----------------------------------BurmaNet---------------------------- "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: November 4, 1996 Issue #560 Noted in Passing: It is not an exaggeration that democracy has become the absolute and indispensable condition for Asia's survival - South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae-jung (see: REUTERS: ASIAN DEMOCRATS WARN OF BURMA EXPLOSION) HEADLINES: ========== THE NATION: SUU KYI SEES NO CHANGE IN SLORC'S STANCE REUTERS: BURMA SAYS CONFIDENT OF ASEAN ENTRY BKK POST: MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION BACKS THAI CALL BKK POST: EU, ASEAN URGED TO COORDINATE EFFORTS THE NATION: BURMA WINS MRC ENTRY WITH CHINA ASIAWEEK: SLORC AGAINST THE WORLD REUTERS: ASIAN DEMOCRATS WARN OF BURMA ``EXPLOSION'' THE NATION: SLORC IN PACT WITH KAREN LEADERS BKK POST: ACTIVIST DIES IN BURMESE PRISON THAILAND TIMES: FOUR BURMESE TROOPS CAUGHT TRESPASSING FEER: A BLIND EYE TO DRUGS BKK POST: SOME CAMPS FOR KARENNI MAY CLOSE THE NATION: THE RUNNING OF PAGAN ANNOUNCEMENT: AUSTRALIA'S BURMA BOYCOTT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- THE NATION: SUU KYI SEES NO CHANGE IN SLORC'S STANCE November 2, 1996 RANGOON - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that she doubts Burma's military authorities are ready dialogue, despite suggestions of a possible thaw in relations. "We are always prepared to be reasonable and make compromises so long as it is done in the right spirit, "she told a news conference in her compound just hours after a government media briefing. Kyaw Thein's of the Office of Strategic Studies said the government was " always trying to improve the situation" and that the opposition "might be trying to do the same". Kyaw Thein's comments at the government briefing , which was also attended by Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw, were taken by observers as an indication of a possible thawing of relations between the authorities and opposition. But Suu Kyi said that she understood senior members of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council are insisting that any dialogue can only take place in the National Convention. "We are always ready to consider new situations as they arise, but someone told me Ohn Gyaw is still insisting that the National Convention is the proper place for dialogue, " she said. "It's a bit difficult for me to understand what the change is." ***************************************************************** REUTERS: BURMA SAYS CONFIDENT OF ASEAN ENTRY November 1, 1996 RANGOON, Nov. 1 (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said on Friday he was confident Burma would be accepted as a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) despite talk of some hesitancy among some of the member nations. Burma was granted observer status to the seven-nation regional grouping and hopes to become a full member at the next formal meeting in July. ``By virtue of the fact that you have observer status it is just a matter of time, sooner or later you will be integrated into ASEAN,'' Ohn Gyaw told a monthly press conference in Rangoon given by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). ``We are quite confident,'' he said. ``I am very much convinced that our integration into the ASEAN fold is only a matter of time.'' He dismissed talk that some member nations were hesitating over how fast Burma should be allowed into the grouping. ``I don't think there is any shift (in feeling),'' he said. ``There is no change of heart. It is not political.'' Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Thursday that Burma was not yet ready for membership in ASEAN. ``I don't think Myanmar (Burma) is quite ready in the near future to adopt all the obligations of being a member of ASEAN,'' Goh said in an interview for television made available to Reuters by MTV3 Finland. Also, Philippine President Fidel Ramos said last month ASEAN leaders might review its policy of ``constructive engagement'' with Burma. The policy is aimed at keeping Burma from being isolated and trying to spark reform from within. His comments came after a renewed SLORC crackdown on the democracy movement in Burma. The Rangoon government arrested 573 members or supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to prevent a party meeting in late September. The SLORC also detained Kyi Maung, a top NLD official and senior advisor to Suu Kyi. He was released after a week of questioning but his detention sparked global condemnation. Thailand has also said it thinks Burma needs some time to prepare for admission as a full ASEAN member. ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Goh said the answer to whether Burma was ready to join ASEAN depended on its ability to assume certain obligations such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area. Although Burma is under fire from some Western nations and non-governmental organizations over human rights issues, Goh said Singapore does not interfere in the internal affairs of its neighbors. ***************************************************************** BKK POST: MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION BACKS THAI CALL November 2, 1996 AFP/Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's opposition party has called on ASEAN governments to support Thailand's call for Burma to complete its draft constitution and restore democracy before becoming a full ASEAN member. Lim Kit Siang, secretary general of Malaysia's opposition Democratic Action Party, said in a statement ASEAN members should adopt Thailand's position as its own. Only then would ASEAN "have full justification, honor and pride to admit Burma to ASEAN as it would mean the success of its constructive engagement policy to improve the situation in Burma,' Mr. Lim said. Although the Slorc claimed the draft was 75 percent completed, Mr. Lim said ASEAN should press for its completion as there were fears that the junta had no intention to produce any draft until the next century. The draft should also ensure that the various defects in the constitution- drawing process, which led to the boycott of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy be rectified, he added. Mr. Lim urged ASEAN secretary- general Ajit Singh, who will visit Burma next week, to ask Slorc if it was prepared to invite Mrs. Suu Kyi and her party to participate in the drafting of the constitution. During his trip, Mr. Singh is scheduled to meet Slorc leaders to discuss preparations for Burma to join ASEAN. ***************************************************************** BKK POST: EU, ASEAN URGED TO COORDINATE EFFORTS November 2, 1996 Saritdet Marukatat Nussara Sawatsawant The Austrian deputy foreign minister yesterday called for close consultation between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in their summit to evaluate progress in Burma. Benita Ferrero-Walden said the two regional groups could use the Asia-Europe Summit to exchange views and progress on their different approach toward Burma. "For the future, especially in the framework of ASEAN, we should maybe have a parallel approach between ASEAN and European Union countries toward Myanmar (Burma) to see whether there will be enhanced democracy there and get the country out of isolation, " she said in an interview. Ms Ferrero-Walden proposed the plan to Deputy Foreign Minister Thep Devakula during talks yesterday dominated by the Burmese issue. Affirming that the two blocs respected each other's approaches, she said close exchange of views would be beneficial because they had the same goal of democracy. The deputy minister, whose three day visit to boost bilateral ties ends tomorrow, was briefed by MR Thep on Thailand's stance on Burma. She said the EU did not stop contacts with Burma but it had imposed restrictions to put more pressure on the government - the State Law and Order Restoration Council - to improve democracy and human rights. The limits, announced on Monday with endorsement by the EU's foreign ministers, includes a ban on visas for members and families of the Slorc and senior military and security officials. EU foreign ministers and senior officials are barred from visits to Burma. The Burmese ambassador also reaffirmed his government's position on no resumption of dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ***************************************************************** THE NATION: BURMA WINS MRC ENTRY WITH CHINA November 1, 1996 DON PATHAN VIENTIANE - China and Burma will be admitted as full dialogue partners of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) ministerial council next year, moving them a step closer to full membership of the sub-regional body. Prathes Sutabutr, director general of the Department of Energy Development and Promotion, said the commission's senior -officials will meet in Bangkok in March to discuss the admission of the two countries. China and Burma attended this week's MRC council meeting in Vientiane as observers. They began the dialogue process at the joint committee level in July, discussing cooperation. The MRC comprises Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Prathes said that the joint committee would also discuss the restructuring of the MRC secretariat to ensure that the activities of the commission's five divisions were implemented. The third meeting of the MRC council ended yesterday with a commitment from the international donor community to financially support the development of the Mekong basin, Nay Htun, director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said. Donors, however, urged the commission to encourage greater public participation in development projects and to pay more attention to environmental concerns. Nay said that the first meeting of the Donor Consultative Group (DCG) was not intended as a pledging ceremony, but many countries indicated that they would make a significant contribution. "I think it is because of the strong signal of the riparian countries to over-come operational differences," he said. "A year ago we didn't hear words like environment, public participation and women's roles in the work program." Speaking on behalf of the European Community, Ambassador Ulrich Dreesen said the challenges of sustainable development must be addressed urgently in the area of hydro-electric power, fisheries and forest management. "This is an area where political commitment, a wide-ranging integrated approach, and regional concentration, cooperation mechanism are indispensable." Dressen said. "Present political authorities owe it to their countries to take a very hard look at what is actually happening to the forest cover and what the documented or actual consequences are." He said that public participation in the MRC planning process must be seen in a positive and constructive light, rather than treated with suspicion. Japanese Ambassador to Laos Hiroomi Sakai, said that it was important to pay due consideration to environmental protection in order to win broad support and understanding of the Mekong River basin. He added that it is also necessary that the MRC work program narrows the gap between urban and rural areas. Hiroomi said that flood-prevention policies, based on middle and long-term perspectives must also be considered as flooding is both a humanitarian and an economic problem. Current MRC activities focus mainly on feasibility studies, he said, and urged that future projects be expanded. Priorities should be assigned to basin-wide projects and bilateral aid projects for individual member countries. Denmark, whose contribution to the MRC is expected to top US$100 million (Bt2.5 billion) by the year 2000, requested that the commission provide a specific report on public participation in its activities and in the drafting of the basin development process, the integration of environmental issues, socio-economic assessments and poverty alleviation and the level of cooperation and coordination with other development initiatives, such as the ASEAN-sponsored greater Mekong sub-region program. ***************************************************************** ASIAWEEK: SLORC AGAINST THE WORLD November 8, 1996 New sanctions aim to deter the ruling junta By Matthew Fletcher and Dominic Faulder, Bangkok FOR a while last week, it looked as if Myanmar might be about to add one more chapter to a series of violent episodes in its recent history. The trouble began, as it has in the past, with a trivial incident. A student row at a food stall led to three arrests. That was followed by a sit-in protest over police brutality by more than 500 students. It was Yangon's largest overtly anti-government gathering since 1988. In that year, a teashop brawl was the spark that, within months, fired nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations against the government. In the ensuing crackdowns, the military killed more than 3,000 protesters. There were other ominous signs last week that had people in the capital Yangon on edge. The ruling Slorc had detained Kyi Maung, the vice chairman of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD. Suu Kyi herself was virtually a prisoner in her own home, her telephone tampered with since September. This time, however, Slorc was more restrained. No guns were fired, and the students demonstrators disbanded quietly. The 78-year-old Kyi Maung, who had been jailed from 1990 to 1995 in Yangon's Insein prison, was released after five days. Suu Kyi was able to attend a birthday party for the grandson of NLD co-founder Tin Oo, to give alms to honor her mother's memory, and receive at her home Lt Col Than Tun, SLORC's former liaison officer with her. The relatively quick release of Kyi Maung, the most senior NLD official to be detained since the junta started the latest phase of its crackdown against the opposition in May, allayed fears that he would meet the same fate as James Leander Nichols. A close friend of Suu Kyi and the de facto consul in Yangon for several European countries, Nichols was jailed earlier this year for possessing an unregistered fax machine and died in Insein prison. The cause of death, according to one Slorc official, was a heart attack brought on by eating too much fatty food - not a complaint commonly made of Insein's cuisine. Still, if Slorc was showing restraint, it was only relative. In September, the junta detained at least 500 democracy activists and barricaded the home of Suu Kyi. Some are still in detention. It also doubled the sentence of another of Suu Kyi's aides, Win Htin, to 14 years, say NLD sources. Last week, officials removed the blockades from outside Suu Kyi's house, where crowds of up to 10,000 people used to listen to her weekend talks; but there has been no indication of when the gatherings will again be permitted. Meanwhile, the junta has continued its efforts to defame the country's leading dissident. The state media has resumed accusing