------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: May 13, 1997 Issue #719 HEADLINES: ========== INDEPENDENT REPORT: NEWS FROM KACHIN STATE ABSDF: FTUB CAMP BURNT DOWN BY THAI ARMY KNU: FIGHTING INSIDE THAILAND-SITUATION UPDATE INTERNAL INFORMATION: INFO ON SLORC, ASSK IN DANGER FBC PRESS RELEASE: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN DIVESTS VOA: BURMA PRESSURE-NYC REUTER: BURMA CRITICISES ADB FOR SUSPENDING AID SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0039 BKK POST: AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH BURMA BKK POST: POLICE SEIZE KAREN REBELS' WEAPONS THAILAND TIMES: NEW DISPUTE ERUPTS OVER RIVER THAILAND TIMES: SCANDAL THREATENS GAS DEAL AMERICAN GEM TRADERS ASSOCIATION: LETTER BURMESE STUDENTS- AUSTRALIA: BURMESE LUNCH ----------------------------------------------------------------- INDEPENDENT REPORT: NEWS FROM KACHIN STATE May 12, 1997 [This report was compiled by a source in northern Burma] TORTURE Aung Myo Naing, a student from Shwe Gu, was beaten by SLORC Captain Thi Hun and Lt. Aung Aung Zaw in late March in front of the "Tat Oo" monastery in Shwe Gu. On that evening Aung Myo Naing was riding a bicycle when the two army officers saw him in front of the "Tat Oo" monastery. The army officers accused him of blocking the road and beat him. As he was being beaten, some army personnel from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 56 arrived and joined the other officers in beating him. Then he was taken to LIB 56 headquarters and put into a military prison cell for one night. Aung Myo Naing was seriously injured due to the beatings. ARRESTS Two Japanese tourists and a Burmese driver were arrested by SLORC military intelligence from MI (Military Intelligence) 8 on January 14 at La Gya Yan checkpoint in Kachin State. The two Japanese tourists visited Kachin State. They crossed the Irrawaddy river from Myitkyina to Wynemaw on January 8 and hired a Toyota Hilux (No. BA/7671) with 8,000 Kyats and visited Lisa, a market village on the border of China. When they returned from Lisa on January 14 they were arrested by SLORC military intelligence at La Gya Yan checkpoint for going into a prohibited area. The Japanese tourists were interrogated and released in Myitkyina but the driver of the Hilux, Ko Ngwe, remains under detention. SLORC LIB 348 arrested 81 Chinese citizens in KIO controlled areas on March 30. These Chinese are from Kadu, Yin Jian, Htain Choang, Bao San, and Sima districts of China. They paid tax to the KIO and worked at logging sites in KIO controlled area. They were arrested by two platoons of LIB 348 led by Major Than Lwin and two sections of LIB 348 led by Captain Kyaw Aye on March 30. They have to pay 100,000 kyats each for their release. FORCED LABOUR The villagers from Aung Myae Tit, Shwe Nyaung Pin, Khat Cho, Garra Yan, and Kazu villages were forced to work at the paddy fields near Aung Myae Tit which are owned by SLORC LIB 321 from the beginning to the end of the paddy season. These paddy fields are 200 acres wide. Villagers have to work without receiving any payment. SLORC LIB 384 seized the land between Sihet and Shochi villages in Moemauk township in Kachin State from the villagers without any payment, in order to build a military post. Villagers from nearby villages such as Kong Law, Mar Khwe, Naung Koni, Dali, and Naung Makaw were also forced to work on the paddy fields seized by LIB 384. The villagers also have to send food for the pigs and cows bred by LIB 384. The villagers from all the villages in Monyin township in Kachin State were forced to work in making fences along the road between Nansi Houng and Hopin, about 30 miles long, without any payment since December 1996. Every household is expected to contribute 300 feet to the fence along the road. SLORC LIB 385 and 386 forces the villagers to work. Absent villagers were fined 500 kyats per person per day. The villagers were also forced to work in the army paddy fields. A group of three villages is assigned to work for one battalion. EXECUTION At 10:00 pm on the second day of "Thingyan", April 15, two civilians from Monyin were shot by a section of IB 15 led by cobra Saw Ye Chin, on the road near the east entry to Monyin. These two people were on their way back home when the sentry section from IB 15 shot them. Maung Zau Mon (37), son of U Sin Wa Zau Phan, who lives at Aung Thabyae, 3rd quarter of Monyin, was shot dead. The second civilian was Yaw Hton (38), son of U Htaw Nay Manaw, who lived in Aung Theyae, 1st quarter of Monyin. He was arrested by IB 15 under suspicion of sabotage during the Thingyan festival. ROBBERY The farmers from Monyin were forced to sell rice at a very low price to SLORC, with a quota of 10 tin (nearly 10 bushels) for every 1 acre. They have to sell at the rate of 140 kyats per tin while the market rate is 500 kyats per tin. If they cannot sell the quota, they are arrested by SLORC officials. Some of the farmers have to buy rice from outside at the rate of 500 kyats per tin, and sell it to SLORC at the rate of 140 kyats per tin. In Monyin, people celebrate the Law Ka Man Aung pagoda festival every year. But, this year Monyin township LORC demanded 300,000 kyats in exchange for permission to hold the pagoda festival. The people of Monyin could not afford so much money and the pagoda festival was cancelled. INCIDENTS A students' demonstration occurred in Wynemaw on January 22. The demonstration was staged after a car accident. On the morning of January 22, Ma Ohmar (18), daughter of Major Zaw Win, Battalion commander of SLORC IB 58, drove a car into two students who were standing beside the road. The two students were Ma Bauk San, a ninth standard student, and Ma Bauk Taung, a fifth standard student, who both attend Wynemaw State High School. Ma Bauk San's leg was broken and Ma Bauk Taung's spine was injured. In the afternoon, the students from Wynemaw State High School left the school to demonstrate, asking that action be taken against the driver and proper medical care be administered to the injured. As the driver was the daughter of a military officer, the police did not take any action. During the night, the injured students were secretly sent to Myitkyina by boat. Kachin state police seized fake 500 kyat notes in Phakant Jade mine area and Wynemaw township in early April. The total amount of this fake money was 1,824,000 kyats. The fake money was first discovered in the Phakant jade mine area. Police traced it and more fake notes were found in other places in Kachin State. A jade merchant, Hin Poun from Wynemaw, allegedly got the money from China. He sold a jade stone at Khar Samt village in China to a Chinese merchant for 2 million kyats, who paid with 500 kyat notes. Hin Poun took all the money to Kachin State and used it on the way. It was reported that a lot of fake Burmese notes have appeared in China during the past six months. Pyi Gyi Mon 2 ship, running between Mandalay and Bamaw, sank near Tha Baik Kym on 16th March. The ship was the first Chinese ship to sink. Due to this incident, 112 people drowned and 530 people were rescued. SLORC, however, announced that only 35 people were killed. The ship sank because it was overloaded. SLORC opened two border points to allow Chinese citizens to visit Burma in "Visit Myanmar Year". These points are Muse and Lwe Je. Three Chinese people visited Bamaw crossing Lwe Je point in April. On 19 April, these Chinese people hired a pony cart and visited Bamaw. On the way, the pony cart capsized and three Chinese, Wan Kyan Shein, Khe Ywe Kyu Yin, and Sheli Kyin, were seriously injured. They were admitted to Bamaw hospital. The pony cart driver, Chit Thaung, was arrested by police. A column of SLORC IB 47 led by Captain Aung Khan seized 15 bullock carts with 30 cows and 31,000 cane sticks on 15 April between Le Lone village and La Gya Yan checkpoint. These carts are owned by villagers of Num San Yan village in Momauk Township. The villagers from Num San Yan collected canes and tried to sell them for funding the collective noviciation ceremony. Although the Buddhist bishop Maha Tha Dama Zaw Tika Daza Ban Data Gan Damar asked that the seized goods be released as they are for a religious ceremony, SLORC refused to release the canes. *************************************** ABSDF: FTUB CAMP BURNT DOWN BY THAI ARMY May 9, 1997 From: Caroline Lurie All Burma Students' Democratic Front FTUB CAMP BURNT DOWN BY THAI ARMY --------------------------------- Date: May 9, 1997 A jungle camp under the administration of Free Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) was burnt down by Thai rangers in an apparent attempt to coax Burmese counterparts across the border. Twenty rangers in black uniforms arrived at Lake Chaung camp in the early morning of May 9 along with an interpreter from a nearby camp known as Zala refugee camp. The rangers held 12 occupants of the camp at gun point and told them they had been sent to the camp by their superiors. The rangers said they would burn the camp down because the authorities did not want opposition groups to exist inside Thailand. The rangers also told the FTUB members to move into the refugee camp. The commander of the unit said FTUB members could report the incident to anyone they liked as his unit was merely carrying out orders. The FTUB was allowed to take pictures of the burning camp. The rangers also took pictures of the burning huts and told the FTUB through the interpreter that they would give the pictures to the SLORC. The FTUB camp, located at Htataphang in Mae Sarieng District, was previously occupied by the NLD-L.A. As a result of the fire, the FTUB lost a hall, 10 huts, 5 houses, a barracks, a kitchen, a chicken house, a pigsty, a small warehouse for food, and office equipment and materials that couldn't be moved in time. Source: FTUB *********************************************** KNU: FIGHTING INSIDE THAILAND-SITUATION UPDATE May 12,1997 From: So_Nou@sala.icn.net (So Nou) On 9.5.97, fighting between the KNLA and the SLORC broke out near a traveler's rest house close to Bongti, Thailand, on the Thai-Burma border. Intercepted messages from the SLORC radio reported that 3 boats of casualties were sent to Myita, Burma. On 10.5.97, 12 armed SLORC soldiers from the Light Infantry 104 entered Thailand near Bongti village at Kamla Di, where logs are stockpiled. This area is 2 kilometers inside Thailand. These soldiers did not follow the car road, instead they came through the jungle, thereby avoiding the Thai check point. The Thai border patrol police learned that the SLORC soldiers had entered Kamla Di, so they went to this area to meet them. The SLORC soldiers claimed they were there to buy food, but the Thai border patrol police did not allow them to stay. The Thai border patrol police agreed to send them food if they needed it, but they told the SLORC soldiers that they could not enter Thai territory with arms. Both groups agreed to meet to further discuss the problem the next morning at the fork of Ka Saw Wah and Amoh road. The next day, the Thai border patrol police and local village headmen arrived at the agreed meeting place, however the SLORC troops did not show up. On this same day, fighting occurred between the KNLA and the SLORC near another traveler's rest house on the Thai side. It was reported that more than 100 SLORC soldiers had been stationed at this traveler's rest house inside Thailand. Again, intercepted SLORC radio messages revealed that 2 boats of SLORC casualties were sent to Myita. On 12.5.97, at 8:15 a.m., fighting began between the KNLA and the SLORC at the traveler's rest house in Thailand. The fighting quieted, then at 11:30 a.m., the fighting erupted again. It was reported that the SLORC troops are still staying in that area inside Thailand. ********************************************* INTERNAL INFORMATION: INFO ON SLORC, ASSK IN DANGER May 8, 1997 Forwarded from: Amanda Zappia [BurmaNet Editor's Note- This report is not confirmed, but is included for the reader's information] Information has been received that the USDA will attack Daw Aung Suu Kyi, even to the extent of physically hurting her. The USDA "attack group" that assaulted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car is undergoing a new training program now in Hlegu. In Rangoon, house owners who have rented to NLD members are told to come to the local Law and Order Restoration offices and at the office are told to get rid of their tenants as there was the danger of the houses being damaged because of the hatred for the tenants. The local USDA people are also present when this discussion takes place. ---------------------------------------------------------------- May 6, 1997 The Commander of the 12th Military Intelligence Unit called a meeting of all the township adminstrative, judicial and departmental heads in Rangoon division and gave a discription of the actual political, economic and social situations. There is a big question to why it was done. Others. It has been confrimed that retired General Tin Oo, the former chief of military intelligence and his team are now working again under U Ne Win. U Tin Aung Hein and U Min Gaung [ former ministers of BSPP ] are working with U Ne Win. Chief of the NUP met [ was sent by U Ne Win ] with U Aung Shwe to negotiate an unofficial meeting between SLORC and the NLD. The NLD refused on the grounds that it needed to be official. ****************************************** FBC PRESS RELEASE: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN DIVESTS FROM TEXACO May 9, 1997 From: zarni The Free Burma Coalition 225 North Mills Street Department of Curriculum and Instruction Madison, WI 53706 U.S.A. Immediate Release May 9, 1997 The University of Wisconsin divests from Texaco Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin System has divested itself of Texaco stocks amidst a concerted campaign by students, local politicians, and community leaders for immediate divestment from Burma. Wisconsin is the first university in the world to divest itself from a multinational corporation that does business with Burma's dictatorship. Since 1994, the UW owned 11,000 shares of preferred stock, worth $239,000, in Texaco Corp. It was a leader in the divestment campaign against apartheid. Regent Jonathan Barry stated," Divestment from Texaco is consistent with the current investment policy of striking a balance between getting (financial) returns and respecting ethics." Another Regent Sheldon Lubar added that he believed Burma's dictatorship, namely the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), is "repugnant" and that the UW has a duty to divest from the Texaco corporation, which currently finances SLORC. For the past two years, the Madison-based Free Burma Coalition has launched its local divestment campaign pressuring UW Regents to divest from Texaco. Local community activists, lawmakers, and students fully supported the Free Burma divestment campaign. "The Regents' action sends a clear signal that making profit off other people's oppression is unconscionable," said Burmese exile and UW graduate student Zarni, who coordinates the coalition via Internet. "I hope other universities will follow Wisconsin's lead in pressuring multinationals to withdraw from Burma," added Zarni Texaco is among the oil corporations that have come under public pressure to withdraw from Burma, where the ruling junta routinely commits serious human rights abuses including forced labor, the use of civilian as mine sweepers, ethnic cleansing, rape, and torture. The others include Unocal, ARCO, and Total. Currently, Texaco is involved in a natural gas concession off the coast of Burma in the Andaman Sea. Contact: Peter D. Fox (608)-262-6448 for UW Regents Zarni (608)-827-7734 or 233-2199 **************************************************** VOA: BURMA PRESSURE-NYC May 12, 1997 Dan Robinson Intro: this week, the New York City Council is scheduled to decide whether to ban financial dealings with companies that do business in Burma. Activists seeking to draw attention to human rights and political problems in Burma say the New York vote (Wednesday) is the most important in a "selective purchasing" campaign that has spread across the country. V-o-a's Dan Robinson reports, that campaign appears to have benefited from President Clinton's decision to impose new economic sanctions on Burma: Text: the Burma activist community is confident that "Bill 647" will be approved, marking a big victory in the selective purchasing campaign that has recently gained momentum. The bill would prohibit New York City from signing contracts with companies and banks doing business in Burma, and prevent city agencies from using vendors who have relationships or investments in the country. Nina Resnick speaks for the New York "Burma Support Group": /// Resnick act /// There are some contracts that New York City already has with companies who do business in Burma, which of course the bill would directly effect, and it is thought it will have an impact on those companies that think they might want to do business with the city in the future, or who have large businesses in the United States, that it would deter them from continuing to deal with Burma. /// end act /// The bill has the support of city council president Peter Vallone. He says New York City's huge 34-billion dollar budget has often enabled it to have an impact on important political and human rights issues: /// Vallone act /// Our power in New York City, only has to do with tax dollars in New York City -- which are substantial. But we also can refuse to do business with any corporations that do business in these countries which is a tremendous thing because just about every corporation in the world does business in the city of New York and does business, for instance, in a country like Saudi Arabia, or China where they are looking to create more business. /// end act /// // opt // in particular, Mr. Vallone cites similar actions taken by New York city to help hasten the end of apartheid in South Africa, and more recently its impact on the situation in Northern Ireland. // end opt // If the bill is approved, New York would join at least a dozen other cities and states -- among them San Francisco and Massachusetts -- that have enacted selective purchasing laws concerning Burma. Recently, the Colorado senate approved a resolution calling for the state to discourage purchasing of goods or services from businesses active in burma. Similar bills have been introduced in the Texas and California legislatures. Also continuing are moves to pressure three US oil companies -- Unocal, Arco and Texaco -- to get out of military-ruled Burma or to have them accept "rules of ethics" for future foreign investment. At the recent Arco shareholders meeting in Texas, a resolution challenging Arco's presence in Burma received nine percent of shareholder votes. That is only a slight increase in support, but one that ensures the issue will appear on next year's agenda. Simon Billenness is an investment banker and critic of Burma's military government: /// Billenness act /// I think what we were able to do was to continue to keep the issue of Burma on Arco's agenda, and continue to let Arco know that the pressure is just going to continue, whether it be from shareholders, from consumers boycotting their products, from state and local selective purchasing laws, or from possible lawsuits and future further federal sanctions. /// end act /// Like Unocal, which has the largest (US) investment stake in Burma, Arco officials say engagement -- not isolation -- will help bring about conditions for democracy and growth. However, Arco chief executive Mike Bowlin was quoted as saying he could "make no excuses" for how the Burmese military government treats its own people. Burma's military government ridicules both selective purchasing efforts in the United States and the recent US sanctions move against Burma. The ruling state law and order restoration council (SLORC) says other companies will continue to invest in Burma even if American firms pull out. (signed) ************************************************ REUTER: BURMA CRITICISES ADB FOR SUSPENDING AID May 12, 1997 FUKUOKA, Japan, May 12 (Reuter) - Burma criticised the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday for suspending its aid and charged that the bank was being manipulated by negative press reports. ``Since 1988, multilateral aid to Myanmar (Burma) has been suspended due to malicious reporting by some media in some influenced countries,'' Brigadier General Win Tin, the nation's finance minister, told the ADB's annual meeting, which began Sunday in this southern Japanese city. The ADB suspended loans to Burma in 1986 and technical aid in 1987. It says it is monitoring the economic conditions there and that it will plan an operational strategy when appropriate. ``Unfortunately, following misled allegations and unfair judgment on Myanmar's situation for political reasons by some media, the bank has neglected all the true facts...and is still suspending its financial assistance as well as technical assistance,'' Win Tin said. He said the ADB was bound by its charter to provide assistance to all member countries ``without any influence in its decisions by the political motives of the member concerned.'' He said despite the lack of aid, the Burmese economy had steadily grown, and foreign direct investment reached $6.55 billion in 1996-97 compared with $3.23 billion the previous year. ``Myanmar could have had more expeditious achievements in the economy if the aid had never been halted,'' Win Tin said. ``Myanmar really desires to maintain mutual cooperation with multilateral organisations, as it ever did before.'' Thailand also complained about ADB loans. The bank should extend concessional financial assistance for projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion, Thai Finance Minister Amnuay Virawan said in a speech to the ADB's board of governors. ``Full support should also be extended to all countries participating in the regional and subregional programmes without political bias,'' Virawan said without elaborating. The ADB has launched a programme under which it is steering economic development in the Greater Mekong sub-region, which includes countries that skirt the Mekong or through which it flows -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. The annual meeting of the 56-member ADB ends on Tuesday. *************************************** SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0039 May 12, 1997 From: Ok Kar 1. Assistant Secretary - General of the United Nations, Mr. A. De Soto visit the Union of Myanmar from 7th May to 10th May. During his stay in Yangon the Assistant Secretary - General called on :- (a) Lt. Gen Khin Nyunt, Secretary(1) of the State Law and Order Restoration Council. (b) Minister for Foreign Affairs. (c) Chairman of the work Committee of the National Convention convening Committee and the Chief Justice. (d) Mayor of Yangon and the Secretary of the Union Solidarity and Development Association. (e) The Deputy Minister for Progress of Border Areas and National Races. (f) Deputy Head of the Office of Strategic Studies. (g) Ambassadors / Deputy Chiefs of Mission of the ASEAN member countries and Japan. (h) U Kyi Maung, U Tin Oo and Mrs. Aris of the National League for Democracy Party. (i) Some members of the Shan (NLD) Party. 2. Narcotic drug seizures in various parts of the country in the month of April to the 1st week of May amounts to a total of: - (a) 60.5 Kilos of 2nd Grade Heroin (b) 49.0 Kilos of 3rd Grade Heroin (c) 182.52 Kilos of 4th Grade Heroin (d) 1096.856 Kilos of opium During the seizures a number of mobile refineries were destroyed by the law enforement officials and some skirmishes also took place in the vicinities, it is learnt. **************************************** BKK POST: AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH BURMA May 10, 1997 Thailand to purchase power for 10 years Thailand will sign a memorandum of understanding in July to buy electricity from Burma for 10 years, says PM's Office Minister Sompong Amornvivat. During his trip to Burma, Mr Sompong said it was agreed with Burma's Energy Minister U Khin Maung Thein that the two countries work together in energy development. Thailand will buy 1,500 megawatts of electricity per year from Burma over the next 10 years, but under certain conditions. Electricity sold by Burma must come from power plants which have at least a 25% Thai holding and the construction of substations and power lines used in the delivery of energy to Thailand must not affect the environment in Burma. During the meeting, Burma finally also agreed to Thailand's request to pump out water from the Salween River for consumption in Thailand. Mr Sompong said he also discussed a plan to buy natural gas from a new gas field in Burma, south of Tavoy, where US-based Atlantic Richfield Co (ARCO) is drilling. Detailed negotiations will be soon held. If both sides agree the gas field will become the third field from which gas is sold to Thailand. Burma expressed its concern that possible protests in Kanchanaburi over the construction of the gas pipeline from its Yadana gas field might stall deliveries. Mr Sompong assured his counterpart there would be no delays.