Subject: The BurmaNet News February 20, 1997 Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 20:16:32 -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 20, 1997 Issue #644 HEADLINES: ========== NEW YORK TIMES: SHOULD YOU GO TO BURMA? THE NATION: BURMESE TROOPS READY TO ATTACK KAREN REBELS REUTER: U.N. OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS BURMA'S IMAGE CFOB: CANADIAN MINISTER CONCERNED OVER REFUGEE ATTACKS BKK POST:MERGER OF REFUGEE CAMPS GETS NOD BKK POST: TANG SCRAPS MISSION BKK POST: MASS SURRENDER OF REBEL KNU FIGHTERS NCGUB: DETAINEES SINCE DECEMBER 1996 ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CUSHIONS BANK'S FALL THE NATION: BT300M THAI LOANS FOR ROAD UPGRADE IN BURMA THE NATION: BURMA ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS CONFLICTING CULTURES ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: MITSUBISHI LOSES SF CONTRACT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK TIMES: SHOULD YOU GO TO BURMA? February 16, 1997 Seth Mydans A vacation trip does not commonly require a moral choice, but in the case of Burma/Myanmar, there is no way to avoid one. On Dec. 9, the U.S. State Department issued an announcement recommending that "U.S. citizens exercise all due caution in traveling to Burma and should for the time being curtail travel to Burma (Myanmar) absent a compelling reason." In a bid to build tourism and win international legitimacy, the military government has undertaken an effort to attract visitors by inaugurating Visit Myanmar Year in November. Its opponents are urging tourists to stay away, part of a broader call for an economic boycott. Scores of new hotels have been opened in the capital city of Rangoon and other tourist areas. Two new domestic airlines have started service and a new airport arrival hall has been opened in Rangoon. Tourist sites have been refurbished and visa procedures eased. But politically, little has changed; the last year has seen an escalating crackdown on pro-democracy forces. Even without a boycott, the success of Visit Myanmar Year is far from assured. The county has already scaled back its 12-month target from 500,000 visitors to 250,000. And it is not even clear that it can accommodate that many. Last year fewer than 100,000 tourists visited Burma, according to government figures. There are fewer than 5,000 seats a week on international flights into the country and, despite the flurry of building, fewer than 3,500 hotel rooms in the capital. *************************** THE NATION: BURMESE TROOPS READY TO ATTACK KAREN REBELS February 19, 1997 CHUMPHON ­ Burmese troops were yesterday poised to attack armed ethnic Karen soldiers in Chong Kamin as they inched their way towards the Thai border, some four kilometres from Ban Song Phi Nong in the province's Tha Sae district, border security sources said. The Burmese force consists of the 262nd, 342nd, 224th, 358th, 431st and 362nd battalions, who are stationed just behind Strategic Hill 491, opposite Tha Sae ­ the scene of a brief military occupation by both sides when contesting territorial ownership in 1994. Chong Kamin is where the Karen National Union's (KNU) 11th and 12th battalions are based. The attack is part of Rangoon's major military operation to secure control of the entire 2,500-kilometre border with Thailand. The two sides stood about 15 km apart. Intermittent shelling has been heard every night since the initial launch of the attack, but there were no reports of any shells straying onto Thai soil. The latest flare-up has forced some 280 Karen refugees into Thailand, joining the almost 100,000 Karen refugees who have fled over the years because of conflicts between Rangoon's armed forces and the KNU, which began intensifying in the latter part of January. Border authorities have sent the latest refugees to a temporary shelter at the Prak Ying Khan Camp. Other shelters around Ban Ran Thad Phom and the province's silk-worm cultivation centre are being prepared for further refugees. Provincial Governor Kongsak Liew-manolmonty and provincial authorities were briefed yesterday on the on-going situation by provincial armed forces. According to Maj Gen Nibhat Thapmonkhol, commander of the provincial Army, the situation is not yet worrisome. He said that border authorities and security forces have been put on full alert around the