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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: March 29, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
________________ www.burmanet.org __________________
March 29, 2000
Issue # 1497
*Inside Burma
BURMANET: ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS PULLS OUT OF BURMA
*International
BURMANET: GUEST COMMENTARY-- HARN YAWNGHWE ON ASIAWEEK' S 'SECRET'
MEETINGS
BBC: BURMESE FORCED LABOUR CONDEMNED
MOFA: US HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT "HYPOCRITICAL"
REUTERS: UN APPOINTS RELIEF OFFICAL FOR IRAQ POST
___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________
BURMANET: ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS PULLS OUT OF BURMA
March 29, 2000
BurmaNet has an as yet unconfirmed report that All Nippon Airways (ANA) has pulled out
of Burma. ANA which has operated flights between Osaka and Rangoon since July 1996 has
not yet issued a public statement but the flight schedule locator on ANA's website returns a "No
qualifying flights" result when queried for future flights between the two cities.
If ANA, which increased its flight schedule to three per week in 1997, has pulled out of Burma it
will be a blow to the Japanese government's efforts to push the international community to
engage with the military regime. In 1998, Japan provided 2.5 billion yen in low-interest loans
to upgrade the runway at Rangoon's Mingaladon airport so that it could handle large
commercial jets. The move was widely seen as an effort to boost tourism to Burma but
Japan's then Ambassador to Rangoon, Kazuo Asaki, publicly maintained that Japan was
merely "trying to ensure airport safety with the planned loans from a humanitarian
viewpoint."
___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________
BURMANET: GUEST COMMENTARY-- HARN YAWNGHWE ON ASIAWEEK' S 'SECRET'
MEETINGS
March 29, 2000
COMMENTS by Harn Yawnghwe
Roger Mitton, based in Bangkok, is known for writing articles that cast
aspersions on the Burmese democracy movement while obliquely affirming the
military regime. This current article based on inside information is fairly
typical. Many of the conclusions that he draws are erroneous. Taking the
following into account, a hidden agenda can be discerned:
Chilston Park in October 1998 - was hosted by UK Foreign Office Minister
Derek Fatchett but initiated by Francesc Vendrell, Director of the UN's
Department of Political Affairs and UN Special Envoy for Burma, UN Assistant
Secretary General Alvaro de Soto, advised by Martin Smith, author, and
Zunetta Liddell, former interpreter for UN Human Rights Special Raporteur
for Burma, Professor Yozo Yokota, and former Amnesty International/Human
Rights Watch expert on Burma. The sentiment "that the old policy of
isolation and sanctions had not worked," was made by Human Rights Watch/Asia
in August 1998 and formed the basis for convening "Chilston-1." The
participants at Chilston did not come to that conclusion themselves.
Mitton states that the "carrot-and-stick" approach, whereby the World Bank
would offer up to $1 billion to the regime in return for political
concessions, was proposed by the US and UK. He then goes on to blame them
for the plan not working. He is misleading his readers because:
1. "Chilston" made no such proposals. The original idea was to explain to
the Burmese generals that if the political stalemate could be broken by
initiating a dialogue, international aid for Burma would not be a problem.
There was no question of a "carrot-and-stick".
2. The $1 billion figure was mentioned by World Bank official Babson in an
informal discussion. Babson is friendly with the generals in Rangoon and is
keen to have the World Bank in Burma. The proposal was not made by the US or
UK.
3. The $1 billion figure and the "carrot-and-stick" approach became
identified with "Chilston" because Vendrell unwisely gave a confidential
background briefing to Zunetta Liddell, Martin Smith, and Larry Jagan of the
BBC. Deciding that the news value was too good to keep quiet, Jagan broke
the story emphasing the $1 billion in light of a "carrot-and-stick" policy
while Special Envoy de Soto was still in Rangoon trying to explain the
original "Chilston" idea to the generals and Aung San Suu Kyi. In effect,
the BBC news story undermined Alvaro de Soto's efforts and annoyed the
generals because it implied that they could be bought for money. This was
not the original intention of "Chilston".
4. The $1 billion offer was, in fact, a figment of the imagination. If the
generals had accepted the offer, they would have got no money because the
World Bank does not come under the jurisdiction of the UN and the UN cannot
order the World Bank to act.
In conclusion, "Chilston" was initiated by 'engagement' proponents; the $1
billion figure was proposed by an 'engagement' proponent; the news was
leaked to 'engagement' proponents who for whatever reason, misrepresented
"Chilston"; and when the plan failed, the blame was laid by fellow
'engagement' proponent Mitton at the feet of the US and UK.
Mitton next tries to paint the picture that while hardliners like the US and
UK have failed and are stuck, those who favor engagement have progressed.
