------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: June 17, 1997 Issue #750 HEADLINES: ========== BURMA OFFICE : TRANSLATION OF NLD STATEMENT NO. 7/97 BORDER SOURCE SITUATION UPDATE: REFUGEES CFOB: UNDP REPORT - BURMA ASIA WEEK: WHY SCHOOL IS OUT IN MYANMAR ABSL REPORT: BURMESE POETS IN JAIL NATION: CONSUMERS' ORGANISATION URGES PARAQUAT BAN BKK POST: MEASURES TO BE BEEFED UP TO CONTROL BKK POST: PM URGED TO BE WARY OF BORDER MOVE AWSJ: ENLIST ASEAN'S HELP WITH BURMA NATION: BURMA SEES ASEAN AS KEY TO ENDING ISOLATION THE NATION: JAPAN INSURER SET FOOT IN BURMA ----------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA OFFICE : TRANSLATION OF NLD STATEMENT NO. 7/97 June 16, 1997 From: BURMA OFFICE National League for Democracy No: 97/B, West Shwegonedine Road Bahan township, Rangoon Statement No: 07/97 1) At 4:00 p.m. on 08-06-97, the authorities concerned informed the family of U Tin Shwe (Monywa), a member of the Central Committee of the National League for Democracy, that he had died at 1:35 p.m. on the same day in Insein jail. 2) After receiving this information, the wife and son of U Tin Shwe went to the mortuary at Rangoon General Hospital (RGH) on 08-06-97, but the concerned authorities would not allow them to view his body. They went there again on 09-06-97. They were again not allowed to view the body, instead they were informed at the autopsy which stated that he had died as a result of succumbing to a blockage of the blood vessels to the heart. 3) When his family requested for an obituary notice to be placed in the newspapers, the authorities would only allow a statement that U Tin Shwe (Monywa), a High Court lawyer, had passed away on 08-06-97. The authorities would not allow any mention of when or where the body would be cremated. 4) When the funeral took place on 12-06-97 at Rayway cemetery in Rangoon, the family, relatives and friends were not allowed by the authorities to take part in a procession to carry his body from the RGH to the Rayway cemetery. They were told that they had to go and wait at the cemetery. 5) The authorities arrested U Tin Shwe on 29-11-90. He was tried on the accusation that he had violated Penal Code Section 5(a)(b)(j)and was sentenced to serve 10 years imprisonment in Insein Jail. Before the previous Water Festival [April 1997], he suffered heart disease and was admitted to the hospital inside the jail. 6) On 21-04-97, his family made an appeal to the authorities for the permission to allow him to have treatment by physicians and specialists outside the jail. The appeal was made in vain. Instead, on the same day he was taken out of the hospital in the jail to the cell where he had been imprisoned. 7) On 23-04-97, learning that his health had greatly deteriorated, Chairman of the NLD sent a letter to the SLORC in which the following was stated: "...Hereby, the NLD would like to inform that it will hold the authorities responsible if U Tin Shwe was to pass away without enjoying proper rights of a patient such as proper food and admission to a hospital in order to receive proper care treatment." 8) On 30-04-97, due to his worsening condition, U Tin Shwe was admitted to the Insein prison hospital again, but was discharged and sent back to his cell on 03-06-97. When his family was allowed to meet him on 06-06-97, he told them that his health situation was not bad. 9) On the morning of 08-06-97, while he was meditating, his room-mate went outside for a while. After a while, when the room-mate heard a sound of something hitting the steel bars, he came back and had a look only to find that U Tin Shwe had fallen and lay flat in the room. While he was carried to the prison hospital, he died on the way. 10) From there, U Tin Shwe was taken from the prison hospital to the RGH. Upon arrival at RGH, the officer-on-duty said that the patient could not be admitted as he was already dead. It led to a dispute with the jail staff who was assigned to take the body to RGH. This incident is indicative of the attempts by the concerned authorities to hide their actions conducted with a lack of conscience or responsibility. 11) U Tin Shwe should be highly honoured. He struggled actively and selflessly for the restoration of democracy and devoted his whole life for the goodness of the country. The NLD recognises his death as a loss not only for the NLD but also for the country, and has bestowed high honours on him. Rangoon Central Executive Committee Nayon 7th waxing day, 1359 National League for Democracy June 12, 1997 _____________________ Following is the translation of pamphlet distributed at his funeral. Biography of U Tin Shwe (Monywa) Monywa U Tin Shwe (B.A, B.L) was born on 17 April 1930 (Thursday) at Moe Than village in Monywa Township. His parents are U Ba Moe and Daw Thaung Yin, and he is the eldest among his siblings. Since he was young, his favourite hobby was reading and writing. In 1950, he passed his matriculation and attended Rangoon University. From 1950 to 