camps, as well as along the border area, to cope with the influx of refugees in case further fighting breaks out or any of the forces try to use Thai soil to their advantage. Thai security forces were backed by reinforcements from the 41st and 414th border patrol police task forces from Ranong province, and a para-military unit from Nakhon Si Thammarat. (TN) ********************** REUTER: U.N. OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS BURMA'S IMAGE February 19, 1997 RANGOON, Feb 19 (Reuter) - The U.N. Director of Political Affairs is in Burma on a six-day visit to discuss how to improve the country's battered image abroad, a Rangoon-based U.N. official said on Wednesday. Francese Vendrell arrived on Monday, said the official, who asked not to be identified. "The main purpose of Mr Vendrell's visit is for consultation with the Burmese government about improving Burma's international image," he said. Official newspapers said Vendrell called on Secretary General U Than Aung of the government-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) on Tuesday. The USDA was the group accused by Burma's opposition of launching an attack with sticks and rocks on the motorcade of their leader Aung San Suu Kyi last November. Suu Kyi earlier this month said a government minister had urged USDA members to kill her. The government has dismissed the charge. A diplomatic source said Vendrell was expecting to meet Suu Kyi before he left Burma on February 23. Burma's government has held hundreds of opposition activists in recent years, although many of them have since been released, and Suu Kyi has accused it of harassing her party, the National League for Democracy. Some major corporations and private investors from the United States and European Union, which support Suu Kyi's call for greater democracy in the country, have withdrawn investments from the cash-strapped country. The country's image received another blow in a U.N. rebuke of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) for suppressing the opposition. Washington has threatened economic sanctions if the situation worsens. The SLORC has told the United States and other Western powers critical of it to allow it to handle its domestic politics in its own way. ***************************** CFOB:NEWS RELEASE-CANADIAN MINISTER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REFUGEE ATTACKS February 18, 1997 From: Canadian Friends of Burma Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada News Release: Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today expressed deep concern over the threat of further attacks by the Burmese Army on refugee camps located along the Thai-Burma border and the implications for security in the region. There have been a number of attacks on refugee camps in recent weeks, forcing the relocation of refugees to escape death, conscription or forced labour. "Of growing concern to Canada are the frequent reports of attacks on unarmed civilians in Burma and on Burmese refugees in Thailand," said Mr. Axworthy. "Canada strongly urges Burma's military regime to make a concrete commitment to democratic reform and to its stated objective of national reconciliation." ****************************************** BKK POST:MERGER OF REFUGEE CAMPS GETS NOD February 19, 1997 Refugee camps in three border provinces would be merged and moved deeper inside Thai territory to ensure greater protection for Karen refugees and prevent them from becoming targets of attacks by the pro- Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, it was agreed yesterday. During a meeting at navy headquarters the armed forces decided to bring all 11 refugee camps in Tak, Mae Hong Son and Kanchanaburi provinces under one, at the most two, roofs by moving them deeper inland keeping in mind that the relocation must not jeopardise the life and property of Thais living in the area. The armed forces also resolved to enforce stricter checks on entry and exit procedures at the camps. Armed Force Information Office director Lt-Gen Rattana Chalermsaenyakorn said the meeting proposed the building of different shelters to separate refugees who were neutral from those belonging to Karen National Union, the main Karel rebel group. The meeting was chaired by Supreme Commander Gen Mongkol Ampornphisit and attended by Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Gen Oraphan Vattanaviboon, Army Commander Chettha Thanajaro, Army Chief-of-Staff Chan Boonprasert, Navy Commander Adm Vijit Chamnankarn, Navy Chief-of-Staff Adm Theera Haocharoen, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Amorn Naewmalee and Air Force Chief-of-Staff Thananit Niemthan. National police chief Gen Pracha Phromnok also attended the meeting.