------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: June 1, 1996 Issue #428 HEADLINES: ========== THE TIME OF INDIA : BURMESE GOVERNMENT FREES 74 DISSIDENTS THE TIME OF INDIA : JUNTA FREES 60 SUU KYI MEN, 9 TO BE PUT TRIAL (BURMANET : BRIEF BUSINESS REPORTS JUNE 1, 1996. Compiled by Burma Net from information provided by Mbeer.) AP : ALLEGED ABUSES ON PIPELINE MAINICHI DAILY NEWS : BUSINESS GROUP UPGRADES TIES WITH BURMA FRIENDS OF BURMA FRANCE : THE TOTAL STATEMENT NDF : POSITION ON CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN BURMA XINHUA NEWS AGENCY : MYANMAR ENCOURAGES WOOD-BASED INDUSTRY BBC : FOREIGN RELATIONS PHILIP SHERWELL : BURMESE DEMOCRATS DEFY GENERALS MASS ARRESTS OF MPS HAVE FAILED TO XINHUA NEWS AGENCY : SPEEDY FREIGHT HANDLING ARRANGED AT YANGON PORT BBC : CHINESE COMPANY TO BUILD WHARF IN RANGOON MYNANMAR ALIN : OPPOSITION ACTIVITIES; "ANTI-PEPSI" AFP : FOREIGN CAR FIRMS GEAR UP FOR BURMA'S NASCENT AUTO MARKET THE NEW YORK TIMES : BURMESE DISSIDENT PRESSES DEMANDS, PUTTING JUNTA ON DEFENSIVE XINHUA NEWS AGENCY : SINGAPORE FIRM TO INSTALL PHONE SYSTEM IN MYANMAR AFP : MITSUI ENGINEERING LIFTS PROFIT 58.7 PERCENT FINANCIAL TIMES : INDIAN SUGAR MILLS SEEK EXPORT BOOST THE INDEPENDENT : CRUELTY AND KINDNESS IHT : ISOLATE BURMA'S JUNTA FINANCIAL TIMES : RELEASING BURMA'S OPPOSITION LEADER HAS EXPOSED THE DIVISIONS IN THE MILITARY, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY : MYANMAR MINISTER OF FORESTRY VISITS CHINA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMESE GOVERNMENT FREES 74 DISSIDENTS June 1st 1996, The Time of India (New Delhi) By Robert Horn Rangoon, May 31. Burma's military regime on Friday freed at least 74 of the 262 people detained in a failed bid to stop pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding a party congress. Ms Suu Kyi debriefed about two dozens of those released at her lakeside home. Opposition leaders speculated that the regime may be softening its opposition t a dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. "When these people were detained, they were all asked a set of five or six questions," said Kyi Maung, party vice chairman. The one they really seemed to focus on was, "what do you think NLD really wants from a dialogue." Mr. Kyi Maung concluded: "I think they are seriously contemplating a dialogue. That is my gut feeling." State radio announced on Friday that those detained as "guest of the government" were being freed, but it was unclear if all would be released. The detainees comprised 238 conference delegates, plus 24 ordinary party members. Despite the mass arrests, the party conference led by Ms Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel peace prize for her nonviolent promotion of democracy, posed the biggest challenge to the regime since she was freed form six years of house arrest last July. Japan and Thailand have been two of the chief investors in Burma, arguing that foreign investment will improve the lives of the country's desperately poor people and give outsiders leverage to moderate the regime. Embarrassed by the crackdown, both countries condemned the mass arrest and sent diplomatic observers to the arrest-depleted congress in a sign of support for Ms Suu Kyi. The releases came hours after the United States announced plans to send a envoy to Burma to push for freedom for the activists. US state department spokesman Nicholas Burns said in Washington that the Burmese authorities "should not be left off scot free." (AP) ******************** JUNTA FREES 60 SUU KYI MEN, 9 TO BE PUT TRIAL June 1st 1996, The Asian Age (New Delhi) Rangoon May 31: The military regime on Friday released at lease 60 of the 262 detainees round up in a failed to prevent democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding a party congress. However, nine others were to put on trial, Opposition sources said. The Opposition reported that 59 of those freed on Friday came form the ranks of 238 conference delegates detained in the past week. The other freed detained, plus three others released earlier, were ordinary supporters of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Government radio announced that those detained as so-called "guest of the government" were being freed. This may reflect an easing of tensions in the biggest confrontation between Ms Suu Kyi and the junta since her release from six years of house arrest last July. Unlike in recent days, the state-run press on Friday refrained from calling her a "stooge" or "maggot" taking orders from foreign powers. The release came hours after the US announced plans to send an envoy to Burma to seek the release of the activists. "The Burmese authorities, US state department spokesman Nicholas Burns said in Washington, "should not be let off scot free." The Opposition predicted that activists considered a particular threat by the regime will not freed. Some have already been sent to Insein prison near Rangoon, notorious for torture, and face national security charges that allow indefinite detention. Those freed reported no ill-treatment, the Opposition said. They had been held at military mess halls and clubs and at houses kept by military intelligence. The crackdown had been aimed at stopping a party conference that marked a symbolic challenge to the regime by Ms Suu Kyi. (AP) *************************************************** ALLEGED ABUSES ON PIPELINE By ROBERT HORN Associated Press Writer May 31, 1996 RANGOON, Burma (AP) - The Burmese military burned down villages and used forced labor to build the infrastructure for a gas pipeline partly owned by U.S. and French oil companies, human rights groups said Friday. The 60-page report compiled by the Southeast Asian Information Network and Earth Rights International criticized the $1.4-billion project, which is half-owned by Burma's ruling military. The junta is currently engaged in a crackdown on the pro- democracy movement led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The arrest of hundreds of her supporters has focused attention on the regime's business dealings with foreign companies profiting from the developing country's economy. The 254-mile Burmese end of the pipeline, to be completed in 1998, will carry gas from the Gulf of Martaban to Thailand. It is expected to earn Burma's military government $400 million a year in foreign exchange. The oil companies involved - Total of France and Unocal of the United States - have already denied many of the accusations in the report. Unocal officials have said there have been no forced relocations since it signed a contract for the project in 1992. Unocal says it has been welcomed by villagers, and that charges of forced labor were false. The remote region is off-limits to foreigners without permission. But rights advocates who traveled there surreptitiously tell a different story. They accuse the oil companies of awareness of and complicity in forced labor and relocations, arbitrary killings, rape and torture committed by Burma's military to build a railway, roads, helicopter pads and other infrastructure used to bring in equipment for the pipeline. Since the contract was signed, the report says, Burmese troop strength in the area has increased from five to 14 battalions. U.N. investigators have said that human-rights abuses go