------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: August 19, 1997 Issue #800 Noted in Passing: It is inappropriate to send dissident students to SLORC which opposes democracy and human rights in Burma. --Burmese students on the imminent extradition of Ye Thiha San Naing (BKK SIAM RAT: STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION CANCELED) HEADLINES: ========== DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR REJECTS CALL FOR DIALOGUE STRAITS TIMES: ACTIVIST' S COUSINS JAILED FOR 10 YEARS THE CANBERRA TIMES: GETTING ON THE WRONG SIDE BKK SIAM RAT: STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION CANCELED BKK POST: CROSSING AT NEW BRIDGE STILL LIMITED BKK POST: DEMARCATION PLAN CLOSER TO APPROVAL BKK POST: BURMESE ECONOMY AT 'TURNING POINT' NLM: WHAT THE COLONIALISTS' FOREIGN AID MEANS ANNOUNCEMENT: FBC OCTOBER CONFERENCE AT UCLA BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR REJECTS CALL FOR DIALOGUE August 19, 1997 Yangon ( Kyodo ) -- Myanmar on Monday rejected Japan's request that it open dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Japanese official said. Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, told State Foreign Secretary Masahiko Komura, the second highest-ranking Foreign Ministry official, that he cannot meet with people who have broken the law, even if they are leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy ( NLD ). Three relatives of Suu Kyi have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally receiving funds from an American. Komura who is on a weeklong visit to Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to hold talks with the countries' leaders, also called on Khin Nyunt to involve the NLD in drafting a new constitution. Regarding a new charter, one of the conditions for restoration of civilian rule, Khin Nyunt said his government wants to introduce democracy under a multiparty system but it would take time. ******************************************** STRAITS TIMES: ACTIVIST' S COUSINS JAILED FOR 10 YEARS August 18, 1997 AGENCIES in Rangoon Three democracy supporters, relatives of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have been sentenced to 10 years each in prison, the Government said in a statement yesterday. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s cousin and close aide Cho Aung Than, his sister, Nge Ma Ma Than, and her husband, Myint Swe, had been found guilty and sentenced under national security laws in Insein court in Rangoon, the statement said. Several other close aides and relatives of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi have been arrested and sentenced to long jail terms over the past 18 months as part of a crackdown against her movement. The statement said the three were jailed for three years for breaching the Unlawful Associations Act and seven years under the Emergency Provisions Act. It gave no further details. The three were detained in June and questioned about smuggling videotapes of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s speeches abroad. They have also been accused of being conduits for foreign funds the Government said were received by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s party, the National League for Democracy, this year, officials said. In June, Burma' s military Government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, said the league had received US$82,200 (HK$635,500) from two Americans working for United States agencies. Nobel Peace Laureate Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has strongly denied receiving the money. League vice-chairman Kyi Maung has said the party has occasionally been offered money by foreign organisations but never accepted foreign donations as a matter of principle. The court also sentenced former sailor Myo Aung Thant to life imprisonment for high treason and terrorist-linked offences, the statement said. Myo Aung Thant was convicted of attempting to smuggle explosives into Burma from Thailand earlier this year after being recruited by exiled Burmese dissidents, officials have said. The junta has accused exiled pro-democracy groups of masterminding bomb attacks in Rangoon over the past few months, one of which killed the eldest daughter of Army Chief of Staff General Tin Oo. Meanwhile, the highest-ranking delegation from Japan to visit Burma in five years arrived in Rangoon yesterday. Parliamentary Vice-Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura was to hold talks today with Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw and Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, a key member of the junta. The delegation had no plans to meet Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, the Japanese Embassy said. Mr. Komura is expected to stress to the junta the need for greater democracy. ***************************************** THE CANBERRA TIMES: GETTING ON THE WRONG SIDE August 18, 1997 Ian McPhedran IAN McPHEDRAN reports that despite its entry to the ASEAN, Burma continues to stifle