"Are you eating regularly?" she asked in a speech to about 600 supporters gather in front of her Rangoon home. "You know the meaning of my question." When listeners shouted "No" she replied, "Mutual trust is weak in this country. If you want to eat regularly you must have mutual trust and be united. In the past month the market price of Burmese rice has risen more than 10 per cent, while the gap between rich and poor has widened steadily. Economic hardship was a crucial factor in the lead-up to nationwide anti-government demonstrations in 1988. The demonstration led to the birth of Burma's pro-democracy movement, led by Suu Kyi, the Oxford-educated daughter of Burma's independence hero, Gen Aung San. The movement was crushed when troops shot hundred of demonstrators, put Suu Kyi under house arrest and ignored the result of an election won by Suu Kyi political party, the National League for Democracy. Her release on July 10 breathed new life into Burma's democracy movement . Local analysts said Suu Kyi's subtle criticism of the country's economic condition hit at the heart of the Slorc, which has staked its legitimacy on the economic gains of the past six years. She reportedly yesterday requested help from the US Embassy in removing listening devices allegedly planted by government agents in her house. Suu Kyi was also reported to have conveyed her advice to thousands of Burmese student exiles that the time had not yet arrived when they could return home safely. She reiterated her appeal for all democratic elements to put aside their differences for the struggles ahead. "When we reach our goal you can criticize me, because criticism is a democratic right," she said. NATION: LETTER - ON THAKSIN'S COMMENTS July 20, 1995 People from all over the world are applauding and rejoicing at the news that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has finally been released unconditionally by Slorc after nearly six years under house arrest. I couldn't believe the first remark made by Khun Thaksin Shinawatra, palang Dharma's leader, after Suu Kyi's release. He suggested that the Thai Government should immediately send an official delegation to Burma to help Thai businessmen, in order to take advantage of investment opportunities. This is by far the most flawed approach to restore the strained relation between Thailand and Burma. I do not know whether Khun Thaksin was speaking as an individual or on behalf of the government when he made the suggestion. Moreover, he mentioned that only an official delegation from the Thai government is needed because that will prevent shady Thai businessmen who may other wise give a bad name to Thailand. I do not see the difference between Thai government-backed businessmen and other so called shady businessmen referred to by Khun Thaksin. To me the difference between the two is that the government backed businessmen's companies are monopolistic, conglomerate and highly influenced with strong ties with the government, whereas the so-called shady businessmen are small time operators who have little or no influence and power with people in the government. No matter how hard the Thai government is trying to appease the Slorc regime, it is going nowhere because even the regime understands well that Thailand is always acting in its self- interest only. Burmese people are not stupid and ignorant about how Thailand has behaved in recent years towards the ethnic people, exile Burmese students and their supporters. If everyone in the Thai government is trying to find out how they should improve bilateral relations with Burma, then they should start with genuine sincerity and openness. That is why I think it is suicidal that the new government plunge into Burma for investment opportunities, right after the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Than Lwin Bangkok ************* BKK POST: BURMESE ECONOMIC GROWTH PUT AT 6.8% JULY 18, 1995 (Business Section) Burma recorded 6.8% growth in gross domestic product [GDP] in the year to March and expected 7.7% growth in fiscal 1995-96, according to government figures seen yesterday. Expansion of investment and increased foreign exchange earnings, "mainly as a result of export promotion and inflows of foreign investment," were factors, the national planning and economic development ministry said. The ministry estimated Burma's population at 43.92 million, up 1.87% over last year. The report compared this year's figures to 5.9% GDP growth recorded in 1993-94 and 9.7% in 1992-93 . It cited " remarkable progress of the agricultural sector," which grew by 7.2% due to the cultivation of more land, an adequate water supply, greater mechanisation, better farming practices and the use of quality seeds. The livestock and fishery industries grew by 4.6%, while the forestry sector contracted by 14% "due to strict adherence to specifications of timber extraction" and partly due to a government-ordered reduction in logging by private companies. Mining grew 12.6%, processing and manufacturing 8.9% power 2.1%, construction 9.7%, transport 5.1%, communications 5.2% and trade 7.4%. Total investment during the year reached 35,688 million kyats, an increase of 11,120 million kyats over the previous year. The official exchange rate is about six kyats to the dollar, but the Burmese currency trades at about 100-to -120 kyats to the dollar on the black market. "Under the Foreign Investment Law, 113 enterprises have been permitted with a total investment of 1,692 million kyats, inclusive of 1,370 million kyats in foreign exchange in 1994-95," the reports said. ************************************************************* BKK POST:CULTIVATE CONTACTS, FORGET MBAS IN STREET-WISE BURMESE BUSINESS July 18, 1995 Foreign businesses operating in Burma used to have a slight problem with insurance. They are required to take out policies with the state owned Myanmar Insurance for fire, accident and the like, but legally can only do so in the unstable local currency, which even many Burmese now try to avoid. One pioneer saw an opportunity. He started collecting premiums and distributing claims in foreign currency for policies written under the name of the state-owned enterprise but backed by reinsures abroad. Myanma Insurance get a 5% commission and the insurance man gets exclusivity. Many of the country's foreign investors are now his customers and in addition to making a tidy sum, he is perfectly positioned for when Burma liberalises its insurance law in some year's time. The scheme is not legal. But it is entirely tolerated, as are several other quasi-legitimate schemes designed in an ad hoc manner to make foreign investment workable in this country desperate for hard currency. Everything from courier services to multi-million dollar countertrade operations that make importing, exporting and foreign investment possible, function in a grey area that the military government actively encourages. It is almost impossible to do business by the book here, says Tin Aye, one of the country's top commercial lawyers. That is not necessarily because of corruption but because there is no system in place to regulate everything that people want to do and that the government wants them to do . But in the meantime the government is forced to do things piecemeal. "We understand that a lot of people think our system here is still a bit murky, " admits Set Maung, a senior economic adviser to the military junta. But that doesn't mean there is no mechanism for handling foreign investment . There is . Each government ministry has priority areas for foreign investment and will seriously consider any feasible proposal. The US embassy says procedures within the Myanmar Investment Commission, the last stage of approval for foreign investment, have been streamlined. The new hotels springing up in Rangoon, Mandalay and pagan, improved telecommunications, and 6.4% economic growth in 1994 all are signs that business can indeed be done, even if the 29 foreign banks with representative offices in the country still have their hands tied. This is not like Vietnam, says Pat James of Eagle Business Development, a mini-conglomerate built around a successful consulting agency. The government here is serious about moving projects forward. Even if things are not legal, they are backed up by open statements from the government saying certain things are OK. Imagine everything that it takes to support an economy and that is how many little niches are available here, Mr James adds. You just need to be far-sighted. And cultivate contacts in the military. According to Mr James, Tin Aye and others, few business ventures will get very far without some unofficial sponsorship from a senior military officer. One common way to get in with the generals is to go through one of the many consulting and trading companies that boast of good contacts. Others take a more espionage-like approach. "I had been getting nowhere for about six months and was desperate, thinking of moving on," says one western entrepreneur." I had heard that the daughter of General Ne Win had some interest in the new Narawat Concorde Hotel. So I just started hanging around the bar and passing out a business card with a Singapore address. Six weeks later, I was in business." A foreign distributor of medical supplies, puts it another to be done here, but you have to be street-smart," he says. " Leave your Harvard MBAs and Peter Drucker books at home. They're useless here." ************* REUTER: AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S PICTURE IN BURMESE PAPERS July 20, 1995 RANGOON, July 20 (Reuter) - Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's picture appeared for the first time since her release from house arrest in state-run Burmese newspapers on Thursday. A picture of her participating in an official Martyrs' Day ceremony on Wednesday was on the front page of all state-run Burmese-language and English-language newspapers. The picture and caption, which mentioned her by name, marked the first time she had been named in state-run newspapers since being released from six years of house arrest last week. On Wednesday night, pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi at the Martyrs' Day ceremony were shown on official television stations, ending nine days of a domestic news blackout following her release on July 10. Martyrs' Day commemorates the 1947 assassination of her father, General Aung San, the country's pre-independence leader, who was killed with eight others as they prepared for the handover of power from colonial ruler Britian. Thursday's state newspapers, considered organs of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), also published an article denouncing ``traitors'' who worked to create economic crisis in Burma. ``Myanmar (Burma) is now embarked on the way to economic development,'' said the article published in the New Light of Myanmar and the other two official papers. ``But it must not be forgotten that national traitors from within the country will continue to conspire with foreign elements to enforce an economic blockade without any regard to the welfare of the 45 million Myanma masses. ``They will continue to strive to create economic crisis for Myanmar in their own interests and in order that they should gain political power.'' Aung San Suu Kyi was not named in the article but she has urged foreign business executives and governments to consider political circumstances in her country very carefully before rushing in with investment and aid. Many countries have withheld financial aid and assistance from Burma since 1988, when the military crushed pro-democracy demonstrations and killed or imprisoned thousands. Some governments like Japan have indicated they might resume aid following Aung San Suu Kyi's release. Aung San Suu Kyi has responded by urging caution, and asking foreign governments to wait and see what changes occur before making such decisions. ``I would ask them to wait and see if there are any real changes,'' she told a news conference. ``I wonder why the Japanese government feels a need to hurry. I think all governments should wait to see what is going to happen.'' ******** BKK POST: SUU KYI'S VISIT TO MARTYRS' MEMORIAL PASSES PEACEFULLY July 20, 1995 by Sombat Raksakul Rangoon BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi made a quiet appearance at yesterday's Martyrs' Day ceremony in memory of her father and other who died 48 years ago fighting for Burma's independence. Wearing a black shawl over a cream-coloured blouse, and a black longyi, Mrs Suu Kyi spent about 10 minutes at the Martyrs' Mausoleum, located at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the predominantly Buddhist country's most revered place of worship. Around 8.50 a.m she placed two baskets of flowers _ deft arrangements of white and purple orchids _ and wreath and observed a moment's silence there. The daughter of General Aung San paid her respects to the independence heroes shortly after Burma's Culture Minister Brigadier Thaung Myint led what was a day-long event. Other relatives of those who were gunned down with Gen Aung San on July 19, 1947 during an Executive Council meeting paid their respects at the mausoleum after Mrs Suu Kyi left. The relatives included six councillors, a senior civil servant and a young aide. Diplomats accredited to Rangoon, including those of the Philippines, China, France and Japan, subsequently took their turns, Representatives of United Nations agencies also took part. Security was tight, with traffic barriers put up at points within two kilometres of the mausoleum. Rangoon's leading generals attended a separate ceremony at City Hall. From the mausoleum, Mrs Suu Kyi, who was released on July 10 after being held under house arrest for nearly six years, went back to her home, at 54, University Avenue. There the crowd was larger than has been customary over the past several days, possibly because Martyrs' Day is a national holiday. Possibly because more people were there _ about 500, compared with the usual, estimated 300 who have been coming almost daily since her surprise release _ Mrs Suu Kyi came to the gates twice to talk with them briefly. These gate-side conversations took place in the morning and afternoon. On earlier days, she came at mid-afternoon only, a numbers of times when it was raining. "She said she would work for our country, and asked us to bear with the way she does so," a Burmese in the crowd said yesterday. According to a schedule previously made known, Mrs Suu Kyi gave cameramen a photo opportunity around 3 p.m. It was only an opportunity for photographers as she declined to answer questions from reporters while she walked around her house in friendly chat. Mrs Suu Kyi, 50, was taken under house arrest on July 20, 1989 for endangering the security of the state". Her release 10 days ago remains unreported by Burma's official media. Many people learned of the news through Burmese language services of the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corp and passed it on by word of mouth. The National League for Democracy of which she was secretary- general won 81% of the parliamentary seats on offer in general elections in May 1990. She has stressed the need for a non-confrontational approach toward democracy, through dialogue with Burma's military rulers. Mrs Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1991, about a year after she was awarded the Rafto Prize from Norway's second largest city of Bergen, for her pro-democracy work. **************************************************************