(BP) ******************************************************* BKK POST: POLICE SEIZE KAREN REBELS' WEAPONS May 11, 1997 Tak- Border patrol police seized arms, including rocket launchers and 30 AK47 rifles, believed to belong to Karen National Union rebels. The border police found the rifles, one RPG launcher, two anti-tank rocket launchers, a heavy machinegun, and assorted mortar ammunition near the Thai-Burmese border in Umphang district on Friday. It was found buried on Hill 1242 near Ban Thoeng Moeng in Tambon Mae Chan. Police suspect the arms had been hidden by Karen rebels who fled across the border into Thailand after Burmese troops attacked and seized their strongholds in February. The cache was the second to have been found in less than a week. Col Suwit Maenmuan, the commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment Task Force, said more weapons were thought to be hidden along the border. There would be an attempt to find them in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of criminals or smugglers. Border officials have already this year found a large quantity of weapons and ammunition near the border in Tak. (BP) ******************************************************* THAILAND TIMES: NEW DISPUTE ERUPTS OVER RIVER EMBANKMENT May 12, 1997 By Assawin Pinitwong TAK: Relations between Thailand and Burma suffered a fresh setback yesterday when Thailand demanded that Burma put an immediate halt to construction of an embankment on the Moei River, saying it blocks the flow of water and prevents the transportation of goods. A military source, who asked to remain anonymous, said Thailand accused Burma of violating an agreement made in the ninth meeting of the local Thai-Burmese border committee, and warned that it will step up its action against Burma if the construction continues. Long-tail boat drivers from both countries have experienced massive difficulties as a result of the embankment, which juts 15 meters into the river near Mae Sot district, he said. A Thai border official, who declined to be named, said Thailand will dump rocks in the construction area if Burma refuses to obey the ultimatum. He added that Burmese Deputy Sports Minister Sein Win is believed to be behind the encroachment. Warning of new disputes surrounding the Thai Burmese Friendship Bridge, the official said more than 200 Burmese have come over from Myawwady to set up camp on an islet under the bridge in the mistaken belief that the land belongs to Burma. *********************************************** THAILAND TIMES: SCANDAL THREATENS THAILAND'S LUCRATIVE GAS DEAL WITH BURMA May 12, 1997 By Valaiporn Pipanmakaporn BANGKOK: Thailand's multi-billion-baht deal to pipe natural gas from Burma looks set to explode in scandal, with the revelation by petroleum experts the gas is of such poor quality that the project should be discontinued. Speaking to Thailand Times on condition of anonymity, a senior official from the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) hinted that the "Golden Gateway" project in Prachuab Khiri Khan province could well turn out to be a waste of taxpayers' money. Run by the Sahaviriya Group, the project receives support from the Thai government, who have lauded the undertaking as one of the feathers in the crown of bilateral relations between the two nations. The PTT official's findings are bound to call into question the government's links with Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), whose involvement in the project has drawn widespread accusations of human rights abuses. Last month, the Sahaviriya Group revealed it had reached an agreement with the SLORC to use natural gas from Burma's Yetagun and Yadana gas fields to fuel electricity plants and iron smelters in Prachuab Khiri Khan's Bang Saphan district. Bang Saphan will be connected by a transport corridor to the Burmese town of Bokyin, where the Sahaviriya Group hopes to develop petrochemical operations. But the PTT official told Thailand Times that while the gas can be used successfully in the Thai-based operations, its use in Burma's petrochemical industry is highly questionable. He said petrochemical operations require the gas to contain quantities of Ethane, Propane and Butane - in which the Yadana gas is lacking, and while the Yetagun gas makes the grade, there are insufficient quantities of it to make large scale investment worthwhile. However, rumors that the project might have to be scrapped were dismissed by Adisak Laochan, managing director of Sahaviriya steel Industries Plc, who said the possibility of the project being discontinued when the studies have been completed in four months time is remote. The Sahaviriya Group is now looking for partners to invest in the project, he said, adding that the PTT will be solely responsible for building the pipeline as the safety factor is at a premium. And the zeal with which certain politicians have pursued the project is unlikely to be dampened by the PTT official's revelations. Industry Minister Korn Dabbaransi, as one of the keenest advocates of the enterprise, into which the government is planning to pump 20 billion baht, the chances of it falling by the wayside are slim. Matters could still become complicated however, as final approval for the project will face a series of hurdles. An internal source at the Industry Ministry said the ministry has not even received the paperwork for the enterprise, and the government are far from having made an official decision on the issue. Various organisations involved, including PTT, the National Security Council, the National Energy Policy Office, the National Economic and Social Development Board and the Cabinet itself will also have to approve the project before it gets off the drawing board. ******************************************** AMERICAN GEM TRADERS ASSOCIATION: LETTER TO AMBASSADOR April 7, 1997 From: Sean Armstrong April 7, 1997 Ambassador U Tin Winn Myanmar Ambassador Embassy of Myanmar 2300 S St. Northwest Washington, DC 20008 Dear Ambassador U Tin Winn: I am writing in response to the current perceived environment of human rights in your coutnry. On behalf of the American Gem Trade Association I would like to express our concern over what is believed to be an environment that is sorely lacking in the area of personal and political Freedoms. The American Gem Trade Association is comprised of over 700 wholesale and retail gemstone and jewelry providers within the United States. Having been creatd in 1981 we have long been champions of ethical business practices within our trade. In that our memebers market products from your country, the American Gem Trade Association repectfully acknowledges that current conditions in your country are of great conern. Myanmar has long had the reputation of producing some of the finest quality materials available to the colored gemstone industry. The recent history of political repression in your cournty has made marketing of these products extremely difficult. In the absence of human rights and lack of political freedom American citizens view your coutnry and its products with great suspicion. While it is not our practice to become involved with steering political situations, when our efforts and integrity are called into question as a result of doing business with a country that does not afford the same human rights and privilages as the U.S.A., we must express our concern. The American Gem Trade Association would be interested in establishing a dialogue with someone within your political structure. This could provide our members with a clearer understanding of the political climate in Myanmar. We trust that improvements are being made so as to provide basic human rights and a political mechanism that will serve your country and its citizens. We acknowledge that each country has the right to self-determination. However, we would encourage the existence of whatever political structure is desired by the majority of the people. In the interest of providing a climate that more positively impacts the world and your purchasing countries the American Gem Trade Association encourages your country to make changes that will better the standard of living and increase the level of political freedoms. Please have someone contact me at their earliest convenience. Sincerely, Ron S. Ainsworth Executive Director The American Gem Trade Association enc. RSA/kst World Trade Center Suite 181 2050 Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX 75207 PO Box 420643 Dallas TX 75342-0643 (214) 742-4367 1-800-792-1162 FAX (214) 742-7334 ************************************************************ BURMESE STUDENTS- AUSTRALIA: BURMESE LUNCH May 12, 1997 From: "Myo Aye" DISCOVERING BURMA "Burma Lunch" *********** Date: Sunday 25th May Time: 12:30 pm Place: Uniting Church Hall 142 Normanby Road, East Kew Melbourne, VIC Australia ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Traditional Dancing, Music & Photo Exhibition presented by BURMESE STUDENTS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMESE & Australian Food proceeds for Burmese Refugee Airfares. TICKET - $10 Contact to - Tel: 9836 8497 **********************************************