its people by a network of secret intelligence services supported by China, Singapore, Russia and Israel. LATER this year one of Australia's most accomplished senior diplomats, John Dauth, will travel to Burma as the special envoy of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Dauth's brief will be to report on the reality of claims made by the Burmese Foreign Minister, Ohn Gyaw, that real progress towards democratic reform is being made by the military junta in Burma. After their meeting in Kuala Lumpur during the Association of South East Asian Nations Regional Forum, Ohn Gyaw attempted to mislead the media by saying human rights was not even discussed, when in fact, the meeting was dominated by human-rights issues. Downer was furious and he wants Dauth to provide him with advice on a possible change in policy to take account of a regime that is even prepared to break the code of honour between foreign ministers. Dauth's biggest problem will be that from the moment he sets foot in the country until he leaves, he will be under constant surveillance, his conversations will be bugged and he will get nowhere near any of the grim realities of the place such as the appalling border refugee camps or the torture cells at places such as the notorious Insein prison. In May this year one of the military strong men running Burma's military government, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, said, ''It has become especially necessary to contain the undisciplined import of foreign beliefs under the pretext of democracy and human rights, unfettered freedom, the Western style behaviour, such as individualism, which undermines the family or union spirit which the Myanmar [Burma] people cherish.'' He went on to say that it was necessary to contain efforts to promote the spread of Western behaviour and culture in the country. In a comprehensive working paper on Burma's intelligence apparatus published by the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, strategic analyst and former SDSC visiting fellow Andrew Selth paints a detailed picture of just how Khin Nyunt and his ilk keep destructive notions such as freedom, democracy and human rights at bay. Khin Nyunt is one of the most feared and reviled leaders of the Burmese junta. He runs the peak intelligence body, the Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence, which controls the Military Intelligence Service (the acronym MIS sends a shiver down the spine of most Burmese) and all other intelligence agencies. It is no exaggeration to say that the DDSI, MIS or one of the other agencies has spies on virtually every street corner in Burma as well as in many overseas diplomatic missions and within Burmese expatriate communities in key countries such as Australia. The SLORC has not been acting alone in its quest for oppression through observation and fear. According to Selth's paper China, Singapore, Russia and Israel have all played a role in providing Khin Nyunt and his shadowy agencies with technical equipment and training. China is the leading provider of equipment (and arms) to the SLORC. ''Singapore has developed a close relationship with the SLORC in recent years and is thought to be training large numbers of Burmese secret police at an institution in central Singapore. There have also been persistent rumours that Israel's Central Institute for Intelligence and Security (Mossad) has provided training for Burma's intelligence agencies,'' Selth says. According to the paper, it is also believed that Israel trained Burma's anti-terrorist unit and the SLORC's personal bodyguards. Both Singapore and Israel are suspected of providing signals interception and encryption equipment to the DDSI along with training packages. There is also good reason to believe that the SLORC has acquired equipment, possibly from Singapore's Defence Technology Group, to protect domestic communications from hostile interception. China, India and Thailand reportedly monitor Burmese radio traffic on a regular basis. The DDSI is focused on gathering information about the structure, membership, policies and methods of numerous organisations. According to Selth, enormous amounts of the country's scarce resources have been put into building up personal dossiers on known and suspected dissidents in Burma, members of the diplomatic community and even foreign critics of the regime who live abroad. Intelligence agencies have a considerable capacity to monitor organisations and individuals believed to constitute a threat to the regime. They are also able to collect large amounts of information, both within Burma and abroad. As well as employing a vast network of spies they utilise the full range of listening techniques, including secret listening devices, phone taps, mail interception and unauthorised access to local bank accounts. According to Selth, it is even possible that the DDSI interferes with diplomatic bags. In fact, diplomatic personnel posted to the capital, Rangoon, complain of being watched and assume as a matter of course that their phones are tapped. They must obtain permission to travel more than 25km from the General Post Office and their domestic servants are subject to interrogation about the activities and personal beliefs of particular diplomats. THE INTELLIGENCE services pay particular attention to the activities of influential opposition political figures, such as Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Her house is under constant and obvious surveillance and visitors and people gathering outside to hear her speak are photographed. Anyone calling on her is required to log in at an office maintained by the DDSI outside her compound. Her telephone conversations are monitored and if the conservation is not to the SLORC's liking, it can be cut off. This happened in May 1996 during a phone interview with the BBC World Service. Selth argues that since 1989 resources devoted to Burma's intelligence services have increased immensely. ''This effort seems aimed at stamping out any challenge to continued military rule, through an overwhelming monopoly of information about military, political, economic and social developments in the country. 'The cost to Burma of this massive intelligence effort are impossible to calculate, but they must be considerable. The SLORC's allocation of scarce resources (including precious foreign exchange) to the blanket surveillance of the entire population means that other critical areas of Burmese society, such as education and health services, suffer the consequences. 'Human-rights issues aside, serious questions must also be raised about the stability and ultimate survival of a system which depends to such an extent on its security services.'' ************************************************* BKK SIAM RAT: BURMESE STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION OF STUDENT CANCELED August 14, 1997 [translated from Thai] A group of Burmese student representatives yesterday submitted a letter to a UN office in Bangkok calling for the cancellation of the extradition of Ye Thiha San Naing, a political prisoner, to Burma. They also called on Thailand to halt the opening of the Mae Sot-Myawadi Friendship Bridge scheduled for 15 August. The letter, addressed to the UNHCR offices in Bangkok and Geneva, asks for assistance for Ye Thiha San Naing, who was arrested by Thai authorities and later sentenced to 5 years for possession of arms. Ye joined in the uprising in Burma in 1988 and fled into Thailand after the Burmese military junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC], seized the power. He and his friend fled into Thailand in a hijacked Burmese plane. The letter asks the UNHCR to recognize Ye as a person whose life is in danger and press Thailand to cancel the planned extradition of Ye to Burma and to ask Thailand to protect Ye as a person whose life is in danger. Another letter has been sent to the Thai government. It says that the group has learned that the Thai authorities have reached an agreement with SLORC for the extradition of Ye, who was arrested in 1993 on charges of possession of arms and ammunition. The letter says that the decision is unfair for Ye who has fought against SLORC in order to call for the restoration of democracy in Burma. It is inappropriate to send dissident students to SLORC which opposes democracy and human rights in Burma. The opening of the Thai-Myawadi friendship bridge on 15 August will step up SLORC's oppression of the Burmese people. The Thai government should not help build up SLORC's strength. As a result, the students called on the Thai government to refrain from the following: supporting SLORC in oppressing the movements fighting for democracy; sending students back to SLORC; and, supporting the direct and indirect oppression of the Burmese. In addition, the group wants the Thai government to do the following: for long term benefit, the government should cancel Ye's extradition and guarantee his safety on Thai soil; halt the opening of the friendship bridge; and, support Burmese students living in Thailand who are fighting for democracy and against the military government. ********************************************** BKK POST: CROSSING AT NEW BRIDGE STILL LIMITED August 18, 1997 Supamart Kasem Burma not yet able to take vehicular traffic Mae Sot, Tak -- Use of the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge linking Mae Sot and, Myawaddy is still limited despite its official opening last Friday. People of both countries were "allowed to cross the border without" having to use a border pass for three days following the opening of the bridge. But from today they will be required to obtain proper travelling documents. The first convoy of 20 cars crossed the bridge on Saturday, taking 51 Thai businessmen, led by Tak Chamber of Commerce vice president Paniti Tangphati, from Mae Sot to Myawaddy. After the convoy returned to Mae Sot on Sunday, no other vehicles were allowed across the bridge as the Burmese said they were not yet ready to handle vehicular traffic and travelling documents