BurmaNet Appropriate
Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
The BurmaNet News: November 22-23, 1998
Issue #1144
HEADLINES:
BKK POST: JUNTA SLAMS UN ACCUSATIONS
November 21, 1998
RANGOON, AFP
'ARCHAIC' COLONIAL LAW USED TO ARREST ACTIVIST
Burma yesterday reacted angrily to United Nations
allegations that serious human rights violations including rape
and torture were rife in the country. The claims, in a resolution
by the UN General Assembly's human rights commission were
"highly selective and extremely partial," said a
foreign ministry spokesman.
"The allegations of continuing violations of human rights
are not new...and are completely untrue and stem mainly from the
insurgents or those associated with them."
"There is nothing to substantiate these allegations.
Therefore we totally reject them."
Burma's permanent representative at the United Nations had
disassociated his delegation from the resolution, the spokesman
said, adding that Rangoon would continue to cooperate with the UN
even though its claims were "completely at variance with
reality". The resolution, issued in New York on Thursday,
deplored "continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar,
including extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, rape, torture,
inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour [and] forced
relocation".
It also urged the military government "to urgently expand
and intensify its contacts with the National League for Democracy
with a view to engaging in a substantive political dialogue with
... [Nobel prize winning NLD leader] Aung San Suu Kyi". The
junta has been conducting a sweep against the NLD in recent
months, arresting hundreds of activists and taking them to
government "guest houses".
Many party members have subsequently resigned-proof the
opposition says of coercion by military intelligence. The
resolution also urged that steps be taken to "permit
unrestricted communication with and physical access to Aung San
Suu Kyi, as well as other political leaders, and to protect
their physical well-being". Foreign journalists permitted to
visit Rangoon in recent weeks have been prevented from meeting
the NLD leader.
The resolution was based on work by the UN's special rapporteur,
Rajsoomer Lallah, who has not been allowed to enter Burma. The
185-nation UN General Assembly is to vote on an annual resolution
in December condemning the junta for human rights abuses. The All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said yesterday -NLD
township organiser San Maung was jailed for 15 days for not
signing a "guest list" at his friend's house in Zutchee
village on November 8.
The NLD member was charged under the Village Act, a
90-year-old colonial law which demands households keep a list of
inhabitants and inform. authorities before 9 p.m. of any guests
staying overnight. The 'guest list' is an example of the extreme
repression under which the people of Burma live," ABSDF
spokesman Aung Naing Oo said.
BKK POST: 80 ILLEGAL WORKERS HELD IN BOAT RAID
November 20, 1998
Phuket - Eighty illegal Burmese workers were arrested
by naval officers in a raid on two boats with logging equipment
off Surin Island 0 Wednesday. Third Fleet commander Vice Admiral
Somphop Phuridej said naval officers on vessel Tor 78 searched
two boats east of Surin Island, about 20 nautical miles from
Burmese waters, and found a total of 80 aliens, 16 chainsaws and
communications equipment on the boats.
GREMAN PRESS AGENCY: SPY CHIEF CEMENTS CONTROL IN
RESHUFFLE
November 21, 1998
FROM: BURMA [Greman Press Agency]
By BRUCE HAWKE in Rangoon
Burma's intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, has
used a recent leadership reshuffle to cement his position at the
head of the most powerful bloc in the Government, according to
analysts. Under his effective control, the junta - criticised
around the world for gross human rights abuses - seems set to
embark on a campaign to try to gain legitimacy both at home and
abroad. A newly appointed foreign minister is expected to lead an
international public relations offensive under General Nyunt, who
is first secretary of the ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC).
Inside Burma, General Nyunt may be preparing to set up a
political party to counter the popular opposition group of the
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The move could even pave the way
for limited parliamentary representation - a
"shamocracy" in the words of a foreign banker - where
51 per cent of seats would be reserved for the military or
military appointees. With national strongman, General Ne Win, now
believed to be on his deathbed, and the ailing SPDC chairman and
Prime Minister, Senior General Than Shwe, taking a limited role
in politics, General Nyunt has quickly risen to the top of the
country's hierarchy.
General Nyunt, a protegee of long-time leader Mr Ne Win, staged
what was widely regarded as a palace coup in November last year,
when he ousted most of his Cabinet rivals. Even his greatest
threat, the army chief, General Maung Aye, lost his post as
deputy defence minister when the portfolio was replaced with that
of military affairs. General Nyunt now either chairs or sits on
at least 15 working committees. Though he holds no portfolio, he
addresses and controls every Cabinet meeting. The notification of
the reshuffle last weekend was signed by General Nyunt, according
to dissident groups.
His biggest problem has been his lack of standing within the army
due to his lack of field experience, and resentment in some
quarters over his efforts to build closer ties with China. To
gain a better foothold in the military, General Nyunt has handed
a deputy premiership, one of three such posts, to a close
associate, Military Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Tin Hla.
General Hla played a pivotal role in the brutal repression of
pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.
On September 18, Rangoon announced the formation of a 16-member
political policy committee chaired by General Nyunt. Members
include four senior Cabinet ministers, the head of the Rangoon
army regional command and senior members of the feared
Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence, the secret police
widely accused of torture and extra-judicial executions. Exiled
Burmese dissident and academic Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe believes the
new committee is a precursor to General Nyunt setting up a
political party and introducing reforms intended to outflank Ms
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, Burma's largest legal
opposition party.
- Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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To find out more information, go to the web page: http://www.myanmar.com/
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: PYAPON TOWNSHIP NLD
DISSOLVED
From: OKKAR66129@aol.com
November 21, 1998
YANGON, 20 Nov -Altogether 41 members of National; League for
Democracy in Pyapon Township, Ayeyawady Division, including
Chairman of Township NLD U Maung Maung, have tendered their
resignations and dissolved the Township NLD out of their own
volition. Pyapon Township NLD, Ayeyawady Division was first
formed on 7 December 1998. Now 41 member of the Township NLD
including the township chairman resigned from the party
membership out of their own volition since they no longer wish to
continue to participate in NLD's political activities. They
notified the office of Pyapon Township Multiparty Democracy
General Election Commission and the chairman of the party
concerned. On 17 November, personnel of the township NLD
dissolved it by handing over the signboard, seals, document to
the Township Multiparty Democracy General Election Commission.
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: MESSAGE FROM SENIOR GENERAL
THAN SHWE
From: OKKAR66129@aol.com
November 21, 1998
CHAIRMAN OF STATE PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL & PRIME
MINISTER OF MYANMAR
TO FIRST JOINT MEETING OF JAPAN MYANMAR CCI BUSINESS COOPERATION
COMMITTEE
YANGON, 20 Nov - On this auspicious occasion of the First joint
Meeting of the Japan-Myanmer. Business Co-operation Committee, I
take great pleasure in sending you best wishes for the success of
the Joint Meeting. It is my hope that this Meeting will
contribute to greater coherence in economic and technical
cooperation. The relations between Myanmar and Japan have been
characterized by close friendship, mutual understanding and
genuine goodwill. It.is based on this film foundation that
concerted efforts should be made for long lasting friendship
between the peoples of Myanmar and Japan.
The end of Cold War has brought new prospects and new challenges.
It has also imparted new dimensions, new trends and new
directions in the relations between States as well. One of the
features has been the impetus for more cooperation and
consultation among the nations of different regions of the world.
The salient features of the 21st century are likely to be
advantages in industrialization, technological innovations,
globalization, information technology, digital revolution and
electronic commerce. The long-term trend is the development of
borderless societies and economies.
In the world of interdependence, in spite of the economic
turmoil, uncertainties and challenges, good opportunities exist
for economic cooperation and trade. It is indeed an appropriate
time for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Myanmar and
Japan to join hands and together face the challenges of the 21st
century and take full advantage of the opportunities in the
global trade.
REUTERS: VIETNAM VILLAGERS SAVE STRICKEN MYANMAR
SAILORS
November 21, 1998 Eastern
HANOI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Vietnamese villagers in a central
coastal province rescued 21 Myanmar sailors after their ship ran
into trouble during a tropical storm, official media reported on
Saturday. One sailor was killed and three others injured out of
the crew of 22 when the storm battered the vessel on Thursday
evening off the coast of Vietnam's Phu Yen province, the official
Nhan Dan (People) daily reported. It said the 7,000-tonne ship,
called the Sunny, was en route from Hong Kong
to Malaysia.
The vessel, registered in Panama, did not sink but the crew had
to abandon ship, the newspaper added. No further details were
available nor was there any information on what cargo the vessel
was carrying. Tropical storm Dawn has lashed central Vietnam with
heavy rains in recent days, although few deaths have been
reported.
REUTERS: MYANMAR MILITARY SAYS MORE OPPOSITION OFFICES
SHUT
November 22, 1998 Eastern
YANGON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government said on
Sunday at least 10 offices of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) had been closed by their members. A government
spokesman told a news conference a further five NLD offices were
also being dismantled by their supporters and a total of 1,259
NLD members had so far resigned from the party.
"We understand that that these members have resigned of
their own volition, as they disagree with the NLD leadership's
policy of confrontation and divisiveness," spokesman Colonel
Hla Min said in a statement.
NLD officials were not available for comment on the report but
said they would hold a news conference on Monday. The
pro-democracy party, led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung
San Suu Kyi, has in the past blamed coersion for the closure of
its offices and has said some of the dissolutions have taken
place without the knowledge of party headquarters. Yangon-based
diplomats say NLD members are under intense pressure from the
military government following a promise by the party to act for a
parliament elected in the country's last general election eight
years ago. The NLD won that election by a landslide but the
military has not allowed it to govern.
The military have rounded up and detained hundreds of NLD elected
representatives and members in recent months to prevent them from
carrying out a threat to convene parliament. A government
statement said on Sunday a total of 851 NLD members had been
detained in state guest houses since early October. Of these, 384
had subsequently been released because they "undertook not
to participate" in illegal activities.
It said the detainees were being treated well.
"All throughout their period of stay at government guest
houses, the guests were provided with the best culinary fare,
social arrangements and medical attention," it said. It was
unclear if the NLD members reported to have resigned were among
those detained. In the last official statement by the NLD, the
party said 920 of its members, including 183 elected
representatives, were in detention as of November 10. The
government has said it is dealing leniently with the party but
has warned it may be forced to take stronger action if the party
endangers national unity and state security. Hla Min told
Sunday's news conference he hoped those still in detention would
soon be reunited with their families.
THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN DAILY: NEWSPEOPLE / BOOK
CHRONICLES TIME SPENT WITH WA
ETHNIC GROUP
November 23, 1998
Susumu Arai Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
A district in northeastern Myanmar that produces about 40 percent
of the world's opium is the subject of a new book by free-lance
writer and translator Hideyuki Takano. Takano, 32, stayed in a
district of Shan State for seven months from October 1995. The
district, run by the military government of the Wa ethnic group,
is virtually independent from Myanmar's military regime. The
book--titled "Biruma, Ahen Okoku Sennyu-ki" (Chronicle
of a Sneak Trip Into Burma, the Opium Kingdom)--reports on the
lives of people in the district. The book, his fourth, was
published by Soshisha.
Takano first learned about the area while working as a
Japanese-language teacher in Thailand. With his interest piqued,
he decide to go see it for himself. After arriving in the
district, he quickly became friends with the Wa, joining them in
sowing opium seeds and giving villagers photographs that he took
of them.
The book contains observations of various aspects of their lives:
the Wa government officials who collect nearly half of the opium
harvest as taxes, the sorrow of mothers whose daughters are
"drafted" into military service, births and deaths in
the villages, opium poisoning and the unique liquor produced in
the area. When he was a student at Waseda University, Takano
joined the school's expedition club. At one point, he led a team
to the Republic of Congo, where they searched for a dinosaur-like
creature said to live in a lake there. They did not find any
trace of it, however.
He continues to broaden his horizons, with trips to remote
regions of South America, Southeast Asia and China. There are few
places in the world that have not been explored. Thus, Takano has
chosen to experience "'politically remote' regions through
fieldwork."
"I attach more importance to my own experiences than to
secondhand information provided by authorities," he said.
ASIAWEEK: MYANMAR'S NEW PR MAN
November 27, 1998
One of the key to the remarkable staying power of Myanmar's
military junta is that it is not afraid to purge its own. The
biggest casualty was its first chairman. Senior Gen Saw Maung, in
the early 1990s. The latest is not a military man but a career
diplomat _ Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw. Though Myanmar entered
ASEAN on his watch, he was perceived by outsiders as a stubborn
apologist for Yangon. His successor is Win Aung, 54, the
ambassador to Britain. A Colonel who turned diplomat in 1985, Win
Aung is a veteran of many multilateral conferences. He is likely
to be a more proactive spokesman for the regime than Ohn Gyaw
who, ignominiously, was "allowed to resign."