------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: April 16, 1996 Issue #384 HEADLINES: ========== MAINICHI: LETTER FROM BURMA #21 BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI FBC ANNOUNCEMENT: INTERNATIONAL DOWN WITH PEPSI DAY ASIAWEEK: WHY VISIT THIS YEAR?: SPECIAL PROMOTIONS HAVE NATION: WA GATHERS TO DECIDE FUTURE PLANS BKK POST: THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF SLORC THE NATION: BURMESE WASH AWAY THEIR WOES NATION: EFFORTS UNDER WAY TO BOOST TRADE WITH BURMA BKK POST: GOVERNOR CALLS FOR BURMA TALKS OVER BORDER LINE THE NATION: BURMA SET TO INVESTIGATE BORDER CRIME CHIN REFUGEE COMMITTEE: REQUEST FOR CHIN CENTRE BAG: CAMPAIGN DOCUMENT- 'DON'T VISIT BURMA YEAR 1996' ISBDA: WATER FESTIVAL HELD AT LOS ANGELES PRESS ASSOCIATION: GENERAL'S MEDALS FETCH WORLD RECORD INDEPENDENT REPORT: AUSTRALIAN_KAREN WELFARE ASSN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MAINICHI: LETTER FROM BURMA #21 BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI April 14, 1996 From: Carol Schlenker & Aung Thu GATHERING AT TEASHOPS POPULAR PASTIME "Taking Tea" Tea plays a very important part in the social life of Burma. A pot of green tea, refilled again and again, is the hub of many an animated circle of conversation. There is also pickled tea leaves, /laphet/, soaked in good oil and served with such garnishes as sesame seeds, dried shrimps, roasted beans, peanuts and crisp fried garlic. It is indispensable as a traditional offering of hospitality, either as a conclusion to a meal or as a savory snack between meals. While there is nothing more refreshing than a cup of pale amber tea made from roasted leaves grown in the Shan plateau, the Burmese people have become increasingly fond of "sweet tea." This is tea made from milk and sugar -- but not the English way. "Sweet tea" stalls were originally run by Indian immigrants so the tea is made in a way not unfamiliar to those who have frequented "char" shops in India. Tea leaves are boiled up with sweetened condensed milk in large vessels. The resulting pinkish brown beverage is thick and of a full flavor quite unknown to those who pour out their tea into individual cups before adding a dainty splash of milk and restrained spoonfuls of sugar. In Burmese teashops one does not ask for "lapsang souchong" or Earl Grey or flowery orange pekoe or English breakfast blend. Instead one asks for "mildly sweet," "mildly sweet and strong," "sweet and rich," or "/Kyaukpadaung/" (very sweet and thick). If the tea is made with imported condensed milk instead of the locally produced variety it becomes "/she'/" ("special") and costs and extra couple of kyats. Friends gathering at teashops is so popular a pastime the expression "teashop sitting" is practically a verb in its own right. It is in teashops that people exchange news and, when it is not too dangerous an occupation, discuss politics. In fact there is an expression "green tea circle"which implies an informal discussion group. There is even a book of that title, based on a political column written between May 1946 and October 1947 by a famous newspaper man. The teashop is still one of the best places for catching up on the latest gossip around town, whether it is about the marital adventures of film stars or about nefarious dealings in high circles. Writers also go in for "teashop sitting." Sometimes such a gathering is the equivalent of an informal literary meeting or a poetry reading. Students and other young people too, congregate at favorite tea shops to hold discussions ranging from pop music to political aspirations. Pungent catch words and phrases often emerge from such teashop talk and quickly spread around town. These days there is a tacitly accepted dividing line between young people who go in for "teashop sitting" and those who prefer to spend their leisure hours in discos and expensive restaurants. The difference between the two categories is to a considerable degree, but not altogether, financial. "Teashop sitting" students are more in the tradition of those young men and women who turned Rangoon University into a bastion of the independence movement before the Second World War while their disco-going counterparts tend to look upon the yuppie as their role model. Taking a cup of tea is such a regular practice in Burma that, as in some other Asian countries, a tip is known as "tea money." However, when the gap between the salaries earned by civil servants and the cost of living increased, the interpretation of the phrase "tea money" underwent a metamorphosis: it came to mean bribes given to clear obstacles that block the bureaucratic process. But this was in the day when such bribes were relatively modest sums. Nowadays, when the going rate for speeding up a passport application is in five figures, "tea money" is no longer a satisfactory euphemism for bribes: the current expression is "pouring water," referring, one assumes, to the need for liberal "libations" at all relevant department. The price of a cup of tea in an ordinary teashop is about 8 to 10 kyats, still not beyond the means of struggling writers and students. However, the cost of taking tea in one of the new, or newly renovated, starred hotels of Rangoon is quite beyond the dreams of most people in Burma. Tea for a single person served in the English style costs three U.S. dollars. The official rate of exchange for one U.S. dollar is less than six kyats, but in recent weeks official exchange centers have been opened where Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) can be exchanged at the more realistic rate of 120 kyats to the dollar. This makes the price of taking a gracious cuppa in a luxury hotel equivalent to 360 kyats. Compare this to the basic monthly salary of the lowest eschelon of civil servant, such as a beginning policeman, which is 600 kyats, hardly sufficient to feed a family of four for one week. It is then easy to understand why the supplementary income needed by government employees can no longer be accurately described by the expression "tea money," even when the tea concerned is of the most expensive kind. ****************************************************** FBC ANNOUNCEMENT: INTERNATIONAL DOWN WITH PEPSI DAY April 15, 1996 From: "brian" Students for a Democratic Burma at Penn State University is calling for Free Burma activists everywhere to join us during the week of April 21-28 in International "Down with Pepsi" Week. SDB will be focusing on the Pepsi/Penn State connection and we are continuing to pressure the university to vote it's shares of stock in Pepsi in favor of human rights code of conduct resolution #6 which specifically mentions Burma and objects to the company's presence there. We believe that at some point in the not-to-distant future, Pepsi will no longer be able to sustain it's image without considerable costs in the face of slogans and and sub vertising such as "Taco Hell: Run for the Thai Border" "You've got the Wrong One Baybee-- Uh Uh." And still our favorite, "Choice of a new Genocide." So let us know what you think, join us if you can and keep up the great work. By the way, Pepsico's annual meeting is on May 1, 1996. That's when the stock votes are counted. ************************************************************ ASIAWEEK: WHY VISIT THIS YEAR?: SPECIAL PROMOTIONS HAVE EXPERIENCED MIXED RESULTS By Ajay Singh April 19, 1996 (EXCERPTS) From: "Moe K. T." IT MUST HAVE SEEMED a splendid idea at the time. In the late 1980s, the Indian government decided that 1991 would be "Visit India Year." How was it to know that three governments would fall within 16 months, pitching the bureaucracy into turmoil? Or that, in mid-1991, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi would be assassinated? Suddenly, visiting India seemed as attractive as swimming with sharks. In the year that the number of tourist arrivals was supposed to have soared, 7% fewer than the year before arrived. Visit Myanmar Year seems to be in trouble. Already the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has had to postpone the start from January to October this year. Despite the country's many attractions, it has also scaled expected arrivals down from 500,000 to between 200,000 and 250,000. Reports that forced labor has been used to prepare the infrastructure have also been damaging. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called for an international boycott of the event. "Burma will always be here," she says. "Visitors should come later." ***************************************************** NATION: WA GATHERS TO DECIDE FUTURE PLANS April 14, 1996 by Yidee Lertcharoenchok BURMA'S armed ethnic Wa guerrillas will begin a three-day conference today at their Pangshang headquarters on the Sino- Burmese border to review political and military strategies and work out a future plan of action. Wa leaders from both the northern and southern commands will attend the meeting, according to senior Wa officials. Pangshang was formerly the headquarters of the Burma Communist Party (BCP) until the United Wa State Army (UWSA) toppled the Maoist Burmese leaders in early 1989, forcing them to flee into China. Although the UWSA held a big celebration last year on April 17 to mark the fifth anniversary of their mutiny against the BCP leaders, this year's ceremony will be low-key. The conference takes place amid growing tension between the Wa group and Burma's Slorc. In February, the UWSA was asked to withdraw their 500 soldiers from an area in the northern Shan State under control of the ethnic Chinese Kokang, their allies. The order followed the Slorc's takeover of the area after the split of the Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance army into three faction: the Yang family, the Pheung family, and the Mong Zhala ad Li I-ming faction. The Wa and Kokang struck a ceasefire deal with the Slorc in 1989 shortly after their revolt against the BCP. Ethnic sources confirmed the Burmese army has gained full control of the Kokang area in the northern Shan Plateau west of the Salween River. Several Burmese battalions are being deployed across the terrain, they said. "The Burmese army has exploited the serious split of the Kokang group to move its troops into the area. They (Burmese troops) have tried to force the Kokang factions to surrender their arms, but so far the Pheung family and Mong Zha-la still resist," said one ethnic source. However, the source said the two factions were too weak to resist the Slorc forces for much longer. He said it would be difficult for the Kokang factions to reunite and predicted that the Burmese army would later transform the Kokang soldiers into a militia force like opium warlord Khun Sa's MTA. The Pheung family has less than 300 soldiers. Mong Zha-la has about 400, he added. The Wa official said about 500 Wa soldiers under the command an Aie Neung were later instructed by the Burmese troops to move out of the Kokang area by Feb 26 or give up their arms. ***************************************************** BKK POST: THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF SLORC April 14, 1996 By Myint Thein (Editor's Note: see Burma Debate for more extensive coverage of Miriam Marshall Segal's remarks. Burma Debate can be viewed on the Soros Foundation homepage on the web.) THE solar eclipse of October 24, 1995 predicted major changes in the government and the death of several generals in Burma. In January 996 the left and right men of Gen Ne Win died. General Kyaw Htun died on January 26 and Gen San Yu died four days later on January 30. General San Yu wa a former Chief of Defence Services who serves as president of Burma until 1988. He has been ill since 1982 and his death was not unexpected. I remember him coming to Houston, Texas in 1983 for heart surgery,. Gen San Yu was a mild mannered man who had few enemies and who always followed General Ne Win's orders. The death of General Kyaw Htin was a total surprise and shocked Slorc. He died within a few days of his illness. One day he was at the golf course. The next day he was Army commander and Defence Minister in 1988 and was rumoured to be Slorc's choice for president of Myanmar. He was responsible for the appointment of S-1 Khin Nyunt as Director of Intelligence. General Kyaw Htin continued to be a very influential person in the Burma Army and he was able to keep different army factions from fighting one another. His unexpected death forced General Ne Win to come out of semi-retirement. Many things in life happen in "Three". (Plane crashes is an example.) Two former Army Commanders are dead. When will the third one be. If Gen Ne Win, joins them, we (the Burmese democratic forces) will act swiftly and decisively to restore freedom and democracy in Burma (is not wishing death on anyone, the fact is death is imminent with Ne Win. Besides the deaths of the first two were played down by the Slorc regime). It is becoming increasingly obvious that Slorc's attempt at an economic take off has resulted in a "crash landing". Slorc's failed economic policies have resulted in the prices increasing 500% since 1991. The comsumer price index has increased 850% since 1986. The survival of Slorc regime depends on hard currency. Slorc's ambitious economic development plans which are designed to accumulate hard currency have suffered major set-backs. Slorc projected rice exports of 1.5 million tons last year. They reduced that number first to 1.2 million tons and then to 700,000 tons. The actual exports will be lower than 700,000 tons. Slorc also projected 500,000 tourists for "Visit Myanmar 1996". They have reduced these projections to 200,000 tourists. The actual number will be much lower. Slorc's economic desperation is best illustrated by the deal they negotiated with drug warlord Khun Sa. Our (you can change this to reliable sources, I have been told about Khun Sa's deal with Slorc by many sources) intelligence reports indicate that Khun Sa deposited $200 million with the Central Bank of Myanmar to "buy his freedom". This transition explains why Burma's foreign exchange reserves was reported at $700 million, a hefty jump from $400 million reported only a few months ago. Slorc has repeatedly stated that it would never negotiate with Khun Sa whom they always classified a terrorist. The desperate economic situation in Burma forced Slorc to do a dirty deal (Slorc had earlier declared emphatically that they would never deal with the drug warlord bur changed their minds because of the fear that Khun Sa would spill the beans if he should ever get into the hands of the United States). I received a phone call from a colleague friend who read my "New Year's Message to Slorc" (Bkk Post Dec 24, 1995). His simply said Slorc is running into people "they can't fool". A Slorc relations campaign suffered major damage in the VOA's Burmese section. A defector from the Burmese embassy in Washington, D.C alleges that Myint Myint Zaw was acting as a Slorc agent. VOA is investigating these very serious charges. Slorc's public relations campaign ended in disaster when Peregrine Investments of Hong Kong filed a $20 million lawsuit against Slorc's main apologist Marian Marshall Segal who had served as the chairman of peregrine's Burma subsidiary. Peregrine submitted 12 memos as evidence. Teresa Duke, Ms Segal's personal secretary, signed as affidavit in the presence of her personal attorney, that Ms. Segal wrote these memos. All the documents are filed at the US District Court, Southern District of New York. The memo of June 21, 1995 states: "I am recognized throughout the world as being the strongest and most influential person with the government of Myanmar. My influence over the Burmese government and the Burmese dependency grows stronger daily". It's the colonial version of the White Man's burden. In this case "A White Woman's Burden". The memo of June 12, 1995 states "People in the Ministries actually helping opposition" (We can confirm that). It also states "Watch out for expats or ex-Burmese nationals. They plan to organize local Burmese with money and strategy while they remain in the background and act as business people". (This is standard operating procedure in convert operations). The memo of June 12, 1995 also states: "The White House has now become involved because of a friend of Hillary Clinton on Human Rights Watch. The State Department was taking a softer stand. Now the White House won't allow this". The Asian Wall Street Journal in the feature article of January 24, 1996 states: The businesswoman also provided the man she called 'my dear general' with advice on a range of issues such as handling relations with the US, or how to spot potential dissidents in Burma." Slorc pretends that Bogyoke Aung San's daughter, is not qualified to participate in the political process because she is married to a foreigner. Yet documents submitted as evidence by Peregine Investments in their $20 million lawsuit against Mariam Marshall Segal clearly indicate that Burma's foreign policy is directed and managed by Mariam Marshall Segal. Ms. Segal was once a stateless person after World War Two who was naturalized as an American citizen. Slorc foolishly thinks that Mariam Marshall Segal is better qualified than Bogyoke to guide the destiny of Burma. No Burmese will buy that rubbish. The reason Slorc has not devalued the over-valued Burmese kyats is very simple. The Slorc general buys dollars at the 6 kyat rate which they use to import luxury goods and building materials. This is how Slorc generals are getting rich, building homes and buying luxury goods. Slorc general are not educated enough to realise that the Burmese economy is failing. This type of "fool's paradise" does not last long. On the 8th Anniversary of 8/8/88 we will celebrate the restoration of freedom and democracy in Burma. The Burmese Resistance is confident that the flag of freedom will soon fly again in Burma. Myint Thein is a Burmese economist based in Dallas, Texas and an adviser to the Burmese Resistance movement. (BP) ***************************************************** THE NATION: BURMESE WASH AWAY THEIR WOES April 15, 1996 RANGOON - The Burmese washed away their cares about rising prices and the slow democratization process during the New Year holiday celebrations of "Thingyan". Revellers in every available open-top vehicle visited roadside stalls, where people doused each other in water to cleanse away the concerns of the old year, and so start fresh for the New Year of 1358. Yangon Mayor Ko Lay formally inaugurated the festivities on New Year's Eve on Friday, but traditional water throwing started in most government offices last Thursday. The Burmese New Year starts on Wednesday. Officialdom made its customary call for a "cultured" Thingyan, warning against words, deeds and dress that go against Buddhist and traditional Burmese culture, or that might affect national unity or instigate disturbances. There was to be no drunk-driving and no water throwing before 6 am or after 6 pm. Anyone possessing, using or manufacturing water balloons and plastic ice bags faced between one and three years in prison. In the past, the Burmese kicked off Thingyan with a litany of criticism against grievances real and imaginary from the year before. In Rangoon, the focus of the festivities was the grand reception and water-throwing pandals, richly decorated with billboards advertising items such as beer and cigarettes. They were set up at various points of the city by government ministries, departments, the government-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association, banks, universities, private business houses, foreign and construction firms. The hub of the celebrations was the mayor's pandal, a sprawling wooden structure decorated with red, gold and green tinsel in front of the city hall in central Rangoon. But the biggest and the most impressive of the pandals is naturally the pandal of the Slorc near the Parliament complex in west Rangoon. Droves of young revellers were seen driving through the streets of Rangoon in open trucks and jeeps braving the April sun, and queuing up before one pandal after another to get themselves thoroughly doused by jets of water released from pipes manipulated by well-dressed damsels from inside the pandals. They sang and danced in defiance and teased the damsels as water hit them. Dissident leader Aunt San Suu Kyi was to celebrate Thingyan yesterday inside her residential compound and give her weekly address to listeners assembled on the street outside. Informed sources said that there would be no "Thingyan politics" this year, unlike 1989 when members of the National League for Democracy sang satirical songs and rhymes chiding officialdom. Meanwhile, Burmese astrologers predicted that Portugal, France and some European countries would face starvation in the ensuing year while Malaysia and Australia would face difficulty in their reform programmes. ***************** NATION: EFFORTS UNDER WAY TO BOOST TRADE WITH BURMA April 13, 1996 (abridged) By PIYANART SRIVALO DEPUTY Prime Minister Amnuay Viravan will in the near future lead a high-level delegation of economic ministers and business people to Burma in an attempt to promote stronger economic relations between the two countries. Amnuay's decision to embark on the Burma trip was made during Wednesday's first meeting of a committee established by Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa on March 21 to promote trade with Thailand's four neighbours and Vietnam. AN official source at the meeting said the 19-member committee, which is headed by Amnuay and comprises top officials from various ministries and government agencies, agreed that in terms of trade with its neighbours, Burma was Thailand's biggest problem. Burma has a lot of bureaucratic red tape and has developed "a strong mistrust" towards the Thai private sector, an attitude which Thailand has to dispel "at the earliest," the source said. Political instability, lack of basic infrastructure and developed human resources, as well as internal ethnic conflicts, double currency rates and numerous investment laws were identified as the major obstacles for foreign business people and investors wanting to operate in Burma. Another major obstacle is that Burmese banks will not open letters of credit for Burmese importers with local Kyat currency, thus forcing the country's own traders to resort to barter trade. The source said although Thailand and Burma established a joint Thai-Burma Commission on Trade on Feb 2, 1990, the panel has never met to discuss bilateral issues. Despite several existing obstacles, Burma has great economic potential and remains very attractive to foreign traders and corporations. Thailand's trade deficit with Burma decreased gradually from 1991 to 1993, from Bt3.23 billion in 1991 to Bt75.5 million in 1993. Thailand then started to develop a trade surplus. In 1994 the Kingdom earned Bt2.06 billion and in 