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(1) Senior General Than Shwe sends felicitations to Republic of Korea
YANGON, 15 Aug - Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar, has sent a message of felicitations to His Excellency Mr Kim Dae Jung, President of the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Korea which falls on 15 August 1998.
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(2) Nation may fall back into servitude, internal Strife may break out, crises like 1988 disturbances, anarchism may occur if Tatmadaw becomes weak Tatmadaw's true goodwill, inborn tradition is to ensure development of entire nation
YANGON, 14 Aug - On behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) General Maung Aye addressed the graduation parade of Under-Officers Course No 26 of the Tatmadaw (Army) Officers Training School at the OTS Parade Grounds in Bahtoo Tatmyo this morning. Also present were Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council Chief of Bureau of Special Operations Chief of Staff (Army) Lt-Gen Tin Oo, members of State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Rear- Admiral Nyunt Thein, Commander-in-Chief (Air) Maj-Gen Kyaw Than and Commander of Eastern Command Brig-Gen Maung Bo, Ministers U Khin Maung Thein, Maj-Gen Saw Tun, U Win Sein and Maj-Gen Tin Htut, Military Appointment General Maj-Gen Tin Ngwe, Chief of Armed Forces Training Maj-Gen Saw Lwin, Inspector-General Brig-Gen Win Myint, Vice Quartermaster-General Brig-Gen Kyaw Win, Director of Military Engineers Brig-Gen Win Aung Tint, Commander of Bahtoo Station Brig- Gen Moe Hein, Commandant of Command and General Staff College Brig-Gen Soe Tint, Commandant of Tatmadaw (Army) Officers Training School Brig-Gen Aung Kyi, senior military officers of the Ministry of Defence, parents and relatives of the graduating cadets and guests.
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(3) General Maung Aye arrives Bahtoo Tatmyo in Yaksauk Township
YANGON, 14 Aug - Vice-Chairman of State Peace and Development Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services- Commander-in-Chief (Army) General Maung Aye, accompanied by Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Tin Oo, members of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Rear Admiral Nyunt Thein, Commander-in-Chief (Air) Maj-Gen Kyaw Than, Minister for Finance and Revenue U Khin Maung Thein, Minister for Construction Maj-Gen Saw Tun, Minister for Culture U Win Sein, Minister for Electric Power Maj-Gen Tin Htut, Military Appointments-General Maj-Gen Tin Ngwe, Defence Services Inspector-General Brig-Gen Win Myint, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation U Ohn Myint, Vice-Quartermaster General Brig-Gen Kyaw Win, Director of Military Engineers Brig-Gen Win Aung Tint and officials, left here by Tatmadaw flight for Heho yesterday afternoon.
They were welcomed at the Heho airport by member of the State Peace and Development Council Chairman of Shan State Peace and Development Council Commander of Eastern Command Brig-Gen Maung Bo, Deputy Commander Brig-Gen Myint Thein and departmental officials.
General Maung Aye, Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo and party went to Bahtoo Tatmyo in Yaksauk Township where they were welcomed by Chief of Armed- Forces Training Maj-Gen Saw Lwin, Commandant of Command and General Staff College Brig-Gen Soe Tint, Commander of Bahtoo Station Commandant of Combat Training School Brig-Gen Moe Hein, Commandant of Defence Services Officer Training School Brig-Gen Aung Kyi and officials.
Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo together with Commander Brig-Gen Maung Bo, Deputy Minister U Ohn Myint and officials met township authorities in Yathawady Hall in Yaksauk Township.
Chairman of Township Peace and Development Council U Maung Maung Kyi and township level departmental officials briefed the Secretary-2 on agricultural matters, establishment of forest plantation and fuel-wood plantation and arrangement for development of the township.
The commander and the deputy minister took part in the discussion.
Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo urged the officials to carry out the work for the development of the township with cetana so that Yaksauk Township will become a model township in agriculture, he said.
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(4) Secretary-1 briefs trainees of
various courses
YANGON, 14 Aug - Member of the Panel of Patrons of the Union Solidarity and Development Association Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt met trainees of Special Refresher Course No 2, International Relations Course No 1, Management Course No 14 for Executives and Computer Diploma Course No 1 of USDA in Pyidaungsu Hall of the Central Public Relations Unit in Hmawby this afternoon.
He elaborated on how USDA had emerged, the objectives and role of the association, political, economic and social progress, efforts for the emergence of a new nation, provocative acts perpetrated by subversive elements with a view to creating civil unrest in Myanmar and sabotage committed by some big nations and certain internal and external destructive organizations and international relations. He also urged all to apply lectures taught at the courses into practice.
Present also were member of the Panel of Patrons of USDA Secretary-3 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Win Myint, Secretary-General of USDA U Than Aung and executives, those in charge of courses and trainees.
The Secretary-1 also cordially conversed with trainees.
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(5) Education promotion programme coordinated
YANGON, 14 Aug - Myanmar Education Committee held its meeting at the meeting hall of Universities Central Council this morning, attended by Chairman of Myanmar Education Committee Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt.
Present also were Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Maj-Gen Nyunt Tin, Minister for Cooperatives U Aung San, Minister for Forestry U Aung Phone, Minister for Information Maj-Gen Kyi Aung. Minister for livestock and Fisheries Brig-Gen Maung Maung Thein, Minister for Science and Technology U Thaung, Minister for Education U Than Aung, Minister for Health Maj-Gen Ket Sein, Minister for Religious Affairs Maj-Gen Sein Htwa, Chief Justice U Aung Toe, Attorney-General U Tha Tun, Acting Auditor-General Brig-Gen Tin Aye, Deputy Ministers for Education Dr Than Nyunt and Brig-Gen Soe Win Maung, Senior Tatmadaw Officers, Director-General of the Office of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Col Pe Nyein, heads of departments and officials.
Minister for Education for U Than Aung and officials briefed the Secretary-1 on education matters to be done under the education promotion programme. Those present took part in the discussion.
Future tasks under the education promotion programme have been approved and
education promotion programmes of the State are being implemented with the noble
aims and objects, the Secretary-1 said.
He urged the officials to cooperate in implementation of work so as to achieve success of noble aims and objects.
The meeting ended in the afternoon.
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(6) Organizations carrying out nefarious acts in the guise of social work condemned in the strongest terms
YANGON, 14 Aug - Legal action has been taken against 18 foreigners who dropped from taxis and distributed small instigative leaflets they had smuggled into the country at busy places in Yangon on 9 August morning with the aim of disrupting the peace and tranquillity of the nation, creating civil unrest and causing panic among the public.
According to the confessions of instigator foreigners, they had been organized and sent by International Organization of Democracy in Burma of the USA, Alternative Asean Network on Burma and Union for Civil Liberty of Thailand and Initiative for International Dialogue of the Philippines. A meeting had been held in Siam Beverly Hotel, Thailand, on 6 August. At this meeting, Miss Debbie Stothard and officials of Alternative Asean Network on Burma of Thailand had given detailed instructions to be carried out. They had also arranged leaflets to be distributed and fixed the places and time to distribute the leaflets. Their main purpose was to distribute instigative leaflets at busy places in Yangon on 8 August with the aim of causing panic among the public and creating unrest. This organization had defrayed travelling and food expenses.
It has been found that International Organization of Democracy in Burma of the USA, Alternative Asean Net-Work on Burma and Union for Civil Liberty of Thailand and Initiative International Dialogue of the Philippines are organizations interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and under the pretext of social ground and democracy; the intent of the premeditated and synchronized incident which had happened recently, was to disrupt the peace and tranquillity of the nation and to use those who had not had any knowledge of Myanmar by deception.
Regarding this, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement that International Organization of Democracy in Burma of the USA, Alternative Asean Network on Burma and Union for Civil Liberty of Thailand and Initiative International Dialogue of the Philippines, which had interfered in the internal affairs of Myanmar by carrying out nefarious acts in the guise of social work under the pretext of democracy, protesting and condemning such acts in the strongest terms.
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(7) Detained foreigners systematically handed over to respective embassies
YANGON, 14 Aug - Eighteen foreigners who distributed instigative leaflets at busy places on 9 August morning with the aim of creating public commotion, were put on trial in accord with, the laws at the court of Insein Township on 14 August, and the court handed down sentences. Mr Joel Edwards Greer, Mr Tyler Richard Giannini, Ms Michele Lynn Keegan, Ms Sapna Chandramohan Chhatpar, Ms Anjanette Marie Hamilton, Ms Nisha Marie Anand of the USA, Mr Jaran Ditapichai, Mr Swat Uppahad and Ms Chanakan Phundeamvong of Thailand, Mr See Chee How, Mr Chong Kok Wei and Ms Ong Ju Lin of Malaysia, while distributing instigative leaflets at busy places in Yangon such as Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, in front of Kaba Aye Market, at the junction of Maha Bandoola and 29th Street, at the junction of Maha Bandoola Road and Shwedagon Pagoda Road, in the vicinity of the southern stairway of the Shwedagon Pagoda, at the junction of the Shwedagon Pagoda and Bogyoke Aung San Road, at the junction of Link Road and New Yedashe Road, at the junction of Sule Pagoda and Maha Bandoola Road at the junction of Maha Bandoola and 35th Street, at the junction of Theinbyu Road and Maha Bandoola Road and in front of Bogyoke Market, were seized and sent to the nearest police station by the public.
Mr Fadjri, Mr Sulaiman Haikal and Mr Christian Evert of Indonesia, Mr Ponciano Resuena and Ms Ellene A Sana of the Philippines and Ms Alison Mary Vicary of Australia, while making arrangements to leave here by air at the airport for fear that they would be arrested, were held by authorities. The arrested foreigners, while being questioned in accord with the laws, were looked after properly on humanitarian grounds. They were charged with distributing instigative leaflets with the intention of disrupting the peace and tranquillity of Myanmar and creating civil unrest in contravention of Section 5 (e) of the Emergency Provisions Act, 1950, and tried at the special court of Insein Township on 14 August. The court handed down five years' imprisonment to each on conviction that they had violated the existing law of Myanmar.
Under Section 401 (a) of the Criminal Procedural Law, the punishments handed down on them were cancelled, and the Ministry of Home Affairs passed a decision for them to leave here on 15 August in consideration of the fact that most of them were from neighbouring nations, members of ASEAN, that their countries and Myanmar are on an existing friendly terms, that they had not had any knowledge of Myanmar, that they had been organized and deceived into committing crime by Alternative Asean Network on Burma and that they confessed to having committed the offence and requests were made by their families and officials of respective governments.
The 18 foreigners were systematically handed over to the respective embassies.
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(8) Diplomats meet US, Indonesian, Thai, Filipino, Australian, Malaysian instigators
YANGON, 14 Aug - Eighteen foreigners dropped from taxis and distributed small instigative leaflets they had smuggled into the country at busy public places in Yangon to destabilize and cause public concern and panic on the morning of 9 August and the public seized and sent them to the nearest police stations since they wished to live in peace and could not stand the acts of foreigners. The authorities concerned had already brought this to the attention of the Press and diplomats at a news briefing on 10 August.
While the foreigners were being questioned by the authorities on 10 and 11 August, the embassies of United States, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and Malaysia asked for consular meetings with their respective citizens.
Moreover, the embassies of United States, Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia asked for second consular meeting with their citizens on 12 August.
The authorities granted permission Charge d'Affaires ai of US Embassy Mr Kent M Wiedemann and Second Secretary Ms Kristin Hawlay met the six American instigators from 3 to 4 pm on 13 August and gave them food and medicines. Similarly, Head of the Embassy of Australia Mr Douglas Richard Foukett and First Secretary Mr Peter Murray Edwards met the one instigator from 4:45 pm to 5:20 pm and left after giving food and medicine; Third Secretary of the Embassy of the Philippines Ms Belinda M Ante and Attache Mr Romeo B Garchitorena and Mr Disdado E Abarra met the two Filipino instigators from 6 pm to 6:45 pm and Third Secretary of the Embassy of Indonesia Mr Henry RW Kaitjily and Mr Teguh Wiweko met the three Indonesian instigators from 7:40 pm to 8:50 pm the same evening.
The security officials continue questioning the instigators for ensuring peace and tranquillity and prevalence of law and order.
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YANGON, 14 Aug - National Convention Convening Commission held its coordination meeting at NCCC Office at 2 pm today.
Present were Chairman of National Convention Convening Commission Maj-Gen Saw Lwin, Vice-Chairman Maj-Gen Sein Htwa and members.
Chairman Maj-Gen Saw Lwin spoke on the occasion.
National Convention Convening Work Committee and National Convention Convening Management Committee took part in the discussion.
Members of National Convention Convening Commission gave supplementary suggestions to the meeting.
The meeting ended with the remarks by Chairman Maj-Gen Saw Lwin.