------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: November 23, 1995 Issue #286 HEADLINES: ========== SUU KYI HINTS AT NLD BOYCOTT OF NATIONAL FORUM NEWS SOUGHT ON FISHERMEN'S MURDER PROBE NO PROTEST DURING BURMA DEPUTY PREMIER'S VISIT ***************************************************************** SUU KYI HINTS AT NLD BOYCOTT OF NATIONAL FORUM Agencies The Nation/23.11.95 RANGOON _ Burma's democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday reaffirmed her party's right to rule the country and rejected the military's campaign to legitimize its takeover through a constitutional convention. At a press conference in the house where she spent nearly six years under house arrest, Suu Kyi recalled that it wast her party, the National League for| Democracy (NLD), that won a landslide. victory in the country's only free election in 1990. "The NLD, as the political party than has received the mandate of the people, has a duty to point out that its expectations with regard to the National Convention, have not been realized," she said. "The work procedures of the convention are not democratic and the basic principles for the proposed constitution include some which are not consonant with a truly democratic state." Asked if this meant the NLD would boycott the convention, she said the party has yet to make a final decision, but this does not mean "we will not make the, decision if we think it is right". Suu Kyi, 50, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent campaign for democracy in Burma, said the constitutional convention organized by the ruling military junta had failed to abide by democratic principles. " A state constitution is a contract between the people and the government of the nation " she said. "Only a constitution that is willingly accepted by the people will endure the test of time. The NLD believes that if genuine multi-party democracy is to be established in Burma al constitution based firmly on democratic principles is an absolute necessity. Among the stipulations in the constitution currently being drafted are provisions that would specifically prohibit Suu Kyi from holding public office. ###Burmese drug warlord Khun Sa yesterday announced his resignation as head of Mong Tai Army, ending more than 40 years of his reign, the Thai News Agency reported. Khun Sa made the announcement in front of Thai and foreign journalists who gathered at New Year's greeting religious rite being organized yesterday at his his headquarters in Shan State. Khun Sa was quoted as saying that he will be replaced by Khan Yaw, who staged a coup against him in October. Khun Sa said he was forced to resign and felt disheartened by by internal fighting within the group. Earlier Khun Sa told Reuters the retirement would be "painful to me as if somebody was cutting out my heart. But the time has come for me to finish." ***************************************************************** NEWS SOUGHT ON FISHERMEN'S MURDER PROBE The Nation/23.11.95 THE House committee on administration yesterday demanded the government ask Burma to report the progress of an investigation into the murder of five Thai fishermen by Burmese crew members on a Thai vessel off the Burmese coast earlier this month. its spokesman said. Democrat Party MP Nipit Intarasombat said Rangoon should reciprocate Thailand's cooperation in the case of the murders of Burmese fishermen by fellow Thai crew members in August. "The incident in which five Thai fishermen were brutally killed by Burmese occurred nearly a month ago, but the Burmese government has done nothing to arrest the culprits. The Thai government should urgently ask Burma about the progress of the investigation," Nipit said. He was speaking after the committee meeting at Parliament. "The House committee believes the investigation has been slow because nothing will come of it. This is the opposite of the Thai government's actions following the murder of Burmese fishermen in August," he said. Shortly after the August murders, Thailand apprehended three crew and the captain of -the vessel on which the Burmese were slain. At the time, Rangoon ordered its border crossing at Ranong to be sealed after earlier closing two other checkpoints. Nipit said the committee will invite the Fisheries Department director general to give details at its next meeting. Another committee member, Suwaroj Palang (Democrat), questioned Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's actions concerning the murder of Thai and Burmese fishermen. ***************************************************************** NO