------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: May 14, 1997 Issue #720 HEADLINES: ========== REUTER: TEXACO INC MIGHT SELL NATGAS FIELD OFF BURMA MELBOURNE RADIO AUSTRALIA:DOWNER-TRADE SANCTIONS REUTER: SLORC MULLING NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH MEDIA RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR: IS IT A NONVIOLENT METHOD? THE NEW OBSERVER: RECENT BURMA NEWS FROM JAPAN BANGKOK BUSINESS DAY: FOREIGN INVESTMENT UP BKK POST: CHETTHA FIRM ON NEW REFUGEE CAMP SITE TACDB: MALAYSIAN EMBASSY PROTEST-4 ARRESTED FORUM NEWS: THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES IN JAPAN FEER: THE SANCTIONS GAME THE NATION: PM MAKE CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY PLEA TT: THAI-BURMESE TRADE ROUTE ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS THE NATION: SLORC URGED TO CERTIFY ILLEGAL BURMESE TT: LAOS SAYS ASEAN BID WITH BURMA, CAMBODIA BURMANET CORRECTION: EVENEMENT DU JEUDI ARTICLES ----------------------------------------------------------------- REUTER: TEXACO INC MIGHT SELL NATGAS FIELD OFF BURMA May 13, 1997 RYE BROOK, NY, May 13 (Reuter)- Texaco chief executive Peter Bijur said at the company's annual shareholders meeting that the company would consider selling its Andaman Sea natural gas stake offshore Burma. "We have prepared financial data...including the possibility of a sale to a third party," Bijur said. Protestors have called for Texaco to exit Burma because of the country's military dictatorship. ******************************************** MELBOURNE RADIO AUSTRALIA:DOWNER-TRADE SANCTIONS ON BURMA 'FUTILE', 'UNPRODUCTIVE' May 7, 1997 Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says Australian trade sanctions on Burma would be futile and unproductive. Mr. Downer says Australian investment in Burma is less than 1 percent of foreign investment and Australia represented just half of 1 percent of Burma's export. Downer says the figures show that unilateral Australian trade sanctions will not achieve any significant results. The Foreign Minister's comments are in a letter to the president of the Senate following a senate resolution on Burma. Tasmanian Greens Senator Bob Brown released the letter, saying it shows Mr. Downer had wimped the issue on Burma. ************************************ REUTER: SLORC MULLING NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH MEDIA May 12, 1997 By Deborah Charles BANGKOK, May 12 (Reuter) - Burma's military government, which has cancelled its last two monthly news conferences for foreign journalists, is mulling new ways of dealing with the media, a government official said on Monday. ``We're hoping to come up with a new method,'' the official told Reuters by telephone from Rangoon. ``We want to find new methods of updating the flow of information.'' Last July, Burma heralded a new era of open communications when the government's revamped information committee announced it would hold regular news briefings at the beginning of each month for local and visiting foreign correspondents. The idea was to give journalists -- especially from foreign organisations who were not allowed regular access to the country -- easier access to developments in Burma, the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) had said. Burma's official press regularly attacks the foreign media for reports critical of the military government. But the government cancelled briefings for April and May. The official said on Monday he was not sure if the briefings would be cancelled altogether or if they would just be changed. ``We have been told that there is a lot of good information coming from the briefings but sometimes it is old news,'' he said. ``So we are finding ways and means to change this.'' Analysts and diplomats say the SLORC is unhappy with the anti- government news that is published while foreign media are in Burma for the monthly briefings. The visits give foreign reporters virtually the only chance to talk with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She is usually unreachable since her telephone line is often cut. The monthly briefings, often the only time foreign reporters are given visas to enter Burma, also have coincided with several uprisings or unrest related to the opposition movement. Last September, supporters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) held impromptu gatherings on street corners after authorities put barricades around the Nobel laureate's house to keep her from giving her regular weekend speeches. Analysts and diplomats said the presence of international media and television cameras emboldened the NLD supporters to gather near the barricades, despite several arrests and allegations of beatings of some supporters. In December, just days before the monthly briefing, thousands of students took to the streets in series of rare protests against the government. After pictures and stories were sent around the world, the SLORC became wary of the media presence, and accusations against journalists