Subject: The BurmaNet News February 19, 1997 Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 20:34:50 -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: February 19, 1997 Issue #643 HEADLINES: ========== THAILAND TIMES: KAREN REFUGEES PLEAD FOR INTN'L HELP BKK POST: ARMY ON ALERT AS BURMESE CLOSE IN ON REBEL BASE REUTER: EU COMMISSION SEEKS END TO BURMA AGRIC. GSP NATION: UN OFFICIAL PLANNING TO HOLD TALKS WITH SUU KYI THE NATION: BURMA INTENSIFIES PUSH AGAINST KAREN REBELS THE NATION: KAREN REFUGEE WAVE EASES THE NATION: RIGHTS "NOT ON SUHARTO'S TOUR AGENDA" THAILAND TIMES: THAI-BURMESE FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE TALKS THE DAILY YOMIURI: MARUBENI INKS VENTURE IN MYANMAR KNU INFORMATION CENTER : EYE WITNESS ON KAWTHOOLEI THE NATION: 16 KNU MEN GIVE UP FIGHT STRAITS TIMES: ASIA-EUROPE TIES AT CROSSROADS BURMA SOLIDARITY GROUP MALAYSIA: PRESS STATEMENT BRC-JAPAN: JTB TARGETTED FOR BURMA PACKAGE TOURS SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0022 VOA: BURMESE DOCTOR HONOURED BY SCIENCE ASSOCIATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THAILAND TIMES: KAREN REFUGEES PLEAD FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP February 18, 1997 by Assawin Pinitwong TAK: More than 5,000 Karen refugees from the torched Huay Kaloke refugee camp yesterday staged a demonstration in the burnt remains of their former shelter, calling on the international community to help them in their plight and blasting the Burmese regime for their outrages against the Karen people. The refugees, among them many children, held banners expressing their strong condemnation of both the Burmese junta and the pro- Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who set fire to two Thai refugee camps, including Huay Kraloke, late last month. Several leading figures from among the refugees took turns to take the stage, from where they gave speeches in both Karen and Thai, lashing out at the military regime and the DKBA. Mario, a leader of Huay Kraloke camp, told reporters that they had fled across the border in search of rights, freedom, and peace, none of which they were able to enjoy due to the barrage of assaults by the DKBA. "We live in fear of our lives, and urge the Thai government to provide tougher security for us," he said. Stephen, chairman of the committee of a Karen refugee school, said the refugees, with no houses or places for their children to study, faced an uncertain future. "My plea goes out to countries around the world to provide us with safety," he said. Their future remains uncertain however, with a fresh incursion yesterday by a member of the DKBA. The DKBA soldier, who carried with him a hand grenade, was apprehended along with a Thai police officer while crossing the border into Ban Mai Wang Pha village in Mae Sot district, according to a Thai military source. The DKBA man claimed he was in charge of the local cross border logging trade, and although the Thai officer refused to testify, the DKBA man alleged that the officer was also heavily involved in the cross border trading. Meanwhile news agencies yesterday reported the Burmese junta as having said they would eradicate the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union (KNU) from Burma's eastern border region, saying the KNU presence in the area threatened Burma's "political, economic, and social development." ***************************************************************** BKK POST: ARMY ON ALERT AS BURMESE CLOSE IN ON REBEL BASE February 18, 1997 Local authorities were yesterday placed on "full alert" following growing tension between Burmese troops and Karen rebels opposite Ban Duang Dee in Tha Sae district. Residents living along the border will be moved to safety in case of an incursion and the Chong Kha Mew pass, which serves as the trade channel, has been closed. Border police and the army have been mobilised and arms and reinforcements have been deployed to maintain peace in the area. It was reported that Burmese troops have closed in on the minority rebels' stronghold - about 1.5 kilometres into Burmese territory from the border. The stronghold is home to more than 2,000 rebels who fled the 491 Strategic Hill four years ago after it was seized by the Burmese army. Authorities have turned down the Burmese troops' request to enter Thailand in order to launch an all-out attack from the east. Army chief Chettha Thanajaro yesterday urged Burma to respect Thai sovereignty warning that cross-border assault from any side - even from Burmese soldiers - would be dealt with by force. Gen Chettha insisted the Thai army was neutral and would not interfere in Burma's internal affairs noting that the army was a good ally - not only to Burma but also to Karens from both the Burma-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the Karen National Union. "If they cross the border no matter if they are Burmese forces, DKBA or KNU we will consider them enemies and push them out by force," he said. According to reports