hand-in-hand with the presence of the Burmese army. "In October 1993, up to 2,000 people every day were reportedly being forced to labor on the construction of (the) railway," the report said. An ad last year for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand - the sole purchaser of gas from the pipeline - confirmed that 11 ethnic Karen villages have been relocated. The report also cites three attacks on pipeline workers, one by a rebel army and two by villagers. Oil companies have denied that two of the attacks took place, but villagers say they did and the Burmese army executed villagers and burned homes in response. In response to the report, Burma's state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper chastised foreign critics, noting the poor conditions under which Chinese immigrants built railroads in 19th- century America. It said Burma's ancient temples could never have been built in the presence of "organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, broadcasting stations such as BBC and VOA and U.S. Congressmen who like to interfere in other people's affairs." The Information Network campaigns on human rights and environmental issues in Burma. Earth Rights International, also Thailand-based, studies legal aspects of environmental issues. Copyright 1996 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ****************************************** BUSINESS GROUP UPGRADES TIES WITH BURMA Mainichi Daily News, Wednesday, May 29, 1996 by Sumire Kunieda, Staff Writer Japan's largest business federation set up an official channel with Burma on Tuesday, just as the international outcry over Rangoon's round up of opposition members hit a fevered pitch. Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations) upgraded its informal study group of private companies aiming to invest in Burma. In its new status, the group's official name becomes the "Japan-Myanmar Economic Committee." The military government renamed Myanmar when it took over in 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader, has slammed Japan's continued economic ties to the country's military rulers. She has urged that Japan cut off its investments and financial aid to the country. The Burmese government detained more than 200 members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) leading up to the anniversary of 1990 elections in which the NLD scored an overwhelming victory. Masashi Oshita, official of the Keidanren's Asian Affairs Department, admitted that now is a "bad time" to upgrade the study group. But he added: "There is no turning back." The plan for upgrading the informal study group has been in the works for a while, according to Oshita who said the private companies in the group had looked forward to its upgrade to committee status. The study group formed in February last year. During its meetings, high level officials from both the Japanese and Burmese governments have been invited to speak. Minoru Kiryu, a professor of Chubu University, sees the group's upgrade as a step in the right direction. According to Kiryu, Tokyo's decision in 1987 to end most of its official development assistance (ODA) to Burma has dealt a serious blow to the country's economy. He recommended a resumption of ODA under the condition that Rangoon takes steps toward democracy. Still, he believes that Tokyo is not likely to resume the assistance as long as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) stays in power. "The Burmese public is fed up with the disputes between the NLD and SLORC,"said Kiryu, who has spent 30 years studying and researching in Burma. "The situation has changed since 1990" when the public overwhelmingly favored the opposition group. Kiryu noted that many Asian countries, especially ones which were colonized, had to endure military regimes before seeing their economies take off. On the other hand, Roger Buckley, a professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo, called the timing of Keidanren's decision "incredibly insensible" and "self-serving" and said the upgrade benefits both Japanese industry and the junta. "The (Japanese) government should try to discourage investment by corporations, tourism and minimize high-level discussion," said Buckley, who teaches the history of international relations. The economic committee's formation comes as Japanese private investment is flowing into Burma at a growing pace. According to a survey that Keidanren conducted last December, 42 of 102 companies surveyed answered that they traded with or invested in Burma. Nineteen companies answered that they are prepared to do so. Fully 34 said they are thinking about doing business with Burma sometime in the future. Only seven of the companies surveyed expressed no such interest. Japanese companies are not alone in their interest in Burma. Although Washington takes a tough line with the junta, U.S. private companies' annual investment in Burma is more than double that of their Japanese counterparts. Britain and France which had a relatively tiny amount of investment in 1993-94, invested 643 and 465 million dollars respectively during the first nine months of 1995. ___________________________ From: Carol Schlenker & Aung Thu If after reading the article you are inspired to write a letter, please address it to the man who is most responsible for this ugly development. (Hard as it is, please try to keep your letter polite.) He is: Mr. Kazuo Haruna, Chairman Japan-Myanmar Economic Committee Keidanren c/o Marubeni Corporation 1-4-2 Otemachi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-88 Fax: +81-3-3282-2331 You may also want to send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Haruo Nishimura, Managing Editor Mainichi Daily News 1-1-1 Hitotsubashi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-51 Fax: +81-3-3211-2509 ***************************************** THE TOTAL STATEMENT " We understand the concerns raised by the television programme on ITV called 'Inside Burma, a land of fear'. " As a major international company, we do not as a rule comment on the political situation in the 80 countries we operate. However, we are well aware of the problems that Burma has been facing for many years and we hope that it will quickly find its own road to development. " Our project in Burma consists of the development of a gas field offshore and the building of a gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea to the Thai border. Through its presence in Burma, TOTAL has decided to participate in the economic development of this country for the benefit of a people who have been isolated for many years and wo are in need of energy and hope to shape their future. Indeed, we think it is in the interest of a country rich in confirmed energy resources to open up to the rest of the world, to foster social change, and to ensure peace in their land. " We do not intend to express an opinion on the cause defended by the presenter of the programme or on his sincerity. However, the report contains many allegations and factual errors which could give a false perception of our project. It suggests that TOTAL and US-based UNOCAL, one of our partners in the building of the gas pipeline for the Yadana project, would have used or supported the use of forced labor. " Such allegations are completely unfounded. " First of all, our project has absolutely nothing to do with the railway of Ye-Tavoy wrongly presented as the continuation of the second World War 'death railway'. Our future pipeline is perpendicular to the Ye- Tavoy railway. during the pipleine construction we will not use the railway. The latter is technically incapable of transporting the very large equipment required for a pipeline project. All the pipeline equipment is transported by other means such as barges and trucks, and under our supervision. Furthermore, as far as the laying of the pipeline is concerned, TOTAL invites specialized companies of international reputation to make offers for both the offshore and the onshore sections. The selected contractors will obviously operate under the same conditions and with the same respoect for international employment legislation we ourselves apply everywhere in the world - in particular, the right of every employeee to a work contract and personal salaary, as well as working conditions which respect the private life, religion and opinions of each. " It is obviously unthinkable for TOTAL - whether directly or indirectly - to resort to forced labor or any kind or to child labor. Finally I would like to point out an error in the film's commentary - the amount of money that will be provided to the Burmese authorities is not 400M$/year over 30 years, but more or less half of this amount. We sincerely hope that this has satisfactorily addressed your concern about our project in Burma. Yours faithfully, Joseph Daniel Vice-President Public Affairs _____________________ We at Friends of Burma France, encourage all readers and interested Free Burma activists and their friends to write immediately to TOTAL SA and voice your comments and observations now. Remember, silence breeds complicity and indifference. DEBATE TOTAL NOW! Send your letters now : GROUPE TOTAL Thierry Desmarest, CEO, President of Exploration and Production, HQ: 24 Cours Michelet 92800 Paris La Difense FRANCE Tel: 33-1-41-35-40-00 Fax: 33-1-41-35-64-65 Rigis Gaignault Direction de la Communication TOTAL SA Tour Total 24 Cours Michelet 92800 Paris La Difense Cedex FRANCE ******************************************* STATEMENT OF NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT (NDF)'S POSITION ON CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN BURMA Date, 30, May 96 1. the mass arrest of members of parliament of the National League for Democracy (NLD) shows that the Slorc is acting expressly in opposition to the democratic rights of a legally instituted political party so as to perpetuates its military dictatorship. We, the National Democratic Front (NDF), strongly protest and condemn these acts of perfidy. 2. At the conference of the NLD, held on May 27, 1996, the eminent leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her speech to the masses, mentioned that the NLD leadership is determined to struggle on, a step further, for the removal of the military dictatorship and the establishment of a democratic system, yearned for by the people. The NDF's regards this as a pledge to firmly fulfill the will and defend the interest of the entire people. 3. It is evident that the refusal to transfer power, up to this day, to the NLD which won 85% of the seats contested in the May 1900 general election, the holding of a sham national convention, making its lackey organization, the so called Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), to demonstrate its support to the 104 principles for a state constitution laid down by the sham national convention and etc., are blatant attempts by the Slorc to perpetuate and consolidate the military dictatorship. 4. Representing all the nationalities and the entire people, the NDF has been struggling for the emergence of a genuine federal union based on equality and self-determination. This struggle has been going on since the time of Burma's independence in 1948. 5. Some resistance organizations of the nationalities, for various reasons, have to agree to a truce with the Slorc. Though they are desirous of resolving the political problems by political means, it is clear that the Slorc is not anxious to show even a pretense of willingness to resolve political problems through a political dialogue. 6. The Slorc military clique will never forsake its dictatorial powers and ill-gotten privileges easily. It will continue to use various strategies so as to cling on to them forever. Accordingly, it is vitally necessary for the pro-democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the resistance forces of the nationalities to coordinate their struggles. 7. We, the NDF, seriously call upon the Slorc to release all the members of parliament arrested since May 20th, and all the political prisoners arrested previously. 8. If the Slorc continued to perpetrate the repression, the situation will deteriorate into a more dangerous state and, if so the Slorc will be held entirely responsible for it. 9. We, the NLD, earnestly call upon the governments, the NGOs and the democratic forces of the world to strongly condemn the Slorc for its unjust acts, including the arrest of members of parliament from the NLD, and apply pressure on the Slorc by effective means so that the democratic system will be established sooner, in Burma. 10. W, the NDF, call upon officers and troops of the Burma Army to remember that the army was born of the people and its primary duties are to protect the lives and interest of the people. Now is the time for them to boldly stand up and stoutly act in defense of the interest of the people and their very lives. Central Committee National Democratic Front ****************************************** MYANMAR ENCOURAGES WOOD-BASED INDUSTRY Copyright 1996 Xinhua News Agency DATELINE: yangon, may 28; ITEM NO: 0528049 Myanmar is encouraging wood-based industry, said Myanmar minister for forestry lieutenant general chit shwe. Speaking at a meeting here on monday with local industrialists, the minister called for full support of the private sector in the development of forestry, the official paper "The new light of Myanmar" reported today. He said the government is providing assistance to private entrepreneurs in wood-based industry in terms of market expansion, investment capacity and technical know-how. Meanwhile, Myanmar has exempted some export items from commercial tax including forestry products since may 15, according to earlier official report. ***************************** SOUTHEAST ASIA; BURMA; EE/D2623/B FOREIGN RELATIONS; Copyright 1996 British Broadcasting Corporation May 27, 1996, Monday Military leader Khin Nyunt urges students not to "fall under the influence of others" SOURCE: Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 26 May 96 [4] Excerpts from report by Burmese radio Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, chairman of the Myanmar Burma Education Committee and secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council SLORC , attended and delivered an address at Mandalay Hall's education funds and award presentation ceremonies held in Room 108 of Mandalay Hall at Yangon Rangoon University at 0815 today 26th May . In his address, SLORC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt said: Announcer-read ... While meeting today's new generation of students I would like to talk about international affairs. Formerly, the two world's powerful blocs resolved international affairs while maintaining their balance of power. They didn't reach to extreme solutions in resolving affairs because neither side could act partially or dictate matters. Today one of the blocs that tried to transform from one system to another in haste has come under the direction and management of the other bloc and disintegrated. Now there is only one powerful bloc and there are no other blocs to control this powerful bloc's manipulation. That is why, this bloc - wanting to be a superpower - is trying to control small developing countries, and so far many countries have came under the influence of this bloc. The people of Myanmar can never forget the misfortune of Myanmar under more than 100 years of servitude, and they also realize that their country will disappear if it comes under the influence of others. The Union of Myanmar is a union that comprises national races so there is always a threat from plans to disintegrate the union by creating discord among the nation's races. That is why, state leaders with great tradition established the national consolidation to prevent the union from disintegrating, and have continuously defended the long-term existence of the Union of Myanmar. The Western bloc is always trying to get Myanmar under its influence because Myanmar is located strategically in Southeast Asia. While properly observing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Myanmar is maintaining relations with the international community. In particular Myanmar is cooperating with neighbouring countries and ASEAN nations in a friendly manner. There is a group in the country that is being deceived by the instigation from a country that wants to be a superpower and that uses democracy and human rights as a pretext to get Myanmar under its influence. This group that sees only the bait but not the hook, that thinks only about becoming rich and prosperous, that predicts that Myanmar will prosper and become rich like that country in a short time, that ignores the conditions of Myanmar and other neighbouring countries, and that accepts the deception of others as reality is following the path it has been shown. Following the intrusions, Myanmar which had been a kingdom for thousands of years, faced misfortunes and came under servitude but Myanmar gained its independence through the unity of the national races. This is why it is necessary for all of Myanmar to nurture the spirit to never become servile or to fall under the influence of others. He also urged the new generation of students to have the spirit to build the country on a self-reliant basis and to be fully convinced that they will never let the country become servile again, and will never let Myanmar become dependent and fall under the influence of others, and that they will uphold three national causes when they become the leaders of the country in the future. ***************************************** BURMESE DEMOCRATS DEFY GENERALS MASS ARRESTS OF MPS HAVE FAILED TO Stifle the opposition, reports Philip Sherwell in Rangoon BYLINE: By PHILIP SHERWELL THE Burmese opposition held its first party conference for six years yesterday at the home in Rangoon of the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite the recent round-up of more than 250 of her key supporters by the ruling junta. To loud applause, Miss Suu Kyi told delegates that the National League for Democracy (NLD) was stepping up its struggle, and the current three-day meeting would be the first in a series of party congresses. The announcement is likely to provoke a tough response from the military hardliners, who accuse her of trying to form a parallel government. She said that the NLD's flagship policy was the recognition of the results of the 1990 elections when the Burmese people voted "to replace dictatorship with democracy". Although the party won a landslide victory, the generals refused to accept the outcome and never convened parliament, actions Miss Suu Kyi called "illegal". The detentions appeared to be an attempt by the junta to prevent yesterday's meeting from taking place. MPs were taken from their homes in night-time raids or picked up as they tried to travel to Rangoon, although the authorities said they had been detained only for questioning. But the crackdown partly backfired after it gained international publicity for the conference and earned a fierce rebuke from Washington. The NLD leader and her colleagues had privately expected the authorities to put up barricades overnight to block access to her home. But, apart from the usual huddle of military intelligence agents monitoring the comings and goings at her compound, there was no security presence. As tensions increased in Burma, the White House said that President Clinton was to send a special envoy to consult European and Asian allies about a co-ordinated response to the junta. The US urged the regime to release all detainees immediately and unconditionally and recommended its own citizens not to travel to Burma. The NLD conference has prompted the biggest confrontation in Burma since Miss Suu Kyi's release from house arrest last July. But yesterday passed off without incident, despite venomous attacks in the state media on "the democracy sorceress" and her "Aids-infected" party. Miss Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has consistently urged her supporters not to take their protests back to the streets, where unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators were massacred by the military in 1988. Opening the meeting, she said: "However much they [the junta] try to ignore the results of 1990, they will not be able to annihilate the desire for democracy that has taken root in the hearts of our people. "We cannot build the future of our country on a foundation of broken promises, insults to the people's elected representatives and opposition to the will of the people." The gathering, on the sixth anniversary of the 1990 ballot, was originally intended to be a meeting of the elected NLD MPs. But following the detention of at least 238 deputies last week, only 17 MPs made it to the first session. The rest of the chairs were taken by more than 250 delegates from Rangoon and the surrounding districts. Many wore the party's tangerine tunic and badges displaying a fighting peacock, the symbol of Burmese resistance, and portraits of Miss Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, who led the country to independence from Britain. In a further challenge to the regime, Miss Suu Kyi said they would be discussing "the kind of constitution that Burma deserves" and not the sham documents being drawn up by the junta's rubber-stamping National Convention. She said the decision to press ahead with the meeting proved that "perseverance pays and we should not be intimidated . . . I think the authorities probably expected us to back down". Later a crowd of 10,000 massed outside the lakeside compound to hear her weekly Sunday address. "We are no longer angry, we are no longer intimidated. But we are determined, because we have a job to do and we are going to carry on," said Nyunt We, an executive committee member and one of the few