------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: March 24, 1997 Issue #674 HEADLINES: ========== MUSLIM LIBERATION ORGANIZATION OF BURMA MLOB: OPEN LETTER TO THE SUPREME AUTHORITIES BKK POST: MUSLIMS COMPLAIN OF JUNTA PRESSURE BKK POST:MONKS RAID MOSQUE IN RANGOON THAILAND TIMES: 200 BURMESE TROOPS "KIDNAP" KARENS AP REPORT: ABUSES CONTINUE UNCHECKED BKK POST:KARENS ASK THAILAND TO ALLOW UN TO HELP NATION: US WARNS ON BURMA TRAVEL THAILAND TIMES: KNU PLANS TO MOVE BASE CAMP BKK POST: BONN PROTEST S.H.A.N : SITUATION IN SHAN STATE UPDATE: BATTLE NEWS FROM SHAN STATE THE NATION: FIVE THAIS HELD IN BURMA NATION: RANGOON CRIES FOUL AS A THOUSAND POPPIES ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CLASHES POLITICAL, NOT RELIGIOUS ONSOB: REFUGEE ASSISTANCE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- MUSLIM LIBERATION ORGANIZATION OF BURMA STATEMENT REGARDING RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN BURMA March 20th, 1997 The recent demonstrations were sparked by the deaths of 16 Buddhist monks in prison. It is with great regret that we have heard that sixteen Buddhist monks were forcibly disrobed and were then brutally tortured to death by prison officials. Following this incident, Mandalay monks began anti-government demonstrations on March 17th. The demands made by the people and the monks during these demonstrations were for the authorities to announce a list of monks currently detained in Burmese prisons, and to release these monks. The SLORC is afraid that this kind of demonstrations could lead to political unrest, and may even threaten their very power base. They therefore immediately circulated a story that the Mandalay monks demonstrations were triggered by Buddhist-Muslim tension following an alleged rape case. This is not the first time that the SLORC has used this type of religious misinformation campaign. The first Buddhist-Muslim conflicts were created and provoked by the regim in two major cities during the 1988 pro-democracy uprisings in Taunggyi and in Prome. Ne Win's government also employed this tactic to create a major riot between Burmese and Chinese people in 1967, to distract people from their real conflict with the government, which was over greatly inflated rice prices. The Burmese people, both Muslim and Buddhist, know the tricks of the SLORC well and will fight this military dictatorship together. M.L.O.B March 20th, 1997 *********************************************************** MLOB: OPEN LETTER TO THE SUPREME AUTHORITIES OF THE MEMBER MUSLIM COUNTRIES OF THE ASEAN GROUPING March 24, 1997 Dear Sirs, I would like to, most respectfully, forward the following statement for your information, understanding and high consideration. 1. Burma gained independence in 1948. Due to the failure on the parts of successive governments to provide equality and justice to all nationalities, the present civil war started in 1949, just after independence. 2. The army led by Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962 and because all people, especially ethnic minorities, have been discriminated against and persecuted, almost all minorities have taken part in the armed struggle against the military dictatorships. 3. During the period of the civil war, the people have been facing arious kinds of hardships. Whenever the civilians have tried to expose their grievances by peaceful demonstrations, they were gunned down in groups on every occasion. 4. In 1988, the people of Burma showed in peaceful demonstrations that they did not want to continue to be under military rule and that they wanted democracy. SLORC, the ruling regime, massacred several thousand people, which is well known to the world. 5. Just after the socialist government handed over power to SLORC, the latter had promised that they would transfer power to the people's representatives before long. However, they still hold power. 6. In 1990, SLORC held a general election. When the NLD, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory, SLORC refused to honour its promise of transferring power to the winning party. In the meantime, SLORC arrested several people's representatives, jailed them and tortured them, while some were even killed. 7. Since 1993, SLORC has been holding a sham national convention to draw a consitution which will legalise their grip on power. 8. Although SLORC has made cease-fire agreements with some armed ethnic groups, the fighting will restart as SLORC lacks sincerity. The KNPP, which has also made cease-fire agreements with SLORC, is now fighting again. 9. The SLORC generals have become millionaires and their relatives and supporters could enjoy the open market economy and foreign investments, while other people are suffering from starvation and hardships. Moreover, with the profits from the foreign investments, SLORC is enlarging its army to persecute the minorities. 10. The people of Burma no longer want to be under the boots of the military and to suffer more hardships. They are eager to see the fall of the dictatorship. The people are afraid that a SLORC-led Burma would become a member of the Asean grouping, which will give legality to SLORC to brutalise the people for longer. 