involving vehicles and passengers. The Thai businessmen were welcomed on arrival at Myawaddy on Saturday by Lt Col Khin Maung Win, chief of Myawaddy border trade. The lieutenant colonel took them to see some of the areas designated industrial zones under a Thai-Burmese industrial cooperation agreement along Mae Sot-Myawaddy Moulmein-Rangoon Road. A 10,000-acre area has been set aside for investment by private firms along Myawaddy-Kawkareik Road and another 40 acres near Myawaddy town for the construction of a transport centre. Under the Thai-Burmese cooperation agreement, there would be 33 projects worth about 48,000 million baht along the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Moulmein-Rangoon Road. Thirteen of the projects, worth 21,429 million baht, will be on the Thai side and the rest worth 26,626 million baht in Burma. ********************************************* BKK POST: DEMARCATION PLAN CLOSER TO APPROVAL August 18, 1997 Nussara Sawatsawang Burma is today expected to endorse Thailand's proposal for demarcating the two countries' 2,400 kilometre border without touching on disputed areas, a senior Foreign Ministry official said. The proposal, approved in principle when senior officials met early last month in Rangoon, will be tabled at a meeting in Bangkok tomorrow of the Joint Boundary Committee, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Pitak Intrawithyanunt and his Burmese counterpart Nyunt Swe. Somboon Sa-ngiambutre, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, and Burma's U Aye Lwin win chair today's meeting. Mr. Somboon said the ministers were likely to assign legal experts and technicians to demarcate the ill-defined boundary by bypassing spots where both sides were unable to resolve conflicting claims. The aim is to break a long-standing deadlock and pave the way for site-specific negotiations once the entire border has been surveyed, he added. 'This is totally different," he said. "In previous talks, both sides made contentious points the priority.' ******************************************************* BKK POST: BURMESE ECONOMY AT 'TURNING POINT' August 18, 1997 [slightly abridged] 22 countries bring in More than $6.2 bn Rangoon, AFP -- Foreign investment in Burma is growing, bringing the country's economy to a turning point, the state-run press reported. Some 22 countries had invested a total of more than $6.2 billion through 260 firms, with oil and natural gas the biggest sector for foreign involvement, the New Light of Myanmar said in a commentary. The country was no longer operating a socialist or centralised economic system, the paper said, and now welcomed foreign investment. State-owned companies were being gradually privatised. "Today's national economic system is totally different form the past's centralised economic policy as Myanmar (Burma) has changed to market-orientated economic system," the daily said. "Thus it can be said the nation's economy is at a turning point. The number of foreign firms allowed to invest in Burma in fiscal 1996 was 78, double the 39 admitted the previous year. The 78 firms invested $2.8 billion, up from 668 million the year before, the paper said. Britain ranked highest in the latest list of foreign investors, with 29 firms bringing $1.32 billion into the country. Singapore ranks second, investing $1.22 billion, followed by Thailand with 1.13 billion and the United States with $582 million. Malaysia was investing 524 million and France $470 million, the paper said. The figures stand up to the end of June 1997. "Now the private businesses are being promoted to Play a crucial role in the nation's economy while the cooperative firms and state-owned enterprises have become second and third economic sectors of the nation respectively" it added. "State-owned enterprises are being privatised gradually." The most popular sector for foreign investors is oil and natural gas, followed by production, although the paper did not give details, as well as housing, hotels and tourism. "Foreign investments are rising rapidly as foreign investors have much confidence in Myanmar's political stability. The nation's rich natural resources and fair labour charges are also its other advantages," it said. ******************************************************* NLM: WHAT THE COLONIALISTS' FOREIGN AID MEANS August 12 - 13, 1997 [abridged] by Maung Hmat Kyauk [12 Aug, p 5] The US mostly employs the dollar as weapon to realize its ignoble objective. Spending those dollars it has made use of print media, radios and TVs. Then, it has launched the disinformation campaign by withholding authentic news, disseminating concocted news and sowing discord. It has tried to mislead and deceive the world public. The double standard policy of the Western print media to follow the dictates of the dollar in disregard of ethics meant for the Press and to black out the authentic news is called Black Journalism. As the Fascist Hitler of Nazi Germany employed the Black Journalism during the World War II, the Americans are practicing it today. Personalities of both the West and the East who have come to Myanmar are amazed to witness the progress and stability in Myanmar today. Extending dollars in aid for spreading rumours, the US government has created upheavals in international affairs. Another kind of assistance of neo-colonialists is money and weapons extended to the opposition elements, expatriates and insurgent groups of target nations to destabilize the situation there. In many nations around the world, armies were lured with assistance to seize power and topple ruling governments. Millions of dollars were given in aid to opposition parties in times of elections. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually takes charge of such tasks. The print media has repeatedly disclosed CIA involvement in the elections using dollar. The CIA is skilled in breeding internal axe-handles, cohorts and mercenary politicians in a country, feeding the expatriates of that country and providing assistance in money, weapons and training in acts of terrorism to armed insurgents in the jungles and making use of them. Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt on 27-6-97 clarified how Western powers had been aiding and abetting terrorism committed by certain organizations operating in the guise of democracy and human rights by giving them assistance in both cash and kind. He did so with firm and complete evidence. The nature of internal and external subversives has thus been brought to light inside the country and outside because of the Secretary-1's sound and precise clarification. I have stated a rough picture of how budget appropriations are passed by the US Congress and directly administered by the US State Department, and how CIA is extending such assistance through semi-government and non-governmental organizations to the Myanmar expatriates, axehandles, their stooges and terrorists in the article "Those who are harnessed by the dollar". No one can deny that there are links and connections between the CIA and Sein Win (expatriate), between Sein Win and expatriates in Japan and Bangkok, and between expatriates and axe-handles of Daw Suu Kyi inside the country and that those destructive elements have committed bomb explosions and killed people in Myanmar. Still, Daw Suu Kyi refuted that she would not accept terrorist acts and explosions in any way and had not committed such acts since her father (Bogyoke Aung San) himself was assassinated by terrorists. Then, there arises the need to ask Daw Suu Kyi a question who said she would not accept terrorist acts because Bogyoke Aung San was assassinated by the terrorists. The question is: "If so, why did she marry an English man of the British colonialists who Bogyoke Aung San hated much?" Please answer through the BBC. Let's hear the answer. Do not answer that she married an English man because she stayed in England for long. It will not be a sound answer. Why didn't she follow the example of her brother who lived in the US for long but married a Myanmar woman? Her acceptance of US$ 80,000 from a US citizen Philip Robertson and US$ 5,200 from another John Vincent Osolnick then surfaced with evidence. Daw Suu Kyi flatly denied in spite of the undeniable fact. How shall we trust such a person who denied facts. Parasites of Daw Suu Kyi also echoed her voice in denying the fact. Such refutations and denials have become best jokes of 1997. I have already presented the figures concerning how the US State Department with the approval of the US Congress had assisted dollars through various organizations every year to destructive elements sabotaging Myanmar. The figures covered financial assistance extended from 1990 to 1996. I have also written that arrangements are being made to provide US$ 5 million in aid in 1997. [13 Aug, p 5] I have also presented the names of the organizations that have provided aid and those which distributed it. The Americans have been extending aid to their destructive stooges and opposition groups all over the world every year. I have stated that the American government officially gave aid to Myanmar expatriates and armed insurgents 40 times beginning 1990. It does not mean that the number 40 represents all. There have been many instances in which the aid was extended secretly or indirectly, or bribes given by the CIA. I will again present the 40 occasions how the US Congress and US government in collusion gave the tax money of US citizens to Myanmar expatriates and axe-handles. National Endowment for Democracy (NED) provided Myanmar anti- government groups with US$ 36,325 through International Republican Institute in 1990 during the latter's visits to Myanmar, Nepal and Hong Kong. The funds were allocated under the headings (a) public affairs policy, (b) education, (c) elections, (d) legislative affairs and (e) the rule of law. (An indication that there was interference in the elections held in Myanmar in 1990 with the use of dollar.) NED provided NLD (Liberated Area) or expatriate Sein Win and the group with US$ 15,000 in 