(BP) ********************************** BKK POST: TANG SCRAPS MISSION February 19, 1997 Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has cancelled his visit to Burma, Thailand and South Korea, a Foreign Ministry official said yesterday. The ministry was told of Beijing's decision on Monday without explanation, but the official believed it was due to the deteriorating health of Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Mr Tang, who is in charge of Asian affairs, was scheduled to be in Rangoon today, visit Bangkok as a guest of Thai counterpart Pitak Intravithyanant from February 22 to 26, and end the trip in Seoul. He was expected to ask Burmese leaders about their accusation of Beijing's support for the now-defunct Communist Party of Burma, diplomats said. Intelligence chief Khin Nyunt has accused "a neighbouring country" of offering the party's underground members an operation base to mastermind two consecutive bombings on December 25, one at Kaba Aye Pagoda and the other at a nearby cave in Rangoon where Buddha's tooth relics, borrowed from China, were on display for the paying of homage. The bombs left five dead and 17 injured. The party was also involved in student unrest in early December and had connections with the rebellious Karen National Union, the National League for Democracy Party of Aung San Suu Kyi and the All Burma Students Democratic Front, according to Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt. (BP) ********************************** BKK POST: MASS SURRENDER OF REBEL KNU FIGHTERS February 19, 1997 Three hundred fighters of the Karen National Union surrendered with 250 assorted weapons to the Burmese government on Monday, according to a statement from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok. The statement said Burmese troops involved in a dry-season offensive against Karen rebels "encountered only slight opposition in the clearing-up activities" and were "wholeheartedly" welcomed by villagers. If the report was true, it would be the first group in the KNU's sixth brigade to defect to the Burmese military junta, officially called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), after last week's fighting. The embassy also quoted a report it had received as saying more KNU rebels were about to give themselves up. The statement did not mention the whereabouts of top rebel leaders including Gen Bo Mya who has fought the Rangoon government for five decades, saying only that they "went into hiding for fear of their lives". A source said Thailand had turned down Gen Bo May's request to take refuge in Tak's Umphang district opposite the KNU's stronghold. The Karen sixth brigade is estimated to be about 2,000 strong. A total of 11,000 KNU guerrillas are believed to be fighting against 15,000-20,000 Burmese troops in the area. Their fighting has reportedly increased the number of Karen refugees in Thailand to over 90,000. A senior KNU official said yesterday that Karen fighters were pinning their hopes on guerrilla tactics to thwart the Burmese forces. "We fight very swiftly, so we don't lose many men," KNU joint secretary Mahn Sha said. "They cannot use their artillery effectively against us." "The Slorc is making a major offensive against all our revolutionary base areas. We expect fighting all season, with the Slorc pushing to the (Thai) border line," Mahn Sha said. KNU officials held that junta troops would eventually tire of the difficult jungle fighting conditions and be unable to effectively counter the mobile guerrilla forces. But analysts said it was the KNU that was likely to run out of steam. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front, an alliance of ethnic minority rebel groups, has vowed to continue struggling against the Rangoon government. During a week-long meeting which ended on Saturday, the NDF has pledged to reject Slorc's ceasefire agreements, which it described as "nothing but divide and conquer tactics" "The agreements do not lead to real and lasting peace, but only propagate ethnic cleansing programmes as they provide the Slorc with greater freedom to operate in the ethnic areas," the NDF said in its statement released yesterday. An NDF source said the alliance's future would depend on Gen Swe Sein, 70, a powerful KNU vice president who was chosen at the meeting to replace Gen Bo Mya as the NDF's new leader. The KNU is the last ethnic rebel group which continues to reject Rangoon's peace overtures. Slorc maintains that at least 15 rebel factions have already reached ceasefire accords with the government. The NDF was formed in 1976 and became a sharp thorn in the Burmese government's side during the 1980s. But its influence began to decline in the early 1990s when a number of its members entered into ceasefire agreements with Rangoon. Among its 10 members are the KNU, the Shan United Revolutionary Army, and groups representing the Wa, Chin, Mon, Kokang and Karenni. Meanwhile authorities in Tak have prohibited the residents of five districts from going near the Thai-Burmese border along the Moei River between 6.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. to prevent possible danger from fighting in Burma. Pongpayom Wasaphut, director of the Thai-Burmese border operation, said the ban which takes effect immediately has been issued to residents in Mae Sot, Mae Ramat, Tha Song Yang, Pob Phra and Umphang districts. Army personnel have been deployed to tighten security along the border.(BP) ******************************* NCGUB: DETAINEES SINCE DECEMBER 1996 February 7, 1997 kyaw@ksc15.th.com NLD YOUTH MEMBERS DETAINED since DECEMBER 1996 NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF ARREST REMARKS 01 Ko Zaw Win Kemmedine 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN 02 Ko Tin Hla Lanmadaw 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN 03 Ko Kyaw Soe Sanchaung 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN 04 Ma Thi Thi Aung Kamayut 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN 05 Ko Khing Ko Oo Insein 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN 06 Ma Cho Sanchaung 6/12/96 7 years/pc KN 07 Ma Khin Mar Yi Sanchaung 6/12/96 7 years/pc KN 08 Ma Thida Myint Sanchaung 9/12/96 released 09 Ma Kyi Kyi Win Kemmedine 7/12/96 released 10 Ma Than Than Suu Win Insein released 11 Mg Nyi Nyi Naing South Okkalapa 7/12/96 released 12 Mg Tin Aye Thingangyun 7/12/96 released 13 Maung Maung Htay Sanchaung 6/12/96 released 14 Ma May Chaw Shein released 15 Ma Sabae Phyu released 16 Ko Aung Kyaw Soe West Bassein 17 Ko Wai Lin West Bassein 18 Ko Wai Lu West Bassein 19 Ko Zaw Win Tint Bahan 1/1/97 Member 20 Ko Toe Lwin Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Youth Organiser 21 Ko Thein Swe Phyapon Youth Organiser 22 Ko Mya Shwe Sanchaung 06/12/96 pc KN 23 Ma Myat Sabae Moe Kamayut 06/12/96 released 24 Ko Wain Sanchaung 06/12/96 released 25 Ko Soe Naing 1/2/97 SLORC pc 26 U Tin Win Kamayut Secretary 27 U Pa Khan Tamu Chairman 28 Ko Win Cho Kamayut NOTE: pc means press conference KN means Khin Nyunt NLD MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS DETAINED SICE DECEMBER 1996 NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF REMARKS ARREST 01 Dr. Than Win North Okkalapa 10/12/96 MP/released 02 U chit Khin South Okkalapa released 03 U Than U South Okkalapa 09/12/96 released 04 U Maung Maung Kamayut released 05 U Ar Zar Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Vice Chairman 06 U Toe Win Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Joint Secretary 07 U Ko Wai Wakema 13/12/96 Secretary 08 U Aung Kywei Wakema 13/12/96 Joint Secretary 09 U Htun Shwe Wakema 13/12/96 EC 10 U Win Kyi Wakema 13/12/96 EC 11 U tin Nyein Wakema 13/12/96 EC 12 U Maung Kan Wakema 13/12/96 EC 13 U Yu Wai Wakema 13/12/96 EC 14 U Pe Tin Wakema 13/12/96 EC 15 Daw Tin Yi Wakema 13/12/96 Member 16 U Tin Aung Wakema 13/12/96 MP 17 U Kyaw Din Wakema 15/12/96 Chairman 18 U Nyunt Win Ye Kyi MP/released 19 Dr. Tin Min Htut Pantanaw MP/released 20 U Tin Wear Mohnyin Chairman 21 U Kyaw Khin Mohnyin Vice Chairman 22 U Nyunt Lwin Mokaung Chairman 23 U Htun Kyi Mokaung MP/house arrest 24 U Taung Aye Maubin 19/12/96 Div.EC 25 U Win Shwe Maubin 19/12/96 Vice Chairman 26 U Kyaw Zaw Maubin 19/12/96 EC 27 U Lwin Nyein Maubin 19/12/96 EC 28 U Aung Thuya West Bassein 21/12/96 Div. EC 29 U Thein Han Kyaungone Chairman 30 U Myint Kyaing Zalun Member 31 U Than Nwe Zalun Member 32 U Soe Myint Zalun Member 33 U Than Htun Nyaungdon Secretary 34 U Khin Thaung Phyapon Member 35 U Tin Maung Kyi Kemmadine 03/12/96 NLD supporter 36 U Zeya Thingangyun 06/12/96 NLD supporter 37 Dr. Hla Myint North Okkalapa 07/12/96 NLD supporter 38 Ko Khin Maung Oo North Okkalapa 06/12/96 Member/released 39 U Kyaw Tingangyun 06/12/96 Member 40 U Hla Maung Kemmadine 06/12/96 Member 41 U Moe Myint Pazundaung 07/12/96 NLD supporter 42 U Myo Myint West Bassein 03/02/97 Chairman STUDENTS DETAINED SINCE DECEMBER 1996 NO NAME INSTITUTION DATE OF REMARK ARREST 01 Ko Ye Kyaw Zwa YIT 01/02/97 pc of SLORC 02 Ko Kyaw Kyaw Soe YIT 03 Ko Thet YIT 04 Ko Kyaw Wunna YIT released 05 Ko Min Zaw thein YIT 06 Ma Nilar Thein YIT 07 Ko Aung Moe Dagon 08 Ko Pho Thar Dagon 09 Ko Ba Thein Latt Dagon 10 Ko Soe Thaung Dagon 11 Ko Ye Min Dagon 12 Ko Ye Min Kyaw Dagon 13 Ko Mon Gyi Dagon 14 Ko Phone Thet Paing Dagon 15 Ko Maung Zaw Dagon 16 Ko Ye Min Thu Dagon 17 Ko Than Zaw Dagon 18 Ma Aung Gyi Dagon 19 Ma Thin Thin Aye Dagon 7 years sentence 20 Ma Lay Lay Mon Dagon 21 Ko Toe Toe Htun Distance 22 Ko Yan Myo Thein IM2 released 23 Ko Maung maung Latt RC 2 7 years sentence 24 Ko Myo Min Naing RC 2 25 Ma Yee Yee Htun University 01/02/97 pc SLORC Computer Center 26 Ko Myo Zaw Oo pc KN 27 Ko Zaw Maung Maung Win NOTE: YIT means Yangon Institute of Technology IM means Institute of Medicines RC means Regional College Distance means Distance Education Course/Correspondence Course OTHER PEOPLE DETAINED SINCE DECEMBER 1996 NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF REMARK ARREST 01 Ko Thet Oo Mingalar 02/01/97 01/02/97 SLORC pc taungnyunt 02 Robert San Aung Mingalar 03/01/97 01/02/97 SLORC pc taungnyunt 03 Ko Wai Lin Rice shop owner 04 Ko Aye Naing Tea shop owner 05 Ma Mee Mee Aung 06 Ko Aung Than 07 Ko Htay Aung 01/02/97 SLORC pc 08 Ko Thaw Htun Oo 11/12/96 09 Ko Ye Maw Htoo 10 Ma Mar Mar Oo 01/02/97 SLORC pc 11 Ko Ye Naing Aung 12 Ko Min Zeya 04/12/96 13 Ko Thar Myat Kyaw 13/12/96 14 Ma Nilar 07/12/96 15 Ko Htun Myint Aung 13/12/96 16 Ko Kyaw Zeya 13/12/96 17 Ko Ngwe Lin 06/12/96 18 Ko Zeyar Win 19 Ko Lay Lwin 20 Ko Myint Thein 17/01/97 21 Ko Myint Swe 01/02/97 SLORC pc 22 Ko Myint Shwe 01/02/97 SLORC pc 23 Ko Aung Naing 01/02/97 SLORC pc 24 Ma Pyone Pyone Aye 01/02/97 SLORC pc 25 Ma Hnin Hnin Hmwe 01/02/97 SLORC pc 26 Ko Win Naing 01/02/97 SLORC pc 27 Ko Nyi Nyi 01/02/97 SLORC pc 28 Ko Tin Ko Oo 01/02/97 SLORC pc 29 Ko Hsaung Win Latt 1 year sentence SOURCE: The Human Rights Documentation Unit of the NCGUB *************************************** ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CUSHIONS BANK'S FALL February 19, 1997 Stephen Brookes, Yangon In its first intervention into the country's fledgling private banking sector, the Central Bank of Myanmar this month assumed control of controversial Prime Commercial Bank (PCB) and is liquidating its assets, according to Yangon bank officials. About 60 percent of PCB's loans were nonperforming and the board of directors appeared unable to solve the problems, said Kyaw Win, deputy-director of the central bank's supervision department. "We have taken over the bank and are returning the depositors' money," said Kyaw Win, who is acting as the managing director of the bank during the six-month liquidation process expected to cost an estimated 200 million kyats (US$1.2 million at the unofficial rate). The government was guaranteeing that the bank's 2,000 depositors would receive all their principal as well as interest accrued through to January 31, he said. PCB's three-man board of directors, including former central bank governor Maung Maung Han, had been fired and their assets frozen, but no allegations of wrongdoing have yet been made, according to sources in Yangon. The bank has been the subject of controversy since its launch in October 1994 by a Malaysian entrepreneur named Yunus Shamshudeen. Prior to his arrest last year on charges of running a prostitution operation, the Myanmar-born Shamshudeen, 35, operated a network of some 18 different companies in Myanmar ranging from property development to teak exports. PCB, which reportedly had US$10 million in assets at its peak, was at the center of his business network, and about half of the bank's nonperforming loans are to companies owned or controlled by Shamshudeen, according to central bank authorities. The bank is nominally owned by a "cover group" of Myanmar nationals funded by Shamshudeen, they said. Shamshudeen is now serving a four-year sentence in Yangon's Insein prison, according to Myanmar authorities. His Limelight Discotheque, allegedly a center for prostitution, was closed last year, and his other enterprises - including the US$77 million City Square development project in downtown Yangon - are "on ice", according to one business analyst. According to reliable sources in Yangon, the central bank became concerned over PCB when the company announced a new board of directors last October. After an audit, the central bank found that board members and associates had taken out non-collateralized loans and 50 million kyats worth were nonrecoverable. Sources also said the central bank was concerned about possible fraud. PCB's managing director Kyaw Myint was also chairman of a company called Myanmar Kyung Yuan, which announced in local newspapers last year that investors who bought a minimum of 200,000 shares in the company would receive a guaranteed annual rate of return of 84 percent. "It was questionable for a member of PCB's board to be offering that kind of return, when savings deposits only yield 12 to 14 percent," said one business analyst. Members of the Yangon banking community welcomed the intervention, saying it would instill confidence in the private banking system that was only launched in 1990. "The central bank is managing the situation extremely well," said one bank manager in Yangon. "There hasn't been any run on the bank, or any panic." Sources in Yangon said that although its losses were not large it was likely the bank would be closed and the licence granted to a new bank. Myanmar limits the number of private banks in the country to 15. According to central bank officials, PCB has total assets of 382 million kyats and outstanding loans amounting to about 193 million kyats. Although PCB's main office in Yangon was open on Tuesday it is doing no new business and no customers were to be seen. (AT) ************************************** THE NATION: BT300M THAI LOANS FOR ROAD UPGRADE IN BURMA February 19, 1997 (AP) Rangoon - In the first government-to-government loan between the two countries, Thailand will lend Burma $12 million (Bt300 million) to upgrade a key trade route linking their northern provinces, the state-run New Light of Myanmar said yesterday. Burma will use the money to procure equipment and services from Thailand to improve the 102-kilometre-(63-mile) road from Kengtung to Tachilek in eastern Shan State, according to an agreement signed on Monday by representatives from the two governments. The newspaper described it as a long-term loan. Tachilek is separated from Mae Sai in Thailand by a shallow stream. It developed into a smuggling center during Burma's self-imposed socialist isolation from 1962-88. Consumer goods entered Burma from Thailand, while drugs, gems and timber flowed the other way. The city was once under the control of opium warlord Khun Sa, who surrendered to Burma's military govnerment in January 1996 and is still wanted to stand trial for narcotics trafficking by the United States. The Tachilek-Kengtung road will link up with the Kengtung-Mongla road that is Burma's gateway to China's Yunnan province. Building a sound network of roads is an important objective for Burma's military govnerment in its plan to develop border areas. By providing a means for farmers from ethnic groups to transport crops to market, the government hopes to entice them away from growing opium. Burma is the world's largest producer of opium. (TN) **************************** THE NATION: BURMA ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS CONFLICTING CULTURES February 19, 1997 The European Union could be playing right into the hands of the Rangoon junta by its stance on Burma, writes Inter Press Service's Jacqueline Lee in Singapore. >From a public relations point of view, Western nations are putting on a big show for their constituents that they are doing all in their power to bring pressure on Burma's ruling military junta to democratise. But the very high-profile campaign that the West has embarked on may be playing right into Rangoon's hands, particularly in its