------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: June 13, 1997 Issue #748 Noted in Passing: By the time they reached the border at least 100 of the porters had died from malaria, exhaustion, and starvation. - 1 of 500 conscripted porters who escaped to Thailand (THAILAND TIMES: THE OTHER LOST WORLD) HEADLINES: ========== THAILAND TIMES: THAI ARMY CONFIRMS BURMA EMPLOYS ABSDF: SLORC TROOPS RAPE FEMALE KAREN PORTERS REUTER: JAPAN ENVOY TO CONVEY AID CONDITIONS TO BURMA NLD(LA)-AUSTRALIA: MONYWA TIN SHWE (1930-1997) NATION: LOOKING AT SECURITY REALISTICALLY THAILAND TIMES: TWO CHILDREN HURT IN DKBA SNEAK ATTACK BKK POST: PANEL REFUSES TO PUBLICISE GAS CONTRACT THAILAND TIMES: BURMA IGNORES THAI OBJECTIONS, BUILDS BLOOMBERG: SEMEN CIBINONG TAKES STAKE IN MYANMAR PLANT BKK POST: THAILAND EYES BURMESE PORTS NLM: SUU KYI, CLINTON BLEMISH BILATERAL TIES BKK POST: BURMA'S ENTRY TO ASEAN "IS OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE" ALT-ASEAN: BURMA WOMEN'S DAY ANNOUNCEMENT: PROTEST/VIGIL IN PA AT INTERDIGITAL ON JUNE 20TH ----------------------------------------------------------------- THAILAND TIMES: THAI ARMY CONFIRMS BURMA EMPLOYS FORCED LABOR June 12, 1997 by Khachorn Boonpat MAE HONG SON: The Burmese army has forced about 500 villagers to work as porters in order to make heavy reinforcements to their troops along the Thai-Burmese border, a Thai border official said yesterday. The official, who requested anonymity, said three of the young villagers fled into Pangmoo village in Mae Hong Son's Muang district yesterday to escape the suffering which the Burmese troops had made them endure. The three escapees informed the authorities that the Burmese army has deployed heavily-armed troops from four battalions close to Thai soil, and are now not far from Pangmoo village, he said. Soe Tarn, 18, from Sitwe in Arakan State, told the authorities that he had escaped from a living hell. He said he was rounded up in late April while he was asleep and forced to work alongside 500 others, most of whom came from Mandalay and Arakan states. The group started their arduous journey from Doikor township near the Salawin River, from where they were made to carry 40 truck-loads of heavy weaponry, he said. Soe said that by the time they reached the border at least 100 of the porters had died from malaria, exhaustion, and starvation. The porters were fed on nothing but a handful of rice and green bananas and were brutally beaten if the soldiers felt their work was not up to scratch, he said. Thai border sources meanwhile, were divided over why the reinforcements had been made. Officers from the Army's Intelligence Unit downplayed the significance of the troop movements, saying' the troops were being deployed to defend the Burmese base at Ho Mong township. ***************************************************** ABSDF: SLORC TROOPS RAPE FEMALE KAREN PORTERS June 12, 1997 lurie@mozart.inet.co.th Karen women who were forcibly conscripted as porters by the Burmese Army have been raped by officers during the military operation against the Karen National Union (KNU). A porter, who escaped from the KNU's 4th Brigade to the Thai-Burma border, has told the ABSDF that SLORC troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 431, based at Kaw Thaung in Tenasserim Division, raped a young Karen woman when they arrived at Pyatha Chaung village in the Karen area. Myint Lwin, a 24 year old from Nat Seik village in Laung Lon Township, told the ABSDF he was in Pyatha Chaung at the time of the crime, and was taken by the army as a porter. The rape occurred when the Burmese Army launched its offensive, code-named 'Operation Thura', against the KNU's 4th Brigade which began when the 4th cease-fire talks broke down. Six young Karen women porters were also raped by army officers from LIB 431 and Infantry Battalion 104. On February 16 the SLORC soldiers drafted 30 villagers from Pyatha Chaung as porters, 25 of whom were women, following a clash with KNU troops near the village. The porters were ordered to carry the soldiers' back-packs, and the women had to wash the soldiers' clothes and cook for them during the fighting and marching. SLORC troops also drafted another batch of porters between Pyatha Chaung and Phaung Daw, comprising 10 women and a 60 year old Karen man. The offensive against the KNU began in February this year following the breakdown of cease-fire talks on November 23 1996. The SLORC Secretary-1, Lt. General Tin Oo. has directed the operations and the offensive against the KNU's 4th Brigade has involved 3,500 SLORC troops from 17 regiments under the control of Division 55. Throughout the offensive, the SLORC has used more than 4,000 porters, 600 of whom are prisoners. The offensive has also resulted in the influx of thousands of refugees into Thailand. All Burma Students Democratic Front For more information please call 01 654 4984. *********************************************** REUTER: JAPAN ENVOY TO CONVEY AID CONDITIONS TO BURMA June 12, 1997 RANGOON, June 12 (Reuter) - A visiting Japanese envoy will remind Burma that normalising aid flows will depend on the military government's easing of restrictions on opposition activities in the country, a Japanese diplomat said on Thursday. Japan's ambassador to Rangoon, Yoichi Yamaguchi, said envoy Hiroshi