PROTEST DURING BURMA DEPUTY PREMIER'S VISIT Bkk Post/23.11.95 LAST week's four-day official visit to Thailand of Burmese deputy premier Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin was hailed as a political success by Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh which helped improve soured ties between the two countries. Noticeably, during the visit several leading Thai military figures, including Gen Chavalit, were more cautious in making any public comment over bilateral relations. It seemed that the sole purpose of the trip was aimed to resolve any misunderstanding between the two sides and to create an atmosphere for further cooperation in the future. Unsurprisingly, in the joint press release issued after the meeting there were no concrete agreements mentioned apart from stressing that both sides would continue to strengthen their bilateral ties for more cooperation in the future. Burma was worried from the beginning that Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin might face strong opposition from All Burma Students's Democratic Front while he led his delegation to Thailand and Burma has made it no secret to Thai security officers. Burmese military attache to Thailand Col Thein Swe made it known in his letter to Thai intelligence unit that Burma wanted Thailand to closely monitor ABSDF's movement during Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin's visit especially its leader Moe Thee Zun. One intelligence insider admitted that contact has been made with key ABSDF members who were urged not to hold any rally while Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin was the official guest of the defence minister, known to be one of their sympathisers. "We want to create an atmosphere for further cooperation and we don't want to see this trip to be marred by their protest. We told them that it is not a proper timing to make such rally," noted one intelligence officer. The insider said police from the special branch were told to keep a close watch on Burmese students during the visit. So there were no ABSDF demonstration during Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin's four-day visit because of this request to the Burmese students. I "Further more, they feel that Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin is not a hardcore member of the State Law and Order Restoration Council and was not actively involved during the suppression of Burmese democratic forces," noted one intelligence officer. The officer said he was uncertain whether the planned rally could be averted if the chief of the delegation was not Vice Adm Maung Maung Khin but was the first secretary of SLORC Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt who had a scheduled plan to visit Thailand next month. "They hold him direct responsible for the bloody suppression in Burma," said the insider. The insider added that the ABSDF is already planning a rally in front of the Burmese Embassy in the next few days to protest SLORC's move to seek passage of its new constitution, aimed at perpetuating its power, in parliament early next week. ***************************************************************** FOR REFERENCE: 1994-5 PUBLICATIONS ON BURMA November, 1995 From: "Moe K. T." 1994 PUBLICATIONS ON BURMA TITLE A Burmese appeal to the UN and US AUTHOR Win, Kanbawza. PUBLISHER Bangkok : CPDSK Publication, [1994?] 59 p. SUBJECT United Nations--Burma., Burma--Politics and government. Burma--Economic conditions. TITLE A Report on the location of Burmese artifacts in museums AUTHOR Blackburn, Terence R. PUBLISHER Gartmore, Stirlingshire, Scotland : Kiscadale, 1994., 79 p. SUBJECT Art objects--Burma., Burma--Antiquities--Catalogs. TITLE Australia's relations with Colonial Burma : 1886-1947 AUTHOR Selth, Andrew. PUBLISHER Clayton, Victoria : Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University,1994. iii, 22 p SUBJECT Australia--Foreign relations--Burma., Burma--History--1824-1948. TITLE Burma debate. CORPORATE Open Society Institute. Burma Project. PUBLISHER Washington, D.C. : Open Society Institute, 1994-v. SUBJECT Burma--Periodicals. TITLE Burma : encountering the land of the Buddhas. AUTHOR Everarda, Ellis. PUBLISHER Stirling, Scotland : Kiscadale, 1994., 114 p. : ill. SUBJECT Burma--Description and travel--Pictorial works. TITLE Burma in revolt : opium and insurgency since 1948 AUTHOR Lintner, Bertil. PUBLISHER Boulder : Westview Press, 1994., xv, 514 p. SUBJECT Minorities--Burma., Opium trade--Burma.,Politics and government--1948-Burma--History--Autonomy and independence movements., Ethnic relations. TITLE Burmese crafts : past and present / Sylvia Fraser-Lu. AUTHOR Fraser-Lu, Sylvia. PUBLISHER Kuala Lumpur ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1994. SUBJECT Art objects--Burma., Art objects, Buddhist--Burma. TITLE Comparative study of the two military juntas: Thailand and Burma : a Burmese perspective. - 2nd ed. AUTHOR Kanbawza Win. PUBLISHER Bangkok : C.P.D.S.K. Publications, 1994. 74 p. : ill. SUBJECT Military government--Burma., Thailand. TITLE Culture shock! : Burma AUTHOR Saw Myat Yin. PUBLISHER Singapore : Times Books International, c1994. 207 p. : ill. ; SUBJECT Etiquette, Description and travel, Social life, customs in Burma TITLE Hard travel to sacred places AUTHOR Wurlitzer, Rudolph. PUBLISHER Boston : Shambhala, 1994. v, 161 p. ; 20 cm. SUBJECT Wurlitzer, Rudolph--Journeys--Cambodia, Thailand, Burma. Buddhism--Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Description and travel. TITLE Inked over, ripped out : Burmese storytellers and the censors AUTHOR Allott, Anna J. PUBLISHER Chiang Mai : Silkworm Books, 1994.,124 p. ; 19 cm. SUBJECT Burmese fiction--20th century--History and criticism. Authors, Burmese--20th century--Political and social views. Burmese fiction--Authorship--Political aspects,Psychology in literature, Censorship, Burmese fiction--20th century--Translations into English.,m Burma--Politics and government--1988- TITLE Mandalay : travels from the Golden City. AUTHOR Strachan, Paul. PUBLISHER Gartmore, Striling : Kiscadale Publications, 1994., xii, 226 p. SUBJECT Burma--Description and travel. TITLE Mawchi : mining, war and insurgency in Burma AUTHOR Crozier, L. A. CORPORATE Griffith University. Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations. PUBLISHER Queensland : Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations, Faculty ofAsian and International Studies, Griffith University, 1994., 113 p. SUBJECT Crozier, L. A., Australians--Burma., Insurgency--Burma--Mawchi-- History. Mawchi (Burma)--History., Burma--Politics and government--1824-1948. Burma--Politics and government--1948- TITLE Mountbatten : the private story AUTHOR Hoey, Brian. PUBLISHER London : Sidgwick and Jackson, 1994., x, 272 p. SUBJECT Mountbatten of Burma, Louis Mountbatten, Earl, 1900-1979. Admirals--Great Britain--Biography., Viceroys--India--Biography. TITLE Return via Rangoon : a young chindit survives the jungle and Japanese captivity. AUTHOR Stibbe, Philip. PUBLISHER London : Leo Cooper, 1994. xv, 232 p. SUBJECT World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Burma. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese., World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, English. TITLE Thailand and Burma handbook. PUBLISHER Bath, England : Trade and Travel Publications, 1994-v. SUBJECT Thailand, Burma--Description and travel--Guide-books. TITLE Twilight over Burma : my life as a Shan princess, foreword by Bertil Lintner. AUTHOR Sargent, Inge. PUBLISHER Honolulu : University of Hawai Press, 1994. xxiv, 216 p. : SUBJECT Kya Seng, Sao, Sargent, Inge., Shans (Asian people)--Kings and rulers--Biography. Shan State (Burma)--Politics and governemnt. 1995 PUBLICATIONS ON BURMA TITLE Burma the golden AUTHOR Klein, Wilhelm., Pfannmuller, Gunter. PUBLISHER [Bangkok] : Insight Topics, 1995. 168 p. : col. ill. SUBJECT Buddhism, Description and travel--Pictorial works. Religious life and customs--Pictorial works. TITLE Constructive engagement in the Burmese context AUTHOR Kanbawza Win. PUBLISHER Bangkok : CPDSK, 1995., j, 210 p. SUBJECT Burma. SLORC, Democracy--Burma., Politics and government--1988- TITLE Cultural sites of Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia AUTHOR Dumarcay, Jacques. Smithies, Michael, 1932- PUBLISHER Kuala Lumpur ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1995. xi, SUBJECT Monuments, Antiquities, Civilization--Burma.Thailand.Cambodia. TITLE Freedom from fear : and other writings foreword by Desmond Tutu ; edited with an introduction by Michael Aris. - AUTHOR Aung San Suu Kyi. Aris, Michael. PUBLISHER London : Penguin Books, 1995., xxxi, 374 p. SUBJECT Aung San suu Kyi, Burma--Politics and government. TITLE Norman Lewis omnibus AUTHOR Lewis, Norman. PUBLISHER London : Picador, 1995. 834 p. SUBJECT Lewis, Norman--Journeys--Asia. Indochina--Description and travel. Burma--Description and travel, India--Description and travel. -------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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. 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