from a special correspondont
The seventeen-man Revolutionary Council which rules Burma under fieneral Ne Win has introduced sweeping cconomic reforms in the country, hitherto not attempted by any other non—socialist undordeveloped country. In February this year the government announced nationalisation of fourteen foreign (British, Indian, etc, ) and ocight Burmese banks with compensation payable to the former owners, This was followed by nationalisation of the import and export trade, fFurma's rice industry, responsible for seventy per cent of its foreign exchenge carnings, has been partly taken over by the State end is to be complotely nationalised by the cnd of the year, along with the country's important timber trade,
A wholes process of "sopialisation" has boen launched by the government and a new distribution system based on the contrel of the so-called "civil estore committees," A network of government owned wholesale and reteil shops has also boon set up. Of the 32 British businesses opsrating in the country a yoar ago, only 16 survive today, Addrossing a massive May Day rally the first ever officially sponscred in Burma — General Ne Win assured the working class a new social order "based on the total nationalisation of all means of production, distribution, transportation and trade." In the agrar ian sector, the government has issued a decree nationalising all arable land, A few big farm co-operatives have been started in the Irrawady region on an experiemmtal basis and the government's plan is to organise the poor, peasants into co-operatives throughout the country, Loans have been granted all poor poasants end agricultural workers to undertske farm operations this seasons
Education in schools is strictly regulated by the government. The printing of technical books is now a state monopoly, An official news agency has replaced the forsign press agencies which had the monopoly of news dist= ribution, These sweeping reforms, which are indeed of considerable revolutionary significence have followed a crisis in the government which led to the exit of a “moderate socialist" minister Sung Gyk, who favoured greater eollaboration with imperialist countries, The western newspapers have identified tho presant colleagues of General Ne Win as “Marxistse" and "ex Communists." Several projects undertaken by the American, British and other capitalist countries have boen suspended, Recently the government received a development loan of $84 million from the Pooples Republic of China and technical assistance for 25 industrial and enginoering projects,
The general trond in Burma is obvicus although it is too early to venture an opinion on the character of the Ne Win regime, Ne Win who seized power from middle-class politicians (U. Mu) some 18 months ago sponsored a new political party (Barma Socialist Program Party) pledged to the goal of "Burmese socialism," He has invited all those who support the objective of” a "Socialist Burma" to join forces with him. The program of the BSPP promises a “one-party, one trade-union regime." In an indirect allusion to the bureaucratisation of the workers! states, the program elso condemns “leftist imperialism" for what is termed . its “despotic attituds towards the million"
In April the regime decreed a goneral amnesty and released a large number of political prisoners, including insurgent leaders of the Communist party, and the minority groups of Karens, etc., engaged in a 15-year-old fight against the government, It has also assured freedom from arrast to all insurgents who would surrender to the authorities within a specified date. In response a section of the Burmese C.F. has already given up its fight against the government and is contemplating the possibilities of