Hirabayashi would convey Tokyo's position on aid when he meets Secretary One of Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, later on Thursday. Political analysts said Hirabayashi's visit might help improve Burmese-Japanese ties, which have been strained since Tokyo froze all aid except debt relief grants to Burma after the military crushed pro-democracy protests in 1988. Yamaguchi said Hirabayashi, Japan's cabinet chief councillor for external affairs, would also discuss Burma's pending membership in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in late July. ``Aid resumption will go ahead in conformity with the development of the democratisation process,'' he told Reuters. Hirabayashi met Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw on Thursday after arriving on Wednesday for a three-day visit. Japan has long urged the SLORC to engage in dialogue with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The military government has kept a tight lid on the party's activities. Burmese analysts said the SLORC showed no sign of budging from its policy of not negotiating with the NLD while it was led by Suu Kyi. The party won a landslide election victory in 1990 but SLORC refused to recognise the result. ``Nothing and nobody can force the SLORC to sit at the negotiating table with the NLD if it is led by Suu Kyi,'' one analyst said. ``If Suu Kyi is not included, it may be another case. Holding dialogue with the NLD without Suu Kyi might be acceptable to SLORC but it is something the NLD won't do.'' The analyst said Rangoon would express its appreciation that Japan had not followed the United States in imposing economic sanctions on the country. Washington, citing ``severe repression'' in Burma, imposed the sanctions last month over the SLORC's human rights record and treatment of democracy activists. ^REUTER@ ******************************************************** NLD(LA)-AUSTRALIA: MONYWA TIN SHWE (1930-1997) June 12, 1997 >From ricchie@netspace.net.au He was born on 17th of April 1930 in Monywa city, Burma. Parents are U Ba Po and Daw Thaung Yin. During 1952-1960,he actively involved in Student's Union movements in Rangoon and Mandalay universities. Later, he earned a living as author and lawyer. At the height of pro-democracy nation wide uprising in 1988, he served as a chairman of general strike committee in Insein township, Rangoon. He also served as a vice-chairman of lawyer association. He was one of the founding members and served as member of central committee of National League for Democracy.As his main political task, he worked as N.L.D division organizer in Mandalay. He was then arrested in November,1990 by the brutal S.L.O.R.C regime and sentenced to eight years imprisonment by military tribunal on the 5th of February 1991. Furthermore,the imprisonment was extended to eighteen years within a few months. In April 1997,while he was suffered from server sickness in prison he was refused to take proper medical treatment by the S.L.O.R.C regime. On 8th of Jun 1997, he sacrificed his life for his beloved people of Burma at 1:30 PM Rangoon time. The prison authorities sent him to Rangoon General Hospital just three hours before he died. At the age of 67, he left three sons and wife Daw Myat Thu when he died. His body was buried at North Okalapa cemetery on 12th of Jun 1997. Distributed by N.L.D(L.A)Australia. This information is authorized by Ko Ba Hein Shwe, son of Monywa Tin Shwe. *********************************************************** NATION: LOOKING AT SECURITY REALISTICALLY June 12, 1997 (excerpts) KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN During the next decade, the military may not encounter any threats from major powers but lingering regional disputes will continue to be a thorn in its side. Due to unclear border demarcations and maritime boundary problems, tensions with neighbouring states abound. Employing diplomatic measures, not military might, to settle these differences is the only way the country will be able to influence, and even deflect, interference from major powers in border disputes. A total of 140 Defence Ministry experts recently contributed their analyses of Thailand's future defence and security needs to a special report completed in April entitled "Vision 2030". The report details the military's vision in seven areas: politics, economics, society and culture, defence, science and energy, technology, quality of life and the environment. The views on defence and security are the most interesting. As far as key countries that are expected to have a direct bearing on Thailand's future, the US, China, Vietnam and Burma are singled out in the 222-page report. The most extensive section was on the US. The report, commissioned by Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh in March, stressed that the US will continue to maintain its leading role in settling disputes in the region. It was also made clear that Thailand must build up its relations with Burma and help its western neighbour make the transition into Asean member status if it hopes to reduce the present border conflicts. After all, Burma is the country sharing the longest common border with Thailand. By assisting Burma's development, Thailand can demonstrate its sincerity and reduce Rangoon's suspicions of Thailand. Yet the report also predicted that Burma will continue to strengthen its arsenal to suppress minority groups and "to develop and beef-up its armed forces with assistance from China". This means Rangoon's military leaders will be able to maintain their hold on the country and their armies will continue to flaunt their might unabated, despite ongoing demands to return power to the people, which the report labelled as "not unified enough". ***************************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: TWO CHILDREN HURT IN DKBA SNEAK ATTACK June 12, 1997 TAK: Two Karen Thai children were seriously injured when the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops launched a surprise attack in Umphang district near the Thai-Burmese border yesterday, border security sources said. Around 15 fully-armed DKBA soldiers, who were on their way to Mae Chan subdistrict, blocked the house of Cho Chi Po, a Karen Thai villager, and suddenly rained bullets on his house which caught two of his children Piya, 11, and Duangchai, 10. The DKBA troops reportedly came from Burma after separating from 30 other soldiers who launched an offensive in Mo Ko sub-district. The 30 heavily-armed soldiers forced Mo Ni Tu a 27year-old Karen Thai viilager, to lead them to Po Pha Do village which was believed to be a shelter of former Karen National Union (KNU) soldiers led by Gen Bo Mya. The troops withdrew after two hours of heavy fighting against the KNU soldiers and released the captured villager later on. ******************************************************** BKK POST: PANEL REFUSES TO PUBLICISE GAS CONTRACT June 13, 1997 Deal 'too technical for laymen to understand' Chakrit Ridmontri Kanchanaburi The panel assigned to monitor the Yadana gas pipeline refused yesterday to make public the contract between the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and its supplier. The refusal came after the prime minister agreed on Wednesday that opponents should see details of PTT's deal with the exploration consortium in Burma and its own pipeline contractors. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told the opponents to receive copies from the panel at its monthly meeting in Kanchanaburi yesterday. Kwanchai Wasawong, the panel chairman, produced a copy of the contract but refused to let the opponents photocopy it. "You can see the copy here but can't take it for photocopying," he said. "Sorry, I don't mean to look down on you but it is in English with plenty of technical terms, so you may not understand it clearly," said Mr Kwanchai, also the provincial governor. "Although the premier has told us to reveal the contract, any people wishing to see it must be supervised by legal experts and under the consideration of the committee," he said. Terms would be misunderstood if the opponents were allowed to translate it themselves, said Mr Kwanchai, who claimed disclosure would damage relations with Burma and put the PTT at a disadvantage. The meeting became tense when Suchin Hongsawadee, a headman and project supporter, said Gen Chavalit had not said the panel should make the contract public. "We are the majority of Kanchanaburi and we also want to see the copy," he said. "Please allow the meeting to proceed smoothly," he said as groups led by the Kanchanaburi Conservation Club walked out. Phinant Chotirosseranee, leader of the local conservation group, said: "I will tell the prime minister the panel did not follow his instructions unless the governor gives us a copy." The conservation groups want to see the contract to verify claims by the PTT and Korn Dabbaransi, the industry minister, that Burma is entitled to collect a fine of the equivalent of the daily gas delivery if the project is not finished by July next year. They also want authority to ensure the contractors stick to the terms and do not use techniques banned according to the environmental impact assessment. Suwanant Chatiudompunth, senior vice-president of PTT Gas, said the panel was setting up groups to monitor construction, revise the impact assessment and explain the contract to the public. The groups would answer questions raised by conservation groups and NGOs, he said, but construction would proceed as planned. The PTT had agreed to reduce the width of the pipeline route from 20m to 15m, he said, but may have to blast if digging does not work. The impact assessment suggested blasting in sensitive areas be avoided. According to the PTT, 12 percent of the 260km pipeline is finished and will complete the project before June 1998 to take deliveries of gas from Burma's Yadana and Yetagun fields. However, part of the route cuts through 6km of fertile forest in Thong Pha Phum district and several kilometres in Sai Yok National Park and the Forestry Department has yet to give its consent. (BP) ********************************************************** THAILAND TIMES: BURMA IGNORES THAI OBJECTIONS, BUILDS NEW EMBANKMENT June 12, 1997 by Assawin Pinitwong TAK: Burma resumes construction of an embankment in Moei River after completely turning its back to Thai objections which raised the dispute to upper-level talks of the Joint Border Committee (JBC) scheduled for the end of the month. A border source said Burmese authorities continued to force its villagers to build an embankment