------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: August 13, 1997 Issue #796 HEADLINES: ========== BKK POST: SUU KYI TOOK $80,000 GIFT, SAYS SLORC REUTER: BURMA REOPENS SCHOOLS, BUT NOT ALL BKK POST: RICE PRICES SOAR AS KYAT PLUMMETS HONG KONG AFP: NLD APPEALS FOR DIALOGUE WITH JUNTA ABSDF PRESS RELEASE: PRIORITIZE DEMOCRACY, RIGHTS HINDUSTAN TIMES: MYANMAR FOR ASIAN HIGHWAY THE NATION: BURMA TESTS ASIAN VALUES THE NATION: LETTER - REPRESSION CONTINUES FBC STATEMENT : AUGUST 8, 1997 KYO: KAREN NATIONAL MARTYRS' DAY ABSDF BOOK LAUNCH: LETTERS TO A DICTATOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- BKK POST: SUU KYI TOOK $80,000 GIFT, SAYS SLORC August 12, 1997 Rangoon, DPA Burma's government-controlled press hinted yesterday that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy (NLD), was heading for her downfall as a politician. "It is certain to foretell that she will perish after her raft has dashed against the consolidated rock of national politics," said the second installment of a lengthy diatribe against Ms Suu Kyi that appeared in all government-controlled dailies. Yesterday's article, entitled "From Washington to University Avenue," accused Ms Suu Kyi of accepting a cash donation of 80,000 dollars from American citizen John Vincent Osolnick Jr who visited Rangoon on January 24 to 26. Ms Suu Kyi's house is located on University Avenue in Rangoon. Under Burmese law it is illegal for a political party or politician to accept donations from abroad. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), Burma's military junta, claims to have evidence that Ms Suu Kyi accepted a cash donation from Mr Osolnick and is reportedly building a case to have the popular politician deported or arrested. ******************************************************* REUTER: BURMA REOPENS SCHOOLS, BUT NOT ALL UNIVERSITIES August 12, 1997 RANGOON, Aug 12 (Reuter) - Burma reopened nearly 39,000 schools two months late on Tuesday, but kept closed some 30 universities and colleges suspected of being linked to student unrest. Tuesday's reopening involved 38,808 schools and more than seven million children. The schools had been closed since March and had been due to reopen in June. Rangoon-based analysts said the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was afraid of protests before its admission to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) last month. "They did not want to lose face until their smooth entry into ASEAN," one analyst said. About 20 of the universities and colleges still closed, including cradles of last year's unrest Yangon (Rangoon) University and Yangon Institute of Technology, have been shut since December 1996. Students have been at the forefront of sporadic anti- government protests since the abortive uprising of 1988. The SLORC has declined to say when the universities will be reopened. An education ministry official contacted by Reuters on Tuesday said: "The time for opening the universities is getting closer than before." ************************************* BKK POST: RICE PRICES SOAR AS KYAT PLUMMETS August 12, 1997 Achara Ashayagachat. Heavy floods destroy crops and dikes in Irrawaddy food basin Burma is experiencing a second consecutive year of heavy damage to its rice crop due to the current flooding in the Irrawaddy basin, according to sources in Rangoon. Prices of rice for local consumption are rising, and exports will be limited to amounts far below the military government's ambitious targets. The floods have destroyed dikes along the Irrawaddy and some parts of the rail system, the most serious damage since the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) took over the country in 1988, foreign sources said. "People on the street have felt the shortages of rice and some other necessities since late last year," said one observer who asked not to be named. The shortage is not acute yet, but the real problem has been price increases, he added. The government has stocked rice and will release some to the market if the situation gets worse, but the industry and the public do not know how much rice is under state management. A 50-kilogramme bag of good quality rice is now being sold for 3,120 kyat, compared with between 2,000 and 2,200 kyat last year. "The price hike is not due totally to rice missing from the market, but to the eroded value of the local currency, as well as last year's higher world market prices for rice, resulting in nearly two million tons of rice being exported [over two years]," an industry source said. But during the 1996 calendar year, he said, exports fell to about 265,000 tons. Exchange-rate fluctuations have has also dampened the foreign investment climate in Burma. The market rate of the kyat, which had been relatively steady at about 160 to the US dollar for several months, plunged as low as 260 in recent weeks and is now at about 205. The official rate of six to the dollar is virtually ignored. The real estimate of loss and how quickly the situation will recover will not be known until the harvest starts from mid-October