-------------------------- BurmaNet ------------------------------- "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: July 19, 1996 Issue #470 Noted in Passing: Pressure might work with investors from America and the E.U. ,Thein Tun says, but I don't see this kind of problem in countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.(see: FEER: WEST AT ODDS OVER BUSINESS APPROACH TO BURMA) HEADLINES: ========= REUTER: WHO WILL HONOUR BURMA'S DEAD LEADERS? ABSDF: STATEMENT ON BURMA MARTYRS DAY REUTER: SLORC WANTS ADVICE ON DEMOCRACY SHIFT UPI: MANILA TAKES BACK SEAT IN BURMA ISSUE VOA: ASSK'S VIDEO TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REUTERS: US NOT TO PRESS SANCTIONS ST: ANGER OVER EU REMARKS ON ASEAN TIES THE AUSTRALIAN: EUROPE MISREADS ASEAN APPROACH STATEMENT: TO THE ASEAN MEMBERS BKK POST: ENVOY TO PLEDGE HELP IN BURMA VISIT INDEPENDENT REPORT: CO-SPONSORSHIP FOR BURMA BILL FEER: WEST AT ODDS OVER BUSINESS APPROACH TO BURMA BKK POST: BURMA PUTS FAITH IN ASIANS FOR INVESTMENT REUTER: TOTAL SHARES WEAKEN FOR DEALING WITH SLORC AP: BAD HEROIN EYED IN THAI DEATHS INFO REQUEST: RE NYEIN CHAN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REUTER: WHO WILL HONOUR BURMA'S DEAD LEADERS? July 17, 1996 From: ktint@earthlink.net By Apichart Weerawong RANGOON, - Burma's military regime have invited democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Friday's Martyrs Day ceremony, and her response could indicate the future course of her standoff with the government, diplomats said on Wednesday. The solemn commemoration of the 1947 assassination of Suu Kyi's father, Burma's pre-independence leader General Aung San, and eight others is not expected to spark a major showdown between Suu Kyi and the government. But with the authorities and the people watching Suu Kyi's every move, diplomats say her action on Friday -- whether she attends the government-run commemoration or marks the anniversary in her own way -- will be signficant. "People are watching and waiting to see what she does," one Rangoon-based diplomat told Reuters. Suu Kyi was released from six years' house arrest in July last year and has since revitalised the democracy movement. But she has also angered the government which has warned her not to push her campaign for democracy too far. "Since her release, she's been there as a symbol for the people, carrying their cause and fighting for them. They will be watching everything she does," the diplomat said. An official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said on Wednesday Suu Kyi had received an invitation to the official, government -run Martyrs Day ceremony but declined to say what she planned for the day. Suu Kyi's father, six of his pre-independence cabinet colleagues and two others died in a hail of bullets on July 19, 1947, as gunmen burst in on them as they held a meeting six months before independence from Britian. One of Aung San's political rivals and several members of his gang were later tried and executed but a host of unanswered questions surrounding the assassination plot continue to intrigue many Burmese. Suu Kyi, who last year participated in the official ceremony just days after her release, hinted last week that she might shun the event this year. "In my opinion, we honour our dead leaders, not by holding formal ceremonies, but by doing what they would have wished us to do," she told supporters outside her house. Her refusal to attend could be seen as an affront to the military and could heighten the sense of a looming face-off between her and the generals, diplomats said. The government then intensified its attack on her in speeches and in the official media and introduced a sweeping new law allowing for jail terms of up to 20 years for anyone deemed disrupting the SLORC's political plans. But diplomats said irrespective of what happens on Martyrs Day, Suu Kyi faced a tough task wrestling political concessions. "They've got all the power, all the guns, all the resources," another diplomat said. "Aung San Suu Kyi gets a lot of play in the Western media, she's really tough, but they've got all the political power." ********************************************************* ABSDF: STATEMENT ON BURMA MARTYRS DAY July 18, 1996 from: absdf-mtz July 19, 1996 marks the 49th anniversary of Martyrs' Day in Burma, the day on which an unforgettable event took place. On July 19, 1947 Burma suffered a great loss when, General Aung San and eight other heroes of the independence struggle were assassinated, less than six months before the country regained its sovereignty. A few months after the Independence, civil war broke out throughout the country, and in 1962 the Army led by General Ne Win, citing the ethnic insurrections as a major threat to the preservation of the union, seized power from the democratically elected U Nu government. Since then students, youths, and the people of Burma have been sacrificing their lives in the struggle to restore freedom, democracy and justice to our country. The ABSDF would like to express the great