Suu Kyi of being a CIA stooge plotting to bring down the government, calling her by British husband's name - an improvement, at least on the lewd cartoons of her with foreigners that the military intelligence once circulated. The international community has not been silent. Last week, European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg followed Washington's lead and adopted sanctions, including a ban on high-level diplomatic contacts and on European visits by Slorc officials. The minister, while acknowledging the sanctions were largely symbolic, expressed concern at the lack of progress on democratization and Myanmar's continuing violating of human rights. Tokyo also announced it was considering making a direct request to Yangon to clean up it human-rights record. The junta's reluctance to tolerate dissident has even unsettled ASEAN, which has partly justified its "constructive engagement" strategy with Yangon by arguing that economic growth should foster political change. The seven-nation Southeast Asian grouping accepted Myanmar as an observer in July, and had planned to grant it full membership next year. But while ASEAN maintains its consensus that Myanmar will still join, the exact timing is now in doubt. Thailand's acting deputy prime minister Kasem Kasemsri last week ruled out next year as a possibly - a position that could be reviewed by the new government installed after elections Nov 17. Manila has also expressed reservations about early membership. The diplomat isolation, however, is not complete. Kuala Lumpur would like Yangon to join ASEAN sooner rather than later. "We believe we can help expedite reform by engaging Myanmar," said Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi in Yangon Oct. 20 at the start of a two-day visit. Malaysian airline MAS has announced it will launch twice-weekly flight to Yangon on Nov. 12. Amid the toing and froing over what to do with Myanmar, the generals appeared characteristically unconcerned. "We cut ourselves off from the world for 26 years," said SLORC's economic planning and development minister Brig-Gen David Abel recently. "Myanmar can survive on its own." To SLORC's critics, that was a reminder to how much pressure needs to be exerted to wring out even the smallest concession to progress. (AW) ***************************************************************** REUTERS: ASIAN DEMOCRATS WARN OF BURMA ``EXPLOSION'' November 3, 1996 MANILA, Nov. 3 (Reuters) - Leading Asian democrats on Sunday urged Burma to hasten the return of freedom, warning the ``fumes of discontent'' in that country could explode into violence affecting the whole of Asia. Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, who once inspired unarmed civilians to stand firm against the army, and pro-democracy activists from South Korea, Taiwan and Burma issued the call at the start of a two-day meeting in Manila. The aim of the meeting, attended by about 100 delegates from 15 nations, is to find ways to persuade Burma's military rulers to relax their grip. It coincides with a renewed crackdown by Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) on weekend gatherings of supporters of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ``The stubborn refusal of SLORC to unblock avenues for peaceful self-expression is bottling up fumes of discontent that may soon turn noxious and burst violently across the land,'' Aquino said in a speech. Aquino, who helped lead the so-called ``People Power'' revolt that overthrew President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, said the Philippine example of restoring democracy peacefully sent a message to all dictators. ``But it is apparently taking time for some of the region's governments to heed it and to learn the lesson that it is better to yield to peaceful, massive appeals of the population than to wait for that population to explode in violent revolution.'' Sein Win, prime minister of a U.S.-based Burmese government in exile, said violence in his country would affect the entire region. He said the political temperature in Burma was rising and ``more clashes are likely.'' ``If left to the generals alone, the situation in Burma could explode and affect the stability of the Asia-Pacific region,'' he said, urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to persuade SLORC to open talks with Suu Kyi. Burma has applied for membership in ASEAN but three members of the regional grouping -- the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore -- have expressed reservations. South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae-jung said Indonesia and Burma were examples of countries ``which continue to suffer from oppressive military dictators and authoritarian systems.'' ``I believe it is high time for us to be concerned also about the issues of democratization in Indonesia'' where ``the democratic forces led by Mrs Megawati are severely repressed,'' he said. Indonesia, embarrassed by the recent awarding