From - Thu Jan 16 19:53:23 1997 Received: from poboxer.pobox.com (poboxer.pobox.com [208.210.124.21]) by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id LAA09322 for ; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 11:44:23 -0500 (EST) Received: from igc7.igc.org (igc7.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.35]) by poboxer.pobox.com (8.8.4/8.7.1) with ESMTP id LAA11057 for ; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 11:44:00 -0500 Received: from cdp.igc.apc.org (notes@cdp.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.1]) by igc7.igc.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) id HAA25790; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 07:10:11 -0800 (PST) Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 06:58:53 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: Conference "reg.burma" From: strider@igc.apc.org Subject: BurmaNet News January 16, 1997 To: Recipients of burmanet-l Message-ID: X-Gateway: conf2mail@igc.apc.org Errors-To: owner-burmanet-l@igc.apc.org Precedence: bulk Lines: 798 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 X-UIDL: c79ec6b345d6301535d5e65b6f9a1f8f Status: RO X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 36051 ------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: January 16, 1997 Issue #612 Noted in Passing: The sham National Convention being held by the Slorc, presently, is for the perpetuation of military dictatorship. - Mae Tha Raw Hta Agreement (ETHNIC NATIONALITIES SEMINAR: PRESS STATEMENT) HEADLINES: ========== ETHNIC NATIONALITIES SEMINAR: PRESS STATEMENT WSJ: FLIGHT OF THE FALCON (EDITORIAL) THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: PRESSURE GROUPS SQUEEZE COMPANIES REUTER: KODAK TO END PACT WITH BURMA DISTRIBUTOR THE NATION: JAPAN URGES BURMA DHAKA BANGLADESH RADIO NETWORK: RETURN OF REFUGEES NATION: CHAVALIT PLANS TO VISIT BURMA BANGKOK POST: RANGOON MINISTER ON TRIP TO BOOST TIES XINHUA: YANGON POPULATION EXCEEDS 5 MILLION SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: : SCHOOLDAYS END EARLY NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN: AUTOMOBILE REPAIR PLANT ANNOUNCEMENT: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY TO HONOR ASSK SEATTLE CAMPAIGN FOR FREE BURMA: BONUS MILES AT HEROIN SATIRE: NIGHT IN OLD RANGOON ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- ETHNIC NATIONALITIES SEMINAR: PRESS STATEMENT January 15, 1997 [ BurmaNet Editor’s Note: Over 100 representatives from several ethnic minority political organizations met in Karen State for a week to discuss the current political situation and how they can better work together. The ethnic groups had been working together under the DAB (Democratic Alliance of Burma), an umbrella organization whose members originally agreed not to sign separate ceasefires. After the Kachin Independence Organization signed a ceasefire with the SLORC in 1993, the DAB declined in power. The other multi-ethnic opposition organization, the National Democratic Front, only includes armed resistance groups which hold their own territories. Although this group has also shrunk in membership, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar resolved to try to strengthen the NDF. This seminar was significant because both non-ceasefire and ceasefire groups attended and signed the statement below. In particular, the groups rejected the National Convention as a ploy by the SLORC to retain power. Previously, Wa representatives had been attending the National Convention. The organizations also declared their support for Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, asked ASEAN to postpone Burma’s entry into the grouping, and stated that they oppose foreign investment at this time. ETHNIC NATIONALITIES SEMINAR (MAE THA RAW HTA) ETHNIC NATIONALITIES SEMINAR STATEMENT ---------------------------------------- We, the ethnic nationalities of the Union of Burma held a seminar from January 7 to 14, 1997 at Mae Tha Raw Hta in the base area of the Karen National Union (KNU). The seminar was attended by 111 delegates and observers from the ethnic nationality organizations mentioned below. 1. Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) 2. Pa-O People's Liberation Organization (PPLO) 3. Wa National Organization (WNO) 4. United Wa State Party (UWSP) 5. Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) 6. Kachin Independence Organization (KI0) 7. All-Arakan Students and Youths Council (AASYC) 8. Lahu Democratic Front (LDF) 9. New Mon State Party (NMSP) 10. Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) 11. Kayan New Land Party (KNLP) 12. Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA) 13. Chin National Front (CNF) 14. Shan Democratic Union (SDU) 15. Karen National Union (KNU) 16. Special guests of various nationalities. At the seminar we, the participants, earnestly discussed and deliberated upon the important issues, namely, internal peace, democracy, rights or national equality and self-determination for the ethnic nationalities and establishment of a genuine federal union, which are the principle political problems. In the deliberation, we determined that since the time of independence in 1948, successive regimes in power have violated the right to "equality of all citizens irrespective of race," as provided for in Panglong Agreement. Armed subjugation by successive regimes, practising racial chauvinism, for the last 49 years, has been a disastrous experience of suffering, unprecedented in history, for the ethnic nationalities. Brutal suppression of the ethnic nationalities by armed might is still continuing. The Union of Burma still lacks peace and stability. The refusal of the Slorc to resolve the questions of the rights of the nationalities and democratic freedom, which are the two principle political problems, has raised tensions and worsened the situation in the country, day by day. Accordingly, we unanimously adopted and affirmed the resolutions as follows. 1. We are resolved to carry out democratic changes in accordance with the will of the people of Burma and to establish a genuine federal union based on the equality and self-determination of nationalities, in accordance with the will of the ethnic nationalities. 2. We demand the dissolution of the Slorc's sham National Convention and the holding of a Tri-partite Dialogue comprised of representatives of the Slorc, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and pro- democracy forces, and the ethnic nationalities, for the resolution of political problems by political means. 3. We demand that the Slorc cease its military operations and oppression against the ethnic nationalities and other resistance organizations, while efforts are being made to resolve the principle political problems of the country by political means. 4. We demanded the postponement of the acceptance of Burma as a member of Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) until there is positive political change. We request that all foreign investment be withdrawn from Burma and that there be no new investment until this change occurs. 5. We are resolved to oppose the Slorc's sham programs of narcotic eradication and cooperate with international narcotic eradication agencies and organizations. 6. We ardently support the people's movement led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for democracy and the dismantling of the military dictatorship. 7. We are resolved to strengthen the country-wide coalition body of the ethnic nationalities, the National Democratic Front (NDF), so as to make it strong on all sides and at the same time, to raise the level of mutual understanding support and cooperation between the ethnic nationalities and pro-democracy forces. January 15, 1997 -------------------------------------------- MAE THA RAW HTA AGREEMENT --------------------------- We leaders of Arakanese, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Kayan, Mon, Pa-O, Pelaung, Lahu, Shan and Wa ethnic nationalities, representing the various organizations as well as the nationalities, attended the seminar held from January 7 to 14, 1997 at Mae Tha Raw Hta in Kawthoolei. We leaders of nationalities mentioned above after frank and cordial discussions in depth, have agreed upon the following terms. 1. Agreement Relating to Political Aims (a) To dismantle the military dictatorship and establish peace in the country; (b) To practice the democratic political system; (c) To achieve the rights of equality and self-determination for each and every nationality; (d) To establish a federal union. 2. Agreement Concerning the Slorc's National Convention The sham National Convention being held by the Slorc, presently, is for the perpetuation of military dictatorship. Since absolutely no rights will be gained for the ethnic nationalities, we, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, do not in any way recognize the Slorc's National Convention and agree to oppose it. 3. Agreement Regarding Tri-partite Dialogue We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, accept the tri-partite dialogue agreed to by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and called for by the resolutions of the UN and international organizations. The tri-partite dialogue must include three forces, namely the force composed of the NDF, UNLD, PDF and other ethnic nationalities, the pro-democracy force led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the SLORC military clique. 4. Agreement Relating to Federal Union We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar unanimously agree to establish a genuine federal union composed of national states having the full rights of national equality and self-determination. 5. Agreement Relating to Economic Policy Regarding the economic policy, we, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, agree to practice market economic system and invite foreign investments. However as foreign investments, at present, are benefiting the Slorc military dictatorship only and increasing its oppressive power, we strongly object to them. 6. Agreement Relating to Narcotic Drugs We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, unanimously agree to cooperate with international narcotic drug eradication organizations for the eradication of the entire business of narcotic drugs, including cultivation, production and trafficking. 