BurmaNet Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
November 4-5, 1998
Issue #1132
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: SHADOW CABINET
UPS THE ANTE WITH "EDICTS"
4 November, 1998 by William Barnes
Burma's shadow cabinet has "cheekily" issued a stream
of recommendations to establish its claim to be
government--in--waiting, observers said yesterday. The newly
created Committee to Represent a People's Parliament may have no
legal power, but it has, for example, advised Parliament to
revoke certain repressive laws and reduce the power of rural
officials.
"It's very interesting. Very significant. The opposition are
upping the ante -- showing what a democratic government can
do," said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative
Asean Network on Burma.
The committee was set up in September when the ruling junta
stymied moves by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy to reconvene Parliament by arresting a
swathe of MPs from a 1990 election. The league -- which won that
election by a landslide -- claims the representative committee is
legitimate because it has been approved by 250 MPs; more than
half the original 459--member House. In its first statement it
declared that laws and orders made without the consent of
Parliament -- or since September 18, 1988 -- have no legal
authority.
It later recommended scrapping the 1950 Emergency Provisions law
which was "excessively cited and illegally used to
persecute". The new body has inevitably met only scathing
criticism from the authorities, but by issuing such proclamations
it may answer the criticism -- voiced even by some critics of the
junta -- that the opposition has no concrete policies.
"The league's policies have been little more than wish lists
in the past. The statements address very particular issues and
could ultimately be honed into a manifesto of real merit,"
said one political analyst.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi recently repeated her call for the military
to enter into a dialogue with the opposition.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: MYANMAR OPPOSITION
MEMBER RESIGNS FROM PARLIAMENT
4 November, 1998
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A member of Myanmar's chief opposition
party has resigned as a member of the parliament elected in 1990
but never allowed by the military government to meet, a state
newspaper said Tuesday. Min Thu Wun, an 89-year-old scholar and
poet, cited age as his reason for stepping down, the newspaper
New Light of Myanmar said. The resignation adds to the dozens of
members of the parliament who have quit in recent years. Some
have accused the government of pressuring them to resign.
Min Thu Wun is the second member of parliament for the National
League for Democracy, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San
Suu Kyi, to have quit since Suu Kyi stepped up a campaign against
the military government in July. Myanmar, also known as Burma,
has been ruled by the military since 1962. Suu Kyi rose to
prominence in anti-government uprisings in 1988 that were
bloodily suppressed. The military allowed elections in 1990 but
never honored the results after the opposition won in a
landslide.
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: BURMA SEES
HOPE IN RICE
2 November, 1998 by Thomas Crampton
It Seeks Foreign Help to Try to Expand Exports
Phuket, Thailand - Burma, once the rice bowl of Asia, is renewing
efforts to revive its languishing agricultural industry by
developing large production zones for rice for export and
enlisting foreign investment. Among the projects is a 38,000
hectare (94,000-acre) island in the fertile Irrawaddy river delta
that has been set aside for long-term leasing to grow rice for
export. After selling half the crop to the govt. at near market
prices, investors can export the remainder.
Domestic and foreign investors have expressed an interest in
growing rice and other crops in Burma for export, but
participants at an International rice conference here last week
said aging infrastructure and unclear govt. policy could doom the
plans. The world's largest rice exporter in the years after World
War II, Burma has seen its agricultural production wither under
decades of socialism and isolation from the rest of the world. In
recent years, rumors of increased rice exports have caused
hoarding.
This year, Burma expects to export nearly 100,00 metric tons
(110,000 short tons) of rice valued at about $23 million. While
that is a sharp increase from 14,000 metric tons last year, it is
still millions of tons below what is regarded as the country's
potential. While global demand for rice is easing now, it is
expected to pick up again in years to come. Growing population
and shrinking amounts of land under cultivation are expected to
Asia's demand for rice imports over the next decade or so. Burma
is the only nation in the region positioned to meet the
shortfall, according to the International Rice Research
Institute.
Confusing export-policy changes have doom several recent attempts
to encourage rice cultivation and could undermine the current
initiative. But a desperate need for hard currency is forcing the
govt. to make greater concession in return for foreign
involvement, one source said, citing an agreement with a foreign
rice-trading company to select several thousand tons of
high-quality rice for export this year.
Malaysia, which ahs an industrialization policy that calls for
development of outside rice sources, is considering investment in
the Burmese production zone, said Larry Wong, senior consultant
to Malaysia's monopoly rice importer, Padiberas National Bhd., or
Bernas. The difficulty with projects such as Nyaungdon island in
the Irrawaddy - which already has several domestic investors - is
that it involves large tracts of land that require firming
techniques never before employed in Asia.
While rice farmers in the United States and Australia seed
200-acre tracts by aircraft and harvest by tractor, most Asian
farmers plant and reap rice by hand on small plots. Large-scale
cultivation requires a complex infrastructure, including
fertilization systems, irrigation pumps and modern drying
facilities, that is often unavailable for Burma's old fashioned
rice industry.
"The greatest difficulty will be getting the full supply
chain working," Mr Wong said. "You may plant great rice
in the world's best soil. But if you can't mill, polish and
export efficiently, the project will fail."