released yesterday, brief fighting occurred opposite Ban Prak Thake on Friday after the Burmese troops failed to persuade the Karens to surrender. The Burmese army later withdrew its force without any reports of injuries or death. Yesterday, troops were also moving against the last areas of southeastern Burma held by the guerrillas, as the rebels' leader accused the government of "trying to crush his fighters". Government troops were approaching a strip of territory more than 200 kilometres long adjacent to the border with Thailand held by the rebels' fourth brigade. Aid workers on the border reported that over 700 refugees were lined up on the Burmese side waiting to cross into Thailand. About 2,000 rebel fighters were stationed in the territory, which runs along the Tenasserim river adjacent to the Thai province of Kanchanaburi, where the last KNU-held villages are situated, a rebel source said. He added he expected the main thrust of the government attack to be against Minthamee, the main KNU base in the area, where most of the rebel group's fighters were concentrated. A controversial pipeline project which the Burmese government is constructing with the aid of French, Thai and US companies to supply natural gas to Thailand from offshore fields in the Andaman Sea is located just north of the area. Meanwhile, the leader of the Karen National Union vowed to battle on against the offensive and accused the military junta of trying to crush the KNU. KNU chairman Bo Mya said: "We will continue to fight since they are attacking us. In fact we are defending ourselves ... We are not going to give up." Aid workers in Umphang said shelling had been reported in areas formerly held by the sixth brigade. Shells landed near Beung Klueng in Umphang district, where some 9,000 refugees have gathered - both new arrivals and those who have abandoned camps closer to the border.(BP) ****************************************************** REUTER: EU COMMISSION SEEKS END TO BURMA AGRICULTURE GSP February 18, 1997 BRUSSELS, Feb 18 (Reuter) - The European Union may decide as early as Monday to withdraw special trading privileges from Burma's agricultural products. Diplomatic sources said EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday will discuss a European Commission proposal made on Tuesday to strip Burma of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits on agricultural products. The move comes amid growing unease over Rangoon's human rights record. The Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that it would ask the foreign ministers to revoke Burma's GSP following an investigation into Burmese labour practices. The investigation follows complaints from international and European trade union groups that Burma was using forced and child labour to boost its exports. The Commission said Burma refused to cooperate with the Commission during the investigation. In December, the European Commission scrapped Burma's industrial GSP privileges for the same reason. The latest move comes less than a week after EU foreign ministers agonised with their Association of Southeast Asian Nations counterparts over the best way to bring Burma back into the international community. The EU, which favours isolating Rangoon, was warned by ASEAN ministers that it had no say in whether Burma would be made a member of the Asian group. ****************************** THE NATION: UN OFFICIAL PLANNING TO HOLD TALKS WITH SUU KYI February 18, 1997 Sa-nguan Khumrungroj, Yindee Lertcharoenchok A SENIOR representative of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is on a brief official visit to Burma, the first trip by a UN delegation since the latter half of last year. Informed sources in Thailand and the United States confirmed that Francesc Vendrell, director of the Political Affairs Department, will stay in Rangoon until tomorrow. He is on a tour of Southeast Asia and will next visit Cambodia and Laos. During his stay in Rangoon, Vendrell will meet leaders and officials of the governing Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) and is expected to hold talks with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy leaders. The Burmese military rulers' earlier refusal to allow UN representatives into the country was because of their concern that the UN officials would also meet Suu Kyi, the strongest critic of the Burmese regime who has been calling for tougher international measures and sanctions against the ruling junta. Vendrell and his superior, Alvaro de Soto, assistant secretary-general for political affairs, have visited Burma over the past few years on behalf of the UN secretary-general. The UN chief was mandated by a UN resolution on Burma to help find a means to improve the political and human rights situation in the country. The Burmese junta also rejected repeated requests by the new UN human rights envoy to Burma, Rajsoomer Lallah, to visit the country. Lallah, an Oxford-educated judge from Mauritius, replaced Japanese professor