My apologies for the format. -glen ------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"----------------------------------------------------------The BurmaNet News: October 15, 1995Issue# 251HEADLINES:==========REUTER: TOURISM IN BURMA A DOBBLE-EDGED SWORDREUTER: BURMA TEAM TO SEEK SINGAPORE TOURISM INVESTMENTREUTER: VIETNAM AND BURMA TO SIGN AIR SERVICES ACCORDINDEPENDENT ANALYSIS: THE NEW WORLD ORDER IN SEA/BURMAS.H.A.N.: KHUN SA STILL RESPECTEDAI: MYANMAR - CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND LABOUR CAMPSFBC: RIGOBERTA MENCHU ENDORSES SANCTIONS AGAINST SLORCFBC: PRESS RELEASE - CALL FOR ACTIONS (OCTOBER 27, 1995)ANNOUNCEMENT: MAILING LIST FOR OCT. 27 FOLKS.ANNOUNCEMENT: MYANVIEW FROM INST. OF SEASIAN STUDIES (ISEAS)ANNOUNCEMENT: ALL BURMA YOUNG MONKS' UNION (ARAKAN)----------------------------------------------------------Produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G)and the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ}The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma.Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wireservices and the Internet as well as original material are published.The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and isalso distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-lmailing lists and is also available via the reg.burmaconference on the APC networks. 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If you have questions on any of thefollowing subjects, please direct email to the following volunteercoordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put youin contact with someone who can:Arakan/Rohingya/Burma- Michael W. Charney: GoMaha@aol.comBangladesh BorderCampus activism: tlandon@ewu.eduBoycott campaigns: [Pepsi] wcsbeau@superior.ccs.carleton.caBuddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@gol.comChin history/culture: plilian@asc.corp.mot.comFonts: tom@cs.colgate.eduHistory of Burma: zni@students.wisc.eduKachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.comKaren history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@Compuserve.comMon history/culture: [volunteer needed]Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@oats.farm.niu.eduBurma-India border [volunteer needed]Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@igc.apc.orgShan history/culture: [volunteer needed]Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.netTourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S.Sutcliffe"World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.comVolunteering: christin@ksc.net.th[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]************************REUTER: TOURISM IN BURMA A DOBBLE-EDGED SWORDOctober 9, 1995 by Sonya Hepinstall PAGAN, Burma, Oct 9 (Reuter) - Aung is hitching his horse cart and hisfortunes to ``Visit Myanmar Year 1996''. The 18-year-old, the second bread-winner in his family, long ago had toabandon his dreams of continuing his education. Tourism is his ticket to abetter future now. His horsecart, one of 160 licensed to take tourists around the famedtemple complexes of Pagan, belongs to his farmer grandfather, who bought itfor 75,000 kyat -- $650 at the more realistic black market rate butofficially $12,500 -- and who takes 70 percent of Aung's daily income. With the tourists the government expects to draw to Burma, or Myanmar, in1996, Aung hopes to save enough to buy the cart himself -- a hefty forecastin a country where average per capita income is estimated at less than $300and a civil servant earns below $20 a month. Everyone in Burma, it seems, is trying to figure out how they can geteven a crumb from the tourism pie, from the market stall owner planning topre-package traditional cornhusk cigars to the powerful general renovating aformer state hotel. But for many Burmese and some visitors, tourism is a double-edged sword.How many of those tourism dollars are going to ordinary people and tosustained development in one of the world's poorest countries, and how muchto prop up an unpopular military regime? And at what price? Burma's biggest asset is its incredible cultural and historical diversity, fromthe experience of modern Buddhism in practice at the Shwedagon and Mahamunitemples in Rangoon and Mandalay, to the remnants of colonial life in old Britishhill stations like Maymyo, to the 11th century ruins of Pagan. So there are few reasons why the tourism promotion should fail, with thegovernment doing everything it can to encourage tourism and with even thosesceptical Burmese seemingly unable to supress their natural hospitality. Government projections are for as many as 300,000 tourists in 1996, upfrom 61,000 in 1993-94. The regulation that all tourists must change $300 into ``foreign exchangecertificates'' for use at hotels and travel services is rarely, if ever,enforced. Exchanging money on the black market rather than at the officialsix kyat to the dollar rate is ludicrously routine. ``We were afraid because we thought we would be bothered byadministrative problems,'' said one French tourist, travelling to Pagan via aleisurely 13-hour boat ride from Mandalay. ``But when we arrived it was veryeasy, there were practically no controls,'' she said. Travel in the more remote parts of Burma, long restricted on the groundsthat ethnic minority