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BurmaNet News: February 3, 2000
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 3, 2000
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2000 04:49:00
=========== The BurmaNet News ===========
February 3, 2000
Issue # 1453
=========================================
Noted in passing:
"No country can call itself Buddhist when it revels in the cold-blooded
murder of perceived enemies. In case we forget, Buddhism teaches
compassion and non-violence since all human beings are one and the
same."
Sanitsuda Ekachai on Thailand's summary execution of the 10 young men
from Burma at Ratchburi Hospital. See BANGKOK POST: WE NEED TO AWAKEN
FROM SUCH DREAMS
=========
Headlines
=========
Inside Burma--
SHAN: HEROIN ON THE RAGE AGAIN
SHAN: WAS STILL KEEPING DOORS CLOSED AFTER BLAST
===
International--
BURMANET: BURMESE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN THAILAND IN ADVANCE OF UNCTAD
MEETING
BANGKOK POST: GOD'S ARMY LEADERS FACE ARREST IF THEY FLEE
THE NATION (Thailand): NFC TO TRADE FERTILISER FOR BURMA GAS
SHAN: WAS STILL KEEPING DOORS CLOSED AFTER BLAST
PD BURMA: CALENDAR OF EVENTS WITH REGARD TO BURMA
===
Editorial--
BANGKOK POST: WE NEED TO AWAKEN FROM SUCH DREAMS
=========================================
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INSIDE BURMA
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SHAN: HEROIN ON THE RAGE AGAIN
3 February 2000
No: 2 - 2
After years of keeping a low profile, opium and its derivative, heroin,
is making a comeback, reported Maihoong from Southern Shan State.
"Thanks probably to Thailand's incessant war on amphetamines, drug
operators are going back to producing the white power again", said his
source in Mongtaw, west of Mongton.
"There are millions of horse pills waiting in vain for big buyers. Also,
it takes time for the trader to get his payment in cash. With opium and
heroin, it doesn't take so much time. It's an invariably cash on
delivery setup here".
"The price of opium has reached B. 27,000 per viss (1.6 kilogram) in
Mongtaw and Sankarng (further west of Mongtaw). Heroin is up to B.
290,000 per block (700 gm)", he said.
Concerning the low price of opium in Nakawngmu in the east, he said: "I
learned it was due to the quality. A viss of opium grown along the
border can get you much more heroin than that grown in the north". He
added that most of the traders who came to sell their opium there had
received their payments and many had already left.
There are 3 laboratories in the area, according to his source: 2 in
Sanzu-Sankarng, owned by Yang Erh, Hla Aung a.k.a. Yang Chaojing and Tin
Win (a Lahu militia leader) and 1 in Maisoong, south of Mongtaw, owned
by Chou Yin, a Kokang Chinese, who succeeded Li Zigao after he was
nabbed by Yawdserk's SSA and escaped last year.
"The Burmese commanders in the area, particularly Col. Win Kyi, the
local commander of the Military Operations Command, are getting a lot of
kickbacks from the growers, traders and from the lab operators".
Maj. Soe Naing, Deputy Commander, IB 65, is reported to be taxing half a
viss of opium per field. "He is now the successor to Maj. Nyan Myint of
IB 225 in drug affairs in the area", he said referring to the commander
who had been shelved after he was found guilty of "not sharing kickbacks
enough with his superiors".
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
SHAN: WAS STILL KEEPING DOORS CLOSED AFTER BLAST
Shan Herald Agency for News
3 February 2000
No: 2 - 3
Following the explosions that incapacitated their electric power plant
last month, the Was in Mongyawn are still keeping their side of the Thai
border closed, reported Maihoong.
"People from their side can enter Thailand, but entry into their
territory has been forbidden", he said. "Some of the Thais who even used
to work in their construction projects and asked permission to go back
and pick up their belongings were turned back saying they should wait
until things returned to normal".
A Wa officer who was briefly in Thailand told Maihoong that the
leadership believed it was the Burmese plot to sow discord among the
Was, notably between Wei Hsiaokang, who was wanted both by Thailand and
the United States for drug offenses, and Wei Hsaitang, their main
military commander in the south.
"We don't have any problems among us that cannot be resolved
peacefully", the source told Maihoong. "Most of us don't suspect the
Thais either, because they have not been allowed to come in".
"But the Burmese, they want us to fight among ourselves", he said.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
INTERNATIONAL
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BURMANET: BURMESE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN THAILAND IN ADVANCE OF UNCTAD
MEETING
February 3, 2000
Thai police are arresting and harassing a large number of Burmese living
in Thailand, including political dissidents, in advance of a meeting of
the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Bangkok.
Among those arrested are Aung Myo Min, a well known dissident who
received an award from an international gay rights movement last
year. Members of Burmese student groups and organizers from the
Federation of Trade Unions Burma(FTUB) have also been targeted and a
number of their members have been arrested over the last few days.
There is little, if any, indication that Burmese groups intend to
protest the UNCTAD meeting. However, in the wake of the seizure of the
Ratchburi hospital by Burmese militants and their subsequent summary
executions by the Thai army, Burmese exiles in Thailand have been
bearing the brunt of the Thai crackdown.
UNCTAD is an obscure United Nations organization that, among other
things, monitors trade among nations. The Thai government is worried
that activists will interrupt the meeting and embarrass Thailand in the
same way that environmentalists, labor and human rights activists
disrupted the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization.
While UNCTAD is little known to the general public, it had a bit part in
causing Burma's currency to plummet in 1997. The regime publishes data
on its trade with other nations but the accuracy of the data is highly
suspect. In 1996 and 97, the US Embassy in Bangkok used trade data
collected by UNCTAD from every other nation in the world and compared it
with what the regime said it had been importing and exporting. The
comparison, published in the Embassy's Foreign Economic Trends
Reports-Burma, revealed that the regime was importing a great deal more
than it was admitting, especially importing more military and dual use
equipment.
The regime seems to have been paying for much of its public sector
imports by tacitly expropriating money deposited in Burmese banks by
Burma's private sector. That revelation was a major factor contributing
to the collapse of the value of the kyat, which came six months before
the wider Asian Economic Crisis. The other major source of funds that
appeared to be financing the trade gap revealed by UNCTAD data appears
to be retained earnings from the heroin trade. Condemnation of Burma by
US authorities of the regime for money laundering sharpened noticeably
after the publications of the Economic Trends Reports.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BANGKOK POST: GOD'S ARMY LEADERS FACE ARREST IF THEY FLEE
February 3, 2000
Wassana Nanuam
The twins who lead God's Army and Johnny or Kyaw Ni, who was involved in
the Burmese embassy siege, will be arrested if they set foot on Thai
soil, the army chief-of-staff said yesterday.
Security units on the border in Ratchaburi have been told Johnny and
Luther Htoo, 12, and Kyaw Ni might try to cross to escape Burmese forces
who over-ran the Kamaplaw base of God's Army, said Gen Montrisak
Boonkong.
"They might flee together and if they cross the border they will be
picked up," he said.
Kamaplaw fell to Burmese troops following days of heavy shelling that
drove 300 Karen refugees to flee 7k to Huay Suud Pass, in Suan Phueng
district.
The fall of Kamaplaw should see an easing in tension on the border,
where Thai forces have been told to nurture relations with their Burmese
counterparts in the interests of peaceful coexistence, he said.
"There should not be any problem," said Gen Montrisak, who believed the
200 or so fighters of God's Army had split into small groups and had
moved deeper into Burma.
Patrols had been suspended on the border area after five soldiers were
wounded and their dog killed by a booby-trap set by the rebels.
Sappers would be assigned to clear the booby-traps, mainly mines, which
were intended for Burmese troops, he added.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE NATION (Thailand): NFC TO TRADE FERTILISER FOR BURMA GAS
February 3, 2000, Thursday
NATIONAL Fertiliser Plc (NFC) is negotiating with its largest
shareholder, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), to acquire Bt280
million of natural gas from Burma in exchange for fertiliser, said NFC
chief executive officer Kamolchai Pattrodom.
He said if the negotiations were successful, it would help the company
run at full capacity and pay off interest on loans.
Kamolchai said the company proposal to PTT, which owns 20.44 per cent of
NFC, would entail the authority selling the fertiliser to Burma while
receiving gas from that country's Yadana gas field
"There should be no problem selling our product to Burma as the country
imports a huge volume of fertiliser," Kamolchai said.
The export of fertiliser to Burma would be a part of NFC's targeted
export volume of between 50,000 and 70,000 tonnes this year.
It would be the first time that the company had exported to a country
other than Laos and Cambodia, Kamolchai said.
The overall sales target for this year is 800,000 tonnes, an increase
from 600,000 tonnes last year. If sales targets are met, NFC would be
able to generate enough income to pay interest of between Bt450 and
Bt500 million on its debts in 2000 and 2001.
NFC had sold 90,000 tonnes of fertiliser in January, Kamolchai said.
Kamolchai said that from the projected total sales of 800,000 tonnes
this year, 400,000 tonnes would be sold through dealers and 200,000
tonnes to Thai Agricultural Business Co. A total of 100,000 tonnes would
be sold to state agencies such as the Agricultural Cooperation
Foundation of Thailand.
Another 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes would be sold directly to users, while a
further 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes would go to fertiliser mixing plants.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
PD BURMA: CALENDAR OF EVENTS WITH REGARD TO BURMA
Feb. 2, 2000
Published by PD Burma.
* February 7th : Indonesias President Wahid will visit Brussels,
Belgium.
* February 12th : National Union Day in Burma (Official)
* February 25-26th : 4th ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, Bandar Seri
Begawan
* March 2nd : Anniversary of 1962 Coup and Farmers Day
* March 8th : International Women's Day
* March 10-12th : Days of Prays for Burma.
* March 18th : "Bloddy Friday" (1988)
* March 13th : Burma Human Rights Day (Unofficial)
* March 22nd : Rally for the Massachusetts Burma Law, Supreme Court
Building, USA.
* March 20th - 28th April : 56th session of the Commission on Human
Rights, Geneva
* March 25-26th : 4th ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, Bandar Seri
Begawan
* March 27th : Resistance Day in Burma
* April 30th - May 6th : 103rd Inter-Parliamentary Conference, Amman
* May 1-5th : World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination
and Xenophobia
* May 24th : Ne Win's birthday (1911)
* May 27th : Anniversary of the 1990 election
* June 19th : Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday and Burmese Women's Day
* July 7th : Commemoration of bombing of student union and shooting in
1962
* July 19th : Martyrs Day (Official)
* July 24-25th : 33rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Bangkok
* July 27th : 7th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Bangkok
* July 28-29th : 33rd ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC),
Bangkok
* August 8th : 12th Anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising
* September 18th : Anniversary of SLORC Coup, 1988
* September 24th : National League for Democracy formed 1988
* October : 104th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, Jakarta
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
EDITORIALS
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BANGKOK POST: WE NEED TO AWAKEN FROM SUCH DREAMS
February 3, 2000
Sanitsuda Ekachai
What do the extra-judicial killings in the Ratchaburi hostage drama have
in common with the government's fussing over the BoI fair and the
upcoming Unctad X conference?Nothing on the surface of it. But look
closer and you'll find that they all are the product of our national
creed.
No, not Buddhism. No country can call itself Buddhist when it revels in
the cold-blooded murder of perceived enemies. In case we forget,
Buddhism teaches compassion and non-violence since all human beings are
one and the same.
The belief system that governs our thoughts and actions is nationalism.
More precisely, a national obsession with image and face.
The Burmese dissidents trampled upon our sovereignty and face. So they
had to pay for it with dear life.
The Unctad X and the BoI fair, meanwhile, are about our relentless quest
for an international standing. It's again face. Since the people's
grievances and street demonstrations will tarnish the country's image,
they must be suppressed.
Few realise how dangerous this national creed is. It's used to demonise
those who are different from us so that we can destroy them without
guilt. It blinds us to state oppression of our own underclass. It sides
us with oppressors. It robs us of humanity. And independent thinking. It
also lulls us into really believing that the destructive development
path we're taking is all for the best.
The problem stems from how we see ourselves and how we want to be seen.
>From day one in school, our children are fed with the national myth that
ours is an homogenous country of the pure Thai race. The fact is that
Siam is home to several indigenous ethnic groups. Our culture is that of
syncretism. And the ethnic Tais are mainly linked by language, not race.
Thanks to militant nationalism in our education system, ethnic
prejudices are programmed into the young's psyche, ready to be whipped
up by state machinery. It's why call-in radio programmes were swamped
with hate calls during the Ratchaburi hostage crisis.
No doubt, the military loves this ideology best because it is extolled
as protector of the nation. Keeping enemies alive also means an
interrupted flow of military funding.
While we see ourselves as superior to our own kind, we look up to the
West and want to be in its image.
Interestingly, it is the military which benefits from nationalism myths
which dictate that economic growth is the only way to measure up to the
West.
Following military-style conquests, the country's initial development
policies were based on frontier expansion and the exploitation of
natural resources.
When military dictatorship ended, the torch of industrialisation was
passed on to the economic warriors in the bureaucracy. Foreign direct
investment and an export-led economy became the new war strategies. The
people have become foot soldiers in achieving the nation's dream of
industrialisation.
It is a fierce dream. The stark reality of severe destruction of the
environment and widespread social breakdown cannot hold it back. Not
even the country's worst economic crisis.
Now we're ready again to pursue our death wish. Who cares that equity is
the theme of Unctad X. We only want the face which is part of hosting
this event. Forget talk of self-sufficiency. We can get philosophical
when we're licking our wounds. Once recovered, we must get real. The BoI
fair shows we're determined to sell cheap labour and nature until we
drop dead.
The media, however, must question the myths of nationalism and
industrialisation that oppress the underprivileged and destroy the
environment. If we do not, we must share in the blame for the mess that
is our country.
Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor, Bangkok
Post.sanitsuda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bangkok Post (February 3, 2000)
===END=============END=============END===
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