Yozo Yokota, who resigned from the post in May last year in protest over having to constantly fight for funds to carry out his work. Slorc said it does not recognise Lallah's appointment as the regime was not consulted on Yokota's replacement. In his capacity as human rights envoy, Yokota conducted annual visits to Burma, usually at the end of the year, when he met Slorc officials and Suu Kyi and her political colleagues from the National League for Democracy. He also visited prisons and interviewed prison inmates, political detainees, ex-prisoners and political activists. He also travelled to Burmese refugee camps along Thailand's border with Burma to inquire about the human rights situation there before submitting an interim report of his findings to the UN General Assembly in New York and a full dossier to the plenary session of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission, which begins its annual meeting in February or March. Although he was not allowed to visit Burma late last year, Lallah still submitted an interim report to the UN General Assembly in which he harshly criticised the legal framework in Burma, saying that various existing laws, by themselves, violate international norms in the field of civil and political rights. He also criticised the Slorc's failure to implement its commitment towards the establishment of democracy in the light of the general election in May 1990. Sources said De Soto and Vendrell had earlier refused to travel to Burma unless they were allowed to organise their own itineraries. The fact that Vendrell is visiting Burma at the moment means that he must have been allowed a degree of independence in his trip, the sources added. The sources said they could not confirm whether Vendrell would also visit Thailand for meetings with Thai government officials and exiled Burmese and ethnic dissidents, which he has been known to do when passing through the Kingdom. His trip to Burma coincides with the current Burmese army's major military operation against the Karen National Union after the armed group continually rejected Burmese demands to surrender. The offensive, which began early last week, has driven tens of thousands of refugees into Thailand. The Burmese offensive, which is still going on, took place shortly after intrusions and violent raids against three Karen refugee camps in Thailand by both Burmese and renegade Karen troops. (TN) ****************************************************** THE NATION: BURMA INTENSIFIES PUSH AGAINST KAREN REBELS February 18, 1997 Yindee Lertcharoenchok THE Burmese army is pressing ahead in its efforts to capture the last remaining sizeable area under the control of the country's Karen rebels, while the combined number of refugees who have fled into Thailand since the offensive began has reached a record 100,000, the largest number since the Cambodian conflicts in the 1980s. Although the Thai Army has played down the impact of the major Burmese offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU) on Thailand, arguing that the fighting is a Burmese internal affair, officials from several government agencies said that they foresee problems between the two countries as a result of Rangoon taking control of the entire 2,500-kilometre common frontier for the first time. They said that Thailand's national security policy towards its western border will have to undergo a major overhaul and that the two countries, which are yet to resolve several territorial claims, will face a surge in new territorial disputes. Thailand, they said, also faces the heavy burden of housing more than 100,000 ethnic refugees from Burma, a number which excludes several hundred thousand more illegal Burmese immigrants already seeking employment and better economic opportunities. Thai officials said they have detected a new mass movement of Burmese troops towards the area controlled by the KNU's 4th Brigade, which is opposite Kanchanaburi. They said that about 2,500 Burmese troops from Bokpyin, Kawthaung and Tavoy have been deployed to launch attacks from the north and southwest on the brigade's headquarters in Thi Tha, while another Burmese contingent is poised to attack Chong Kamin, opposite Thailand's Chumphon province, where the KNU's 11th and 12th battalions are located. The officials said that the fall of the 4th Brigade would mean ''a virtual end" to all of the KNU's stationary strongholds and its source of income from fisheries, logging and mining. They said the KNU will not be able to resist the superior number of Burmese troops and are certain to burn down their camps before pulling back and transforming their forces into full mobile guerrilla units. Thai officials said that about 3,000 Karen refugees have already crossed into Thailand around the Bong Ti Pass in Sai Yok district and that thousands more are expected to flee across the border, should a full offensive be launched in the Thi Tha area. A relief worker said yesterday that most of the civilians in the area under