and news organisations increased in state-run media. ******************************** RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR: IS IT A NONVIOLENT METHOD? May 6, 1997 [translated from Burmese] Di Hlaing A small parcel sent from Japan in the last week of March arrived at the General Post Office in Yangon [Rangoon] addressed to Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, secretary- 2 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC]. The stamps pasted on it were estimated to be worth over 1,000 Yen. The parce? got to the residence of Lt. Gen. Tin Oo on 3 April. The people at his home placed the parcel on a desk in the room next to the sitting room. No one suspected it-- and they did not open it, since it bore the name of Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, who had been on tours to the districts and on duty full time at the office, and had not gotten back to his residence. April 4--The parcel sent from Japan remained untouched. April 5--No one touched the parcel. It lay quietly where it was first placed. April--Daughter Ma Phyu Phyu Oo picked up the parcel and looked at it. It was only about 7 or 8 inches long, 5 inches wide and about half an inch thick, the size of a small diary. Ma Phyu Phyu Oo had been to Japan as a student. Studying the words and stamps on the parcel, she realized that it had been sent from Japan. She noted that the package had stamps on it worth about 1,000 or 500 yen. It had been some time since it had arrived, so she made a move to open it. At that moment, she heard a call from the front of the residence. It was her aunt calling. Ma Phyu Phyu Oo put the parcel back on the desk and went to the front of the residence. She had not been gone near the parcel since. That evening, Maj. Maung Maung Kyaw arrived at the residence, where his wife Ma Cho Leh Oo was. Ma Cho Leh Oo, elder daughter of Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, was studying for her Ph.D. Her husband, Maj. Maung Maung Kyaw, had come to see her and the children- -Maung Hein Htet, who is 6-year-old, and Phoo Ngon Kyaw, who is one and a half. The children are happy at the residence of their grandparents. Maj. Maung Maung Kyaw took his wife Cho Leh Oo and the two children for a drive in his car. He then dropped them at the residence and went back to his duties. Ma Cho Leh Oo was studying in the sitting room while Maung Hein Htet and Phoo Ngon Kyaw played and watched television in the dining room. From time to time she rang her friends to discuss lecture notes. Daw Khin Than Nwe, mother of Ma Cho Leh Oo, was putting some blouses that had been ironed into the wardrobe at that time. The parcel from Japan was on the desk, less than a meter away. At that moment, the telephone rang, and the mother heard her daughter Cho Leh Oo answering the call. Ma Cho Leh Oo entered the adjoining room, where her mother was. Mother Daw Khin Than Nwe, who was putting the blouses into the wardrobe, did not notice Ma Cho Leh Oo, who was not more than a foot away from her. Ma Cho Leh Oo then opened the parcel. There was a loud explosion. The door of the room was shattered. The ceilings in the room and those in the sitting room were torn. The wardrobe in front of Daw Khin Than Nwe was destroyed. The entire room was in darkness engulfed in smoke. Shaken by the explosion, Daw Khin Than Nwe rushed out of the room and called for help from the household and security men. She learned that her grandchildren were in the dining room. Elder daughter Ma Cho Leh Oo was not in the sitting room. "Where is Cho Leh, my daughter, Cho Leh?" "Cho Leh is lying down," someone answered. Daw Khin Than Than Nwe rushed to her daughter's room but did not find her. She then reentered the room from which she had just emerged. She found Cho Leh Oo lying in a pool of blood, ran to her, and embraced her. Cho Leh Oo was breathing but badly wounded. The parcel bomb had exploded closely behind her. Cho Leh Oo and her mother had been been standing close, facing opposite directions. Cho Leh Oo appeared to have protected her mother from the full impact of the explosion with her body. Receiving the phone message, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo immediately returned home from his office. He sent Ma Cho Leh Oo to hospital. They heard a low cry or moan twice from Ma Cho Leh Oo in the car on the way to the hospital. Ma Cho Leh Oo, assistant lecturer in the Yangon University History Department, died one minute after she arrived at No. 2 Military Hospital. Her husband, Maj. Maung Maung, who arrived at the hospital from his post, was not able to see his wife alive. "Truly, it was an attempt on my life. My elder daughter sacrificed her life on my behalf. She protected her mother with her body. This means that she was warned that there is a danger of terrorists to not only my family but also the entire nation." Lt. Gen. Tin Oo explained to those enquiring after the incident. Cho Leh Oo, the 32-year-old mother of two young children, was killed owing to the atrocious