------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: October 2, 1995 Issue#243 Noted in Passing: Thai banks have even had their cash shipments stolen. - Bruce R. Birmingham, President of Bank of Nova Scotia referring to Thai banks which have tried to set up operations in Burma. (quoted in CFOB: BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA DECIDES NOT TO ENTER BURMA) Headlines: ======== COMMENT ON WITHDRAWAL OF BURMA AMENDMENT CFOB: BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA DECIDES NOT TO ENTER BURMA ISBDA: PRISONS CLEANED UP AND INTELLIGENCE PROBES ALERTED S.H.A.N : THE CEC SWEEPS AGAIN - REWARD REVOKED NATION: LETTERS - BURMA ARMY NATION: LETTER - MOVING REFUGEES NATION: CHILDREN, BURMESE NABBED FOR BEGGING INDEPENDENT LETTER: ANSWER TO MR. GREENWOOD ---------------------------------------------------------- Produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G). The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire services and the Internet as well as original material are published. The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l mailing lists and is also available via the reg.burma conference on the APC networks. 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Look under the International Political Economy section, then select Geographic_Archive, then Asia, then Burma. ---------------------------------------------------------- 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 simplytoo 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: [on summer vacation] Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] wcsbeau@superior.ccs.carleton.ca Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission, c/o NBH03114@niftyserve.or.jp Chin history/culture: plilian@asc.corp.mot.com Fonts: tom@cs.colgate.edu History of Burma: zni@students.wisc.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: Wungram Shishak, z954001@oats.farm.niu.edu Burma-India border [volunteer needed] Pali literature: "Palmleaf" c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed] Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S.Sutcliffe" World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Volunteering: christin@ksc.net.th [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] ******************************** COMMENT ON WITHDRAWAL OF BURMA AMENDMENT Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 23:16:26 -0700 At 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Mr. Kyle Simmons, press secretary in Senator Mitch McConnell's office in Washington D.C., informed me that the sanctions on burma which were added to the Senate Foreign Appropriations bill were deleted in conference committee. Senator McConnell plans to reintroduce the sanctions again soon, but is not saying when or in what form, less he alert the opposition to his strategy. The Senator's intention to support the Burmese people in gaining democracy and in eradicating drugs remains steadfast, despite this setback. Reported by Will Kidd, President of Sunsource, Unlimited, inc. ************************************ CFOB: BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA DECIDES NOT TO ENTER BURMA September 29, 1995 (Canadian Friends of Burma) Toronto, ON....... 29 September 1995 -- In April, the media run by Burma's military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), announced that a license had been granted to the Bank of Nova Scotia, one of Canada's leading chartered banks, to begin operations in Burma. "We are not going in." This was the response of the Bank's President, Bruce R. Birmingham, in a meeting today with depositors and representatives of Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB). "The license will not be taken up, we're just going to let it lapse." Mr. Birmingham was uncertain of the expiry date on the license but estimated its lifetime would be from six months to a year. He flatly stated that "we have not paid any money" and continued that it is the bank's policy never to pay money simply for permission to do business in any country. The Bank reached its decision after consulting with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa. After being briefed on the political and human rights situation in Burma, the Bank decided that now is not the time to pursue business in that country. Mr. Birmingham noted in passing that "Thai banks have even had their cash shipments stolen," referring to Thai banks which have tried to set up operations in Burma. He said that immediately following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Bank once again consulted Ottawa and decided conditions had still not improved and therefore the Bank's position would not change. "We are encouraged to see a national corporation of such stature adopt this position. It does not only represent a good ethical decision but a solid business decision as well," said Christine Harmston, coordinator of CFOB's national office. "Other companies who have experienced the SLORC-run economy have quickly concluded that it is not a good environment in which to do business. We hope the position taken by the Bank of Nova Scotia will inspire other corporations to act similarly." For more information, call CFOB at (613) 237-8056. ******************************* ISBDA: PRISONS CLEANED UP AND INTELLIGENCE PROBES ALERTED IN BURMA September 30, 1995. Released by Information Service on Burmese Democracy Affairs (ISBDA) Rumor spreads out among the democratic forces in Burma that SLORC is reshuffling prison-superintendents and conducting prison clean ups that mean unprecedented release of criminal convicts in order to make room for the prisoners to come. Fear is accelerated by another fact that local military intelligence probes are ordered to closer watch on the democracy activists all over Burma. Such steps indicate that SLORC may repeat the same tactics used in 1988 when criminal convicts were first wiped out and mass arrest of political activists followed sooner. To Our Net Readers: Please clarify and discuss about these rumors. What can we do before anything odd happen in Burma? ************** S.H.A.N : THE CEC SWEEPS AGAIN - REWARD REVOKED Muangmai , 28 September 1995 One of the numerous tasks of the Central Executive committee of The Shan State Restoration, which came to power in August , has been to straighten out all the problems created by the previous administration headed by Khun Sa. Naturally, it has been fast earning the collective nickname as the garbage sweeper. The latest in the series is Bulletin No.5,dated