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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: July 4, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
July 4, 2000
Issue # 1569
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
*Inside Burma
BANGKOK POST: DRUG TRADE RESUMES AT KHUN SA'S EX-BASTION
NEWS & VIEWS FROM MYANMAR (SPDC): PRINCIPLES OF THE ADMINISTRATION
THE JUDICIARY LAW, 2000
MUSLIM INFORMATION CENTRE OF BURMA: SPDC OFFICERS RECRUIT FIFTY
PORTERS A DAY
*Regional
BANGKOK POST: SUSPECT'S RELEASE DEMANDED
*International
AFP: MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT BELGRADE
THE DAWN (PAKISTAN): ISLAMABAD: MYANMAR TEAM ARRIVES
GREENLEFTWEEKLY (AUSTRALIA): HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING FOR BURMESE
MILITARY
GREENLEFTWEEKLY (AUSTRALIA): ASIO STALKS BURMESE ACTIVISTS
*Economy/Business
IRRAWADDY: LONELY PLANET SET TO GET LONELIER
*Opinion/Editorials
BANGKOK POST: TIME FOR BURMA TO TALK REFUGEES
*Other
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
BANGKOK POST: DRUG TRADE RESUMES AT KHUN SA'S EX-BASTION
July 3, 2000.
Villagers serve as tools of traffickers
Subin Khuenkaew
The border town of Ban Therd Thai, a former bastion of drug warlord
Khun Sa, has again become a major centre for illicit trade-only now
it's mainly methamphetamines instead of heroin.
The village, in Mae Fa Luang district and also known as Ban Hin Taek,
has fallen under the influence of armed gangs run by drug traffickers
operating from across the border.
Villagers said local authorities, police and administrative officials
in particular, serve as mere tools of the drug traders, who wield a
strong financial influence over them.
In the first six months of this year at least four local residents
were killed by the gangs, villagers said. Two were eliminated because
they tried to turn their backs on the drug trade, and two others
because they were being unco-operative.
A former soldier in the Mong Tai Army, who has returned to Ban Therd
Thai since Khun Sa surrendered to Rangoon two years ago, said many of
his friends had to join the United Wa State Army under Wei Hsueh-
Kang.
It was a matter of survival, he said.
The UWSA is building a new town opposite Ban Therd Thai which
authorities say is being paid for from the profits of methamphetamine
trafficking.
"The UWSA soldiers came and threatened us if we did not co-operate,"
the former soldier said.
"Many of my friends managed to flee the village, but most had no
choice. It was join them or die."
Ban Therd Thai had now become a major meeting place for drug traders,
he said.
The Third Army recently closed the San Ton Doo border checkpoint in
nearby Mae Ai district, which intelligence reports said was being
used extensively by drug traffickers.
Shortly afterward, an army patrol clashed with UWSA soldiers in an
area west of Ban Therd Thai and seized four million methamphetamine
pills and 27kg of heroin.
Maj-Gen Chamlong Pothong, deputy commander of the Third Army, said
there have been complaints from Ban Therd Thai villagers that some
government officials in Mae Fa Luang district are taking bribes from
drug traders.
"The area along the 100km stretch of border in Mae Fa Luang district
is reported to be the most heavily infested with methamphetamine
traders in the country," he said.
"The Pha Muang Force, which is responsible for the area, has been
patrolling the mountains along the border and development projects
are planned for border villages. One is now under way already in Mae
Hong Son," Maj-Gen Chamlong said.
____________________________________________________
NEWS & VIEWS FROM MYANMAR (SPDC): PRINCIPLES OF THE ADMINISTRATION
THE JUDICIARY LAW, 2000
Vol.2 30 June 2000 N0.25
The Judiciary Law, 2000, or the State Peace and Development
Council Law No. 5/ 2000 was enacted on 27th June, 2000. The
principles of the administration of
justice are stated as follows:-
( a ) administering justice independently according to law;
( b ) protecting and safeguarding the interests of the people and
aiding in the restoration of law and order and regional
peace and tranquillity;
(C ) educating the people to understand and abide by the law
and cultivat ing in the people the habit of abiding by the
law; (d ) working within the framework of law for the
settlement of cases; (e) dispensing justice in open court
unless otherwise prohibited by law;
(f) guaranteeing in all cases the right of defence and the
right of appeal under the law; aiming at reforming moral
character in meting out punishment to offenders.
