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Bangkok post (1,2) The Nation (3) 1
- Subject: Bangkok post (1,2) The Nation (3) 1
- From: mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 01:05:00
Subject: Bangkok post (1,2) The Nation (3) 17-9-99
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<font size=3D7><b>Closure of San Ton Du begins to bite<br>
</font><font size=3D5><i>Food prices surge in Wa stronghold<br>
<br>
</font></i><font size=3D3>Subin Khuenkaew<br>
</font><font size=3D5>T</font></b><font size=3D3>raders are turning to the
Kok river to get around the closure of the San Ton Du crossing and resume
trade with the United Wa State Army.<br>
Demand for food has surged in Mong Yawn, headquarters of the southern
command of the UWSA, the biggest drug trafficking group in the Golden
Triangle, since last month's closure.<br>
The UWSA has stocked construction materials and fuel for its ambitious
infrastructure projects at Mong Yawn, 30km from San Ton Du, but
perishables have become harder to find.<br>
Prices have doubled and even tripled over the past month. Three eggs, for
example, cost 12 baht and a packet of instant noodles, eight baht.On the
Thai side, an egg costs 1-4 baht and instant noodles, 3-5 baht.<br>
Border sources have noticed increased traffic on the Kok river, which
flows across the border and has many tributaries that reach UWSA
territory.<br>
Long-tail boats leave almost daily from Tha Ton, Mae Ai district, and
head against the current to the border where they are inspected by
government forces manning riverside outposts.<br>
The checks ensure the boats are carrying consumer goods, not strategic
goods, such as construction materials, fuel, weapons and chemicals that
could be used for Wa drug operations.<br>
Once across the border, the loads are transferred to Wa boats which head
further up the Kok and into the Yawn tributary to their=20
destination.<br>
The sources said it was too early to assess the quantity of goods being
diverted via the Kok but the volume was small scale and mainly in food. A
Burmese businessman who exported goods worth millions of baht through San
Ton Du said the closure was creating difficulties. Cement shipments
exported via Kiew Pha Wok in Chiang Dao district, 40km from San Ton Du,
were taking more than a month to reach Mong Yawn by land.<br>
While a road network linking border towns in eastern Shan State is almost
complete, red tape, corruption among Burmese officials and insurgent
activity were proving major obstacles, he said.<br>
The Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing is open but is 130km from San Ton Du.<br>
The government is resisting pressure to open San Ton Du and the San Maked
crossing in Mae Fah Luang district, which provides access to a town being
developed by Wei Hsueh-kang, a commander of the UWSA, who is wanted by
Thai and US authorities on drug-trafficking charges.<br>
The town, known officially as Ban Hong, is 3km from the border and has a
road link to Mong Yawn.<br>
One billion baht, much of it drug profits, has gone into development at
Mong Yawn, which has attracted Thai businessmen and workers.<br>
Goods worth more than 70 million baht worth have been traded via San Ton
Du since it was opened a year ago by the National Security Council, and
6,000 Thais have found jobs in Mong Yawn.<br>
The southern command stretches from Mongsat to Mong Yawn, and areas under
Wa influence or control stretch from opposite Tha Ton to Mae Sai, Chiang
Rai.<br>
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<br>
</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D5>Seven years jail for
protest song <br>
</font><font size=3D3><i>Parents thought daughter was offfor holiday in
Germany</font><font size=3D5> <br>
<br>
</font></i><font size=3D2>A Burmese court sentenced British democracy
activist Rachel Goldwyn to seven years' imprisonment with labour
yesterday for a solo protest against Burma's military regime. <br>
Goldwyn was sentenced by a Rangoon court under Buma's draconian Emergency
Provisions Act, used by the ruling military to stifle dissent. Presiding
judge Tin Maung Lwin said the sentence would have to be served "with
labour". <br>
Your activities could have disrupted the peace and tranquility of the
state",=A0 he said"And they also amounted to an insult to
peace-loving people." <br>
Goldwyn, 28, of Bames in southwest London, looked saddened by the
sentence, the maximum possible on the charge. She was led away almost
immediately afterward by police- women who were to take her back to
lnsein prison in suburban Rangoon. <br>
Her lawyer said he would appeal within the 90 days allowed. <br>
Goldwyn was arrested after chaining herself to a lamppost and shouting
pro- democracy slogans in downtown Rangoon on September 7. She is the
second Briton imprisoned in Burma recently for such protests. <br>
The ruling junta in Burma took power in 1988 after violently suppressing
pro-democracy demonstrations. It held a general election in 1990 but
refused to let parliament convene after a landslide victory by the
democratic opposition. The junta is criticised in the West for widespread
human rights violations. <br>
Asked by the judge if she was guilty of actions likely to cause public
unrest - the charge against her - Goldwyn admitted=A0 the facts of her case
but denied that her=A0 motive was to disrupt stability. <br>
"My demonstration was to show the extent of control," she said.
"It was not to undermine<b> </b>stability. I did not want anybody to
take any risk=A0 and I did not want anybody to be arrested." : <br>
During questioning to establish her<b> </b>background and identity, she
said her<b> </b>mother was "devastated" by what she<b> </b>had
done. <br>
Goldwyn's lawyer, Kyl Win, told the judge that the pro-democracy slogan
she chanted were not a criminal offence because the nation's military
leaders have made similar statements favouring democracy. <br>
Goldwyn's sentence of imprisonment With labour, such as road building or
plantation work, was seen by legal observers as meant to symbolise the
severity of the crime, and they don't expect she will actually
participate in such activities. <br>
Ed Goldwyn, a London TV producer, would not comment on his daughter's
sentence when reached at home yesterday, Mr Goldwyn and his wife,
Charmain, thought their daughter was going to Germany on holiday but she
left for Burma. <br>
Meanwhile a diplomat on Wednesday became the first British official to
visit Jarnes Mawdsley, a human rights activist who recently began a
17-year jail sentence in the north of Burma, the foreign office said.
<br>
<br>
</font><font size=3D3>------------------------------------------------------=
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<br>
</font><font size=3D5>Briton jailed for protest in Burma <br>
</font><font size=3D2>RANGOON - A Burma court sentenced British democracy
activist Rachel Goldwyn to seven years' imprisonment with labour
yesterday for a solo protest against the military regime. <br>
Goldwn 28, of Barnes in southwest London, looked saddened by the
sentence, the maximum possible on the charge. She was led away almost
immediately afterward by policewomen who were to take her back to Insein
prison in suburban Rangoon. <br>
Her lawyer said he would appeal within the 90 days allowed. <br>
Goldwyn was arrested after chaining herself to a lamppost and shouting
pro-democracy slogans in Rangoon on Sept 7. She is the second Briton
imprisoned in Burma recently for such protests. <br>
The ruling junta in Burma took power in 1988 after violently suppressing
pro- democracy demonstrations. It held a general election in 1990 but
refused to let parliament convene after a landslide victory by the
democratic opposition.=A0 <br>
Asked by the judge if she was guilty of actions likely to cause public
unrest - the charge against her - Goldwyn admitted the facts of her case
but denied that her motive was to disrupt stability. <br>
'My demonstration was to show the extent of control," she said. 'It
was not to undermine stability. I did not want any- <br>
body to take any risk and I did not want anybody to be arrested.' <br>
During questioning to establish her background and identity, she said her
mother was 'devastated' by what she had done. Goldwyn's lawyer, Kyi Win,
told the judge that the pro-democracy slogans she chanted were not a
criminal offence because the nation's military leaders have made similar
statements favouring democracy. <br>
Goldwyn's sentence of imprisonment with labour - such as road-building or
plantation work - was seen by legal observers as meant to symbolise the
severity of the crime, and they do not expect she will actually
participate in such activities. <br>
Ed Goldwyn, a London TV producer, would not comment on his daughter's
sentence when reached at home yesterday. Goldwyn and his wife, Charmain,
thought their daughter was going to Germany on holiday when she left for
Burma. <br>
Hanna Goff, 28, a friend of Goldwyn's for more than 20 years, was
shocked. "It is extremely harsh that a regime could do this to a
young girl for singing a song,' she said. <br>
</font><font size=3D3>The British consul in Burma visited Goldwyn prior to
the sentencing and found her in "good spirits," but Goff said
there had been no word since. <br>
</font><font size=3D2>Goldwyn looked relaxed and cheerful during most of
her trial, wearing a turquoise T-Shirt and Burma <i>sarong</i>, or
<i>longyi</i>. On her face was sandal wood powder, a traditional Burmese
cosmetic. <br>
Prosecution witnesses, including police and a passer-by, said that about
1,000 people gathered to watch Goldwyn's protest. <br>
That testimony was an effort to prove her demonstration threatened the
security and stability of the state, constituting an offence punishable
by up to seven years in prison or a fine or both. <br>
<br>
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