------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: May 20, 1997 Issue #726 HEADLINES: ========== BKK POST: DRUG SUSPECT LI APPEALS FOR QUICK PASSAGE NATION: RANGOON TO HELP STEM TIDE OF ILLEGAL WORKERS BKK POST: THAILAND, BURMA PLAN TO PULL BACK BKK POST : RANGOON EXPECTS DO MUOI's VISIT SOON NATION: QUIET TENSIONS RATTLE SINO-BURMESE RELATIONS WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S ARMY KEEPS ITS GRIP BKK POST:BURMA READY FOR WORD FROM ASEAN BKK POST: KAREN REBEL ROB VILLAGE HEADMAN BKK POST: DELAYS IN BUILDING YADANA PIPELINE COST PTT BKK POST: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH ----------------------------------------------------------------- BKK POST: DRUG SUSPECT LI APPEALS FOR QUICK PASSAGE TO US May 19, 1997 Surath Jinakul Fears for his life in prison Alleged drug kingpin Li Yun-chung fears for his life if sent back to jail and has asked to be extradited quickly to the United States to face drug trafficking charges there. Li was flown back from Rangoon on Saturday after jumping bail in February. He is being held in police custody and is due to appear before the Criminal Court today. Narcotics Suppression Bureau commissioner Lt-Gen Noppadol Somboonsap said yesterday Li appealed to police chief Pracha Promnok to keep him in police custody as he feared for his life if he is sent back to jail. He also sought police protection for his wife and family, saying that they might be kidnapped by people who arranged his bail. Li was interrogated by Pol Gen Pracha for 20 minutes yesterday. Details of the interview were not available, but it is believed that it dwelled on how much bribe he allegedly paid for his brief freedom. A police source said Li had paid out about 120 million baht to a middleman in Chiang Mai, known only as Phuek, to arrange for his freedom. Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said he was concerned about Li's safety and would assign him an officer if he was sent to jail pending extradition proceedings. If so he would be kept in solitary confinement, separate from other prisoners. Li said yesterday he wanted to be quickly extradited to the US and urged the court to speed up extradition proceedings. He expressed regret for bringing bad name to Thailand by jumping bail in February. But Li refused to discuss how he managed to receive bail from Somchai Udomwong, deputy chief justice of the Criminal Court, who is being investigated by a judicial panel for his role in Li's brief flight to freedom. Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said Thai authorities would coordinate with their US counterparts to set a date for Li's extradition. Once the legal proceedings are completed prosecutors would request the court to temporarily release the suspect who will then be put under police detention after which he will be handed over to US authorities. Li would go through an extradition procedure similar to the one used for former Chart Thai MP Thanong Siripreechanpong who is fighting drugs charges in the US. Li and another person were arrested in Samut Sakhon on July 23 last year after being indicted by a federal court in New York on charges of masterminding the shipment of 486 kilogrammes of heroin to the United States in 1991. While awaiting extradition proceedings, Li was granted bail on February 7 after putting up a five-million-baht guarantee. He later jumped bail and fled to Burma. Reports that Li went into hiding in Burma were confirmed after Burmese authorities contacted Thai army chief Gen Chetha Thanacharo to tell him that they had captured the drug fugitive. Rangoon handed over the suspect to Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh during his visit to Burma late last week. Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said Li's escape trail took him to Chiang Rai where he boarded a plane for Rangoon on February 12, five days after he was granted bail. He later met his wife, Mayuree Mavin, at a hotel in the Burmese capital. Li has also been charged with money-laundering and Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said police were trying to determine how much of his assets should be frozen under Thai law. He said it was beyond the authority of drug suppression police to take action against people who helped Li escape to Burma, including his wife. Police also cannot take action in the case in which Li has been charged with sumbitting fake documents to the Criminal Court, he said, and asked the court as the damaged party to file a complaint against Li. Meanwhile, Gen Chettha said relations between Rangoon and Washington should improve after Li is extradited to the US. "It may slightly help improve relations between the two countries," he said yesterday before leaving for a two-week visit to the US as a guest of US Army Chief-of-Staff Denis J. Reimer. Gen Chettha who is known to have close ties with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), the ruling junta in Burma, praised the country for handing Li over to Thai authorities, saying Burma had demonstrated its sincerity, through Thailand, to the world community that it was committed in its fight against narcotics. Gen Chettha said he did not think it would be a good policy to isolate Burma, noting that the country was moving on the path of democracy and the transition would take