11. This is the time when the entire people of Burma are disgusted with the attitudes of SLORC, while all peace-loving people of the world and even the UN are condemning the dictatorship. Your continuous efforts, for mere commercial benefits, to make SLORC a member of the Asean means to legalise the status of SLORC to continue to enslave the people for much longer. We are sorry to say that your attitudes anger the people of Burma. 12. It is said that the prevailing anti-Muslim riots and destruction of mosques and other Islamic institutions by some elements in Burma are being instigated by some factions of the SLORC ruling circle. ASEAN member Muslim countries, by exerting efforts to legalise the dictatorship, are prolonging its rule to allow it to continue to brutalise the people of Burma. There are similar incidences: while anti-Muslim riots and destruction of mosques occur in the cities, the SLORC army during offensives against the Karen are also burning down many mosques, destroying holy Qurans, forcing Muslims to eat pork, raping Muslim girls, many Muslims have been killed, and Muslims are not being allowed to return to their homes in Burma. The Muslims are also referred to as Kala- foreigners, a term somewhere between animals and human beings; human in form but almost lower than animals. We, therefore, would like to urge the 3 member Muslim countries of ASEAN groupings to prevent the minority Muslims of Burma from being victimised. We also would like to request the supreme authorities of the three Muslim member countries of the ASEANto kindly help save the lives and properties of the oppressed minority Muslims in Burma. Central Executive Committee Muslim Liberation Organization of Burma **************************************** BKK POST: MUSLIMS COMPLAIN OF JUNTA PRESSURE March 23, 1997 Muslim people in Burma have complained to several non-governmental organisations that the ruling junta has increased pressure against them after almost achieving its goal to suppress Karen National Union guerrillas. The All Burma Muslim Union (ABMU), a member of the National Democratic Front, made its statement available on Thursday to international Muslim organisations and NGOs in Saudi Arabia, USA, Malaysia, pakistan, India and several other countries. The statement said the State Law and Order Restoration Council had turned on the Muslim people because its plan to get rid of the KNU is soon to be successful. It cited a number of attacks at KNU strongholds along the Thai- Burmese border since February forced at least 20,000 Karens and Muslims to cross the border and took refuge in Thailand. ABMU chairman Dr Abdul Razzak said Muslims were not spared their basic human rights violation especially on nationality and occupation. He said the Muslims are being regarded as those without nationality although they have lived in Burma for several decades. "Over 10 million Muslims are estimated to be living in the country whiles Slorc claims they form only four percent of the population, or 1.6 million out of 40 million people. From 1958 when then prime minister U Nu made Buddhism the state religion, the government started its drive to press the Muslims who were not allowed to perform several religious rites. The pressure was reduced in scale after conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims exploded. ************************************* BKK POST:MONKS RAID MOSQUE IN RANGOON March 23, 1997 Rangoon, AFP A group of at least 50 Buddhist monks raided a mosque in northeastern Rangoon yesterday, signalling a spread of last week's Buddhist-Muslim unrest from Mandalay to the capital, witnesses said. The monks removed loose property from the mosque in Rangoon's Yankin township, including the Koran, the Muslim holy book, and set it on fire outside, the witnesses said. Full security was deployed after the attack around the Yankin township mosque, a second mosque in adjacent Tamwe township and near the home affairs ministry , in the same general vicinity, the witnesses reported. Security was also beefed up around mosques elsewhere in Rangoon. Analysts suggested the authorities wanted to avoid any risk of the general population joining up with the monks in political protests. Monks played a central role in prodemocracy demonstrations in 1988 which were crushed by the ruling junta. The raid was linked to Buddhist-Muslim unrest over the past week in the northern city of Manadalay, triggered by the attempted rape earlier this month of a Buddhist girl by one or more Moslem men. Monks vandalised mosques and destroyed Muslim property in incidents which left at least one novice mons dead of gunshot wounds, diplomats and other sources said. Mandalay was reported to be calm yesterday as Buddhists prepared for the full Moon Day religious holiday today. The holiday also marks a deadline set by monks demanding the release of one of their number who was detained in the unrest. The monks threatened to return to the streets if he remained in jail, informed sources said. Although Muslims represent only 3.9 percent of Burma's people, and Buddhist 85 percent, a traditional animosity stems form the colonial period when Britain imported mostly Muslim Indians for favoured positions in Burma's administration. The animosity was fuelled by recent rumors circulating widely in Rangoon of Muslims seeking to "infiltrate" Burma via its approaching membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Asean groups predominantly Muslim countries Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia with the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Following Indonesian President Suharto's recent visit to Burma, informed sources said that Indonesia would back a new mosque to be built in Mandalay. There was no official mention of the project. Burmese intelligence sources suggested earlier this week that destructive elements bent on sabotaging Burma's Asean bid were behind the unrest in Mandalay. In Rangoon yesterday, Muslim elders who had been meeting at the Tamwe mosque since Friday night were asked to leave, and the building was locked. Security forces ordered neighboring shops run by Indian Muslims to close. Riot police and fire trucks were dispatched to the area, and barricades were readied in case authorities decided to close any roads, the witnesses reported. Security forces were also on alert yesterday in other towns with large Muslim populations. Earlier this week, junta officials summoned Muslim elders to tell them to keep a low profile to avoid sparking incidents, a Muslim source said. *********************************** THAILAND TIMES: 200 BURMESE TROOPS "KIDNAP" KARENS IN THE LATEST CROSS BORDER RAID March 22, 1997 by Assawin Pinitwong TAK: More than 200 armed Burmese troops yesterday crossed the border to attack a house in a Thai village and abducted former anti-Rangoon Karen soldiers, according to an informed Karen source. However, no Thai authorities entered the area or submitted a protest letter against the egregious incursion by the Burmese troops. The Burmese 13th Battalion's 88th Division troops led by Lt Col Than Kyu circled Ban Kor Tor village in Umphang district and some of them entered a villager's house and abducted two former Karen National Union (KNU) soldiers -Cha Wa and Kyaw Kyaw who sought shelter there. Before retreating to Burma, the foreign troops threatened that they would attack Thai villagers who provide shelter to former KNU men. Burmese troops plan to arrest KNU soldiers living along the border as these men might allegedly try to persuade former KNU soldiers, who have left the armed forces and sought shelter as refugees, to once again take up arms and fight against the Burmese army troops. In another development, five Thai villagers from Ban saen Khamleu village in Mae Hong Son's Pang Mapha district were captured and have been held by Burmese authorities since March 10 after they crossed the border in the area of the Burmese village of Ban Kailuang. Pang Mapha district chief Thavee Suvanilai was yesterday informed of the matter by villagers and he then reported it to Mae Hong Son's Thai-Burmese border committee. It was then reported to Mae Sariang's 7th Infantry Special Task, Force. The special unit will turn the matter over to Chiang Rai's Thai-Burmese border committee which will contact Burmese authorities in Tachilek to return the five Thai villagers to Thailand. The Burmese village of Khailuang is a drug producing area of the Mong Tai Army (MTA). Burmese authorities raided drug producing plants in the area on March 8 of this year. An informed source in Mae Hong Son said the villagers in custody were probably arrested because they were involved in drug production in the area. Meanwhile, three battalions of Burmese soldiers from Myawaddy's 275th Infantry battalion and 3rd Strategic Division have been stationed along the route conveying imported goods from Thailand to Rangoon via Myawaddy. The deployment of military troops was ostensibly in response to the attack of a Burmese merchant's transport vehicle by the KNU where one person was killed. Another vehicle from Rangoon was recently assaulted while it prepared to transport goods form Myawaddy to Rangoon. Military sources in Myawaddy said the KNU has planned to torch Myawaddy and thereby create disturbances in the country's interior. Authorities also claim the KNU has planned to attack vehicles transporting goods from border areas to Rangoon at every point. Myawaddy authorities warned residents of possible disturbances created by the KNU. Meanwhile products form Thailand now need to pass tougher customs inspections due to the fear that bombs might be hidden with the imported goods. ************************************* AP REPORT: ABUSES CONTINUE UNCHECKED March 23, 1997 Geneva, AP Torture, executions, forced labour and rape remain widespread in Burma as the military junta tightens its grip over the population, according to a new UN report. The report accused authorities of further clampdowns on pro- democracy activists led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and on the student movement. "There is essentially no freedom of thought, opinion, expression or association," said the report by UN investigator