== BURMANET:NOTES ON A TRIP TO RANGOON by Christina Fink Co-editor, The BurmaNet News (The information presented here was obtained from personal observations and interviews with several people who cannot be named.) Why Aung San Suu Kyi's book is entitled "Freedom From Fear" becomes clear after even a short trip to Rangoon. Everyone in Rangoon is living in a state of fear, not knowing who is an informer and who is a friend. No one is happy with the government, but virtually no one dares to oppose SLORC either. It is extremely difficult to organize people, because SLORC agents have infiltrated every university, pagoda, government office, and large organization. Besides the dense surveillance network, the constant military presence on the streets from Rangoon effectively deters mass protests. SLORC troops, carrying machine guns with unsheathed bayonets on the end, guard all the entrance gates to Rangoon University and all government buildings. Trucks of armed troops are frequently seen driving around the city, and blockades are put up in front of the government TV station every night. Uniformed SLORC soldiers make regular visits to Shwedagon and Sule Pagodas, making it clear that even temples cannot serve as sanctuaries from the regime. In addition, the SLORC ordered all residents living on major thoroughfares to build high walls in front of their houses. Although these walls were ostensibly erected as part of a beautification project, they are usually topped with barbed wire. At the same time, the walls make it difficult for protesters to escape should the military be firing on them. Even more striking, the SLORC has put gun ports into the walls surrounding its most important offices, and firing towers are located at each corner. The construction and use of such defensive structures suggests that the SLORC has no legitimacy but can only rule through brute force. If the people accepted the SLORC, it seems that there would not be a need for these measures. Aung San Suu Kyi's compound continues to be closely guarded. Although the blockades which had been placed in front of the compound gate have been taken down, soldiers are stationed both within the compound and next door. The soldiers who are on duty inside the compound are constantly rotated, because otherwise they become too attached to Aung San Suu Kyi. While in 1989-1990, people displayed photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi in their houses and shops, now no one dares to do so, and photo shops are afraid to sell any photographs they may have of her. Even mentioning her name can bring trouble. Although statistics show that the Burmese economy is growing rapidly, most peoples' standards of living are actually declining. SLORC officials, their relatives, and a select number of businessmen are living like kings, but everyone else is struggling to survive. The reasons for this are many. Most of the foreign investment has been put into enterprises such as luxury hotels and gas pipelines which do not directly benefit local people. Wages have not kept pace with inflation, and people in the city must work two or three jobs in order to make ends meet. For instance, a government employee might make 1200 kyat a month (roughly $12 US), but if he has a wife and two children, he would need almost 10 times this amount to survive in Rangoon. People in the countryside are no better off. Many people now cannot afford even bananas, let alone any meat or fish to go with their rice. They are eating nothing but red chili sauce with plain rice. What is really pushing people to the margins of survival is the extensiveness of forced labor. Virtually every railroad, irrigation canal, reservoir, and road are constructed with forced labor. When an infrastructure project is being carried out in a particular area, adults from each household must either go to work or pay a large sum instead. Schools are closed for the duration of the project, because teachers must go out and supervise the work or even do the digging as well. No food, money, or medicine is provided, and for people who are living from day to day, the loss of a day of labor means a significant cut in food supplies. Mothers must bring their small children with them to the project sites, and in some cases, these children have died of heatstroke because of the lack of shade. With teachers also forced to participate, there is no one to teach the older children. In fact, children are spending fewer and fewer years in school. Most drop out after the third standard, and only 25- 30% of the students complete the fifth standard. Parents see no value in education under the current system, because the only available jobs for the educated are in the government, but the pay is so low that it is impossible to make a living. Instead, parents are pulling their children out of school as soon as they are old enough to be able to work and help the household. Although UNESCO is working in Burma to expand primary education, the effects have been minimal. The SLORC has voiced its support for this project, but it has been cutting its own budget allocations for education. The lack of concern which the SLORC feels for the well-being of its own people is also apparent in the health sector. All hospital patients, no matter how poor, must buy their own medicines and even the surgical gloves which are used in operations. Medicine is only available through the black market, and the prices are extremely high. Goiter, a thyroid disease which is caused by a deficiency of iodine, is on the rise. Malaria and diarrhea, two easily treatable diseases, are the two biggest causes of death in Burma, because people do not have access to medicine and clean water. Local NGOs have been established, but they are derisively referred to as GONGOs, or government-organized non-governmental organizations. The Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, for instance, is run by Khin Nyunt's wife, and the local Red Cross is recognized as nothing but an extension of the SLORC. Some foreign non-governmental organizations are attempting to carry out humanitarian aid projects within Burma. MSF-Holland and MSF-France have set up offices, and the international Red Cross has been active. However, the international Red Cross recently decided to pull out, because its staff could not visit political prisoners or carry out their work independently. Other organizations are having difficulty in implementing their programs in such a way that would benefit the people rather than the SLORC. The SLORC tries to ensure that NGOs work through local Ministries, and much of the equipment and supplies that are brought over are diverted for other uses. The Burmese have mixed feelings about the presence of foreign NGOs. NGOs can help relieve the suffering of the poor and the sick, and they may also be able to train local staff to think more broadly and independently. Nevertheless, their presence gives the SLORC legitimacy, and it is extremely difficult to make sure that all the aid really reaches the people who need it. In fact, the best way to improve the well-being of the people does not seem to be to work with the SLORC but to get rid of the SLORC altogether. In the field of foreign investment, Total, Unocal, Texaco, and Peregrine (Miriam Segal) are by far the biggest players. The SLORC is particularly counting on the success of the gas pipeline (financed by Total and Unocal) to bring the regime not only large profits but also increased legitimacy. Stopping the pipeline would be a major setback for the SLORC. Most of the foreign investors in Rangoon either deny or ignore the human rights abuses which are taking place in Burma. A representative of Ivanoe, a Canadian mining company, insisted there was no proof of such abuses. Ironically, the headquarters of Ivanoe (and Peregrine) are located in the International Business Center, which is situated on the edge of Inya Lake where large numbers of pro-democracy protesters were drowned in 1988. The Total office is just across the street. The Singaporeans have invested heavily in luxury hotels, although the profitability of these ventures seems dubious. The flow of tourists into Burma continues to be a mere trickle, and Visit Myanmar Year appears to be far better advertised in Burma than abroad. In some cases, these hotels may be functioning as money laundering enterprises for those with ties to heroin production and trafficking. While Thai businessmen are active in Burma, they are mostly involved in the extraction of natural resources and smuggling. The Thais are looked down on by the Burmese both for their wily business practices and their military weakness. The SLORC is not afraid of the Thai Army, and it seems that the recent DKBA incursions into Thailand have been ordered by SLORC in order to see how far the Thai Army can be pushed. Because independent newspapers are prohibited and all published works are heavily censored (or self-censored), the Burmese rely on the BBC radio, and to a lesser extent the VOA, for news. Real news is also obtained from old copies of the Bangkok Post and the Nation (the two English language newspapers in Thailand) which are surreptitiously sold at book stalls in Rangoon. Some elites and hotels own satellite dishes and can receive foreign broadcasting, but the vast majority of the people only have access to government television programming. Those who are unhappy with the SLORC derive great pleasure from hearing or reading reports of international condemnation of the SLORC and the abuses which the regime is committing. Many continue to hope that the international community will apply enough pressure on the SLORC that the regime will fall. Although people are too afraid to rise up against the SLORC right now, some say they are waiting for something to happen which will create a window of opportunity. What form that might take remains to be seen. In conclusion, the standard of living is declining for all but a select few, and forced labor continues to be used on a massive scale. Although the SLORC seems to be convinced that it is giving the country exactly what it needs, the SLORC itself fears the anger of the people. The SLORC has been consolidating its control and benefiting from foreign investment, but it still appears to only be able to rule by brute force and intimidation. SLORC: TO BE NOTICED BY THE PUBLIC WHO LIVE IN 'SHIN SAW PU' WARD [This is a translation of an order for forced labor in Pegu] According to the implementation plan of the State Law and Order Restoraton Council (Slorc), to carry out the construction of the branch of 'Zaung Tu' irrigation canal, every owners of the houses and tenants who live in 'Shinsawpu' ward must contribute labours voluntarily. Like the families of the ward, the government departmental persons must also contribute labours. (I) The volunteer must contribute labour by his own programme and himself at 'Baw Nat Gyi' village, No (1) branch of Zaungtu' irrigation canal at the rate of three pits per one family. (II) If the volunteer can not contribute labour, he must contribute 350 kyats in cash for the rate of three pits per one family. (III) For this implementation plan, the default of labour or cash, the criticism and the detamation would be punished effectively. The person who transgress these actions must be recognized as a sabotour of the state plan under the existing law and orders. He must be known these penalties. The volunteers who want to contribute labours themselves must report at 'Bawnatgyi' camp, No.