acts of cruel terrorists. The incident was shocking. That should not have happened to an innocent woman. It was said that the method was a nonviolent one. And also soft method, political battle, and political defiance. It was also claimed that the fight would be based on nonviolence and wisdom. A lot of printed matter has been published. There has been quite a large number of publications on causing disintegration of the country to gain political power. There has been a heavy inflow of such publications across the border. There is "From Dictatorship to Democracy" written by Gene Sharp. The meddlesome Dr. Gene Sharp also wrote "The Role of Power in Nonviolent Struggle," in addition to the book "Political Defiance." These publications have been distributed to Myanmar expatriates abroad free. They are used as handbooks for training programs at insurgent camps. Sein Win's expatriate group translated it into Burmese. There have also been other voluminous books on democracy and human rights. They said they employed only nonviolent methods to topple the military government. They implied that they would not engage in armed revolution. In practice, however, there is clear evidence that they are always connected with the insurgents. The Democratic Party for a New Society, when it existed as a legal party, attempted to make the All Students Democratic Front, ABSDF, an armed force. Then it went underground. Today, the NCGUB [National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma], or expatriate Sein Win government, CRDB [Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma], or the so-called democracy group of Tin Maung Win and Tin Aung's NLD-LA [National League for Democracy in Liberated Area] collude with Bo Mya's KNU [Karen National Union] group and are engaged in causing the disintegration of the country. They shout that they are working for democracy to flourish after the military government is toppled. In fact, they are inciting riots in the major cities and destabilizing the situation. A pincer movement based on riots aboveground and underground terrorist acts was the old method of gaining power applied by the Burma Communist Party. The number of groups rising up against the Myanmar Government can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The old and new expatriates have aligned themselves with the KNU terrorist group. Those terrorist groups in the jungles are encouraging the Notorious League for Demons aboveground. They are giving importance to the leader of that league. There is evidence. Instigations to oppose the government, dissemination of false news in their attempt to make the people hate the government leaders, and incitements to cause unrest are said to be the methods of political defiance or nonviolence--but the incidents indicate that they are leading to terrorist acts. A bomb exploded near Buddha's Sacred Tooth Relic conveyed from the People's Republic of China, and people were killed. They blasted the Toungoo power substation. And they exploded a bomb right inside a residence. A terrorist act is not to be forgiven by simply calling it a political struggle. It will not be possible to remain standing with folded arms when acts of political defiance resulting from a craving for power lead to terrorist acts. It is shameless to make allegations that the explosion was an inside job and an act in a power struggle within the SLORC. The entire Myanmar people is vehemently denouncing the unmanly and cowardly terrorist act. They are guessing who the culprit is. In any case, the innocent Ma Cho Leh Oo has left her better half and her two young children. *************************************** THE NEW OBSERVER: RECENT BURMA NEWS FROM JAPAN May 1997 From: Ken and Visakha Kawasaki On April 6 a package bomb exploded at the home of a top SLORC member, killing his daughter but allegedly leaving him unharmed. SLORC blamed Japan based dissidents for the blast, but in a statement issued in Tokyo the following day, the Joint Action Committee, a coalition of four Burmese pro-democracy groups, denied responsibility and speculated that the incident reflected a power struggle within the military clique. In fact, some activists here consider SLORC's accusations to be a compliment in disguise: By urging Japanese police to investigate the pro-democracy groups, the junta may be trying to curb growing support in Japan for Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese democracy movement. Some possible causes for SLORC's concern: * The December launch of the People's Forum on Burma (Biruma Shimin Forum), the first Burmese pro-democracy group with large Japanese participation. The Forum marshalls the talents of academics, journalists, lawyers, political activists and other Burma watchers and has two main aims: to promote Burmese democracy issues with the Japanese public and Diet members and to provide assistance ranging from Japanese lessons to legal aid to Burmese activists in Japan. * On March 10-11, members of the Norway based International Network of Political Leaders Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma) held a meeting in Tokyo to share their concerns and to map a strategy for future joint action. Parliamentarians from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, India, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and the Philippines attended. PD Burma was launched in Geneva in April 1996 and its membership includes three councilors from the Japanese Diet. In Japan PD Burma is regularly translating and distributing valuable information about Burma in Japanese. (For more information about PD Burma, call Schu Sugawara at (03) 3485~819.) Some activists here were concerned that SLORC might use the explosion as an excuse to disrupt "Thingyan", the Burmese water festival organized each year by Burma Youth Volunteer Association. Fortunately, the festival, held on April 13 in Nakano, proceeded without incident, and BYVA raised hundreds of thousands of yen to support pro-democracy activities in Japan and along Burma's borders. The New Observer PO Box 5404 Tokyo International Post Office Fax (03) 3357-2207 E-mail: anzu@twics.com ********************************************** BANGKOK BUSINESS DAY: FOREIGN INVESTMENT UP IN FIRST 4 MONTHS DESPITE SANCTIONS May 6, 1997 Report by Narirat Wiryaphong Yangon -- Myanmar has shrugged off recent American sanctions by claiming it has managed to attract foreign investment in the first four months of this year higher in value than that recorded for the whole of 1996. The US recently announced an investment ban on Myanmar and also lobbied to block Myanmar from gaining membership in Asean as a protest over its poor human rights record. Myanmar Minister Deputy of the Prime Minister's Office Brig- General Maung Maung announced that foreign registered investment capital in Myanmar from January to April this year was approximately $2.814 billion. The figure was four times higher than last year's total of $661 million. American investors, he revealed, ranked fourth among foreign investors from 21 countries currently in Myanmar, following the UK, Singapore and Thailand, respectively. "These foreign investors have looked for long-term investment and have increased during recent times. Despite the US accusations, we will take absolute care of those investors," he said. Because US investors, who invest mostly in the energy industry, are now banned from dealing with Myanmar, energy companies from other countries, notably Total from France, have expressed an interest to invest here," he added. He admitted that the major headache for foreign investors in Myanmar was an inadequate basic infrastructure, notably electricity supply. However, the Myanmar Government has tried to solve the problem through encouraging the private sector to co-invest in power generating projects. Three international-standard industrial zones, to be operated by Mitsui of Japan, Sinmadev from Singapore, and Thailand's Rojana industrial Park, have already been approved in order to serve foreign investment. In addition, Myanmar's Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development is negotiating with Genting Sanyen Berhad from Malaysia and Japan's Marubeni for the establishment of additional industrial zones in the near future. ************************************************* BKK POST: CHETTHA FIRM ON NEW REFUGEE CAMP SITE May 13, 1997 In attempt to prevent cross-border attacks Army Commander Gen Chettha Thanajaro yesterday reiterated the army's stance on security along the Thai-Burma border, saying that to effectively prevent cross-border attacks Karen refugee camps had to be relocated 10 kilometres deep inside Thailand. The army commander was confident that security along the border would be much improved if the army's proposal to move refugee camps at the border deeper inside got support from related agencies, including the interior ministry which had initially opposed the idea. The 59-year-old commander made the remark after yesterday's meeting of top security officers at the Government House, chaired by Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. Gen Chettha said it was difficult for the army to maintain security along the Thai-Burma border as long as refugee camps were located a few kilometres from the border. During the past several months, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which was in sharp conflict with the Karen National Union, has launched cross-border attacks on KNU camps located along the common border. Gen Chettha claimed that the premier had agreed with the proposal when he discussed the problem with Gen Chavalit, noting that the army was ready to have its mean take charge in administering the camps once they were moved deep inside. The National Security Council also voiced its support for the idea. Around 70,000 Karen refugees took shelter on six camps sprawling along the border in Tak Province including Sho Klo and Mae La of Thasongyang; Maw Kier in Phop Phra; Ta per Poo, Nu Pho in Umphang and Huaey Kalok in Mae Sot. The army commander planned to reduce the camps into three camps - Mae La, Maw Kier and Nu Pho - located around 6-10 kms from the border area. However, the site of No Pho camp has caused public outcry as it was reportedly located in a wildlife sanctuary and considered first-class watershed. (BP) ***************************************************** TACDB: MALAYSIAN EMBASSY PROTEST-4 ARRESTED May 13, 1997 From: carol@ksc.th.com PROTEST AT MALAYSIAN EMBASSY IN BKK: 4 BURMESE STUDENTS ARRESTED AND DETAINED IN BANGKOK A group of Burmese students yesterday staged a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy demanding that ASEAN Members refrain from accpeting SLORC into the regional body and urging the Malaysian government to review their policy of constructive engagement towards the junta. They also demanded that all investment to Burma from Malaysia cease immediately and that the Malaysian government urge SLORC to engage in dialogue with the democractic groups inside Burma. Four students were arrested and are currently being detainned in Bangkok; Name Organisation Place of Detention SHWE HLA Burmese Students Assoc. SDC, Bangkok. YE CHAN ONSOB IDC, Bangkok. NYEIN MOE ABBESU IDC, Bangkok The fourth student remains as yet undentified. Thai Intelligence officers were present at the event and encouraged students to take their letter to a representative of the Malaysian Embassy, which is located inside the REGENT TOWER building in down-town Bangkok. Students were concerned that they would be liable for arrest if they entered the building and they decided to wait outside for an embassy offical to come and collect their letters. After some discussion from the Malaysian officals inside the embassy, a representative accepted the students letter and declaration outside of the embassy. Around 14 plain clothes Thai Intelligence officials were present throughout the protest. They waited until the protest had been staged before requesting key, targeted organisers go with them for questioning. They assurred these four students that they would not be arrested and that they would be free to leave. The four students went with the intelligence officers but were arrested and detained after questioning. LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF THE ACTIONS OF THESE STUDENTS CAN BE SENT TO THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT AND MALAYSIAN EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD. _____________________________________________________ THAI ACTION COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRACY IN BURMA 328 Phayathai Road Ratchavee Bangkok, 10400 THAILAND tel/fax: (+662) 216 4463 ********************************************** FORUM NEWS: THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES IN JAPAN May 10, 1997 (received) From: Ken and Visakha Kawasaki People's Forum on Burma E-mail: QYN02403@niftyserve.or.jp The Protection of Refugees in Japan Shogo Watanabe, Attorney at Law, Secretary General of the People's Forum on Burma I became involved in Burma affairs in 1992, and I have mostly been concerned with the issue of the application by political refugees for refugee status. In Asia it is Japan that has a large influence on the future of Burma. It may be said that it has taken too long for an NGO with a clear aim to support the democratization of Burma to be established in Japan. However, as Secretary General of the People's Forum on Burma. I am ready to try all possible means . Today I would like to report on the treatment of applicants for refugee status in Japan. It is planned that the Forum will make a request to the Ministry of Justice regarding this issue. The Treatment of Burmese Applicants for Refugee Status in Japan 1. The Japanese system of admitting refugee status (1) The rigid application of the rules and the small number of admittance in consequence of the '60-Days Rule' In Japan, there is a provision that the application for refugee status must be filed within 60 days of the applicant's landing into Japan. Japan is not the only country that has such restrictions to the period of time in which application may be filed. However, Japan is probably the only country that places the rule itself as a requirement that has to be fulfilled for the applicant to be admitted as a refugee. Many Burmese have only been able to start the application process several years after their landing into Japan. To enter Japan they are only granted short term visas, and it is cruel to demand that they should apply right after their landing. Short term visas cannot be renewed, which easily results in making the applicants overstayers. It must be noted that the applications are processed at the immigration office which is the same office that has the power to send overstayers back to their countries. So far all of the 89 Burmese whom the lawyers' group upon request have assisted, the applications of have been denied refugee status solely because of failure to satisfy the '60 days rule'. Only 8 Burmese have been granted refugee status in Japan, and none of the 8 has participated directly in the 1988 demonstrations. Even from this one fact one is able obtain an idea of how Japan regards the Burmese activists towards democracy. # The burden of proof If the applicants' failure to file their applications within 60 days of their landing into Japan is due to some unavoidable circumstances, then their applications will be processed and come under substantial examination. However, it is the applicants that must prove the existence of such unavoidable circumstances. Moreover, it is also the applicants that must prove that they have a 'well-founded fear' of being persecuted for political reasons. # The number of admissions of refugee status In the past 16 years since the current system was established, a little over 200 people have been admitted as refugees. However, about 150 of the 200 people were initially Indochina refugees to start with, which leaves us with the fact that only 50 to 60 people have been admitted under the current system as refugees in Japan. 2. Treatment of the Burmese applicants There has been no exception to the strict application of the '60-days rule' concerning the Burmese applicants. One cannot see any protective attitude towards them. For example, to those who applied for refugee status in December 1992, notifications of denial were sent on 17 November 1994. The applicants immediately filed appeals, (Here it must be noted that the appeals must be filed to the immigration office, the same office that makes the initial decisions. This system is under international criticism. There has been only one case where an applicant who had initially been denied was granted refugee status after filing an appeal.) but the interviews for the appeals were held more than two years later, in February 1997. 3. The legal status of applicants In Japan, applicants for refugee status do not obtain any special status, so if an applicant happens to be an overstayer, s/he faces the risk of being sent back to his or her country. The immigration office of course does not go as far as to send such applicants back to their countries by force, but they do not give the applicants any special status, either. Therefore when the applicants seek employment, the prospective employers must risk employing overstayers. Since in Japan if an employer employs an overstayer the employer may be punished, it results in making prospective employers reluctant to employ applicants for refugee status. It has once been reported that an employer seeking to employ an applicant for refugee status asked the immigration office for referral of the applicant, and the immigration offtce merely stated that the applicant was an overstayer, thus resulting in the employer deciding not to employ the applicant. It is extremely difficult for applicants to make a living. Another thing is that in Japan, overstayers cannot join the national health insurance even if s/he is an applicant for the refugee status. As we have already seen, it takes a very long time for the decision to be made whether an applicant shall be admitted refugee status, but there is no medical insurance for the applicant while the application is being processed. 4. As we have seen above, it is clear that Japan hardly plays a positive role in the international arena regarding the Burmese political refugees. It should be that, as long as the Burmese asylum seekers have the right to apply for refugee status, they should be guaranteed a legal status. I sincerely hope that the reader will have an understanding about the unstable situation that the Burmese asylum seekers are in. http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm ************************************ FEER: THE SANCTIONS GAME May 8, 1997 By Nigel Holloway in Washington American groups now target Indonesia and China Antonio Cabral has never set foot in Indonesia, but he feels the pain of the East Timorese. A native of the Portuguese-speaking Azores in the mid-Atlantic, Cabral wants independence for the former Portuguese colony of East Timor. "The only solution it self-determination," he says. "It's as American as apple pie." Cabral, a Massachusetts state lawmaker, has proposed a bill that would prohibit the state from awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to any company, American or foreign, doing business with Indonesia. "I will be the first to file a bill to repeal the law if Indonesia grants self-determination to East Timor," Cabral says. This proposal isn't the first of its kind in the United States; in fact, it's modeled on a measure Massachusetts enacted in July that prohibits the state from awarding contracts to firms working in Burma. To many American firms, the Burma law's implications in Massachusetts are bad enough. But they fear the sanctions President Bill Clinton imposed on Burma on April 22 will set a similar precedent in Washington, and that Indonesia will be the next target-followed perhaps by moves against China. "There is a real trend towards this kind of potshot interventionism in foreign policy," says Ernest Bower, president of the U.S.-Asean Council, a Washington-based group that represents business interests. Corporate America thought that when Clinton cut the link between China's human rights record and its trading status in 1994, the issue was buried, at least for Asia. But human rights organisations' success in lobbying for Burma sanctions-a measure which Congress passed in September-has encouraged them to look at other targets. By some counts, more than 30 states, counties and cities have enacted, or plan, sanctions against Burma and Indonesia. The American ambassador to Indonesia, Stapleton Roy, was so worried about the trend that he sent a cable to Washington on February 12: "I urge in the strongest terms that we not pussyfoot around on this question but rather mount a strong and concerted effort to oppose such local initiatives with all the ammunition we can muster." The administration is reluctant to challenge the constitutionality of the Massachusetts law. But U.S. executives have launched a public-relations campaign to persuade lawmakers and the public that economic sanctions against countries such as Burma don't work and cost thousands of jobs. The National Foreign Trade Council, a business lobby in Washington, commissioned a study which argues that sanctions of various kinds cost the U.S. as much as $19 billion in lost exports in 1995-38% of it to Asia. Another leading opponent of sanctions, the National Association of Manufacturers, strongly criticized the Clinton administration for its ban on new investment in Burma. "Unilateral economic sanctions are not substitute for serious foreign policy," said the association's president, Jerry Jasinowski. In fact, some congressional proponents of sanctions agree that multilateral measures are preferable to steps taken by the U.S. alone. "Unilateral sanctions have not proven to be effective, but multilateral sanctions could be," says a adviser to a leading Democratic senator. "But you don't get there until a country like the U.S. is prepared to take the lead." Bower of the U.S-Asean Council argues that this is precisely what the Clinton administration failed to do with its Burma sanctions. "They talked about building a multilateral effort, but there was little evidence of it," he says. Officials in the Clinton administration disagree. After the sanctions were announced, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters: "We have, in fact, been in close touch with other nations on this." She said junta in Rangoon tightened the screws on the political opposition. Now, U.S. officials are trying to put out bush fires in several places at once. The administration has come under strong pressure from Japan and the European Union to take action against Massachusetts law on Burma and the proposed bill on Indonesia. Critics say the measures break the World Trade Organisation's rules on government procurement. Although board economic sanctions against Indonesia are unlikely in the near future, the issue of trade measures against China is likely to be one of Washington's most contentious foreign-policy questions over the coming months. Some lawmakers plan to push for a delay in the annual process of renewing China's preferential trade status until September, in order to see how Beijing handles Hong Kong's reversion to Chinese sovereignty. What is certain is that Congress will not give up its most important lever over U.S. policy towards China. As long as it has this weapon, economic sanctions remain an ever-present threat. (FEER) ******************************************** THE NATION: PM MAKE CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY PLEA IN BURMA May 13, 1997 Nitsara Srihanam Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will urge his Burmese counterpart during his visit this weekend to move towards introducing convertible currency to remove foreign exchange risks for Thai traders. Chavalit plans to raise the foreign exchange problem during his Friday and Saturday visit to Burma. According to Dr Virachai Techavichit, an adviser to the premier, Thai traders have complained about the foreign exchange risk because they have to deal with double currency exchange rates: an official rate of 6 kyat, and the more realistic of 170 kyat per dollar. The foreign exchange risk causes exporters to face an exchange rate loss. The US administration has announced sanctions on Burma, out of concerns over human rights abuses in that country. Virachai said Thailand will not follow the hard core attitude adopted by the US government. Thailand will instead talk to the Burmese government and see what Thailand could do to help Burma revive the economy. "Thailand and Burma are close friends sharing a long boundary. The US sanctions cannot change the relationship between Thailand and Burma," Virachai said. "Because of this, I think the US understands well that it is not possible to urge Thailand to suddenly stop connections with Burma due to geographical factors. Moreover, the US does not seem to be serious about Burma. "It has to announce sanctions to respond to public pressure. Chavalit's trip is to promote investment in Burma, therefore, nothing should impede the objective of the trip." Chavalit will ask Burma to help Thai investors supervise not only the big projects, but the small and medium projects in which Thai investors participate in Burma. He will also urge the Burmese government to liberalise foreign exchange to make the exchange rate more realistic. Thailand will ask Burma to support projects such as port construction and industrial area projects. Thailand will suggest Burma develop a plan to promote foreign investment by offering the model of Thailand's Board of Investment. "Now Burma has no specific organisation to watch over investments in the way the BoI does in Thailand," Virachai said. "If foreign investor want to invest they must contact nearly all government ministries. Thailand will show the BoI system as an example to persuade Burma to set up an office to support foreign investment." (TN) ***************************************************** TT: THAI-BURMESE TRADE ROUTE ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS May 13, 1997 BANGKOK: Thailand is fully confident that the planned transport link between Laem Chabang deep sea port and the Burmese town of Tavoy will be a success story, the deputy finance minister said yesterday. "Burma has expressed a keen interest in the project and I look forward to the plans coming to fruition," said Thawatwong Na Chiang Mai. Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is due to raise the issue with Burma's military leaders during the course of his two-day official visit to Rangoon, which begins on May 16. The Burmese are forging ahead with construction of a deep sea port in Tavoy, while in Thailand Chonburi's Laem Chabang port, already open for shipping, is nearly complete, he said. All that is needed now is a road and railway link between Tavoy and Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, from where access to Laem Chabang is easy. Once the transport links are up and running ships approaching Tavoy will no longer have to make the grueling week-long trip round the Straits of Malacca to reach the Gulf of Thailand, he said. His welcome for the venture was echoed by the secretary-general of the National Security Council, who said the scheme will give a boost to Thailand's trade prospects with its neighbor. Gen Bulsak Kamhaengrittirong said Burma will take on the task of building the road and railway link from Tavoy to the border, leaving Thailand to continue the construction towards Kanchanaburi. ***************************************************** THE NATION: SLORC URGED TO CERTIFY ILLEGAL BURMESE WORKERS May 13, 1997 Piyanart Srivalo PRIME Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will urge the ruling military junta in Rangoon to certify the citizenship of Burmese working illegally in Thailand, a step that will facilitate the legalisation of their working status in the Kingdom. The proposal, seen as a marriage of convenience between Bangkok and its neighbour, was discussed yesterday during a meeting between government officials and the National Security Council (NSC), chaired by the prime minister. It will be among the key topics of discussion with Burma's leaders, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), when Chavalit visits the country this Friday and Saturday. "We do our part in registering them and give them two years to work in Thailand. But once the registration takes place, Burma will have to certify their citizenship so as to make the legalisation. of their working [here] become effective," said NSC chief Gen Bunsak Khahaengritthirong. A temporary measure giving two-year concessionary work permits to illegal foreign workers from the neighbouring countries of Burma, Laos and Cambodia allowing them to work in 43 provinces has failed to meet its objectives to control their movement. ************************************************ TT: LAOS SAYS ASEAN BID WITH BURMA, CAMBODIA ON TRACK May 13, 1997 REUTERS VIETIANE: Recent troubles in Cambodia and Burma are not expected to derail the imminent entry of the two countries and Laos into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a top Lao official said yesterday. Asked whether he was worried at the possibility of delay, Sayakane Sisouvong, deputy director general of the ASEAN Department, said: "We are not concerned at all." "We have been tracing the record of ASEAN decisions in the past and we know they have a good record. There has not been a change when things have been decided," he told Reuters in an interview. ****************************** BURMANET CORRECTION: EVENEMENT DU JEUDI ARTICLES May 14, 1997 The translations two articles from the French journal L'Evenement du Jeudi, included in BurmaNet News on May 12, issue 718, were prepared by David Arnott and Brian McGee, not by dawn star (cd@Utopia.EUnet.fr). ***********************************