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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: July 6, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
July 6, 2000
Issue # 1571
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
*Inside Burma
AP: AUSTRALIA CONDUCTS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKSHOPS IN MYANMAR
DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA: BURMA, CHINA TO HOLD JOINT MILITARY
EXERCISES IN JULY, AUGUST IN COASTAL REGION
*Regional
THE ASIAN AGE (INDIA): INDIA TRYING HARD TO BUILD MILITARY TIES WITH
BURMA
MIZZIMA: KHIN NYUNT'S VISIT TO PAKISTAN, A CONCERN FOR POLICY MAKERS
IN DELHI
REUTERS: BAY OF BENGAL GROUP OF COUNTRIES PLEDGE COOPERATION
DAILY STAR (BANGLADESH): 369 BURMA NATIONALS LANGUISHING IN JAILS
*International
VOICE OF BURMA: ACTIVISTS IN JAPAN COLLECT SIGNATURES FOR G-8 SUMMIT
NCGUB: UPDATE ON THE MP CAMPAIGN AS OF FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2000
*Economy/Business
MYANMAR TIMES: INDUSTRIAL ZONE CUTS DEALS AND LURES IN NEW INVESTORS
*Opinion/Editorials
THE IRRAWADDY: IMAGINING A NEW ROLE FOR CHINA
LABOR PARTY (AUSTRALIA): HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING IN BURMA
*Other
WORLDVIEW RIGHTS: BURMA EDUCATION MAILINGLIST
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: AUSTRALIA CONDUCTS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKSHOPS IN MYANMAR
July 6, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)
Australia said Wednesday it is supporting human rights workshops for
50 Myanmar state officials despite the opposition of pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Australian experts are conducting two workshops for officials
including those from the Myanmar home affairs and education
ministries in Yangon July 4-13. A third will be held in October to
review the outcome of the first two.
Suu Kyi's party won general elections in 1990 but the results were
ignored by the military which has ruled in Myanmar, also known as
Burma, since 1962. Hundreds of pro-democrats have been jailed.
``Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains opposed to the initiative from the
point of view of principle and her view is respected,'' said a
statement from Australian Agency for International Development.
``But in the absence of any other effective measures to improve the
human rights situation in Myanmar the Australian government considers
the proposal is worth pursuing.''
The statement, that was released in Canberra and made available in
Yangon, said other international approaches had not ``significantly
influenced change'' in the last 12 years.
The workshops will address human rights as reflected in the roles of
different United Nations agencies and will feature sessions on
economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights, it said.
Australia stirred criticism from opponents of the military regime
when it sent a top official last August to broach the idea of setting
up an independent human rights commission in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi urges international isolation of the regime, as most Western
governments have done since a crackdown on a nationwide pro-democracy
uprising in 1988 when the military gunned down thousands of
protesters.
The human rights workshops are part of an assistance package worth
Australian dlrs 4.5 million (US dlrs 2.7 million), also including
community health projects and aid for resettlement of refugees.
____________________________________________________
DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA: BURMA, CHINA TO HOLD JOINT MILITARY
EXERCISES IN JULY, AUGUST IN COASTAL REGION
Oslo Democratic Voice of Burma in Burmese 1245 GMT 30 Jun 00
[DVB correspondent Myint Maung Maung dispatch]
[FBIS Translated Text]
China-Burma are to hold joint military exercises in coming July
and August in the
Coastal Region Command. Local villagers are being asked to
contribute labor for
building temporary military lodgings for Chinese and Burmese
military personnel who
will be taking part in the exercises. DVB [Democratic Voice of
Burma] correspondent
Myint Maung Maung sent the following dispatch:
[Begin Myint Maung Maung recording] Military planes, warships,
naval vessels and
Army officers from the Chinese Armed Forces will take part in the
military exercises to
be held between Tavoy and Mergui. Military planes and 150
paratroopers from
Hmawbi Air Force Base and Tenasserim Air Base and warships and
naval vessels from
Tenasserim Naval Base from the Burmese Armed Forces will take part
in the exercises. Outstanding members from the Artillery and Armor
Corps of the Army and
the Light Infantry Divisions and Light Infantry Battalions from Nos.
1, 2, and 3 Tactical Command Headquarters under the Coastal Command
will take part in the military exercises.
It is also learned that local people have been asked to
contribute labor to build
temporary lodgings in the area for the military exercises. Village
peace and
development councils in Mergui and Tavoy Districts are requiring
each village to provide 50 volunteers. Villagers living near the
site of the military exercises are to work as volunteers to build
huts and those living far from the site are to cut, gather, and send
timber and bamboo. [end recording]
[Description of Source: Description of Source: Oslo Democratic Voice
of Burma in
Burmese -- anti-government radio run by the National Coalition
Government of the
Union of Burma]
___________________________ REGIONAL ___________________________
THE ASIAN AGE (INDIA): INDIA TRYING HARD TO BUILD MILITARY TIES WITH
BURMA
July 7, 2000
By Rahul Bedi
New Delhi, July 6
Army Chief Ved Prakash Malik returned home on Thursday
after his second trip in six months to Burma in an
attempt to forge closer defence links with Rangoon's
long ignored military junta.
Gen. Malik was accompanied by three Army officers,
including a major general and an Indian Navy commodore
from Fortress Andaman and Nicobar, the tri-service
unified command at Port Blair. Officials were
tight-lipped about Gen. Malik's visit, but official
sources said India wanted firmer military ties with
Rangoon to offset China's proliferating influence in
Burma.
Official sources said this would probably be Gen.
Malik's last visit to a foreign country before he
retires on September 30. They said Gen. Malik was the
most widely travelled Army Chief ever, having visited
over 20 countries during his three-year tenure.
Gen. Malik's visit to Rangoon is part of a recent
diplomatic initiative by India to develop a closer
relationship with the Burmese military establishment
which New Delhi had disregarded for decades. The
Burmese naval chief visited New Delhi early this year
as part of this detente and more reciprocal visits by
military officers are likely over the next few months,
principally to counter Chinese influence.
Beijing is helping Burma modernise its naval bases at
Hainggyi, the Coco's islands, Akyab and Mergui by
building radar, refit and refuel facilities that could
support Chinese submarine operations in the area. The
Chinese are also believed to be establishing a Signals
Intelligence facility on the Coco's islands, 30 km from
the Andamans, to monitor Indian missile tests off the
Orissa coast, an activity that has proliferated after
the 1998 nuclear tests.
Defence minister George Fernandes has declared that
Hianggyi base was a joint Sino-Burmese naval
establishment and that the Coco's islands had been
"loaned" to Beijing where missiles targeting India were
deployed. China is reportedly training Burmese naval
intelligence officials and helping Rangoon execute
surveys of its coastline contiguous to India.
New Delhi's fears over Beijing's ambitions in the
Indian Ocean region gained credence in 1994 after the
Coast Guard detained three Chinese trawlers with
Burmese flags that were equipped with sophisticated
tracking and surveying equipment and arrested the crews
for spying. Despite the Navy's protests, the crew was
released by the government a few months later under
pressure from Beijing ahead of the annual meeting of
the Sino-Indian Joint Working Group.
Chinese ambitions in the Indian ocean have led to India
wanting to raise the Navy's fourth command on the
Andamans with headquarters at Port Blair. The plan,
shelved due to a resource crunch and reluctance to
annoy Beijing, envisaged upgraded surveillance and
monitoring stations across the 750 km long Andaman and
Nicobar archipelago of 309 islands spanning 8,250 km
that is 1,200 km from the Indian mainland but
contiguous to the worrisome Chinese presence in Burma.
"Till now China has been a land neighbour but through
Burma it may soon become our maritime neighbour," a
naval officer said. Such moves by Beijing of encircling
India merit serious attention, he said.