to December, and until replanting of rice takes place later this year, the source said. Flooding will also create some build-up of silt which will be good for rice planting, he added. So far this calendar year, only some very small shipments of about 160 tons of normal rice and 5,000 tons of parboiled rice have been exported. "No big shipments have been seen since last September as the Burmese [government] wanted to ensure the food supply for domestic consumption, despite the bad need for hard currency," a source said. Although he believed the Slorc had made a strong commitment to control the situation, he said this year was a very bad one for everyone. "Social relief will be delivered to affected farmers, but not all farmers have planted rice as planned by the government. The general population will be affected from the rice situation," he said. Burma has long been self-sufficient: rice production totals 14 million tons a year. Smuggling has been ruled-out as the reason for the shortage. "There may be some smuggling from Arakan state near Bangladesh and from Shan state to China, but the amount is not substantial as access to China is still in bad condition." ***************************************************** HONG KONG AFP: NLD APPEALS FOR DIALOGUE WITH RULING MILITARY JUNTA August 8, 1997 RANGOON, Aug 8 (AFP) -- Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) appealed Friday for dialogue with the ruling junta, saying this was "the only solution" to the country's problems. An NLD statement said the military authorities must acknowledge that the NLD won the 1990 general elections and that the current constitutional convention was not likely to bring about national reconciliation. "Since the SLORC claims to have a similar objective of bringing democracy to the nation as the NLD, ... this indicates that a dialogue is possible," the 18-page statement said. SLORC refers to the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the official name of the junta. Signed by NLD chairman Aung Shwe, the statement's release coincided with the anniversary of the August 8, 1988, general strike which crippled the previous socialist government. The statement attacked "continued repression" of NLD members, the "forcible resignations" of elected NLD candidates and the junta's refusal to return party documents seized since in October 1991 as problems to be tackled. In addition, "the still unresolved case" of who attacked a motorcade carrying NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year and "the unremoved barriers in front of her residence" were all "clear signs that Burma was still undergoing a national crisis," the statement said. "The only solution to all this is a dialogue," it added. ************************************* ABSDF PRESS RELEASE: PRIORITIZE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS August 12, 1997 From: Caroline Lurie Press Release Date: August 12, 1997 ABSDF CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING DECIDES TO PRIORITIZE POLITICAL WORK TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS At a recently completed ABSDF Central Committee meeting a resolution was made to alter the organization's strategy to make non-violent political defiance tactics and international lobbying the main weapons in our struggle to end the brutal military dictatorship in Burma. The 40 student leaders from different regions, who attended the meeting spent 10 days analyzing the effectiveness of the tactics that have been used in the past, and discussing the most appropriate course to follow in the future. The ABSDF believes that Burma now faces an even more critical situation than it did at the beginning of the civil war immediately after independence from Britain. The SLORC's continued refusal to acknowledge the genuine desires of the Burmese people, and it's unwillingness to tackle political problems, in particular democratic, ethnic and human rights issues, in a just and dignified way by political means, is the primary cause of the economic crisis that the country now faces. Furthermore, Burma's hopes of achieving development and peace in the future have been almost shattered by the SLORC's complete failure to address the urgent need for investment in human resources, and by their rampant depletion of our natural resources for the purchase of arms. The ABSDF believes that the only way out of the abyss lies in the hands of the Burmese themselves. All of us must actively participate in the struggle, and fight for the freedom and rights that we have been deprived of for over three decades. With the ever-increasing repression of political dissent, the worsening economic situation in the country, and growing dissatisfaction among the rank and file of the Burmese army, the ABSDF believes that in the foreseeable future the people will be driven to a level which they can no longer tolerate, from which they will once again rise up against the dictatorship as they did in 1988, and risk life and limb to demonstrate their desperation. After extensive consideration of these circumstances, the