1958, he actively participated in the student movement in Mandalay and Rangoon Universities. He graduated with Bachelor of Arts from Rangoon University in 1961 and he attained Bachelor of Law in 1968. He worked as a translation editor at an embassy from 1960 to 1976. He wrote the following books under the pen-name of Maung Tin Shwe: -Ivy Lenin, his life and his story -Biography of Thakhin Ko Daw Hmine -One hundred Laygyoe of ThaKhin Ko Daw Hmine -Biography of Chu EnLay -Biography of Chu Tay -Biography of Suvanophon, the President of Laos -Counter interrogation Techniques - The Arts of Law and Testimonial Law He also wrote articles on politics and literature and translated short stories in Luduu (People) newspaper, Luduu journal, Karen Forwards journal, Mawgun (Record) magazine, ShuDaunt (View Point) journal, Pyiduu Kyae (People's Star) journal, Moe Wai magazine and Shumawa magazine. His first printed story is titled "Return from Pwe" published in Rangoon journal of 1952. U Tin Shwe passed away on 08-06-97 (Sunday) ******************************************* BORDER SOURCE SITUATION UPDATE: REFUGEES ARRIVING AT KANCHANABURI, RATCHABURI, AND PROVINCES TO THE SOUTH June 17, 1997 KANCHANABURI PROVINCE Ban Don Yang The new site for the refugees relocated from Thu Ka and Htee Lai Pah is now officially known as Ban Don Yang, referring to the nearest Thai village to the site. The population is 1,552 and is a mixture of Karen and Burmese/Tavoyans. The area of land allocated is said to be narrow, and the sanitation to be problematic due to the fact that the residents are all located along the side of a stream. Latrines have to be built some distance from that single water source. The refugees are all sitting on the ground and are not allowed to build thatched dwellings or to have bamboo flooring. A water supply system has been put in by NGOs. The site seems to be only temporary in nature. It is said that even the 9th Division Thai army is not happy with the site. Local Karen officials from Mergui-Tavoy District wish the Karen population at this site to be relocated south and to be assimilated with the new site at Tham Hin. There are also other Karen refugees, having fled fighting in Ler Doh Soe township (Nai E Taung area), living at Htee Wah Doh, near to Halokanee on the Burmese side of the border, who wish to be able to enter Thailand and come into the site at Baan Don Yang. Border sources say that there may be yet other refugees in the Sangklaburi area, originally from Thu Ka and Htee Lai Pah, that would like to be allowed to join the camp. Pu Muang This camp was finally moved to Htam Hin on Monday, 16th June. This ends the long saga of indecision and delay that hung over the camp for some time. Families are now united and school buildings can be planned. The move was well organised and plenty of trucks were on hand. The refugees were all moved to the new site by early afternoon. RATCHABURI PROVINCE Tham Hin The new site for Bo Wi, Huay Sut and Pu Muang is at this location, near to Suan Pung. The combined population is some 6,400 The camp is overcrowded with the huts set up too close together. It has been pointed out by NGO workers that there could be major health problems here. Malaria transmission could be problematic due to the close proximity of the dwellings, diarrhea could likewise spread easily in the rainy season. The official policy of the 9th Division in the area is that the refugees must remain sitting on the ground and without thatch roofs. It is unlikely that the plastic sheet roofs will withstand the rainy season. Now that the three camps are on one site it is hoped that a school can be put up without delay. About 50-70 internally displaced people crossing the border south of the old Bo Wi site were intercepted by the Thai authorities over the period 3-4th June and refused access to the camp at Tham Hin. They were told to return to the Burmese side of the border. Local Karen officials have tried to send a small quantity of food and medicine to keep them going. Local refugee officials report that they are now being told that the time for arrivals of refugees is over, and that people arriving after the end of May are not legitimate refugees. Such a policy would prevent new arrivals from being allowed to seek safety in the camps in Thailand. The persons referred to above were from Blaota village, which is on the west bank of the Tenasserim River. The village population was totally cut off by SLORC's occupation of the river line. PRACHUAB KHIRI KHAN PROVINCE Huay Satu This is the new official name for the site previously referred to by the Karen as Htee Yaw Kee. The site lies opposite Pranburi and Hua Hin. Within the last few weeks the 9th Division have finally allowed access to Burma Border Consortium (BBC), American Refugee Committee (ARC) and Medecin Sans Frontieres (MSF) - previously the site was off-limits to all NGOs, and the refugees at this isolated place had been denied assistance. It is thought