1991. ICHRDD provided US$ 9,000 (for 12 months) to underground human rights group in 1991 for promoting human rights and bringing out publications. NED provided US$ 10,000 to Association to Develop Democratic Burma (ADDB) in 1992 for development of democracy and bringing out publications. NED gave US$ 45,000 to 21-member DAB group in 1992 to undergo combat training under the heading, education. NED gave US$ 75,000 to Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) in The fund was to be used for taping in Bangkok under the supervision of NCGUB (expatriate government) for the broadcasting station in Norway established by CIA for expatriate Sein Win's group. NED gave expatriates US$ 50,059 through IRI in 1993 to carry out activities in Bangladesh at Myanmar border in the name of NLD/Liberated Area. NED gave US$ 15,000 to DAB in 1993 to bring out Burma Alert publication. NED gave US$ 10,000 to Karen Youth Organization (KYO) under the KNU command in 1993 for convening a conference. NED gave US$ 111,636 to NLD (LA) through IRI in 1993 as training costs under the heading, public affairs policy. ICHRDD gave US$ 6,049 to Burma Action Group (BAG) in 1993 for securing the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and standing for the costs to establish connections under the heading, human rights. ICHRDD gave US$ 10,000 to the funds of NCGUB or expatriate government of expatriate Sein Win and Bo Mya in 1993 through Canada- Burma Working Group (CBWG). ICHRDD gave US$ 39,000 to Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) and ADDB in 1993 (for 24 months) to stand for costs of NCGUB military engagements. ICHRDD gave US$ 12,000 to expatriate Sein Win and Bo Hla Tint of NCGUB to stand for their travelling costs to Canada in 1992. ICHRDD gave US$ 200,000 to NCGUB in 1993 (for 24 months) to enable it to set up offices in Bangkok and New York to maintain international organizations including UN. ICHRDD gave US$ 25,000 to ADDB in 1994 (for 12 months) as funds for the NCGUB and political brokers and mediators. ICHRDD gave US$ 45,000 to Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) in 1994 (for 36 months) as funds to overcome difficulties in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, East Timor and Taiwan through a solidarity network. ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to CFOB in 1994 (for 12 months) to seek mediation of the Canadian government and Canadian Parliament for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to promote democracy. ICHRDD gave US$ 10,000 to international human rights law group in 1994 (for six months) as funds to take action against Myanmar government for HR violations and to find ways for the UN General Assembly to take action. NED gave US$ 120,066 to NLD (LA) through IRI in 1994. NED gave US$ 10,000 to International Relations Foundation in 1994 as funds for production of video features on Myanmar human rights to be shown on TV stations throughout the world. NED gave US$ 30,000 to ADDB in 1994 to bring out Burma Alert monthly featuring news about Myanmar democratic movement. NED gave US$ 115,000 to NCGUB in 1994 to use in translation and broadcasting programmes of DVB. NED gave US$ 15,000 to KYO through ADDB to train and educate Kayin youths along Thai-Myanmar border. ICHRDD gave US$ 1,072 to Canada-Burma Friends Department for a month in 1995 to publish education pamphlets and produce video tapes. NED gave US$ 247,786 to International National Democratic Party for 12 months in 1996 under a six-month programme to assist Myanmar democracy movement in Asia Network. NED gave US$ 40,000 to ADDB in 1996 to publish 5,000 copies of Burma Alert journal. ICHRDD gave US$ 1,500 to Canada-Burma Friends Association as a 12-month assistance for public relations in 1996. ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to Canada-Burma Friends Association for 12 months in 1996. The aid programmes was for the Canadian government to interfere in Myanmar's human rights affairs. ICHRDD gave US$ 16,000 to Bangkok-based NGOs for 12 months in 1996 to conduct activities along the border. ICHRDD gave VCF US$ 2,000 for three months in 1996 to use by 19 NGOs in making connections with Canada and Asian nations in carrying out human rights activities. ICHRDD gave US$ 20,000 to Asia Forum for 12 months in 1996 to collectively take part in Myanmar's democracy affairs. ICHRDD gave US$ 2,500 to committee to hold a conference on rebuilding democracy in Burma as funds of secretariat of New Delhi- based Burma political donors. ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to FTU for 18 months in 1996 concerning force labour and for Myanma democracy front. ICHRDD gave US$ 50,000 to NCGUB for nine months in 1996 for political rivalry and to transfer power. ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to Shan human rights foundation (secretariat of Burma political donors) for 12 months in 1996 for the secretariat to assist in democracy and human rights affairs of minorities of Shan State of Mae Hong Son-based national races. NED gave US$ 14,780 to Burma bar council in 1997 for education plans on law and principles of Myanmar and on human rights. NED gave US$ 5,000 to NCGUB in 1997 to upgrade documents of Bangkok-based human rights record group. NED gave US$ 45,000 to Albert Einstein Institute in 1997 to use in refresher course for staff of political defiance committee and two-week course for members of democracy front. Foundation Jean Jaures gave 50,000 French francs to Janata Party of India in 1997. Janata Party will organize a regional conference in New Delhi or in Hydrabad in 1997. The aid-programme is aimed at organizing democracy leaders of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to attend it. Not a penny of the above stated 40 assistance programmes are for the people of Myanmar. They are the funds to create disturbances in Myanmar, to destroy her, to install a puppet government of America in Myanmar and to interfere in her internal affairs. The total amount of these 40 programmes is just a very small percent of the actual expenditure of neocolonialists in their attempts to destroy Myanmar. I have stated these as the evidence of the interference of American Congress and the American President in Myanmar's internal affairs by paying large amount of dollars to their minions. ***************************************** ANNOUNCEMENT: FBC OCTOBER CONFERENCE AT UCLA August 14, 1997 From: "Aung Min" Dear Free Burma Supporters, The conference is scheduled to be from Oct. 4 thru 6 (Saturday through Monday). Advance registration forms page will be up at our webpage at http://wicip.org/fbc/ very soon. The conference organizing is going well, our colleagues from outside of the U.S. are planning to attend. We are all excited about the prospect of seeing the old spiders again, as well as meeting the new ones. Please contact us if you are interested in making financial contributions to this conference. We solely depend on our own Free Burma community resources rather than seek corporate sponsorship and contributions. Individual contributions, donations from Burmese exiled-dissident communities and American University Community helped pay for all the expenses for the conference. Finally, please note that there are a few minor changes in the conference announcement. Again, sorry for any inconveniences. peace, FBC Conf. Registration Group ANNOUNCEMENT: Free Burma Conference '97 at UCLA October 4-6, 1997 Type of conference: Not a typical "conference." We will participate in public demonstrations in front of UNOCAL HQ in addition to attending workshops, brainstorming sessions, and organizing break-outs. This conference will build on the tremendous success of our conference last February at American University. Who is invited: We are inviting everyone who is active working in the Free Burma movement, in addition to others who have worked for democracy and human rights in other social movements and countries. We are also inviting anyone who is interested in the struggle for democracy in Burma. This includes all Burmese living around the world, university students around the world, and community activists and professionals working for human rights. The maximum number of attendees who we can feed and accommodate is 300. So please do register as soon as possible. If you register by Aug 31st and mail the registration fee, you will receive a newly designed Free Burma T-shirt, specifically for this conference when you arrive.. Objectives: 1). to help build a better coordinated grassroots movement internationally 2). to create a sense of a worldwide Free Burma community 3). to deal with some technical issues involving economic activism 4). to educate non-Burmese activists about our struggle both inside and outside 5). to use it as a recruitment forum for the U.S. campaign 6). to send a message to those inside Burma that we are doing everything we can in order to aid their movement inside 7). to help concentrate Free Burma movement in California and to pass Los Angeles and its state sanctions, 5). to put more pressure on UNOCAL and ARCO Activities: During the evening, we will have music and concerts performed by the Free Burma activists with artistic and musical talents. During the day, workshops and seminars on economic activism, international media and Free Burma movement, histories and cultures of Burma, ethnicity and nation-building, heroin production and trafficking under the current SLORC regime, the plight of refugees, women's issues with special reference to sexual slavery of women in Burma, policy perspectives and international lobbying, and so on. Cost: A small registration fee of $20 is required. Transportation and Food: Air fare and travel expenses are on your own. Directions from LAX airport to conference site (UCLA) will be posted. Bus tokens for public transportation (from housing place to the campus and vice versa) will be provided. Chinese, Indian, Mexican and different delicious vegetarian foods will be served for free of charge. Housing: As you know Los Angeles is an expensive place. We