____________________________________________________
MIZZIMA: KHIN NYUNT'S VISIT TO PAKISTAN, A CONCERN FOR POLICY MAKERS
IN DELHI
July 6, 2000
New Delhi, July 6, 2000
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
While Indian Army Chief V.P Malik is on an official visit in Rangoon,
Burma's intelligence chief and Secretary No. (1) of ruling SPDC Lt.
General Khin Nyunt is out in Pakistan, an arch rival of India.
Pakistan is known to be supplying arms and ammunition to Burma junta
for quite some years and there is a strong link between the
intelligence agencies of two countries. Lt. General Khin Nyunt is the
highest-ranking Burmese junta official to visit Pakistan since 1974.
Though Indian government does not make any public response on the
visit (in fact, there is almost no news on Khin Nyunt's visit to
Pakistan in the Indian media), policy makers in New Delhi are
definitely watching closely on the visit of Burmese delegation to
Pakistan. But the visit and continuing close ties between Burma and
Pakistan will not have any immediate shift on IndiaÆs policy towards
Burma i.e. to establish a ôworking relationship?Ewith the military
junta in power.
The following is excerpts from an interview with Dr. Swaran Singh,
research fellow at New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and
Analyses (IDSA).
The second part of this will be interview with Mr. Brahma Chellaney
who is professor of security studies at Centre for Policy Research
(CPR) in New Delhi.
Excerpts from interview with Dr. Swaran Singh
Q: Currently, Burma's Lt. General Khin Nyunt is in Pakistan and
India's Army Chief is in Burma. What is your view on this India-
Burma-Pakistan triangle relationships?
A: As we know a military delegation from Burma is right now in
Pakistan and this is part of the relationship, which has evolved, in
last few years. In fact, both India and Pakistan and many other
countries have a sort of got into engaged in Burma in last five or
six years. And broadly, this relationship between Pakistan and Burma
on the one hand and India and Burma on the other should be seen in
that context that Burma has opened up and outside countries have
gradually started building relations. And the only difference which
should be understood in this context of comparing India relationship
with Burma and Pakistan's relationship with Burma is that Pakistan?Es relat=
ionship with Burma has been very military-oriented. Partly
because of the military culture or political culture of Pakistan that
the kind of relationship has evolved much around military
relationship and military ties between these two countries. We also
had earlier known that they were building an air base for Burma and
they also supplied equipment to Burma.
In the case of India, we have not been a sort of engaged in that kind
of relationship. We have not involved in supplying weapons to them or
building any that sort of military facilities. India's relationship
with Burma has concentrated more on trade and other kinds of
political relationship which involves official exchanges and all
other variety of things that can happen between these two countries.
Border management I think is one major issue for us too.
So, I think that is a major difference when you look at India and
Pakistan both separately approaching Burmese authorities. Indian
military chief General Malik is now in Rangoon and he has signed some
more agreements on border management and perhaps some other issues
that in fact further enforces the fact that Indian relationship is
much more broad-based, and much more holistic.
It is not focused so much more on supplying military equipment or any
sort of helping military junta in building military there. Pakistani
relationship will be again known now once this delegation has
completed deliberations in Pakistan and we will come to know as to
what Khin Nyunt and his other members of delegation are going to
focus on while during the visit in Pakistan.
But I assume again things that the main focus will be how to help
military junta in sustaining itself first and for that they obviously
need equipment for military weapons and other things.
Q: Ministry of External Affairs was quite tight-lipped on this
Burmese visit to Pakistan. What could be the position of India on
Khin Nyunt's visit?
A: The visit led by Khin Nyunt is definitely going to be a matter of
concern for New Delhi policy makers especially because we know
earlier instances where Khin Nyunt is clearly the man who established
Burma relationships with China and the kind of relationship with
China shared with Burma was nearly that of making Burma as another
province of China. It was very military-oriented again. I am sure
Khin Nyunt being in Pakistan with strong delegation of 20 people is
definitely a matter of concern here. People are watching carefully
and want to know what is going to happen during this deliberation,
especially as I said earlier because relationship is military
oriented that definitely means that India must keep its eyes and ears
very clearly open and notice what is happening in neighborhood. Burma
is a very important country for India especially because India has
been trying to open up and build relationship with bigger areas of
South East Asia and what happens in Burma is definitely a major
concern for us.
Q: What could be the position of India if it has to choose between
Lt. General Khin Nyunt and General Maung Aye who are the two
supposedly strong contenders for the post of SPDC chairman in future?
A: It is of course known clearly that Khin Nyunt was actually
military intelligence chief and he has been known to having a
tremendous hold on how the things operate in Burma and has generally
been known responsible for all sorts things that happened over last
decade. General Maung Aye by comparison is a sort of known as low-
profile person by comparison and he is also not as ônotorious?Eif
one could use that word. It definitely is important for India to see
a person who should be an easier person to deal with.
But in fact to start with to deal with military was a big question
for us. You know, we spent long long years to think whether we should
deal with the military junta or shouldnÆt. I think this is only
another question of its similar nature for us that in case Khin Nyunt
comes to hold that important chair, after General Than Shwe retires,
India should find itself in relatively difficult position in that
case than dealing with Maung Aye.
Q: What do you think on the view of China fostering relationship
between Burma and Pakistan?
A: I am sure during early 1990s, there was a lot of discussions and
reporting on what was called ôencirclement?Eof India and a lot of
people did mention how China was building relationships with Burma on
the one hand and the Pakistan on the other. If this kind of
relationship is beginning to strengthen itself, I think this make it
some sort of triangle which can work against India's interest in
future. So Burma and Pakistan are building relationship especially of
military nature and China already has relations of military nature of
both Pakistan and Burma. Definitely this emerges as certain amount of
strategic triangle which can be sort of someway impinging on India's
national interests in future at some date. But definitely as yet,
this third leg of the triangle seems not so strong.
Q: Do you expect any shift, if there is any on Burma, in India's
foreign policy towards Burma, because of growing ties between Burma
and Pakistan?
A: I think India's foreign policy is not sort of expected to take
any major shift in future when it comes to Burma. What has happened
is that we have accepted the international trend and started opening
relationship with the military regime there partly because they have
stayed there for last ten years and because everyone else is being to
deal with them. But we have also kept our options clearly open and we
have continued large section of Indian decision-makers and public at
large have continued to support democracy movement in Burma. So the
option is always open for us. But let me say that India does not have
to get too much worried about these each time meetings taken place
like this. In last five to six months, if you observe India has
clearly been seen internationally as a very responsible country and
the country, which has to be reckoned with when you talk of South
Asia. So India's views and India's policy will definitely make its
own influence in international decision-making various forums. India
ultimately supports democracy. We are a democracy and we support
democracy in both Burma and Pakistan. So that remains the bottom line
in our case though it has a transitory as a sort of small transition
period when we have to deal with the military.
____________________________________________________
REUTERS: BAY OF BENGAL GROUP OF COUNTRIES PLEDGE COOPERATION
NEW DELHI, July 6 (Reuters) - Leaders of a grouping of countries
around the rim of the Bay of Bengal pledged on Thursday to turn
their fledgling organisation into a powerful economic grouping.
The three-year-old association, which includes India, Thailand,
Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka began its third ministerial
meeting aiming to deepen ancient trading links and cooperation in
new areas such as information technology and food processing.
"This is a natural trading group that has a historical precedent and
geographical relevance," Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told
delegates.
"Not too long ago, traders from our lands travelled on camel, or
horseback, or by boats and dhows to sell and buy goods from each
other," he said.
BIMST-EC, as the group is called has focused on building links in
transport, communications, energy and technology between the
countries.
Singh said there was potential to cooperate in food processing,
information technology, infrastructure industry, agriculture and
human resources.