bid to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which is clearly becoming more and more irritated by Western attempts to impose its will and ways on the regional bloc. A case in point came at the weekend when European Union (EU) officials emerged from two days of high level talks with their Asean counterparts, and told reporters of just how hard they had tried to get Asian leaders to see the folly of "constructive engagement" with Burma's military regime. "What's happening in Burma in unacceptable," said EU President and Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo. "We have to fight it ... we are counting on Asean to do it," he told reporters. And while EU ministers emphasised they were not trying to bully their Asean counterparts into adopting a tough stance on Burma, for sensitive Asian ears, such words are tantamount to an order. As Philippine Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon put it: "The EU is, in fact, suggesting that Asean delay admission [of Burma]. We say that is our business." The issue at hand concerns Burma's application for membership into Asean which may give Rangoon just the political and economic leverage it needs to defy international efforts to isolate the military regime. Western governments and investors may bow to pressure from human rights groups not to do business with Burma, but the issue takes on a much wider dimension when it comes to the Southeast Asian bloc comprising the world's most dynamic economies. The issue is particularly problematic because it would mean that future Asean-EU Ministerial Meetings (AEMM), like the one held in Singapore last Friday and Saturday, would include Burma at the negotiating table. For EU ministers, under pressure from activists and a European Parliament that makes no compromises on issues such as human rights, such a possibility threatens future Asean-EU summits. French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, for example, made clear that his country had no intention of lifting a ban on issuing visas to senior Burmese officials - at least "for the moment". Such uncompromising statements, issued to reporters, might satisfy a European audience clamouring for pressure to be brought on Burma's military junta, but are unlikely to win friends, or more importantly, yield the desired results when dealing with Asian leaders. Europeans must avoid "finger pointing" or catering to 'the international media agenda," said Singaporean Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar. Indeed, the post-summit joint statement would have reflected just how much the Asean ministers wanted said publicly on the issue. It contained a one-sentence reference to Burma, appearing as item 6 in paragraph 10 of the final declaration. "We had an exchange of views on Myanmar [Burma]," it said, giving no indication that the subject was the touchiest issue during the ministerial talks. This is not to say that Asian leaders are unconcerned by the political, or human rights situation in Burma where a repressive military regime is accused of widespread human rights abuses, ranging from forced labour to suppression of any political opposition. But Asean deals with its problems in a "quiet and non-confrontational" manner, said Jayakumar. Europeans, on the other hand, prefer to "express views publicly". He explained that the AEMM debate was 'not a case of one side against another". But Asean's "mild" style, he added, has enabled member-countries to keep an open mind without disturbing Burma's internal politics. "Let us draw an analogy. The Europeans urged Asean to negotiate a prenuptial agreement with Myanmar. One Asean minister's response was in Asia, we marry first and expect to bride to adapt her behaviour after marriage. Once Myanmar joins Asean, it would be influenced by her peers," Jayakumar said. Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Rodolfo Severino also made reference to the two region's distinct styles and strategies. He said: "Europe is approaching it for reasons of conviction. If you're far away, you can afford to be philosophical, lofty and speak from principle. On the other hand, if you're right next [to Burma], and what happens there has repercussions on your own interests, on your own security, your own survival, you take a more practical approach which is what works. "To us in Asean, what works is engaging Myanmar and helping it progress in both economic and political terms," Severino added. Exiled Burmese dissidents and international human rights campaigners have however criticised Asean's "constructive engagement" policy. Another sure critic would be the European Parliament which imposes strict human rights standards in the EU's dealings with foreign countries. With Burma, a pariah for its often blatant suppression of political opposition, particularly that coming from popular pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the European Parliament is almost certain not to endorse any kind of cooperation agreement with Asean if Burma becomes a member. Aware of this, Van Mierlo spoke of "non-automaticism" in which a country that becomes an Asean member does not automatically join the AEMM. Some countries with more rigid views called for an outright freeze on membership. European Commission Vice President Manuel Marin of Spain was quoted as saying that Burma was a "thorn" in Asean-EU relations. "Other sounded veiled threats that if you take in Myanmar, it might be difficult for us to enter into any kind of cooperation agreement," said Siazon. While Asean said it is not blind to the abuses of Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc),,it cannot conceivably delay membership of Burma at this point when the country is already an official Asean observer. "It [Burma] has a foot in Asean, it participates in several meetings of Asean, it's almost part of us," said Severino. (TN) ************************** ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: MITSUBISHI LOSES SF CONTRACT February 12, 1997 MITSUBISHI LOSES SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT CONTRACT SAN FRANCISCO, California, Feb. 12'97 (ENS) - Rainforest Action Network executive director Randall Hayes is celebrating a ruling Monday by Superior Court Judge William Cahill against Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi. The decision threw out a contract to build a people-mover at San Francisco International Airport awarded in December to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America (MHIA). The judge's ruling was based solely on the grounds that San Francisco's Human Rights Commission (HRC) has ultimate power to decide whether a city contractor fits human rights guidelines. HRC recommended against awarding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America the $137-million contract because of the activities of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Burma. Although the judge's decision was not based on environmental grounds, the Rainforest Action Network opposed the contract because Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is supplying the material for a SLORC-sponsored oil pipeline project with Total Petroleum and California-based Unocal. The project will displace upwards of twenty traditional communities and will destroy part of Burma's rainforest. The Airport Commission sought guarantees from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries f America that its parent company would participate in the San Francisco Airport project. MHIA has never built a people-mover. The San Francisco Airport Commission voted December 23, 1996 to accept the Mitsubishi bid, in face of HRC opposition, and objections from area human rights and environmental organizations. Besides ignoring the HRC recommendation, Commission president Henry Berman said he believed the people-mover project is exempt from San Francisco's Burma selective-purchasing ordinance due to a loophole in its wording. The Burma ordinance prevents The City from contracting with corporations that do business with Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Committee (SLORC). Hayes commented, "The Court's ruling confirms what social change activists already know: Mitsubishi shows little concern for human rights. The company is still in bed with Burma's repressive military government. Additionally, Mitsubishi is proceeding with plans to destroy one of the last gray whale calving lagoons in Mexico to build a salt mine there. However, now that Mitsubishi has lost a $137-million contract in San Francisco, company executives should realize they've got to make fundamental changes in the ways they do business." **********************************************