7. Agreement Regarding Pro-democracy Forces We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, agree to raise the fight on all sides in the fields of politics, diplomacy and people's action for the dismantling of the Slorc military dictatorship. In this struggle, we agree also to join hands with the pro- democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and act unitedly and simultaneously for the achievement of rights of the nationalities as well as democratic rights. Moreover, we acknowledge the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the winner of the 1990 general election in accordance with the true will of the people and democratic process, we fully support all acts of opposition against the Slorc, by it. 8. Agreement Relating to ASEAN We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, agree to send letters to ASEAN requesting it to delay, indefinitely, acceptance of Burma under the Slorc, as a member of the organization. 9. Agreement Relating to Alliance We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, agree unanimously to help develop the National Democratic Front (NDF), the nation-wide alliance body of the ethnic nationalities, into a politically militarily and organizationally more solid entity. 10. Agreement on Reunion We, the Ethnic Nationalities Seminar, agree to maintain and implement the results of the seminar and to have a reunion at least once a year. SIGNATORIES 1. GEN AUNG THAN LAY (KARENNI NATIONAL PROGRESSIVE PARTY ) 2. COL. KHUN OKKER (PA-O PEOPLE LIBERATION ORGANISATION ) 3. COL. MA HA SANN (WA NATIONAL ORGANISATION ) 4. COL. SAI PAO SING (UNITED WA STATE PARTY ) 5. MAR AIK PHONE (PALAUNG STATE LIBERATION FRONT ) 6. COL. ZAU SENG (KACHIN INDEPENDENT ORGANISATION ) 7. KHING MYAT KYAW (ALL ARAKAN STUDENTS AND YOUTH CONGRESS) 8. B. KYA OO (LAHU DEMOCRATIC FRONT ) 9. NAI HAN THA (NEW MON STATE PARTY ) 10. KHINE SOE NAING AUNG (ARAKAN LIBERATION PARTY) 11. KHUN NA RUH (KAYAN NEW LAND PARTY ) 12. SAO OAT KESI (SHAN UNITED REVOLUTIONARY ARMY ) 13. SLAI SHWE KHA (CHIN NATIONAL FRONT) 14. KHUN HOM (SHAN DEMOCRATIC UNION) 15. GEN. SAW BO MYA (KAREN NATIONAL UNION) 16. INDIVIDUAL DELEGATES I. CHAO TZANG YAWNGWE II. NAW LOUISA BENSON III. KHUN MARKO BAN ***************************************************************** WSJ: FLIGHT OF THE FALCON (EDITORIAL) January 13, 1997 After three less than fruitful years in Burma, Peregrine Investment Holdings Ltd. will close its office there this month and move on in search of greener pastures. Surely there is something to be learned here about money and markets in unattractive places. Peregrine's retreat is not about concern over political rights, or other such daintiness. Yet that only makes the flight from Burma all the more noteworthy. Peregrine is ditching Burma not because it's politically bad, but because the company couldn't generate a "meaningful amount of income" there. Peregrine went into Burma in 1994 in the expectation that the government was serious about economic reform, including privatization. It planned to offer its considerable expertise, at a fair price, to state-owned operations undergoing deconstruction. But the privatization never materialized, Peregrine's official statement complains, nor did "the anticipated establishment of a securities market." In private, officials insist that the Burmese regime is much less "ideological" than the government in Vietnam--where Peregrine is also having problems. It is more willing to battle Hanoi, however, on behalf of protecting more substantial investment. In Burma, Peregrine's experts somehow underestimated the degree of resistance to privatization that would develop in ruling circles when the rich and powerful faced the prospect of losing their lucrative grip on state owned enterprises. Peregrine's other mistake in Burma has been more painful. In October, a federal court in New York awarded the company $4.1 million in a suit it brought in 1995 against one of its former associates in a prawn-processing enterprise in Burma. Peregrine charged that Miriam Marshall Segal, an American businesswoman with ties to Burma's ruling generals, conspired to wreck their joint venture as part of a plan to compel Peregrine to sell its shares in Myanmar American Fisheries, a company known as Mafco, back to her or to companies friendly to her. Yet the Segal saga is not the part of the story that should most concern Peregrine or potential investors in places like Burma. More significant is the behavior of Peregrine's joint venture partner, the Burmese Ministry of Fisheries. Through all Peregrine's travails, the ministry--and the regime so avidly trawling for foreign cash these days--did not protect their partner under the law or in any other way. When Ms. Segal and her friends blocked company officials from entering their own prawn plants in the summer of 1995, the Burmese government effectively neutralized Peregrine by announcing that its registration as legal owner was invalid. The lesson for oppressive regimes is a simple one: You may abuse your citizens and foreign investors will still line up at your door. If you abuse the investors, they will leave. The lesson for investors is a bit more