------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: June 12, 1997 Issue #747 Noted in Passing: There's no danger to foreigners in Burma, just to citizens," - a resident of Burma (THE WASHINGTON POST: THE OTHER LOST WORLD) HEADLINES: ========== SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL. 9 NO.9 KNU: RESPONSE FROM THE KNU NEWS, INFORMATION ASIAWEEK: AND THEN THERE WERE TEN THE WASHINGTON POST: THE OTHER LOST WORLD NATION: ACADEMICS, NGOS CRITICISE POLICY ON BURMA NATION: NO AUTOMATIC ENTRY FOR ASEAN MEMBERS IN ASEM NATION: BURMA FORMALLY TOLD OF ADMITTANCE TO GROUPING NLD-LA (YOUTH): STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF U TIN SHWE THAILAND TIMES: BURMA SEEN AS ESSENTIAL LINK ----------------------------------------------------------------- SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL. 9 NO.9 May 29, 1997 (slightly abridged) From: OKKAR66127@AOL.COM Myanmar News Release **************************** Vol. 9 May 29, 1997 No.9 "THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR IN OTTAWA" ( As there have been increasing media coverage in Canada of the "Karen" problem in "Burma" in recent weeks the following is a chronological of the last remaining insurgencies in Myanmar with some suggestions on what the international community could do to solve it ) "The Kayins ( Karens ) in the Union" First and foremost, it must be made absolutely clear that the 2 million plus loyal Kayins of the Union of Myanmar have nothing to do with the KNU ( Karen National Union ) the small separatist armed insurgent group. Therefore, it is equally important to stress that the western media's use of the generic term " Karen " when referring to the KNU is misleading and unjustified. The Kayin patriots within the Union, always an absolute and overwhelming majority of their nationality, are among the most loyal, friendly and talented of the ethnic nationalities of Myanmar. They have achieved high positions in government ( the second president of the Union was a Kayin, the military and among professional groups such as doctors, engineers etc., since the country's independence in 1948. As a matter of fact, there are more Kayins currently living in the delta regions of Yangon, Aye-yar-waddy (Irrawaddy) and Bago (Pegu) Divisions of the Bamar territories ( Made up of the seven Divisions from which the anglicized term "Burma" was probably derived ) than in the present day Kayin State. There has been so much admixture and assimilation of the national races over so many centuries that even the " divide and rule " policies of the colonialist past (1824- 1948) could not get all the Kayins of the Union to move back into the State named after them. But then why should they ? This is their country and to the Myanmar people, the so-called " ethnic " differences seem to be something artificial ( since all of the national races are Mongolian in ancestry ) and the names of " States " and " Divisions " are being retained simply because (1) they have existed for centuries, (2) have been recognized in both of the country's post-independence constitutions ( of 1947 and 1974 ) and (3) that much of the Nation's administrative structures have been based upon them. In other words, Myanmar nationalities have always been part of "one race" and "one people" freely migrating, living and intermingling within the borders of Myanmar-Naing-Ngan (Myanmar nation) since the Bagan (1044-1287 AD ) and subsequent dynasties of Taungoo ( 1287-1759 AD ) and Konbaung ( 1759-1885 AD ). Throughout history they have fiercely defended together the integrity of the Nation by repulsing huge foreign armies and putting down many traitorous rebellions till the first Anglo-Myanmar war of 1824, being only once before in history the nation succumbed to the overwhelming hordes of Kublai Khan's Mongol armies. But the legacies of colonialism, before and during World War II, caused the national races to briefly look upon each other with mistrust and suspicion leading them to re-emphasize on state borders, and re-kindled the issues of autonomous rule and even outright separation by force-of- arms. This was further aggravated by the incessant efforts of post-war mercenaries ( e.g. the Campbell -Tulloch case of 1949) and self-interest group abroad, who actually blinded them of their great and glorious past as one nation. The KNU was the most militant and extremist separatist group to emerge after independence, whose " pro- colonialist " sentiment kept them apart from the " pro-independence" nationalities. None of the great Kayins who fought for the country's independence would even consider lending their support to the KNU and some of them even tried in vain, with great risk to themselves, to mediate between the Union government of 1949-50 and the Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO-- the military arm of the KNU) that had occupied Insein, and adjacent District of then Rangoon and rearing to attack the capital city. Within a few years, after being driven out of most of the city and districts they occupied by the re-organized armed forces (the Tatmadaw), history clearly has on record that the KNU resorted to widespread terrorism, namely, mining passenger trains, blowing up buses and bridges, burning villages, looting and executing villagers, killing and maiming innumerable numbers of innocent civilians. These atrocious acts cost them the remaining support which led to the beginning of their downfall some 20 years ago, having to withdraw to the remotest jungle hideouts of Kayin State close to the Thai border. It is now somewhat ironic that they are the ones pointing fingers and accusing the security