the 4th Brigade's control were displaced within Burma after earlier harassment from Rangoon and that as many as 5,000 were possibly making their way towards Thailand's Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces. Some officials said that Thailand is facing a refugee crisis similar to that which occurred as a result of conflicts in Cambodia in the 1980s, which drove more than 500,000 Khmers into Thailand. (TN) ****************************************************** THE NATION: KAREN REFUGEE WAVE EASES February 18, 1997 (AFP) Mae Sot - The tide of refugees fleeing fighting between Karen rebel forces and Burmese govnerment troops is beginning to slow, aid workers on the Thai border said yesterday. Although some 1,200 villagers crossed the frontier near the Thai town of Beung Kleung on Sunday, bringing the number of refugees in the vicinity to around 9,000, the situation is stabilising, they said. On Saturday, thousands of refugees crossed under fire from the Burmese Army mortars. Junta troops are sweeping through territory controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) opposite Tak province. A Thai military border task force office said on Sunday that 11,300 new refugees had arrived in the Umphang district of Tak. This brings the number of Karen refugees in Thailand to more than 90,000. Most are housed in camps along the border. A further 2,000 to 3,000 refugees are believed to have crossed into Thailand but are still sheltering in the forest, aid workers said. Those in Umphang - which the Thai military put at 22,000 as of Sunday - are in need of help. Tak Governor Pongpayome Vesaputi said on Sunday that Thai authorities will close down existing camps in Umphang and group the Karens at a single facility away from the border. (TN) ****************************************************** THE NATION: RIGHTS "NOT ON SUHARTO'S TOUR AGENDA" February 17, 1997 (Reuter) JAKARTA - President Suharto of Indonesia will visit Burma this week during a Southeast Asian tour, but diplomatic sources and analysts said human rights would not be on his agenda. Suharto, the elder statesman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), goes to Cambodia today, Laos on Wednesday and Burma on Friday before returning to Jakarta on Feb 23. All three countries are set to join the seven nation Asean, possibly later this year when the organisation celebrates its 30th anniversary. Current members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam. Burma's military rulers came under fire from the European Union (EU) at a meeting with Asean members in Singapore in the past week, with the EU urging Asean to put pressure on Rangoon for political reform. But analysts said Suharto was highly unlikely to raise such issues. Even if other Indonesian officials did it would by "very low key very indirect, very subtle", one source said. The sources said it would be totally out of character for Suharto himself to discuss human rights in Burma and it was inconceivable that he would meet Burmese opposition democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. "President Suharto's visit is yet another step to enhance our understanding and friendship with Asean. This will show the outside world we are together," a Burmese government spokesman said. Indonesia has also come under fire from some Western states, notable Portugal, over its human rights record in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor which it invaded in 1975 and annexed the following year. The European Union and Asean states pushed this issue aside during their Singapore meeting, stressing instead a need for closer cooperation between tow of the world's major economic blocs. Asian diplomats and Indonesian sources played down the significance of Suharto's trip in the contest of the Singapore talks and Western pressure on Burma. "The arrangements for the trip were made some time ago, so I don't see anything new or controversial about it. I don't think the mood form outside has any bearing on it, " one Asian diplomat said. Indonesian State Secretary Murdiono, announcing the tour, said it had no connection with Asean. The leaders of all three states had visited Indonesia and Suharto was returning the courtesy. *********************************** THAILAND TIMES: THAI-BURMESE FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE TALKS RESURRECTED February 18, 1997 Bangkok ; The Burmese army chief has at long last agreed to resume negotiations on the suspended Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge project, Thai Army Chief Chettha Thanajaro said yesterday. Gen Chettha said Gen Maung Ae had sent a letter asking for an appointment to meet with his Thai counterpart to discuss the issue. Burma ordered a halt to construction on the bridge in 1995, following the controversial building of a causeway linking Thai territory to an islet in the Moei river, which Burma claimed was on Burmese soil. Although the bridge, begun in October 1994, is now 95 percent complete, Burma recently said they were not prepared for construction to resume, citing concern that the bridge would be aport of entry for "western culture" to seep over form Thailand. Striking a conciliatory note to Burma's military regime, Chettha said yesterday that the devastating arson attack last month on two Thai refugee camps by the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) was Burma's concern and not an issue that Thailand should interfere in. ************************************ THE DAILY YOMIURI: MARUBENI INKS VENTURE IN MYANMAR February 8, 1997 YANGON--Three foreign companies led by Marubeni Corp. have joined a local company in signing a lease with the Construction Ministry for land on which to build a zinc roofing factory, the state-owned New Light of Myanmar reported Friday. The joint venture, called Dagon Steel Ltd., will locate its factory on a 1.4 hectare site in Hlaingthayar Industrial Zone in a western suburb of Yangon. It will be the second roofing factory in the zone. The venture, with capitalization of $US7.8 million and 7.2 million kyat ($1.24 million) in local funds, will produce 18,000 metric tonnes annually of corrugated zinc roofing sheets for the domestic market, the newspaper reported. Speaking at the signing ceremony Thursday, Construction Minister Major General Saw Tun said the government has leased land to five foreign companies for various industries, and 10 more had applied for leases in the Hlaingthayar zone. [Background on Marubeni Corporation] From: JATAN Marubeni Corp. (1-4-2 Ohtemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-88, Fax: +81-3-3282-2331) is Japan's fifth largest general trading company (sogo shosha in Japanese). The top four sogo shosha are Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. According to FORTUNE Magazine (August 5, 1996), Marubeni was the sixth largest corporation in the world, with 1995 revenues of 161,000 million US dollars. Marubeni is a major importer of wood products (logs, sawnwood, plywood, woodchips, pulp) from natural tropical (Sarawak, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, etc.), temperate (Canada, US, Australia, Chile) and boreal (Siberia, Canada) forests, and is a partner with Japan's Daishowa Paper Manufacturing in a pulp mill which uses boreal forest wood extracted from the traditional lands of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation in northern Alberta, Canada. In 1990 Marubeni was fined by the Indonesian Government for illegal logging of mangrove forests in Bintuni Bay, Irian Jaya, one of the largest areas of natural mangroves in Southeast Asia. ******************************** KNU INFORMATION CENTER : EYE WITNESS ON KAWTHOOLEI February 17, 1997 From: So_Nou@sala.icn.net (So Nou) This morning when I awoke I wasn't sure what my "eyewitness" report for the day would be. The subject was chosen for me about 11 AM when there was a knock on my hotel door and a Canadian couple providing health care in the area came to ask us to accompany them to the HWAY KALOK camp 10 minutes outside Mae Sot where there was to be a peaceful demonstration by some of the refugees. SLORC had announced they would force all refugees from that camp back into Burma within the next two weeks. By the time we arrived at the camp all was quiet. The demonstration was over but we had an opportunity to talk to some of the bright young students living in the camp. One young man was 21 years old and had been a refugee for 10 years. He spoke very good English and made the statement that the purpose of the demonstration was to call attention to the situation in the camps. They especially hoped the UN would get the information they needed to help them. The people in Hway Kalok are very afraid of SLORC and are unsure of what the Thai can or will do to help them. He said SLORC is trying to keep everyone scared and upset. He felt the biggest need in the camp at this time was a medical clinic. They had set up a make shift shelter under blue and white tarps and were valiantly trying to treat the many sick refugees. They are in dire need of more medical supplies. SLORC troops warned them that they would come back and the next time it would be much worse. They will not just burn and loot as before, but will shoot and kill if necessary. We were told the enemy forces came into the camp after dark and ordered everyone out of their homes and told them they could take nothing with them. Their homes were then looted and burned. It was evident everywhere we looked that they had accomplished what they had set out to do. There were shells of partial homes still standing in some areas, but mostly just a charred spot where the houses had once stood. Children played among the ashes, sifting for personal treasures. We were told that SLORC leaders are claiming it was the DKBA that raided the camp, but many refugees told of soldiers speaking only Burmese carrying out the burning and looting. At this point, I wonder if the whole truth will ever be known about what the Karen