insurgencies made certain areas dangerous, has beenopened to tourists since the government signed ceasefires with all but a fewof the groups. Visitors expecting a dour police state will also be pleasantly surprised.People are open to contact with foreigners and love to talk -- as long asit's not about politics. For many Burmese, an increase in tourism will mean more business andperhaps more opportunities, especially for those whose livelihood isconnected to the industry. ``More tourism means more development,'' said Go Zaw, 35, a drinks selleron the road to Maymyo from Mandalay. But there's an insidious flip side. Hotel industry sources say that out of 44 state-run hotels in 1990, onlyfive remain nationwide, looking sadly out-of-date beside theirnewly-renovated cousins. ``By the time of Visit Myanmar Year, all the hotels will be privatised,''said one state-run hotel employee. ``Nowadays we have to compete... With allthe tourists, the management must be changed.'' Questions about the ownership of a few hotels reveals, however, thatoften only the military and a few wealthy individuals have the funds andconnections for such operations. Sources at the town-level confirm what Western human rights groups havelong said, that labour behind some projects to upgrade roads and otherinfrastructure is forced and unpaid. In Pagan, the entire original village was forcibly moved some miles(kilometres) south in 1990, at least partly because of fears of what thecombined impact of increased tourism and continued village development wouldhave on the temples. A February 1988 United Nations/World Tourism Organisation report oftencited as having recommended such a move had in fact said only that anothertown centre would soon be necessary. These days in nearby Nyaung-oo the road is continually being widened forthe hoped-for onslaught, forcing residents and shopowners to rebuild,reportedly at their own expense. ``It is difficult to feel this situation,'' the French tourist said.``Everyone seems so friendly and happy. Not too many people complain.''***********************************REUTER: BURMA TEAM TO SEEK SINGAPORE TOURISM INVESTMENTOctober 10, 1995 SINGAPORE, - Senior Burmese government officials willvisit Singapore on October 16 to seek private sector investments in tourisminfrastructure development, Singapore said on Tuesday. The delegation, to be led by Burmese Deputy Minister for Hotels andTourism Tin Aye, will speak at a seminar to be jointly organised by theSingapore Trade Development Board (TDB) and the Singapore-MyanmarInternational Leisure Enterprise. The TDB said that so far about US$600 million in total foreign investmenthas gone into the construction of 17 hotels in Burma, mainly in the capitalRangoon. ``Besides the construction of hotels, Myanmar (Burma) is eager forSingapore to invest in the building of roads, communication andtransportation facilities, ports and airports, and in the setting up oftravel agencies,'' TDB deputy chief executive officer David Chin said in astatement. The Burmese government, placing top priority on tourism development, isoffering incentives for foreign direct investment, the TDB said. Singapore, Burma's second largest investor behind the United Kingdom, hadinvested some US$528 million as at end August, the TDB said. Of this, someUS$279 million was invested in tourism projects with the rest in agro business,mining and manufacturing.**************************REUTER: VIETNAM AND BURMA TO SIGN AIR SERVICES ACCORDOctober 10, 1995 HANOI, - Vietnam and Burma are expected to sign an air services agreementon Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) announced on Tuesday.The news was contained in a CAAV press release. It gave no further details. However, a senior Burmese diplomat in Hanoi told Reuters the agreementwould cover flights involving the two national carriers Vietnam Airlines andRangoon's Myanmar Airlines. ``Relations (between Vietnam and Burma) have been developing in recentyears,'' he said. ``We are close, so we should have air links, not only for tourism,but for business as well,'' he added. The diplomat said no date had been set for the inauguration of directflights between the two Southeast Asian countries, but he expected it to besoon. At present, air travel between Vietnam and Burma involves changingflights at Bangkok. It was not clear who would sign the accord on the Vietnamese side, butthe diplomat said Burma's ambassador to Hanoi would initial the agreement onbehalf of Rangoon.*******************************INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS: THE NEW WORLD ORDERIN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND BURMABy Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe- A Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia, who is writing hisdissertation on military intrusion into politics in Burma, Thailand and Indonesia.He also teaches in the Political Science Department at Simon Fraser University.With the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Cory Aquino's earlierpeople's power revolution, it indeed seemed that the world, and SoutheastAsia too, would be shaped by economic and political freedom, i.e., by thefree market economy and "middle class" democracy. The 1988 uprising inBurma which toppled Ne Win's one-man rule seemed part of a