Subject: BurmaNet News February 23, 1997 Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 05:50:27 -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 22, 1997 Issue #646 HEADLINES: ========== KNU: PRESS RELEASE No. 2/97 KNU: SITUATION UPDATE, MERGUI TAVOY DISTRICT, 4TH KNU: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THATON DISTRICT US STATE DEPT: US DEPLORES ATTACKS ON KAREN BKK POST: BURMESE REFUSE TO RETURN VEHICLES SEIZED HUAI KALOK REFUGEE CAMP: STUDENTS’ FLYER THAILAND TIMES: OFFICIAL SLORC VISIT TO KNU WAS PRELUDE THE NATION: KARENS' LAST STAND BEFORE THE FINAL NATION: AUST URGED TO OFFER NEWS IN BURMESE NATION: SUHARTO'S BURMA TRIP COULD SPARK MILITARISM REUTER: BURMA WELCOMES SUHARTO BEFORE KEY ASEAN THE NATION: SLORC WILL RESPOND TO STICKS -------------------------------------------------------------- KNU: PRESS RELEASE No. 2/97 Date: 22nd February, 1997 REGARDING THE 1997 SLORC OFFENSIVE AGAINST THE KNU ---------------------------- The SLORC launched its general offensive against the KNU in 6th Brigade area on the 8th of February 1997. Simultaneously, the SLORC launched an offensive against the KNU's Brigade 4 area. The SLORC's Southern Command is led by Division Commander Thura Sit Maung, notorious for human rights abuse perpetrated against the civilian population in southern Burma. In this offensive, battalions from Light Infantry Divisions (LIDs) 11, 22, 33, 55, 66 and 99 were deployed, having a combined strength of approximately 3, 000 men, as well as the troops usually operating in the southern area. The battle front news from KNU 4th Brigade area is as follows: 8th of February, 1997: --------------------------- A clash between SLORC (Burmese army) troops and Karen National Liberation Front (KNLA) troops took place at Mu Hta village. SLORC casualties are unknown. 9th of February, 1997: ---------------------------- The KNLA attacked SLORC troops near Mae Plu Kho village in KNU 4th Brigade area. The battle began at 8.30 AM and lasted the whole day. In this clash, 9 SLORC soldiers were killed, including one major, and 15 SLORC soldiers were injured. 10th of February, 1997: ------------------------------ The KNLA ambushed SLORC soldiers at Kleh Gyu village. One SLORC soldier was killed and two SLORC soldiers were injured. 11th of February 1997: ---------------------------- The KNLA attacked the SLORC at Taung Thon Lone village. Casualty numbers are unknown. On the same day, KNLA soldiers ambushed SLORC soldiers at Po Se camp, near Maw Lo Kheh village. the SLORC retaliated using 20 artillery shells. Casualties are as yet unknown. 13th of February 1997: ---------------------------- The KNLA ambushed SLORC troops at Yo Lay and Mae Moe Kay Klaw villages. The battle began at 7.30 AM and lasted the whole day, leaving the SLORC with 18 men wounded or dead. Three SLORC soldiers and seven porters fled the battle field. The SLORC soldiers tried to recapture the fleeing soldiers and porters, and then a new battle with the KNLA soldiers occurred. Three SLORC soldiers were killed in this battle. The run-away soldiers and porters were then executed by the commanding officers of the SLORC battalion. 15th of February 1997: ---------------------------- The SLORC soldiers attacked the KNLA forces at Kwee Wah Wah village at 6.30 AM. One KNLA soldier was injured. SLORC casualties are unknown. Fighting broke out again at 11.30 AM and 20 SLORC soldiers were killed, including one officer. One KNLA soldier died and 5 were injured in this battle. 16th of February 1997: ---------------------------- Clashes broke out between KNLA and SLORC troops at a position between Kwee Wah Wah and Nyah Plah Thu villages. SLORC casualties are unknown. KNLA troops suffered no casualties. 17th of February 1997: ---------------------------- The KNLA captured a boat carrying SLORC military supplies and 10 sacks of rice and other military rations were seized. On the same day, the KNLA attacked the SLORC soldiers at Maw Ma Pru mountain. SLORC casualties are unknown. 18th of February 1997: ----------------------------- A battle broke out again at Maw Ma Pru mountain at 9.00 AM., lasting the whole day and leaving the SLORC with 20 casualties. The KNLA then captured 10 SLORC Navy boats carrying supplies. On the same day the KNLA attacked the SLORC at Ta Nah P'Gaw Htah village and the SLORC suffered 20 casualties in this battle. 19th of February 1997: ----------------------------- The KNLA attacked SLORC soldiers at K'Htaw Nee area. The SLORC suffered over 30 casualties. Currently all over the KNU's 4th Brigade area, sporadic fighting is continuing. The KNLA have had few casualties, yet injuries and deaths on the SLORC side have been high in number. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- For more information : please contact Pado Mahn Shar at 055 561 040 or 055 561 062 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- ************************************************************* KNU: SITUATION UPDATE, MERGUI TAVOY DISTRICT, 4TH BRIGADE KNU February 20, 1997 From: So_Nou@sala.icn.net 1. MILITARY SITUATION -NORTH OF DISTRICT HQ (HTEE KEE) Slorc troops from Mergui arrived at Tavoy military area on 14.2.97 . In the Taung Byauk area SLORC troops captured porters from all villages. Slorc troops continue to repair the old road that was used by Japanese troops in WWII. A SLORC column from Kwee Waw Wa (Aing Wine) village marched eastward to the Thai border. Noon, 16th Feb there was a skirmish with KNLA at Thet Hkee Hta. Information has now been confirmed that SLORC will strike with 5 columns from all directions to destroy the KNU district HQ at Htee Kee. On 16th and 17th Feb two skirmishes happened at Ka Neh Kaw (Pya Tha Chaung) and Paundaw areas in the Paw Klo river valley area. SLORC confiscated villagers's boats from Paw Klo (Ban Chaung) areas and sent supplies to Htee Hpo Lay and Kwee Waw Wa where they are currently camped on the banks of the Tenasserim river. On 15th Feb SLORC division 55 arrived at Tavoy with 50 military vehicles. They brought mules along with the convoy. -SOUTH OF DISTRICT HQ (HTEE KEE) On 16.2.97 SLORC troops from No They Lar left for an offensive march to the east, it included two columns of troops. On 15.2.97 another SLORC troop with 200men arrived at Ka Wutt Hta and captured porters from there. 2. DISPLACED PEOPLE - NORTH OF DISTRICT HQ (HTEE KEE) Villagers from Kaw Wah Kwee, Htee Hpo Lay and Kwee Waw Wa arrived at Ka Saw Wah. Accurate numbers are still not available but are estimated at 600-700. Some people from Ka Saw Wah and Ka Ma Haw have already fled and arrived at Htee Hta and Amoh. - SOUTH OF DISTRICT HQ (HTEE KEE) On 17.2.97 villagers from Htaw Ma Pyo and Min Htaing Hkee close to the border of Thailand at Ratchaburi area were told by the Thai military to move to a point 5 Kms back from the border line. The reason for this is not clear since these people have stayed there for a long time. 3. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES REPORTED Kalet Kay, Htee Hpo lay and Kaneh Kaw villages were burnt down by SLORC troops. Some plantations were also burnt. 15.2.97 (5) boats travelling on the river were shot at and two boats sunk. There were casualties but the number not known. There has been looting of villagers property and live stock from deserted villages. 4. ASSISTANCE SOUGHT A list of displaced persons is being collated and assistance sought from BBC (food) and MED (medicine). The list of displaced persons is still as reported on the first update. THE FACTS REGARDING THE OPERATION IN MERGUI TAVOY Name of offensive : Thu Ra Chief Commanding officer: Bdr Gen. Thi Ha Thu Ra Sit Maung Vice Chief Commanding officer. Col Thu Ra Maung Ni Field commanders: Lt Col. Than Win (1st command) Lt Col. Saw Hla Min (2nd command) no name known (3rd command) Designated battalions: IB 224,262,267, 273,280,25,104,17,101,103 LIB 265,342,358,431,432,401,406 Area designated: -Tavoy to Taung Thone Lone : IB 104,267 - Heinda to Paundaw IB 273 -Taung Thone Lone - Mytta - K'let Ki : IB 25 - Mytta to Kwee Waw Wa : IB 224,267,273,25,431 - Peh to Pa Lauk Nan Thila : IB 280,17 - Kyauk Lone Gyi : IB 101,103,LIB 432 Reinforcement: Supply Unit 924 Field engineers 904 Construction engineers 965 Artillery Unit 324 Field intelligence 19 Medical Unit 5/100 Communication 8 Mule and horse train unit 1 Field engineers (navy) 906 Mine detectors and trackers unit It has been reported that Division 55 has left from Tavoy and has spread out to the front line. On 15.2.97 they arrived from Ye with about 50 trucks along with mules and horses. KNU Information Center *********************************************************** KNU: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THATON DISTRICT February 20, 1997 From: So_Nou@sala.icn.net (So Nou) On 8/2/97 SLORC'S Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 219 commanded by Lt. Colonel Aung Ko Ko burned unmilled rice belonging to the following villagers in Mae Baw Kee village, Thaton District. (1) Saw Pah Er 75 baskets (2) Maung Kya Ngay 60 baskets (3) Pa Baw 75 baskets On the same day, they killed and ate a buffalo belonging to Maw Loh Pa. On 10/2/97 the two villages of Noe Baw Kee and La Kyo Ko were relocated to Htaw Klaw Kee village by SLORC Infantry Battalion 63 which is also located in this village. The entire village was fenced and the villagers are virtual prisoners. They leave only to be used as forced laborers working on a road being built by SLORC troops in this area. KNU INFORMATION CENTER **************************************************** US STATE DEPT: US DEPLORES ATTACKS ON KAREN February 18, 1997 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 18, 1997 STATEMENT BY GLYN DAVIES, ACTING SPOKESMAN BURMA -- U.S. DEPLORES ATTACKS ON KAREN The United States is deeply disturbed by the Burma Army's attacks against ethnic Karens living near the border with Thailand. The vast majority of those affected are civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Thousands of refugees have fled their homes to seek temporary refuge in Thailand. We are also deeply disturbed by the forcible conscription of thousands of civilians to serve as porters for the Burma Army in its offensive. We call upon the Government of Burma to halt its military attacks and return to negotiations to achieve national reconciliation with the ethnic minority groups and the democratic political opposition. ********************************************************* BKK POST: BURMESE REFUSE TO RETURN VEHICLES SEIZED IN CLASH February 22, 1997 Mae Sot, Tak Thai authorities yesterday failed to persuade Burma to return vehicles and other military goods seized during a clash at a disputed border point. On Thursday about 100 Burmese soldiers laid siege to a 50 strong combined military and police force that was despatched to Ban Mae Kho in Tambon Mae Chan of Umphang district. A border source said the Thai force had been sent to see if Burmese soldiers had crossed onto Thai soil. However, there was a brief battle in which the Thai's were outnumbered. There were no casualties but pick up trucks, ammunition, a communication radio and food supplies were seized and taken back across the border. Initial reports indicated Burmese soldiers and captured Pol Sgt Maj Suriya Sathumrat, of the border police, and three soldiers of the Fourth Infantry Regiment's task force. However, task force commander Col Suvit Maenmuan yesterday denied the reports. He explained that the clash had taken place in an ill-defined border area claimed by both Thailand and Burma. Both sides met for talks at Ban Klo Tho yesterday morning. The Thai delegation was led by Fourth Infantry Regiment deputy commander Col Chainarong Thanaroon. ************************************************************* HUAI KALOK REFUGEE CAMP: STUDENTS’ FLYER February 20, 1997 This is the text of a flyer which was produced and distributed by Karen students from Huai Kalok Refugee Camp, which was almost totally destroyed after a SLORC/DKBA attack three weeks ago. * LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN OF THAILAND. * WE ARE GENUINE KAREN REFUGEES TEMPORARILY LIVING IN THAILAND. * WE THANK THE THAI AUTHORITIES FOR LETTING US STAY IN THAILAND. * THE ACTION TO DESTROY OUR REFUGEE CAMPS IS THE PLAN OF THE SLORC MILITARY GOVERNMENT. * WE REQUEST THE THAI AUTHORITIES TO PROTECT US. * WE REEQUEST THE THAI BUDDHIST LEADERSHIP TO MEET WITH THE SLORC AND DKBA LEADERS TO NOT SEND THEIR SOLDIERS TO ATTACK US AGAIN. * WE REQUEST WORLD BUDDHIST ORGANIZATIONS TO TAKE STRONG ACTION AGAINST SLORC AND DKBA FOR THIS ACTION OF BURNING OUR REFUGEE CAMPS. * WE REQUEST THAI AUTHORITIES AND ASEAN TO RECONSIDER THEIR "CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT' WITH SLORC. * WE REQUEST THAI AUTHORITIES NOT TO FORCIBLY REPATRIATE US. * WE REQUEST THAI GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE FOR THE REBUILDING OF OUR REFUGEE CAMPS AT A NEW SECURE LOCATION. **************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: OFFICIAL SLORC VISIT TO KNU WAS PRELUDE TO CAMP CAPTURE (abridged) February 15, 1997 by Atsawin Phinitwong Tak -- The official visit of members of Burma's ruling junta to the Karen National Union's (KNU) Teekaper stronghold late last month was simply a reconnaissance mission in preparation for the junta's capture of the base two days ago, a senior military officer said yesterday. The officer, who requested anonymity, said it was no coincidence that the fall of the stronghold came only two weeks after the Burmese government had sent its representatives to meet KNU leader Gen Bo Mya on the occasion of the KNU Revolution Day celebrations. While the ostensible purpose had been to ask the rebels to commit themselves to a cease fire, the delegation's primary concern was to sound out the terrain and the KNU's military capacity, the officer said. Dubious motives were strongly indicated by the presence of officers from the junta's intelligence unit among the 11-member delegation to the base, said the officer, adding thatmembers of the mapping and military strategies unit had also been present. Only a week after the delegation's visit, the Burmese regime reinforced its troops in the area, later launching offensives on a number of the KNU's camps and torching four Karen border villages. [section on early February attacks cut] While the refugees face a precarious future in Thailand, an announcement yesterday by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer that the Australian government will