(1) branch of the irrigation canal. The travelling expenses would be 35 kyats. The persons who go together by the arrangement of the Ward Law and Order Restoration Council must pay 20 kyats for travelling expenses. So, the volunteers who give their names at the responsible 'Yar Aine Hmu' (the Headman of the hundred houses), must pay the travelling expenses, 20 kyats at the some time. The starting date of the volunteers will be 8.12.94. The person who want to contribute labours must report finally to the responsible 'Yar Aine Hmu' at (7. 12. 94). The families who can not contribute labours must pay 350 kyats to the respective area 'Yar Aine Hmu' at 15. 12. 94. as the last date. Sd:/ Ward Law and Order Restoration Council Shinsawpu Ward Pegu. Instructions to be followed by the owners and tenants who live in 'Shinsawpu Ward Section: (I) To know for one month reporting The Persons who get permission for one month stay in 'Shin Saw Pu' ward are: the students, government services and the workers who came from other townships & villages for their respective work. They can be reported for one month of the guest's list. To report one month, he must submit the recommendation of 'Ya Wa Ta'(i.e. Ward Law and Order Restoration Council) where he first lives in and new recommendation of respective 'Yar Aine Hmu' of the Ward where he lives now, and then must bring the host. Section (ii) To know for the temporary guest The temporary guest can stay only three days by bringing the Natonal Registration Card and also the host to 'Ya Wa Ta'. Section (iii) To know for the tenants The tenants who had lived in this ward for six months must get a family schedule. To get family Schedule. (1) The persons who came from the other divison/township must bring from No. 10 of the immigration office. (2) The persons who came from village/ward must bring the recommendation of 'Ya Wa Ta (i.e. Ward/Village Law and Order Restoration Council). For the family schedule all necessary recommendations must be completed and all these facts are warned in advance. Sd./ Shin Saw Pu Ward Law and Order Restoration Council Pegu BKK POST: KAREN REFUGEES TO BE RELOCATED 25 JUNE 1995 MAE HONG SON preparations are under way to move all Karen refugees who fled recent fighting in Burma to an area near Ban Mae Lama Luang in Sob Moei distric. About 20,000 refugees have been staying in camps along the border in Sob Moei and Mae Saring districts since they fled Rangoon's drive against Karen National Union camps. National Security Council deputy secretary-general Kachadpai Buruspattana said Thailand's policy was to provide humanitarian assistance to these refugees and send them back to their country when the situation returned to normal. The refugees would brought together at Ban Lama Luang in Sob Moei district for better control before they were repatriated. (BP) POLICE ARREST 61 BURMESE KAREN TAK police yesterday arrested 61 Burmese Karen believed to have snaked into Thailand through Mae Sot and a Thai couple thought to have helped them. Police said they were arrested about 5 after the driver of a six-wheel truck they were travelling in failed to stop at a police checkpoint in Mae Sot district. Police chased the truck and arrested the driver and his wife- identified as Raem Prempri, 27, and Affine Khongthai, 23.The Karen, aged 23 to 30 years, were found hidden in the back of the truck, which was covered with a large plastic sheet. There were 41 men and 20 women. All admitted they had crossed illegally into Thailand and hoped to work in Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan or Bangkok. Each had agreed to pay their illegal labour agent Bt2,000, police said. (TN) THERDPONG OFFERS GOOD BURMA TIES THE Democrat Party is trying to win support in Tak by promising it will try to improve Thailand's sour border relations with Burma. Therdpong Chaiyanant, who is leading a three-member Democrat candidate team, told a rally in Mae Sot district the Government realised the importance of good relations with neighbouring countries but no substantial action had been taken because of the election. The attempt to restore good border relations with Burma would be top priority if the Democrat Party headed the next government. Thailand and Burma have a long history of close and warm relations. It will be a grate pity if this good relationship deteriorates, he said. Mr Therdpong's team-mate and brother, Rak, said the cool relationship at the border stemmed from Burma's belief that Thailand still supported minority rebels and drug warlord, Khun Sa. Burma's attitude could also be caused by some third countries, with vested interests in that country, fearing Thailand could be a competitor. Describing the problem as a misunderstanding, Mr Rak said Thailand's policy toward Burma was crystal clear.(BP) THE NATION:ELECTION CLEARS THE WAY FOR OVERHAUL OF BURMA POLICY ELECTION CLEARS THE WAY FOR OVERHAUL OF BURMA POLICY 26 JUNE 1995 Despite the campaign rhetoric of a few candidates calling for a revision of the Thai-Burma relationship, it remains to bo seen whether the nest government will rethink constructive engagement - a policy that is often criticized as a thinly disguised agreement aimed at protecting Thailand's business [some material lost here] rest with the ruling Slorc. As it stands, the next government has two choices: either continue with its passive attitude and play down disputes between the two countries as bilateral issues or internationalize future incidents by requesting organizations such as the United Nations (Asean) provide an arena for discussion between the two countries. Prof Vitit Muntarbhorn of the Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law said Thailand's passive attitude had destroyed the country's credibility in the eyes of Slorc. He called the constructive engagement a slap-in-the-face policy and said Slorc did not talking Thailand seriously. As two examples he cited the abrupt decision by Rangoon to stop construction of a bridge over the Moei River,as well as the numerous incursions into Thai territory by Slorc-backed rebels earlier this year. Burma Construction Minister U Khin Maung Yin ordered a halt to the building of the bridge on June 5 because he claimed Thailand was encroaching onto Burmese territory. The Slorc argued that the construction had changed the course of the river, which technically serves as the natural boundary between the two countries. The dispute on border demarcation has been going on for decades and it was surprising to see such drastic action being taken by the Burmese. Despite the fact that the Bt70 million bridge construction project was entirely funded by the Thai government, not to mention the 600-truck-loads of soil provided by Thailand, Defence Minister Gen Vijit Sookmark still managed to be optimistic and expressed his confidence that the two sides could soon resolve the dispute that had brought the bridge construction to a complete stop. Prof Vitit argued that constructive engagement has not been as fruitful as Thailand had expected - pointing to the huge projects and contracts that Burma has awarded to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Singapore. His comment was reinforced by the recent trip by Slorc chairman Than Shwe to Indonesia and Singapore which was deemed as an attempted to strengthen Burma's economic ties with other Asean countries. At the present, Thailand is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The next government cannot continue with its business-as-usual attitude and expect Burma to respect the nation's time, bringing the Thai-Burma dispute onto the Asean table will meet stiff opposition from both Indonesia and Singapore because of their growing business involvement with Slorc. But these countries don't have to put up with the influx of refugees fleeing Slorc's relentless prosecution. Yet, for Thailand to internationalize the dispute now would be nothing less than a public admission of past mistakes - something that doesn 't happen too often in Thai politic. Asean Western counterparts are expected to press for Burma's human rights record to be on the agenda of the next Asean meeting. The timing is good for Thailand because July 19 will also mark the sixth anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's unlawful house arrest and it is expect to be attract lots of attention from the international community. In short, internationalization would mean going beyond a simple cease-fire or any other half-hearted schemed of the past that were often deemed controversial and never directly addressed the main reason behind the systematic persecution of the past that were often deemed controversial and never directly addressed the main reason behind the systermatic persecution of the Karen and other ethnic minorities in Burma. Some have pointed out that internationalizing the border issue will lessen the burden on Thailand because responsibilities would be shared. Such responsibilities may include providing security for the displaced people who have fled armed conflict, as well as creating a sound logistical basic necessities such as food and medicines. National Security Council deputy security General Khachadpai Busphas insists that there is no need to bring in international organizations to monitor the refugees. He cites Thailand's experience in dealing with the influx of Indochinese refugees in the past decades. During the series of incursions by the DKBA in the recent months, the Thai authorities consistently played down the incident as a local issue. They emphasized the fact that the two countries share a common border that stretches 800 km, and to the political instability in Burma that would suggest that these border incidents are more or less inevitable. Moreover, the government of Thailand, and particularly those responsible for maintaining border security, went out of their way to avoid direct confrontation with Slorc. Even on Thai soil, the authorities had left the Karen to defend themselves by allowing them to keep a few weapons, but with a understanding that they keep a low profile. This turning-the-blind-eye approach ended when the Burmese cried foul. In a recent interview on the Nation TV, Nam Thai candidate MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra suggested what many of fellow politicians had deemed to radical. WE should be in the position to push Burma into accepting the opinion of the international community and show them the right path to take in order to be accepted internationally, said MR Sukhumbhand, a former political lecturer at Chularlongkorn University. Phogphol Adireksarn of the Chart Thai Party, on the order hand, unabashedly argued that there is no other way to coax Burma into political reform than through economic cooperation. He said his party would use state enterprises to spearhead economic cooperation with Burma. Currently, Thailand