Rajsmoor Lallah, an expert from Mauritius. "Because of both visible and invisible pressures, the people live in a climate of fear in which whatever they or their family members may say or do involves the risk of arrest and interrogation." New laws to reduce civil liberties still further were past in 1996, he said. The Burmese diplomatic mission to the United Nations had no immediate comment on the report. *************************** BKK POST:KARENS ASK THAILAND TO ALLOW UN TO HELP March 23, 1997 The Karen Refugee Committee has urged the Thai government to allow the United Nations high Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide aid and assistance to around 90,000 Karen refugees currently seeking shelter along the Thai-Burma border following Rangoon's recent military onslaught. The request was made in a communique sent to the press yesterday. "We would like to request the Royal Thai Government to permit the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to perform its mandated role in protection of refugee rights and security and to continue to extend refuge to Karen civilians who have been forced to seek refuge in the border area of Thailand," said the communique. It said that currently around 92,000 Karen refugees have camped along Thailand's western border with Burma adding that the border situation has got worse recently after the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) joined hands with Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) in attacking Karen refugee camps along the border area. It noted that two large camps located near the border in Tak province were hurt down by the DKBA and Slorc troops which made more than 16,000 refugees homeless. However, KRC said it would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to the Thai government "for kindly permitting these refugees to take refuge in the border area of Thailand". The communique also voiced its concern that thousands of Karen refugees were vulnerable to further attacks as their camps were reportedly located adjacent to Slorc troops on the other side of the border. Asked for comment on the KRC's latest move, a senior army officer said he was not surprised as it clearly showed that the Karen National Union wanted to make internal fighting in Burma into an international issue. The officer said the government still considered Karen refugees the victims who fled fighting in Burma and not victims of warfare that might be a condition for the presence of the UNHCR. "So far our government could handle the refugees situation on our border area and non-governmental organisations including several religious organisation have also been providing their assistance to these refugees," noted the officer. The officer said a number of leading security officials were concerned that if the UNHCR was allowed to work at the Thai-Burma border area it would complicate the border situation and might also cause misunderstanding with Burma. "At present, when the situation turns back to normal we could send these refugees back to Burma but once the UNHCR is present it could complicate the situation and the government will have to seek UNHCR opinion before we could make any move," explained the officer. The officer said the KNU wanted to make its fight with Burma, deemed by Thailand as Burmese internal affairs, to become an international issue by drawing intervention from the outside world. "If the UNHCR is allowed to work at the border area it could inevitably heighten border tension which could be harmful to Thai-Burmese relationship," noted the officer. ********************************* NATION: US WARNS ON BURMA TRAVEL March 23, 1997 AFP WASHINGTON - The US government has warned its citizens against travel to Burma without "a compelling reason," amid unrest in Rangoon and Mandalay. "Because of popular unrest in Rangoon, disturbances in the city of Mandalay, widespread presence of army and police troops, and the resulting potential for violence, the Department of State recommends that US citizens exercise all due caution in travelling in Burma," the department said in a statement released late on Friday. US nationals "should for the time being curtail travel to Burma in the absence of a compelling reason," the statement said. ******************************* THAILAND TIMES: KNU PLANS TO MOVE BASE CAMP March 23, 1997 by Assawin Pinitwong TAK: The Karen National Union (KNU) met yesterday and produced an agreement to establish a new base of operations in Burma, while KNU leader Gen Bo Mya hopes to spend the rest of his life in his hometown, a border patrol source said. The KNU will move the center of its operations to Phapoon division opposite Mae Hong Son province and Ta Song Yang district in Tak province. The area is also Gen Bo Mya's home where he wishes to live out his remaining years. Senior KNU members met yesterday at a temporary camp along the Thai-Burmese border, opposite Tak's Mae Sot district. The meeting was attended by about 30 officials who discussed the KNU's plans since its camps were attacked by the Burmese military government last month. The source said the new campsite will