contribute 16 million baht to provide humanitarian relief to Karen refugees in Thailand will do something to alleviate their hardship. ****************************** THE NATION: KARENS' LAST STAND BEFORE THE FINAL ONSLAUGHT (abridged) February 20, 1997 Southeast Asia's longest ethnic struggle is in danger of complete collapse. If the Karen National Union is defeated, Thailand will bear the brunt of the burden, writes Yindee Lertcharoenchok. Two years after a major setback from the untimely loss of its Manerplaw headquarters, Burma's embattled Karen guerrilla movement is now facing a new military and political crisis. This crisis threatens to end the longest armed struggle in Burma for the recognition of ethnic rights and greater autonomy. Although the military operation ­ which took place two weeks after Burmese and renegade Karen troops trespassed into Thai territory to attack three Karen refugee camps ­ was primarily aimed at strategic KNU strongholds, its manoeuvres, however, have created a wider impact on the Burmese civilian population and Burma's eastern neighbour. Hundreds of porters and tens of thousands of refugees who fled the Burmese lightning attacks last week on KNU's 6th Brigade area have entered Thailand's Umphang district in Tak province. Thai authorities in Mae Sot estimate that about 700 to 800 porters were forcibly recruited to carry weapons and supplies for the assaults. From the look of things, many of these porters, because of the harsh circumstances they are in, will sneak across the border and seek refuge in Thailand. Mae Sot officials have suggested that these porters be liable to legal prosecution because they are ''illegal immigrants" and not refugees fleeing the fighting ­ thus making them victims both in their homeland and in the country where they are seeking refuge. Although Thai officials promptly promised a safe place for the new influx of over 20,000 new Karen fugitives from the KNU's 6th Brigade, the combined number of the new arrivals and those already taking shelter in over a dozen camps along the Thai-Burmese border has reached a high record of over 100,000 ­ the largest number of refugees on Thai soil since the Cambodian conflicts in the 1980s. KNU officials predict that as many as 50,000 more Karen civilians could flee across the border into Thailand's Kanchanaburi down to Ratchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan, and Chumphon provinces if the Burmese Army begins a full-scale operation against the 4th Brigade, now that it has already taken full control of the 6th Brigade. Already, eight Burmese Army battalions of about 350 to 400 troops each have been deployed to attack the 4th Brigade, which is currently the primary source of KNU's income from fisheries, logging and mining. Another contingent of six more Burmese battalions are currently attacking KNU strongholds at Chong Kamiew, opposite Thailand's Chumphon province where the KNU's 11th and 12th battalions are located. The fall of the 4th Brigade area would mean ''a virtual end" to all of the KNU's stationary strongholds and controlled territories, which once stretched along the border terrains, opposite Thailand's northern Mae Hong Son down to southern Chumphon and Ranong provinces. Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro has tried to play down the impacts of the major Burmese offensive against the KNU on Thailand, arguing that the fighting and the attacks on refugee camps is a Burmese internal affair. The ground realities, however, are different. The border situation has reached a critical point in terms of the crisis both involving refugees and security. The Thai Army's failure to protect the country's sovereignty, national integrity and the lives of fugitives taking shelter on Thai soil against repeated intrusions and aggression last month by Burmese and renegade Karen intruders is already unforgivable. And Chettha's understatement of the overall situation only makes the Army under his command look even more hapless and questionable in the eyes of the Thai people. In fact, the indifferent attitude of the Army chief and his mentor, Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, towards the tragic events unfolding at the Thai-Burma border, has drawn criticism. Several Burma watchers and even a few Thai officials have gone so far as to suggest that the Thai Army and government might be willing partners with the Burmese junta in wanting to see the KNU and the Karen people annihilated. Moreover, the fact that the Burmese defence attache and the Burmese ambassador to Thailand on Feb 11 separately informed the Thai Army and the Foreign Ministry respectively of the junta's decision to use force against the KNU as a result of the rebel group's rejection of Rangoon's peace initiatives only heightened the speculation. Interestingly, the Burmese offensive against the KNU's 6th Brigade began on the very same day. For Thailand, the Burmese victory over the KNU will have tremendous effects and impacts on the Kingdom's overall national security. KNU's ''defeat" and its replacement with the Burmese Army as the guardian of the Karen traditional homeland will make it the first time the Burmese rulers in Rangoon will be able to exercise their full central authority in taking full control of the full 2,500-kilometre common frontier with Thailand. The Burmese permanent presence along the entire borderline means that Thailand will, from now on, have to fully recognise the Burmese government's sovereignty and territorial integrity which the Kingdom could, in the past, ignore or overlook when dealing with various ethnic insurgency groups active along the common boundary. Thailand's national security policy and strategy towards its western border will also have to undergo a major overhaul and the two countries, which have yet to resolve several territorial claims, will face a surge in new territorial disputes. In terms of national defence on the ground, the traditional ''buffer zone", which Thailand had smartly devised between 1960s and 1980s by employing a handful of active Burmese ethnic guerrilla groups to counter threats of communism, drugs, and previous Burmese socialist ideology, will naturally disappear. In the case of any disputes or conflicts, the Thai Army will have to enter into a direct confrontation with the more experienced Burmese Army and not the underarmed Burmese ethnic minorities, whose survival depends on food, medical supplies and basic necessities bought from neighbouring Thailand. ***************************** NATION: AUST URGED TO OFFER NEWS IN BURMESE February 22, 1997 Associated Press SYDNEY - Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi called on Australia to broadcast news to her home country in its native language so Burmese could keep in touch with the outside world. She said Burma's military regime had a monopoly on the whole media and her people were forced to depend on external radio and television stations to receive uncensored news. "With its proximity to Burma and with the increasing numbers of Burmese on its soil, we hope that Australia will recognise the need for disseminating information in the Burmese language on the educational, social, economic and political currents that are sweeping across the globe," Suu Kyi said. She made the plea in Sydney via her husband, Dr Michael Aris, who accepted an honorary doctorate form Sydney University of Technology on her behalf. Aris read a speech prepared by his wife, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who went to Rangoon in 1988 to care for her ailing mother and became the nations's greatest living hero and one of the world's best known political prisoners. A statement form Radio National yesterday said the Burmese audience for its programmes was still believed to be high although the military government had imposed tight restrictions on all international communications. Yesterday, Suu Kyi said, Australians are citizens of a nation which had been forged out of hard endeavour and had a reputation for being "tough". "We expect form you the boldness to stand up and speak for the rights of those who are seeking to cast off their shackles," she said. "The curtailment of the right to develop initiative and to exercise freedom of expression has disatrous effects on the future of a nation." ************************************************************* NATION: SUHARTO'S BURMA TRIP COULD SPARK MILITARISM, WARNS OPPOSITION LEADER February 21, 1997 By Andreas Harsono (Jakarta) An opposition figure has questioned the purpose of President Suharto visiting the military regime in Burma, speculating that the visit might revitalise fascism and militarism in the historically-troubled southeast Asian region. Indonesian opposition leader Sri-Bintang Pamungkas told The Nation yesterday that the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) in Rangoon had long imported military doctrines and techniques from Jakarta. ''Suharto is now looking for friends to excuse the practice of fascism in Indonesia, to legitimise the practice of having only one single state ideology, one single party system and widespread intelligence services," Pamungkas said. The former legislator said that former fascist-communist countries in southeast Asia, which include Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, could easily adopt a renewed fascist-militaristic ideology. Suharto arrived in Rangoon yesterday from Vientiane on the last leg of a tour to Cambodia, Laos and Burma. The Indonesian president, who rose to power in 1965, visited Burma in 1974 during the rule of Burmese strongman Ne Win. According to Pamungkas, the Slorc generals had adopted the Indonesian doctrine of ''Dwifungsi Abri" which literally means the ''Armed Forces' Dual Function" and principally justifies the involvement of active officers in politics. An Indonesian representative in Rangoon once said the Burmese government would like to imitate the Indonesian government in three key areas: the Indonesian state ideology Pancasila, the 1945 constitution and the Dwifungsi Abri. Rangoon has also learned from Jakarta sophisticated methods to suppress dissent as well as intelligence techniques to divide-and-rule the opposition in a bid to suppress Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. ''Suharto's move is very dangerous. He could incite the rise of militarism here. He might build Asean [The Association of Southeast Asian Nations] into a fascist-military block," said Pamungkas, referring to the Vietnam War, the communism threat in Malaysia and southern Thailand, border conflicts between Indonesia and Malaysia in the 1960s, as well as the civilian war in Cambodia which concluded with the end of the Cold War. Indonesian officials said that during his visit Suharto would sign a memorandum of understanding between Citra Lamtoro Gung, a business group controlled by his eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings. Indonesia has already begun cooperating with Burma in the cement and tobacco industries and trading. Indonesia's PT Semen Cibinong said last month that it would invest US$210 million (Bt5.25 billion) in building cement plants in Burma. Other observers said Suharto wants to give his support to Laos, Cambodia and Burma, which are expected to enter Asean in July. Asean's current members are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. A human rights campaigner said in a separate interview that Suharto's support for the military regime in Rangoon is supposed to be answered with broader Asean support of Indonesia's stance on East Timor. ''It's parallel. Suharto wants to get wider support on East Timor. Burma wants to get Asean support as well as deal with international pressure," said Bonar Tigor Naipospos of the Jakarta-based Pijar rights organisation. Pijar is among a few Indonesian NGOs which openly supported and displayed Suu Kyi's picture during last year's pro-democracy street protests in Jakarta in support of Indonesian leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. The protests ended in serious riots on July 27. Naipospos said Suharto needs Burma, especially after East Timorese Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo and resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Award in December. ''Suharto wants to stress his stance that other countries, especially Western ones, should not intervene in the internal affairs of countries like Burma or Indonesia," he said, adding that despite freer trade and globalisation, Suharto wants to stick to his own rule that politics should be separated from human rights and democratisation issues. Naipospos also said that the international community should realise now that Suharto had become the ''main guardian" of the Burmese generals. ''If they want to put pressure on Burma, they have to put on their agendas the name of Suharto as well," he added. The mouthpiece of the Burmese military regime, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, once dubbed the relationship between Indonesia and Burma, ''Two Nations with a Common Identity" as it reported a sharp increase in the exchange of official visits between the two governments. Indonesian officials including Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and Defence Minister Edi Sudrajat visited Rangoon in February 1994 and November 1995, respectively. Earlier, in August 1994, businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra of the Humpuss business group and the youngest son of President Suharto also led a high-profile business delegation to Rangoon. Slorc leader Senior Gen Than Shwe also met Suharto in Jakarta in June 1995 and in November 1996 while his aide, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, who heads the intelligence service, travelled more frequently to Jakarta. The Burmese embassy in Jakarta is the largest among Burma's in southeast Asia, demonstrating that Jakarta is crucial for Slorc. The Burmese ambassador, U Nyi Nyi Tant, a close associate of Khin Nyunt, is portrayed as the spearhead of his nation's lobbying efforts in Jakarta, which also hosts the Asean Secretariat. ******************* REUTER: BURMA WELCOMES SUHARTO BEFORE KEY ASEAN DECISION February 21, 1997 By Aung Hla Tun RANGOON, Feb 21 (Reuter) - Indonesian President Suharto arrived in Rangoon on Friday for a visit that Burma's military government hopes will hasten its induction into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations despite opposition from the West. Burmese officials took Suharto's visit to be a hopeful sign. "We see the president's visit as a sign that ASEAN is giving us its backing while western countries are applying pressure on us," a Burmese government spokesman told Reuters on Friday. Diplomats said Rangoon would use the Suharto visit to further its ambitions to join ASEAN this year and to counter pressure from human rights groups and other critics. Amnesty International said political repression and human rights violations by the SLORC last year reached their highest levels since the violent suppression of a popular uprising in 1988. Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has accused the SLORC of harassing her National League for Democracy party. In December, the SLORC closed universities indefinitely to snuff out anti-government protests by students seeking greater freedom and parked tanks in strategic places in Rangoon as a show of force against any future unrest. Suu Kyi has urged ASEAN not to invest in Burma and to refrain from its "constructive engagement" with Rangoon until the government's human rights record improved. When contacted on Friday, neither Suu Kyi's aides nor other key leaders of her party would comment on the Suharto visit. But it was also likely that Indonesian officials might urge Burma to undertake reforms to improve its international image and thereby expedite its entry into ASEAN, diplomats said. "The SLORC is being smiled on by ASEAN but it could be that Suharto might just bite the bullet and ask them (SLORC) to undertake reforms," said a Rangoon-based diplomat. Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, travelling with Suharto, was expected to discuss with officials here Burma's prospective entry into ASEAN. Official Burmese media in a commentary warned that the United States, which has been critical of Burma's human rights record, might try to foil Burma's ASEAN membership. ************************************************ THE NATION: SLORC WILL RESPOND TO STICKS February 17, 1997 More penalties and fewer incentives would help the cause of Burma's beleagured opposition, Mya Maung writes. The ability of the Burmese military regime, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), to sustain political power and rule against the will of the people has been made possible in part by the outside world's willingness to invest, trade, and establish economic ties. Despite the verbal resolutions and rebukes of Slorc's blatant human rights violations by the UN and the West, there has been a trend of convergence between the foreign policies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the West toward Burma. Both of them presume that investment and trade promote economic growth and in tandem encourage the military regime to undertake political reforms toward democratisation. The corollary premise of this presumption is that economic sanctions are counter-productive to economic and political liberalisation or isolation of a dictatorial regime such as Slorc and only hurt the people at large. These presumptions have been proven to be utterly perverse and wrong as the Burmese economy is in a shambles with rampant corruption, mounting inflation and impoverishment of the majority of the people as the military regime succeeds in attracting foreign investment to sustain its rule and to continue rights abuses. The US government has been the strongest among the Western government in persistently criticising and threatening the Burmese junta with potential economic sanctions. Freedom Act In July 1996, the McConnell Bill introduced in 1995, ''The Burma Freedom and Democracy Act/" (S.1511) which was incorporated into the ''Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Appropriations Act (H.R.L3540)" , calling for unilateral economic sanctions of Burma was resubmitted. It was defeated and a different amendment to H.R 3540 was proposed and submitted by senators Cohen and Feinstein. In October, 1996, this new amendment was passed by both Houses and signed into law by President Bill Clinton with the provision of ''a potential US sanction be imposed upon 'new investment' by American companies if and when the Burmese military regime harms or arrests [opposition leader Aung San] Suu Kyi or mounts a massive repression against the dissidents." Coinciding with the passing of this law, the Burmese regime began to slander Suu Kyi as a traitor and a collaborator with the US to destroy the unity and stability of Burma and threatened to re-arrest her. In reaction to the repression in Burma and renewed threats against Suu Kyi and pro-democracy activists, Clinton issued a proclamation banning the issuance of visas to Burma's military rulers and their families which triggered a tit-for-tat decree from the Burmese junta directed at US officials and their families. On Oct 29, the European Union followed the lead of the United States. Meanwhile, there has been a growing call for economic sanctions against Burma in the United States. Students from a number of US colleges and universities have joined the Free Burma Coalition and Corporate Withdrawal Movement to boycott products of American companies doing business in Burma. The cities of Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Cambridge, Chicago, Madison, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Seattle have adopted resolutions on the condemnation of human rights violations and passed selective purchasing legislation banning the products of American firms investing and conducting business in Burma. On June 25, 1996, Massachusetts became the first state to pass the ''selective purchasing bill", sponsored by Massachusetts state Rep Byron Rushing calling for sanctions against American firms that are investing in Burma. As a result of the Free Burma Coalition and Corporate Withdrawal campaigns and the Massachusetts sanctions bill, many US companies began pulling out of Burma in 1996. Earlier this month, Pepsi-Cola, which was heavily targeted by dissidents and college students, announced it was withdrawing its presence in Burma. The intimidation, arrest and arbitrary sentencing of members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and other dissidents have become a daily ritual in Burma. Physical violence On Nov 9, 1996, the intimidation of Suu Kyi and NLD members turned into physical violence when her motorcade was attacked twice by a crowd that pelted the vehicles with stones. Suu Kyi was not hurt but her colleague Tin Oo, vice-chairman of the NLD, suffered a wound on his temple in the attack. During the first two weeks of December, following large demonstrations by students at various campuses, near her residence and at central locations in Rangoon, Suu Kyi's freedom of movement was restricted after barricades were set up outside her residence in the name of protecting her safety, forcing her to stay inside her house. Against this background, Suu Kyi, who was kept under house arrest for nearly six years until July 1995, called for a US embargo on foreign investment in Burma under the Cohen-Feinstein bill. On Feb 2, 1997, she stated: ''The conditions in Burma now are such that they do meet the requirements of sanctions because widespread repression of the democracy movement was one of the conditions of the imposition of sanctions and I think we can say very, very clearly that there is large-scale repression of the democracy movement going on." She also produced a list of 105 people who were arrested by the authorities since December 1996 and an order to kill her issued by the minister of railways, Win Sein, to substantiate her call for US sanctions. To the disappointment of the ''lady of Burma" and her followers and to the delight of the Burmese military regime, US State Department spokesman, Nicholas Burns, came out stating that ''the United States has not decided to impose additional sanctions on Burma," reaffirming the old position of ''neither actively encouraging nor discouraging American companies to do business in Burma." In fact, Unocal, whose Yandana natural gas field project has been charged by dissidents and various human rights organisations, including the United Nations of promoting ecological rape, forced relocation, forced labour and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people inside the country and along the Thai border, signed another offshore natural gas field project with the Burma government. Meanwhile, Japan which has been the largest historical creditor of the Burmese military regime, lodged a protest against the Massachusetts selective purchasing law as illegal with the US State Department. Asean, led by Malaysia and Indonesia, is also hinting at willingness to accept Burma as a member in 1997. Hence, Burma's quest for freedom from fear and democracy is back to square one with respect to the military regime's ability to stay in power and avoid potential US or other international sanctions. As Suu Kyi aptly remarked in February 1994 during a meeting with William Richardson, the first US lawmaker allowed to visit her while she was under house arrest: ''Too many nations use economic carrots, and not sticks to encourage improvement in Burma's human rights records and the fundamental question is whether the outside world's investment and trade with Burma is really helping the people of Burma or is it simply helping the government to dig in its heels?" The answer to her question seems fairly obvious in light of the willingness of the US and many nations to invest, engage and trade with the Burmese military regime. Mya Maung is a professor of finance at the Wallace E Carrol School of Management, Boston College.(TN) *************************************