opposite Ban Huay Muang of Tha Sai Luad sub-district in Tak province after the failure of recent talks on Khok Chang Pheuak islet carried out by the Thai-Burmese Technical Committee. The new embankment which is over 40 meters long is only a kilometer away from the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge. It was widely believed that the construction of the new embankment would lead to Burma's real intention which was to possess the controversial islet in the middle of Moei River since the new wall would change the river' s course resulting in the islet's connection to Burmese territory. Burma's action of building embankments is a gross violation of bilateral agreements which bar the construction of any-permanent structure in the shared waterway. ******************************************************* BLOOMBERG: SEMEN CIBINONG TAKES STAKE IN MYANMAR PLANT June 12, 1997 [JAKARTA] PT Semen Cibinong said it will take a stake in a US$210 million (S$300 million) cement plant in Myanmar that will triple the country's cement output. "The economics are good," said Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the President Director of Semen Cibinong. "I won't say how good, or everyone will go to Myanmar. We were lucky to have been chosen." The plant will be 60 per cent-owned by Semen Cibinong, while its affiliated trading company PT Tirtamas will hold 10 per cent. The company will invest a total of US$105 million in the project. The remaining 30 per cent will be owned by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, which is owned by the government of Myanmar. The plan will make Semen Cibinong one of the largest foreign investors in Myanmar outside of the oil and gas sector, the company said. Semen Cibinong is one of Indonesia's big three cement companies. Its shares fell 25 rupiah to 5,975 rupiah. -- Bloomberg ************************************************* BKK POST: THAILAND EYES BURMESE PORTS June 9, 1997 Nussara Sawatsawang, RatchburiKaren Lowe Plan to develop west cuts time, expense for Europe-bound goods. THAILAND is considering using a Burmese port on the Andaman Sea as an alternative route for Thai goods being shipped to markets in Europe, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Korn Dabbaransi. The ministry is looking at two Burmese ports _Tovay and Bokpyin - and the island of Kawthaung as part of a study due of completion by the end of this year, Mr Korn told a seminar organised by the Ratchaburi Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. Thailand's choice will depend on economic viability and related infrastructure requirements, he said. Burmese authorities had responded positively to the idea and expressed "readiness" to develop the port which Thailand chose, he said. Mr Korn will have further talks with his Burmese counterpart this year. Currently, 75 percent of Thailand's Europe-bound goods go through the Malacca Strait. Shipping the goods through the Andaman Sea would save time and cost, he said. The search for an outlet to the Andaman Sea follows a Thai Government decision to promote social and economic development in six provinces on the Western Seaboard: Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Samut Song Khran, Petchburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan and Chumphon. Mr Korn said Tavoy was accessible through either Kanchanaburi to Ratchaburi. Bokpyin is opposite Prachuab Khiri Khan's Bang Saphan district while Chumphon can link with Burma Kawthaung, or Victoria Point, through Marang town over the Kra River. Two leading Thai firms have already begun looking for outlets in Burma. Sahaviriya, which has steel industry complex and a deep sea port in Bang Saphan, recently signed a deal with the Burmese government to conduct a study for a landbridge to Bokpyin. Ital-Thai Development Plc also plans to build a deep-sea port in Tavoy. Meanwhile, Supoj Phothongkham, Ratchburi's vice governor, called on the government to guild new roads and promote Suan Phung district as a special investment zone. He said Suan Phung had an economic advantage because it was located just 8-kilometres from Tavoy and 170 kilometres from Mergui. "We oppose the idea to have only one route from Kanchanaburi (to Tavoy), which will leave Ratchaburi deserted," he said. (BP) ******************************************************* NLM: SUU KYI, CLINTON BLEMISH BILATERAL TIES June 7, 1997 (New Light of Myanmar) (excerpts) by Kyaw Gaung: "Hegemonism Nearing Downfall" It is now an era when the State Law and Order Restoration Council is writing a new history of Myanmar. -- The history of Myanmar-America ties has been blemished by the imposing of sanctions. -- The faults of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are extremely despicable. -- The voices of Myanmar peoples, blaming and denouncing this act, are loud and vibrant. -- The President Clinton Government's imposing of sanctions was based rather on wish than foresight and reasoning. -- There had not been any movement in the ruling of Na Wa Ta Generals that might have prompted America to impose sanctions. -- There is no more suppression on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. -- Washington's action will affect the policy of ASEAN. -- The United States must be closely watched to consider the question of whether it would impose similar economic sanctions on Indonesia. -- Many nations have blamed and denounced on the America's action. It is now an era when the State Law and Order Restoration Council is writing a new history of Myanmar. It is striving all-out for the multisectoral development of the country. American President Clinton, Secretary of State Albright and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has downgraded herself to a national traitor, have blemished the history of Myanmar-America ties with the imposing of sanctions under the pretext of democracy and human rights. It is blatant of the United States Government to enact a law to unilaterally ban American firms from making new investments in Myanmar. It is found that the bilateral friendly relations have been strained by one state and eight cities in the US with their adherence to the economic sanctions. Certain American politicians have goaded this action which resulted in nothing, without benefiting any of the two countries. Especially, there has been no particular change in Myanmar. Editors and journalists of The Times of India and The Jakarta Post assessed and analysed Myanmar's actual political situation, what the United States did to Myanmar more than enough, action committed without reason in accord with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's intent even though they knew it was illogical, foolishness to impose economic sanctions by the US alone, difficulty for the South-East Asian nations to ignore the US's hegemonistic acts, liability to do the same to Indonesia and Congressman Patrick Kennedy's actions against Indonesia. Far-sighted US political expert Mr Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State Mr Alexander Haig and former Secretary of Treasury Mr Llyod Benson condemned the acts of US President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and they even noted that their actions would have no effect or do no one good. Journalists and political leaders of Asia and South-East Asia are continuously condemning them. The time for the fall of the US's hegemonism is not very far. Many nations are condemning it. ****************************************************** BKK POST: BURMA'S ENTRY TO ASEAN "IS OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE" June 11, 1997 (excerpts) PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO THAILAND H.E. REYNALDO O.ARCILLA "Constructive engagement" was not invented by Asean. Some of those same countries from the West, which now criticise, did it. Their erstwhile advocacy of constructive engagement towards the now-defunct apartheid regime in South Africa is too recent to be overlooked and forgotten. Apartheid was an institutionalised mechanism for the suppression of human rights. It was so abhorrent and repulsive to man's conscience that the international community decided to suspend the racist regime's membership in the United Nations. Certainly, the Myanmar of today cannot possibly be equated with what South Africa was before President Nelson Mandela. Will the admission of Myanmar bring problems to Asean? Maybe, but not in the way envisaged by those who do not agree with Asean's decision. As our Foreign Secretary, Domingo L. Siazon, Jr., said Myanmar, once admitted, will "probably realise there are certain norms that have to be met for a better world reflection of Asean." I strongly disagree with the view that the Philippines' support for Myanmar's admission is inconsistent with our policy and record on human rights. The Philippines continues to adhere to the principle of inviolability of human rights everywhere. We believe, however, that to promote and protect human rights in Myanmar, one must engage and persuade her officials and people, rather than isolate them. Besides, Myanmar's entry is not one-dimensional insofar as Asean is concerned. There are other strategic realities that had to be considered and I believe the wisdom of our decision will be borne out by our perception of those realities. Thailand and the Philippines, as well as other members of Asean, have clearly manifested, with the group's decision, their solidarity and unity in protecting the member countries' strategic interests. It is important to remember that closer integration in Southeast Asia is achievable only through Asean. A larger and stronger Asean is imperative to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region. The voice of 10 countries speaking in unison will definitely be louder and better heard. As the world's only superpower, the United States has a big stake in the region and for her to adopt a policy towards Myanmar that is apparently driven more by domestic considerations than by strategic interests, could be shortsighted. It should be remembered that no less than the American Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and Thailand; as well as former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, have voiced support for the policy of constructive engagement, noting that what is good for China should also work for Myanmar. The Thais and the Filipinos have gone through painful experiences in their quest for democracy. Both, having achieved great strides in this respect, remain vigilant in their efforts to preserve and protect it. Let us hope our citizens will continue to enjoy the fruits of freedom and prosperity as we together traverse the path to closer cooperation. ********************************************************* ALT-ASEAN: BURMA WOMEN'S DAY June 12, 1997 From: altsean@ksc.th.com A. BURMA WOMEN'S DAY UPDATE B. MEDIA RELEASE * Please note that the text of the book "Burma and the Role of Women", published by ABSDF last March can beemailed to you upon request by the ALTSEAN-BURMA Secretariat. You can do something to support Burma Women's Day - some actions may include: 1. Circulating information about Burma Women's Day to as many groups as possible 2. Organising a silent protest of women wearing Suu Kyi masks outside the nearest Burmese Embassy or diplomatic mission - or public space. Ten women in Suu Kyi masks holding up a banner will make an impact. Using that as a backdrop for a reading of Suu Kyi's writings ("Freedom from Fear") woudl be quite dramatic. Try to get media coverage 3. Trying to generate public and media awareness of the situation of women in Burma. 4. Sending a letter/statement to the editor of your favourite publications (be sure to send a copy to burmanet-l@igc.apc.org and free-burma@lists.stdorg.wisc.edu) ________________________________________________________________ For immediate release: June 14th, 1997 MEDIA RELEASE: SILENT PROTEST, RECEPTION TO MARK BURMA WOMEN'S DAY Bangkok: Women's organizations will join forces with Burma activists to organize a silent protest and a reception on Thursday, June 19th to celebrate the first Burma Women's Day. A team of "Aung San Suu Kyis" will gather outside the Burmese Embassy (132 Sathorn Nua Road) at 11 a.m. (1100) in a silent protest against the suppression of women in Burma. They will later adjourn to the Siam City Hotel (Sri Ayutthaya Rd, nr Phyathai Rd) where a reception to launch Burma Women's Day and celebrate Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday will begin at 6 p.m. (1800). Burma Women's Day will acknowledge the essential role of women in Burma in the promotion of social justice, peace, human rights and democracy. It will honor the sacrifices made by millions of women who face military aggression, abuse, looting, murder, imprisonment, torture, attacks on their person and character, as well as attacks on their families and colleagues, because of their commitment to peace. June 19 is significant because it is also the birthday of Nobel Laureate and Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the most internationally admired women in contemporary times. It provides us with an opportunity to reflect that there are millions of (sometimes invisible) women who not only participate directly in the movement for positive change in Burma, but also support the involvement of family members in the struggle. ALTSEAN-BURMA coordinator Debbie Stothard said that Burma Women's Day highlights the situation in Burma as a matter of grave concern for all women: "The safety and equality of women, let alone their rights as human beings, are a casualty of the brutal oppression perpetuated by Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc). "Women, whether politically active or not, continue to bear the brunt of the military dictatorship in Burma. Economic hardship, denial of health and education services, forced relocations, forced labor, military abuses including rape and torture, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, trafficking of women and girls, and military-oriented advancement all conspire to suppress women in Burma. "Gender equality is part of democracy, and women's rights are human rights. This must be part of the future Burma that we are working towards," said Ms Stothard. For more information, please contact the ALTSEAN-BURMA secretariat at tel. no 66 2 275 1811, fax 693 4515 or email ************************************************* ANNOUNCEMENT: PROTEST/VIGIL IN PA AT INTERDIGITAL ON JUNE 20TH June 11, 1997 From: "Peter Chowla" What: A silent vigil/demonstration against InterDigital for selling communications equipment to SLORC possibly in violation of the recent sanctions. Where: Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel, King of Prussia, PA When: Saturday June 20, at 12:30pm Why: Free Burma! BACKGROUND SEACers and Free Burma Activists are organizing a silent vigil at InterDigital's annual shareholder meeting to protest InterDigital's recent $250 million contract with the SLORC regime to sell them digital wireless devices. InterDigital agreed to the sale weeks after Clinton said he would impose a ban on new investment in Burma but only days before Clinton actually signed the sanctions into law. Interdigital's agreement, besides defying the spirit of the law may even be challenged legally. The south-east Asian country of Burma is ruled by a military junta which has been internationally condemned for its massive and brutal repression of human rights, for its campaign of ecological devastation, and for its connections to the heroin trade. Come show your support for the people of Burma by being in King of Prussia on June 20! Please forward this announcement on and bring as many people as possible. For more information contact Peter Chowla at either pchowla@seas.upenn.edu or (215)386-3605. Or Contact Mike Ewall at (215)752-1202 or mxe115@psu.edu ******************************************************