The Law also includes Chapters on Jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court;Power of the Supreme Court; Formation of the State or
Divisional Courts, the District Courts and the Township Courts; and
Jurisdiction and Powers of Courts.
____________________________________________________
MUSLIM INFORMATION CENTRE OF BURMA: SPDC OFFICERS RECRUIT FIFTY
PORTERS A DAY
June, 30, 2000
Since June, 12, 2000, SPDC officers in Myawaddy township of Karen
state arranged to recruit fifty porters a day and to hand over them
to Democratic Karen Buddhist Army(DKBA).
According to a villager, U Tin Hla, the chairman of Myo thit
(village) block-4 in Mya waddy town, in collaboration with the
military officers of Infantry Battalion (209) ordered the villagers
to provide a porter from a house and fifty porters a day routinely.
Any family unable to provide a porter must pay 300 to 500 Kyats to
the chairman and the military officers. DKBA officers used the
porters in breaking rocks, constructing roads and other hard labour.
Mya waddy is a border town of Burma opposite Maesot of Thailand.
___________________________ REGIONAL ___________________________
BANGKOK POST: SUSPECT'S RELEASE DEMANDED
THAI-BURMESE RELATIONS
July 4, 2000
Police accused of drug-linked set-up
Ranong
Rangoon has demanded the immediate release of a Burmese national
arrested in March on what they claim to be false drug charges, a
marine police source said yesterday.
In a petition to the chief of a Thai Burmese border co-ordinating
panel the Burmese officials said Cho Tho, 31, was a scapegoat in a
Thai marine police crackdown on drugs.
Bilateral ties could be damaged if their demand was not met, they
said.
Cho Tho had been an informant for Thai police but some of them turned
against him after receiving a bribe from a Thai drug suspect, they
said.
The source said three officers had received a bribe of 150,000 baht.
Col Peerapol Viriyakul, chief of the co-ordinating panel, has asked
the provincial marine police chief to look into the matter.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________
AFP: MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT BELGRADE
BELGRADE, July 4 (AFP) - Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung was to
arrive in Belgrade Wednesday for a five-day visit for talks with his
Yugoslav counterpart Zivadin Jovanovic and other top Belgrade
officials, state-agency Tanjug reported Tuesday.
The talks would be focused on further development and increased
cooperation between the two countries, the agency said, quoting a
statement from the
Yugoslav Foreign Ministry.
Myanmar has "strongly" condemned NATO's 1999 bombing campaign on
Yugoslavia, and "calls for full respect and implementation" of the UN
resolution which has ended the war in the Serbian Kosovo province.
The Yugoslav Foreign Minister visited Myanmar earlier this year, in
what Belgrade considers a diplomatic offensive aimed to strengthen
relations with possible partners in the East.
Isolated by big Western powers due to its repressive policy in
Kosovo and the rest of the country, Belgrade and the regime of
President Slobodan Milosevic has moved closer towards Russia, China,
India, Iraq and other Asian and African countries.
____________________________________________________
THE DAWN (PAKISTAN): ISLAMABAD: MYANMAR TEAM ARRIVES
ISLAMABAD, July 3: Myanmar's powerful intelligence chief and First
Secretary Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt arrived here on Monday at the start of a
five-day trip.
It was the first high-level visit by a Myanmar delegation since 1974
when former military dictator Ne Win came to Pakistan, a government
statement said.
Mr Nyunt will meet Gen Pervez Musharraf and the chiefs of armed
forces, as well as visiting unspecified industrial centres during his
July 3-7 stay, it said.
Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told AFP he welcomed the general but
said he would have no comment until after his visit was over.
"Pakistan and Myanmar have long-standing cordial and friendly
relations, which are marked by a close similarity of views on a
number of regional and international issues."
"Lt-Gen Nyunt's visit to Pakistan will strengthen the existing
bilateral relations and open new avenues for economic and trade
cooperation between the two countries."
The Pakistani embassy official said Mr Nyunt would meet Gen Musharraf
for talks on bilateral trade, agricultural and industrial
development, and technology transfers.
Myanmar-Pakistan annual two-way trade amounted to about $22 million
in 1999.
Islamabad and Yangon are close allies of China, which sees them as
strategic buttresses against India's military and economic might in
South Asia.