don't have enough funds to provide housing. So we ask attendees to pay their own. We have reserved some housings as low as $10 a night. There are some hotels and motels we have checked. Details of these housing options will be posted soon. Or if you have friends and relatives, we would like to request you to put their place as first option. Also, if you know of any one who can host a few people at their place, please let us know. What to bring: Sleeping bags, musical instruments, tooth brushes, coffee mugs, etc. Request of sponsors: Since we are really tight in funds, we are looking to raise a little money to help make this conference 100% successful. If you know of anyone who might like to help sponsor a portion of this event, please let us know. Scholarship: If you want and can come to the conference but having financial problem for housing, please let us know. We will try to work that out. During the push to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's, US influence became most powerful when students and other across the nation mobilized at a national level. Now with more than 150 universities around the world working to help restore democracy, human rights, and freedom in Burma, incredible influence can be achieved through coordinated action. When over 50 universities and 13 high schools participated in the "Free Burma Fast" in October 1996, national attention was brought to the plight of Burma through local organizing. The Free Burma Coalition's conference in Los Angeles in October seeks to further transforming awareness into constructive action across the globe. REGISTRATION: For advance registration, we will make web-registration available for those with access to the worldwide web. Please send the check to the FBC-Los Angeles (payable FBC-Los Angeles). Finally, we will update on the status of the conference very often. If you need more information, please contact: The Free Burma Coalition - Los Angeles P.O. Box 341196 Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310) 838-8721 (310) 450-5375 (310) 399-0703 (fax) *pls. call ahead to fax bfla@freeburma.org asmin@pacbell.net aliburma@ix.netcom.com *********************************************** BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can: Campus activism: zni@students.wisc.edu Boycott campaigns: ai268@freenet.carleton.ca Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@gol.com Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away] Fonts: tom@cs.colgate.edu High School Activism: [volunteer needed] History of Burma: zni@students.wisc.edu International Affairs: Julien Moe: moe@interport.net Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.com Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@Compuserve.com Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed] Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@oats.farm.niu.edu Burma-India border Aung San Myint: aungsan@giasd101.vsnl.net.in Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Pipeline Campaign freeburma@irn.org Resettlement info: refugee_help@mail.serve.com Rakhaing (Arakan) history/culture Kyaw Tha Hla:thisthis@nyc.pipeline.com Rohingya culture volunteer needed Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@ix.netcom.com Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net Total - France Dawn Star: cd@utopia.EUnet.fr Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S.Sutcliffe" volunteering: refugee_help@mail.serve.com World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Geographical Contacts: Massachusetts simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE BURMA WEB PAGES: http://FreeBurma.org This single page serves only as an easy to remember URL and departure point to resources promoting the establishment of democracy in Burma. Please write to FreeBurma@pobox.com to add a site or for further information." - Glen, system administrator FREE BURMA COALITION: to get involved in the Free Burma Coalition, send a message to: zni@students.wisc.edu or visit their homepage, accessible through: http:// FreeBurma.org There is also an e-mail list-server especially for Free Burma activists BURMANET SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire services and the Internet as well as original material are published. It is produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G) and the Research Department of the ABSDF. We are also grateful to many other friends around the world who send us articles to post. The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l mailing lists. For a free subscription to the BurmaNet News: send a message to: majordomo@igc.apc.org a. For the BurmaNet News only: in the message, type: subscribe burmanews-l b. For the BurmaNet News and 4-5 other messages a day: in the message, type: subscribe burmanet-l (NOTE: all lower case letters, last letter is a lower case "L", not the numeral one). Letters to the editor, comments or contributions of articles should be sent to the editor at: strider@igc.apc.org ***************************************************