THE NATION: BURMESE MEDIA CONTINUE
ANTI-SUU KYI TIRADE
3 November, 1998
AFP
RANGOON - The Burmese people hate opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi because she is trying to destroy peace and stability, the
state media said yesterday. The Nobel Peace laureate wants to
tear down progress in social and infrastructure development, the
state-run New Light of Myanmar said in an editorial
"Such appreciable progress achieved in peace and stability
is too valuable to be permitted to be destroyed by alien's wife
Suu Kyi and NLD [National League for Democracy] traitorous,
destructive elements," the article said.
"They are bound to suffer the wrath of the people, whose
well-being is threatened by them."
The junta repeatedly raises Aung San Suu Kyi's marriage to a
Briton as evidence of "treachery" against her race and
nation. While under house arrest she led the NLD to a landslide
victory in 1990 elections but has never been allowed to form a
government. She was released from detention after six years in
1995, but her freedom of movement, speech and association is
strictly controlled. Hundreds of NLD members have been detained
since May in what opposition groups have called a major new
offensive against the democracy movement. A junta
"information sheet" released yesterday said eight NLD
members had been released on Thursday, bringing the total freed
in recent weeks to 118. It said there were 544 NLD
"invitees" still detained in government
"guesthouses", including 144 MPs elected in 1990.
The detainees were believed to have been freed on condition they
renounced their NLD ties and pledged support for military rule.
The junta calls it an "exchange of views."
THE NATION: HOSTAGES AND SCAPEGOATS HOW
LONG?
4 November, 1998 by Moe Aye
IN BURMA IF YOU ASK SOMEONE WHICH PRISON THEY WOULD PREFER, THE
ANSWER IS
THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO PRISONS, THE ONE WITH WALLS AND THE ONE
WITHOUT.
MOE AYE WRITES ON THE FREQUENT ARRESTS AND THE PLIGHT OF THE
RELATIVES.
The spokesman of the ruling Burmese junta said: "We didn't
arrest any members of Parliament and members of the NLD [National
League for Democracy]. We just invited them to discuss the
situation of Burma. We are taking good care of them, they are
just in our guesthouse." He continued, "Whether they
are sent back to their homes depends on the activities of the
NLD."
It really looks like a dirty political kidnap and a, big lie to
the international community. Many NLD members and MPs are now in
custody and military interrogation centres. Members of the NLD
from Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Tamwe, Seikkan and Dawbon townships
have been kept in military interrogation centre 14 since the
first week of September. Those from Bahem, Kemmendine, Sanchaung,
Latha, Lanmadaw and Kamaryut townships have been kept in military
interrogation centre 7. Many NLD youth wing members who are
considered hardcore are being kept in Insein prison.
Some MP's have now been put in Insein special jail and some are
in military interrogation centre 6. Just a handful of MPs who
have already resigned from their posts are in the junta's
guesthouse and a few were sent back home. Some are now facing
charges under section 5 (j) of the Emergency Provision Act. Some
have already been sentenced to seven years imprisonment. Some are
in the custody of their respective township police. All MPs have
had to choose one of two ways; either to go to prison or to sign
testimonies and documents which state that they do not support
the NLD's activities and the Committee Representing People's
Parliament.
It may be that those under detention will at the very least
be pressured by unlawful methods and be forced to resign from
their representative positions and from the NLD. At the same time
many student activists are in police custody at
"Aung-thapyay", the special police branch's
headquarters, as well as in military intelligence interrogation
centre 12. It is now clear that all custody interrogation centres
in Burma are not for criminals but for political activists.
Meanwhile, there are many political prisoners who have already
completed their unfair punishment, but have not yet been
released.
A woman, whose husband is an M P and still in prison despite
having completed his years of sentence, said, "I don't think
that my husband will be released from prison under this
situation. When I asked the authorities why my husband was not
released, they told me that it depends on the activities of NLD.
I understand that my husband and others who have finished their
unfair punishments are being used as 'political hostages' by the
junta. All people who hunger for democracy are being used as
scapegoats."
In reality, there are many political prisoners who had already
completed what should have been their prison terms before Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's trip out of Rangoon, the NLD's demand to
convene the people's Parliament and the students' hit and-run
demonstration. All the people of Burma under the junta have to
live with the term "by force". Forced labour, forced
relocations, forced examinations, forced rallies, and arbitrary
sentences are now familiar not only to the people of Burma but to
the international community.
When asked by a reporter which prison he had had to live in, Ye
Tay Za, a prominent student activist and former political
prisoner replied, "Which prison do you mean? There are only
two prisons in Burma - the prison with walls and the prison
without walls". His answer clearly states the situation of
Burma. All activists have to go to the prison with walls and the
rest have to live in the prison without walls. During the junta's
forced rallies, the junta's hired men accuse Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and the NLD of destroying the country's future, but they never
acknowledge that the NLD was the winning party in the May 1990
election. Although the NLD constantly demands a genuine dialogue,
not power transfer, the junta refuses not only dialogue but also
every reasonable demand.