make the KNU more difficult to topple and Bo Mya has personally inspected the area. The new KNU base is adjacent to an area controlled by the Karenni National Progressive Party(KNPP) and Burmese students opposed to the Rangoon military government. These groups both have good relations with the KNU and are knowledgeable of the difficult terrain in this area. Moreover, a statement from Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called attention to the plight of the KNU in their struggle against the military government. Suu Kyi reiterated her support to the KNU in their fight for freedom in Burma. ******************************************************* BKK POST: BONN PROTEST March 23, 1997 Reuters Bonn- Germany protested to Burma on Thursday over its decision to refuse entry to a former German cabinet minister, Otto Lambsdorff, who heads a foundation which speaks out on human rights, the Foreign Ministry said. Mr Lambsdorff had planned to hold talks with the Burmese leadership and democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ******************************** S.H.A.N : SITUATION IN SHAN STATE March 22, 1997 From: "SHAN< H. NG. H SPM >" <100706.1311@CompuServe.COM> Many people thought Khun Sa's surrender on January 7, 1996 had rung the death -knell for the Shan nationalism, forgetting that the Shan struggle did not start with Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, better known as the Shanland United Army. The fact is that as long as a considerable number of Shan still believe Shanland and Burma are separate entities, bound together in the first place by the Panglong Agreement in 1947, and later by the Burmese military under which life is a living hell, it would be premature to predict the end of the Shan cause. That was why soon after the MTA's collapse, a group of hitherto relatively unknown youth joined hands together to continue the struggle. And although their estimated strength is less than one - tenth of Khun Sa's once mighty MTA (conservative estimate : 23,000 - 28,000 ), it has given so much headache to the Burmese commanders that, as one of them jokes dryly, we are becoming addicted to aspirin. On the other new development in the Shans' favour was that all the different groups are coming closer together despite SLORC attempts to keep them divided. On February 23, 1996, seventeen days after Khun Sa's surrender, the two ceasefire groups namely the Shan State Army (SSA ) , estimated strength : 3,500 and the Shan State National Army ( SSNA ), estimate strength : 4,000 , led by Karnyord, whose mutiny on June 6, 1995 broke the back bone of the MTA, and consequently , the determination of Khun Sa, formed the Shan State Peace - keeping Committee ( SSPC ). Late in the year, the alliance was reinforced by membership from the new SURA led by Karnyord's boyhood friend Yordserk. It was then renamed the Shan State National Organisation ( SSNO ). It also vowed to stick together in spite of SLORC's demand to dismantle it. 1996 also saw the Shans abroad moving closer together. It was a crucial matter because with the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), the largest party in Shan State, having no voice outside the so called National Convention and the Shan armed resistance movement being cut off from Thailand, the traditional gateway to international media and relations, the need for a setup that shall speak for the Shans in general had increased. The founding of the Shan Democratic Union ( SDU ) on November 16, 1996 by key member of the Chiangmai - based Shan State Organisation and the Bangkok - based Tai Union seemed to be the appropriate answer to their call. As for the SNLD itself, there has been several accusations from the pro - democracy quarters that it took " bribes " , in the form of business concessions, from SLORC in order to continue participation in the on - and - off going National Convention. No official denial has come forth from the SNLD so far. However, insiders said it was the SNLD, and not even NLD, that had so far spearheaded the counter - offensive campaign against SLORC on the latter's own grounds i.e. the National Convention. It would continue to stand by its own announced principles when the NC reconvened. Unlike the NLD, which has access to foreign powers and media although out of the NC, the SNLD enjoys neither and seems set to make up for its handicaps by making the best of a bad situation. And that does not mean, as they vehemently maintain, they shall knuckle under SLORC's dictates. The SNLD seems to be pushing home this point when in last December, they made a formal protest to the General Than Shwe, chairman of the SLORC, that one of its elected members, Sai Soe Nyunt, had been detained, beaten up and forced to sign his resignation from the party by a SLORC officer. However,as the National Convention is to be adjourned indefinitely until such time when SLORC feels ready, then what shall the SNLD choose to do? That is the question that now rests heavily on its shoulder. Nevertheless S.H.A.N thinks it is better for the opposition to talk things over with the Shan party instead of directing accusations at its leaders. 