that the authorities would like to make this the one and only official site in the province to house refugees from Burma. Over the 3rd and 4th of June Burman refugees belonging to the Mergui Tavoy United Front (MDUF), and some ABSDF students were brought down from further north by the Thai authorities to this place; however they will not be allowed to stay on Thai-side and have been asked to move back to the Burma-side of the border. The 300 or so arrivals were said to be in very poor condition and were walking very slowly to the borderline. On 13.6.97 other Karen refugees from Mu Kho Paw, to the south of Htee Yaw Kee, were trucked north and joined at the one site. The combined poppulation of the two is about 1,700. There are more people said to be trapped inside the southern township wishing to leave for the safety of Thailand, but they are more or less blocked by SLORC troops. Destruction of villages inside Tenasserim township is said by local Karen officials to be almost total, with little or no food stocks remaining in the area. The whole area remains very unstable with SLORC troops near the Thai border to the south at the former Mon base at Chong Chee, and to the north based along the main Tenasserim River at Ler Pa Doh. NGOs have now started to stockpile supplies at this very isolated site. During the rainy season the site will be totally cut off. The dirt road ends a 5 hour walk away from the camp. It is not sure how long the Thai authorities will allow the refugees to stay at this place. OTHER MATTERS On Friday, 6.6.97, about 800 Mon refugees were repatriated from a site near the border opposite Thap Sakae. This repatriation came hard on the heels of the surrender of the Mon faction based at Chong Chee. About 800 people were repatriated to the Burma side of the border by the Thai 9th Division Army. UNHCR and other NGO officials were on hand to observe the procedure. About 30 families were not happy to be returned to Burma and were asked to stand aside. When asked by the authorities the reason for their not wanting to return, it is reported that they mostly cited employment reasons. The army officials said that this was not sufficient reason to remain in Thailand as a refugee, and they too were sent back. There was no formal interviewing of the refugees by UNHCR or any other neutral body to ensure that the process was completely voluntary. There is, of course, no monitoring of the refugees by any international body once they return to Burma. ********************************************** CFOB: UNDP REPORT - BURMA June 16, 1997 From: Canadian Friends of Burma Yesterday, on June 12th, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched its 1997 Human Development Report. Below is a statistical summary of the report written by Canadian Friends of Burma member Dave Todd, author of the CFOB garment report "Dirty Clothes-Dirty System". The report figures clearly support what is already known - that the quality of life for the Burmese peoples is continuing to rapidly deteriorate as they are forced to endure brutal structural and military violence by the hands of the State Law and Order Restoration Council. Readers are welcome to use this summary in their work to push for tougher and more effective action from their respective governments to help bring rule of law and respect for human rights to Burma. *********** The United Nations Development Programme is currently preparing a major report on Burma. Little has been made public as to the scope of the study. This is not surprising, given the extraordinary difficulties in working in that country, and the unreliability - indeed mendacious nature - of official government data. The extent of the challenge that the UNDP faces can be seen from its latest annual survey of social development and quality of life indicators from around the world. These contain a wealth of statistical data on how Burma has changed for the worse under the dictatorship of the State Law and Order Restoration Council. The 1997 UNDP Human Development Report is especially striking in relation to its 1992 report - which was the first to reflect in detail the situation as it existed in the aftermath of the SLORC regime's seizure of power in Burma in 1988. The UNDP survey for 1997 ranks Burma as 131st out of 175 nations for which data is included in its global accounting of key human development indicators. Five years earlier, Burma was ranked as 111th out of 160 countries surveyed. (Under the UNDP's ranking system, the higher the number the less well off a society is judged to be in terms of providing for the general well-being of its citizens). It should be noted that several of the statistics included in the UNDP surveys have previously appeared elsewhere, as they are compiled annually from a variety of sources. What is significant about the Human Development Report indices however is that they are the most authoritative comparative accountings produced by any international body - as they