of the Nobel peace prize to two opponents of its rule in East Timor, has also cracked down on supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Kim said the world was undergoing an information revolution and this could not thrive where individuality and creativity were suppressed. ``It is not an exaggeration that democracy has become the absolute and indispensable condition for Asia's survival,'' he said. The meeting was organized by the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific, a non-government group formed two years ago. **************************************************************** THE NATION: SLORC IN PACT WITH KAREN LEADERS November 1, 1996 YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK THE Burmese junta sent a high level delegation to meet Karen guerrilla leaders on Tuesday which resulted in a pledge from both sides to pursue efforts towards negotiated peace. The Burmese team led by Lt Col San Pwint, a senior intelligence officer who earlier coordinated the "surrender" of opium warlord Khun Sa, met Gen Bo Mya, president of the Karen National Union (KNU), Gen Tamalabaw, KNU defense minister, and other Karen leaders in the Mae Sot district of Tak, several well-informed sources said. One source said the five-member Burmese team informed the Karen leaders of the junta's intention to continue cease-fire talks with the KNU, despite the fact that the fourth round of discussions, which was tentatively scheduled for the end of October, will not take place. He quoted Burmese visitors as saying that the governing State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) is currently "busy" and thus had to postpone the talks. "They (the Burmese team) came to say that they are busy until the end of this month and had to postpone the meeting," he said. Several sources said they did not know when the talks would resume, but that the KNU had already appointed a five member delegation, to be led by Tamalabaw, for the next round of meetings. Other negotiators included Pado Man Sha Lar Pan, Bo Mya's secretary, and Gen Maung Maung, a senior KNU member. "They (the Burmese team) said they would contact us to say when the next meeting will take place,: a source said. The KNU is the last remaining armed ethnic group to yet finalize a cease-fire with Slorc. There has been widespread concern that the talks between the Karen and Slorc would collapse as the Burmese regime has persistently asked during the last two meetings that the KNU "return to the legal fold" - a term which the ethnic group equates to a demand for their surrender. The Burmese army's recent deployment of more troops and heavy weapons to areas near the KNU headquarters, which is opposite Tak's Umphang district, along with intensified Burmese troop maneuvers also led to the belief that Slorc wanted to use force to wipe out the armed group instead of pursuing the lengthy negotiations. The source said that San Pwint had indicated during the 90 minute meeting that Slorc would not launch a military offensive against the Karen. " The Karen told them (Slorc) that they were ready to resume talks, he added. Meanwhile, Burmese armed ethnic groups under the National Democratic Front (NDF), which is an umbrella organization of some 10 ethnic Burmese guerrilla movements, plan to hold a meeting in November to reunite and consolidate themselves, a KNU leader said KNU general secretary Pado Ba Thin said invitations had been sent out to both NDF and non-NDF members to attend the conference which, according to one source, would take place on Nov. 21. Ba Thin said he expected most of the ethnic groups that have struck a cease-fire deal with Rangoon to attend the meeting because many were unhappy with SLORC's broken promises after the truce. Several armed ethnic groups, including the Karenni, the Wa and the Mon, were upset that Slorc had twisted their separate cease-fire deals into an agreement to surrender. Three months after the "gentleman's truce agreement" , the Burmese army launched a major military offensive against Karenni guerrilla outposts and its headquarters which are opposite Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, leading to the loss of virtually all the border territory they controlled. ***************************************************************** BKK POST: ACTIVIST DIES IN BURMESE PRISON November 2, 1996 SUPAMART KASEM Mae Sot, Tak One of two activists campaigning against violence has died in a Burmese prison from unknown causes. Aung Kyaw, 36, was arrested last week by the Burmese government a source said. Wardens in this Thai - border district prison have yet to inform relatives of his death. The jail has also banned fellow activist, Mya Lwin, 40, from receiving visitors. Aung Kyaw and Mya Lwin are members of the Non-Violence Movement. It was set up in Rangoon last year to promote the return of democracy using peaceful means. **************************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: FOUR BURMESE