The problem is that the junta has no intention of accepting the
NLD as a winning party in the May 1990 election. The junta
ignores the fact that as long as they don't recognise the result
of the May 190 election, the country's situation will be getting
worse and worse. However, they still claim that they are the only
ones who really love the country. When the daughter of State
Peace and Development Council secretary (23 General Tin Oo died
in a bomb explosion at their house on April 6, 1997, the
state-run newspaper accused Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as a Peace
Nobel Laureate, of not being compassionate because she had not
sent a condolence letter to General Tin Oo. They forgot to
explain why U Tin Maung Win, U Hla Than, U Saw Win, (all are MPs
from the NLD), U Maung Ko (a member of Central Committee of the
NLD) and Mr Leo Nichols, honorary consul for Norway, Demnark,
Finland, and Switzerland, died in custody. The junta never sent
condolence letters to their families. Worse, their families did
not have not the right to see their loved ones' funerals.
There are many political prisoners who died in prison because of
poor medical treatment and harassment. The junta never thinks to
sympathise with those whose relatives died in prison and
interrogation centres and to send condolence letters to them.
Although there were many innocent students shot dead during the
1988 popular uprising, far from sympathising, the junta never
allows anybody to hold the memory of them. Anyone who tried to
hold the memory was accused of trying to destroy the country's
stability and was sent to prison, charged under section 5 (j) of
the Emergency Provision Act.
The junta accuses 'the lady' (what the Burmese military calls Suu
Kyi) of trying to persuade western countries to impose economic
sanctions on Burma. However, it still neglects to explain to its
own people why the Golden Land turned into the least developed
country and the IMF declared that it would not grant loans or
have financial dealings with Burma any more. Although the junta
has a huge budget for the extension of the military, the secret
police, interrogation centres and prisons, there is a small
budget for social welfare, medical care and education. But they
are still crying that they are paving a path to democracy.
A tourist who recently visited Burma said that he met with many
ordinary people and asked many questions about what he wanted to
know. When he asked one civil servant about the junta, he was
told, "We don't like the junta completely. At the same time,
we don't want to see an uprising like 1988. The junta and the
people have different reasons for not wanting another uprising.
The junta fear to face an uprising because of losing their power.
We fear because of losing innocent people. The junta is now
taking advantage of our fear. But I believe there is a limit to
how long the people can go on without taking action. Much of our
people's patience has now nearly run out". When he asked
another civil servant why he attended a mass rally to denounce
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, he was told, "Before the
mass rally, we all had to sign an agreement that we would attend
whatever it was. We also had to sign that if we were absent, we
would be fired from our jobs. We felt so sad hearing the
denouncing of e our lady and the NLD. We voted for the NLD
because we believe in the lady. During that pretend mass rally,
we felt ourselves to be scapegoats and robots. However, when the
high-ranking officers at the rally called out slogans denouncing
the NLD, we did not shout these slogans as we were expected to
do. I do hope we all will be united in not attending such a
forced mass rally again". According to sources, all
businessmen have to donate to the junta. They are threatened that
if they refuse to donate, their work permits and licences will be
withdrawn. The term "forced donation" has also become
familiar to all Burmese businessmen.
The source said, "Many ordinary people are watching what the
10 member committee [the Committee Representing People's
Parliament] will do and are waiting for their guidance. At the
same time, they wonder why the committee delays doing what they
should do". For the civil servants and workers, the junta is
using job dismissal as a weapon. For the students, bans from
continuing their studies and closure of the schools at any time.
For the political prisoners, their prison terms no longer
depend on their original sentences, but depend on the activities
of the For the NLD members and members of parliament who
are in the-so-called guest house, the way back to their homes
seems to depend on the 10 member committee representing the
elected members of parliament, according to the junta.
Strongly holding onto power, constantly telling lies, and being
unwilling to accept the results of the May 1990 election, the
junta has been oppressing its own people as hostages, scapegoats
and robots for over ten years. However, whether they end up in a
life of being scapegoats and robots depends not only on the NLD,
but also on the people of Burma who voted for the NLD in the May
1990 election.
MOE AYE is a pseudonym.
THE NATION: JUNTA HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK
FOR BURMESE
4 November, 1998 from Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe
Letter to the Editor
Once again, intellectual laziness or woolly thinking strikes
again as indicated by the headlining of an Oct 1 news report on
Radio Australia: "Burma increases pressure on Aung San Suu
Kyi". This doesn't make much sense. Why is
"Burma", whose people voted overwhelmingly for Aung San
Suu Kyi in the 1990 elections, increasing pressure on her? Has
she done something wrong against Burma or its people and their
interest? What is "Burma"? Is it the ruling junta? Can
a bunch of men in military uniforms, who have been holding the
whole country hostage at gun-point be referred to as
"Burma"? Why not say: "The military junta
increases pressure on Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi", instead
of distorting a simple and plain fact?
The equating of an unlawful and twice-rejected junta with Burma
amounts to doing the people of Burma, who have suffered
grievously from the cancer of military misrule since 1962, a
great injustice. I hope the shakers of the media world and
opinion-makers everywhere will in future be careful not to resort
to shorthand- no matter how tempting or convenient - when doing
so violates both the truth of the matter and the people of Burma.
Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe