----------------------------------BurmaNet---------------------------- "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: November 6, 1996 Issue #562 Noted in passing: ...we continue to do business with the (Burmese) generals who think nothing of helping big-time drug dealers push their poison. Is this not hypocrisy at its worst ?- =09=09Singapore Democratic Party chief, Chee Soon Juan. (see: =09=09AP: OPPOSITION ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF HYPOCRISY HEADLINES: =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D DASSK: LETTER TO BURMA #47 DVB: ATTACK ON PIPELINE SECURITY CAMP KYODO: MYANMAR RELEASES 12 PEOPLE DETAINED SUNDAY AP: SINGAPORE OPP. ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF HYPOCRISY BKK POST: BURMESE AMBASSADOR FACED WITH NEW ISSUES THAILAND TIMES: CONFLICT IN BURMA TO "DESTABILIZE REGION" SUNDAY TIMES: LAOS HOOKED INTO BURMESE HEROIN RACKETS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= - DASSK: LETTER TO BURMA #47 November 4, 1996 (Mainichi Daily News) JUNTA PERSISTS IN TRYING TO BLOCKADE NLD: "Continuum" Letter from Burma (No. 47) by Aung San Suu Kyi This is getting absurd. The road to my house keeps getting blocked and unblocked and then blocked again with the agitated rhythm of a demented yo-yo. Let us recapitulate the events of the last month. The first time the barricades went up was at midnight on Oct. 7, the barricades were removed. Then at midnight on the 11th, the road was blocked off again. This second blockade lasted until 4:30 p.m. on the 21st. Later at night, around 9:30 p.m., the road was blocked off again. "Possibly there is some method in their madness" was all I could think as I went to sleep. The nex= t morning I discovered that the road had been unblocked at 3 o'clock in the early morning. That day, the 22nd, was a normal working day: well, more or less normal by NLD standards, with people coming over the exchange notes on how they had been chased and beaten by security personnel, how they had bee= n taken into detention and how they had been released. At midnight that very day the road was blocked off yet again. There are slight variations from one blockade to the other. The first time I was free to come and go, and key members of the NLD executive committee were allowed to come to my house. The second time, I was still free to com= e and go but others were not allowed in except on the 19th, when I made my usual monthly offering to monks in remembrance of my father. U Aung Shwe, our NLD chairman, and our two deputy chairmen, U Kyi Maung and U Tin U, and their wives were able to join in, for the ceremony. The second blockade was a busy time for us as a number of party meetings had to be conducted at various venues. It was on the day we finished our fourth meeting that the road was opened again at the unexpected time of 4:3= 0 p.m. (I have written about the fact that such events as the arrest of NLD members and the closing and opening of roads tend to take place in the dead of night.) The third blockade which started at midnight on the 22nd found us quite blas=C8. The next morning, a Wednesday, I got ready to go out to see where= we should hold the meeting that had been scheduled to take place at my house. But just as I was about to leave, the military intelligence officer in charge of security in my house came to convey a "request" to the effect tha= t I should not go out that day. A civil request deserves a civil response, s= o I said that would be all right provided those who had to attend the meeting were allowed to come to my house. This was arranged speedily enough but when U Aung Shwe and U Tin U arrived I discovered that U Kyi Maung was not with them. He had been taken away early that morning before dawn. I also discovered that the MI officer had asked them to request me not to leave th= e house for few days. We were given to understand that U Kyi Maung had been taken away to be questioned in connection with the latest student unrest that had erupted in the Rangoon Institute of Technology a couple of days previously. Two students had come to my house on Tuesday and explained to U Kyi Maung what had happened. The authorities were quick to jump to the conclusion that there must be some link between the NLD and the student troubles. This is quite normal. The authorities tend to lay anything that goes away in the country at the door of the NLD. We are often amazed at the extent of the influence which the authorities imagine we have upon the course of events within Burma. Their obsession with our organization sometimes reminds us o= f the words of a song: "Asleep, my thoughts are of you; awake, my thoughts ar= e of you. ...." "Business as usual," we chatted and carried on with our work in the surreal atmosphere of a house arrest that was not a house arrest. We listened to BBC and VOA broadcasts to find out what was going on in the big wide world outside the fence of 54 University Avenue and heard to our surprise that th= e authorities had claimed I was free to come and go as I pleased. This claim was particularly ludicrous in view of the line of uniformed guards standing at attention in front of the gates of my house. We told our MI officer about this official statement and it was conceded on Friday afternoon that = I was in fact free to come and go as I pleased but, of course, I would be "escorted," which was really nothing new. By that time, I had already missed a couple of appointments. Saturday was for me the beginning of our annual light festival. Our young people made simple, candle-lit lanterns from bamboo and cellophane in yellow, green, red and blue and that evening and the next, we hung them along the fence. We also let off fire balloons and set off sparklers. Our pyrotechnic activities were of an extremely modest order but there was a certain charm in keeping a traditional festival alive in the midst of restraint. On Monday afternoon, U Kyi Maung was released and the road to my house was unblocked. For the time being. (This article is one of a yearlong series of letters. The Japanese translation appears in the Mainichi Shimbun the same day, or the previous day in some areas.) ***************************************************************** DVB: ATTACK ON PIPELINE SECURITY CAMP November 3, 19996 Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo in Burmese 1100 gmt 3 Nov 96 Text of report by Burmese opposition radio It has been learned that five soldiers were killed on 22nd October, including one sergeant from No 282 LIR [Light Infantry Regiment], which was newly formed in September to protect security camps of the Yadana gas pipeline. The No 282 LIR, presently stationed at Nateindaung, is responsibl= e for the security of the pipeline between Nateindaung and Zintha. At about 1100 on 22nd October, an unknown armed group launched a machine gun attack against the Ayemyitthar security camp, killing at least five soldiers, including one sergeant, and seriously wounding 13 others. This is the first time the security camps have been attacked since a civil law suit was filed against the US oil company UNOCAL, which has shares in the pipeline project. A Total [French oil company] base camp in Ohnbingon was attacked in February. The attack came amidst the SLORC's [State Law and Order Restoration Council] expansion of the security forces in the region to 10 regiments. ***************************************************************** KYODO: MYANMAR RELEASES 12 PEOPLE DETAINED SUNDAY November 5, 1996 YANGON, Nov. 5 Kyodo - Twelve people detained Sunday in a demonstration at a road junction have been released, an official of Myanmar's ruling junta Tuesday. Asked about the rumored arrest of several people Sunday evening during a demonstration, Lt. Col. Hla Min of the government's intelligence department said 12 people were detained and all had been released by Monday evening. Roadblocks leading to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house were reinforced Saturday evening but were lifted Tuesday morning. On Sunday evening, around 400 people approached a roadblock on Kaba-Aye Pagoda road to attend the usual weekend public addresses of National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders. Local authorities told them to disperse and most did so around 5 p.m., while some others assembled at another road about 1 kilometer away. Authorities again told the crowd to disperse at 6 p.m., and arrested several persons who refused to leave. The government has put up roadblocks every weekend since Sept. 27 to prevent public meetings between NLD leaders and supporters who come to listen to their speeches. ***************************************************************** AP: SINGAPORE OPP. ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF HYPOCRISY November 5, 1996 SINGAPORE (AP) _ Singapore's main opposition party Tuesday accused the government of hypocrisy for promoting harsh anti-drug laws while doing business with Burma's military regime, which it said actively supports ``big-time drug dealers.'' But more than hypocrisy this affects ``the lives and deaths of our nation's children and youths,'' the Singapore Democratic Party said in a statement by its chief, Chee Soon Juan. It was Chee's latest salvo in the war of words between the government and the normally passive and fragmented opposition. The controversy erupted last week when Chee demanded an explanation from the government about an Australian television program that raised questions of morality about the Singapore government's investments in a Thai-Malaysian venture capital fund, the Myanmar Fund, which promotes hotel projects in Burma. The Oct. 12 program by Special Broadcasting Service said an alleged Burmese drug lord, Lo Hsing Han, and his son, Steven Law, also were linked to the Myanmar Fund, in which the Singapore government acknowledges holding a 21.5 percent stake worth $ 10 million. The documentary said the two men are allowed to freely come into Singapore, but Singapore has refused to confirm or deny that. The government has also defended the investments as ``completely open and above board,'' dismissing suggestions of drug links as preposterous. It also accused Chee of being a traitor, saying he apparently supported the allegations by allowing a sound bite from a speech he made earlier this year to be used in the Australian program. In the speech, Chee had criticized Singapore's position as the second biggest foreign investor in Burma after Britain. In Tuesday's statement, Chee asked if criticizing the government means disloyalty to Singapore. ``Loyalty to Singapore must mean that the welfare and the interests of Singaporeans come first, and any action by the government that jeopardizes this must be questioned and closely examined,'' Chee said. He said Singapore jails and canes drug addicts. ``And yet we continue to do business with the (Burmese) generals who think nothing of helping big-time drug dealers push their poison. Is this not hypocrisy at its worst,'' Chee asked. Drug traffickers are hanged by Singapore. Singapore defends investing in Burma, saying its policy of ``constructive engagement'' is a better way to persuade the military junta to promote democracy, rather than isolating it as advocated by the West. ***************************************************************** BKK POST: BURMESE AMBASSADOR FACED WITH NEW ISSUES November 5, 1996 NUSSARA SAWATSAWANG There has been a recent shift in Thai-Burmese relations. Human rights and democracy are taking on a new important, complicating negotiations surrounding sometimes thorny border issues. The newly appointed Burmese ambassador to Thailand Hla Maung is faced with a new trend in Thai-Burmese relations as Thai policy makers raise questions of human rights and democracy. Like his predecessor Tin Winn, a former lieutenant colonel who was promoted to ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Hla Maung turned to diplomacy after a long stint in intelligence work. As a former full colonel, Ambassador Hla Maung had a higher military rank than Tin Winn, and his appointment indicates that Rangoon is paying special attention to bilateral relations . An ambassador who previously served a military intelligence unit can use his contacts with top brass in Rangoon to bypass diplomatic channels, said Burmese officials. Hla Maung, in an interview, said he came here with the mission to promote better ties with "no obstacles to block the building of friendship. Unlike his predecessors, he does not only have to contend with traditional border issues. Human rights and democracy have been added to the bilateral and regional agenda as international concern runs high on these issues. The clearest indication of the new trend came in Foreign Minister Amnuay Viravan's recent observation that Burma would need "some time" to prepare for membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and linked this to its ability to bring peace and order to the country. Mr Amnuay also urged the junta to complete its constitution drafting process and hold general elections in order to be internationally recognized. Veteran diplomat and Deputy Prime Minister Kasem S. Kasemsri did not set democratization as a condition for Burma's ASEAN membership, but said Thailand was taking the democratic path and advocated democracy in "other countries". The remarks of Mr Amnuay and M.R.Kasem differ from Thailand's position in the past, which was in line with other ASEAN countries by keeping silent on the problems in Burma on the grounds that they were Rangoon's internal affairs. They coincided with the increasing international pressure on Burma, which has been severely criticized since the crackdown on prodemocracy forces in late September. Action includes the ban on visa applications from Slorc members by the European Union last week. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations also groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malayasia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. It remains to be seen whether Thailand's new stance will have any impact on bilateral relations, which are being improved. Tensions have eased since Khun Sa surrendered early this year. Rangoon in the past never failed to accuse Bangkok of assisting Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, whose headquarters is only 30 kilometres form Thailand's northern border. Rangoon was also successful in making Bangkok meet its demands to demolish shophouses which Rangoon saw as encroaching on an agreed no-man's land in the Moei River in Tak province, and returning a river channel to its previous condition before work started on the Friendship Bridge in 1989. In addition, Thailand satisfied Burma by taking legal action against the killers of two Burmese crews aboard Thai vessels. The visit to Burma by Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa in March also means Thailand is paying attention to Burma in terms of trade, investment and as a good neighbor. The only thorny issue remaining between the two countries is Rangoon's unfinished talks with Karen rebels living along the border. Ambassador Hla Maung, however, played down any existing disputes, saying they could be tackled using existing mechanisms. The lack of continuity in Thailand's foreign policy, which relies on the politicians holding power on the day, might explain the new envoy's lack of concern about how much pressure Thailand places on Burma. But he criticised the media for their negative reporting about his country as this had led to misunderstandings between the two governments. If Burma is like a pot of soup, he said, "we should not look only at the bottom which is burnt". "We should also see the whole pot and look for something good and delicious to eat," he said. ***************************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: CONFLICT IN BURMA TO "DESTABILIZE REGION" November 5, 1996 (abridged) Associate Press MANILA : International action is needed to force Burma into democratic reforms before the conflict there destabilizes Southeast Asia, former Philippine President Corazon Aquino said yesterday. Aquino told an Asian prodemocracy conference that political repression by the military regime in Burma "is bottling up fumes of discontent that may soon turn noxious and burst violently across the land." The two day conference was attended by more than 100 delegates from 18 countries, and was sponsored by the Forum of Democratic Leaders in Asia Pacific, a non-government group espousing democratic ideals. Sein Win, prime minister of a US -based Burmese government in exile, said clashes between civilians and riot police deployed by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council have erupted in Burma and could worsen. "It is becoming more clear that the generals are not capable of responding to political developments in Burma in any way except by force, ' Sein Win said. "If left to the generals, the situation in Burma could explode and affect the stability of the Asia Pacific region," he said. Sein Win added that international groups, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations trading block, should try to defuse the tension and ensure a peaceful transition from a dictatorship to democracy. ***************************************************************** SUNDAY TIMES: LAOS HOOKED INTO BURMESE HEROIN RACKETS November 5, 1996 By Michael Sheridan The enigmatic and poverty-stricken nation of Laos is becoming a new crossroads in the international heroin trade as corrupt Burmese army generals and Chinese gangsters cash in on the weakness of its nominally Marxist-Leninist government. Khun Sa, the ethnic Shan warlord and heroin trader who fought the Burmese troops for years, is now comfortably established in Rangoon, Western sources say. There he enjoys the compliance of senior army officers in running supply routes through the jungles of Laos and via remote border passes to the international drugs market. "Khun Sa is supposed to be retirement, but you can forget that," said an international expert on the heroin trade in Vientiane. The Laos Government's tiny anti-narcotic unit, set up with American help, recently discovered two heroin and amphetamine laboratories near the Burmese border, a sign that drug refining operations are expanding into Laos. The break-up of Khun Sa's tribal army into feuding factions has also split its distribution networks and sent brokers hunting for new outlets. The result has been an epidemic of drug abuse in southern China - which even executions and purges seem unable to halt - and an outbreak of heroin addiction in Cambodia. Renewed evidence of involvement by the Burmese military in the enormous south-east Asian drug trade will provide Western countries with another reason to isolate its shadowy regime. Burma is now the world's leading producer of opium, the base for heroin, with an estimated annual output of 2600 tons. Laos produces only a fraction of that amount but is still the world's third largest opium producer after Burma and Afghanistan. Years of war in Indo-China, followed by dependence on Russia and Vietnam after 1975, have left Laos in abject poverty, virtually living on opium and foreign aid. The derisory salaries paid to soldiers and officers from the government=EDs all but empty treasury make corruption and collusion with opium and heroin traders inevitable. Per capita income is less than $400 a year. In a subsistence agricultural economy too primitive to measure, opium is believed to be the country's biggest export earner. America and the United Nations are running successful programs in Laos to encourage the hill tribes to grow other cash crops, but these are limited in scope and funding. Although the United States Government is taking the leading role in urging Laos to crack down on opium, the trade results largely from its secret war in Laos between 1964 and 1973. Then the American air force dropped more bombs on the Ho Chi Minh trail in eastern Laos than fell on western Europe in World War II - an average of one load every eight minutes for nine years. This left Laos with the most unexploded ordinance of any country. The CIA also sponsored and organized Hmong hill tribesmen to fight the communist Pathet Lao, funding covert operations through opium and heroin runs in Thailand, Burma and Laos. Today the Hmong and Mien tribes remain the main opium growers in Laos. Diplomats in Vientiane believe Lao exiles and fanatically anti-Communist Thai business magnates are behind continued funds flowing to Hmong insurgents. The CIA long ago lost interest in Laos. Today there exists no military threat to the rather half-hearted "proletiane dictatorship" that holds sway over the charming streets of Vientiane, where most local enthusiasm is reserved for Buddhist worship at numerous temples. Bandits regularly attack traffic on the main route north from Vientiane to the second city of Luang Prabang. Opium poppies are cultivated in the hills around Luang Prabang, then brought by foot and pack animals to dealers. It is a system as simple as the old Ho Chi Minh trail - and no easier to defeat. ***************************************************************** BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives esquires on a number of different topics related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can: Campus activism: zni@students.wisc.edu Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] ai268@freenet.carleton.ca Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@gol.com Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away] Fonts: tom@cs.colgate.edu High School Activism: [volunteer needed] History of Burma: zni@students.wisc.edu International Affairs: Julien Moe: moe@interport.net Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.com Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@Compuserve.com Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed] Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@oats.farm.niu.edu Burma-India border [volunteer needed] Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Pipeline Campaign freeburma@irn.org Resettlement info: refugee_help@mail.serve.com Rohingya culture volunteer needed Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@ix.netcom.com Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net Total - France Dawn Star: cd@utopia.EUnet.fr Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S.Sutcliffe" volunteering: refugee_help@mail.serve.com World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Geographical Contacts: Massachusetts simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE BURMA WEB PAGES: http://FreeBurma.org This single page serves only as an easy to remember URL and departure point to resources promoting the establishment of democracy in Burma. Please write to FreeBurma@pobox.com to add a site or for further information." - Glen, system administrator FREE BURMA COALITION: to get involved in the Free Burma Coalition, send a message to: zni@students.wisc.edu or visit their homepage, accessible through: http:// FreeBurma.org There is also an e-mail list-server especially for Free Burma activists BURMANET SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. 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