TROOPS CAUGHT TRESPASSING November 1, 1996 TAK : Four armed Burmese troops were yesterday captured by Thai authorities after entering Thai soil to search for their missing colleagues, according to a Thai border patrol police. The officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the four Burmese soldiers were seized with arms at Mae Aok Hu village in Pob Phra district in Tak. The intruder reportedly told the BPP they had no intention to trespass Thai soil, but were searching for two Burmese government soldiers of the 61 st Battalion and the 62nd Battalion respectively who had disappeared four days earlier. The source said the tow missing Burmese soldiers were killed by Karen National Union (KNU) inside Burma on the Thai -Burmese border opposite Pob Phra district after entering the KNU control area to collect protection fees from Thai logging traders. Local Thai - Burmese border committee will deal with the arrest via diplomatic channel, said the officer. In another development, rebel KNU yesterday sent its representatives to Myawaddy to meet Brig Gen Sein Win, commander of the 101 Division whose base is located at Thingan Nyi Naung village, about 10 miles west of Myawaddy, for new cease -fire proposals. ***************************************************************** FEER: A BLIND EYE TO DRUGS November 7, 1996 Bertil Lintner Political tension, an unsettled economy and the threat of European Union and American trade sanctions. The investment picture for Burma couldn't get much worse, could it? Well, yes it could. A damning report, issued by the United States embassy in Rangoon, says Burmese exports of narcotics "appear to be worth as much as al legal exports," which amounted to $922 million for the year to March 1996 at the official exchange rate. Privately, diplomats worry that Burma could become a hostage to drug barons have some Latin American nations. One might think investors would be circumspect, but many Asians and Europeans are averting their gaze from the problems and placing their bets on the survival of the present regime. Quite simply, it's business as usual. Ironically, given Singapore's tough stance against drugs, companies there have emerged as the leading source of foreign investment, with 45 approved projects worth $895 million. Thai companies have committed around $420 million; Malaysian firms about the same. And despite rumblings in the West, British companies come second, with $800 million (although some investment may come from companies registered in tax havens), and France third, with $465 million (almost exclusively invested by petrochemical giant Total). In all, foreign commitments now total nearly $3.8 billion, of which around $1/4 billion, or 30% of all investment, is in oil and gas. That is followed by $678 million in hotels and tourism, $500 million in real estate and $337 million in mining. Skeptics argue about how much has actually been invested. But even the Asian Development Bank concedes that following years of virtual stagnation, Burma has turned its economy around. GDP grew by 7.8% in 1995-96, up from 6.8% the year before and a contraction in 1991-92. Reform policies initiated in 1988 remain in effect. These are meant to deregulate agriculture, free up trade and encourage foreign investment. Burma's human rights and narcotics record remains largely a Western concern, and ASEAN nations in particular are keen to engage the country. Asian businesses have profited from the West's political sensitivity: Following pressures in Europe, Denmark's Carlsberg and the Netherland's Heineken have left Burma's beer market to Singapore's Fraser & Neave and Tiger. Companies operating in the US have also faced punitive action from city and state authorities if they do not disengage from Burma. Investment confidence in Burma may be short-lived, though. In August, the ADB warned that "economic reforms were lagging behind those elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and this could hinder access to ADB loans." The World Bank also warned that Burma is not meeting such key criteria as low inflation, manageable public debt, and a sustainable current-account deficit. Imports far exceed exports, defence eats up 45% of the budget, and spending on health and education has actually declined. Inflation is rampant: diplomats in Rangoon quote unofficial figures of 30%-40%. Perhaps even more disturbing is the kyat's unrealistic exchange rate. It remains officially pegged at 5.9 to the US dollar, while the free-market rate has shot up to 160 from 113 a year ago. Burma's foreign debt totals $5.5 billion, or about 112% of formal GDP. July's US embassy report stated quite bluntly that "the long-term sustainability of Burma's economic growth is still questionable, due to the persistence of both macroeconomic instability and the potential for political instability as well as grossly inadequate human infrastructure development, especially in the filed of basic education." While the generals may