MPs present. ****************************************** SPEEDY FREIGHT HANDLING ARRANGED AT YANGON PORT Copyright 1996 Xinhua News Agency Yangon, May 29; ITEM NO: 0529060 Arrangements are being made on prompt entry of freight vessels into Yangon port and speedy freight handling, according to the new light of Myanmar today. at a coordination meeting here tuesday of the committee for bringing about speedy freight handling at ports, Myanmar minister at the Prime Minister's office brigadier general Lun Maung, who is vice-chairman of the committee, warned against late claims of imported cars and goods at yangon port, adding that consignees would be fined and action be taken against them for the late claims. Meanwhile, Myanmar minister for transport lieutenant general Thein Win, at a recent contract signing ceremony on building a container wharf at Yangon port, stressed the need to enhance the capacity of ports to cope with the rising export and import services. He said that by the end of this year, the capacity of freight handling at Yangon port would improve. Yangon port, Myanmar's main gateway to the world, handles nearly all of its imports and over 90 percent of exports. at present, the port handles only 7.037 million tons of cargo annually which is far from coping with the rising imports usually taking many days for freight handling. ***************************** CHINESE COMPANY TO BUILD WHARF IN RANGOON TRANSPORT; BBC Summary of World Broadcasts SOURCE: Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 0319 gmt 21 May 96 [16] China's Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import and Export Corp (YMEC) on 21st May signed a contract in Rangoon with the Myanmar Port Authority to carry out the Bo Aung Gyaw wharf extension project in Rangoon, Xinhua news agency reported. The project, to be completed within 21 months, will cost about 30m US dollars. The YMEC will design and build a wharf that can handle container ships. Last June, C and P Holdings Pte Ltd of Singapore signed a contract to build two container terminals at Thilawa port in Rangoon, initially costing 48.16m US dollars. **************************** OPPOSITION ACTIVITIES; "ANTI-PEPSI" Opposition leader Suu Kyi berated for "anti-Pepsi" campaign SOURCE: Source: Myanmar Alin', Rangoon, in Burmese 22 May 96 p5 [5] Excerpts from report by Burmese newspaper Myanmar Alin' Gradually the inner self and true character of a woman referring to Aung San Suu Kyi - who says in her high-pitched voice that she respects the people, regards the people as her parents and will work from the forefront for the people - is becoming clearer, the way the whitewash on a tree trunk peels off. The woman - who does not even use local pepper but craves foreign goods, who does not use Myanmar's Burmese currency but foreign exchange certificates, and who is also the mother of two mixed-race sons - is recklessly and impudently saying things that concern the affairs of Myanmar Burma . I have learned this from a radio station referring to the BBC that is providing a service to her. In a loud and rude manner, she told the international community not to trade and invest in Myanmar and also told tourists not to visit. In a brazen manner, she also instigated the people by saying that democracy-loving people do not drink Pepsi. This act of instigation is to confuse people who do not have any information and to achieve political gain. The people, who first came to know about the Pepsi Company headquarters announcement that it would withdraw 40 per cent of its investment from the Pepsi Company in Myanmar, use their chicaneries to exploit the situation. Some sick Myanmar people in the United States and England, who cannot afford to buy or who do not like Pepsi, also made loud noises that they do not drink Pepsi because of the democratic cause. The instigation to boycott Pepsi started when these loud noises reached their counterparts in Myanmar. Actually, the withdrawal of a small investment by a big company like Pepsi, which has a yearly income of 30bn US dollars, is not because of slander by the foreign media and lackeys in the country, nor because of pressure from democracy-loving students and consumers from the United States and England. Father Jilama name as transliterated , who takes care of more than 39,000 shares of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers religious organization and Missionary O'Barake name as transliterated of the Immaculate religious organization, caused some trouble at the Pepsi Company's annual shareholders'meeting. This incident was not related to politics; it was a shareholder problem commonly faced by a company in business. The main Pepsi Company reduced its investment in Myanmar for this reason. The reduction of investment did not take place because of the interdependence between politics and economy. The action of the main Pepsi Company is not cutting off trade with Myanmar. The action taken by the main Pepsi Company is to sell its 40 per cent shares and continue to sell needed supplies to the Myanmar Pepsi Company. The BBC, while exploiting the situation, also broadcast reports implying that the students and people in Myanmar are boycotting Pepsi for a democratic cause. In other word, the BBC provided a service to spread agitation to the whole of Myanmar. Whether or not the people boycott Pepsi can be proven by the scenes of daily distribution of Pepsi in small and big cars. They are spreading rumours, and these rumours can scare consumers. There was an incident in which a type of canned fish disappeared from the market because of rumours that somebody found a human finger inside a can. Moreover, people stopped eating at a well-known rice noodle shop because of rumours that the shop owner used eels from the cemetery to cook the curry that goes with the rice noodle. The sale of popular Coca-Cola was slowed down completely in the Middle East, where the majority of Muslims reside, when there were rumours that pig's blood had been mixed in Coca-Cola. Now there are rumours about Pepsi that the mixture of seasoning powder and Pepsi can intoxicate a person or make that person unconscious... These fabrications and efforts to scare people into not drinking Pepsi are praiseworthy. Moreover, they say that university students bring seasoning powder to the university to mix and drink with Pepsi. They spread rumours that a mixture of seasoning powder and Pepsi is now used as a substitute for Phensedyl cough mixture which is consumed by drug addicts in Burma . These rumours are designed to tarnish the name of Pepsi and to scare the shops selling Pepsi near the university. On one hand, they spread rumours; on the other hand, they make gains by political exploitation. Actually, Pepsi is not Myanmar's staple food. Nobody is saying that you will not become a modern person if you do not drink Pepsi. It does not matter if there is no Pepsi. I once asked a family that works abroad and drinks Pepsi like water during vacation in Myanmar. They said they drink Pepsi instead of water and think it is good for the health and added that the people of Myanmar prefer the taste of Pepsi to Coca-Cola. Pepsi has its own customers and I do not think it is good to destroy the business with its own patrons when a boycott of Pepsi will not affect the main Pepsi Company. I reality, it will only affect the small retail shop owners who sell Pepsi. Because of that woman and her associates, not only Pepsi but a large number of people have also lost their businesses, especially people working in the construction business, which relies on foreign investment, and people with good earnings in the tourism industry. These people are ordinary people and middle-class entrepreneurs. They should know this fact. Anyway, the people of Myanmar now know very well that they cannot mix and drink democracy and Pepsi. ************************************** FOREIGN CAR FIRMS GEAR UP FOR BURMA'S NASCENT AUTO MARKET By Philip McClellan RANGOON, May 30 (AFP) - Foreign companies are beginning a drive into Burma's nascent auto market, hoping that the country's fitful economic awakening and a growing number of consumers will fuel demand for new cars. The country's first-ever auto show opened here last week, attracting a steady stream of Burmese businessmen and officials eager to catch the latest offerings from firms such as Germany's BMW and Honda of Japan. A handful of foreign auto firms have set up shop here and others are on their way, hoping to sell their wares in one of the poorest countries in the region, and one in which the dominant market is for used cars from abroad. "Basically the word has gotten out that Myanmar (Burma) is open for business," said Charles Stroud, a manager for Britain's Land Rover who set up one of the first auto showrooms here in a joint venture with BMW. "You only need one person to jump in the pool to see how cold or warm it is and the rest will follow," he said. Joint ventures involving Japanese auto giants Honda, Nissan and Mazda are all waiting impatiently for distribution licences to come through so that they can sell their wares from showrooms in downtown Rangoon. "We are still waiting for a licence, but hope to get one within two weeks," says Patrick Sain Yin, a Burmese who operated a used car dealership before he was approached by Nissan to open a sales office here. "Things are looking very good as our country is opening up and some people have been getting very rich," he said. However, most car firms say they are not expecting business to explode overnight, and that they are merely taking their positions in the race for a market which has just begun to open up to the outside. Sain Yin said Nissan hoped to sell 50 units by the end of the year, and boost that number to 200 vehicles for calender 1997. Land Rover has set a sales target of 100 units this year, with the aim of moving some 300 cars a year within five years. "At the moment we are just testing the waters and are doing a lot of market research to see how people think, what their buying habits are, who makes choices for the family and so on," said Arndt Focken, BMW's country representative. A major marketing problem for car firms is that few people can afford the huge prices required to drive off with a new Mazda or Nissan car -- let alone the exorbitant prices demanded by the likes of BMW and Range Rover. The cheapest Mazda model on show at the Rangoon motor show had a 23,000 dollar price tag, while a dark blue BMW 735 IL surrounded by a crowd of coveting admirers, was going for over 100,000 dollars. Analysts say the only people able to afford such cars in Burma are the military, government officials and wealthy local businessmen -- as well as foreign investors and embassy staff. In particular demand, according to car company representatives at the Rangoon show, are four wheel drive vehicles -- especially for the military and mining companies operating in the rugged north of the country. Car firms say that while the market for cars in Burma is growing, bringing them into the country is hampered by huge import taxes. These taxes can be as high as 500 percent, a Burmese auto consultant said, adding that they were unlikely to come down any time soon. Another problem for auto firms here is the market's reliance on cheap second hand cars, making expensive new vehicles difficult to sell. "It's very difficult breaking into this market right now, because 90-95 percent of the vehicles sold here are second hand cars from Japan," said Satoshi Suzuki, a representative for Mazda here. Suzuki said that some 2,000 second hand cars were being brought into Burma every month, as was evident by the capital's growing traffic woes. "Unless the government stops the sale of second hand vehicles, it won't be easy for us to sell new cars," he said. The week-long auto show, which Stroud said had been attended by almost all senior government officials, ends on Friday. ***************************** BURMESE DISSIDENT PRESSES DEMANDS, PUTTING JUNTA ON DEFENSIVE Copyright 1996 The New York Times Company BYLINE: By SETH MYDANS SINGAPORE, May 29 In the last few days, the military Government of Myanmar has imprisoned hundreds of its opponents, filled the controlled press with threats against them, and gathered tens of thousands of people for pro-Government rallies. But it is on the defensive as it has not been for years. After a mass gathering of her supporters that the military had tried desperately to suppress, the Burmese pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, said today in a telephone interview from her home in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, that she planned to move forward with a program of action that is a direct challenge to the ruling junta. She said her party, the National League for Democracy, would start immediately to prepare a new draft constitution that would remove the military from power and begin to formulate its own economic policies. And she said she planned to hold more mass meetings, in defiance of Government threats. The Government seemed inconsistent in its response, in what some analysts said could be a sign of internal divisions. It arrested what Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi said were 252 of her party's elected representatives, plus 12 supporters, in a clear effort to block a three-day party meeting that began on Sunday. Although only 18 delegates managed to attend, the Government permitted crowds of cheering supporters that diplomats estimated at 10,000 people to gather in front of her house. And in the press this week, commentaries appeared to take slightly varying approaches, some warning that the opposition is committing treason by acting at the behest of foreign governments, and others praising democratic principles. Whether or not there are divisions, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has left the Government with no easy options, and for the moment is holding out only a very thin olive branch. "What we want is dialogue," she said, "but only under conditions in which such a dialogue can be useful. A foreign diplomat in Yangon, formerly Rangoon, said the defiant crowds that gathered at her home were a sign that her popularity remains high, despite the Government's attempts to discredit her. "Now they have a dilemma," the diplomat said. "If they have a moderate reaction they see themselves as losing face. If they overreact the way they have this weekend, they will continue to raise international outcries." The meeting had been planned to mark the sixth anniversary of parliamentary elections in 1990 in which the opposition won 392 of 485 contested seats. The military, which had taken power in 1988 after the killings of hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators, refused to give up power. Its policy since then has been to stifle opposition while opening its economy. Last July it released Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi from six years of house arrest in the hope of quieting human rights protests abroad. Its wish seemed to be that attention would now focus on economic development and that the democratic opposition would lose momentum. The events of the last few days appear to have dashed these hopes. In addition, the Government may be having less success in improving the economy than some indicators seemed to show. Although there is considerable new foreign investment, the currency remains weak and there are signs of food shortages and rising rice prices. ********************************** SINGAPORE FIRM TO INSTALL PHONE SYSTEM IN MYANMAR Copyright 1996 Xinhua News Agency DATELINE: yangon, may 30; ITEM NO: 0530040 singapore's ericsson telecommunications pte ltd. will install digital european cordless telecommunications (dect) system in five myanmar cities, the first radio telephone system in the country, the official new light of myanmar reported today. under an agreement signed here wednesday between the state-run myanmar posts and telecommunication and the singaporean company, the installation will be made in yangon, mandalay, pakokku, monywa and twantay. the agreement will add 1,000 dect lines in yangon, 1,000 in mandalay, 400 in pakokku, 350 in monywa and 250 in twantay, the report said. since last year, a number of foreign companies have signed contracts with the myanmar communications authorities to install telephone lines in the country. they are from israel, japan, the united states and australia. ****************************** MITSUI ENGINEERING LIFTS PROFIT 58.7 PERCENT Copyright 1996 Agence France Presse DATELINE: TOKYO, May 29 Japan's Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. reported a 58.7 percent increase in consolidated pre-tax profit from a year earlier to 4.3 billion yen in the year to March. One of Japan's leading shipbuilders and the world's top producers of marine diesel engines, it said in a statement received Wednesday revenue rose 3.9 percent from a year earlier to 380.7 billion yen. Mitsui Engineering, which is involved in steel structure joint ventures in Indonesia and Vietnam, and a shipbuilding tie-up in Burma, did not give consolidated forecasts for the year to March 1997. ****************************** RELEASING BURMA'S OPPOSITION LEADER HAS EXPOSED THE DIVISIONS IN THE MILITARY, Copyright 1996 The Financial Times Limited; Writes Ted Bardacke When Burma's military junta released the pro-democracy leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest nearly a year ago it was widely seen as a sign of strength. The economy was growing and ethnic unrest had been subdued. Freedom for their most feared opponent was a luxury the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) felt it could afford. At first they seemed to be proved right. Japanese business started to take a keen interest and the country was promised admission to the Association of South-East Asian Nations. Events of the past week have taken off some of that shine. The regime's hardline response to Ms Suu Kyi's seemingly innocuous plans for a conference of her National League for Democracy has backfired both internally and externally. Despite harsh warnings from the official media, the crowds who gathered outside her house were the largest ever, and external criticism came not only from the West, as expected, but also from previously silent partners such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand. But despite the regime's claims that last week's arrests of more than 250 NLD leaders saved the country from 'anarchy', the government, backed by a 380,000-strong army, is not about to be challenged by a small unarmed group with little more than courage and a six-year-old election victory on their side. 'Short of violence, there isn't going to be much change in the short term,' said Mr Eugene Davis, managing director of Finansa Thai, a merchant bank which invests in Burma. 'Whatever she (Ms Suu Kyi) does won't undermine stability. Slorc is pretty firmly in control.' 'Slorc actually thinks they have been lenient,' said one observer in Rangoon. 'They can always crack down for real. Some officials might worry about what the international reaction would be, but many really mean it when they say they don't give a damn.' Much of Slorc's bravado stems from having been able to tame the ethnic strife that plagued them through much of the early 1990s. Ceasefire agreements have been signed with 15 of the 16 armed groups operating around the country and negotiations are currently under way with the last to hold out, the Karen National Union. Khun Sa's opium army surrendered early this year, leaving the drug trade untouched but allowing Slorc to redirect troops elsewhere. Meanwhile, the economy continues to grow, although how much and why is a subject of debate. Because of a dual exchange rate which subsidises the most important state enterprises, 8 per cent growth rates are probably inflated. The budget deficit and consumption levels have been increasing while overall and private investment (as a percentage of gross domestic product) have been declining, according to the International Monetary Fund. Yet because most private investment is funnelled through joint ventures with state enterprises or other government-affiliated organisations, Slorc officials are the ones that feel the economic growth most directly and are able to funnel some of the proceeds into increased military spending. But if Ms Suu Kyi cannot directly challenge Slorc's rule, she can provoke it, as she did again yesterday by announcing that the NLD would draw up a new constitution to rival that being drafted by the military. This fluid situation is likely to expose rifts within Slorc. 'As long as they did nothing, it was easy to remain unified,' one diplomat said. 'But if they are forced to react, debates about how to do so are bound to appear. That could be a real problem for them down the line.' Negotiations with the ethnic groups already may have provoked some disagreements, analysts say. Efforts to deal with the groups by Gen Khin Nyunt, Slorc's first secretary, have been viewed with some scepticism by the more hardened military men who would prefer to pursue all-out military victory. This rift is said to extend into how to deal with the NLD, with the military establishment preaching relative restraint to avoid bearing the responsibility for a potentially bloody crackdown, and Gen Kyin Nyunt taking a harder line, fearing that momentum for the NLD could upset the delicate balance he has forged in the provinces. **************************** INDIAN SUGAR MILLS SEEK EXPORT BOOST BYLINE: By KUNAL BOSE DATELINE: CALCUTTA Copyright 1996 The Financial Times Limited; Financial Times The Indian Sugar Mills Association has asked the federal government for a further release of 1m tonnes of sugar for export in the current season, ending September 30. Earlier, the government allowed the export of 1m tonnes in two equal instalments. 'We hope to get the sanction for additional export as soon as the new government settles down to work,' said Mr Vivek Saraogi, president of Isma. 'There is a strong case for the country exporting 2m tonnes of sugar since the production in the current season will be a record 15.8m tonnes, against the earlier estimate of 15.5m tonnes and last year's output of 14.64m tonnes. Moreover, we opened the year with stocks of nearly 5.6m tonnes. The surplus, after providing for domestic consumption, will be unmanageable, if we do not export sugar in a big way.' The Indian Sugar & General Industries Exim Corporation, the agency for sugar exports, has made sales contracts for over 900,000 tonnes out of the sanctioned quota of 1m tonnes. Shipment of 550,000 tonnes has already been completed. 'We have been using as many as eight ports for exporting sugar,' said Mr Om Dhanuka, an Isma spokesman. 'The Bombay port will not be able to handle sugar once the monsoon starts. But there will be no let up in export shipments from the other ports. ISGIEC should be able to ship out everything before the current season is over.' Among the principal buyers of Indian sugar are Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Indonesia and Russia. In addition to open market sales India is exporting a total of 33,893 tonnes of raw and white sugar to the European Union and the US in the current season. While the industry is confident that the government will allow further exports, it does not know whether its appeal for expanding the buffer stock by 1m tonnes to 1.5m tonnes will meet with official approval. The government created a buffer of 500,000 tonnes in January 1996 and it pays for the cost of interest, storage and insurance. It is because of the cost factor that the government may not raise the size of the buffer. 'But unlike buffer, the export does not impose any burden on the government,' said Mr Dhanuka. 'The loss in export sales is equitably shared by all the sugar factories. Moreover, the excess supply of the commodity in the current season is a guarantee that sugar prices will remain low whatever the volume of export.' ***************************** CRUELTY AND KINDNESS Copyright 1996 Newspaper Publishing PLC The Independent May 29, 1996, Wednesday BYLINE: Kate Menzies Sir: I recently returned to Burma after a 54-year absence (travel column, 25 May). I had agonised over whether or not to go; whether it would be colluding with an odious tyranny or whether the increasing presence of foreigners might give hope to a cruelly imprisoned people. In the end, I went; not with a tour but travelling by myself. I squashed into sardine cans of trucks, met ordinary Burmese and used my eyes and ears. During the month I spent in Burma, people risked imprisonment - and probably torture - to talk to me about the military regime and the crimes it had committed: its cruelty, its ruthlessness, its stupidity. All loathed and despised the thugs who oppressed them. The much-vaunted stability of the country is a sham. It's about as stable as the old buildings in Rangoon, spick and span painted in front and filthy and falling to bits at the back. Burma is a country of chain gangs, torture and corruption. It's also a potential tourist gold mine which is why the Japanese and Chinese are pouring money in. While the American State Department complains about human rights abuses our government remains silent. If Aung San Suu Kyi had said four months ago "Please don't go to Burma" I wouldn't have gone. I was a small child there and had memories of kindness, laughter and warmth. Those qualities - incredibly - are still evident, but I won't go back until the National League for Democracy is in power. *********************** ISOLATE BURMA'S JUNTA London W8 International Herald Tribune, May 29, 1996 The thuggish military men who rule Burma have now rounded up more than 200 democracy activists who were planning to meet last weekend. Again they show their regime, which goes by the appropriately unappetizing acronym of SLORC Q State Law and Order Restoration Council Q to be worthy only of international contempt. To the extent that Americans are at all familiar with Burma's plight, it is thanks to the courage of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the nation's democracy movement. Her National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections in 1990, but SLORC refused to give up power, putting her under house arrest and jailing many of her colleagues. Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was nominally freed last July, after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the regime has refused even to begin talks on a tran-sition to democratic rule. It was to celebrate, as it were, the sixth anniversary of those betrayed elections that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called a meeting. In fear of the democrats' popularity, SLORC rounded up many of her supporters, including should-be members of Parliament. This is far from SLORC's only abuse. Even before the latest events, hundreds of political prisoners remained in jail, according to Human Rights Watch/Asia. The regime promotes forced labor, press-ganging citizens to act as porters in areas of armed conflict and to build roads, according to the U.S. State Department. It has built a massive army, equipped mostly by China. And Burma is the world's chief source of heroin. The United States already has barred official aid or government loans to Burma and has influenced the World Bank and other multilateral organi-zations to follow suit. Now Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wants to bar private investment as well, a step supported by many of Burma's democrats. U.S. firms are the third-largest investors, Senator McConnell said, led by Unocal Corp., which is helping develop Burma's natural gas fields. The structure of the dictatorship ensures that much of the benefit of foreign investment goes into the generals' pockets. The most active proponents of trade, investment and engagement with Burma have been its neighbors in Southeast Asia. A nation of 42 million with high literacy rates and abundant natural resources, Burma cannot be ignored. But after SLORC's latest abuses, the burden is on those advocates of ''engagement'' to show what they have achieved and explain why sanctions should not be tightened. As much as South Africa under apartheid, Burma deserves to be a pariah until SLORC has given way. ******************* MYANMAR MINISTER OF FORESTRY VISITS CHINA Copyright 1996 Xinhua News Agency Yangon, May 29; ITEM NO: 0529112 Myanmar minister for forests lieutenant general Chit Swe left here for beijing today on a week-long visit to china. The Myanmar minister is visiting china at the invitation of chinese minister of forestry xu youfang. The five-member Myanmar delegation will visit Beijing, Shanghai, shenzhen and will have discussions with the Chinese side on cooperation in the field of forestry. The Myanmar delegation was seen off at the Yangon airport by Myanmar minister for home affairs lieutenant general Mya Thin and other senior officials. ---------------------------------------------------------- BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related to Burma. 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