The two countries also share major drug problems, with Myanmar
believed to be the world's second biggest opium producer after
Afghanistan.
The delegation included Industry Minister Aung Thaung, Petroleum and
Mines Industry Minister Maj-Gen Saw Lwin, Commerce Minister Brig-Gen
Pyi Pone, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Khin Maung Win and other
high-ranking military officers
____________________________________________________
GREENLEFTWEEKLY (AUSTRALIA): HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING FOR BURMESE
MILITARY
by Sean Healey
http://www.greenleft.org.au/
June 28 , 2000
The Federal Coalition Governemnt has received seven privates tenders
to
conduct a Human Rights training program for 43 members of Burmese
military regime. Burmese democracy activists has protested that the
program
will strengthen military's hold over the country.
The proposal for Austrlia to train Burmese officials in human rights
law was
first raised by foreign minister Alexaner Dower during a 1998 meeting
with
his Burmese counter part Ohn Gyaw . Australias human rights and equal
opportunity commissioner (HREOC) Chris Sidoti , repeated government
offer
during an August visit to Burma . He also raised the possibility of
Australian help to set up a National Human Rights Commission there .
The May
federal budget provided for $ 500,000 to fund the training program .
Dower
has confirmed that it will begin within next 12 months .
Burmese oppostion leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has reapeatedly condemn
the
offer . Sydney based Burmese democracy activist Maung Maung Than , who
attended a meeting between the department of Foreign Affair and Trade
( DFAT
and Burmese community representatives on June 9 , also condemned the
plan.
"The Burmese regime has a new tactic", Than told Greenleft
Weekly. "Their
practice has not changed but they want to soften their image and
launch
greater involvement in the international community ."
Than believes that Canberra's interest is motivated by gaining access
to
Burma's rich resources rather than any concern for Burma's 45 million
people .
"Australia is selling the name Human Rights to Burma so that the
military regime can polish its
image and and then promote trade with Australia", Than said. In
meeting with Burmese representatives , Sidoti has repeatedly denied
knowledge that the tranining was shceduled to go ahead, saying he
learnt of its approval only through the media . However , DFAT
officials told than that HREOC is one of the tenderers . " If Human
Rights Commission isn't in
charge of Human Rights training , who is ?" , Than asked . Burmese
activists will hold a protest march on June 29 beginning at noon at
Sydney Town Hall square then going to the DFAT office , 100 William
street .
____________________________________________________
GREENLEFTWEEKLY (AUSTRALIA): ASIO STALKS BURMESE ACTIVISTS
By Sean Healy ( Sydney)
July 2000
SYDNEY -- The Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO) has been following Burmese refugees in Australia and phoning
them every day to check up on their activities, Maung Maung Than,
national coordinator of the All-Burma Students Democratic
Organisation, told Green Left Weekly.
Than said that one ASIO agent had followed him every day for weeks
before a May 25 pro-democracy demonstration outside the Burmese
embassy in Canberra. The agent called Than frequently to ask what the
group's plans were and showed him her identification as a member of
the International Terrorism Suspects unit. She also asked about who
had occupied the Burmese embassy in Bangkok in October.
Another Burmese democracy activist was visited by an ASIO agent who
inquired about the activist's movements after his telephone was
disconnected. A third was told that ASIO knew of his attempts to gain
a visa to enter Thailand under another name. A fourth was quizzed
about Than's activities and Burmese activists' plans during the
Olympic Games.
Both ASIO and the Australian Federal Police are concerned that pro-
democracy activists may stage demonstrations against the Burmese
regime during the Olympics. The head of Burma's Olympics committee,
Khin Nyunt, is also the feared chief of the country's security
services. He may visit Australia with Burma's Olympic team.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
IRRAWADDY: LONELY PLANET SET TO GET LONELIER
July, 2000
Lonely Planet, publisher of a series of popular travel guides, may be
about to get a taste of the isolation that Burma's military regime
has been living with for more than a decade after its latest edition
of a guide to Burma claimed that "forced labor appears to be on the
wane" in the country. Activists have targeted the company for a
boycott, saying that the guide misrepresents the extent of human
rights abuses in Burma.