ranks fifth in the world in terms of investment with Burma with nearly US$ 260 pledged _ in addition to the numerous off-the-record business transactions between local influential figures of both countries. The Thai authorities know very well that the incursions of the recent months are nothing less than a direct assault on Thailand's sovereignty. And for the authorities to play these incursions down as minor or local incidents is to put economic gains before national sovereignty. With a new government due to take power soon as a result of the July 2 election, Thailand has the option to admit that the so-called constructive engagement of Asean has failed and look into new approaches in dealing with Burma. In short, the policy has failed because it has not stopped Burma's persecution of its own people. Moreover it has failed because it has created a situation where the Slorc is taking Thailand's sovereignty for granted, and also because it has caused more problems than the economic gains that were originally expected. One thing is clear - clinging on to the business-as-usual attitude towards future incidents along the border will further damage the country's already -fragile credibility. And unless the next group of policy markers comes up with a new platform to address the problems between the two countries, the next government of Thailand will continue to get a cold response from Rangoon. (TN) AP: DEVELOPERS CHANGING THE FACE OF THE EXOTIC OLD CITY OF RANGOON Shopping centres and hotels take over The Nation/ Denis D GRAY Associated Press RANGOON- Burma-With hammers and crowbars they're knocking down old, atmospheric Rangoon, one of Asia's last reminders of the past, to make way for high-rise hotels and shopping centres. The 20th century has finally caught up with Rangoon, where high- rise once meant the soaring spires of Buddhist pagodas and tree- lined avenues were flanked by probably the largest collection of British colonial buildings in the world. Now, big chunks of the uniform urban-scape are being ripped out of the heart of Rangoon, and the skyline has already been pierced by several buildings approaching 20 stories. Foreign investors are putting up office complexes, department stores and hotels that will cater to an expected tourist boom in this still exotic land. Business is very good. The government really wants to change the economic policy. We will have many high-rises. In the next 10 years Rangoon will be like Bangkok, says real-estate developer Soe Myint, referring to Thailand's capital, an urban nightmare which has bulldozed many vestiges of its past. Rangoon had been frozen in time because a socialist, xenophobic government kept out investment and all but ruined the domestic economy. Major construction was rare. The current military junta, which seized power after crushing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, has liberalized the economy, invited foreign investors and laid down modernization plans. Irrevocable changes to Rangoon's character began about two years ago. The prospects for saving old Rangoon are not promising, although Lt. Gen. Kyaw Ba, minister of tourism, maintains that some of Rangoon's antique colonial buildings must be preserved. The high- rises will be scattered. Leading the development are overseas Chinese entrepreneurs who have shown little mercy to architectural legacies elsewhere in ASIA. For all parties involved, more money can usually be made by tearing down and building anew. There's also no local lobby, public forum or foreign pressure group currently standing up for preservation. The military rules by decree, and also profits substantially from many foreign investment projects. Nobody would dare oppose military plans to modernize the city, says one Western resident who requested anonymity. From time to time you hear individuals grumble. There's a sigh and resignation that there goes another old building. A 23-story hotel is under construction on the northern end of Sule Pagoda Road, the main avenue laid down by the British in the mid-19th century where structures average four stories. Another hotel and a 25-floor Japanese office building will go up nearby. At the lower end of the avenue, little more than 100 meters (yards) from the Sule Pagoda, foundations are being laid for the French-owned Sofitel Hotel, which will dwarf the sacred, ancient epi-center of Rangoon with its twin towers and 22 floors. Last year, kyaw Ba stressed there were regulations against building large structures near religious edifices. But in another interview recently the tourism minister argued that Sofitel could be built because the Sule Pagoda was already surrounded by other buildings which obstructed its viewing from farther away. The profit motive, however, is also protecting some of the dark red brickwork, the fanciful turrets and neo-Grecian columns of Imperial Britain. The Strand, one of the finest hotels in Asia when it was built in 1901, has been renovated and now charges $300 a night for a taste of bygone elegance. The Victorian headquarters of the Burmese railway department will be converted into a 90-room, five-star hotel. Unable to compete with foreign companies coming in to build mega- room hotels, Burmese businessman Khin Shwe says he has sought out old, unique properties for renovation. Last year he opened the 15-room Mya Yeik Nyo Royal, the magnificent former mansion of Chartered Bank managers set atop Rangoon's second-highest hill. Staying there, or at one of several surrounding bungalows, is truly a step back into the world of lawn parties, gin and tonics at sundown and