ABSDF has decided to adapt our political strategy to give a greater focus to non-violent means of struggle. Central Committee All Burma Students Democratic Front For more information please contact 01-9231687, 01-654 4984 *************************************** HINDUSTAN TIMES: MYANMAR FOR ASIAN HIGHWAY THROUGH INDIA August 12, 1997 Dhaka The Hindustan Times, Lucknow Edition (12/8/97). Myanmar wants the proposed Asian highway linking South and Southeast Asia to enter its territory from north-eastern India and not from Bangladesh, an official of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said. Myanmar wants the highway to enter it at Tamu from Imphal in India and not from Teknaf, the tip of south-eastern Bangladesh, according to Dr M Rahmatullah, Director of the Transportation, Communication and Tourism, at Bangkok-based ESCAP which is co-ordinating the transportation project. Dr Rahmatullah, who was in Dhaka to attend a seminar, said that even the Bangladesh government had accepted the Imphal-Tamu route. Myanmar does not favour the Teknaf route because it is not economically profitable. The mid-stream of the Naf river at Teknaf is the boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar, with Arakan on the other side. While Bangladesh has a good road to Teknaf, there is no road of the needed quality linking Yangon to Teknaf. Each country through which the highway would run, has to build its part of the road itself. India and Myanmar agree that the highway should pass through Imphal in India on to Tamu in Myanmar Dr Rahmatullah said. An international conference which would try to solve problems linked with the Bangladesh section of the highway would be held in Dhaka in December where Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar would he represented. According to the ESCAP official, the Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand section of the Asian highway had already been built. A bridge linking Thailand and Myanmar would open to traffic on August 15. Thailand is helping build a part of the highway in eastern Myanmar while India is assisting on a section in western Myanmar. The Bangladesh government has not so far proposed any changes in routing the Asian highway from Tamabil in northeastern Sylhet in Bangladesh, he added. The Bangladesh government had discussed changes in the highway route with the ESCAP in May this year. Although Dr Rahmatullah did not say what was discussed then, there are indications that the Bangladesh government would like the Asian highway to be routed through its Sylhet-Austragram section. In case that happens, observers say, it would be a defeat for the former BNP government of Bangladesh because it had opposed the Sythet-Austragram route. Quoting from a letter sent by the BNP government to the ESCAP two years ago, Dr Rahmatullah said that Dhaka had then proposed routing the highway through Sylhet-Tamabil in Bangladesh to move on to Imphal in India and Tamu in Myanmar, although it would mean a detour of an extra 360 kilometres. *************************************** THE NATION: BURMA TESTS ASIAN VALUES August 12, 1997 Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe. If Asian values are about encouraging a harmonious relationship between the state and society, then Asean leaders have their work cut out in Burma, comments Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe. Now that Burma is a member of Asean, it would not be illogical to assume that Asean will now take some responsibility for the well-being of that unfortunate country - which is now an economic, political and social "basket case" in the regional forum. It is not presumptuous to presume that Aung San Suu Kyi is, like Lt Gen Khin Nyunt and Slorc generals, now regarded as part of the Asean community. Perhaps, Asean leaders will cease treating her as a political persona non-grata. It is also hoped that Asean leaders, who are presumably sincere about Confucian and "Asian" values, will be true to their convictions and help restore state-society harmony in Burma. A cardinal component of Confucianism is "harmony" - that is, harmony between the head of the family and its members, and by extension, harmony within a state between rulers and the ruled (or state and civil society). Burma is precisely a place where this "harmony" is lacking. Strife between the state and civil society has been the norm since 1962. This stems from those entrusted with the country's defence betraying that trust. They usurped - in 1962 and in 1988 - by force of arms the power to govern, and have monopolised all forms of power at gunpoint. With their guns, they have "anointed" themselves the guardian-rulers of the country in perpetuity. What the people of Burma want, as articulated by their chosen champion, Suu Kyi, is the restoration of harmony between that part of the population which exercises power and the rest of society, over whom power is exercised. GIVE AND TAKE In Burma, "democracy" is but a metaphor of the desire of the people for the restoration of harmony - a functional relation based on