amount, for any particular category of information, to a series of global snapshots for a given year. The 1997 UNDP report reflects benchmark years or periods from 1990 through 1996. According to the report, life expectancy at birth in Burma dropped catastrophically over the first half of the 1990s, to an average of 58 years from 61 years at the start of the decade. The death rate for children under 5 years of age in Burma has risen enormously under SLORC. In 1990, the mortality rate for this age group was 8.8 per cent of all children born. In 1995, the rate was 15 per cent. By comparison, in 1988, the then apartheid South Africa, also had a child mortality rate of 8.8 per cent for under 5. By 1995, this rate had dropped to 6.7 per cent showing the benefits of what even a little social investment could do. During the 1980s, 38 per cent of children under the ago of five were suffering from stunted growth; for the period of 1990-1996 the figure rose to 43 per cent. In the first three years after SLORC took power, the population per doctor tripled to 12,500-to-1. In the mid-1980s, Burma had a doctor to population ratio twice as good as that of Haiti, then ruled by the Duvalier family. Haiti now - its situation has not improved but merely stood still - has a physician to population ratio 50 per cent better than Burma's. Finally, the report shows that Burma has the highest level of military spending (in relation to health and education) of any country in East Asia except North Korea. ************************************************* ASIA WEEK: WHY SCHOOL IS OUT IN MYANMAR June 20, 1997 The school year begins in June in Myanmar. But not this year. The Education Ministry postponed the nationwide opening of grammar and high schools until an unspecified date. There is no official explanation for the move, but the understanding in Yangon is that the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) wants to avoid any incidents that could complicate the country's July induction into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. And it is the possibility of demonstrations - one of SLORC's greatest fears - which many Yangon residents feel is the reason for the shutdown. Parents in the capital have resigned themselves to not having schools open before August. There are recent historical grounds for SLORC's concern. High-school and grammar school students were among those who filled the streets in 1988 to protest against former dictator Ne Win's government, which SLORC replaced after a bloody crackdown. But the younger children are unlikely to start anything on their own. In the past, they have taken their activist cues from their older brothers and sisters. And undergraduates have not been in school since the government shut down colleges and universities last December, after dispersing a big student protest near Yangon's main campus. Then, the target of student discontent was not ASEAN, but the alleged mistreatment of some carousing colleagues at the hands of the police. But the militancy was enough to set off alarm bells. And with the appearance of pro- and anti- ASEAN elements within the government (some of the generals prefer closer ties with China), the authorities are taking no chances. ******************************************** ABSL REPORT: BURMESE POETS IN JAIL June 16, 1997 From: shar@league.unv.ernet.in We received the following information of Burmese poets being arrested by the SLORC recently. We would like to request you either to confirm or to add specific facts if you have further information. All Burma Students League --------------------------------------------------------- News of Burmese Poets being arrested 1. Burma's famous Poets U Kyi Aung from Innwa, Mandalay Division and Poet Ko Lay (Innwa Goan Ye) were arrested by the SLORC recently in Innwa Township and are being detained without any trial. Their crime was that they interviewed, without permission from the concerned authorities, some people from Innwa Market (Innwa Township, Mandalay Division) to expose the life of ordinary Burmese people. 2. Phyar Poan Ni Lon Oo (who was working as Assistant Editor in the popular Cherry Magazine) was ousted from the job because of his political activities for the NLD. He is under trial. 