subtle, but essentially the same: If a country treats its own citizens badly, don't be surprised if it treats you badly too. Sooner or later, in fact, you can count on it. Just ask the cheerleaders for Vietnam last year who are now booing from the sidelines. *************************************************** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: PRESSURE GROUPS SQUEEZE COMPANIES January 13, 1997 (abridged) By Richard Northedge DIRECTORS fear that their decision-making will be increasingly affected by pressure from governments and lobby groups. Many companies claim that they have already had to cancel investment plans because of government-imposed sanctions or campaigns by protest groups. John Bray of the risk assessment group Control Risks said: "Pressure groups already influence investment decisions in some companies and we believe that more companies will be affected in the future, as demands for commercial accountability increase." The Carlsberg and Heineken brewers withdrew from Burma because of boycott threats over that country's human rights. A survey of European businessmen by Control Risks shows that 57percent expect the risks posed by pressure groups to increase over the next five years with only 10percent expecting a fall. "In theory, businesses are keen to collaborate with pressure groups through dialogue,"says the company's development director, Richard Fleming. Mr Fleming said: "Some 90 percent of directors said they believed it was possible to work together with pressure groups on the environment and 77 percent thought collaboration possible on labour standards. "But on more sensitive issues such as corruption, 28percent of companies were less comfortable that pressure groups would understand the realities of the business." He said that the survey showed that businessmen think the lobbyists have little understanding of business in emerging markets and simplify or distort facts. But business is also concerned that its decisions are being influenced by government policies such as the United States' sanctions against firms dealing with Cuba. The survey for control risks found that a third of British businesses had altered investment decisions because of human rights issues but only a quarter of French companies had done so and just 7 percent of German firms had. Nearly half the British companies said that they were concerned by corruption-but none of the French companies and only one German businessman said that they were. ********************************************************* REUTER: KODAK TO END PACT WITH BURMA DISTRIBUTOR January 13, 1997 NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuter) - Eastman Kodak Co said Monday it plans to end its relationship with an independent distributor in Burma that it did not name. Kodak spokesman Paul Allen said the company will discontinue the relationship with the distributor in order to comply with mandates and laws passed by some U.S. municipalities that restrict direct trade with Burma. Kodak declined to comment on when the contract would be discontinued. Allen said Kodak will continue to sell consumer products thoughout Asia through various independent dealers. ******************************************************** THE NATION: JAPAN URGES BURMA January 14, 1997 HASHIMOTO urged Burma's military rulers yesterday to pursue democratic reforms and bluntly warned them to play by "international rules" if they gain admission into Asean. Hashimoto told a news conference on the last leg of a five-nation Asean tour that Burma should not use the grouping's membership as a "smokerscreen" for "autocratic rule". Burma, Cambodia and Laos are expected to be a admitted by 2000 into Asean, which have close and strengthening links with Japan. Hashimoto said once Burma joins Asean, it "will be brought into the international community and would be subjected to the international rules of the game." "That I've stated to the leaders I've met with," he said. "At the same time, I stated that their (Burma's) assession to Asean should not provide a smokerscreen for the autocratic rule back home." Hashimoto said there was "a very tense situation" between Burma's ruling Slorc and the opposition NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. "And with the student movement's demonstrations, I must say that uncertainties are only increasing. So including these uncertainties, we are watching with much concern the developments in Myanmar," he said, using the name given to the country by Slorc after it seized power in 1988. "We shall maintain our dialogue with both Slorc... as well as NLD." Hashimoto said Japan "cannot allow a setback... or a reversal of the trend towards democratisation." "We very much hope that the Myanmar govenrment will work towards democratisation and make wise judgements to that end," the Japanese leader added. (TN) ************************************************************ DHAKA BANGLADESH RADIO NETWORK: COMMENTARY ON RETURN OF REFUGEES (abridged) January 9, 1997 Commentary by Ahmed Fazal The Myanmar [Burma] Government has agreed to take back all the 26,000 ethnic Rohingyas still living in refugee camps in Bangladesh by the end of March closing an agonizing chapter of human suffering which began with the influx of tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens to bordering Bangladesh villages. Dhaka displayed outmost patience despite the social and environmental implications of sheltering such a huge number of refugees for a long time. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's six-month-old government has stressed that one of the cornerstones of its foreign policy will be the enhanced and cooperative relations with all its close neighbors. Bangladesh has common borders with India and Myanmar and therefore congenial bilateral ties with New Delhi and Yangon are considered crucial by Dhaka. It is with a spirit of friendship and mutual understanding that Bangladesh approached the Rohingya refugee issue. Dhaka wants closer economic and cultural ties with Myanmar based on the already existing trade links with Yangon. Recently, the two countries agreed to build up a sizable border trade between them. There is scope for increasing bilateral trade and establishing industries under joint investment. Economic ties can be boosted with regular contacts between Bangladesh and Myanmar business establishments. The commercial organizations of the two countries should exchange frequent visits. Bangladesh and Myanmar share some common culture and much benefit will accrue to both of them through interactions of cultural troupes. As for bilateral irritants, both countries have decided to hold meetings at periodic intervals to remove [them through] bilateral negotiations. Such meetings can be held at different stages from official to political levels. ****************************************************** NATION: CHAVALIT PLANS TO VISIT BURMA January 15, 1997 PRIME Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said yesterday that he planned to visit Burma at the end of next month or early March, and reiterated that Thailand would stick to its policy of "constructive engagement" with Burma's military junta despite recent unrest in Rangoon. Speaking to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand at a dinner party at the Oriental Hotel, the premier said his visit will follow preliminary trips by senior government officials who will study the latest developments in Burma. He also said that he wanted to see Burma, Cambodia and Laos become Asean members "as soon as possible regardless of political disturbances in Burma". Thailand's policy with regard to Burma will not change under his administration which took power following November's general elections, he said. Chavalit said: "We understand they have problems but ... we won't touch [Burma's] internal problems" Chavilit said he preferred to conduct his foreign policy with regard to Burma on a "friend-to-friend" basis. ***************************************************************** BANGKOK POST: RANGOON MINISTER ON TRIP TO BOOST TIES January 15, 1997 Achara Ashayagachat in Hanoi Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw is due in Hanoi today for talks largely aimed at boosting economic cooperation, according to the Vietnamese foreign ministry. He heads the Burmese delegation to the second meeting of the countries' joint commission. Vietnam's team is led by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc. Mr Ohn Gyaw will also have discussions with his counterpart Nguyen Manh Cam. On Friday, after the meeting, he will meet Communist Party secretary-general Do Muoi before returning to Rangoon on Saturday. Rangoon established diplomatic ties with Hanoi in May 1975, after Vietnam was reunified. But relations have not deepened much since, partly because of internal political and economic problems. Cooperation has picked up since Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet visited Rangoon in May 1994. A trade agreement was also signed. In early 1995, Burma sent its first top-level delegation, led by General Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council to Vietnam. The 40 members included the Slorc's first secretary Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt. The two countries agreed to fight the narcotics trade and to cooperate in agriculture, forestry and tourism. Since then senior officials have visited each other's country, with Rangoon's mayor going to Hanoi in August 1995. In October that year Interior Minister Bui Thien Ngo headed a Vietnamese delegation to Burma and an air transport agreement was signed although no direct air link has been scheduled. Last February, Burmese Interior Minister Mya Thin paid his first working visit to Hanoi and invited Vietnam's top three leaders to Rangoon. The Vietnamese prime minister then pledged to support Burma's admission to Asean. Burma last year joined the Mekong River Commission, the regional body for cooperation in water use among countries of the Lower Mekong Basin. ********************************************************** XINHUA: YANGON POPULATION EXCEEDS 5 MILLION January 13, 1997 The population of Yangon city, capital of Myanmar, has exceeded 5 million in 35 townships, according to the latest official report of the city news. The municipal area of Yangon city, which had a population of 755,000 in 1958 and 4.2 million in 1992, has expanded to more than 609 square kilometers from 292 square kilometers before 1988. The population of the whole country was estimated at 44.74 million in the 1995-96 fiscal year ending last March with a growth rate of 1.87 percent over 1994-95, according to official figures. ********************************************************* SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: : SCHOOLDAYS END EARLY FOR CHEROOT-ROLLING FACTORY GIRLS January 15, 1997 by Greg Torode in Mandalay Burma's booming cheroot-rolling industry is turning into a haven for young girls whose families are too poor to keep them at school. Factory supervisors across central Burma say an increasing number of girls, some as young as 10 years old, are asking for jobs. "In the countryside many families have nothing, so the child must help bring the money in," one supervisor said. "We give them jobs when we can, but there are often too many applicants." Twelve-year-old Ung said she had been working part-time for two years, and had now decided to leave school as she had learned to read and write. "It's much better at the factory because I can help my family. School costs too much now," she said, speedily rolling cheroots as she spoke. "All the older women look after me. I feel safe at the factory." Virtually all of Burma's cigar-like cheroots are hand-rolled, and skilled workers are highly sought after in small-town factories where they can earn up to US$ 1.50 (HK$ 11.60) a day - well above the average rural wage. Smoking the mild, quick-burning cheroot remains popular in urban and rural Burma, despite aggressive marketing by several American cigarette manufacturers. "Rolling requires a fine touch, discipline and speed, so it's good to get the workers trained when they are still young," a factory owner said. "The current situation is good for us as the whole cheroot business is a lot more competitive now," he said. "Everybody is marketing heavily and many small factories are scaling up production. There is suddenly a drive for quality too." There are 12 steps in the art of making a cheroot - from rolling a dinner -plate sized tobacco leaf around a stick, to finishing with an origami-like sealing of the tip. Top rollers can produce 1,800 cheroots, complete with labels, during each nine -hour shift. *********************************************************** NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN: AUTOMOBILE REPAIR PLANT IN MYANMAR FOR JAPAN TRANS-TECHNO (abridged) January 10, 1997 Japan Trans-Techno (JTT), the overseas technological investment and managerial consulting corporation, announced on the 9th that through the formation of an enterprise association funded by leading firms and small- to medium-sized businesses it would begin an automobile improvement and repair business in Myanmar as early as September. The scale of the investment is 150 to 200 million yen. It has already secured an 8000 square meter site within the Yangon city limits for a factory. It will begin construction as early as this month. .************************************************************** ANNOUNCEMENT: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY TO HONOR DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI AT WINTER COMMENCEMENT January 13, 1997 Contact: Todd Sedmak, (202) 885-5950 Graduates and Friends to Hear Address Prepared by Burmese Nobel Laureate WASHINGTON, D.C. -- American University will present an honorary doctor of laws degree in absentia to Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, and hear an address prepared by her at winter commencement at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 26, in Bender Arena on the AU campus. American University President Benjamin Ladner will preside, conferring the honorary and all degrees at commencement, at which more than 400 graduating students will participate. Because Aung San Suu Kyi is unable to leave Burma, the honorary degree will be accepted on her behalf by her husband, Dr. Michael Aris, senior research fellow in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. American University will honor Aung San Suu Kyi because of her dedication to the principles of democracy and commitment to human rights, which has earned the respect of the citizens of Burma and people around the world. The honorary degree is the first to be awarded to her from any university in the United States. Burma has been under military rule since 1962. In 1988, protests against the military government prompted a popular uprising for democracy, and Aung San Suu Kyi joined the movement and became an effective public speaker and advocate. She was instrumental in establishing the National League for Democracy (NLD), and became the party’s general secretary. In 1989, the military government, renamed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, and she was in solitary confinement for six years, until July 1995. A Buddhist, Aung San Suu Kyi practices non-violent civil disobedience. Many of her efforts focus on uniting the divided regions of Burma to work together. She and her party favor a federal state in multi-ethnic Burma, with protections for minority cultures, languages, and traditions. Aung San Suu Kyi has been honored with numerous awards and recognized by the international community for her personal courage and dedication to non-violence, democracy, and human rights. In addition to receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she has been awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought; India’s Jawarhalal Nehru Award; Norway’s Thorolf Rafto Prize for Human Rights; and the W. Averill Harriman Democracy Award by the National Democratic Institute. The graduating students participating in commencement are from all six of AU’s schools and colleges) College of Arts and Sciences; School of Public Affairs; School of International Service; School of Communication; Kogod College of Business Administration; and Washington College of Law. The university’s total enrollment includes more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 135 foreign nations. News media are welcome to attend the ceremony. For more information, contact AU’s Office of Media Relations, (202) 885-5950. ********************************************************* SEATTLE CAMPAIGN FOR FREE BURMA: BONUS MILES AT HEROIN HOTEL Jaunary 14, 1997 dohrs@u.washington.edu Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma 2319 N. 45th St., Suite 115 Seattle, WA 98103 Ph: (206) 784-5742 Fax:(206) 784-8150 P a r t o f t h e F r e e B u r m a C o a l i t i o n BONUS MILES AT "HEROIN HOTEL" NORTHWEST PROMOTES HOTEL OWNED BY BURMESE DRUG LORDS MINNEAPOLIS--JANUARY 14, 1997--Northwest Airlines is offering its frequent fliers bonus miles if they stay in the Traders Hotel of Rangoon, according to its December "WorldPerks Update." The Christian Science Monitor said on November 20 that the Traders Hotel is "a dark reminder of the power and influence exercised by (Burma's) drug lords." The Traders Hotel is co-owned by Steven Law and his father Lo Hsing Han. Lo is a reputed heroin trafficker known as the "King of the Golden Triangle." In August, Law was barred from the US by the State Department due to suspicion of his involvement in the narcotics trade. Burma produces more opium and heroin than the rest of the world combined, and State Department sources say 60% of the heroin on US streets comes from Burma. "It's simple. When the US Government says Steven Law is involved in heroin trafficking, US companies shouldn't promote Steven Law's hotel" says Dan Orzech of the US-based Free Burma Coalition. Northwest doesn't deny that Law and Lo are co-owners of Traders Hotel Rangoon. It acknowledges reports that Law is barred from the US, but it has not ended the promotion, according to a company spokesman. Robert Gelbard, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Affairs wrote in the November 21 Far Eastern Economic Review that Burma's military junta "has brazenly exploited drug-trafficking money" to stay in power. The drug lords are "buying real estate in Rangoon and Mandalay, investing in Burma's economy, and openly courting military officials." "That the Burmese economy is based on narco-dollars is quite obvious" says Dr. Sein Win, head of the NCGUB, BurmaÕs democratic government in exile. "Burmese citizens weren't even allowed to possess foreign currency for the past 30 years. Now all of a sudden, you find local investors coming up with millions of dollars for projects like the Traders Hotel. It does not come as a surprise that these investors are either notorious drug kingpins, like Lo Hsing Han and Khun Sa, or their close associates." One US company, Wente Vineyards of California, was successfully targeted by boycotters over connections to Steven Law. Numerous other companies, including Motorola, Amoco, Eddie Bauer, Heineken and Carlsberg have withdrawn from Burma under consumer pressure, citing corruption, human rights concerns and "business reasons." "US interests are clear. We need to fight the Burmese narco-dictatorship" says Orzech. "We don't want a boycott of Northwest Airlines, but we do want them to do the right thing. Don't promote the 'Heroin Hotel'" he warns. Contact: Larry Dohrs, Free Burma Coalition, 206-784-5742 Dr. Sein Win, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma 202-393-7342 Vinita Koshal, Northwest Airlines, International WorldPerks Marketing 612-726-2111 ************************************************************ SATIRE: NIGHT IN OLD RANGOON January 1997 (penned by a foreign correspondent familiar with Burma) "Night in Old Rangoon" >From the upcoming Broadway musical "Bye-bye SLORC-LAND" Music by Cole Porter Lyrics by the New Light of Myanmar Editorial Team I'll be the handle, you be the ax, Together we'll chop SLORC to the max, In old Rangoon....Tonight. You do the running, I'll play the dog* That way we'll take SLORC whole hog, In wild Rangoon....Tonight. We'll twin the people with their desire, Boy, that's going to light SLORC's funeral pyre, In hot Rangoon....Tonight. Time to call the Lady, rouse the NLD, Tonight we'll set all Burma free, In bold Rangoon: We'll lift the gloom, Give folks a boon, Never too soon, In old Rangoon, Sing it again, baby, In old Rangoon.....TONIGHT! * imperialist/colonialist **************************************************