globaldemocratization process.Quite unexpectedly, however, outside actors -- Singapore, China, and theThai military -- stepped in to shore up the new military junta, SLORC (StateLaw and Order Restoration Council), which emerged to forestall bloodily therollback of authoritarianism. This was followed in 1989 by an equallybloody Dengist rollback of the democratization aspirations of the Chinesepeople. Since then, there has been solidified what could be called a "freemarket, authoritarian front" of Chinese and ASEAN leaders and governments.The line pushed by the powerful front is that economic development must be(and can be ) achieved without the contamination of such "Western" notionsas human rights and individual freedoms, genuine people's sovereignty,public constraints of rulers, etc. The clash between capitalistauthoritarianism and capitalist democracy is precisely what SamuelHuntington's coming "clash of civilizations" scenario is all about.The point to note is that the clash appears "cultural" only because culture,instead of the communist threat, is now being used to defend authoritarianrule. In substance, the Chinese-ASEAN authoritarian development model,shorn of its cultural icings, can be seen as nothing less than an attempt byauthoritarian leaders to prevent a rollback of authoritarianism -- nowjustified on cultural grounds.The clash between authoritarianism and democracy is made more complex by theeconomic success of "Asian" authoritarianism, particularly in China (and bythe "Asian dragons"), and the economic decline of democracies. Theperception of the West's economic decline has in turn unleashed a "culturalwar" especially in the United States, whereby structures of democraticcapitalism have come under increasing attack by conservatives as obstructing"wealth makers" (and "job-creators") and as the "coddling" of unenterprisingelements, i.e., the poor, the minorities (including immigrants, illegal andotherwise), welfare recipients, and so on.>From a wider theoretical perspective, it seems that the collapse ofcommunism has impelled authoritarian regimes to come up with a new paradigmin defence of authoritarianism. In this connection, there can be discerneda congruence of interest between national rulers and powerful, extranationaleconomic actors to contain democracy, perhaps because democracy gives thepowerless the capacity to "obstruct" profit-taking (on a global-regionalscale). A possible outcome of such a congruence of interest could be thetransformation of national governments into "executive committees" (to quoteMarx) of extranational entrepreneurs and investors, not only in the "ThirdWorld" and the former communist bloc, but even in the West as well.The above trend is a global one, and it is unfortunate that Burma is now anarena where the opening battle of the global war between efficientwealth-making (espoused by authoritarian rulers and conservatives) anddemocratic capitalism (aspired to by the ruled) is being fought. In Burma,the battle is an unequal one since external support for democraticcapitalism is, to quote a famous playwright, "all sound and fury, signifyingnothing," whereas support for SLORC has been significant since it hasfulfilled the role expected of national governments of the post-cold war,new world order: as an executive committee for extranationalwealth-accumulators and profit-takers.**********************************S.H.A.N.: KHUN SA STILL RESPECTEDMuangmai, 12 October 1995Given the increasing assertion of power by the newly set-up Central ExecutiveCommittee, Khun Sa may well have thought he no longer played an important role.However, the large numbers of people who came to pay their respects to him athis residence in Homong during the annual "paying respect" ceremony at the endof Buddhist Lent suggest otherwise.When S.H.A.N. asked visitors why they had come to the ceremony, the answervaried. One typical answer was : Zao Khun Sa may feel we have forgotten him, nowthat the leadership has gone to the CEC. This is one way to show him that he'swrong and we still remember his contributions to the Shan people's resistance.Another said : When the chips are down, when everything seems to be lost, KhunSa is the one we can count on to fight to the last. I think he deserves therespect we are paying him.In his short speech given during the ceremony, Khun Sa, 61, thanked his guestsfor remembering him. " With the victorious repulse of the Wa onslaught, we haverecovered from the shock Karnyord's treachery has brought us, " he said. Hepledged that whatever position he held, he would not break his vow to free theShan State.He also disclosed to them the reports he had just received from the CEC thathundreds of Lahu who had fought alongside the Wa until recently had decided tojoin hands with the Mong Tai Army .CEC spokesman Khun Duan Saengkham revealed further details to S.H.AN. :"it was on Monday (October 9) that they came over." The reason was given that :"They were dissatisfied with the Was' treatment of the Lahu, especially with regardsto their leader Saulu, who has been under detention since May. "S.H.A.N. has since confirmed that 300 Lahu have come over to the M.T.A. Theirmilitary chief Sara Mala revealed that their Vice-President Ja U was stranded inthe states.Khun Duan Saengkham commented : "By now, it should be cleared to Pangsang (theWa capital) how futile the civil war is between us. Our offer for a ceasefire andnegotiated settlement is a long-standing one. I hope they will contact ourpeople soon."*******************AI: MYANMAR - CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND LABOUR CAMPSSEPTEMBER 1995INTRODUCTIONAmnesty International has recently received new information aboutappalling conditions in labour camps and prisons in Myanmar.Unofficial sources have provided details about the treatment ofprisoners, including torture, prolonged shackling, lack of propermedical care, and insufficient food. Torture techniques includebeatings, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness; being forced tocrawl over sharp stones; and being held in the hot sun for prolongedperiods. Such practices are used by Myanmar's security forces topunish and intimidate prisoners. Conditions in labour camps are soharsh that hundreds of prisoners have died as a result. Manyprisoners who have been forced to work as porters for the army havealso died as a result of ill- treatment.In the material which follows, Amnesty International has omitteddetails which could identify imprisoned individuals, for fear ofplacing them at even greater risk of torture and ill-treatment. Most ofthe information below concerns Insein Prison, Myanmar's largestdetention facility, where at least 800 political prisoners are held alongwith thousands of people imprisoned under criminal charges. InseinPrison is located in the outskirts of Yangon (Rangoon, the capital).Thousands of other political prisoners are held in prisons throughoutthe country; however it is much more difficult to obtain informationabout conditions in these facilities.PRISON CONDITIONSPolitical prisoners are evidently subjected to torture during both theinitial interrogation period and after they have been sentenced. Onceimprisoned, they can be summoned at any time during the day ornight by Military Intelligence (MI) personnel, who maintain apermanent presence in Insein Prison. MI wear the same uniform asthat worn by prison staff, and conduct investigations of politicalprisoners on a regular basis. They interrogate prisoners in an officeknown as the "Prison Kampetei Office" (An apparent reference topractices of the Kampetei, the Japanese military police who subjectedprisoners to torture and ill-treatment during World War II.), placethem in leg irons, and punish them with beatings, sometimes to thepoint of unconsciousness.Political prisoners who break arbitrary and harsh prison rules aresubjected to harsh punishments, including torture and severe ill -treatment. Even the possession of almost any reading material is apunishable offence under prison rules. Political prisoners are liable tobe sent to "police dog cells", where police dogs are normally kept, orto other cells where they are subjected to beatings and placed in leg -irons made of chains or of an iron rod between the feet. One politicalprisoner was reportedly punished by the imposition of leg irons forone week because he cooked some curry. Another prisoner was keptin shackles in the "police dog cells" for two months because he wasfound with a piece of paper. Other punishments include being kept inthe sun in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degreesCentigrade) and being forced to crawl on the ground over sharp stones.Male prisoners are also subjected to humiliating practices such asbeing forced to answer questions using a self-deprecating form ofaddress. If they do not answer in such a manner they are beaten.These practices occur in Block 5, which was opened recently, and isnow commonly referred to as the "Women's Block", because of theform of address prisoners are forced to use. Some prisoners aredenied visiting rights from relatives as another form of punishment.Prisoners in Myanmar are also subjected to severe overcrowding,conditions which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.Three to four prisoners are held in small cells measuring 8 by 12 feet(2.6 by 3 metres) for more than 20 hours a day. They are fed on aninadequate diet of a thin soup of pulses or vegetables, supplementedwith a small piece of fish only once a week. Medical treatment isonly provided when an illness has reached a severe stage. Politicalprisoners are not allowed to communicate with one another and areoften held in solitary confinement. MI officials transfer politicalprisoners at will to remote prisons where their families cannot visitand provide them with additional food and medicine.Political prisoners are generally only allowed to meet with theirfamilies after they have been sentenced, and then only for 15 minutesevery two weeks; before that time they are held in incommunicadodetention. Guards are present throughout the family meetings, andoften take notes. Although families can bring food and medicines totheir relatives, such supplies are sometimes confiscated by prisonauthorities. Political prisoners are also forbidden most reading and allwriting materials, and are not allowed to send or receive letters. Religioustracts which have received prior approval are sometimes allowed.Amnesty International is aware that torture and ill - treatment occursin other prisons. One recently - released Mon farmer who had beenarrested for alleged connections with the New Mon State Party(NMSP) was held with many other political prisoners in oneovercrowded room. He told Amnesty International:"I was not allowed to see my family while in prison. If the familysent food, the prison warder would take it all ... All prisoners weretaken to work on the road ... At the prison I was forced to dig anunderground pit for body discharges. "He was held in Mawlamylne (Moulmein) prison while serving a threeyear sentence handed down by a military tribunal. Before his trial in1991, he said that he had been severely tortured.DEATHS IN CUSTODY OF POLITICAL PRISONERSSince September 1988 Amnesty International has recorded the deathsof 15 political prisoners in custody, many of whom died from diseaseafter inadequate medical attention. Recently the organization haslearned of the deaths of two more political prisoners. U DhammaWara Seit - Dhi, a 51 - year-old monk from Mandalay, reportedlydied from malnutrition and malaria on 18 November 1994. He hadbeen arrested for his participation in the 1988 - 89 pro-democracymovement and sentenced to five years' hard labour in the KachinState. Hundreds of monks were arrested for their role in protestdemonstrations and scores are believed to be still detained. Afterworking on a road in a malarial area, U Dhamma Wara Seit - Shidied after repeated attacks of malaria.U Kin Sein, in his 50's, died in Insein Prison in early 1995 of anunknown disease. He was reportedly arrested in December 1990 andsentenced to seven years' imprisonment under Section 5j of theEmergency Provisions Act. A member of the Prome townshipPeople's Progressive Party, he was also a businessman. AmnestyInternational is concerned at recurrent reports of deaths in custody inMyanmar's prisons, and calls on the SLORC to ensure that prisonersreceive proper medical care and food.LABOUR CAMPS AND FORCED PORTERINGThe SLORC has publicly acknowledged the fact that those convictedof criminal offences participate in labour projects. However themilitary authorities characterize such work as voluntary. A 13 JulyMyanmar Television broadcast reported a 7 July speech given byLieutenant General Khin Nyunt:"The SLORC has reduced by one third the sentences of thoseconvicted persons who have contributed volunteer labour at thevarious state development project sites ... Lieutenant General KhinNyunt notified that altogether 38,753 convicted persons have beenreleased during the SLORC's tenure of government. This shows thenational government's flexibility and humanity ...While Amnesty International recognizes that there are prisoners whovolunteer for work projects in order to reduce their sentences, itremains concerned at current reports of thousands of commoncriminals who have been forced to work under extremely harshconditions. Such prisoners are subjected to even worse treatment thanpolitical prisoners.They are taken to labour camps established to construct infrastructureprojects such as road building, often shortly after they have beenimprisoned. Apparently prisoners can avoid going to such camps, orcan be sent to camps which are less harsh if they can pay a large bribeto prison officials. Such bribes range from 5,000 kyats to 30,000kyats. (Six kyats, Myanmar's official currency, is equivalent to aboutone US dollar; however unofficial rates are over 100 kyats to the USdollar.) Most prisoners are unable to pay such bribes, and are thensent to labour camps.Forced labour frequently entails prisoners breaking rocks for roadbuilding for long hours. Prisoners are subjected to beatings and donot receive adequate food or sleep. Many of them are injured orkilled when rocks are blasted with dynamite. Female prisoners arealso forced to undertake labour projects in special all-women campswhich have been designated by the authorities. Elderly and sickpeople and even handicapped people are placed in leg irons andforced to work. Health problems, such as malnutrition, dysentery,and malaria are common. Hundreds of prisoners have reportedly diedas a result of disease and ill - treatment. Conditions on the Yangon toMandalay road are so severe that prisoners working there have a saying:"If the corpses of prisoners who lost their lives working on theYangon to Mandalay express highway are lined up it would be longerthan the mileage of the road already completed."Reprisals are swift for those prisoners who attempt to escape from thecamps, and have included extrajudicial killings. At the end of 1994two prisoners who tried to flee from the Yangon to Mandalay Roadconstruction, also known as "the Road of No Return", were reportedlyshot and killed at close range. One other was hacked to death with ahoe and the remaining seven in the group were severely injured.Amnesty International has obtained information about nine labourcamps throughout Myanmar, including details of the number ofreported deaths. About 500 prisoners work in each camp. Reportsproviding details of such information are summarized below:Location Number Of Other Information Reported Deaths Of PrisonersKabaw Valley, reported 300 died opened February 1992Western from first group ofMyanmar 500 -, reported 200 died from second groupYwtingan - 400 prisoners opened September 1992;Hanmyinmo reportedly combined stone quarry andRoad, died within one road constructionSagaing monthDivisionTaungzuri/ a reported 30% ofMopalin prisoners have diedQuarry, Mon StatePinlaung - 400 prisoners died road constructionPyinmanain four months in campsRoad, Shan Shwenyaung -State - Namsan campCentral MyanmarAungban - LoikawRoad, ShanKayah (Karenni) StateShwenvaung -Namsan Road,Shan StateMyitkyina - not known extremely harshSumprabom conditionsRoad and bad weatherMyitkyina -ShibweLawkhaung Road(all Kachin State)Yangon -Mandalay not known widespread malariaHighwayconstructionYezin - Htonbo not known only female prisonersQuarry, work theresouth of MandalayMyelk -Kawthaung many reported not knownRoad deaths dueKawthaung to diseaseAirport Extension,Tanintharyi(Tenasserim) DivisionTuntay(Shwethahtay) not known near Yangon; reportedlyCamp best conditionsTuntay PiggeryPhaunggyiPiggery, allnear YangonSome of those who have been injured in labour camps are broughtback to Insein Jail hospital. They suffer from broken legs, hands andbacks, malnutrition, malaria, and communicable diseases which theyhave contracted because of the extremely harsh conditions underwhich they are held. However those prisoners who are returned toInsein Prison are the lucky ones -- an unknown number of otherprisoners have died during their forced labour and porter duties. Thedeath rate in labour camps is in the hundreds. Apparently many ofthese prisoners are homeless young people who are arrested forvagrancy and imprisoned for one year.Convicted criminals are also forced to act as porters during militaryoperations by the tatmadaw, the Myanmar army, in counter -insurgency activities against armed ethnic minority groups. Thepractice of seizing civilians for porter duty by the tatmadaw isroutine, and ill - treatment is common. Members of ethnic minoritiesare most frequently taken because they are living in areas of armedinsurgency. However civilians from all over Myanmar, includingcriminal prisoners, are also seized and moved to such areas to act asporters. Porters are often deprived of food, receive no medicalattention, and are beaten if they cannot carry their load of ammunitionor food any longer. Some are left to die by the side of the road.Amnesty International opposes the practice of forced portering in allcases, whether civilians are ill-treated or not.CONCLUSIONTorture has been routine in Myanmar's prisons for many years, andhas increased dramatically since the imprisonment of thousands ofpolitical prisoners beginning in 1988. Amnesty International opposesthe torture and ill - treatment of prisoners in all cases. Such practicesare in direct contravention of international standards, including theDeclaration on the Protection of all Persons from Being Subjected toTorture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment orPunishment. Ill-treatment and inhumane prison conditions are also incontravention of The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment ofPrisoners, adopted by the First UN Congress on the Prevention ofCrime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Geneva, Switzerland,in 1955.RECOMMENDATIONSAmnesty International urges the State Law and Order RestorationCouncil (SLORC, Myanmar's military Government) to take thefollowing steps to ensure that the practice of torture and ill-treatmentof prisoners is eliminated:1. Initiate an immediate investigation into all prison practices andprocedures at Insein Prison and all other detention facilities.2. Bring those found responsible for torture and ill - treatment tojustice.3. Ensure that prison conditions and practices are brought intoconformity with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatmentof Prisoners, including the prohibition of beatings, and the provisionof adequate food and medical care.4. Allow proper access to all political prisoners by the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including permission to conductprivate interviews and follow - up visits.5. Ensure that all prison labour is not punitive in nature and abolishthe practice of forced pottering of all civilians.6. Allow independent human rights monitors to visit Myanmar'sprisons and meet privately with political prisoners.**********************************FBC: RIGOBERTA MENCHU ENDORSES SANCTIONS AGAINST SLORCOctober 6, 1995 from the Free Burma Coalition at the University of Wisconsin Last night the Union Theatre on Wisconsin campus was filled to its capacity (over 1,000) when 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate R. Menchu spoke. She was one of the Nobel Laureates who went to Thailand and Burma to lobby on ASSK's behalf and to meet the indigenous people such as the Karens, and Mons in the border areas. She did mention about her trip to Burma, and meeting with Karens and Mons. She spoke through an interpreter. Free Burma Coalition asked her position on the multinationals, destruction of indigenous communities, and business with repressive regimes pointing out Burma as an example case. (Obviously our motive was to have her say something about sanctions and corporations publicly. We were told she endorsed the sanctions but couldn't dig up her previous statement, so the question-answer period really helped.) The question we asked was "in the name of economic development (and business), corporations, especially from the US, come in and do business with highly corrupt and repressive regimes in the so-called third world. For instance, in my country, Burma, which you visited a few years back, American corporations do business with the authoritarian regime and pursue economic projects that lead to the destruction of indigenous communities and that encourage the regime (i.e., Slorc) to disregard the rights of indigenous people. Have you had a similar experience in Guatemala? What is your position on this? In answering three similar questions, that used different examples, Menchu said the following: "Multinationals have no ethical codes. Their purpose is to make a profit and their main concern is not people. They don't care about people. I believe in sanctions against repressive regimes that deserve sanctions."RELATED NEWS - We're distributing videotapes on slave labor, destruction of indigenous communities, UNOCAL pipeline project, and ASSK's ABC Nightline Show to our organizers. Send $10 check (Payable to Free Burma Coalition) to us in Madison. It's almost free considering the time, and labor that we put in in putting together all three documentaries in one tape.) The address is Free Burma Coalition (UW-Madison) c/o Department of Curriculum and Instruction, 225 North Mills St. Madison, WI 53706 We are hoping to see the major Total-boycott in France, as our French-connection is fired up for the Oct. 27, and he'll drum up the people there who are angry at their own government.FBC (U- Wisconsin)***************************************FBC: PRESS RELEASE - CALL FOR ACTIONS (OCTOBER 27, 1995)Please feel free to use this press release and tailor it to your particularcommunity.INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACTION DAY FOR A FREE BURMA U.S. Corporations (can be substituted with the phrase "Japanese, British, etc...investors" depending on your localities) Profit from Slave Labor and Oppression in Burma On October 27, 1995 Burma activists around the world will initiate strategies to terminate corporate funding of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), Burma's military dictatorship. Burma is a Southeast Asian nation of 40 million people held hostage at gunpoint by SLORC armed criminals. The United Nations, Amnesty International,and Human Rights Watch call SLORC one of the major human rights violators in the world. Since seizing power in 1988, SLORC has murdered thousands of pro-democracy activists, supporters of the country's popular democracy movement, and ethnic minorities while embracing trade with the international investors. In its economic projects, SLORC uses forced labor--conscripting villagers against their wills, without pay, to carry supplies for the army and to construct roads, railways, airports and hotels. Often entire villages are set on fire by SLORC troops, indigenous communities forcibly relocated in order to make way for new economic projects. In May 1990, SLORC held elections in part to appease the international community and in part because it believed the military-backed party, the National Unity Party, would win. When the popular National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, SLORC simply ignored the election results, refused to transfer power to the elected representatives from the winning NLD, and jailed the NLD leaders and many NLD sympathizers, supporters, and activists. Despite the recent release of Burma's popular democracy leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, (after six years of unlawful detention), thousands of political prisoners remain in captivity. U.S. corporations (again this can be changed: if you are in England, "British investors" would be a more suitable word/target) are among the top investors in Burma following Britain, France, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan: PepsiCo, Unocal, Texaco, ARCO, Chase Manhattan Bank , Walt Disney Co., Eastman Kodak Co., General Electric Co., Pan American Pharmaceutical Ltd, Sears Roebuck, Wal- mart Stores, and many others bankroll yet another dictatorship regime in the world. THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN (put the name of the university or institution that you wish to specifically target) INVESTS IN PEPSI CO, AND THUS TAX PAYERS' MONIES AND OUR TUITION GOES DIRECTLYTO THE COFFERS OF BURMA'S GENOCIDAL REGIME! IT MUST DIVEST. World Wide Call for Sanctions and Divestment Burma activists around the world have called for the withdrawal of foreign investors until and unless SLORC transfers power to the duly elected representatives of the people headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. Many Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and Rigoberta Menchu support our call for economic sanctions. In August 16, 1995, Madison (this is obviously tailored to attract the local public and activists. So put something relevant here) became the second city in the world after Berkeley, CA to pass a sanctions bill against SLORC. The boycott bill bans the city from buying goods or services from companies doing business in Burma. Similar bills are under way in other U.S. cities, including New York City, Seattle, Portland, Santa Monica, CA, Oakland, San Francisco, Cambridge, MA, and The State of Massachusetts. The Free Burma Bill ( #S1092) sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is currently being considered at the level of the United States Congress. Therefore, we, the Free Burma Coalition, declare October 27, 1995 "International Action Student (if your group is a student one, this is an appropriate one and easier to attract and mobilize according to our experience. If you are not, then simply leave it out.) Day for a Free Burma", in order to terminate corporate funding of SLORC. We invite you to join hands with us in our fight against corporate greed and injustice. In the United States already activist groups from about fifty U.S. universities including the University of Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, Wisconsin, UCLA, Georgetown, Washington, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Penn State, Columbia, Cornell, Berkeley, Colorado, Northwestern, UCSanta Cruz, Chico State, City University of New York, and New Mexico, and many others have committed to this October 27 International Campaign for a Free Burma. The campaign news will be broadcast into Burma by the Voice of America, Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma, and the BBC and covered by both regional and international news media. (Put your local contact here.) Contact : Zarni at zni@students.wisc.edu**************************************ANNOUNCEMENT: MAILING LIST FOR OCT. 27 FOLKS. There is now an automated mailing list for purposes of Oct 27organizing. You may add yourself to the list by sending a message with'add' or 'subscribe' (no quotes) in the subject heading to: burma-request@whitewater.chem.wisc.eduTo remove yourself send a message with 'remove' or 'unsubscribe' to: burma- request@whitewater.chem.wisc.edu****************************ANNOUNCEMENT: MYANVIEW FROM INST. OF SEASIAN STUDIES (ISEAS)MyanView is a quarterly providing news and analyses of economic andpolitical developments in Myanmar. It was launched in January 1995 to plugthe information gap on that country, particularly for the busy businessmanand executives of multinational companies. The annual subscription rate is S$ 180 / US$ 130.Myanview, Vol. 1, No. 3 (July 1995) Contents*Economic Outlook: A record rice export and favourable economic prospects*Political Roundup: National reconciliation: asymmetrical bargaining?*1995 Highlights*Snippets on the Processing and Manufacturing SectorMyanview, Vol. 1 No. 3 (July 1995) Supplement Contents*Banking and Financial Reforms in Myanmar*Chronology of Banking and Financial Reforms*Reforms in the Banking System*Financial Structure of Myanmar*Interest Rate Reform: New rates, but ...*Foreign Exchange Management: Still too much government control*Exchange Rate: Still very much overvalued*Foreign Exchange Certificate (FEC): De facto devaluation?*Tax Reform: Evolving slowly*Insurance Reform: Little progressThere are two Burmese research fellows (Dr. Mya Than and U Tin Mg Mg Than)and Prof. Teruko Saito (visiting fellow from Tokyo Univ. of foreignstudies?) at ISEAS. Ms. Saito will be there until 24 Apr 96 for herresearch work 'A Socio- Economic History of Burma: 1750-1990'.WWW URL of ISEAS is "http://merlion.iseas.ac.sg/iseas.html"If you would like your name to be placed on the mailing list of theInstitute's Publications Unit, please fill in the mailing list form(http://merlion.iseas.ac.sg/ mail1.html).If you don't have WWW access, e-mail with your: full name, address, fax areas of interest (Politics, Economics, or Social Issues) and country of interest.please contact Mr Mustain at Tel (65) 870-2483 or fax (65) 775-6259Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Attn: Managing EditorHeng Mui Keng Terrace, Pasir Panjang, Singapore 119596Tel : (65) 870 2447, Fax: (65) 775 6259or E-mail : "pubsunit@merlion.iseas.ac.sg" for a proforma invoice for thetitle(s) of your choice.Remember to include your snail mail address (and a fax number if available).******************************ANNOUNCEMENT: ALL BURMA YOUNG MONKS' UNION (ARAKAN)The Buddhist Relief Mission has just received someinformation about the present situation of All Burma YoungMonks' Union (Arakan).The ABYMU (Arakan) is now active in both Bangladesh andIndia. There are seven of the organization's monks in Indiaand the New Delhi chapter is very important sincecircumstances there are favorable for staging demonstrations,organizing exhibitions, and raising humanitarian assistancefor Arakan refugees in India.The situation in Bangladesh, however, is extremely difficult.There are 5 ABYMU (Arakan) monks staying there, onlyone of whom has been granted refugee status by UNHCRyet. Because of lack of support and difficulties withaccommodation in Dacca, most of the monks are scattered atdifferent sites on the Bangladesh/Arakan border. It is difficultto organize activities in Bangladesh because of the government'sposition, but it is essential to maintain a presence to keep in touchwith the situation at the border and also inside Arakan.ABYMU (Arakan) requests assistance with the following:* funding to enable them to maintain a basic office in Daccain order to carry out organizing activities and maintain contact abroad.* an electric typewriter for the Dacca office* assistance for food and accommodation for the monks in New Delhi.Should anyone wish to know how to contribute to the ABYMU (Arakan),please contact Buddhist Relief Mission for further details.With metta,Ken and Visakha Kawasaki**************************