give-and take between those who wield power and those who do not, not only in politics but in every sphere of life. It is not that the people and their champion, Suu Kyi, want to transplant, wholesale, "Western" values into Burma. The message she brings is one that is based on Buddhist compassion, and on harmony between the state and society that results from a compassionate relationship between people in general, and between rulers and the ruled in particular. Is there anything more Asian than this? It is therefore incomprehensible why powerful Asean leaders - who ascribe to things Asian with great pride - are so set against a frail woman who would probably have, under different circumstances, looked upon them as esteemed elder statesmen and mentors. One wonders if male chauvinism is not a factor? These powerful men could have gone down in history as "great Asians". Regretfully, it now appears - because of their indefensible defence of military rule of the most brutal kind - that they will be remembered, perhaps unfairly, as petulant, unreasonable and uncompassionate mini-tyrants. At any rate, there are, at an analytical level, many problems with the assault on democracy (and human rights) on the premise that democracy is "Western". It is certain that good men serving Asean governments, many with doctorates from good universities (incidentally, in the West), also have problems with the ideological formulations of their political "masters" (those who butter their bread). It is a pity that Asians who are otherwise enlightened have chosen to, as a Burmese saying goes, "hold water in their mouths". What are the "Western" values, one may ask, that Asean leaders are so staunchly against? In its bare bones, what we call "Western" culture is a culture and a set of values that put man - man as an autonomous, free entity - at the heart of politics and economy. It is a culture based on the questioning of the "givens", that is, given knowledge, wisdom, truths, even faith, and beliefs and notions that are encrusted with mystifications. "Western" culture and values encompass a way of life where the "superior" status of any person - and the wielding of power - is regarded as functional and instrumental, and thus conditional superior status and possession of power are not viewed as mandated by an abstract power that transcends man, such as the "nation", "community", winged inhabitants from up above, and so on. It is from this way of seeing and comprehending power and human relations, that there arose the notion of democratic accountability, human rights, and other liberties. In the above connection, those who are familiar with the "teachings" of the Buddha will find that "Western" culture and values are not all that "Western", after all. At the heart of Buddhism is the appreciation of a clear mind (a mental state) that always questions "reality" and "truths", even the words of the great teacher himself. HUMAN CONSTRUCT The fact that Buddhism, which is as Asian as any philosophy can be, is at one, so to speak, with "Western" culture and values, raises a quite awkward question for those who insist that democracy (and human rights) is "Western" and alien to Asian ways. Confucius notwithstanding - whose words, like those of Karl Marx, Mao Zedong, Max Weber and other philosophers, have been utilised to justify many things, the good along with the bad - "Asian values" does not refer to an absolute, monolithic body of values. As established thus far by the social sciences, "culture" (and its system of values) is a human construct. Often, culture is constructed by elites from elements carefully selected from a host of values and imposed on society in many ways and by various means - for example, through the school system controlled or directed by governments. Hence, analytically speaking, a given culture of any given society is "artificial" or man-made, and definitely political. It is constructed, established, maintained, and perpetuated to shore up a certain social-political-economic status quo. Culture is a means by which those who benefit most from a given socio-political arrangement maintain the status quo and/or neutralise and marginalise the values and world-views of those who wish to change a given social order or desire a different arrangement. Therefore, to argue that "Asian" culture is a natural phenomenon, a DNA-like phenomenon that is biologically inherent in all and every Asian person since birth, is a quite mind-blowing. To believe that this is the case would require one to make a leap back in time to perhaps, Germany of the post-Weimar years. The explicit accusation made by Slorc generals, and implicitly, by Asean leaders that the aspiration for democracy (and human rights) in Burma is anti-Asian and inspired by the West - by Soros, in particular - is patently misplaced. It is certainly not Western inspired, nor is it anti-Asian in orientation, because it is rooted in Buddhism. More importantly, it is the result of bitter, painful experience of life of over 30 years under military atrocities and mis-rule. Why is this quite natural, Asian impulse of a people who have suffered so much for so long, so difficult for powerful leaders like Mahathir Mohamad and other Asean leaders to understand? Surely, these leaders are every bit as Asian as the people of Burma are? Of course, every Burmese prays every night, and has done so for many years, to be blessed with an "enlightened" authoritarian ruler like Lee Kuan Yew (now senior minister). whom they once greatly admired. Unfortunately, their prayers have not been answered. HARMONY AND ORDER Now that Burma is a member of Asean, one might hope that Asean leaders will he able to help put in place a system that satisfies their notion of "Asian" harmony and order, but which precludes rule at gunpoint and "law and order" maintained by military atrocities. Surely, the desire to do away with military rule does not contravene any "Asian" values, or contradict any Asean principles. Seeing that most Asean countries are with the exception of Indonesia - ruled by civilians, it is hoped that the principle of civilian supremacy over the military will be respected, or that this basic principle accepted by almost all Asean governments and leaders will not be dishonoured. Now that Asean leaders have shown the West that they are masters of their turf by admitting Burma - or rather, the illegitimate Slorc junta - into the club, it is hoped that they will now proceed to "constructively engage" with leaders who represent the people of Burma, and the person chosen by them as their champion - Suu Kyi. If Asean leaders can "constructively engage" with those who hold power at gunpoint and continue to commit atrocities, there is no reason for them not to deal with leaders who have won an election or are popularly acclaimed as legitimate leaders. After all, the popular struggle in Burma is not directed against Asian values, nor is it aimed at discrediting a variety of political arrangements set up by Asean leaders in their respective countries. It is a struggle against rule at gunpoint by a handful of generals who represent, at best, only a small segment of the military. The struggle of Burma is, in other words, a struggle by the people for civilian rule based on the consent of the ruled. This is the kind of governance which no Asean leaders have directly and openly repudiated, notwithstanding their defence of "Asian" values. Further, it is the kind of governance - and principle - which most of them more or less adhere to in the countries they respectively govern. CHAO-TZANG YAWNGHWE is a son of the late Sao Shwe Thaike, Burma's first independent president, from 1948 to 1952. Sao Shwe Thaike also known as the respected Sawbwa of Yawnghwe - died in military custody shortly after the coup in 1962 by Gen Ne Win. This article was contributed to The Nation. ******************************************************* THE NATION: LETTER - REPRESSION CONTINUES August 12, 1997 Letter to the Editor We are Burmese students born under the repressive military dictatorship of Burma. Though we, like most others, were born with all of our human senses and intellect, the most basic human rights are denied us by one of the most brutal military regimes in the world. On March 2, 1962, the Burmese army led by Gen Ne Win staged a bloodless coup to overthrow the government. Ignoring the resentment of the Burmese people, Ne Win established total control over the country through a socialistic regime. The Burmese people were denied their democratic rights and freedom of expression and voices of dissent were repressed. On August 8, 1988, Burmese from all walks of life participated in a nation-wide demonstration to demand the reinstitution of democracy, an end to the repressive military dictatorship and the establishment of an interim government to pave the way for the beginnings of a democratic system of governance. This forced Ne Win to step down from the leadership of Burma. Nevertheless, the military regime has remained in power and continues to rule the country, oppressing the people. The people's lives have been filled with pain and suffering. Our struggle to end military rule and reinstate basic human rights in Burma continues. Kyi Htay Chairman of Overseas National Students' Organisation of Burma ******************************************************* FBC STATEMENT : AUGUST 8, 1997 August 8, 1997 From: iid@phil.gn.apc.org ASEAN: ASSERT HUMAN RIGHTS FOR BURMA Commemorative statement on the 30th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN and the 9th anniversary of the Burma uprising Today, August 8, 1997, ASEAN is 30 years old. Since its first founding it professed to be the center of cooperation, peace and stability in the region. It's various declarations, accords and treaties emanate of ideals that clearly reflect human rights standards. It has vowed "to promote regional peace and stabilty through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law" (ASEAN (Bangkok) Declaration 1967, Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia 1976), "to achieve social justice, freedom, peace, social progress, prosperity, welfare, cultural development and raise living standards of peoples of member states" (Declaration of ASEAN Accord, 1976, ASEAN Bangkok Declaration 1967, Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia 1976); and "to foster cooperation in furtherance of the cause of peace, harmony and stability in the region" (Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia 1976). But thirty years of ASEAN has meant thirty yeras of hunger and hardship for member states in Southeast Asia. A large population of this region have been subjected to the world's most appalling state abuses, ecologicak ruin and economis deprivation. Less of an explanation therefore is needed to express how deeply disappointed we are with ASEAN's record. Southeast Asian peoples remain one of the most abused and exploited members of the global community. It is also today that we remeber Burma's uprising, and subsequent sacrifices of it's martyrs. The failure of ASEAN to facilitate satisfactory solutions to Southeast Asia's problems has been doubly compounded with its accepatnce of an illegitimate government into it's ranks. Embracing Burma's military dictatorship into the fold of supposedly free and soverweign states, merely because economic opportunities therein, is a direct affront to the ideals of ASEAN, and an insult to the constituents of ASEAN member states. Yet ASEAN took it upon itself to exercise responsibility over its new member, hoping that the acceptance may introduce reforms into the country. To do this genuinely, ASEAN needs to immediately facilitate the dialogue between the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma as well as National League for Democracy. It has also establish formal monitoring mechanisms into the country's political situation, and to provide immediate assistance to the victims of violence in the coutry. Adoption of the Alternative ASEAN policy of democratization, dialogue and demilitarization must be implemented if ASEAN is to help at all. We, freedom loving citizens and peace advoates of Southeast Asia therefore challenge the ASEAN to mobilize member states toward these ends. ASEAN has no choice but to hear the voice of Burma peoples. ASEAN, if it is to be faithful to its avowed principles, has no option but to facilitate the realization of freedom and democracy in Burma-- now. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE BURMA COALITION - Initiatives for Internationl Dialogue* Philippine Alliance for Human Rights Advocates* Amnesty International-Pilipinas* Alliance of Progressive Labor* Philippine Railway Workers Union-International Transport Workers Federation* ALTSEAN-BURMA* FORUM-ASIA* Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma* Campaign for Popular Democracy* Amnesty International-Thailand Free Burma Coalition- Philippines c/o Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)/ Unit D-15, 2nd Floor CASAL Building, #15 Anonas Street, Project 3, Quirino District, 1102, Quezon City ************************************* KYO: KAREN NATIONAL MARTYRS' DAY August 12, 1997 From: "Nemesis G. 739" OUR BELIEFS AND DETERMINATION IN COMMEMORATION OF KAREN NATIONAL MARTYRS' DAY AUGUST 12, 1997 To us, the "independence" Burma gained in 1948 is but a domination over all other nationalities in Burma by the Burman. The taking up of arms by almost all the nationalities against the ruling Burmese government is sufficient proof that though Burma got its independence, only the Burman have really enjoyed independence and they have subjected the other nationalities. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) headed by Gen. Than Shwe will never and can never solve the crisis in the country. The Karen revolution is more than just a struggle for survival against national oppression, subjugation, exploitation and domination of the Karen people by the Burmese rulers. It has the aim of a genuine union comprised of all the states of the nationalities on the basis of equality and self-determination. In our march towards our objectives we shall uphold the four principles laid down by our beloved leader, the late Saw Ba U Gyi, which are: 1. For us surrender is out of the question. 2. The recognition of the Karen State must be completed 3. We shall retain our arms. 4. We shall decide our own political destiny. Signed: Karen Youth Organization ( Australia ) Karen Youth Organization ( Canada ) Karen Youth Organization ( France) Karen Youth Organization (Japan) Karen Youth Organization (Kaw Thoo Lei) Karen Youth Organization ( India ) Karen Youth Organization ( United States Of America ) **************************************************** ABSDF BOOK LAUNCH: LETTERS TO A DICTATOR August 10, 1997 From: lurie@mozart.inet.co.th Dear friends, The ABSDF's latest publication 'Letters to a Dictator' can be ordered at this email address or at P.O Box 151, Klong Chan P.O, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240. Overseas orders..................US$ 5.00 Orders in Thailand...............US$ 2.00 All Burma Students' Democratic Front *****************************************************