We are extremely clear about human rights atrocities and we say that
if you do go and stay in big hotels [in Burma] then people are
supporting an oppressive regime," said a company spokesperson. The
guide provides extensive information about "top end" hotels in
its "places to stay" section, as well as listings for cheaper
accommodation not directly run by the regime or its business
partners.
Despite its image as an "alternative" guide for backpackers and
budget travellers, Lonely Planet has expanded into a sizeable
business since its inception in the mid-1970s. It has been publishing
guides to Burma since 1979, selling about 12,000 copies a year
worldwide.
According to recently released statistics, just under 60,000 visitors
entered Burma in the first two months of 2000, a drop of nearly 10%
compared with the same period in the previous year. The country's
military regime frequently blames its failure to attract more
tourists on calls by the democratic opposition for foreigners to stay
away. Last year, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi also appealed to
travel writers to consider their motives for writing about
Burma. "Profit is clearly their agenda," said Suu Kyi.
[
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
BANGKOK POST: TIME FOR BURMA TO TALK REFUGEES
July 4, 2000
Thailand continues to provide sanctuary for 100,000 refugees from
Burma. Only one thing stands in the way of their return: The Rangoon
dictatorship refuses to discuss taking back its people. The hidden
agenda of Burma is clear.
The weekend trip by Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai t o the huge Ban Mae
La refugee camp was useful in several ways. In the first place, the
premier got to see for himself the huge problem of caring for the
endangered people of Burma. Thailand is forced to devote huge human
and economic resources to helping our less fortunate neighbours.
Perhaps the most serious problem of Ban Mae La, however, is the
contemptuous treatment by Rangoon of both the refugees themselves and
the problems faced by Thailand.
Day to day care alone for the residents of the Tak province camp is
daunting. The 30,000 men, women and children consume vast quantities
of food and water. They require medical and administrative care.
Diplomats, security officials, non-government groups and others are
devoted, full-time, to the refugee problem. The refugee camps lining
our border with Burma now house 100,000 helpless, dependent people.
The cost to Thailand is almost immeasurable-tens of millions of baht,
and enormous effort diverted from our own people and problems.
Amid the drama and suffering of the camp Premier Chuan kept the main
purpose of his trip in the front of his mind. Thailand has set a
goal of returning the Burmese refugees home within three years. By
any international standard, this is a huge and generous offer.
Hosting tens of thousands of refugees is a large and mostly thankless
task. There is no legitimate reason why the refugees cannot go back
to their country by 2003.
There is, unfortunately, an actual reason why the three-year
timetable may fail. That reason is the military junta of Burma. The
dictators launched the policies and attacks to drive out the
refugees. Now, they have erected a series of walls to keep them out.
The Burmese rulers seem to have decided that they do not want the
100,000 border refugees back in their country. They have chosen,
therefore, not to deal with the problem. Having made a mess, Burma
refuses even to discuss cleaning it up.
To be fair, there is a little blame that can be spread around. The
international community contracted "compassion fatigue" two decades
ago. Not only do well-off foreign countries refuse to take Burmese
refugees, their funding of care for the hapless victims of Burma is
basic at best, niggardly in the opinion of many.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has barely met its basic
duties. It has provided minimal shelter, food and water in most
cases. But it has provided no help or guidance for individual
refugees. So far as is known, the UNHCR has not helped any refugees
return to safe places in Burma. The agency has inexplicably, and
stubbornly, failed its responsibility to discuss repatriation with
Burma.
All of this helps Burma remain arrogant and cavalier. The- dictators
demand Thailand prove the citizenship of each refugee-as if Thais or
foreigners are eager to sneak into Burma to live. They claim the
refugees are a security threat-as if Thai border people are at war
with Rangoon. They bad-mouth Thailand for using refugee camps for
smuggling-as if Rangoon had no hand at all in the massive drug
trafficking that threatens our nation.
None of this is acceptable conduct from a neighbour. The refugees
have fled the Burmese border war to find sanctuary. It is entirely up
to Burma to establish peace inside its borders. Then, the refugees
must return to a quiet life.
What seems clear is that Burma wants Thailand to keep its unwanted
refugees. That is a win-win situation for the dictatorship. The
international community must back the Thai plan to care adequately
for the refugees until 2003. If Burma is allowed to force its
unwanted population on Thailand, other unpleasant regimes will also
throw their mess on others.
____________________________________________________
________________
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