1997 hopefully will see the Shans getting closer than they were in 1996. S.H.A.N thinks it will bring a tremendous boost for the cause of Democracy as a whole and the people of Shan State in particular. What it needs from the rest of the world is to facilitate the trend and not to fear it. ************************** UPDATE: BATTLE NEWS FROM SHAN STATE March 20, 1997 (rec'd) From: Simon_Po@sala.icn.net (Simon Po) BATTLE NEWS. On 26.1.97 at mid-night, troops from No. 153 Battalion of 749 Brigade of the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA) attacked Slorc troops in Murng Nawng, Kae See township. Two Slorc soldiers were killed in the battle. 30.1.97, SURA 758 Brigades, 251 Battalion attacked Slorc troops Langhur and Murngnai. Slorc No. 99 IB suffered 1 dead and two wonunded. 31.1.97, SURA 758 Brigade, 259 Battalion attacked Slorc troops at Sai Mon, between Kho lam & Kunhing, killing 5 Slorc soldiers and damaged 2 vihicles. Ten people, engineers and workers in oil business, who were bound for Kengtung were aslo seriously wounded. SURA troops finally set fire to SLORC military base there. 31.1.97, SURA 758 Brigade, 152 Battalion assaulted Slorc troops in Murng Kerng. Four Slorc soldiers of No. 514 were killed in the battle. 2.2.97, SURA 758 Brigade, 153 Battalion ambushed Slorc Kunhin-based No. 524 near Kiu Na Zarng south of Murng Nawng, Kae See township, Casualty unknown. 2.2.97, SURA 758 Brigade, 153 Battalion again attacked Slorc troops in Murng Nawng, Kae See. Casualty unknown. 4.2.97, at 11:30 hrs. SURA # 758 Brigade, # 159 & #154 Battalion attacked Slorc troops of Kunhin-based #524, over 50 strong and led by Maj. Nyi Khin, in Murng Lurm village tract near Pang Long, Loi Lem township. The battle lasted about one and a half hours during which 5 Slorc soldiers died and 12 wounded, and lost one G-3 rifle and some equipment. SURA suffered 1 dead & 3 wounded. 10.2.97, at about 07:30 pm, about 30 troops of SURA #158 Battalion, #758 Brigade, attacked Slorc troops #524 IB in Lai Hka. One Slorc soldier & 4 Slorc servants were killed and 3 Hino trucks were damaged in the raid. 12.2.97, 09:00 Hrs, SURA #758 Brigade, #159 & #154 Battalions ambushed SLORC troops No. 64 IB between Namzarng & Kholam. Slorc suffered 7 deaths, 3 wounded, & lost 1 G-3 rifle, 12 G-2 magazine & 80 rounds of G-3 ammo. 16.2.97, SURA #758 Brigade, 157 Battalion sniped at Slorc troops No. 515 at Tart Mawk military base, Laikha township. One Slorc soldiers was killed and one wounded. On 24.2.97, at 16:45 hrs. 2 platoons of SURA troops from Brigade 758 Headquarters Security Unit ambushed Slorc troops of No. 422 LIB between Wan Zing and Nam Mawng in Murng Nawng tract, Kae See township. Slorc troops suffered 10 deaths, including one Major and one 2nd Lt. SURA Seized the following arms and equipment. 1. One 60mm mortar and two shells 2. Two G-4 Sub-machine guns 3. Two G-3 assault rifles 4. Three BA-94 (New stan-guns) 5. One Carbine rifle 6. One M-9 mortar 7. One radio transmitter 8. One 9-mm pistol 9. one Icom walkie-taklie **************************** THE NATION: FIVE THAIS HELD IN BURMA March 22, 1997 MAE HONG SON - Five Thai nationals, including two children, are being held by Burmese soldiers after crossing the border to trade in Burma, officials said yesterday. They said the chief of Pang Mapha district, Thawee Suwanwilai, was seeking their release and had reported the incident to provincial authorities. Burmese soldiers also seized four horses, a pig, 20 chickens, two crates of beer and sweets, worth about Bt 28,500 altogether, the officials said. In nearby Tak province, about 80 Burmese soldiers raided the village of Klotho on Wednesday night and took away two senior members of the Karen Nation Union (KNU) who had been taking refuge, officials said. They threatened to return for other members of the KNU. There are about 100,000 long-term Karen refugees in the area and as many as 20,000 others who have sought shelter during the current Burmese army offensive against the rebel group. **************************************** THE NATION: RANGOON CRIES FOUL AS A THOUSAND POPPIES BLOOM March 21, 1997 Aung Zaw There may be truth to charges opium bandits are sitting in Slorc's national convention, Aung Zaw writes. Sai Soe Nyunt, an executive member of the Shan National League for Democracy [SNLD], was handcuffed and severely beaten shortly after his arrest in December by Maj. Win Thu, a Burmese army officer. The reason for the beating at Mine Nay Village in Shan state was that Sai Soe Nyunt had allegedly insulted the Tatmadaw (armed forces). Sai Soe Nyunt pleaded to the soldiers not to torture him. He told them he was a delegate at the National Convention in the hope that they would go easy on him. But the army officer replied: "No one cares about the convention. The attendants are only prostitutes, opium-addicts and opium bandits." "The national convention is nonsense." The National Convention was set up by the military junta in Burma to draft a new constitution but it is regarded most observers as a "sham". The incident at Mine Nah offers an insight into how Rangoon itself view the assembly. But, ironically, there is also a grain of truth in Win Thu's charge. The US State Department's 1996 International Narcotics Strategy Report released lists Burma's eight top traffickers from Wa, Kachin and Shan areas. It includes three Wa leaders Paoyu Chiang, Litzu Ju and Wei Hsueh Kang. The three are leaders of the United Wa State Party [UWSP]. Wei Hsueh Kang was a protege of the area's most famous drug lord, Khun Sa. According to Bertil Lintner's "Burma In Revolt", Wei Hsueh Kang and his two brothers have their own heroin empire along the Thai border. "Lacking their own army inside Burma, the brothers made use of their old Wa contacts and bankrolled the build-up of the Wa National Army in the early 1980s." The UWSP, led by Chao Ngi Lai, became a Slorc militia force after it has reached a cease-fire agreement with the Slorc in 1989. The UWSP has 20,000 man under arms under Paoyu Chiang or Ta Pang's leadership. The US report accused the junta of given the Wa leaders of significant political legitimacy as they were hand-picked by the junta to attend the national convention as "leaders of national races". The Clinton administration recently again condemned Burma for failing to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking. It said the vest majority of heroin on the streets of the US originated from Burma, and drug trafficking was being conducted without any meaningful constraint being applied by the authorities. The report describes the UWSP as Burma's largest drug trafficking organisation. Burma has more than doubled its illicit drug exports since the military government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council takeover in 1988 and the amount of area under poppy cultivation has risen dramatically, the US report said. The Burmese government denies this is the case. At the recent press conference in Rangoon Col. Kyaw Thein, a Burmese intelligence officer, blamed two ethnic rebel organisations, Wa National Organisation [WNO] and Shan United Revolutionary Army [SURA] of involvement in drug trafficking. Moreover, Burma recently allowed a team of US drug officials and undertake a four-day joint survey of opium poppy fields. It was a third joint survey of opium poppy fields. It was the third such joint mission in four years. But for the SURA, WNO and other Burma watchers, Slorc's recent actions are nothing more window dressing. "It is rubbish - the Slorc knows who in the heroin business," says a Shan leader. Sai Oot, deputy secretary of the SURA, said fighting between SLORC and SURA troops is still going on in central Shan state. "This area is unstable and hundreds of villages have been forced to move by the Slorc - no one wants to go there and of course, no one is growing opium there." Maha San, a Wa prince and leader of the WNO say that UWSP leaders for the growth in drug trafficking. But Maha San, who was a commander of Vingngun local militia in the 1960s, was reluctant to talk about the UWSP and its alleged involvement in drug business. In 1989, Maha San himself was arrested by Was at their Panghsang headquarters and later escaped to China. "The Wa people have image problem - we have been accused of being opium bandits or drug dealers - in fact, there are only handful of people doing this dirty business. There are some Wa leaders have been benefited from this drug business but Was are still poor". "The opium is easy to grow it takes only three months and many merchants are waiting to buy it" he said. The Wa prince said it was impossible to grow rice in Wa area because of the soil conditions. Additionally, he said, "Even if we grow the rice where are we going to sell it? Was live in mountain and there is no proper transportation." "The Was are not given any alternative. There is no organisations nor governments wanting to help to eliminate the opium growing," stressed Maha San. "They always see Wa people and opium together. That's not true. There are Was who really want to wipe out the opium problem." Though some Wa leaders are keen to eradicate the opium problem the junta and UWSP leaders are not among them. "They can make money quickly and easily," he said. But for the Wa people the future is dim. "We have nothing - no school, no hospital, no proper transportation and no road. Our people are still poorest". Though the Slorc has provided some assistance for the Wa through the UWSP in recent years the Wa people received little, Maha San said. He also said the junta don't dare touch the UWSP. "If they start to criticise the Wa leaders the Was will go back to fighting so the Slorc is just turning a blind eyes to what Wa leaders have been doing." Additionally, the Slorc is worried that the Wa leaders will pull out of its National Convention. Maha San also revealed that since Khun Sa "surrendered" to the ruling junta last year, the former lord's Chinese business associates have moved into Wa area where Maha San said "they enjoy more freedom to continue their business." Several months after the army took over Khun Sa's heroin refineries last year, at least three heroin refineries were re-opened and run by Khun Sa's former friends from his former HQs at Ho Hmong. "They were given unofficial permission to re-start their old business," Maha San said. Last year, Robert S Gilberd, United States' assistant secretary of state for international narcotics wrote in the Far Eastern Economic Review, that the nature of the drug trade has changed in an unmistakable way: Burma's most important narco-traffickers are no longer holed up in jungle hideaways. They are buying real estate in Rangoon and Mandalay, investing in Burma's economy, openly courting military officials." A prominent Shan leader, Khun Kya Nu, who is also a founding member of the Shan State Independence Army in 1960 said the SURA or WNO didn't need to respond to the Slorc's allegations. "Why do we have to respond to Slorc's accusations - they are narco-dictatorship - the whole world knows the Slorc is a narco-dictatorship." (TN) ********************************* ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CLASHES POLITICAL, NOT RELIGIOUS, SAYS YANGON March 20, 1997 Stephen Brookes, Bangkok Myanmar's second largest city Mandalay has been put under a curfew following violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims last weekend that officials said may have been politically motivated. The two days of riots, in which at least two mosques were reportedly destroyed by monk-led mobs numbering in the hundreds, were brought under control by the military and an 8pm to 4am curfew was now in place in five primarily Muslim townships, analysts in Yangon said. According to unconfirmed reports, three persons may have been killed during the clashes. Government sources denied the reports. The riots, which broke out in different parts of the city, were apparently sparked by rumors that a Buddhist girl had been raped by a Muslim businessman, observers in Myanmar said. "This seems like a religious conflict rather than a political protest," one analyst said, noting that a similar clash between Muslims and Buddhists had taken place in Bathein several years ago. But one high-level official disagreed, describing the violence as politically-motivated. "There are certain people targeting the students, the monks and the workers" to create social unrest and derail Myanmar's expected entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, he said, noting that ASEAN members Indonesia and Malaysia were primarily Muslim. "If the instigators can create misunderstandings, they can make problems for Myanmar's entry into ASEAN," he said, adding that the government knew who was behind the riots, but declined to identify them. "Everybody knows who is opposing Myanmar's entry into ASEAN." Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while never outrightly condemning Myanmar's entry into ASEAN, had said it would consolidate the power of the ruling junta, making it harder to move toward democracy. "The mobs may have been led by a politically-motivated group within the monks," one diplomat in Yangon said. "There are young monks who are fairly political. But the clashes did not seem to be coordinated and there are tensions between the Muslim and Buddhist communities, which have different social values." A government source said between 200 and 300 monks from various monasteries were involved in the clashes, with an unknown number of supporters participating. He said a recent media report that 16 monks had been taken to military areas to be used as porters was a "hoax". There are an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 monks and nuns in Myanmar, where Theravada Buddhism is the prevalent religion. Close to 90 percent of the population is Buddhist, while less than four percent are Muslims. Buddhist monks have played key roles in the country's political history for most of this century. Many actively supported the pro-democracy movement that began in 1988 to 1989. Myanmar's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council has been making efforts over the past several years to promote Buddhism and win support from the monks, primarily by building and restoring pagodas. Mandalay and Yangon were reported as calm on Wednesday. Security is high in the capital, ahead of the March 27 Armed Forces Day celebrations. "Whenever anyone wants to start trouble with the monks, they start in Mandalay," one official said. "It may spread to Yangon, we don't know. But that's what they usually do." (AT) ************************************ ONSOB: REFUGEE ASSISTANCE March 24, 1997 To whom it may concern: We are now opening a center for receiving items for dontaion to refugees along the Thai-Burmee border. The refugees require assistance and health care. Suggested items for donation include food, medecine, clothes, and stationary goods. Opening Date: 24th March 1997 Location: In front of Ramkhamhaeng University We welcome all assistance in helping provide the refugees with donations. Cordially, Yea Chan General Secretary Overseas National Students' Organization of Burma Coordinating Representatives- Active for Social Students' Group of Ramkamhaeng University Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma ***************************************