This is stretching the point and misleading. The Bangkok plan to combat AIDS
is an attempt to deal with a serious health problem that urgently needs to
be tackled. It has nothing to do with 'engagement' or non-engagement. The
Malaysian industrial trainees program is not new. The Red Cross effort is
supported by all sides - it is not part of an 'engagement' strategy. The
Asian economic summit is also part of a routine ASEAN program. The
Portuguese effort has to do with ASEAN-EU relations, not specifically an
'engagement' policy. Portugal has to go with the EU's Common Position on
Burma. The Japanese are the only ones really pushing the 'engagement' line
and actively seeking international support.
Mitton again misleads by stating that the British and the Americans convened
Chilston-2 in Seoul "to try to breathe life into carrot-and-stick". This is
not true. Like Chilston, the Seoul meeting was initiated by Vendrell and
hosted by South Korea. The fact that David Steinberg was invited to
participate shows that the US had nothing to do with convening the Seoul
meeting. Steinberg does not agree with US policy and is close to Japan and
South Korea.
Last year, Steinberg did chastise Suu Kyi in the International Herald
Tribune regarding the World Bank report. But Steinberg was wrong. He got his
information from secondary sources. In fact, Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the
World Bank's study of Myanmar's economic situation.
Likewise, Mitton misleads by saying that Callahan pointed out "that the
junta's crackdown on Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has left the
party with a charismatic leader - but no means to organize beyond her
compound in Yangon". Does this point not just illustrate how repressive the
regime is and how it will not even allow a legitimate political party to
organize?
Mitton makes much of the 'split' at the Seoul meeting and blames the US and
UK for its 'failure'. There were no political confrontations, not because of
the "balanced presentations" by Steinberg and Callahan, but because the
purpose of the Seoul meeting was to brainstorm, not to formulate policy. As
Mitton himself reports, the Seoul meeting was successful in that "the worry
that somebody is doing something behind the backs of others has been
excluded."
Mitton missed the significance of the point that the US sent Eric Schwartz.
He is senior to Ralph "Skip" Boyce and is President Clinton's Special
Assistant for Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs. He is responsible for
the UN and humanitarian assistance. He would have to be involved if any aid
is contemplated for Burma. Instead of trying to block 'engagement' with
Yangon, the US was seriously looking at how the political stalemate in Burma
can be broken.
Mitton also mistakenly cast MP Kim Sang Woo as a "conciliator" because he is
South Korean. Kim Sang Woo is close to President Kim Dae Jung and a
committed democrat. His participation underlines the serious commitment of
the President to helping resolve the problem in Burma. Incidentally, the
Burmese generals deported Kim Sang Woo from Rangoon airport a few years back
for trying to see Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is interesting that Mitton did not make much of the fact that Thailand
sent Noppadon Pattama secretary to Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, instead
of Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand who participated at Chilston. Burmese
Foreign Mininster Win Aung had written to Surin requesting Thailand to
boycott the Seoul meeting. Reliable sources state that the Deputy FM would
have gone to Seoul in spite of the request from SPDC except that neither the
UN's DPA nor the South Korean Foreign Ministry invited him in spite of
repeated requests from Thailand.
Some people would dispute Mitton's portrayal of the UNDP and especially the
World Bank's executive Bradley Babson, and David Steinberg as 'neutralists'.
Finally, Mitton tries to make much of the fact that China, Indonesia, and
Singapore did not attend and implied that they did not do so because they
agree strongly with Yangon. This is not the case. They did not attend simply
because they were not invited by either the UN's DPA or the South Korean
Foreign Ministry.
It can be concluded from Mitton's article that 'engagement' proponents view
the Seoul meeting as a failure because they did not get the support of the
international community. Miscommunications with Rangoon also caused the
generals to reject the meeting before it even began. Mitton is, therefore,
now laying the blame once again at the feet of the US and UK.
_______________________________________________________
BBC: BURMESE FORCED LABOUR CONDEMNED
Tuesday, 28 March, 2000,
The Burmese Government said the West was interfering
By Clare Doole in Geneva
Burma's widespread use of forced labour has come under unprecedented criticism from
the United Nations.
More than 80,000 people in Burma are press-ganged into work by the military
authorities, according to estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which
is part of the UN.
The organisation has lost patience with Burma. For several years it has called on
Rangoon to stop violating workers' rights, but without success.
The ILO's governing body on Tuesday called for all necessary action against Burma.
US and European Union representatives said Rangoon had wilfully ignored and shown its
utter contempt for human rights standards.
Most of the Burmese, they said, were exploited by the military authorities, who
conscripted hundreds of thousands of them to work with little or no pay as porters or
building labourers.
Burma's spokesman said the allegations were unfounded and deplored Western
interference in its internal affairs.
International pressure
It is now up to the ILO annual conference in June to decide what measures to take.
These could include recommendations to governments, unions, employers' associations
and international organisations to review their relations with Burma.
If agreed, this would increase Burma's international isolation.
The ILO feels it has already done as much as it can to persuade Rangoon to comply with
its rules. It has barred Burma from all its activities and stopped financial aid.
This latest move amounts to a final attempt to put international pressure on the country to
come into line with global labour standards.
_______________________________________________________
MOFA: US HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT "HYPOCRITICAL"
Text of press release issued by the Foreign Ministry in Rangoon on 28th
March; broadcast by Burmese radio on 28th March
The US Department of State recently released the so-called 1999 Report on
the Human Rights Situation in Countries of the World. It did not fail to
include references to the Union of Myanmar [Burma] which were none other
than prejudicial towards Myanmar. As in the past, the report once again
failed to recognize the positive developments occurring in the Union of
Myanmar.
The report disregards the fact that Myanmar is enjoying internal peace and
stability for the first time in the contemporary history of the country.
Myanmar has designated the establishment of a modern and developed nation
as its national goal in accordance with the belief that the future of the
people of Myanmar must be decided by the Myanmar people themselves.
Far from ignoring the will of the people, the government of the Union of
Myanmar is concentrating its energy on national development endeavours
since peace has returned to the country. The greatest political desire of
the country is for all the national races residing in the nation to work
together with the spirit of the union and in unity for the progress and
development of the nation.
Significant strides are being made in political, economic and social
spheres. In fact, the [US] State Department has time and again focused on
allegations based on unfounded information and on facts from sources which
had no genuine compassion to appreciate the developments in the Union of
Myanmar.
This is hypocritical of the USA, since it speaks of championing human rights
while neglecting the right of other sovereign and independent countries to
choose their own way of life and to realize their own destiny. The USA is
always interfering in other countries' internal affairs and misrepresenting
the human rights situation in other countries while failing to take heed of
the right of all sovereign countries to choose their own political system
in conformity with their culture and social values.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Myanmar therefore
unequivocally rejects the so-called statement of the US Department of State
on the state of the human rights situation in Myanmar, since it is nothing
more than a politically motivated attempt to meddle deliberately in the
internal affairs of Myanmar.
Source: Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 28 Mar 00
_______________________________________________________
REUTERS: UN APPOINTS RELIEF OFFICAL FOR IRAQ POST
UNITED NATIONS
March 29 (Reuters)
A 22-year veteran of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) has been appointed to the
sensitive post of U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Iraq after his two predecessors
resigned in protest over the impact of sanctions.
Tun Myat, 58, of Myanmar, who was chosen by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on
Tuesday for the Baghdad-based post, is expected to begin his job on Saturday. But U.N.
spokesman Fred Eckhard said he did not know when he would go to Iraq, following
meetings in New York. Tun Myat replaces Hans von Sponeck of Germany, who resigned
after strong pressure from the United States because of his outspoken criticism of the
punishing effects of U.N. sanctions, imposed in August 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Von Sponeck's predecessor, Denis Halliday of Ireland, left in September 1998 for similar
reasons. Tun Myat to date has not created any public controversies during his tours of
trouble spots. But he has spoken out several times about the perilous food situation in
North Korea, where he led several WFP missions. He handled WFP's programme in Iraq
and spent time in the country in 1996, helping to organise the distribution of food in
Iraq's three northern provinces and observing rationing in the rest of the country. Tun
Myat has a master of law degree from the University of London and has been with the
WFP since 1978. He had served as director of resources and external relations since
1997, in charge of raising funds and coordinating with governments. The humanitarian
coordinator runs the oil-for-food programme in Baghdad that allows Iraq to sell oil to buy
food, medicine and other necessities to alleviate the impact of sanctions.
The embargoes have been under increasing attack for hardships caused to Iraqis. Annan
last Friday warned the Security Council it could lose the propaganda war against
Baghdad if more steps are not taken to improve life for ordinary Iraqis, especially
children. Trevor Rowe, spokesman for WFP, called Tun Myat among the agency's "best
and the brightest" who has spent many years in charge of logistics organising
arrangements in the field. "He was involved in every major emergency," Rowe said. "He
was on the frontlines and going into situations like Sudan, and Angola and building from
the ground up logistical networks that enabled the feeding of desperately hungry people."
Tun Myat received a bachelor of commerce in 1963 and a bachelor of law in 1965, both
from the University of Rangoon.
________________
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