1995 increased its balance of trade with Burma to Bt3.22 billion. *************************************************** BKK POST: GOVERNOR CALLS FOR BURMA TALKS OVER BORDER LINE REPAIRS April 13, 1996 Chiang Rai THE provincial governor has urged the Foreign Ministry to hold talks with Rangoon on repairing damaged border demarcation stakes to avoid any possible territorial disputes. Kamron Booncherd said several stakes along the 200km border line dividing by the Sai River had disappeared or been damaged. Thai officials could not unilaterally make the repairs as this would risk accusations of encroaching on Burmese territory, Mr Kamron said. Mr Kamron also called for the upgrading of the Mae Sai-Tachilek border checkpoint to cope with the increase in Burmese visitors. They are not allowed to stay overnight on Thai territory and have to return to Burma in the evening. However, many Burmese who cross into Mae Sai through the checkpoint do not return and stay on to work in the province or venture out to other cities. All incoming Burmese should be required to carry a passport or a border pass so Thai immigration officials can keep track of them, he said. The Thai Governor last year allowed employers in provinces bordering Burma to hire Burmese laborers on the condition the employers put up a 5,000 baht deposit at the provincial labour office for each worker. However, officials said this regulation has not been popular among employers. About 10 percent of the Burmese workers have work permits, they claimed. Business in Mae Sai District is slowly picking up following the reopening of the border last month. ********************* THE NATION: BURMA SET TO INVESTIGATE BORDER CRIME April 14, 1996 Somchit Rungchamratrasmee, The Nation MAE SOT - Burmese authorities in Myawaddy township have established an ad hoc committee to investigate the robbery of a Dutch man and the rape of his wife last weekend by an unidentified armed group. Lt Col Kyaw Hlaing, commander of the 7th Army Battalion at Myawaddy, which is just opposite Thailand's Mae Sot district of Tak, decided to set up the committee as the incident could affect the reputation of the Burmese army. Lt Moe Soe Htun will head the panel. The five unidentified soldiers fled across the Moei River to Burma after the incident , which took place at Wang Takien village in Mae Sot. The village is located opposite the Burmese military camp of Yebu. Sources here said Kyaw Hlaing himself led a group of armed soldiers to Yebu to investigate the incident. He asked Thai provincial authorities to allow the panel 10 days for the probe. The Dutch couple are researchers with Mahidol University's anti-malaria research project. The victims reported to the Mae Sot police after their motorcycles and other belongings worth about Bt 40,000 were stolen. The two researchers were riding along the border near Yebu when they were attacked by the group. About 200 Burmese soldiers under the 22nd Division are stationed at Yebu. After the attack, Col Suvit Maenmeun, commander of the forth Army Special Task Force Unit in Mae Sot, submitted a letter of protest to Burmese authorities asking them to help find the culprits as soon as possible. He also asked the Burmese to help locate and return the victim's stolen belongings. Myawaddy officers earlier denied that Burmese troops were involved tin the crime and accused armed ethnic forces active in the region of the offence. ********************************************************* CHIN REFUGEE COMMITTEE: REQUEST FOR CHIN CENTRE IN NEW DELHI April 13, 1996 From: Salai Nilian <9605673z@lux.levels.unisa.edu.au> The Centre, that has been serving as the meeting place, the counselling centre, the guest house and the class room for Chin refugees in India is running short of finance. "the rent has been paid for up to the month of April, 1996 and no money is left for the future", stated a letter of the Centre's managing committee. In early 1995, the Chin refugees collected donations and rented a small unit in a southern suburb of New Delhi. To accommodate the growing number of refugees, one more room was added to this Centre in early this year. Chin Refugee Committee, based in New Delhi has estimated that the number of Chin refugees in India is currently over fourty thousand. The refugees under the protection of UNHCR are required to report to the latter's office in New Delhi regularly. Before they had a centre, the Chin refugees who went to New Delhi to visit UNHCR office could hardly find a place to stay within their budget limit in India's capital. A number of refugees who rented a room or a unit in the city were told to vacate their room(s) because they let their friends to stay with them. If they are required to vacate their Centre, they will have to face the same problem again. Can we help them? If you can help OR for more information, please contact: Salai Van Kip Thang Chin Centre Manager Tlang Inn, F-184 Ladosarai Mehrauli, New Delhi 110 030, INDIA ********************************************* BAG: CAMPAIGN DOCUMENT- 'DON'T VISIT BURMA YEAR 1996' 15 April 1996 bagp@gn.apc.org >From Yvette Yvette Mahon Burma Action Group Collins Studios Collins Yard Islington Green London N1 2XU Tel: 44 171 359 7679 Fax: 44 171 354 3987 E-mail: bagp@gn.apc.org BAG is compiling an updated tourism campaign information document, following that released in April 1995, in an effort to improve the information available and further the exhange of campaigning ideas on the specific issue of tourism in Burma. The format will be similar to that of the first document and will contain a section on the specific tourism campaign plans / actions of the various active groups and individuals worldwide, with a section of contacts and addresses of organsations and individuals interested in the issue, and resources they have available. This is intended for groups/individuals who are already involved in the tourism campaign or who are now considering an active campaign on the tourism issue. Please contact Yvette at bagp@gn.apc.org, putting "Tourism Coordination" as the subject as soon as possible, with a brief summary of your activities and plans so that we can include you in this document. We would appreciate an update even if your organisation was included in the 1995 document. We would be grateful if you would also let us know of the tourism related activities and contact names/addresses of any other organisations/ individuals you may be aware of who, do not have access to e-mail. The recently launched second edition of Burma -The Alternative Guide is now available from the BAG office at #3.99 plus #1.00 postage and packing. Discounts for bulk orders. Looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible With many thanks. ********************************************************* ISBDA: WATER FESTIVAL HELD AT LOS ANGELES BY THE BURMA ASSOCIATION April 14, 1996 From: ktint@earthlink.net (Kyaw Tint) More than 1000 people participated at the traditional "Water Festival" held at Los Angeles, today, which is sponsored by the Burma Association in California. The participants were very pleased to have chances to try Burmese foods as well as to observe the ThinGyan Dance and Song performances organized by Burmese refugees currently residing at L. A. area. The Burma Association was formally established on May 13, 1974, and is approved as a non-profit organization by the State of California. The objectives specified by by-laws are to: (a) foster friendly relations among its members; (b) promote and present educational and cultural activities and programs for its members and their friends;(c) promote the welfare of the members of the Association. ****************************************************** PRESS ASSOCIATION: GENERAL'S MEDALS FETCH WORLD RECORD April 11, 1996 BYLINE: Finlay Marshall A new world record was set today when decorations won by a Second World War general were sold for L56,500. The medals and other memorabilia of Major General Orde Wingate, legendary leader of the Chindits in Burma, included his triple Distinguished Service Order. They were bought by an anonymous British collector at Sotheby's in Billingshurst, West Sussex. Also included was his Colt service revolver, Royal Artillery captain's khaki drill tunic and a battered pith helmet worn throughout campaigns in Abyssinia, Palestine and in Burma. Wingate's tactics are credited with turning the tide of the war in the Far East. ************************************************************** INDEPENDENT REPORT: AUSTRALIAN_KAREN WELFARE ASSN April 15, 1996 From: Dr Paul Webb Just for your information: The Australian-Karen Welfare Association was formed in April 1995 in Melbourne Vic Australia to help new arrivals settle into their new country, to provide welfare services to the Karen community, to retain Karen culture and to promote cultural exchanges with fellow Australians. Address: PO Box 249 Niddrie Vic 3042 Office Bearers: President - Saw Ganemy Kunoo Vice-President - Revd Alan Nichols Secretaries - Mahn Peter Gabriel & Revd Alan Marr A Newsletter is published and can be obtained from the above address. Dr Paul Webb, Director CSEAS NT University Darwin NT Australia 0909