stiff upper lips. But on the grounds, Khin Shwe has had a large mural painted which showcases Burma's natural and man-made wonders, including, naturally, his own hotel. Rangoon itself is depicted as a phalanx of skyscrapers, and could easily be mistaken for Manhattan. BURMANET: LETTER--" SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA" Zar Ni Department of Curriculum and Instruction 225 North Mills Street Madison, WI 53706 Zar Ni (510) 597-1255 On July 11 Burmese Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the popular democratic leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will begin the seventh year of imprisonment in Rangoon. Her continued imprisonment is symbolic of the blatant denial of the Burmese peoples' political and civil liberties by the military regime. After the bloody crackdown of the popular pro-democracy uprisings in 1988, the Burmese military regime renamed itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and changed the country's name to Myanmar. It held multi-party elections to appease the angry nation. But the intransigent regime then set the political clock back by refusing to transfer power to the National League for Democracy Party (NLD) which won a landslide in the elections, the first to be held since 1962. Furthermore, its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been kept in captivity since July of 1989. Indeed Burma has become a vast prison camp with 45 million people prisoners of their own armed forces. Foreign governments and international agencies including the US Statement have condemned strongly the SLORC for its gross human rights violations such as ethnic cleansing, forced labor, arbitrary arrests, torture, summary executions, religious persecution, rape, forced relocation and displacement of people. But effective actions, such as economic sanctions, have not been taken yet. In the meantime, the regime has made attempts to entrench itself in power, following the so-called Chinese model of development: political stability first, market second, and, if there is any time left, democracy and human rights last! Under the SLORC's iron-fisted rule Burma is now up for sale. Several US corporations, most notably, PepsiCo and the oil giants, Unocal and Texaco, are only too eager to respond to the SLORC's invitation to a large scale exploitation of Burma's natural and human resources: Burma has 80% of the world's teak forest, many ruby mines, fertile soil, oil and natural gas reserves, minerals, and cheap labor. PepsiCo has a monopoly over soft-drink bottling in the country while Unocal has obtained a natural gas production contract worth over $400 million with the Burmese military. The advocates of the "Constructive Engagement" approach to Burma's problems (including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines) have argued that only by constructively working with an international pariah regime such as the SLORC will there be significant political and economic change in Burma. Their message: persuasion, not isolation; business, not sanctions. But a different story is told by former US Ambassador Burton Levin who knows the country intimately. Levin stated, "foreign investment in most countries acts as a catalyst to promote change, but the Burmese regime is so single-minded that whatever money they obtain from foreign sources, they pour straight into the army while the rest of the country is collapsing." Already the SLORC has bought over $1 billion worth of arms from its neighbor-mentor, China and doubled the size of its army since 1988. Is constructive engagement really helping the people as its advocates claim? Constructive engagement and its resultant economic growth benefits only a very tiny group of individuals made up of SLORC generals and those businesses that bribe the SLORC handsomely for their share of the pie. Even a successful Burmese businessman who was recently in the US conceded to this during our conversation. The fact is business and governmental advocates of constructive engagement have never lived under totalitarian regimes and their argument is far removed from the daily realities of the people and hence it rings hollow. Indeed constructive engagement serves as a convenient excuse for bankrolling Burma's illegitimate regime and disguising the all too familiar "if-we- don't-somebody-else-will rationality. Then what is the alternative? Economic sanctions. If imposed, they will hurt a handful of individuals: the local business-associates of the SLORC and those employed by foreign corporations. But they will have little impact on the vast majority of people, the supposed beneficiaries of economic development. Most people live in rural areas and not dependent upon constructive engagement for their livelihood, Burma being an essentially agricultural country. Even when there was not one single foreign corporation operating in the country owing to past isolationist policies (1962-88), we survived economically. It is rather curious that now all of a sudden the economic life of my people is being portrayed as though its survival rested on the presence of the corporations. The country's leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has put forward her conviction that economic development must not come at the expense of the people in whose name it has ostensibly been sought, and yet whose fundamental human concerns the SLORC continues to disregard. In light of the situations in Burma it is now high time that the international community takes strong actions such as economic sanctions and an arms embargo against the SLORC. In the words