admiration that we feel for these people who have given their lives for the benefit of the country, and the deep sorrow that we feel on this occasion when we remember their deaths - a sorrow as deeply felt as that of their family members. On this special day, we the ABSDF strongly denounce the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) for breaking their promises concerning democratic reform, particularly their refusal to honour the results of 1990 May general elections, and for their continuing and escalating human rights abuses against the people of Burma, aimed at maintaining their hold on power indefinitely. The ABSDF wholeheartedly supports Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) in their recent boycott of the SLORC's 'sham' National Convention which seeks to perpetuate their dictatorial rule through the drafting of a constitution, by handpicked representatives. On this significant anniversary, the ABSDF demands that the SLORC; 1) abolish the 'sham' National Convention, 2) release all political prisoners including elected MPs and the prominent student leader Min Ko Naing, 3) abolish all unjust laws and stop all forms of human rights abuse, 4) enter dialogue with the NLD, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and with ethnic leaders, to bring national reconciliation, democracy and lasting peace to Burma. The ABSDF urges the Burmese people, in honour of our martyrs, to double their efforts, in the struggle for peace democracy and human rights. The ABSDF also urges the rank and file soldiers in Burma to honour to our beloved independence father General Aung San and the other eight martyrs, by respecting the genuine desire of our people for democracy, and by standing alongside them and protecting them throughout their struggle. It is only by ensuring that the army fulfills the role for which General Aung San established it that soldiers can show their genuine admiration for him. ABSDF would like to urge all the ethnic groups who have cease- fire agreements with the SLORC, to support by any possible means the peaceful struggle led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We would like to appeal to the international community to impose trade sanctions and an arms embargo on the SLORC, and to suspend any development aid until the restoration of democracy and human rights in our country. The ABSDF pledges to the people of Burma that we will continue the struggle until the victory is achieved whatever sacrifices may be necessary along the way. ******************************************************** REUTER: SLORC WANTS ADVICE ON DEMOCRACY SHIFT July 17, 1996 From: ktint@earthlink.net MANILA, - Burmese officials have asked Manila for advice on how the Philippines was able to shift from dictatorship to democracy, President Fidel Ramos said on Wednesday. "We have...received their highest officials...and on their query tried to tell them how we transitioned from a dictatorship to democracy...with full political freedoms," Ramos said at his weekly press conference. "We gave them all kinds of materials to help them," Ramos said. He did not name the officials. Foreign diplomats have credited Filipinos with setting an example to the world on restoring democracy when they ousted the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a "people power revolt" in 1986 that drove him and his family into exile in Hawaii. A small group of about 300 soldiers launched the revolt but won the support of hundreds of thousands of civilians who blocked pro-Marcos tanks advancing on the rebels. Roman Catholic church leaders also backed the uprising. Ramos, replying to a question, said countries geographically near Burma could initiate efforts to promote a settlement between Burma's military rulers and dissidents headed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Those closer to the problem, those that have had historical problems with Burma...maybe they can provide the lead action and we will be happy to support," Ramos said, naming Thailand in particular. ********************************************************** UPI: MANILA TAKES BACK SEAT IN BURMA ISSUE July 17, 1996 From: John Scherb MANILA, - President Fidel Ramos said Wednesday the Philippines will stay out of involvement in the burning Burma issue, saying Manila was bound to observe the "constructive policy" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "We would like to help but we try to keep constructive engagements sustained," Ramos said in his regular press briefing. "We may not be able to just assume and assign ourselves a leading role." The seven-member ASEAN has been scored by both local and international cause-oriented groups for not coming up with a collective stand against Burma's military junta, known as State Law and Order Restoration Council. Among ASEAN's members, only Thailand has voiced disapproval of the junta's actions. The six other countries - the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia - have maintained the actions were an internal Burmese problem. Ramos said