------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: December 4, 1995 Issue #295 Noted in Passing: I look forrward to further steps to speed up the return of multi-party democracy in Myanmar. - Boutros Boutros Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations (see UN SECRETARY - GENERAL: STATEMENT ON BURMA) HEADINGS: ========= USUN: PRESS RELEASE #218-(95), STATEMENT BY M. ALBRIGHT UN SECRETARY - GENERAL: STATEMENT ON BURMA BRIEF REPORTS FROM AUSTRALIAN PAPERS THE STATESMAN: AGONY OF MYANMAR ABSDF-DNA: STATEMENT ON THE DIAMOND JUBILEE ANNIVERSARY NATION: WASHINGTON TELLS SLORC TO STOP THREATENING NATION: AMNESTY URGES THAILAND TO RELEASE BURMA BANGKOK POST: KAREN AMBUSH HITS TOURISM IN TAK BKK POST: BURMESE ARMY SHELLS KAREN REBEL POSITION BANGKOK POST: THE BURMESE CHARADE --------------------------------------------------------------- USUN: PRESS RELEASE #218-(95), STATEMENT BY M. ALBRIGHT November 28, 1995 Statement by Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Human Rights Situations and Reports, in the Third Committee, November 28, 1995 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Chairman we celebrate this year the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and of the Charter upon which it is based. Under that Charter, each nation affirms its "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, (and) in the equal rights of men and women." In so doing, each nation assumes an obligation not to deprive those within its jurisdiction of these fundamental rights, whether in law, policy or practice. The Charter admits no exceptions. There are no grounds of history, culture, economic condition or sovereign prerogative that excuse or permit the theft of human dignity. As members of this organization our governments have acknowledged the universal and inalienable nature of human rights. But the exercise of these rights is not possible in the absence of political freedom. As the Universal Declaration stipulates, the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote. My government has made the point for many decades in many forums that democratic practices not only protect individuals, but spur economic and social progress. People who are free to think, to exchange ideas and to invest their own energies and capital will contribute more to a society than those stunted by repression. The power of this argument, and its truth, are on display today in emerging democracies around the world. Unfortunately, this democratic trend, although widespread, is not universal. Many governments continue to rely not on the consent of the governed for their authority, but on coercion. Burma is one example. Here, the current governing authorities face an historic choice between the continued denial of fundamental rights and movement towards democracy. It is encouraging that the government expresses a desire for international respect, foreign investment, tourisin and democratic reforin. It is encouraging that the government has, this past year, released a number of political prisoners1 including Nobel prize-Winner and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It is, however, very discouraging that the government has failed, thus far, to begin a serious political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other representatives of the democratic movement and ethnic groups. It is discouraging that the National Convention called to draft a new constitution is not representative of the Burmese people. And it is discouraging that the government has done so little to lift the cloud of fear and repression caused by its past and current policies towards political and social freedom. This year, my government will urge the General Assembly to re-state, in clear and compelling terms, its support for democracy and respect for internationally-recognized human rights in Burma. The Assembly should call for the release of the remaining political prisoners, for an end to torture, for an end to forced labor and forced porterage and for an end to disappearances and killings of civilians by the military. The Government of Burma has a choice. And the international community has a choice-- We must choose to encourage Burma to choose wisely: to reject the easy, but ultimately disastrous, path of the status quo, and to move towards democracy. The release of Aung San Suu Kyi provides at least the hope that in Burma--with sufficient international interest and support--the human rights situation will improve. ((passage on iraq omitted)) UN SECRETARY - GENERAL: STATEMENT ON BURMA December 1, 1995 From: myoa@cin.gov.au (Myo Aye) "In keeping with the good offices mandate I received from the General Assembly and from the Commission on Human Rights, I have established a dialogue with the Government of Myanmar in order to address various issues of concern to the international community, in particular with respect to the process of democratization and national reconciliation in that country. During the period under review, my Representatives have held several rounds of talks in New York and Yangon with Secretary 1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other authorities of the Government. In the talks, a series of ideas were discussed, which, if implemented would assist in moving the process forward. I welcome the Government's decision to lift the restrictions imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to release a number of other political prisoners, including several leading members of the National League for Democracy. I look forrward to further steps to speed up the return of multi-party democracy in Myanmar. I will report to the General Assembly at its fifteth session on the progress of those discussions, which are being continued on my behalf at Yangon in August by the Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs." (Boutros Boutros Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations) [Annual Report on the Work of the Organisation 1995, United Nations]. ****************************************************** BRIEF REPORTS FROM AUSTRALIAN PAPERS December 3, 1995 From: myoa@cin.gov.au (Myo Aye) Subject: (1) Burma's true picture (2) Rangoon University (3) U Tin Oo. CANBERRA TIMES: BURMA'S TRUE PICTURE December 1, 1995 The withdrawal by Aung San Suu Kyi from talks with the Burmese military regime over the proposed new Constitution for Burma gives the lie to those who have suggested the State Law and Order Restoration Council has had a change of heart toward the democratic process. In fact, they are seeking, through a combination of threats and vague promises, to entrench their power and give it a patina of legitimacy. Unfortunately, they are assisted in the processby greedly "businessmen" and exploitative corporations close to neighbouring governments to view their tactics as potentially sucessful. They are peddling the line that it is preferable to have Burma within the community of nations so that practical collegiate influence may be brought to bear rather than keeping the dictators out in the cold. Indeed, this is presented in Australia as the legitimate "Asian" approach in the hope that, thereby, Australian leaders will accede to a new cultural cringe that seeks to substitute compromise for principle. As Suu Kyi's action themselves reveal, there is nothing "Asian" about bearing the yoke of the oppressor. She and her colleages in the National League for Democracy are preparing themselves for SLORC retribution as SLORC reportedly prepares the entire wing of a prison to take them and their confederates. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE AUSTRALIAN: RANGOON UNIVERSITY December 3, 1995 (Editor's Note: there have been reports from inside Burma that all universities - and perhaps other schools - have been closed. As soon as we have more information, we will post it.) There was a strong military presence outside Rangoon University yesterday, the focal point of celebration of the university's diamond jubilee. Some troops were in full combat gear and wore flak jackets. But inside there was a carnival atmosphere and the man regarded as the key figure in SLORC, Lietenant-General Khin Nyunt, walked unconcerned among the students. SLORC was evidently taking precautions because there had been unrest on the campus during the university's golden jubilee celebrations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: U TIN OO December 2, 1995 Rangoon, Friday: U Tin Oo remembers how the long prison years began. Called before a military court outside Rangoon's Insein Prison, the former armed forces commander and defence minister was accused of sedition and conspiracy to split the military. No cross-examination was allowed, and no defence witnesses could be called. "In the end, I turned and faced them," he says. "And I told them: "I joined the army when I was 16, with the taste of my mother's milk still on my teeth. I have always loved the Burmese Army, but I love the people more. I take this punishment as a dignity." Tin Oo's real crime was to have joined Aung San Suu Kyi in forming the National League for Democracy (NLD) in late 1988. While the daughter of the hero of Burma's struggle for independence spent six years detained in her home, Tin Oo was held in solitary confinement in the squalor of Insein Prison and was only released in April. Late this week, the threat of jail again hung over the 78-year-old vice-chairman of the NLD. "If they put me back in prison will you come and interview me there? he joked, nervously. **************************************************************************** THE STATESMAN: AGONY OF MYANMAR December 2, 1995 (Editorial) (India) chan@.unv.ernet.in The State Law and Order Restoration Council in Myanmar, an euphemism for an unashamed military dictatorship, is like the Bourbons, it learns nothing and forgets nothing. For the first time since the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the acknowledged leader of the Myanmarese people from house arrest, they went back to reconvening the discredited assembly to draft a new constitution for the country. The junta do not need a new constitution, they are adept at ignoring the one they have and if it suited them t hey would do the same with the next one. What they are doing is to test the waters, to see whether the hostility of the population to their excesses which swept Suu Kyi to victory in May 1990 has abated. It is reasonable to suppose that they are also inte rested in finding out whether her popularity has been affected by her long incarceration. Unless the generals are totally blinded by their addiction to power, they will recognize that the crowds outside her house are as good an indication as any that it w ould be dangerous to tangle with her. For her part, Suu Kyi has played her cards well. She has done her best to contain expectations following her release, warning that progress will not be easy and calling for discipline. She has been moderate in her language about the generals but has made no secret of her devotion to democracy and the rule of law. She allowed her National League for Democracy to attend a few sessions of the assembly set up to draft the new constitution knowing that it was packed with supporters of the junta, in order not t o appear to have closed her mind to possible progress in the right direction despite the odds. As soon as it became clear that the NLD would not be allowed to function and that continued association with the front and cover for continuation of military r ule would hurt the cause, she acted. Reports that have come out of Myanmar of certain provisions to from part of the new draft include barring any citizen married to a foreigner from high public office-a measure aimed only at her-and ensuring the supremac y of the armed forces, convinced her of what she always suspected. The military have no intention of giving up their stranglehold on the nation and its resources. With courage and resolution she pulled the NLD out of the assembly. The stage is set for an eye-ball confrontation and it can be assumed that Suu Kyi will not be the first to blink. The worry is that the generals have no place to hide or retreat. They can hardly lock up Suu Kyi again without risking worldwide condemnation . They will also forfeit the goodwill of those countries in the Asian-Pacific region which are acting on the assumption that going along with the generals is the best way to bring them round. The future in Myanmar belongs to democracy; the question is how long will it take the long-suffering Myanmarese to get there and what price will be exacted from them. The duty of the rest of the world is clear. It is to respond to Suu Kyi's appeal to support democracy. ********************************************************** ABSDF-DNA: STATEMENT ON THE DIAMOND JUBILEE ANNIVERSARY OF RANGOON UNIVERSITY December 3, 1995 From: Caroline Lurie The 5th of December 1995 is the auspicious occasion of the seventy-fifth diamond jubilee anniversary of the historic Rangoon University in Burmese history. On the first of December, 1920, the British government enacted the Rangoon University Act which could have prolonged the British colonization in Burma. As a consequence, on 5th December of the same year, the students from the Rangoon College launched a boycott against the Act. Since the students spearheaded the firt University boycott against the British colony education, beginning of the strike is originated from the students has been become the well-known maxim in praise of the Burmese students. The 1920 students strike could prompt the spirit of the national-esteem and heighten the patriotism. It was also able to give birth of national unity amongst the Burmese people and that unity paved the way to the movement for the anti-colonization, national liberation and independence of Burma. The history of student activism, born together with the birth of Rangoon University has been keeping still alive since from the colony era to the current military dictatorship. For its fighting against the all forms of oppression and its love for the truth and justice, the spirit of student of Burma is still alive and active in Burmese politics until now. Burma has been under the iron-rule of military dictatorship for over three decades and the dignity of the country has been deteriorated in the world. The character of the Burmese people has been aggravated because of the economic calamity and the country has also become one of the Least Development Countries designated by the United Nations. The worst thing is the plague educational system which is the basis of the future development of the country, has notably been destroyed. The education under the military oppression merely not more than could make the Burmese youth to work under inferiority in other exotic countries. The only democratic education, in place of the education for military enslavement, will be able to create the better future and atmosphere for the student youth. The students has been peacefully struggling against the suppressive governments through- out the history of student activism in Burma. However, after the peaceful uprising of 8888 that marked the significant chapter in the modern students movement in Burma, Students Army was founded, as the armed wing of the democracy movement, to range the armed struggle for the human rights and democracy in Burma. As the history of the Rangoon University is also the history of the student activism, in other word, this auspicious diamond jubilee anniversary of the Rangoon University is the diamond jubilee anniversary of the Burmese student activism. We, the ABSDF hereby strongly denounces the Slorcs patronage to the celebration of this auspicious occasion of the Rangoon University Diamond Jubilee for their political ploy. It is an another mock political ploy by Slorc who has been ever suppressing the student activism in cruel bloody way. To build a new democratic era, the poverty and old-fashioned systems has essentially to be exterminated. Thus, in order to overthrow the entire military dictatorship mechanism, national unity with the political openness is a must. We, the ABSDF would like to urge the whole Burmese people to shoulder the inheritance of the spirit of the historic student activism and to carry on the second struggle for the national freedom and liberation of Burma. Central Committee ABSDF (Dawn Gwin) 2nd December, 1995. *********************************************************** NATION: WASHINGTON TELLS SLORC TO STOP THREATENING DEMOCRACY PARTY December 3, 1995 Agence France-Presse DUBLIN-The United States on Friday called on Burma's ruling military junta to stop threatening the opposition National League for Democracy and engage in a peaceful dialogue. The statement, issued in Dublin where US President Bill Clinton was on an official visit, followed Thursday's expulsion of the NLD, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, from a constitutional convention by the junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc). The party's delegates had walked out of the convention in Rangoon two days earlier on the grounds that the conference was "unacceptable" in its present form. The US statement, expressing concern at recent events in Burma, said: "We and other governments have noted that under current circumstances, the National Convention convened by the Burmese authorities does not offer the opposition a meaningful opportunity to participate in the crucial decisions that will determine Burma's political future. "We understand that the National League for Democracy [NLD] withdrew from the Convention after its repeated requests for dialogue with the authorities were rejected, triggering a harsh and threatening response by the authorities. "We urge the State Law and Order Restoration Council to recognize that public discussion in an environment free of intimidation is critical to the healthy functioning of any political system. " We further urge the authorities to avoid threats or other measures against those who seek freely to express their views. We continue to believe that it is only through peaceful dialogue between the Slorc and recognized democratic leaders that national reconciliation will take place in Burma. "We urge the authorities in Burma to agree to such a dialogue." Lieutenant General Myo Nyunt, the convention convenor, said earlier this week the Americans had "adopted a harsher attitude" towards the National Convention, following a "tete-a-tete" in September between visiting US ambassador to the United Nations, Madeline Albright, and Aung San Suu Kyi. On Thursday Myo Nuynt told delegates still attending the National convention that Albright, in the aftermath of that meeting, had "exerted pressure on the Myanmar [Burmese] government" to have a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi. Other groups that called for talks between the Slorc and the NLD were warned by authorities against "toeing the American line" and being part of a "conspiracy" to pressure the Slorc into a dialogue, they said. Two Burmese detained by a militant student group on charges of spying for the Burmese military junta have escaped with two other inmates from a border camp, a group said in a statement issued in Bangkok on Friday. The All Burma Students' Democratic y Front (ABSDF) said the two, identified as Captain Ne Win Aung and special agent Soe Lin, fled the students' mobile camp in the ethnic Karenni area last Friday. The duo had been sent by the junta's National Intelligence Bureau to infiltrate into the ABSDF ranks in order to "disrupt the stability of ABSDF and to sneak the ABSDF's information out", the group claimed. ***************************************************************** NATION: AMNESTY URGES THAILAND TO RELEASE BURMA December 3, 1995 Agence France-Presse AMNESTY International has urged the authorities to release 25 Burmese arrested this week in what the international human rights organization said was a crackdown on Burmese dissidents in Bangkok. In a statement received in Bangkok, the London-based group said: "These asylum-seekers have been arrested solely for the peaceful expression of their political views and should never have been arrested." The police said the Burmese had been picked up by Special Branch and were being held for interrogation. They have not been charged. Amnesty International said it believed the 25 had been detained in order to prevent any public protests during the national constitutional convention currently under way in Rangoon. Bangkok is also scheduled to host the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) from Dec 14, with top leaders from Burma, Cambodia and Laos scheduled to join the seven Asean states on Dec 15. Those held include U Ye Gyaung, 75, a senior writer at the Burmese opposition newspaper New Era Journal, who was taken from his home along with his wife on Nov 29 and transferred to the Immigration Detention Centre. Others include five activists arrested in front of the Burmese Embassy for a Nov 29 protest against the convention convened by military rulers in Rangoon. The previous day, authorities arrested nine Burmese near the Foundation in Support of Refugee Assistance Programmes in Thailand "where Burmese asylum-seekers are routinely picked up by Thai police", the statement said. Seven others were picked up from their homes, it added. Amnesty said Thai police "routinely'' detain Burmese asylum-seekers and jail them on illegal immigration charges, contrary to international standards. " Amnesty International opposes the detention of refugees or asylum-seekers unless they have been charged with a recognizably criminal offence," the statement said. *************************************************************** BANGKOK POST: KAREN AMBUSH HITS TOURISM IN TAK December 3, 1995 (Editor's Note: The attacks described below were certainly not committed by KNU troops but instead by DKBA troops. Assailants do not normally take off their uniforms and leave them as evidence. The DKBA, or SLORC army commanders who may well be ordering these terrorist attacks, only want sow confusion along the border and possibly to provoke the Thai authorities. The reasoning seems to be that if there are more and more incidents along the border, public sentiment against the KNU and Karen refugees will grow, and the refugees may be forced back into Burma.) TOURISM has been hard hit by cancellations following the murder of a tour van driver in an ambush by renegade Karen. The driver was killed instantly and 10 tourists injured in the November 26 attack when the renegades fired rifle rounds and hurled a grenade. The party was ambushed along the 150km scenic road along the Moei river from Tha Song Yang, Tak, to Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son. Pirapong Pannarong, assistant manager of SP Tour, in Mae Sot, said 20 groups numbering 300 tourists, had cancelled bookings at Mon Krating resort in Ban Mae Lamoeng, Tha Song Yang, in the first two weeks of this month. Tour organisers, he said, were _ afraid their customers might be attacked by the renegades because they have to use the scenic road. Rungroj Towr Co, which had also planned a visit to Mon Krating this week, said 34 of the 80-member tour group had cancelled their booking even though they had paid in advance. Even groups bound for Umphang, which was on a different route, had cancelled bookings with hotels and guest houses in the district, he said. Cancellations also affected restaurants, gift shops and transport services which rely on tourism. The scenic route, which follows the Moei along the Burmese border, is popular among local and foreign tourists drawn by the area's natural beauty or for jungle trekking and canoeing. Since September, seven attacks along the road have been blamed on Karen renegades. In at least three attacks, the assailants left behind uniforms with Karen National Union in signia. On September 11, 20 Karen with | rocket-propelled grenades and assault 1 rifles raided the house of Boonping Klinhom, assistant headman of Tambon Mae Tarn and fled across the border with cash and property worth 30,000 baht. The following night, a kamnan of Tambon Mae Wa was fired on as he was going home with his wife and four-year-old boy. No one was hurt. In October, a pickup truck was ambushed and in November there was a robbery. On November 11, eight Karen blocked the border road in Tambon . Mae U-su with a tree trunk and fired on a pick-up truck, killing a nine-year old girl and wounding four co-travellers. The attackers fled without touching their valuables or cash, but left behind a uniform with KNU insignia. Police have not been able to identify which Karen rebel group or groups were responsible although they were convinced the perpetrators were Karen. An official of the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army at Ban Mae Ta Wah camp denied involvement in the attacks. Lt Sein Pit, of the DKBA's 3rd battalion, blamed renegade KNU guerrillas for the attacks. He claimed his men had merely been assigned to persuade Karen refugees to return to Burma. "We are disciplined and strictly adhere to the rules laid down by Phra Usujana," he said. "Anyone of us who committed robbery will face execution." About 200 KNU rebels had broken from the KNU command and had resorted to robbery, he said. A security official attributed the sudden surge in violent crime to the interdiction of smuggled timber and forest products from Burma which had been a major source of Karen income. It was virtually impossible to distinguish KNU rebels from DKBA fighters, he said. Even though security along the scenic road has been stepped up, it is not likely to convince tourists to come back quickly. ***************************************************************** BKK POST: BURMESE ARMY SHELLS KAREN REBEL POSITION December 3, 1995 Mae Hong Son BURMESE gunners have shelled a rebel outpost belonging to the Karenni National Progressive Party about 12km from the Thai border in this northernmost province. A source close to the KNPP said more than 50 81mm mortar shells were fired into the Sher Ter outpost in Kayah State for about one hour last Thursday. The shelling did not cause any casualties, said the source, adding it was a "farewell" gesture to the Karenni rebels from a Burmese contingent about to pull back from the frontline after successful ceasefire talks last month between the KNPP and the State Law and Order Restoration Council. The SLORC, said the source, agreed to withdraw its troops from Karenni territory in Kayah State. The meeting, to discuss the ceasefire held between Nov 15-25, was attended by five representatives from the KNPP led by Public Relations Minister U Lay and the SLORC's Col Kyaw Win. According to the source, the SLORC agreed to gradually withdraw over 10,000 of its troops from Kayah State. SLORC troops in June violated the ceasefire agreement signed between the two sides in Loikaw, Shan State on March 21, when they sent 18 battalions into Karenni territory. *************************************************************** BANGKOK POST: THE BURMESE CHARADE December 3, 1995 FOUR months after release from house arrest, the Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is again confounding her tormentors. The ruling junta in Myanmar, formerly Burma, detained Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi for nearly six years as punishment for leading a pro-democracy party. Having ended her house arrest, the junta would have earned applause if it opened negotiations with Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, as she urged. Instead, contending that it wanted to forge "an enduring state constitution," the junta sought her participation in a stage-managed convention that was to draft a new charter assuring its permanent dominance. Rightly, she has refused to play her assigned role. She and her party will boycott the convention, and reject the Slorc's assertion that opposition tactics are "confrontational." In truth, she and her movement have shunned demonstrations. Police are posted outside her house at her request, so that she cannot be blamed for any disturbances in the street. It is not respect for human rights that has stayed the junta from silencing Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi. All Burmese know that her father was Gen Aung San, who led the country's struggle for independence, and all the world knows that she was honored by the Nobel Committee for her eloquence in persevering in that fight for freedom. Sooner or later, the generals will realize that only by acknowledging her legitimate role can they hope to gain legitimacy themselves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News is produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G) and the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ} 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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