September 27 and signed by all of the members except those on tour in Central Shan State. It announced the revocation of the K.1 million reward offer made by the former leadership for the capture, dead or alive of Major Karnyord soon after his June mutiny. Since then, it has been an endless embarrassment, S.H.A.N learned, not only for the new leadership, but also for Khun Sa himself, who is not unknown for doing things in haste only to repent them on reflection. When S.H.A.N. ventured to inquire about it, he said : "It was my anger. when you're so angry, you don't know what you're doing. But when our people in Taunggyi later called to report about his arrival there, my common sense had already returned. And I instructed them to forget the whole thing altogether." Meanwhile, the front with the UWSA and its allies is quiet after the failure of their attack on the MTA on Tuesday. Khun Duan Saengkham, the CEC' s spokesman, also denied rumors reported by Rueters about low morale in the Shan army as groundless. " Things have returned to normal. If there is panic in the movement, how do you explain our successful defense against the Was, who outmanned and outgunned us? " he smilingly retorted. **************** NATION: LETTERS - BURMA ARMY September 30, 1995 The release of Aung San Suu Kyi was a very important victory for the Burmese democracy movement. But other less obvious but equally important events have taken place in Burma in recent months. A very important power struggle within the Burma Army was finalized a few months ago. Four key associates of General Khin Nyunt _ the Air Force and Navy commanders _ lost their military commands. General Khin Nyunt may still be be wearing an army uniform but for all practical purposes he is now a politician named U Khin Nyunt. Our intelligence reports indicate he is planning sham elections in May 1996 in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her close associates will not be permitted to participate. This will lead to a violent overthrow of Slorc because we plan to solicit the support of the Burma Army. General Maung Aye will be leading the Burmese delegation to the Heads of State meeting at the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations in New York on October 22-24. We plan to initiate discussions with the Burma Army, not Slorc, about the Army's future role in a free and democratic Burma. Myint Thein Dallas, Texas ************************************** NATION: LETTER - MOVING REFUGEES September 30, 1995 Sleeping Giant is a Canadian inter-church group located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Our purpose is to bring refugees from countries like Thailand (where resources are stretched) to Canada, where such refugees can begin a new life in safety. We have understood that the Thai government is not anxious to be over-whelmed with refugees. Given however the terrible situation in Burma, Thailand has graciously permitted refugees from there to wait resettlement on Thai soil. Our problem arises, it seems, from a Ministry of Interior policy which insists on jailing the very refugees we are trying to expedite to Canada. We are trying to help Thailand move refugees out of the country but Thailand it seems is putting the spanner in the works. It is very hard to transport a refugee who is being kept under lock and key. We would like to make a suggestion to the Thai government. Sponsored refugees should be given a fast track by way of exit visas from Thailand, and they should not be hindered or delayed by being tucked away in the Immigration Detention Centre. One further matter: it seems that some Burmese and Karen refugees have actually been sent back over the border to Burma. This is not only counter-productive for our resettlement plans, it is definitely cruel and unusual punishment for the refugees themselves who face possible death in Burma. James M. Patterson Chair Sleeping Giant Refugee Sponsorship Group Ontario, Canada ***************************************************************** NATION: CHILDREN, BURMESE NABBED FOR BEGGING September 30, 1995 MORE than one hundred people, including foreigners and children, were arrested for begging this week, police said yesterday. Police said officers from the Metropolitan and Immigration bureaus, acting on a request by the Social Welfare Department arrested 60 foreigners, mostly Burmese and 48 Thais between Tuesday and Thursday and charged them with begging. Among those arrested were 15 children. The beggars were all found on Thaniya Road, off Silom Road. The foreigners also face charges of illegally entering they country and are currently being held at the Immigration Bureau awaiting deportation. According to the police, some of the children had been forced to beg. The Thai children have been sent to a holding centre for the homeless in Nonthaburi. People who suspect their children have been abducted should telephone the centre on 583-0044. ***************************************************************** Typed by the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ} 30.9.95 ****************************************************************** INDEPENDENT LETTER: ANSWER TO MR. GREENWOOD From: Wilhelm Klein <100010.354@compuserve.com> Dear Mr. Geenwood, I read your slanderous answer to an inquiry I made to you about slave labor, which needs to be corrected and rebutted. On Sept. 14th I asked you by fax (through Sue Wheat) for some detailed information about slave labor in tourist projects. You had been suggested to me as the one source I could rely on. However, instead of giving me the information I need for responsible journalism, I read your very insulting article on the net. Let us make clear from the beginning: Except of you, there are also other forces out here working for democracy in Burma who might have a different approach than you have. Calling them " apologists", "infamous authors" or "collaborators" serves neither the cause, nor does it make you a journalist with an unbiased view. You neither know me, nor the work I do, to be able to judge as you did in your article. Before throwing mud at somebody else, you should at least have investigated. Which, after reading what you wrote as an answer to my fax, seems to be a very weak point in your work. I am a subscriber to the BurmaNet and draw also on many other sources. I am informed and I do use in journalism what has a reliable footage, though I have not yet found the requested information in regard to slave labor in tourist projects. For exactly the reason