forces of the very atrocities that they have committed all along. Although it is true that other insurgencies of varying colours sprouted all over the country soon after the independence, it must be pointed out that each movement had its reason of its own for its origin. Those " multicoloured" insurgencies were extremely costly and destructive, stifling socioeconomic development of the nation for several decades. The government of the State Law and Order Restoration Council after 1988, therefore, decided to end the insurgencies by any means as a top priority. Since not all movement were "separatist " in their original objectives each one required a different solution for their plight and problems.But the common denominator that probably determined their return to the legal fold was that the Tatmadaw, while demonstrating its military superiority also magnanimously offered the insurgent leaders a dialogue for peace and stressed to them how underdeveloped their regions have remained over the years and what could be achievable together as the united country. As a result, the Kachin Independence Organization ( KIO ), for example, led by highly educated and experienced Kachin patriots returned to the legal fold to enter into an intensive rehabilitation and development programme for their scenic and resourceful State with massive cooperative assistance from the central government. But so far the KNU, after several rounds of peace talks, kept rejecting the very terms that the other 15 groups had found acceptable. The loyal Kayin majority of Myanmar and even the grass roots KNU supporters in remote jungles have become disappointed and severely disillusioned since every evidence indicates that other newly peaceful states are beginning to enjoy increasing prosperity that came with the peace. The KNU leadership, however, has kept on blatantly ignoring the will of the majority, hanging on to the false and fragile promises of foreign based special-interest groups and the vestiges of colonialism old and new. All ASEAN governments, and most of all, the Thai government clearly knows the realities of the KNU problem and are ever more convinced that the future of the KNU lies with other nationalities within the Union of Myanmar. Further terms on autonomy, if so desired by the KNU, many only be sought by democratic constitutional means within the national convention represented by all other national races and political parties ( except the National League for Democracy that walked out soon after their General-Secretary resumed her position in 1995), without infringing on the integrity of the Union. It is most likely, that the problem of so-called refugees ( actually temporarily displaced persons ) in Thailand, the skirmishes of the KNU with the government security forces, and with its own breakaway groups such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization ( DKBO ) and even further splits among its own ranks will be automatically resolved if the KNU, as the last remaining group, would also see the light like other former insurgencies did. The details of the events concerning the " Karens " as reported in the western media have been conflicting, confusing and could well be mind boggling to the readers. But there is no doubt that much of the KNU soldiers, have already returned to trade-arms-for-peace, as most of the other insurgent groups have done. The discontented KNU foot soldiers have also begun to recapitulate on thier long and costly " unwinnable war " against successive central governments and are breaking away, leaving the KNU leadership in limbo. With a notorious history of having formed alliances-of-convenience, even with the Burma Communist Party at one time, the KNU leadership has now decided to hide under the cloak of democratic and quasi-religious movements and is now intensely seeking international attention and sympathy. Bo Mya, the hard liner, and his foreign supporters, if they sincerely care about the plight of the KNU families, should now abandon their positions and make way in favour of the more pragmatic and flexible leadership of the KNU who may resume negotiations for peace and rejoin the majority. It is also time for the western media to stop politicizing what has been basically and essentially a "family" affair - a family divided by legacies of colnialism for half a century but finally on the verge of realizing the "people's dream " of being one race, one people and one nation again - in time to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of the Union of Myanmar. After all, "Peace may not be everything - but without peace, everything is nothing !" ********************************************** KNU: RESPONSE FROM THE KNU NEWS, INFORMATION AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT TO "THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR IN OTTAWA" June 8, 1997 From: Simon_Po@sala.icn.net (Simon Po) OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADAUARTERS KAREN NATIONAL UNION, KAW THOO LEI With reference to "The View from the Embassy of Myanmar in Ottawa" dated May 29,1997, the Karen National Union, the political wing of Karen resistance in Burma, and its News, Information and Research Department have to say that the "View" is a standard propaganda that has been used by the racist chauvinist military regime in Rangoon, the so- called State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In a brief response to this, we would like to begin by saying that like all the propaganda of the SLORC and the racist chauvinist regime before it, the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) regime, it is a mixture of a few