the "proper role" for the Philippines at this time is to follow the majority decision in ASEAN, adding Manila can only go so far as to welcome Burmese officials who may want to learn from the recent successes of the country. ********************************************************* VOA: ASSK'S VIDEO TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT July 18, 1996 From: John Scherb The video featuring Aung San Suu Kyi, which has been smuggled to the European Parliament, includes a warning by her that economic change in Burma is impossible without political change. She says sanctions are needed, and dismisses suggestions that such measures will only hurt the poor, claiming instead that the most privileged will be the worst affected. She claims sanctions will affect business confidence, which in turn will put pressure on the government to end its suppression of democracy. Ministers on Monday, while condemning human rights abuses and anti-democratic action by the authorities, failed to agree on sanctions against Burma. Europe is waiting to see what action burma's neighbors in Asia will take, and officials say that the EU is more likely to follow the international mood than to take the lead. However, the European Parliament -- which has influence but no power in foreign policy matters -- is calling Thursday for the European Union to excert economic pressure against Burma. British member of the European Parliament, Glenys Kinnock, is leading the attack on the regime in Rangoon. She claims that Burma's behavior is similar to that of the former apartheid regime in South Africa, and she claims that burma has become the South Africa of the 1990's. Mrs. Kinnock says that South African President Nelson Mandela has reminded the world that economic sanctions worked for his people. Now, she says, Aung San Suu Kyi asks the world to make them work for her people. ********************************************************* REUTERS: US NOT TO PRESS SANCTIONS July 18, 1996 (abridged) From: John Scherb WASHINGTON - The United States, faced with opposition from Asian countries, will not press sanctions against Burma, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said Wednesday. ``I think that we do not see a present role for sanctions,'' he told Reuters in an interview.``But we want to have a discussion with other countries in the region to see what steps they might be prepared to take to try to ensure that the regime in Burma does not take additional repressive action and provides more openness for their people,'' he said. ``This is a long-term endeavor,'' he added. Christopher made his remarks before leaving Saturday for a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He acknowledged differences with ASEAN on how to nudge Burma's ruling military junta toward democratic reform. ASEAN recently agreed to give Burma observer status despite widspread criticism of Rangoon's crackdown on the country's democracy movement. ``At this point, I would say the neighboring countries have more confidence in the dialogue (with Burma) than we do, but they think that trying to use a friendly influence on the Burmese government is the way most likely to be successful,'' Christopher said. He said the administration had accepted that ASEAN believes that bringing Burma into its discussions is a positive way to approach the problem ``and we do not substitute our judgment for theirs on that subject.'' Nevertheless, he said, ``we will be pressing'' ASEAN to push the junta to ``liberalize their policies, to open their societies and not to engage in further repression.'' ******************************************************* ST: ANGER OVER EU REMARKS ON ASEAN TIES July 18, 1996 (abridged) (The Strait Times) From: Absdf102@aol.com Senior Asean oficials yesterday reacted angrily to remarks by a vice- president of the European Commission that Asean-European ties would suffer because of Asean's relationship with the military regime in Myanmar. According to a report from Brussel Mr Manuel Marstin said Asean's moves to accept Myanmar as a member could jeopardise the EU's plan to deepens its relationship with the seven member groupings. According to Agence France Presse, he said:"Asean is free to take in whomever it wants. But it is clear for us that Burma would be a problem. Unless there is profound change in the regime, it will inevitably create considerable difficulties." To this critism of Asean's policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar, the secretary-general of Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar said:" We may have a different approach. Who are they to say it's wrong? We think we may yet be able to win over Myanmar. Asean has never used human rights as an instrument in its relations with Europe. The EU should not use it with Asean." He said Asean would not isolate Yangon and would instead try to make its engagement policy work. He accused the Western countries of hypocrisy, citing ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and the sectarian violence in Northern Iraland as