3. New Style-Poet Aung Zin Min was imprisoned recently by the SLORC for his anti-SLORC writings. The military authorities, in the past, censored any anti-SLORC writings either by covering with ink or tearing the whole page. However, due to the international criticism for these undemocratic acts, the Censor Board of SLORC now force the publisher to re-publish the book or magazine without the particular literature that the Board thinks should not be read by the public. Although the authors of the particular literature are given money for their writings by the publishing houses, their writings are not published. Due to various restrictions of the authorities, many publishing houses in Burma are being closed down. One of them is Cherry Magazine which is one of Burma's popular magazine. News and Information Bureau All Burma Students League | All Burma Students League | 3, Krishna Menon Marg | New Delhi - 110011 | Ph : 91-11-3017172/3016035 | Fx : 91-11-3793397 | Email : shar@league.unv.ernet.in **************************************************** NATION: CONSUMERS' ORGANISATION URGES PARAQUAT BAN June 14, 1997 James Fahn A consumer's organisation has called for a ban on the sale of paraquat, an extremely toxic pesticide currently being marketed in Thailand by d Danish company despite a ban on the agro-chemical in Denmark. Meanwhile, a report by the Southeast Asian Information Network (Sain) that 10,000 litres of the pesticide were sold in Burma was confirmed by the company involved, but denied by the Burmese government. Saree Angsamwong of the Consumers Foundation said that her organisation has called for a ban on the sale of paraquat - a potent herbicide often used to kill weeds along roadsides, around homes and on rubber, palm and sugar plantations - because of its public health and environmental impacts. Considered one of the "dirty dozen" pesticides, paraquat has already been banned by nine countries, including Denmark, but the Danish firm East Asiatic Co Ltd (EAC) still sells the agro-chemical in Southeast Asian under the trade name Gramoxone. "We would like to ask the Danish company whether it's right to sell paraquat in Thailand and Burma, even though it's banned in Denmark," said Saree. "We are quite concerned about this evident use of double standards." Sajja Tinarakorn, of EAC's agricultural division in Thailand, said that paraquat has been banned in Denmark because the Scandinavian country's economy depends on dairy products rather than agricultural corps as in Thailand. "Denmark has little need for herbicides as they mostly tend cows, but Asian countries produce food for the entire world," Sajja said. He added that paraquat has been used in Thailand for 30 years and no one had died from using it on crops, although it is sometimes used to commit suicide. The pesticide causes lung failure if ingested, as it concentrates in the lung tissue and kills cells critical to the exchange of oxygen. A dose of three to five grammes (less than a teaspoon) is considered lethal for adult males. Milder exposure can cause skin problems, rashes and burns. Officials at the Agricultural Chemistry Division in the Ministry of Agriculture declined to speak to The Nation about the issue, but Supranee Impitak, who analyses pesticide residues on crops for export, said she believes paraquat is used extensively in sugar cane fields. "I don't have any reports on paraquat residues in sugar or on sugar cane, but I understand that residues don't show up on tests because the chemical is used to clear the fields of weeds before the crop is planted," Supranee said. Paraquat is produced at a factory in Thailand belonging to Zeneca Agro Asiatic Co Ltd (ZAAC). EAC Thailand owns 49 percent of the venture, according to Sain and Danish news agency Ritzau, while the UK-based company Zeneca, formerly part of ICI, reportedly owns the remaining 51 per cent. Sain reported on Monday that a representative of Zeneca is currently in Burma to follow up on a previous sale of 10,000 litres of paraquat made earlier this year, a sale the network condemned as "the lowest form of business". "There are no mechanisms used in Burma to ensure workers' health and safety," said Sain's Faith Doherty. "It is certain that the pesticide will be used by local people through the orders of local military authorities. Information about the pesticide and safety and care will not be distributed to the people. "This substance is lethal no matter where it is used in Burma, the sale of paraquat amounts to aiding and abetting more suffering death for the farmers of Burma," Doherty claimed. Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) subsequently released an information sheet questioning the accuracy of Sain's report and declaring that, "Neither the government of Myanmar [Burma] nor the private sector has any plans to buy or import paraquat". But Ritzau said that EAC officials in Denmark and Zeneca officials in the UK have both confirmed the sale. Meanwhile, ZAAC's Steve Renshaw told the French news agency Agence France-Presse that the latest shipment of the chemical was received by a Rangoon distributor named Forward Co Ltd in January of this year. Zeneca has reportedly trained Burmese farmers and civil servants in the proper use of agro-chemicals as recently as two weeks ago. Sajja also pointed out that pesticide distributors in Thailand have teamed up to educate Thai farmers in the proper handling and use of agro-chemicals. Slorc's press release added that the chemical is still being used in the US, the UK and Germany and has not been banned by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation. But Sain's Doherty noted that the proper use of paraquat requires applicators