have been suffering for the past 48 years. Everyday brings more hardship and heart ache for these brave people. Hopefully before I leave this area I can send an eyewitness report of some good news. ******************************* THE NATION: 16 KNU MEN GIVE UP FIGHT February 16, 1997 (AFP) Rangoon - Burma's military yesterday announced the surrender of 16 members of the Karen National Union (KNU) rebel group, whose positions are currently under attack in areas along the frontier with Thailand. The 16 rebels from the KNU's fourth brigade "gave themselves up" on Tuesday in Mon state with their weapons, the official English-language New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. The announcement came as Burmese troops were moving into territory occupied by the KNU in southeastern Burma and more surrenders are expected. Unconfirmed reports reaching Rangoon say that hundreds of porters are being rounded up to carry food and arms for the more than 100,000 troops believed to be involved in the operation. Buddhist pilgrims who recently returned from trips to sites in Mon and Karen states, located near the Thai frontier said that a number of their fellow pilgrims had been taken away to serve as porters for the army. (TN) ****************************************************** STRAITS TIMES: EDITORIAL-ASIA-EUROPE TIES AT CROSSROADS February 18, 1997 MYANMAR, a rogue regime in many Western eyes, took most of the flak in last week's Asean-European Union ministerial talks. The 22 foreign ministers spent much time discussing it, but all that was said on this in an 11-page joint declaration was a terse one-liner: "We had an exchange of views on Myanmar." The brevity reveals a great deal about Asean-EU differences on how to deal with Myanmar's military rulers, whose human rights record and treatment of political opponents will be a stumbling block in developing Asean-EU relations when Yangon joins the South-east Asian grouping. What can be done to minimise the difficulties? For starters, the Europeans have to convince themselves that Asean-EU ties are broad-based and mutually beneficial; ergo, these should not be held hostage to any single issue which divides them. Only on this premise can problems such as Myanmar be put in proper perspective. In this case, Asean's constructive engagement policy is demonstrably superior to the EU's confrontational approach which penalises and isolates the generals in Yangon. The Western countries have already acquiesced to Myanmar's membership in the Asean Regional Forum because it makes sense to embrace all South-east Asian countries on regional security. Indonesian President Suharto's visit to Yangon this week underlines Asean's serious intent about engaging Myanmar. The belief is that Asean's quiet diplomacy will bear fruit eventually when Myanmar's military authorities heed friendly advice and start a dialogue with their pro-democracy opponents at home. But this must happen soon or the political impasse will make Myanmar stick out like a sore thumb. Can Asean make a collective effort to help bring about political reconciliation in Myanmar, its cherished principle of non-interference in each other's domestic affairs notwithstanding? All that can be said now is that, unless there is change for the better, Myanmar's membership will burden, not strengthen, Asean's ties with many Western countries. As it is, the EU bans all formal high-level contacts with the junta, and Myanmar's membership in Asean does not automatically entitle it to take part in the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem), the highest political forum for Asian and European leaders. Which means that Yangon's generals must take concrete steps to placate their critics, at home and abroad. This is what they can do to reciprocate Asean's goodwill. It would be ironic if the 20-year-old Asean-EU relationship falters on account of the former's enlargement, and at a time when closer economic and political ties promise bigger pay-offs for countries in the two regions. Portugal's veto has prevented the EU from concluding a new cooperation pact with Asean because of its quarrel with Indonesia over East Timor. This, in effect, means that the dated Asean-EU cooperation agreement can neither be updated nor upgraded. Should Asean-EU ties get caught up in what is essentially a bilateral dispute? Surely such an obstructionist tactic is a problem which the EU needs to address. Perhaps the Asem approach could provide the solution, because countries in this forum deal on a government-to-government basis, unhindered by EU rules. The first Asem foreign ministers' talks last week were largely exploratory, to define the goals and set the parameters for political dialogue as they pondered the future of the 11-month-old forum. It appears that Asem countries want to proceed cautiously. But there must be something for everybody at the end of it. This means that, whatever the East-West differences on human rights and democracy, Asian and European countries have to set up a collaborative, not confrontational, relationship. A Singapore discussion paper on Asem's future noted that, despite the strong common desire on both sides to enhance Asia-Europe cooperation, it would be wiser to assume that the path ahead may not be smooth because there are many obstacles and misperceptions to get rid of. With Asia-Europe ties at a crossroads, this is something to work on. (ST) ****************************************************** BURMA SOLIDARITY GROUP MALAYSIA: PRESS STATEMENT February 14th, 1997 From: "Chalida Tajaroensuk. Ms" ASEAN urged to ditch "constructive engagement" The Burma Solidarity Group Malaysia together with some 50 NGOs throughout the ASEAN region urge Malaysia and other ASEAN member countries to ditch its policy of so-called "constructive engagement" with the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council). In a joint ASEAN campaign, the NGOs call upon the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting which is due to meet tomorrow in Singapore, to exclude Burma from ASEAN as "constructive engagement" has thus far failed miserably in bringing about democratic reforms in Burma. The NGOs urge ASEAN to accept Burma as a member only when the military junta accepts the results of the 1990 general elections which was overwhelm-ingly won by the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi. And in commemoration with the 50th anniversary of the Burmese Union Day on Feb 12, NGOs in the ASEAN region are launching a poster campaign with the slogan "Should ASEAN welcome SLORC?" These posters which are being distributed widely in all ASEAN member countries is meant to increase public awareness of and opposition to ASEAN's "constructive engagement" policy. Union Day is celebrated in Burma to commemorate the 1947 Panglong Agreement in which ethnic leaders gave their support to nationalist hero Aung San (father of Suu Kyi ) in his attempt to form a Union of Burma. The agreement was widely recognised as a significant step towards the notion of federalism which recognised the equality and integrity of the diverse Burmese ethnic groups. However, the assassination of Aung San a year after the pact, witnessed the letter and spirit of the agreement being severely abused by successive Burmese military regimes, of which SLORC is no exception. Instead of recognising the political, civil, democratic and cultural rights of the ethnic nationalities, SLORC has persisted in waging military attacks against the ethnic minorities. The Muslim Rohingyas in Arakan were particularly subjected to a barrage of abuses from SLORC - continually being harassed, beaten, tortured, killed, their property looted and women raped. Many were also conscripted into forced labour. At the height of the attack, some 260,000 Rohingyas sought refuge across the border in Bangladesh. The latest atrocities against the ethnic minorities took place only last week on Jan 28, when SLORC violated Thailand's borders when it raided and burned 3 Karen villages near Mae Sot. They killed a Thai national and a Karen baby, robbed the refugees and burned their homes, clinics and schools. These attacks followed the Jan 3 mortar attacks and military raid on the camps of the Karenni refugees and the dissidents from the All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) near Mae Hong Son in the north-western border of Thailand. Two people were killed and many more were injured. In addition, SLORC has not relented in carrying out its programme of forced relocation and forced labour of the ethnic minorities. Moreover, SLORC has lately been collaborating with the infamous drug lord Khun Sa who is allowed by the military junta to establish a business empire with his drug money in Burma. Obviously, the ASEAN "constructive engagement" policy has done more harm than good. Indeed, the policy has given SLORC the green light to commit more human right abuses against the Burmese people. We, therefore, call upon member states of ASEAN currently meeting in Singapore, to play a CONSTRUCTIVE role - by discarding its "constructive engagement" policy which favours the military junta and encourages it to discard the democratic process. Instead ASEAN should recognise the results of the 1990 general elections of Burma in which the National League of Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi has won the elections. Besides, ASEAN should also promote a genuine dialogue between SLORC and the National League for Democracy with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution and help break the present political deadlock in Burma, thus enabling Burma to embark on the road to democratisation and national reconciliation. Organisations that endorsed the memorandum 1) Aliran 2) ALAIGAL 3) Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia ( ABIM ) 4) Community Development Centre ( CDC ) 5) Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth ( DAPSY ) 6) Democratic Action Party Women ( DAP Women ) 7) Integrated Development