of Desmond Tutu, "international pressure can change the situation in Burma. Tough sanctions, not constructive engagement, finally brought the release of Nelson Mandela and the dawn of the new era in my country. This is the language that must be spoken with tyrant--for sadly, it is the only language they understand." ____________ Zar Ni, a member of the Free Burma Coalition and the Bay Area Roundtable, is a Burmese exile and human rights activist currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. THE NATION:NOBEL LAUREATES URGE UN TO ACT ON SUU KYI'S PLIGHT The Nation/27.6.95 Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO- Nobel Peace Prize laureates appealed on Sunday for UN action on the release of Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, calling her plight "political oppression disguised as criminal detention." In a statement issued for the UN 50th anniversary ceremonies, 11 laureates called for freedom for the Burmese leader, another peace laureate who has been under house arrest for six years. Two of the Nobel laureates present for the ceremonies in San Francisco went further in criticizing Burma's military regime, and one - South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu - called for UN sanctions on Rangoon. As we write, thousands of people are currently incarcerated or detained as political prisoners, among them our sister Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi," the joint statement said. "She has endured six long years solitary detention without trial at the hands of Burma's military regime. There is no signed at all for her release. We resolutely oppose political oppression disguised as criminal detention." The laureates call on the world community working through the United Nations to help obtain freedom for prisoners of conscience, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Tutu, in a statement to a forum here for the UN anniversary, called for sanctions to be imposed on Burma and other countries with serious human rights violations. "Why should we not act decisively ... in a case of Burma, which still holds our sister laureate under house arrest?" he asked. Betty Williams, a 1976 Nobel Laureate present for the ceremony, also had harsh words for the Burmese military regime, and referred to Aung San Suu Kyi as " my beloved sister". "The people of Burma -not Myanmar, there is no Myanmar- loved Aung San Suu Kyi." Williams said. "Release her from terror she lives through every day." Williams addressed another Nobel laureate at the event- Polish President Lech Walesa-appealing for Poland to stop supplying weapons to the Rangoon regime. "I beg your government not to supply them with military hardware," she said, and added a similar appeal to South Africa. Williams, Tutu, walesa and former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias were present for the event. Also signing the statement were Nobel laureates Norman Borlaug, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Elie Wiesel , Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. # Agence France -Presse reports from Dhaka: Some 20,000 Burmese Muslim refugees in Bangladesh were forced to enroll as voters by gangs who plan to sell them to highest bidders at the next general election, a news paper said yesterday. Gangs along the entire Burmese border are involved in the process, the morning Sun reported. Election officials said they had heard such reports, but not yet verified them. "We have not got anything in writing." Mohammad Yusuf Ali, a local polls official, told the daily. The region is a stronghold of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-islami party. NATION:'MON REBELS TO SIGN CEASE FIRE' The Nation/27.6.95 Reuter Burma's ethnic minority Mon guerrilla group, which has been fighting for grater autonomy since 1949, is set to sign a cease fire with Burma's military government, a senior Thai source said. Mon guerrilla commander Nai Shwe Kyin will lead a delegation to the southeastern Burma's city of Moulmein to sign a ceasefire with Burma's powerful military intelligence chief Lieutenant- General Khin Nyunt before the end of the month, the Thai official said at the weekend. The Thai official, who monitors developments along the Thai- Burmese border and declined to be identified, said Burma ruling Sate Law and Order Restoration Council(Slorc) had agreed to let the Mon nationalists administer 19 small areas of about 10 square km each, in southeast Burma's Mon State. The New Mon State Party (NMSP), and its military wing the Mon National Liberation Army, is one of the last ethnic minority guerrilla groups still fighting the Slorc, which since 1989, has agreed to cease fire accord with 14 different guerrilla forces. The Thai official said he was optimistic the Karen National Union, which has also been fighting since 1949, would also sign a deal in coming months. BKK POST: BURMESE-THAI FURNITURE PROJECT 27 JUNE 1995 The state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Thailand's Santi Forestry Co have formed a joint-venture factory to make wooden furniture mainly for export. Sanfoco Wood Industries is located at Dagon Nyothit in suburban Rangoon. The contract was signed contract was signed by Myanmar Timber managing director Myat Win and Santi Forestry chairman Santi Vayakonvichitr. (BP) 27 JUNE 1995 The Myanmar Medical Association recently began a one-year project to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Rangoon. Funded by the Japanese government, the programme targets taxi and trishaw drivers. (BP) WASHINGTON, (June 21) IPS - Despite worsening human rights conditions in Burma, the administration of President Bill Clinton has decided to increase its cooperation on anti-drug efforts with the military regime there. The new policy -- described as a compromise between anti-drug hawks in the administration who wanted stronger ties and the State Department Human Rights Bureau which opposed them -- was announced today at a Congressional hearing. Lee Brown, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told lawmakers on the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee of the House of Representatives that Burma now accounts for most of the heroin that reaches the United States. About 60 percent of the heroin that is sold in the United States is believed to come from Southeast Asia, and almost all of that is from opium grown in Burma. The rest comes from Central Asia, especially Afghanistan, and Latin America. Brown outlined a three-pronged approach in U.S. drug policy in Burma. It includes continuing a "general dialogue" with the Burmese regime on anti-drug efforts; exchanging information with officials there to aid their anti-drug efforts; and launching in- country training of the government's anti-drug forces . Brown stressed that units to be trained will specifically be selected "on a case-by-case basis" to ensure that officers charged with rights abuses or drug-trafficking are not chosen. In addition, Brown said Washington will continue supporting U.N. drug-control efforts in the region and consider increasing aid there to the U.N. Drug Control Program (UNDCP). It will also encourage China and Thailand to exert their own pressures on the military government to curb drug production and trafficking. The new policy falls somewhat short of what the administration's anti-drug hawks had hoped. Brown and the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics Matters, which is led by Robert Gelbard, had wanted to provide equipment, including helicopters and other aircraft, much as it has done in other drug-producing countries. But Human Rights Assistant Secretary John Shattuck and others insisted that such a step would go too far and could be used by the authorities in their counter-insurgency campaigns against ethnic minority and other groups. "That was just too much," said one official. Still, human rights activists and others criticized the new policy, arguing that it will undermine other U.S. policy objectives in the country. "This initiative undermines the administration's human rights policy in Burma, " said Mike Jendrzeijsczyk, Washington director of Human Rights Watch/Asia, formerly known as Asia Watch. "The administration told the regime there would be no additional anti-narcotics aid unless there was progress on drugs, human rights, and democratization. And there hasn't been any," he told IPS. Washington's relations with Burma, whose name the military regime changed to Myanmar, have been virtually frozen since 1990 when elections swept by the opposition National League for Democracy were ignored by the army which placed NLD's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest. Since then, Burma has opened its economy to foreign investment, while the regime, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), has occasionally hinted that it was ready to release Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as part of a rapprochement with the United States and other Western countries. Those hints have so far come to nothing, however. At the urging of Washington's Southeast Asian allies, Washington offered to upgrade relations significantly late last year on condition that the SLORC release Suu Kyi and make other reforms. But the offer was spurned outright, according to U.S. officials. In the meantime, the amount of opium and heroin flowing out of Burma has grown steadily, as has heroin usage in the United States. Those statistics have strengthened the voices in the administration who favored closer cooperation with the regime. Brown noted today that heroin is increasingly being used in suburban, middle class communities throughout the United States, in addition to the inner-city ghettoes with which it is more identified in the public mind. Spot checks inhospitals and treatment centers show "substantial increases" in heroin use since the mid-1980s, according to Brown. He was joined today by Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, a long- time Congressman from Harlem, New York. While deploring the human rights situation in Burma, Rangel said he supported steps to improve cooperation between the two countries to fight drugs. "I just appeal to this subcommittee to have some concern of the human rights of people in my district and throughout these United States that are seeing bumper crops (of opium) coming out of Burma," he said. "I'm asking you...to not use human rights to sever relationships that could cause the stoppage of tons" of heroin from entering this country. But Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher questioned whether stepped-up cooperation makes sense. "The people who I have talked to all across the border there with Thailand and Burma and Laos," he said, "indicate that where the SLORC regime's troops are, there you'll find poppy fields and distribution centers." "There seems to be evidence that this regime itself is in bed with the drug lords," he added. Brown, however, insisted that there "is no strong evidence to suggest that the government itself is involved in drug trafficking or directly profits from the drug trade." He did indicate that "individuals at a lower level" may be involved, however