to wear rubber clothing, a practice rarely carried out in tropical countries because of the extreme heat. (TN) ******************************************************* BKK POST: MEASURES TO BE BEEFED UP TO CONTROL REFUGEES June 14, 1997 Supamart Kasem, Tak Number of camps to be cut from 16 to 9 Measures to control more than 90,000 Burmese refugees in Tak and Mae Hong Son will be beefed up, according to the commander of the Third Army Area Lt-Gen Thanom Watcharaput. Lt-Gen Thanom said representatives from government agencies responsible for security affairs agreed at a meeting on Thursday in Phitsanulok to enforce new measures to control Burmese refugees in Tak and Mae Hong Son to ensure that Thailand can shoulder this long-lasting burden efficiently. The meeting's participants were Lt-Gen Thanom, commander of the 4th Infantry Division Maj-Gen Chalor Thongsala, Tak Governor Pongphayome Wassaphuti, Mae Hong Son Governor Pakdi Chompooming, representatives from the National Security Council, the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Public Health ministries, the Internal Security Operations Command and concerned officials. Under the new measures, the number of refugee camps in both northern provinces will be cut from 16 to 9 (five in Tak and four in Mae Hong Son) and all camps will be fenced off. The Interior Ministry will transfer more officials to oversee refugee camps which are now being run by a large number of volunteers, he said. Public Health Ministry officials will offer medical services to the refugees and check if medicines provided by non-governmental organisations are properly used by them. He said any Burmese refugees living outside camps will face the same penalties as illegal immigrants, adding police and camp staff will prevent refugees from engaging in business activities and working outside the camps. The measures will be enforced after the government approves a proposal on operational plans and a budget to be prepared by the Interior Ministry and the Third Army Area, he said. According to an informed source, at least 5,000 Burmese refugees are now living outside camps in Mae Hong Son and Tak. (BP) ************************************************** BKK POST: PM URGED TO BE WARY OF BORDER MOVE June 14, 1997 Burma's military buildup 'worrying' The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has urged Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's administration to remain cautious over Burma's massive military buildup. Although it has no external enemies, Burma has increased the size of its military from 185,000 troops in 1988 to more than 400,000 today. Its military leaders have said they will recruit a 500,000-strong army. Military spending has also increased from 25 percent of the government's budget in 1988 to more than 50 percent, according to the World Bank. Democrat lawmaker Sukhumbhand Paribatr, who heads the committee, noted that Thailand and Burma still have a number of border disputes. The Burmese have dealt with them in a belligerent way, closing down border crossings and massing troops when talks over border demarcations reach a difficult stage. The committee also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' decision to admit Burma, along with Cambodia and Laos, this year was hastily made. Western countries and Burma's pro-democracy movement, led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, had appealed to Asean to delay admitting Burma because of the human rights record of its military regime. But the seven members of the regional grouping: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam voted recently to admit the three to its ranks in July. Meanwhile, Tak Chamber of Commerce has condemned Burma for ordering a border closure on Thursday at Mae Sot which it said had violated the trade agreement. The chamber called for an urgent meeting yesterday headed by its chairman Paniti Tanpanit. "Issuing the closure order without prior notice was a breach of agreement which Thai and Burmese governments recently ratified," Mr Paniti said. "Either side must be informed of any planned closure at least three months in advance," he added. He reminded Burma that it should adhere to the regulations to forge better cooperations now that it has been accepted by the Asean to join the ranks. The meeting reportedly discussed the motive of the closure, saying the demarcation dispute over the recent dredging of Moei River, the measures to curb illegal alien workers and the ban on imports of Burmese garlic and onion might have upset Burma causing the abrupt border closure. Lt Col Saing Phone, Burma's Thai-Burmese Border Committee has explained to the Thai authorities that the Burmese officials needed time to implement new border regulations. He said he was worried to learn that Thai authorities had arrested Burmese residents who made border crossings while allowing members of the All Burma Students Democratic Front to cross into Myawaddy early this month. (BP) ************************************************** ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL: ENLIST ASEAN'S HELP WITH BURMA June 13-14, 1997 By Ellen Bork How does the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton react to a slap in the face in Asia? Earlier this month, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made Burma a member in spite, or perhaps because, of staunch U.S. ambassadors to Asean countries embarked on a tour of three U.S. cities to promote trade with the region. The unfortunate symbolism of U.S. ambassadors on a trade tour while their host countries were busy spurning U.S. advice is bound to reinforce the image of a Clinton administration preoccupied with trade at the expense of its political objectives. Nevertheless, the U.S. should take the Asean decision in stride, and retool its policy, if only slightly, to advance U.S. interests in the region. First, however, it is important to analyse why Asean decided to let a rogue regime such as Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council into its fold. One argument favoured by some analysts is that the organisation was simply recognising the need to woo Burma away from China. It is true that China and Burma have drawn closer. Recent signs of cooperation include intelligence sharing as well as Chinese financial assistance, training and supplies of military equipment to Slorc. But Sino-Burmese ties have been developing for several years. Instead of forcing Burma to sacrifice Chinese arms and political ties for Asean membership, the Southeast Asian states that comprise Asean have ensured that Slorc now has both. Asean may also have acted in response to Washington. Allies of the Burma democracy movement were quick to link Asean's move to U.S. actions, specifically State Department spokesman Nick Burns's May 21 remarks explicitly opposing Burma's admission to Asean, and the announcement of a new ban on U.S. investment in Burma. Maureen Aung-Thwin, director of the Burma Project of the Soros Foundation thinks that both were handled poorly. "The timing of the investment ban provoked the hardliners in Asean, rather than the ban itself, which had been expected by everyone for months," she says. "Sanctions should have been announced as soon as the conditions were reached, which happened very soon" after the Cohen-Feinstein amendment, which said that sanctions could be imposed if political conditions in Burma worsened or democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was again placed under house arrest, passed last summer. According to Ms. Aung-Thwin, Mr. Burns's statement "was way too loud, but mostly too public. It would have been tremendously more effective had we sent the same message, much sooner, and quietly." Another expert I spoke to minimizes the role of the sanctions, and believes that Washington's public challenge to Asean tipped the scales in favour of Burma's admission. There's no denying that opposition from Washington may have rankled some of Asean's most independent-minded leaders. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is becoming the region's leading proponent of "Asian values," apparently sees the addition of Cambodia, Burma and Laos to the organisation at least in part as an expression of regional solidarity and exclusivity. The decision to admit Burma does not represent a repudiation of Washington's role in the region, or even of its approach to Burma. However, it will undoubtedly be portrayed that way by some opponents of sanctions and those who are contemptuous of an idealistic American foreign policy. In fact, Malaysia and Singapore have already stepped back and emphasized that membership does not obviate the need for Burma to change. Washington should continue to seek support from Burma's neighbours against Slorc even if it can't count on them to "urge Slorc to enter into a productive dialogue with democratic forces in Burma," as Deputy State Department spokesman John Dinger asked on June 2. The democracy rationale was never the most useful with Asean. After all, the majority of Asean's members are authoritarian states, unlikely to pressure Slorc decisively on issues of democracy and human rights. In fact, it is in the interests of most if not all Asean countries to have a member with an abysmal human rights record about which they can say, "Hey, we're not that bad." However, individual Asean members like Indonesia and Malaysia have on occasion played constructive roles in discrete areas, like supporting a UN presence in Burma to protect Muslims in the western state of Arakan. Thailand and the Philippines, who resisted the decision to admit Burma, should be enlisted to continue similar efforts and advance democratic principles within Asean. Democratic development, the rule of law and the human rights which they guarantee should be at the top of the administration's priority list in Southeast Asia, as elsewhere. In Burma, the primary goal must be restoring the National League for Democracy government that Burma's people elected in 1990. The U.S., understandably, devoted considerably more resources to putting the unsavory but democratically elected Jean Bertrand Aristide back in power in Haiti than it has in trying to restore the elected National League for Democracy government, but the principle is the same. To get to democracy in Burma, however, the U.S. needs to enlist the above-mentioned regional allies and others on matters of self interest, and use these as a wedge to topple Slorc. Narcotics is a good bet. Burma's drug trade, and the corruption, addiction and disease that go with it, pose a serious threat to the countries of Asean, some of which have a reputation for their toughness with their own drug offenders, making their embrace of Slorc all the more ironic. Burma is the largest producer of opium in the world and a growing source of methamphetamines in the region. According to the top anti-narcotics official at the U.S. State Department, opium production in Burma has doubled since the Slorc took power in 1988. Burma's traffickers are major players in the country's economy, "buying real estate in Rangoon and Mandalay, investing in Burma's economy and openly courting military officials," according to this official. The U.S. should draft Asean countries in an anti-narcotics approach to Burma. Last summer the U.S. sent envoys to Asean capitals and Japan to rally support for a multilateral policy on Burma. Very little came out of the effort, which was spearheaded by Stanley Roth, the Clinton administration's nominee to fill the long-vacant top post on Asia, and former Ambassador William Brown. But the high levels at which they were received and the tone of discussions suggested that many Asean leaders were listening. Now would be a good time for the Clinton administration to follow up. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's June 26-29 visit to Hanoi and Phnom Penh, and the July 24-25 meeting of the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference and Asean Regional Forum offer the secretary a chance to reinvigorate the U.S. role in the region and seek multilateral action on Burma. The Clinton administration may not have handled the sanctions and the Asean issues as deftly as possible, but ultimately, it was on the right side of both. Burma's admission to Asean is a setback, but it need not keep the U.S. from making progress on its agenda in Burma, and the rest of Southeast Asia. (AWSJ) Ms.Bork is majority senior professional staff member for Asia and the Pacific on the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. ******************************************************* NATION: BURMA SEES ASEAN AS KEY TO ENDING ISOLATION June 15, 1997 [abridged] Reuter Rangoon - Burma hopes to end nearly 30 years of isolation with its imminent membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), official media reported yesterday. Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling military State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), was quoted as saying Burma hoped to exploit its vast natural resources with help from members of the regional bloc. "Although Myanmar [Burma] is not economically strong, it is the richest in natural resources in the region and it is poised for economic development. Although it lacks know-how it has technicians," Khin Nyunt said on Friday in his first public comments on Burma's entry into Asean. "With support and assistance from other Asean members, Myanmar will achieve development within a short time contribute to the progress and stability of the region," he said in an address to a Burmese committee he chairs that is preparing for Asean entry. "Myanmar has stood in complete isolation for nearly 30 years. Today's world situation suggests that powerful nations are bullying small nations increasingly," Khin Nyunt said. "Therefore it is impossible for a nation to stand alone with the doors closed and it is necessary to join hands with the nations which have mutual understanding and respect." (TN) ******************************************************* THE NATION: JAPAN INSURER SET FOOT IN BURMA June 16, 1997 AP Rangoon - Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Co, Japan's second-biggest insurance company, has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture with state-owned Myanma Insurance Co, official media reported Saturday. The agreement was signed Friday by the managing directors of each company in the presence of Finance Minister Brig Gen Win Tin, who said the venture was the first in the industry and would "enhance healthy growth of the insurance market." The agreement will give Myanma Insurance Co, for 30 years the country's sole insurer, added capacity as market-oriented reforms expand the Burmese economy, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. Other details were not available. (TN) *******************************************************