for Eco-friendly And Appropriate Lifestyle (IDEAL) 8) Jawatankuasa Sokongan Peneroka Bandar ( JSPB ) 9) Malaysian Trade Union Congress ( MTUC ) 10) Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia 11) Persatuan Sahabat Wanita 12) Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Section 13) Society for Christian Reflections ( SCR ) 14) Suara Rakyat Malaysia ( SUARAM ) 15) Suara Warga Pertiwi ( SWP ) ************************************ BRC-JAPAN: JTB TARGETTED FOR BURMA PACKAGE TOURS February 18, 1997 From: Ken and Visakha Kawasaki Six representatives from the Japanese New Otani Support Group went to the main Osaka office of Japan Travel Bureau today. During a meeting with two JTB managers they presented a statement urging JTB to end package tours using New Otani Hotels which are presently embroiled in serious labor disputes and to Burma (Myanmar) where the military dictatorship is notorious for its human rights abuses. The group cited JTB's organizing of package tours to Burma as another example of their deplorable lack of morality in business. The meeting ended after lengthy but inconclusive discussions. Further actions are planned. http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm *********************************** SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0022 February 18, 1997 From: Ok Kar (1) The National League for Democracy has been without much success trying to hold week-end rallies in public places which has met with opposition by local citizens and religious associations Mrs. Aris along with her senior party leaders U Tin Oo, U Kyi Maung had attempted several times to hold afternoon week-end rallies at the junction of Saya San and U Chit Maung Road. The people living along this junction were very much disturbed by Mrs. Aris's week-end rallies which not only causes traffic jam on the public road but also interfered with their daily life. Finally, it came to the stage where the ward people of the junction area themselves came out to prohibit Mrs. Aris from holding rallies and had also put out their own citizens patrols to prevent the NLD from coming into their wards during week-end afternoons. (2) The NLD being unsuccessful in holding week-end rallies at the Saya San and U Chit Maung Road junction attempted to hold rallies on the Shwe Dagon Pagoda platform under various pretexts. In this regard, the shop-keepers of the (4) stairways of the pagoda and (63) religious associations base on the pagoda signed a petition urging the NLD to stop exploiting the pagoda premises as a political platform. On behalf of shop-keepers and religious associations on the 16th of Feb. the Shwe Dagon Pagoda Trustees handed over the petition to the NLD group leader who came up to the pagoda platform and they also sent the petition to the NLD Headquarters and to the Chairman of Yangon Division NLD office it is learnt. Source : Myanmar Authority Concerned. *********************************** VOA: BURMESE DOCTOR HONOURED BY THE AMERICAN SCIENCE ASSOCIATION February 16, 1997 Tun Aung The science and human rights program award was presented to Dr. Ma Thida by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at its annual meeting held (Saturday, February 15) in Seattle, Washington. Chinese history student and democracy activist Wang Dan was also given the award at the Reception. Association science and human rights program director Audrey Chapman said like many natural and social scientists in many countries around the world, Dr. Ma Thida and Wang Dan have been persecuted for nothing more than the expression of their opinions or beliefs, and for their peaceful efforts to oppose human rights violations and promote political change. Dr. Ma Thida, a physician and writer, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. She was one of a handful of physicians who risked their lives to treat students injured during the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations which followed the 1988 military takeover in Burma. An assistant to Burmese opposition leader and nobel peace prize-laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr. Thida was arrested in August 1993 on charges of endangering the peace and distributing unlawful literature. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is concerned about Dr. Thida's health and calls for her immediate release. Dr. Ma Thida's award was accepted on her behalf by her friend and medical school classmate, Ms. Myaing Myaing Nyunt. She said the award was special because it was given by the science group. Dr. Ma Thida also received the Reebok human rights award last December. Since 1993, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's human rights program has honored persecuted scientists at its annual reception. The reception provides participants with the opportunity to meet others interested in the plight of natural and social scientists, engineers, and health professionals whose human rights have been violated. (signed) **********************************