facts with a great deal of fiction and misleading half truths. The reality is that the Karen population outside of the present Karen State, which was created in 1945, is not less than 6 million. The majority of them live in Inter-mingled patterns with other peoples, such as Baik-tha, Ta-weh-tha, Mon, Burman, Karenni and Shan, in the Tanessarim Division, Irrawaddy Division, Pegu Division, the Mon State, Karenni Land (Kayah State) and the Shan state. The Karen population in the Karen State itself is barely a million. A large section of the Karen people aspires to nationhood. The Karen in the Irrawaddy and Pegu Division were brutally subjugated by the BSPP regime, with military operations from 1964 to 1975, in a similar manner as the ongoing offensive against the KNU and the Kaen civilians. However Karen as people, have never lost their sense of ethnic identity, wherever they are, even though they have to live coweringly under the repressive rule of SLORC military regime. They look up to the KNU as the organization truly representative of their free will and aspirations. The persecution the Karen and other ethnic nationalities by the militant section of the Burman dated far back to the days of Burman feudalism. The British colonialists did not have to formulate any divide-and-rule policy. They just maintained the ethinic divisions that had already been there because of persecutrion or misrule. In fact, the British incorporated the free territories of the ethnic peoples into their British-Burma and placed them under a similar system of administration and created a semblance of one nation state out of their new possesssions. The initial Burma as the British found it at the time of their annexation in 1885, was a little more than part of the Irrawaddy valley and Sittang valley. At the time of the country's independence from Britain in 1948, the political power passed into the hands of the ethnic Burman majority. Had not Gen. Aung San, an ethnic Burman and regarded as the father of Burma's independence, who had a deep insight of the ethnic problems and with a strong attitude of compromise and flexibility with regard to the questions of non-Burman ethnic nationalities, been assassinated , the situation could have been completely different. U Nu who inherited power, was weak-willed and a little more than a figurehead. The actual power soon passed into the hands of arch racist chauvinists and militants like Gen. Ne Win and his cohorts. Using the Burma Army as his power base, Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962. His policy towards the non-Burman nationalities was simple and clear. It was forced assimilation through total subjugation and annihilation, to set up the 4th Burman Empire. The problem of racist chauvinists is their blind faith in the Burman history written by court historians who described the power and grandeur of Burman kings in glowing terms. The propaganda churned out during the anti-colonialist period further enhanced the feeling of racial superiority of the Burman patriots with limited education or insight. Karen rebellion started in January 1949, in self-defence and in reaction to attacks from the pocket army of Gen. Ne Win, known as Burma Territorial Force, on Karen villages and populations in Tanessarim, the Irrawaddy delta and Insein town. The Karen had legitimate fear of total annihilation or wholesale subjugation and enslavement as a result of horrible experience of atrocities at the hands of the Burma Independence Army. There was not a word of compromise either from U Nu or other Burman leaders at peace negotiations. Negotiations broke down because of the insistence on total surrender by the other side. The Karen sees it as the hungry tiger asking the deer to shed its antlers for peace. The SLORC military junta has nothing different to offer. On the other hand, it is more savage, ignorant and more deeply influenced by terrorism, militarism and what we called racial chauvinism. The KNU knows that the majority of Burman is peace loving, tolerant and humane. That is why it has no problem cooperating with the pro-democracy forces, which are overwhelmingly Burman, ethnically speaking. The KNU advocates genuine federalism and democracy, with multi ethnicity similar to that of the Swiss federation, rather than irrational fear, war, subjugation and separatism. The Karen resistance has an armed wing organized out of the Karen civilians specifically for self-defense against the SLORC's troops, which have been raining death and destruction upon the innocent Karen, indiscriminately. The Karen are being widely persecuted by the SLORC on political, ethnic and, in some cases, on religious grounds and, as a result, they have to bear the atrocities and oppression more than the other grups opposing the SLORC. The armed resistance of the Karen people is not to gain political power or to retain it. That is why the KNU regards the SLORC's demand on it to renounce the "armed revolutionary program" as irrelevant and even ludicrous. The cease-fire agreements the SLORC has reached with the16 groups, being a trick, are tenuous and will have no lasting effect on peace. Of the 15, only the KIO and the Mon can be said of having some political and ethnic orientation. The rest, except the Wa, are small in size and with hardly any political conviction. They are groups that have been in opium culture and trade together with the BSPP, previously, and the SLORC, at the present. It is said that the KIO agreed to the cease-fire under the Chinese pressure and guarantee, and it has never accepted the legal-fold condition. The trick of the SLORC is to reach cease-fire agreements with as many groups quickly so as to crush the KNU with its overwhelming military might and then crush the other smaller groups one by one, subsequently. The so-called "national convention" touted by the SLORC is a sham body stacked with SLORC's handpicked delegates. It is said that 80% of the delegates of the convention are from the pro-SLORC organizations or groups under the total control of the SLORC. Judging by the principles for the "future state constitution" it has laid down, there is not a whit of doubt that the convention is a device strictly controlled by SLORC for the perpetuation of military dictatorship. The SLORC propaganda would have us believe that the civil war and the social instability in the country are a family problem. The death of probably more than a million Karen caused directly by the civil war, in nearly half a century of resistance, the shooting to death of thousands of demonstrators in pro-democracy movements since Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962, the flight of thousands of refugees into Bengladesh and Thailand on account of persecution, the exodus of thousands working as illegal immigrants because of extortion and slave labor by the SLORC troops, the severe oppression of legitimate political parties and etc. have caused a serious concern for the International Community. It is true that the civil war in Burma has greatly stifled the economic development of the country. The successive regimes, since the time of independence, has to allocate an ever larger amount of the state budget for terrorizing and the killing of innocent civilians, the destruction of villages and the livelihood of the villagers. The SLORC is said to be spending more than 60% of the country's budget on its war effort and its effort to keep the civil population under control. The contry is now in such a state that billions of dollars and at least one or two decades of hard labor would be necessary ofr the rehabilitation and development of the country so as to make it reach the stage where it can stant on its own two feet. By coddling with and being subservient to militant China, the SLORC has dangerously disturbed the traditional balance of power in the region. That is why, the KNU has been carnestly calling for the resolution of the political problems, that has been the underlying causes of the civil war and instability in Burma, by political means. In other words the KNU is convinced that it is urgently necessary to resolve the problems of the country, by peaceful means through dialouge, for genuine and lasting peace with the participation of the three main groups, namely, the ethnic nationalities, the pro-democracy forces and the SLORC. In the present situation, there is no other means but this three-way or tripartite dialogue, as called for by the United Nations as well, which can realistically find a comprehensive and permanent solutions to the problems of the country. KNU and KNU News, Information and Research Department. June 7, 1997. **************************************** ASIAWEEK: AND THEN THERE WERE TEN June 13, 1997 (abridged) In July, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos will join ASEAN. Are they ready? By Robin Ajello and Roger Mitton / Kuala Lumpur MYANMAR'S MILITARY JUNTA IS acting downright charitable these days. Having jailed scores of opposition politicians in recent weeks, the State Law & Order Restoration Council has magnanimously let many of them go. The regime can afford to be nice for a change. Next month, the so-called CLM nations --Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- will sign up for the region's most exclusive club, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is also worth remembering that when Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Indonesia set up ASEAN in 1967, Southeast Asia was divided into two Cold War blocs: communist Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, versus the other essentially pro-Western nations (apart from non-aligned Burma). ASEAN was formed to promote regional peace and prosperity, but also it was a bulwark thrown up against the Soviet "dominoes." Until the Cold War ended, the main fear was that the CLM nations would fall permanently under the sway of the Soviet Union. Today, the fear is of Chinese hegemony. Vietnam was accepted in part to provide a buffer against the People's Republic. The decision to admit Myanmar was partly an effort to keep the resource-rich nation out of the Chinese orbit. That may explain why U.S. officials did not act especially perturbed when ASEAN announced its decision on Myanmar, despite Washington's anti-SLORC rhetoric. With Myanmar inside the tent, free-trade policies will continue in Yangon, and gradually ASEAN's influence will start to kick in. At least that is the theory. Another one is that military ties will strengthen between Myanmar and the rest of ASEAN (and the West by extension). This is considered a good thing because SLORC has been buying truckloads of Chinese arms. Not that the junta will cut its links to old friend Beijing anytime soon, if ever. "There is also the fear Myanmar and Cambodia will fall into Thailand's sphere of influence," says Filipino political scientist Carolina Hernandez. Indeed, ever since Thai ex-PM Chatichai Choonhavan talked about turning battlefields into a marketplace, there have been persistent worries that Bangkok hopes to dominate Indochina and turn it into a "baht bloc." As for Laos, it is practically a Thai province already. ASEAN may dilute Thai influence. So while the ASEAN leaders publicly congratulate each other for expanding their regional clout, privately they know that the bigger the organization the messier it can get. The first casualty may be ASEAN's much-hyped consensus. A Jakarta official believes "a six-four split" may emerge between old and new members. The first test for the new ASEAN will be how it deals with the SLORC conundrum. It is notable that the new members will not be paired with ASEAN dialogue partners, which include Western nations. Moreover, the existing members have ensured that it will be at least nine years before Yangon hosts a meeting attended by Western powers. Still, North American and European officials will come face-to-face with a Myanmar delegation in KL next month. Says a Western diplomat: "They may have to give up the traditional golf games after the meetings because most of the dialogue partners won't play with SLORC generals." The fact is, few ASEAN leaders have much time for the SLORC men either. Nor are they completely immune to the West's stated views on the regime. Behind the scenes more is going on than is immediately apparent. Consider Mahathir's quiet approach to SLORC. He sent trusted chum, tycoon Ananda Krishnan, to Yangon to try to talk sense to leader Khin Nyunt. Ananda told him there would be less rancor about joining ASEAN if his regime made a show of talking to Suu Kyi or appeared less repressive. It didn't work, but such efforts may continue. "We know we are going to get clobbered by the international media," says Jakarta strategist Jusuf Wanandi. "We think it is worth it because it is easier to deal with them if they're inside." That said, it would be naive to expect ASEAN to wield much more influence over Myanmar. Many members are in no position to do so. This is especially true of the Indonesians, who will be wary of interfering, says activist Chandra Muzaffar because they "don't want people to say things about East Timor and so on." ********************************************* THE WASHINGTON POST: THE OTHER LOST WORLD June 5, 1997 By R. Jeffrey Smith RANGOON -- The peeling paint and crumbling facade of the main ticket office of Myanma Airways did not keep me from buying a plane ticket. Nor did the pile of soot and debris on the front steps or the missing ceiling light bulbs inside. It was instead the sudden appearance of a large rat scurrying behind the dusty wooden counter, beneath the feet of two employees who remained completely unperturbed. No computers were in evidence in the dim office, and the flight schedule and names of passengers on the airline's half-dozen turboprops were recorded only in script on a thick sheaf of tattered paper an agent had crammed onto a clipboard. The promotional message of the Burmese national airline seemed clear: Take the train, or don't travel. Providing meaningful, modern service remains a foreign concept to Myanma Airlines and to many other state-owned companies in this unusual country, which is run by a 21-member committee of generals who won their positions by demonstrating military prowess rather than management skills. Electrical power is erratic, the telephone lines crackle and ownership of computers, printing machines, video recorders and faxes is all tightly controlled by the government. Many other curiosities here point up the nation's longstanding political and economic isolation, which stems from widespread disapproval of the military regime's notorious abuses of human rights -- including its imprisonment of hundreds of dissidents -- and its refusal to recognize a 1990 election won by a pro-democracy opposition party led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The consequence is that visiting this country is a bit like entering a time machine and turning the dial back about four decades, to an era with few conveniences or consumer goods, no efficient modes of transportation and communication, no substantial domestic manufacturing industry and no appreciable tourism. The nation's 45 million citizens -- roughly the population of California and Florida combined -- function on a unique Burma Standard Time, a half- hour behind neighboring Thailand and an hour and a half behind Singapore, two of Burma's largest trading partners. Due to the nation's many economic deprivations, the Burmese currency, known as the kyat, is virtually worthless outside the country. Even Thai banks will not routinely accept it. Clothing fashions also set Burma apart. Virtually all men in Burma wear longyis, an ankle-length sarong that began to lose favor in neighboring nations around the turn of the century. Many women in Burma, lacking access to modern sunscreens or cosmetics, paint the cheeks on their faces with a milky paste produced by grinding the bark of a native tree, the thanaka. Most automobiles here have their steering wheels on the right, as a legacy of British colonialism and the nation's contemporary trade with Japan. But since the 1970s, all cars have been driven on the right side of the road, greatly hampering visibility and bringing extra drama to trips on the nation's narrow, pothole-strewn highways. (A soothsayer supposedly urged the lane change on the military's superstitious leadership.) Residents report that the gasoline available here is so poorly refined that auto engines must undergo major repairs every six months or so. Public transportation consists largely of pickup trucks that roam the streets with someone standing on the back calling out a destination. A common mode of local transportation is the trishaw, a bicycle hitched to a sidecar with seats facing in both directions; a 30-minute trip can be purchased for around a dollar. An overnight ride aboard the "express" train between Mandalay, the nation's second-largest city, and Rangoon affords all the comforts of a 13- hour nonstop stint on a trampoline, with a malfunctioning air conditioner and bedbugs to provide additional assurance that sleep remains elusive. The nation's acute shortage of foreign currency is demonstrated by the dual fare structure for Burmese citizens and tourists; the former are charged around $5 while foreigners are assessed 10 times as much for the same experience. The trip makes clear that outside the country's few urban centers, life appears unchanged in many respects from what it was a century or more ago. Small groupings of thatched-roof huts dot the landscape, with no sign of plumbing and no electricity beyond a single light bulb or two. The average per capita income of Burma's citizenry is in fact $100, making it one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the United Nations, which provides the only significant humanitarian aid in Burma, three out of four children do not complete primary school, 50 percent of the rural population has no access to safe water, malaria is "rampant and is the single leading killer" and HIV is spreading at an explosive rate. Burma, said one recent report, has an "increasing rural population of landless agricultural workers who depend on already depleted forests to supplement wages from casual labor." Here in Rangoon, the steaming sidewalks are thronged with hawkers selling tea, ice drinks, noodles, fruit, fabrics, jade, cassette tapes and wood objects, but so few tourists come here to buy anything that anyone in Western dress is regarded as a conversation-stopping curiosity. A handful of new 10- or 12-story buildings tower above crumbling colonial-era flats with red tin roofs and peeling blue or tan paint. But the economic engine behind much of the capital's new construction is widely said to be the thriving drug trade in northern Burma -- home to the world's chief supply of heroin. As one Western diplomat said, "No self- respecting narcotics trafficker would be without a hotel in this town." The government made laundering easy by formally deciding a few years ago to ask no questions about the origin of funds used in real estate investments. The free flow of information is obviously seen by the military junta as a threat to its already-tenuous grip on the nation's citizenry, not a vital lubricant of educational and economic progress. So bookstores here have few original volumes and mostly lend, rather than sell, rudimentary photocopies of state-approved literature. The sole newspaper available in English is the New Light of Myanmar, which devotes page after mind- numbing page to denouncing Aung San Suu Kyi and the United States. (Myanmar is the name the junta gave the country in 1989.) "She has devoted her life and body to a englishman of colonial race and is making efforts to lose back Myanma's independence," reads a typically awkward passage, referring to Suu Kyi's marriage to an Oxford educator. Another Stalinesque article lists four tenets of the "People's Desire" as seen by the junta, including: "Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges. . . . Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy." The evening television news is no more informative, delivered as it is by a state functionary who stares blankly at the camera and speaks in a monotone. A typical segment consists of a lengthy video of military leaders handing offerings to monks at a pagoda or greeting workers at some new municipal facility, while a narrator lets viewers know that the generals "inspected . . . and gave appropriate instructions." Although the official propaganda is relentless, Burma's citizenry appears remarkably unaffected by it. There is no cult of personality surrounding the generals of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), as the junta calls itself -- as there is surrounding the authoritarian leadership of North Korea. Instead, many citizens privately laugh at the official media and praise Suu Kyi once they are confident no one is eavesdropping. Vendors at various state-owned tourist attractions sometimes waive fees if tourists say they don't want to feed money into SLORC's coffers. If a visitor says he is from America, the reaction is often a smile and occasionally a few brief words of praise for Washington's confrontational approach to the Burmese leadership, including the administration's ban last month on most new U.S. investments here. Even American movies are popular -- "Independence Day" has been showing for months in a downtown theater. Crime at least is not a worry for travelers here. "There's no danger to foreigners in Burma, just to citizens," is how one resident described the atmosphere. As he spoke, several men with short haircuts -- evidently plain-clothes military intelligence agents -- edged closer and fixed us with hard, intimidating stares. Repression is the one occupation the junta clearly appears to have mastered. ************************************** NATION: ACADEMICS, NGOS CRITICISE POLICY ON BURMA June 11, 1997 YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK THAILAND's foreign policy towards Burma came under fire from Thai academics and non-government organisations (NGOs) yesterday for seeking to exploit its neighbour's economic potential while ignoring the lack of its political, social and human rights developments. They urged policymakers to review their stand on Burma and consider all aspects of the situation there. Public input on policies towards Burma should be allowed in view of the country's approach towards its Western neighbours, they said. However, the Thai side defended current policy, arguing that it is well-formulated and implemented on the basis of Thailand's national interests and security concerns. Deputy Army chief of staff Lt Gen Chokechai Hongthong and National Security Council chief Gen Boonsak Kamhaengrittirong said the Army's consistent engagement and close relations with the Burmese generals had earned the junta's trust in the Thai Army and had helped resolve mutual border problems, such as territorial claims, refugee issues and the illicit drug trade. During his term as defence minister, Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yonghchaiyudh was the first to lift international sanctions on Burma. The critics countered that Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) is more comfortable dealing with their Thai military counterparts than the Thai government, the make up of which is inconsistent. These two contrasting views were prominent throughout a lively one-day seminar on "Thai-Burmese Relations in the 21st Century" held yesterday. It was the first seminar organised by the House Foreign Affairs Committee's subcommittee on Thai-Burmese relations in the next century. The seven-member sub-committee, led by Democrat MP MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, plans to submit its report to the government for future use in formulating Thailand's policy towards Burma. Sujit Boonbongkarn, dean of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Sciences, said fellow academics from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) think that Burma's admission will weaken the economic grouping's credibility. With Burma on board, Asean's relations with its dialogue partners would be jeopardised when both sides meet during annual Asean regional forums and post ministerial meetings. Sujit said a bigger Asean, with 10 members, does not necessarily mean a better Asean, as it will be harder to reach a consensus on important issues affecting each country's national interests. Both Sujit and fellow Chulalongkorn University academic Gothom Arya, representing local human rights' group Forum Asia, were sceptical that Burma's admission would help overcome bilateral problems with Thailand. They said that apart from military relations, there is a need to promote contacts and ties in other areas of Thai and Burmese society including academics, religious figures, cultural troupes, social workers and the people. Invited to discuss the impression created abroad by Thailand's policy on Burma, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Surapong Javanama said the international community is disappointed as Thailand's support for Burma's admission was based purely on economic concerns and neglected the country's democratic progress. Surapong said the rest of the world is also sceptical of Asean is argument that membership would help bring about political and human rights improvements in Burma, saying Slorc has, over the past five to six years, refused to introduce any democratic reforms or engage the democratic opposition in dialogue for the sake of national reconciliation. He added that in a broader perspective, having Burma in Asean does not help to resolve pending Thai-Burmese bilateral problems and on the contrary, Thailand's bargaining power will be further weakened. According to Charnvit Kasetsiri of Thammasat University's Faculty of Arts, political turmoil and human rights abuses in Burma have caused a massive influx of refugees into Thailand. Thailand will, in the long run, have to shoulder "a heavy social cost" creating "an explosive problem" as the illegal immigrants pose greater social and health-care burdens to the country, he said. ***************************************************************** NATION: NO AUTOMATIC ENTRY FOR ASEAN MEMBERS IN ASEM June 11, 1997 (slightly abridged) THE European Union (EU) has informed Thailand that any new members to either the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) or the EU would not get an automatic right to join the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) to be held in England in April next year, a Foreign Ministry official said. Apinan Pavanarit, director general of the European Affairs Department, said the message was conveyed during the fourth meeting of senior officials from the Thai-European Commission. "On the question of new membership, the European Commission indicated that the EU has not yet reached a common stand on this issue. As regards the modalities, however, there would be a consensus on the 'double-key approach' and membership would not be automatic," Apinan said. The double-key approach means that any new member would have to be approved by both regions. Asem comprises the seven Asean countries plus China, Korea and Japan, as well as 15 EU members, he said. Meanwhile, the Student Federation of Thailand has urged the government to reconsider its support of Burma's entry into Asean, saying the country should achieve democracy through dialogue with opposition parties and hold new elections before membership is accorded. The group's secretary-general, Suriyant Thongnu-iard, said a three-point letter submitted to the government yesterday questioned Asean's May 31 decision to admit Burma together with Laos and Cambodia this July. He said the group strongly opposes the decision due to the Rangoon military junta's brutal acts against democratic forces and its continued human rights violations. The students also urged the government to review its constructive engagement policy with Burma, Suriyant said. The federation feels the policy condones the economic exploitation of Burma and exacerbates Rangoon's human rights violations and use of violence to crush the democratic movement, he said. The letter further entreated all Asean governments to push for a dialogue between the ruling Slorc and the National League for Democracy (NLD) - led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi - and armed ethnic insurgency groups. It also stressed the need for elections as soon as possible. "Only then will Burma's admission into Asean be legitimate and widely accepted," the letter stated. *********************************************************** NATION: BURMA FORMALLY TOLD OF ADMITTANCE TO GROUPING June 11, 1997 REUTER RANGOON - Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrived yesterday to formally notify Burma of its admission next month into the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean), government officials said. Badawi, accompanied by Asean Secretary-General Ajit Singh, was scheduled to meet senior Burmese military government leaders late yesterday. ******************************************************** NLD-LA (YOUTH): STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF U TIN SHWE June 10, 1997 From: kyaw@ksc15.th.com U Tin Shwe (Monywa), a 67-year-old, member of Central Committee of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and In-charge of Mandalay Division of Organizing Committee of the NLD, had been imprisoned by military government since 1990, died of heart disease at Rangoon General Hospital on June 8, (Sunday) 1997. After the SLORC tookover power in 1988, U Tin Shwe (Also known as Monwya Tin Shwe) was among the members of NLD professional group led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as one of the founding members of the NLD. He was arrested in 1990 for allegedly attending a secret meeting in Mandalay aiming to form the parallel government and persuading others to attend. He was a member of Central Committee of NLD and In-charge of Mandalay Division Organizing Committee of NLD when he was arrested. Early this year, U Hla Than, an elected NLD's MP from Coco Island constituency of heart disease due to the insufficient medical care during his long imprisonment. These untimely deaths of the political prisoners raise that the lives of the remaining prisoiners under SLORC's detention must be concerned. News & Informmation Department National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (Youth) ************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: BURMA SEEN AS ESSENTIAL LINK IN NEW ECONOMIC GROUPING June 8, 1997 Subslug: Report by Thanatchaporn Kunarangsi and Rutchanee Uerpairojkit Bangkok--A new regional economic grouping was launched last Friday to boost trade and investment between South and Southeast Asia. Ministers from the Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIST-EC) group signed a declaration in Bangkok which will extend existing regional links and organizations in the South Asia region. The new body, encouraged by regional visits from Deputy Foreign Minister Pitak Intrawityanunt, aims to encourage economic ties with other regional groups such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). As director-general on Economic Affairs, Kobsak Chutikul said BIST-EC would grant Burma an observer status, and added that he was confident Rangoon would be admitted as a full member at the expected ministerial meeting next year. "The South Asian sub-region is considered a blind-spot which is constantly neglected by the outside world," Kobsak said, adding that Thailand endeavors to boost trade and investment with the other countries located along the Bay of Bengal. He added that Burma which separates Thailand and the Indian subcontinent would be an important member of BIST-EC in providing a landlink between the two subregions in terms of trade and transport cooperation. "Burma is the link that we cannot afford to overlook, irrespective of what their human rights track record is," said the director-general, adding that the Asian Highway Number One will link Thailand's Laem Chabang Industrial Estate to Tak's Mae Sot district all the way to Burma and the South Asia region. When Burma is granted membership, the group may call itself BIMSTEC or Pancha-Paki. However, the group will most likely name itself the Economic Community of Southern Asia (ACSA) or the Bay of Bengal Economic Community (BBEC), which will later include other countries situated in the Bay of Bengal such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Thai Ambassador to Bangladesh Sunthorn Vidhyameth said that Thailand's "Look-West" policy and the confluence of India and Sri Lanka's "Look-East" policy will have a positive pull on investors who are keen to exploit the region's rich natural, resources which include natural gas, oil, coal and marine resources. "Thai businessmen have to forge closer cultural and economic ties with the region if we are to expand our business opportunities," said Sunthorn, adding that infrastructure is still undeveloped in the region, but will be developed through investment projects guided by BIST-EC. India's Minister of State Saleem Iqbal Shervani remarked that he wanted to consolidate the BIST-EC declaration by boosting inter- regional tourism by setting up a "BISTEC airline." He said, for example, that tourists could be transported to famous religious pilgrimage sites by national carriers of member countries. Meanwhile Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister D P Wickremasinghe said tourism will attract infrastructure development, adding that over time other sectors will expand regionally in the field of transport, industry, agriculture, and human resources. **************************************************************