examples of human rights violations which they did little to stop. Nor did he believe that the Western call for economic sanctions against Myanmar would work. The Phillippine Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Rodolfo Severino, said that the question of who became Asean member was something for Asean countries alone to decide. Faced with an active human right lobby, some western countries feel compelled to take a strong stand in protest against Myanmar's military regime for its supression of the pro-democracy movement. But EU itself is deeply divided over the question of economic sanctions against Yangon, and Asean officials are confident that the Europeans would not put pressure on Asean to drop its policy of constructive engagement. Despite the EU's public posture, the Europeans acknowledged that Asean's policy was correct because there was no better solution, said a senior Asean official. An officials said Asean also want to see change in Myanmar, and the question was how to achieve this peacefully. Myanmar imposed self-isolation on itself for nearly 30 years, and the generals had now decided to open up the country, but change had to come about gradually, he stressed. ************************************************************ THE AUSTRALIAN: EUROPE MISREADS ASEAN APPROACH July 18, 1996 (editorial) From: 082903@bud.cc.swin.edu.au In the age of globalisation no one should deny the right of non-Asian institutions such as the European Union and the International Institute for Strategic Studies to speak their minds about how the Association of South-East Asian nations and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) go about their business. But criticism is a two-way street, and European commentators should not be surprised if their appraisals prompt responses of hypocrisy from ASEAN members. Sometimes the EU can be breathtaking in its arrogance. When the European Commission vice-president, Mr Manuel Marin, linked Burma's potential membership of ASEAN with how deeply the EU might engage with the group, it was inevitable ASEAN officials would respond with their own critiques of how Europe has handles issues such as Bosnia and Northern Irealand. As a senior Thai official noted, Burma is an emotional issue in the West. The ASEAN approach has been to engage constructively the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) military regime and attempt to win it over. To this end, it is expected to grant observer status to Burma at the ASEAN ministerial meeting in Jakarta on Saturday, as a prelude to full membership. Not everyone in the region agrees with ASEAN's approach. There is no completely "right" way to handle Burma. While ASEAN's constructive engagement is seen by some as weak and unproductive, there is also a view that strong outside support for opposition leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi could, rather than putting pressure on SLORC, prompt a violent crackdown on the Burmese people. Ms Suu Kyi claims constructive engagement has failed misrably and is urging ASEAN to deny observer status to Burma. She wants ASEAN and the ARF to pressure the military into opening a dialogue with her National League for Democracy. In calling for this course of action, Ms Suu Kyi believes ASEAN and the ARF carry weight. She is well-placed to make such an assessment. In contrast, the description by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies of the ARF as a "marginal" contributor to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific misses the point. The ARF is barely two years old and has yet to achieve its potentials. But by including among its 19 members all the ASEAN States plus key regional players as the United States, China, Japan and Korea (along with Australia), the ARF provides a means for discussion on issues such as Burma. Its consensual approach has also moderated, to a degree, the situation in the South China Sea, where China has made aggressive territorial claims. The ARF has provided a multilateral setting in which the smaller States do not feel they have to face China alone. The Europeans should appreciate that in analysing Asian regional groups, criticism, like engagement, should seek to be constructive. ********************************************************** STATEMENT: TO THE ASEAN MEMBERS July 19, 1996 From: caroline@ksc.net.th The upcoming 29th ASEAN Ministerial meeting for regional political, economical development is also very important for Burma. We suggest to the ASEAN members that an assessment of whether the ASEAN decisions on Burma has been successful or not needs to be done and to have a clear practical policy needs to be laid out. >From our point of view, ASEAN's "Constructive Engagement" does not have any effect on the calls for: - the recognition of the 1990 election results - the release of political prisoners -overall cease-fire - to start the reconciliation process in Burma through starting a dialogue with the National League for Democracy, NLD led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Because of the Constructive Engagement policy, the Slorc has received opportunities to strengthen its hold on power and, at the same time have the opportunity to have investments which are benefiting only the families of the Slorc. That the basic human rights are being violated and arbitrary arrests are still being made, was blatantly presented by the Slorc when arresting NLD representatives before the NLD conference in last May. If the ASEAN, at this 29th Ministerial Conference does not try to change its policy, we can only draw the conclusion that ASEAN members are collaborators in defending a dictatorship. Not only are we determined to work together with the ASEAN members for the economic and social development of the region, we are also determined to work together for the abolishing of dictatorships. We therefore request that this meeting will: - make an evaluation of the Constructive Engagement Policy and have a practical policy laid out - to stop the initiatives on accepting the Slorc as a member of the ASEAN. Students Federation of Thailand (SFT) All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) All Burma Basic Education Students Union (ABBESU, Thailand) Overseas National Students Organization of Burma (ONSOB) Burmese Students Association (BSA, Safe Area) Federation of Trade Unions- Burma, Youth (FTUB) ******************************************************** BKK POST: ENVOY TO PLEDGE HELP IN BURMA VISIT July 18, 1996 (abridged) by Nussara Sawatsawang ASEAN Secretary General Ajit Singh plans to visit Rangoon by the end of the year to help Burma prepare for entry into the grouping. Mr. Singh said he would brief the Burmese government on various aspects of ASEAN activities and discuss any assistance Rangoon may need during the visit. "The purpose of my visit will be to help Myanmar [Burma] in her preparation to join ASEAN, and we'll be looking at-the kinds of assistance they ~would need and how to help Myanmar integrate into AFTA [ASEAN Free Trade Area]," he said. AFTA aims to liberalise trade among ASEAN members by the year 2003. Mr Singh said the itinerary of his visit has not yet been drafted, but an informed source said the trip was expected to take place before the end of the year. Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw invited Mr Singh to Rangoon during the 28th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Brunei last year, the source added. Mr Singh's trip to Rangoon is seen as part of ASEAN's effort to integrate all 10 Southeast Asian countries into its realm by the year 2000. ******************************************************** INDEPENDENT REPORT: CO-SPONSORSHIP FOR BURMA BILL July 16, 1996 From: Christina Lammert Fink Sponsorship for Burma Freedom and Democract Act of 1995 House Version (HR.2892) Principle Sponsor: Rep.Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) Rep.Edward Royce (R-CA) 01/25/96 Rep.Christopher Smith (R-NJ) 01/25/96 Rep.Bob Clement (D-TN) 03/28/96 Rep.Ken Calvert (R-CA) 03/28/96 Rep.John W. Olver (D-MA) 03/28/96 Rep.Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) 03/28/96 Rep.Richard H. Baker (R-LA) 03/28/96 Rep.William O. Lipinski (D-IL) 03/28/96 Rep.John Edward Porter (R-IL) 04/30/96 Rep.Ronald V. Dellums (D-CA) 04/30/96 Rep.Sam Farr (D-CA) 06/18/96 Rep.Richard "Doc" Hastings (R-WA) 06/18/96 Rep.Barney Frank (D-MA) 06/18/96 Rep.Tom Lantos (D-CA) 06/18/96 Rep.Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR) 06/20/96 Rep.Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) 07/10/96 Rep.Marty Meehan (D-MA) 07/16/96 ********************************************************* FEER: WEST AT ODDS OVER BUSINESS APPROACH TO BURMA July 18, 1996 From: John Scherb AP-Dow Jones News Service RANGOON -- Burmese entrepreneur Thein Tun has had better years. In April, U.S. soft-drink giant PepsiCo Inc. decided to sell its 40% stake in his bottling company, Pepsi Cola Products Myanmar. Then, Danish beer maker Carlsberg said in early July that it had ditched plans to build a brewery in cooperation with Thein Tun's Myanmar Golden Star Group. Now Thein Tun is hoping he'll be third-time lucky. His strategy: to court prospective Asian partners, who he thinks are less susceptible to the consumer-boycott threats that frightened Pepsi and Carlsberg out of Burma. The Burmese businessman hopes to conclude a deal soon with Malaysia's Asia-Euro Brewery to replace Carlsberg, the Far Eastern Economic Review reports in its latest edition Thursday. 'Pressure might work with investors from America and the E.U.,' Thein Tun says, 'but I don't see this kind of problem in countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.' He's probably making a good bet. Indeed, while Western companies - and governments - are backing off Burma in protest against the military regime's human-rights abuses, Southeast Asian companies are moving in to take up the slack. They're often supported by their governments, which maintain that 'constructive engagement' is the best way to bring about change. The differences in Asian and Western viewpoints became stark in July. As the U.S. Congress and European Union discussed economic sanctions, the seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations prepared to welcome Burma - now officially known as Myanmar - as an observer at ministerial meetings in Jakarta and admit the country to a regional security forum. Aside from some natural-resource extraction projects, Southeast Asian companies top the foreign-investment league tables in Burma. Most seem to meet with little grassroots opposition at home. In fact, many Asean companies are actually encouraged by their governments to invest in Burma. This is most pronounced in the case of Singapore, where Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew recently declared, 'At the end of the day, the opposition in Burma has to face the realities of life. The one instrument of effective government there is the army.' Many companies seem to be taking Lee's words to heart. Singapore's Fraser & Neave, for example, has already stepped in to fill Heineken's slot. The Dutch beer maker announced in July that it wanted out of a brewery project in Burma. Other Singaporean companies have invested in everything from trading and hotels to manufacturing. And several are involved in building port facilities and industrial areas. 'The (Singapore) government has instructed the Singaporean business community to come into Myanmar in a big way,' says Set Maung, an economic adviser to the Burmese government. 'It is a big help.' The one sector where it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Asian companies to replace Western ones, however, is oil and natural gas. That is one reason why Western activists have focused so much attention on a $1.2 billion pipeline project that will carry natural gas from the Andaman Sea to a power station in Thailand. Both the U.S.'s Unocal and France's Total have encountered opposition from human-rights and pro-democracy groups. It is difficult to judge just how debilitating U.S. or European sanctions would be. But any foreign investment or trade sanctions is likely to hurt the country's fledgling economy. Burma's exports to the U.S. have been growing steadily in recent years. In 1995 they reached about $80.1 million, or roughly 10% of Burma's total merchandise exports. Garments accounted for $65 million of the goods shipped to America, up more than 38% year-on year. That's why some investors came out forcefully against sanctions during a conference sponsored by Burma's chamber of commerce on July 16. 'Maybe some people believe sanctions can achieve democracy or better human rights,' says Joe Pang, head of Hong Kong-based Victoria Garment Manufacturing, who runs garment factories in Burma. 'I don't think it's the right solution. I don't believe that out of poverty and hunger come democracy.' For people like Thien Tun, Pang's comments are a big relief. ********************************************************** BKK POST: BURMA PUTS FAITH IN ASIANS FOR INVESTMENT July 17, 1996 by Achara Ashayagachat BURMESE economists have brushed aside international objections about the political situation in their country, saying Asian investors will be the economy's propellor. Since the Foreign Investment Law was enacted in 1988, the Myanmar Investment Commission has permitted 192 projects worth nearly US$4 billion from 20 countries, the economists say. So far there have been no withdrawals, claimed U Thinn Maung, head of the Directorate of Investment & Company Administration. As for the recent withdrawal of Heineken from the Singapore-based Asia Pacific Brewery, which invested in the Heineken brewery in the country, "it's not direct investment here," he explained. There were some terminated projects such as oil exploration and mining companies that found less economic viability after certain period of doing business here, he said. "There has been international pressure for years, since the SLORC's existence, but looking at the turn of this century, the growth centre will be in Asia not Europe or the US. Therefore, why worry about western sanctions?" he remarked. Burma will officially start "Visit Burma Year" this October amid international concerns over the tight political situation in the country. But officials say they are sure tourists will not be able to resist the beauty and endowments of Burma. By the end of last year, over 100,000 visitors came to Burma, and spent roughly $300 each. It is estimated that tourism numbers will more than double, said U Thin Maung during the BoI Greater Mekong Sub-region Business Workshops. Out of the total of $4 billion of pledged foreign investment, $1.4 billion has gone on 25 oil and gas projects. Discovery of new offshore gas fields developed by foreign investors on a production sharing basis show that this sector could well be the prime driving force in the development of Burmese economy in the near future, he said. I The Burmese government has gradually shifted its emphasis from import substitution to export-oriented industries, said Khin Than Nwe, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry. 55 manufacturing projects have been licensed, so far the biggest sector among other foreign investments, followed by the hotel and tourism sector with 36 projects totalling $1.09 billion, according to U Thinn Maung. "We don't have a priority sector, but in the near future we may announce target industries," said the Burmese head of delegation to the second Bol workshop. Rangoon has enough hotel projects, so there should not be new investments in the capital, he said. "Investment will be commercially viable and will be encouraged in areas such as the historic sites at Mandalay and Pagan," said U Thinn Maung. Thailand is the second largest investor after Singapore in the sector, investing about $180 million in eight projects. 31 Thai companies have invested $422 mil lion in Burma. Burma has also promoted the establishment of industrial parks, following other emerging markets such as Vietnam. The licensing body Myanmar Investment Commission has so far permitted two industrial parks developed by Singaporean and Japanese joint ventures with the Ministry of Construction, said U Thinn Maung. Mitsui& Co has invested $12million or 60% equity in a 70-hectare industrial estate 17 kilometres from central Rangoon. ********************************************************* REUTER: TOTAL SHARES WEAKEN FOR DEALING WITH SLORC July 18, 1996 (abridged) From: ktint@earthlink.net PARIS, - Shares in French energy group Total fell on Thursday amid concerns about the company's involvement in Burma through a pipeline project, brokers said. "There's a lot of arbitrage with people selling Total in favour of Elf-Aquitaine," the other major French oil group, a broker said. Another broker said the weakness in Total's stock was linked to the company's project in Burma and the sale on Thursday by a major Danish pension fund of its stake in Total. Shares in Total were down 3.5 francs, or 0.97 percent, at 357.50 by midmorning while Elf's stock was up 0.90 franc, or 0.25 percent, at 357.90. The bourse's CAC index was up 0.83 percent. Danish fund Kommunernes Pensionsforsikring said on Thursday it sold its 60 million crown ($10 million) shareholding in Total to protest against its involvement in a billion-dollar Burmese pipeline project. "Everyone is free to buy or sell our shares," said a spokesman for Total. He had no other comment. Total and Unocal own 31 percent and 28 percent of the 60 km pipeline project designed to transport gas from the Yadana field, 70 km off the Burmese coast in the Andaman Sea. "What we want are the kind of sanctions that will make it quite clear that economic change in Burma is not possible without political change," Suu Kyi said in the video, made public by members of the European Parliament. *********************************************************** AP: BAD HEROIN EYED IN THAI DEATHS July 17, 1996 (abridged) From: John Scherb by Jerry Harmer MAE CHAN, - Poor-quality heroin is flooding northern Thai border villages since the surrender of Burmese opium lord Khun Sa, and it has been blamed for several deaths among tribespeople. Aid workers, drug dealers and addicts in this village 450 miles north of Bangkok say that the so-called 999 heroin, cut with amphetamines, has filled a vacuum left by the more pure heroin Khun Sa used to produce. Produced primarily by the Wah and Kachin ethnic groups in jungle refineries in Burma, the heroin is already making a mark in villages across the border in Thailand, where scores of addicts have collapsed after using it. "It's twice the strength of the heroin that's been around for the past few years," said Dr. Jennifer Gray of the Australian aid agency AusAid, which runs a detox program in Mae Chan. "That's the big worry, that they'll overdose and die." Khun Sa used revenue from heroin sales to finance what he claimed was a struggle for autonomy of the Shan people in remote, rugged eastern Burma. He surrendered to Burma's military government and officially disbanded his 11,000-man Mong Tai Army in January. The United States has demanded Khun Sa's extradition on drug trafficking charges. Burmese officials have refused and say the former warlord is confined to a military base. Khun Sa's downfall has created a temporary heroin shortage in the Thai-Burma border region, and the void apparently has been filled with the low-quality 999 heroin. The border tribes, who traditionally smoke opium, have switched to heroin in recent years. Unconfirmed reports of several deaths due to 999 overdoses have reached Gray's headquarters. There are many more cases of non-fatal overdoses. Opiates are a traditional way of life in the region, but heroin injecting is a fairly new phenomenon. In some villages, 60 percent of the men are estimated to be heroin users, and the AIDS rate is correspondingly high. ********************************************************** INFO REQUEST: RE NYEIN CHAN July `17, 1996 From: Michael Durham Does anyone have any contact details for Nyein Chan, poet and author of `The Dream of a People', `I have seen it' and`I am a child of Burma'? Thank you Alice