time. (BP) --------------------------------------------------- [excerpts from related article] THE NATION: RANGOON RETURNS NARCOTICS SUSPECT WHO JUMPED BAIL May 18, 1997 When asked by foreign journalists to explain Slorc's decision, Chavalit only said: "He has Thai nationality. He must be sent to us." According to a very knowledgeable source, Washington had been informed of the handover before the actual event. Though Slorc delivered Li to Thailand, where he will await extradition to face trial in the United States, the junta still refuses to extradite a number of notorious drug traffickers wanted by Washington, particularly Golden Triangle warlord Khun Sa, who gave himself up to authorities in Rangoon in January 1995. Shortly after his surrender, Khun Sa and some of his leading lieutenants - including his uncle Khun Saeng - moved to Rangoon. Khun Sa has since been living under strict security surveillance. When Slorc leader Khin Nyunt held a ceremony on April 23 to inaugurate an "anti-drug museum" in Mongla in Burma's northeastern Shan State, at least two major druglords wanted by Washington - Sai Lin, aka Lin Ming-shing, and Pao Yu-chiang - were on hand to welcome the Burmese leader and Rangoon-based diplomats, whose numbers included US charge d'affaires Kent Wiederman. The Mongla ceremony, which claimed to "commemorate the total eradication of narcotic drugs" in the area, took place on the very same day Washington announced economic sanctions on Burma. NSB police officers arrested Li and Cha Chung-chang, aka Praphan Thongchaisawang, on July 23, 1996. Li's alleged partners, all of whom are wanted by the United States, were later captured and are awaiting a final ruling on their extradition. According to Police Chief Pracha, Rangoon, after receiving an official request from Thai police, told Army Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro that it had already captured Li and wanted to hand him over during Chavalit's visit. Chettha said yesterday that Slorc had informed him about a week ago of its decision to return Li to Thailand. Both Pracha and Boyce praised Chettha for the successful handover. **************************************************** THE NATION: RANGOON TO HELP STEM TIDE OF ILLEGAL WORKERS May 18, 1997 [abridged] Rangoon has agreed to cooperate in stemming the influx of illegal Burmese workers into Thailand, Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan said yesterday. Prachuab said upon his return from Rangoon that the two countries will also cooperate in training workers to improve their skills. Thailand is seeking Rangoon's cooperation to certify the citizenship of about 700,000 Burmese illegal workers allowed to work in Thailand under temporary measures adopted last year. Authorities now fear that the Burmese will not return after the two-year temporary work permits lapse. The agreement is one of several successes Prachuab claimed in summing up the two-day official visit to Burma by Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, which ended yesterday. Prachuab said that the leader of the ruling junta, Gen Than Shwe, also briefed Chavalit on the progress of the drafting of a new Burmese constitution, which he said was half-way completed. "The Burmese are now debating a clause dealing with the powers of various sections of society, which they said is very delicate and needs to be carefully considered," Prachuab said. The minister said the Burmese leaders assured that the transfer of power to the people will definitely come about, but priority should be given to the development of strong economic and social foundations. According to Prachuab, Chavalit noted the process with satisfaction and agreed that each country has the right to determine its own method of national development, and that any outside interference would badly hurt this process. On economic cooperation, Thailand asked Burma to supply 1,500 megawatts of power a year beginning in 2010. A memorandum of understanding will be signed in July, Prachuab said. It was also agreed to increase airline services between the two nations to 3,500 passenger seats a week, beginning in October. River, road and railway links will also be boosted. The two main corridors - Myawaddy-Pha An-Rangoon-Mandalay and Laem Chabang-Bonti-Tavoy - will be given serious consideration in infrastructure development planning. Two agreements were signed - one to allow citizens from each country to enter the other with a border pass, and another on sovereign rights over the Thai-Burmese Bridge, which is still under construction. (TN) ******************************************************* BKK POST: THAILAND, BURMA PLAN TO PULL BACK May 17, 1997 Bhanravee Tansubhapol, Rangoon Both parties want to 'avoid confrontation' Thailand and Burma have agreed to work for an early withdrawal of troops from a disputed border area between Doi Lang and the Shan State in order to "avoid confrontation," government spokesman Varathep Rattanakorn said yesterday. The two countries also agreed to speed up the settlement of other demarcation problems along the 2,400 kilometre boundary to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year. Mr Varathep made the disclosure after hour-long talks between Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and his Burmese host, Gen Than Shwe, prime minister and chairman of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council. Gen Chavalit and Gen Than Shwe are also defence ministers. Army chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro attended the talks, which followed a grand reception at Rangoon airport, and a courtesy call on Gen Chavalit by Slorc's first secretary-general Lt Gen Khin Nyunt . Gen Chavalit also witnessed the signing of an agreement on border crossings and an exchange of documents on the jurisdiction of the Thai-Burmese friendship bridge linking Mae Sot with Myawaddy. Burma is believed to have deployed between 1,200 to 1,500 men in the northern Shan State area adjacent to Thailand's Doi Lang hill. Thailand is believed to have stationed the same number of troops and according to senior military officials spends about 100 million baht a year to finance the operation. Conflicting sovereignty claims in the 32 square-kilometre area came to a head last year when Burmese troops reached territory once controlled by the Mong Tai Army of drug warlord Khun Sa, who subsequently surrendered to Rangoon. The Doi Lang-Shan State junction is one of three disputed areas along the Thai-Burmese border. The other two lie on Hill 491 between Chumphon and Burma's Tenasserim division and around three islands - Koh Ganga, Koh Nok, and Koh Kan - off the coast of Ranong province. According to Mr Varathep, the two prime ministers agreed to move troops in the Doi Lang-Shan state area deeper inside respective territories and to instruct the Joint Boundary Committee to discuss other problems. Gen Chavalit emphasised that he had met all the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and said that they had confirmed that Burma would be admitted into Asean at the same time as Cambodia, and Laos. Gen Than Shwe was quoted as pointing out that Burma was trying to solve its internal problems and that the country needed to join Asean in order to obtain funds and technology for development projects. On the United States' recent sanctions on new US investments in Burma, Gen Than Shwe said Burma was preparing measures to cope with repercussions. He also said that foreign tourists were still coming to Burma despite the sanctions, Mr Varathep said. Gen Chavalit inquired about Burma's constitutional draft and was told that the process was underway, although at a slow pace because there are seven states with minority groups. Gen Than Shwe added that the political situation in Burma would improve, and that democracy would be achieved "in future." Documents exchanged by foreign minister Prachuab Chaiyasarn and his Burmese counterpart Ohn Gyaw, confirmed that the two countries would agree to keep respective river banks as the borderline for jurisdiction on the Moei River, a senior foreign ministry official said. At the same time, they agreed to share jurisdiction on the friendship bridge across the river from the middle of the bridge, the official added. Gen Chavalit also proposed that the two countries begin consultations on the management of marine resources. He also asked Burma to allow Thai banks to open representative offices on the border. Gen Than Shwe supported the Thai proposal for a road that would link Myawaddy and Mae Sot with central Vietnam. The two prime ministers also discussed the development of a deep-sea port in Tavoy and the problem of some 700,000 illegal Burmese workers in Thailand. They agreed that concerned ministers should discuss the latter in further detail. (BP) **************************************************** BKK POST : RANGOON EXPECTS DO MUOI's VISIT SOON May 17,1997 Reuters Rangoon- Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi will soon visit Burma, where he is expected to discuss ties and Burma's membership in Asean, government sources said yesterday. Government sources said his delegation would likely visit Burma on May 22 to 25. Communist Party officials in Hanoi said on Thursday that Mr Muoi, 80, was due to visit Rangoon and Beijing in his first overseas trips in many months, although details of the visit to China were not finalised.(BP) ****************************************************** THE NATION: QUIET TENSIONS RATTLE SINO-BURMESE RELATIONS May 19, 1997 Aung Zaw The flourishing drug trade and lack of stability in Burma are bothering Beijing, Aung Zaw reports. Every morning when Burmese pedal their bicycles to enter Mandalay City they joke, "We are off to work in China”. While merely a joke, the line offers an insight into the tensions between local Burmese and Chinese. Burma's ancient city, Mandalay was established in 1857 by King Mindon. It was taken over by the British during the reign of Min Donís son, King Thibaw. But now there is new foreign influence at play in the city - the Chinese. In recent years, China has become Burma’s major arms supplier and trade partner. Moreover, China has been seeking access to various seaports off Burma’s coast. But the close ties between Burma and China have led to problems at the domestic level. In early 1997, China and Burma signed an agreement to strengthen military cooperation. According to the agreement, China will train Burmese air force and navy officers. In addition, Beijing will offer additional places in military colleges for senior Burmese officers. Local Chinese, however, are not applauding the Sino-Burma friendship as they are much more concerned about possible riots in the future. "This is just a PRC-Slorc friendship - not Chinese and Burmese - in fact, Burmese people hate us," says a Chinese trader in Mandalay. One analyst in Rangoon noted that there has been growing anti-Chinese sentiment since December. When university students took to the streets to denounce the Burmese military regime officially known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council [Slorc], the military authorities quickly sent troops and Chinese-made tanks onto the streets to quell the protests. That upset Chinese businessmen who feared anti-Chinese reprisal. Thus, local Chinese quickly and openly support student demonstrators by sending food and donations. In its evaluation of the unrest, the Slorc concluded that it was manipulated, exploited and fomented by communists and the opposition. In a speech at a special press conference on December 31, powerful intelligence chief and Secretary One of Slorc, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt said: "I stated categorically that the BCP [Burma Communist Party] had not yet been annihilated totally.....although many of the BCP agents have been arrested. To sustain the existence of the party, the BCP Central Committee residing in a neighbouring country, has been recruiting new members and expanding its underground network.” Though Khin Nyunt did not name the neighbouring country, it was obvious that he was referring to China. Ex-BCP members have been living in China since it collapsed after a serious mutiny in 1989. "Khin Nyunt's statement dented the good relationship between China and Burma," noted one analyst. Ironically, on the same day, Chen Baoliu, Chinese ambassador to Burma, appeared in the official newspaper donating a computer to the foreign ministry. Undoubtedly, Chinese officials were angry at the generals' speech but did not lodge a protest. Nevertheless, it wasn't the first time that China has faced a dilemma in its dealing with Slorc, especially in trade and drug issues. "Chinese authorities do not care which government is in power in Burma as long as there is stability", noted one analyst. “But Slorc,” said a source on the China-Burma border, "cannot guarantee stability in the country and the Chinese realise it." So what about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD [the National League for Democracy]? Beijing sees Suu Kyi as too weak to hold the country together but they also doubt the junta's abilities. Because of this, says one foreign analyst, "The new theory is that the NLD could be, in some way, better than Slorc. He reasoned that the opposition could handle the country's ailing economy better ó that's good for China, which wants to trade with Burma. In addition, officials in Yunnan are upset at Slorc for not controlling the smuggling of drugs at the China-Burma border. Recently, Khin Nyunt went to eastern Shan State where he met local Wa and Kokang ethnic leaders including Lin Min Xian, also known as Sai Lin and Pao Yu Chang. They both are renowned drug warlords. “Heroin from that border area is spilling over China, and the Chinese are not very happy,” said another analyst. Wa and Kokang rebels have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Slorc since 1989 but so far the regime has been impotent to control illicit drug trade in that area. Chinese in Rangoon and Mandalay see Chen, who is the Chinese ambassador to Burma, as a ‘pro-Slorc’ ambassador. “Perhaps it is wrong to say that she is a ‘pro-Slorc’ but judging from what we have seen, Chen is close to Khin Nyunt and other high-ranking officials,” said one local ethnic Chinese. The embassy's only contact is Slorc he added. Once active with cultural events and the establishment of diplomatic contacts in Rangoon, the Chinese mission in Rangoon is now seen by local Chinese as a ‘pro-Slorc embassy’. That has not go down well with local Chinese. "In the past, in Burma, Chinese ideology was very popular. You could easily find Mao's little red book everywhere. Many in Burma worshipped Mao but not any more," one analyst stressed. "Today, the Chinese want to sell their consumer goods to Burmese." But there is a sense of trepidation among the Chinese businessmen towards Slorc’s handling of the economy. A Chinese in Rangoon said that Slorc would be better served getting serious about dealing with national problems instead of accusing foreign nations and dissidents in exile. “Unlike China which faced popular democracy uprisings in 1989, Burma's leaders never learned from the 1988 events.” We should not take it for granted that China is in favour of Slorc. While China might have sided with the Slorc in the past, the situation is changing,” says one dissident on the China-Burma border. Beijing's local authorities on the border areas have also maintained regular contacts with rebel groups such as the Kachin, Wa and recently withstudents to sound out their opinions. “Beijing's current approach is more open and flexible now,” the dissident on the border added. Thus some local analysts on the border area suggested that the Burmese and Chinese authorities are shaking hands over the table, but kicking each other under the table. “They are very careful not to disclose any tension between them,” one source said. A Rangoon-based analyst suggested that Beijing has a role to play - it can nudge Slorc leaders to embark on genuine political reform including to open a political dialogue with Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders. The only question then is whether Slorc leaders listen to their ‘Big Brother’? Aung Zaw is a freelance journalist. He contributed this story to The Nation. (TN) **************************************************** WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S ARMY KEEPS ITS GRIP May 18 1997 By R. Jeffrey Smith Embattled Opposition Could Be Targeted Anew After Regional Group's Meeting The police captain at the first checkpoint on the roadleading to the home of 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was unyielding as he and nearly a dozen colleagues blocked the path of a taxi and insisted that "foreigners are not allowed to visit" her walled compound. When an American visitor with an appointment to see Suu Kyi at her home, less than a mile away, asked why, the captain -- who gave his name as Thein -- would only say, again and again: "Because of the order." Thirty-five years after seizing control of this country, and seven years after annulling democratic elections won by Suu Kyi's political party, the Burmese military regime is accustomed to issuing orders without providing explanations. Many citizens here -- after looking around for spies of the government -- charge that its decisions are arbitrary, corrupt or inept and can be carried out with lethal brutality. As a result, they say, its leaders remain widely hated and greatly feared. Despite the public's animosity, and the growing hostility of the Clinton administration, however, the military's grip on power in this Southeast Asian nation of 48 million shows no signs of slackening. In fact, the generals may even be getting stronger due to new repressive measures instituted in the last seven months against Suu Kyi and her supporters. Hundreds of university students have been jailed since student protests against government education policies and police tactics flared briefly last December, effectively decapitating the student movement, according to several diplomats. Universities, which have been a crucible of anti-government sentiment in Burma since 1920, were abruptly shut that month with no date set for reopening. Separately, a fierce offensive by as many as 100,000 troops since February has routed insurgent forces allied with the Karen National Union, an ethnically based party in Karen state, east of the capital. That party, until its repression in 1995, played a key role in opposing the military regime. In the last year, the military junta here has persuaded a half-dozen other ethnic minorities that controlled vast areas in northern and western Burma to sign cease-fire agreements by promising them more autonomy and -- according to several Western diplomats -- permitting them to cultivate and refine a substantial portion of the opium gum that winds up on U.S. streets as heroin. In addition, the military has jailed as many as 300 members of the National League for Democracy, the chief opposition party and the platform for Suu Kyi's activities, since last summer, including several of her close personal aides. Win Thein U, for example, was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year for having arranged a meeting between Suu Kyi and some farmers to discuss the poor rice harvest and for having helped an American television reporter interview a victim of torture. Suu Kyi's press secretary, Aye Win U, also has been imprisoned without trial. Suu Kyi, the charismatic daughter of the architect of Burma's independence from the British in 1948, has been blocked from making any public speeches since November. She also has been forced to restrict her movements outside the compound since hundreds of men in civilian garb were allowed to pass through a government cordon that month to attack her motorcade, smash its windows and beat up many of her supporters. No arrests were made in the attack. Largely because of U.S. government complaints about the regime, some visiting Americans are subjected to extraordinary scrutiny by plainclothes men who ask where they are going and whom they represent -- at the airport, on the street and in hotel lobbies. Photographs are taken of those who try to see Suu Kyi, drivers are questioned, and those seen engaging in conversation with an American sometimes are subjected to more detailed police interrogation. Interviews with dozens of people during a week of traveling in Burma suggested that public discontent is heightened by the country's economic failures. The government's statistics indicate the economy's growth rate has been falling steadily since changes were introduced in 1992 to move the country away from socialism toward a more market-oriented system. Inflation exceeds 30 percent, defense expenditures reportedly consume as much as 50 percent of the budget, and corruption and inefficiency are rife at hundreds of large state-owned corporations or private firms controlled by senior military officers. Without striking a deal with such a firm, or handing over at least a 5 percent commission to a uniformed officer, it is virtually impossible to invest here, according to a half-dozen foreign businessmen. Conditions outside this capital are stark. "They are basically losing a generation," said a diplomat. "Their infant mortality and life expectancy rates are as bad as you might find in the worst nations of Africa." But the armed forces have prospered since 1988, when the State Law and Order Restoration Council was formed to bring military officials into a more direct governing role. The number of troops, then 186,000, has doubled. Everywhere, the council's facilities are the most modern and well tended, including an elaborate museum here with displays touting achievements of each of the country's regional military commanders. To stem a grave shortage of foreign currency and build up its domestic manufacturing industry, the government last summer banned all imports of nonessential goods -- creating what several businessmen described as a brisk under-the-counter trade. But the measure did little to promote the creation of factories in this overwhelmingly agricultural nation, with the result that few up-to-date consumer goods are on display. Only a few construction cranes dot the skyline of the capital, a city of 3 million to 4 million people with a decrepit, faded air that contrasts sharply with the modern bustle of neighboring Asian capitals. The Clinton administration last month banned most American investment in Burma because of the government's failure to thwart the drug trade. But with few American goods in evidence -- other than Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser beer, and Lucky Strike and Salem cigarettes -- and few joint ventures with American firms outside the oil and gas sector, no one believes the sanctions will cause much immediate harm to the Burmese economy. Many do say the publicity Washington's action has generated will discourage some foreign firms that are subject to consumer boycotts at home from investing here, and may further discourage foreign tourism. Since the U.S. sanctions announcement, the value of the local currency has fallen nearly 8 percent against the dollar on the black market. "The sanctions are good, but they are not enough,"said a university student, who asked that his name be withheld because his family has been harassed for advocating democracy. He complained that other nations have not put similar pressure on the regime, a view echoed here by others interviewed on the street. But many diplomats say that activists here are naive, and that there is little reason to expect the regime will substantially alter its hard-line policies under foreign pressure. "Too many generals are making too much money," said one envoy. There appears to be a consensus among Western diplomats here that as bad as Suu Kyi's personal situation is now, it may become even more grim after a decision on Burmese membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional trading group that could formally decide the issue as early as July. Many diplomats see the military's recent actions as having been relatively restrained by a desire to avoid embarrassing its ASEAN neighbors on the eve of the vote. "If they get in, they will likely lock her up again," a senior diplomat said. ********************************* BKK POST:BURMA READY FOR WORD FROM ASEAN May 17,1997 Burma has opened an Asean department in preparation for becoming a full member of the association, a Burmese source said yesterday. The department opened on May 2, a month behind schedule, with Khin Maung Win as its first director- general. He will retain his position as director- general of the Political Department of the Foreign Ministry. Asean requires prospective members to set up a special department to coordinate contacts and participation in more than 200 meetings a year. Cambodia and Laos, also seeking membership in Asean this year, opened offices some months ago. Asean foreign ministers meet in Kuala Lumpur on May 31 to decide when the three countries will be admitted.(BP) ****************************************************** BKK POST: KAREN REBEL ROB VILLAGE HEADMAN May 19, 1997 Tak-Pro-Rangoon Karen rebels have robbed a Thai village headman of about 100,000 baht worth of valuables. Police said around 20 heavily armed members of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) penetrated 15 kilometres into Thai soil to carry out the raid on Friday, at 2 a.m. The rebels laid siege to the home of Somyos Trakulkhiri, headman for Ban Tu Ter, Tambon Mahavan in Mae Sot district. The renegade Karens appeared to be looking for Lt-Col Per Kha Chu, a former officer of the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union, who was thought to be taking refuge at Som-yos's house, said police. The DKBA troops forced their way into the house while Mr Somyos and his family fled. The rebels ransacked his home, taking about 30,000 baht in cash, a motorcycle, two video players, gold ornaments weighing four baht, a watch and two tape recorders. A company of Border Patrol Police rushed to the scene but failed to locate the intruders who fled back across the border. (BP) **************************************************** BKK POST: DELAYS IN BUILDING YADANA PIPELINE HAVE COST PTT B3BN May 19, 1997 Local residents and NGOs voice concerns in Kanchanaburi Delays in building the Yadana gas pipeline have cost the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) three billion baht. The hold-ups have chiefly been caused by resistance from local villagers and NGO groups and slow decision-making by the Thai government. PTT says delays in opening the 16.5-billion-baht project, which is due to be completed in the middle of next year, will cost an estimated 10 billion baht a year. Following cabinet approval for the project late last year, the PTT submitted it for consideration to the National Environment Board. It approved the project on February 25 after viewing PTT's environmental impact assessment study. Now environmental groups, NGOs and villagers in the Thong Pha Phum district of Kanchanaburi are having their say. They claim the gas pipeline threatens villagers' livelihoods, fertile forests and rare animal and plant species, such as the Rachinee (Queen) crab and Kitt bats. So far the PTT has completed only five percent of the 260-kilometre pipeline, which links Thong Pha Phum district and the Ratchaburi gas- fired power plant. The Burmese government has, however, almost completed its part from the Andaman Sea to the Thai-Burmese border. The Kanchanaburi Conservation Group said villagers in Thong Pha Phum district were scared that the pipeline could lead to a repeat of the Phetchaburi Road gas explosion several years ago. Gen Boonsak Kamhaengridhirong, secretary-general of the National Security Council who chaired the public relations sub-committee meeting, said that the committee was not effectively dealing with the opposition groups. "The task is to bring to people's attention the necessity of having the gas supply and to help them understand that the pipeline is safe," he said. The PTT, he added, should improve its image, pay compensation where it was due and create a Forestry Environment Rehabilitation Fund to help sustain the environment. The PTT said the best way of generating electricity was to have another gas-fired power plant, since this has the least impact on the environment. The authority said it takes 16 large dams, and dammed water covering vast areas causing deforestation, to generate 2,700 megawatts of power. In comparison, 700 million cubic feet of gas per day supplied for power generation could produce as much as 3,000 megawatts. The PTT said gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand can only supply 1,500 to 2,000 million cubic feet per day but demand in 2000 is expected to rise to about 3,000 million cubic feet per day. The authority has a 10-year contract with the Burmese government to buy 525 million cubic feet of natural gas from the Yadana field per day. This would go to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's Ratchaburi Power Plant. As for the environmental impact, the PTT said the project would temporarily affect only 625 rai of Kanchanaburi forest land. Fifty kilometres would be laid in the forest and a 20-metre-wide strip disturbed to do so. It added that safety measures meant villagers had little to worry about. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had been involved in the gas explosion on Phetchaburi Road and this was more dangerous than the natural gas to be carried in the pipeline. The PTT had operated a similar pipeline in the central region and there was no record of any major incident. The pipe would also be able to withstand an earthquake measuring eight on the Richter scale. The highest recorded tremor in Kanchanaburi was only 5.9. (BP) **************************************************** BKK POST: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH May 19, 1997 Rangoon, AFP A Burmese court has sentenced two convicted drug traffickers to death and handed down life jail terms to five others, official reports said yesterday. Six of men were arrested in August by a regional military patrol in Burma’s north-eastern Shan state with more than 142 kilograms of heroin in their possession, the state run New Light of Myanmar said. Two members of the gang, which also had two Chinese-made Jeeps, three M-22 rifles and 140 rounds of ammunition, managed to escape the military swoop in Hsenwi township, which lies 32 kilometres from the Chinese border. One of the escaped smugglers was later captured and convicted in the nearby township of Muse along with his six accomplices. The court ordered the seizure of the property of the man who is still on the run. According to a US International Narcotics Strategy Control report released in March, Burma is the world largest producer of opium. With increased interdiction efforts in Thailand in the past few years, most of the opium gum and refined heroin produced is trafficked out of the region to international markets through China, it said. The US report accused Rangoon of allowing armed ethnic groups which have signed cease-fire agreements with the ruling junta to engage in drug trafficking activities unhindered. It noted that some 13 mobile heroin laboratories were destroyed in Burma last year, but said the effect on the volume of the drug flowing out of the region was so far insignificant. But the authorities here have recently reported a string of drug-related arrests, narcotics seizures and the destruction of clandestine refineries and chemicals in Shan state, which forms part of the infamous ‘Golden Triangle’ of opium production along with Laos and Thailand. (BP) ****************************************************