rule the people with an iron first, controlling the economy may be beyond them. (FEER) **************************************************************** BKK POST: SOME CAMPS FOR KARENNI MAY CLOSE November 3, 1996 Mae Hong Son The Government plans to close down some camps for Karenni so as to control the refugees more effectively, according to a provincial source. Governor Pak Chompuming visited some of the camps yesterday to decide which are to be shut down. The source said the five camps in Muang district would be reduced to just one, and three out of four in Mae Sariang would be phased out. ***************************************************************** THE NATION: THE RUNNING OF PAGAN November 1, 1996 With Visit Burma Year looming, Slorc is cracking the whip on restoration work at the glorious archeological site. The effect has been disastrous, writes BJ Lee. GOVERNMENT orders to accelerate work on Pagan's majestic ruins is threatening to do irreparable damage to the 800-year-old historical site, viewed by many as one of Asia's great architectural wonders, says Burmese involved in projects at the site. Sources say untrained local workers under military command are brushing off or pasting over ancient paintings on temple walls and pagoda stones on order to "beatify" Pagan for an expected onrush of tourists. They are also planting trees and grasses that threaten to change the arid area into a green monster that will eat the stones. "We are in danger of losing our heritage," said the source. "This has become an urgent problem in the last 10 months. When 800-year-old ruins are destroyed, they won't come back again tomorrow. The big push Pagan stems from the government announced "Visit Burma 1996" year, and Pagan, located 507 kilometers northwest of Rangoon, is one of Burma's top attractions. Set amid field of cotton, sesame and maise, Pagan features massive, towering temple like Ananda and Dhammayangyi stretching to the horizon and flanked by the mighty Irrawaddy River. Many of the edifices have already been reduced to shapeless mounds by vegetation, weather and man's depredations. All are reflections of Burma's golden age, when Buddhism and culture flourished and 11 kings indulged in a veritable orgy of construction. It all came to a stop in the late 13th century when the royal capital was abandoned still unknown reason. But like tourist attraction such as Niagara Falls and the Himalayan mountains, Pagan's charm is causing it harm. Shortly after it took power in 1988, the current military government ordered the restoration of all Pagan's 2,230 monuments, and work is proceeding at dozens of sites. Foreign expects under the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) had drawn up a draft master plan aimed at regulating development in the face of the expected tourism influx. The draft plan freeze development in some areas, controls the height of building on others and sets up a special zone to the south where high-rise, international-style tourist facilities can be built. But those associated with the restoration work say a major problem is that visiting generals or ministers "can suddenly give any crazy order, which has to be implemented straight away without anybody daring to check if it is consistent with the plans or the discussed policy." It is clear that the president increased interest in Pagan by the regime is more concerned with tourism, foreign exchange and joint ventures for new hotels than with the protection of monuments, sites and landscapes, they say. Several visitors to Pagan have noted how the area looks disappointingly greener than in old pictures of the site. Says the archaeological source: "It was this dry desert environment that preserved the ruins in the first place. Now we are creating a jungle that might overtake the ancient stones in the future as in the case of Angkor Wat in Cambodia." "The temples are full of holes, which may have helped to preserve the structures, but now the work teams are filing them in," he added. "It's like a make-up job. The government wants it to took more beautiful on the outside, but maybe it's ruining the beauty underneath." The source explains that while on the job site in Pagan, he can only stand on the sidelines and watch helplessly while soldiers order hundreds of unskilled workers to pull out old stones and fit in new ones, and paint white over faded ancient murals. The laborers, often jobless men from remote areas, receive about 150 kyats per day (about $US1 or Bt 25) and stay in camps near the site. "Archaeological work cannot be done in a hurry. It must be done very slowly and very methodically with proper preparation and according to the records," said the source, who has extensive experience in the field. With limited local means and a modicum of international aid, a piecemeal restoration of Pagan had been going on for several decades. It took 13 years to repair damage from a major earthquake in 1975. After the earthquake, the government invited UN teams led by Yugoslavian and Italian archaeologists to restore some of the damaged and decaying pagodas over the next 20 years. "The foreign technicians were very slow, very systematic," said the source. "They did one pagoda at a time, using high technology." But the highly-skilled UN teams no longer work on the site, fueling unconfirmed rumors of a dispute between UN and military officials. "We would like the foreign technicians to come back," said the source. "We have very little training in this country. Most people in Burma think restoration means building a new one, painting it white and covering it with gold. But this is not restoration, this is destruction." Work on the pagodas used to be more intermittent, depending on what funds were available. But with the government doubling its budget for Pagan and more foreign assistance coming in, there's now activity year-round. Ten months ago, the government announced through the local press that it would receive donations to rebuild Pagan. Since then, donations have totaled an estimated 700 million kyats (about $US5 million), according to archaeology department sources. Many complain that the money has fueled the destruction of Pagan. Says a bureaucrat, "Some donors are buying their own pagodas. They believe it will make good Buddhist merit for their future rebirth. Leaving the stones as they have been for 800 years won't make merit for them, they believe. So they want new paint, new stones, and they want to put it (special pagoda umbrellas) on top of the pagodas. They think "no one can stop me. It's my pagoda." "Pagan is our heritage," says a local visitor recently at Pagan. "Our heritage and traditional cultures are one of the few things we have to be proud of in Burma. So we don't want them destroying this just because somebody in the government thinks old stones don't look neat. Who can stop this? Maybe if the tourists complain, the government will listen." (TN) **************************************************************** ANNOUNCEMENT: AUSTRALIA'S BURMA BOYCOTT November 1, 1996 (Australian Council for Overseas Aid) ACFOA Human Rights Office Aid Agencies Call for Boycott of Tourism to Burma The peak body for Australian development agencies, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) is calling for Australians to boycott a tourist campaign by Burma's ruling military junta. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) will launch a six month campaign "Visit MyanmarYear" in November 1996 to May 1997 in a bid to attract 250 000 foreign tourists. A new brochure on human rights and tourism produced by the Burma NGO/Community Meeting was released by ACFOA this week. Entitled Holidays in Burma? the brochure details tens of thousands of Burmese citizens who have been forced to work for the army in preparing infrastructure such as roads, railways, airports, markets and repairing historical sites for tourists. ACFOA Executive Director Janet Hunt called on Australians: " Don't support this brutal regime or condone their abuses of Burmese people by traveling to Burma during SLORC's tourism campaign. Tens of thousands of Burmese people have been rounded up by the army to slave on projects like the dredging of the Mandalay palace moat or building runways for the new airport at Bassein. Forced labor is endemic in Burma ." "In the longer term we don't want to isolate the Burmese people, but during Visit Myanmar Year, ACFOA is calling on all Australian travelers and Australian travel companies to condemn this abuse of human rights in Burma and to withhold their support for the SLORC's tourism campaign. We want it to be a big flop for SLORC," Ms Hunt said. Holidays in Burma? developed by the Burma NGO/Community Meeting focuses on human rights abuses committed in the name of tourism and sets out the case for not supporting travel to Burma. Burma was renamed Myanmar by the SLORC in 1989. The brochure notes extensive military holdings in the tourist industry such as the family of former dictator General Ne Win, who have a half share in Burma's airline Myanmar Airways. Upon arrival, tourists are compelled to exchange $US 300 at a artificial rate, the difference of which acts as a direct cash contribution to SLORC. Further information: Executive Director, Janet Hunt: (06) 285 1816 (w) (06) 281 0252 (h) Burma Project Administrator, (03) 9417 7238 (w) (03) 9528 4508 (h) Burma Benefit Night and Campaign launch: Holidays in Burma? will be launched at a special Burma Benefit concert at : 9PM Saturday 2 November 1996 at the Esplanade Hotel, The Esplanade, St Kilda, Melbourne. Bands playing include: TIDDAS, TOASTED, PETE LAWLER & SQUADCAR. All moneys will go to Burmese refugee camps in Thailand. Australia Council for Overseas Aid, Human Rights Office 124 Napier St, Fitzroy, Melbourne VIC 3065, Australia tel: +61 3 9417 7505, Burma Officer: 9417 7238 fax: +61 3 9416 2746 email: acfoahr@peg.apc.org WWW: http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfoahr