Subject: BurmaNet News January 9, 1997 Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 09:45:49 -0800 (PST) From: strider@igc.apc.org Reply-To: Conference "reg.burma" To: Recipients of burmanet-l ------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: January 9, 1997 Issue #608 Noted in Passing: “If-it's-on-CNN-it's-not-in-the-New Light of Myanmar” (ASIA TIMES: READING BETWEEN THE LINES IN MYANMAR) HEADLINES: ========== ABSDF: NEWS FROM CHINA-BURMA BORDER THE NATION: LONG PRISON TERM FOR SUU KYI PARTY MEMBER BKK POST: MALAYSIA TO BACK BURMA ASEAN BID THAILAND TIMES: MYANMAR UNREST DAMPENS BORDER TRADE JIJI: JAPANESE WANT TO MAKE MONEY WITH SLORC ANYWAY THE NATION: RANGOON IN VICE CRACKDOWN BKK POST: CP GROUP EXPANDS INTERESTS BCN: AUNG SAN SUU KYI SHOCKED BY GERMAN BUSINESS PLANS BKK POST: YETAGUN GAS DEAL DUE NEXT MONTH ASIA TIMES: READING BETWEEN THE LINES IN MYANMAR SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: INTERNET BOLSTERS BURMA BOYCOTT INDEPENDENT KAREN INFO COMMITTEE: KAREN NEW YEAR INDEPENDENT REPORT: DEMONSTRATION IN WASHINGTON D.C ANNOUNCEMENT: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA ROUNDTABLE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- ABSDF: NEWS FROM CHINA-BURMA BORDER (1) January 8, 1997 From: caroline@ksc15.th.com SLORC Pressures KIO to Relocate Villagers Locals in Moemauk town, Banmaw District, near the Sino-Burma border, informed the ABSDF that the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has pressured the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) to relocate villagers in the area to designated areas under military control. One of these designated areas is Nalone village. The primary school the SLORC has set up there has had to be closed because the village has only about ten households. The locals also told the ABSDF that the military is pressuring the KIO to allow an army outpost and police, customs and immigration to be stationed at Loizar village on the border. However, they say due to the small size of the village, this is not practical. The locals believe these demands by the military are just the beginning of what the military does to armed ethnic groups after it agrees to a ceasefire with them. ****************************************************** THE NATION: LONG PRISON TERM FOR SUU KYI PARTY MEMBER January 9, 1997 Associated Press RANGOON - A member of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly having links to an ethnic rebel group and publishing illegal documents, a state-run newspaper said yesterday. Saw U Rei was accused of involvement with the Karenni National Progressive Party, and writing and publishing literature detrimental to national unity, the New Light of Myanmar said. Saw U Rei, a native of Karenni state who was voted into a parliament in a 1990 election the military govenrment refused to honour, was arrested on Nov. 15 last year. He was given three years in prison on Nov. 29 for contact with the KNPP and seven years on Dec. 18 for illegal publishing. Court proceedings in Burma have been sharply criticised by international human rights groups and lawyers associations for not being open to public scrutiny. Defendant are frequently denied the right to an attorney or contact with her families, the rights groups say. Saw U Rei was one of at least 30 elected representatives from Suu Kyi's party that have resigned as lawmakers since September. Suu Kyi has said that the govenrment is forcing her party members to resign under threats of prison terms or loss of jobs and housing, and then giving them prison terms anyway. Suu Kyi's party won 82 per cent of the seats in parliament during the 1990 election. But the regime refused to recognise the result of the election, jailing dozens of representatives and harassing hundreds of others. Some have fled the country. (TN) *************************************************************** SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: 'STABILITY THREAT' DELAYS DRMOCRACY January 8, 1997 by Greg Torode in Rangoon THREATS to stability are now being used as a reason by authorities for the continued delays to the drafting of a constitution paving the way for a parliament and elections. The State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, say a convention to draft "guidelines" to the long-delayed document could resume soon, but warn domestic stability was a vital pre-condition. "There should be an atmosphere of peace," said junta Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw, referring to recent student protests and the Christmas Day bombing of a Rangoon pagoda. The Foreign Minister said the guidelines were now about halfway finalised but needed to be completed before drafting of the document proper could begin. Western and Asian diplomats constantly lobby SLORC to finish the document which - in theory - will end the military's rule by decree. But the SLORC chairman, Prime Minister General Than Shwe, has stated recently that the junta will remain in power as long as there are problems with the document. The drafting was hampered a year ago when delegates from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy pulled out of the convention, slamming it as a SLORC "sham". SLORC dominated the sessions, the League claimed, to the point where free debate was not allowed. The pullout nevertheless blocked the key avenue for dialogue between the SLORC and the League, which won by a landslide in the last elections in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern. But one veteran Asian diplomat said yesterday: "Her party was the only real hope that the document could be pushed along. "Now look what we are getting . . . delays." ************************************************************** BKK POST: MALAYSIA TO BACK BURMA ASEAN BID January 8, 1997 Bhanravee Tansubhapol in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia confirmed yesterday it Malaysia confirmed yesterday it would like Burma to be integrated into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year. Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi said Asean's membership expansion plan to include Burma, Cambodia and Laos in a community of 10 Southeast Asian nations "hopefully" would materialise this year. Mr Abdullah declined to be more specific, but said Asean would continue to monitor the situation in Burma. The Malaysian foreign minister was speaking after talks with Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasarn who winds up a three-day visit today. Asean heads of government agreed during a meeting in Jakarta in November that the three prospective members should be admitted "simultaneously", but stopped short of giving a time-frame. A diplomatic source noted that the move could come at the annual Asean foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for July or an informal summit set for December. As the standing committee chairman, Malaysia will host both meetings. Mr Prachuab said he made clear that Thailand would like to work closely with Malaysia to help the three countries' prepare for full membership. Ambassador to Malaysia Vikrom Khumpairoj said Malaysia had significantly softened its stance for Burma's integration into the grouping this year. Malaysia has also urged Rangoon to speed up its constitution drafting, he added. Mr Abdullah, who visited Rangoon in October, quoted Burmese leaders as expressing concern about minority groups, the envoy said. The Burmese leaders were worried - that giving freedom to the minorities "might lead to a South Korea-like situation where minorities have ordered the killing of former leaders," the ambassador said. Mr Abdullah and Mr Prachuab also discussed the situation in Cambodia with some concern, and expressed the hope that Cambodian leaders could sort out the problem among themselves. On bilateral issues, Mr Prachuab agreed to help stem the influx of illegal foreign workers, especially Bangladeshis, into Malaysia through southern Thailand. "We are more than willing to give our cooperation in dealing with this problem once and for all," the Bernama news agency quoted Mr Prachuab as saying. But the minister pointed out to reporters that not all illegal workers entered Malaysia through the border with Thailand. The difficulty, he said, is that most of the Bangladeshi workers enter Thailand on tourist visas and later cross into Malaysia illegally without the proper documents. The two foreign ministers also discussed border demarcation, and á fisheries joint venture mooted during the visit here in March of former Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa. Mr Prachuab said the fisheries venture was currently held up by a land problem for a new fishing port to be set up in Malaysia. To get the project off the ground, Thailand has proposed that it provide a temporary site that will be worked out by senior officials, the minister added. ***************************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: MYANMAR UNREST DAMPENS BORDER TRADE January 8, 1997 Tak: Unrest in Myanmar contributed to 10 percent drop in trade through the Mae Sod Myawadi checkpoint in December, the Maesod Customs' official Pichai Harntalom of Tak province said yesterday. The Maesod Border Cross total trade volume, down to 187 million, affected the predominantly Thai produce passing through the border town. New Year festival s were also blamed for the slump. Ninety percent of passing trade is Thai exports while Myanmar's exports to Thailand, comprising mainly of wooden furniture, were worth 900, 000 baht in December. Top echelon job shuffles within the government and military services in Myanmar has meant a breakdown of order, has also held up goods movement. The Mae Sot-Myawadi checkpoint however remains the biggest conduit for goods exports between the two countries. ***************************************************************** JIJI: JAPANESE WANT TO MAKE MONEY WITH SLORC ANYWAY January 6, 1997 From: "K. Tint" More Japanese Firms Make Inroads into Myanmar Yangon, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)--A growing number of Japanese companies are making inroads into Myanmar despite political uncertainties in the military-controlled country. The number of Japanese firms that have footholds in Myanmar increased to 76 at the end of 1996 from 48 at the end of last June, according to the Japanese embassy in Yangon. Some Japanese firms had been reluctant to do business here due in part to the standoff between the military junta and the prodemocracy opposition forces, led by National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. In a departure from such cautiousness, Japanese business circles here are now taking a further step to enhance their presence in Myanmar by founding a chamber of commerce pretty soon. On top of major trading houses and banks, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Hitachi Ltd. and other Japanese consumer electronics makers have already set up sales bases in Myanmar in a bid to catch business chances in the growing Myanmarese economy. The scope of Japanese business activities in Myanmar is much broader than the number of companies operating here indicate because the embassy does not have accurate information on operations of many small Japanese-affiliated businesses or individual businessmen doing business in the country, embassy sources said. They also pointed out that not a few municipal governments in Japan sent fact-finding missions to Myanmar in response to local companies' requests. Myanmar is likely to continue to attract Japanese companies this year, despite the continuing tense confrontation between the military rulers and the opposition forces, the sources said. *********************************************************** THE NATION: RANGOON IN VICE CRACKDOWN January 9, 1997 Reuter RANGOON - Burmese police arrested 65 prostitutes and five pimps in downtown Rangoon in November and December in a crackdown on prostitution, official media said yesterday. "Acting on information that pimps and prostitutes were active in the vicinity of Theingyi Market and on either side of Shwedagon Pagoda Road, where there are many night club and restaurants, police.. have seized them," state-run newspapers reported. They said action had been taken against those arrested, but did not give details. Prostitution has been on the rise in some of Burma's major cities, where the world's oldest profession used to be virtually non-existent. The rise in prostitution is often attributed to the hotel an tourism business, which has been growing steadily since the military govenrment opened up the economy in 1988. Some of the women involved in prostitution in downtown Rangoon said they were forced into it because of the high cost of living and scarcity of good-paying jobs. (TN) **************************************************************** BKK POST: CP GROUP EXPANDS INTERESTS January 9, 1997 Woranuj Maneerungsee in Rangoon Thailand's largest conglomerate, CP Group, has expanded into Burma by establishing Myanamr CP Livestock Co. The new company will use its investment funds of 237.5 million baht to build an animal-feed factory with a monthly capacity of 6,000 tons. It also plans to raise cattle for breeding and establish hatcheries producing about 300,000 chicks a week. Prasert Poongkuman, CP's agricultural industry chairman, received approval this week from U Maung Nyunt, managing director of Burma's Livestock, Feedstuffs and Milk Products Enterprise. The group has 15 farms operating on 25 year supply contracts around Rangoon at a combined cost of US $9.5 million. Without assistance Burmese farmers were unable to afford the 50,000 baht minimum required to establish a standard farm, Mr Prasert said, adding CP paid for the feed, chicks and other essentials. Pichet Laokasem, CP's agricultural industry vice-president, said CP supported the Asean policy of constructive engagement with Burma. Isolation of Burma over human rights was a move promoted by the West. CP saw opportunities for developing an intergrated poultry industry in Burma, where chicken was was expensive at 56 baht per kilogramme compared with 33 baht for pork. ***************************************************************** BCN: AUNG SAN SUU KYI SHOCKED BY GERMAN BUSINESS PLANS January 8, 1997 From: bcn@xs4all.nl (Burma Centrum Nederland) original: Pressemitteilung (press release) Deutsche Welle English Service contact at Deutsche Welle: Hugh Williamson, tel (+49)221 389 45 90/1/4 fax (+49)221 389 45 55 BURMESE DEMOCRACY LEADER AUNG SAN SUU KYI 'SHOCKED' BY GERMAN BUSINESS PLAN FOR INVESTMENT OFFICE IN RANGOON Suu Kyi in an interview with DW-radio calls for Deutsche Telekom, ADB, Dresdner Bank to cancel investments Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has attacked a plan by several leading German companies to open an investment office in the Burmese capital Rangoon. "We're not in favour of investments in Burma at this particular moment because money that gets into the country does not get to the people that need it most" Suu Kyi told Deutsche Welle English service in a telephone inteview on Wednesday, 8th January (1997) from Rangoon. New investments "would only enrich an already very rich elite" the Nobel peace prize winner said. Eight German companies are jointly funding the office, which will be officially opened when a delegation of 15 German business people visit Burma later in January. Telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom, engineering firm ABB Mannheim, Dresdner bank and Berliner Bank are among those involved. News of the German initiative comes despite tension in Burma after recent student protest, and contrasts sharply with grwoing calls for business to boycott the country due to human rights concerns. The European Commission in December 1996 urged European Finance ministers to suspend Burma's trade priviliges on the grounds that the military regime sanctions the use of forced labour. The EU has also banned European visits by Burmese officials. Suu Kyi said "if I could persuade them to cancel their plans, I would do so", referring to the GErman companies. "Perhaps the German public should persuade them not ot go ahead." The plan to open the representative office, on January 30th, is being co-ordinated by the Hamburg-based German Asia-Pacific Business Association. Regional manager Wolfgang Niedermark told Deutsche Welle the office will provide "information of ervey kind" to bring German companies "into contact with potential Burmese partners". Niedermark said he was aware of political tension in Burma and international concern over Human Rights, but said "we are really business oriented and we don not have any political ambitions." Suu Kyi condemned this attitude, especially because it came from Germans. "With Germany's history and experience I think it's shocking that any German should say that we're only interested in economics,we have nothing to do with politics. The fact that Germany was involved in the second world war was due to political errors not economic errors." But Niedermark argued that foreign investment could bring change in Burma. "We would liek to stay in contact with people in such countires where we think (the) human rights record is not as we wish". Economic contacts are better than isolation or investment boycotts, he said. The office will cost "several hundred thousand Deutschmarks" to run its first year, with one german and svereal local staff, Niedermark said. The other companies involved are ENV, a Berlin-based environment management group; a transport company Müller & partner from Cologne; the Fulda-based textile company Ispert and a Hamburg trading company. More companies may join the funding group later, Neidermark said. German trade and invetsment ties with Burma lag behind those of other Asian and European countries. German-Burmese trade totalled around $50 million in 1994. Siemens, clothing multinational Triumph and several tourist companies are aming the few German cpmnaies with offices or joint ventures in Burma Cologne, 8th january 1997 (Amsterdam, 8th of january 1997) ********************************************************* BKK POST: YETAGUN GAS DEAL DUE NEXT MONTH January 9, 1997 THE petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) expects to finalise a deal with Burma over the Yetagun natural gas field by February, according to Piti Yimyrasert, president of PTT's natural has operation. He said PTT might be able to hold some 15% of equity in the Yetagun project, located in the Andaman Sea. The state oil company, he added, had secured a supply of 250 million cubic feet per day at a price lower than for gas form Yadana, another large Burmese field. He declined to elaborate on the gas pricing. (BP) *************************************************************** ASIA TIMES: READING BETWEEN THE LINES IN MYANMAR January 8, 1997 Stephen Brookes I WAS sitting in a Yangon restaurant the other day waiting for a friend, and was deeply immersed in the New Light of Myanmar - the official newspaper here - when he arrived. "Sorry I'm late," he said, then noticed the paper. "Do you actually read that thing?" he asked. "I have to, it's part of my job," I said, folding the paper quickly into my briefcase. But the truth is that, though the state-run paper is written like a Soviet tank manual and has all the flair and vitality of a grocery list, I read it every day - and find it fascinating. For the New Light of Myanmar is the English-language voice of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). It's the main vehicle SLORC uses to explain itself to the outside world, and it's much like SLORC itself - stolid, no-nonsense and deeply reluctant to divulge information. If you're looking for lively, in-depth news and analysis, the New Light is not the place to look. Most real information flows on the rumor mill in Myanmar, not in the papers. But for insight into how SLORC sees itself, there's no better source. Of course, it's sometimes a tough slog - this is a government, remember, that even has a censorship board for calendars. They don't have to worry about boosting circulation, or getting more advertisers, or beating the competition. There is no competition. So there aren't any features, "lifestyle" stories, feisty editorial pages or comics. They don't even have Doonesbury. In fact, even its staffers admit that the paper is a tad formulaic. Each day starts with a stern recitation of SLORC's 16 political, economic and social objectives and then takes off from there. There are firm exhortations to the citizenry to drive safely, not to smoke, and to uphold the emergence of a constitution. If a new ambassador has been appointed from somewhere, there will be a solemn announcement. If a top official makes a speech, the speech will be reprinted down to the last syllable. If a government minister tours a new dam, there will be a dam story. Yet, the paper can be oddly charming in spite of itself. On slow news days, page two will sport an old-fashioned photo of a young woman posing in front of a pagoda with a corny caption such as "Two samples of Myanmar beauty." (This is in the "Come, Visit Myanmar" section.) The government is always running competitions and festivals of one kind or another; last week, the results of the Mayor's Cup Fruit and Flower Show were announced, including the winners of the "foreign orchids event", the "garden croton event" and, of course, the "fern event". But hard news in Myanmar is tougher to find. The notions of "useful information" and "story line" are not well-developed, and most articles are simply a statement that a certain event occurred, with a long list of the people who attended. A typical front-page story will note that a top SLORC official visited a construction site, name every member of his entourage, then reveal that the official "issued necessary instructions to the authorities concerned". End of story. But even such lists can provide useful glimpses into life in Yangon. Take the January 4 article on the opening of a new furniture showroom. Pretty boring, right? And the story just noted that a company called Sinma Furnishings opened the shop with its business partner. Simple enough - except that the partner is the Welfare Society of the Bureau of Special Investigation, and the attendees included the minister for home affairs, the director of public relations and psychological warfare, and the head of the Myanmar police force. Fascinating business, furniture. In fact, stories on international investment - actual or potential - tend to dominate the news. Like it or not, trade delegations and visiting heads of corporations usually get their pictures in the paper when they meet with government officials, with a short article noting who was present and a vague statement that "topics of mutual interest" were discussed. And in Visit Myanmar Year, the arrival of a shipload of tourists will usually merit a photo and short article noting the number of visitors, their nationality and, for some reason, the exact time the boat actually docked. But often what's most interesting is the news that doesn't make it - in other words, the political news. The events that propel Myanmar on to the front page of the international press are usually ignored in the New Light of Myanmar, and the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in 1995, the detention of hundreds of National League for Democracy members this past May, the student protests in December, the placement of tanks around the city - all passed without a peep. Of course, the paper does discuss many of these events - but in the opinion section, not the news. There seems to be a tacit admission that everyone has heard the latest news on the grape vine, and the newspaper's job is to put the right spin on it. Suu Kyi's activities are never reported straight, for example, but rather discussed in long, pseudonymous and sometimes quite vicious essays on the dangers of "evil destructionists" and "dastardly neo-colonialism". Analysts say that's partly because SLORC is a large group and needs time to discuss what response it will take to important events (which also explains the formulaic approach to reporting). But the exception to the "if-it's-on-CNN-it's-not-in-the-New Light of Myanmar" rule was a bombing late on the night of December 25, in which five people were killed. To the interest of many in Yangon, the news was reported in the paper the very next morning - an unusually rapid response that prompted the usual tea-leaf-reading in this rumor-prone city. "Usually they keep any news on ice for a while, until everyone has agreed on how to play it," said one diplomat in Yangon. "It's fascinating that they reported this so quickly - clearly there was no need to forge a consensus. But what exactly does that mean?" (AT) ******************************************************* SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: INTERNET BOLSTERS BURMA BOYCOTT January 6, 1997 (California paper) Web clout: Online networking helps unite pro-democracy efforts. BY T. T. Nhu Mercury News Staff Writer Alameda County supervisors voted last month to restrict county investment in companies that do business with Burma, a land-locked country few Americans have seen since World War II. Burma (the country's formal name is Myanmar) was also the reason Mitsubishi's lucrative $140 million contract with San Francisco International Airport was nearly scuttled in the same week. >From Apple Computer Inc. to the city of Berkeley to Jesse Helms, a growing list of names spanning the American political spectrum have jumped aboard the Boycott Burma campaign, one that has amassed surprising support in a short time. Organizers are patterning their quest after the successful 1979 anti-apartheid campaign against South Africa in order to pressure Burma's military regime to make democratic reforms. Like Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Burma's democracy advocates have a compelling and charismatic leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But they have something else: the Internet. ``It's hard to imagine how we organized 10 years ago without it,'' said Leslie Kean of the Burma Project-U.S. ``People can monitor Burma on a daily basis: what streets demonstrators were on, where they were arrested, what the government did. The government knows we're keeping an eye on them.'' While it took more than a decade for the South Africa boycott to expand, the anti-Burma movement has grown rapidly in two years. Keane credits Zarni, a Burmese teacher and tour guide-turned-college student in Madison, Wis., with seeing the Internet's potential. Now Burma activists in San Jose, Mill Valley, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Madison have dramatically expanded their reach through the ``Free Burma'' Web site and others, which are linked via hypertext. Since 1995, when Berkeley passed the resolution to prohibit doing business with Burma, 10 other cities have followed, including San Francisco, Madison, Santa Monica and Boulder, Colo. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed legislation forbidding state business with companies having investments in Burma. Supporters say their cause, when known, is compelling. Suu Kyi, the daughter of the assassinated founder of modern Burma, Aung San, was elected president in 1988, then detained under house arrest by the regime for six years. Like Mandela, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in captivity, earning the award in 1991. Burma, bending to international censure, released Suu Kyi in 1995, but she has been under virtual house arrest and has been unable to speak publicly for more than two months, according to Bay Area Burma activists. Her activities have been severely restricted, although the country's military leaders allowed her to meet with hundreds of supporters on the country's 49th anniversary of independence on Saturday. ``Burma is a very clear-cut case,'' said Dan Orzech of Bay Area Burma Roundtable. ``There was a democratically elected government which was canceled by what the Wall Street Journal calls `ruling thugs' and whose people have reached out to the U.S. for help.'' The organization is one of a few that have formed under the umbrella of the Free Burma Coalition partly because of the ease of networking through the Internet. Zarni, who is spearheading the boycott campaign through the Free Burma Web site, joined forces with the round-table group, the Burma Project-U.S. and two other people, Don Erickson, a retired Chicago schoolteacher, and Larry Dohrs, a Seattle coffee broker, the two original organizers of the Burma Boycott. ``We focus on the huge corporations as the bad guys, but the real culprits are the people who buy their products,'' said Alan Clements, who documented in a book the massacres that took place in Burma following the nullification of the 1988 election. Clements founded the Burma Project-U.S. with Keane to inform the public about the situation in Burma. Besides Apple, other large companies are paying attention. Levi-Strauss, Starbucks, Oshkosh B'gosh, Liz Claiborne, Heineken, Eddie Bauer and Wente Vineyards in Livermore have cut business ties with Burma after democracy supporters lobbied them. In ending its ties with Burma in 1992, Levi Strauss stated: ``It is not possible to do business in Burma without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive violation of human rights.'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF YOU'RE INTERESTED The Free Burma Coalition can be found at http://freeburma.org . The Soros Foundation Burma Project site is at http://www.soros.org./burma.html . ************************************ INDEPENDENT KAREN INFO COMMITTEE: KAREN NEW YEAR MESSAGE (abridged) January 9, 1997 >From Burma Office NEW YEAR MESSAGE BY THE INDEPENDENT KAREN INFORMATION COMMITTEE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1st Tha Lay, 2736 (09.01.1997) On this auspicious day of the first of Thalay, the year of 2736, may the choicest blessing be upon every one of you. In deep appreciation and gratitude, we praise the democtatic governments and people around the world for their humanitarian assistance and kindness rendered to the Karen people who are suffering. We know that on the occasion of the year 2736, Karens in many places, near and far, are also holding new year celebrations. We, Karen people in Sydney will join together in one mind and celebrate the new year on 11 December 1997. We wish the entire Karen people to have complete peace, happiness, health and prosperity, and all the choicest blessings in this new year. We, the Karen people, are not an insignificant nationality. Racially, the Karens belong to the Sino-Thai family of language group, and come under the Mongoloid stock. According to history, our forefathers started to migrate in B.C. 2017 from Mongolia, passed through East Takistan and Tibet and reached the Yunan Province of China in B.C. 1385. Again, our forefathers started to migrate from Yunan in B.C. 1128 and the first wave reached the country now known as Burma in B.C. 1125. The second wave of migration left Yunan in B.C. 741 and reached Burma in B.C. 739. In counting the years of the Karen Era, that time of arrival was taken as the beginning. The early waves of migration coming into Burma finally settled down in Playloklo Delta (Irrawaddy Delta), the Gawloklo River Basin (Sittang River Basin) and the lower part of the Hkoloklo River Basin(Salween River Basin). Some following the Hkoloklo River went past the estuary and reached as far south as the southern part of Tenessarim regions and the adjoining areas in Thailand. Some remained as far north as the southern part of Shan State and the northern part of Thailand close to the Thai-Burma border. The majority of the Karen people lives in the country known nowadays as Burma and forms about 20% of the entire population of the country. Dear Karen nationals, We, the Karen people, possess all the attributes of a nation. Our population is more than eight million. We have our own culture, history, tradition and literature. We have our own national anthem and national flag. Our national flag bears the rising sun and a bronze drums. Among them is the auspicious drum played on joyous occasions. The drum on our national flag is such a drum. It signifies prosperity, unity and cooperation. The rising sun signifies the rise of the Karen people for progress and dignity. The red colour signifies courage, the white colour signifies integrity and the blue colour signifies the honest and royal character of the Karen people. In the past, not many countries knew about us. Now more and more peoples have come to know us and have shown their sympathy and understanding for us. Dear Karen nationals, We, must know that we are not a trivial people. There is a great future for us. Let us not be wavering. Let us leave our bad habits, hesitation, pettiness and etc.,., behind with the old year and march on with new determination, new spirit, firm unity and enthusiasm in this new year for the progress of our entire people. (section cut) All Karen people should think globally and act locally. Each of us must get up and stand up for our rights. We must continue to fight unitedly for restoration of democracy , human rights, justice and peace in our motherland. May this Karen New Year brings abundant blessing, unity and happiness to every one of you! Thank You. THE INDEPENDENT KAREN INFORMATION COMMITTEE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ***************************************************************** INDEPENDENT REPORT: DEMONSTRATION IN WASHINGTON D.C January 4, 1997 From: Dbsousa@aol.com Burmese students and patriots staged a demonstration in front of the Burmese ambassador's residence where an Indenpendence Day dinner hosted by the Burmese embassador was held. The demonstration was organized by the Committee for Restoration for Democracy in Burma (CRDB), Democratic Burmese Students Organization (DBSO) and Chin Youth Organization (CYO). U Bo Hla Tint, a minister of the Burmese exiled government, National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB) gave a speech at the demonstration on behalf of NCGUB. Representatives from CRDB,DBSO, CYO, other Burmese patriots and American activists also gave speeches: -denouncing SLORC's continued oppression in Burma -condemning SLORC's latest ploy, the bombing incident which ended five innocent lives, which is used as a cover to arrest student leaders and political activists -demanding the release of student leaders and all political prisoners -call for SLORC to initiate a genuine tripartite dialogue among democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups -call upon the international community to step up pressure on SLORC Most of the diplomats who came to the dinner were mainly from African and Asian countries. Dipolmats from European Union, United States, Australia and Japan were not observed at the reception. Moreover, fewer people attended the dinner compared to last year's reception. Another interesting event noticed was, agents from the Secret Service and FBI along with bomb sniffing dogs were seen posted in front of the building. SLORC might have been thinking to commit a ploy like the one they did at the Burmese embassy in Tokyo, Japan, where a bomb planted by a SLORC agent was found. [dbsousa@aol.com is the official e-mail address of the Democratic Burmese Students Organization (USA). Anybody who woulk like to contact DBSO (USA), please send an e-mail to above address.] ************************************************************* ANNOUNCEMENT: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA ROUNDTABLE January, 1997 (abridged) From: simon_billenness@cybercom.net (Simon Billenness) UPCOMING EVENTS On Sunday, January 26, 1997, a presentation will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the First Parish Church at 328 Walnut Street, Brookline, MA 02146. The presentation will include Burmese culture, Buddhism and dance. For information, please contact Kolay at (617) 388-0038. Conference on Burma. From February 1-4, 1997, over two hundred students, labor organizers, community activists, concerned scholars and NGO representatives will gather at American University in Washington, DC to continue the struggle for democracy in Burma. The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, U.S. lawmakers such as Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) (invited), Nigerian Nobel Prize Recipient Wole Soyenka (invited) and other leading dissidents will attend. The meeting seeks to draw further attention to systemic human rights abuses and conference's activities will include congressional lobbying, letter writing and a public demonstration. For more information, please contact Jeremy Woodrum, Registration Coordinator at the Kay Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 20016, (202) 885-3333, jw1970a@american.edu JANUARY MEETING Next Roundtable meeting: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th at Franklin, Research & Development, 711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02210 at (617) 423-6655. POLITICAL UPDATE On behalf of CPPAX and the Massachusetts Burma Roundtable, Simon Billenness, Julia Carpenter and U Win Maung met with staff at the Boston offices of Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator John Kerry. In addition, during a recent trip to Washington DC, Simon Billenness met with the Washington DC staff of both Senators as well as a staff member to Rep. Joe Kennedy. In our meetings, we expressed our thanks to both Senators for supporting the tough sanctions on Burma proposed by Senators McConnell and Moynihan. We asked specifically that the Senators: 1. Communicate their constituents' concerns over the treatment of refugees from Burma to the ambassadors of Bangladesh, India and Thailand; 2. Write President Clinton to call for the immediate imposition of a ban on new US investment in Burma. ************************************************************