you criticize me, I wrote to you. Please let me quote from my fax: "I would appreciate if you could let me know about some proven facts, otherwise I cannot use it in my writing .... If, however, there are proven facts (projects, names of investors and statements of affected persons) that slave labor serves the enrichment of whatever party (military or foreign investors) then we have a point." This is what I call responsible journalism, finding reliable sources for what I write. Since I know that there is much more going on than what a single traveler can see in the country, I need access to these sources. You surely do not belong to them. To me, it seems, you use the Net to get your book selling and not to assist in combining all available forces to produce a change for the better. Your article, Mr. Greenwood, proves this clearly. You write: " It is alleged that Mr. Klein and Mr. Pfannmuller were richly rewarded by SLORC ..." If you would have done the least research, then you would know that our books are prohibited in Burma (for its political content). Clearly they would not be, if we had anything to do with the SLORC. A little research and intelligence is of help when going public. Writing, as you do .. "they were paid US$ 1000 per day" is dishonoring beyond the word and I would not even accept an excuse from you for being that careless in your writing. I just see it as incompetent journalism. We did our books in Burma without being paid either by Burmese nor outside sources and paid every step of our travels ourselves, and that, surely, as we all know, cannot be said of everyone who airs his voice on the Net. In our case, not even the publisher is interfering in our work and relies on our painstaking research. Truth cannot be found through slander. My remark regarding the not yet started work on the pipeline goes exactly into this direction, this is responsible journalism. Answering with "I presume that when work starts, Mr. Klein will have no objection to the use of slave labor in its construction," however, is the opposite, pure defamation, actually, not even worth an answer. It seems that in your opinion, any book on Burma, irrespective of what it deals with, must be political. If you would have read the introductions in both books you would have read this: "There are books that describe the economic or political hardship this country is experiencing. This book just tries to show you some of its hidden splendor, its endangered way of life, that the sensitive, individual traveler will surely cherish, but which cannot survive if trampled upon by millions of tourists who in their heart of hearts do not really care. Neither does this book ask if the policy of isolation from cosmopolitan ideas is a legitimate one in the 20th century, the book is intended to serve only one purpose: to be a snapshot of a constantly changing world, documenting some of the vanishing charms of a lifestyle which has elsewhere already gone forever." For you, it seems, a book with this clearly stated objective must have been "obviously" done with the "tacit support of the SLORC." (When we I did both books, it was eight years before anyone ever heard the word SLORC) I guess you should question your own narrowness of mind before airing it. To mention MTT in our book (which as you so proudly say you have not used, thus proving nothing) has the same reason. When we wrote the Guide, there was only MTT to get around the country. It was already at the beginning of the 80s at a time, it seems, when you might not even have been aware of the problems Burma was facing already then. This, too, you could have read in the introduction. Dear Mr. Greenwood, it pays to be a little more thorough in your writing. I will not go deeper into sentences like: "Any mentioning of human rights abuses - and other foolish western concepts - was strictly taboo." Since they are just slanderous journalism and do not get us a step further. Except of human rights, which are as much in the forefront of my mind as in yours ( I presume), I know that there is also legality, that is basic to civilized life. Therefore, except of what seems to be your badly presented specialty, I try to find also an answer to the legal question. Therefore I wrote to you in my fax: " .. Which means, where Myanmars have to work without being paid for it on tourism projects and where expropriations of land have taken place that are inconsistent with the civil code of 1974. Though I know that this is often applied according to the generals needs, it is still the valid set of laws, since the so-called coup is unconstitutional." I try to compare what is happening, with how the generals defend themselves, i.e. with a set of laws, that has not been abolished, neither during colonial nor during democratic times in Burma: the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, 1957 Unlawful Associations Act, 1962 Printers' and Publishers' Registration Act, the 1975 State Protection Law, and the 1908 Villages and Towns Act which permits village councils to order citizens to work as forced laborers. Especially the last one is not unimportant in regard to slave labor. It was enacted, as can be seen by the date, by the British and it has been in use ever since. I do not need your public lectures about applied legality by an unconstitutional government, I can use my own brain and do not need your interpretation of what you think goes on in my mind. We live in a civilized world and fortunately the international bodies know that a set of laws, even after a coup, is a necessity. To abolish the aforementioned laws, we must first press for democracy. Everything else is thoughtless politics and polemics in which you seem to be specialized. My question to you was simple: Tell me the facts where this law does not apply and we have a legally valid fact? Instead of giving me an answer (which you obviously cannot, otherwise I would have received a different response from you) you just try to throw mud on someone who is as concerned and touched as you are by the situation the average Burmese is facing. Let me end this by saying that I do not want to continue this discussion on the level you have started it on the Net. For this answer you have asked and you got it. Otherwise you can always reach me privately. The issue is much too important and dear to my heart to continue in this manner. Rather than senselessly personalizing these issues, we should, each in his way, press the issue as best as he can. (Wilhelm Klein) *****************************