"We ought to commit ourselves to reducing the gap between promise
and reality," he said.
Bangladesh's state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury
said that BIMST-EC could be a link between South and South-East
Asia. "We feel that Thailand and Myanmar, being partners of ASEAN
have much to offer us," he said.
Tourism was another key area which the grouping could focus on, Sri
Lanka said. "We must encourage the middle class in our region to
travel among our own countries," Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
Lakshman Kiriella said.
He said while BIMST-EC was primarily an economic grouping, there
could be a forum on its fringes to address security concerns of
member-states.
"It is my hope that BIMST-EC while concentrating mainly on economic
cooperation should also on the fringes of these meetings provide a
forum to extend assistance to member countries on issues relating to
security concerns in the Bay of Bengal region," he said.
Sri Lanka has been battling Tamil Tiger rebels who want a separate
homeland for the country's minority Tamils in the north and east
since 1983.
____________________________________________________
DAILY STAR (BANGLADESH): 369 BURMA NATIONALS LANGUISHING IN JAILS
July 5,2000.
>From Nurul Alam
CHITTAGONG, July 4: Repatriation of 369 Burma nationals who have
already completed their terms of imprisonment has become uncertain
due to lack of clearance from Burma's border guards NASAKA, said a
government source.
They were arrested in the last ten years on charges of illegal
fishing, poaching and trespassing and are now languishing in the
jails in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Noakhali, Comilla and Mymensingh,
the source added.
On May 12 this year, 108 Burma nationals who completed jail terms
here were pushed back into their homeland following an inconclusive
flag meeting between the border guard officials of the two
neighbouring countries at Teknaf point, the source said.
The Burma border guard officials declined to take back 369 nationals
as they could not yet verify and confirm their identities, the source
further said.
BDR authorities lodged protests with NASAKA in this regard, but no
clearance has so far been received against those 369 people, sources
concerned said.
Efforts are on to take up the issue of repatriation of 369 Burma
nationals at foreign ministry level, they added.
Meanwhile, over 500 other Burma nationals are reportedly staying in
different jails as under-trial prisoners after arrest on different
charges.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________
VOICE OF BURMA: ACTIVISTS IN JAPAN COLLECT SIGNATURES FOR G-8 SUMMIT
TOKYO
Burmese dissidents in and around Tokyo collected signatures Saturday
and Sunday for a petition to July Okinawa G-8 summit leaders to put
the Burma issue on the summit agenda and to urge Burma's ruling junta
to stop all human rights violations and to start a dialogue with Aung
San Suu Kyi and the National League of Democracy paving the way for
the junta to hand over power to those duly elected in the 1990
general elections.
Taking advantage of their days-off some thirty Burmese democracy
activists collected signatures from passers-by to be sent with a
petition to G8 leaders requesting them to take up the Burma problem
at the G-8 summit to be held in Japan's southernmost prefecture from
the 21st of this month.
Activists from the Burmese Women's Union, Burmese Association in
Japan, Burma Youth Volunteer Association,NLD(L.A-Japan Branch)members
and individual activists for human rights and pro-democracy activists
and supporters of Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her
party, the National League for Democracy, handed out bilingual
leaflets in Japanese and English to passers-by, explaining human
rights violations by the ruling junta which still has not handed over
power to the winners of the 1990 general elections.
Meanwhile, two NLD(Liberated Area-Japan Branch) members have started
their trip to western Japan and handed out the leaflets to the
Japanese people and collecting the signature for a petition to July
Okinawa G-8 summit leaders to put the Burma issue on forthcoming
summit.
They passed through big cities such Kawasaki, Yokohama, Hiratsuka,
Odawara, and finished at Nagoya as first phase. They stayed at Nagoya
for couple of days and joined with the pro-democracy activists in
Nagoya to campaign Burma issue among Japanese people.
The second phase of their journey will finish at Osaka.
The following is a Japanese government's Foreign ministry's home page
for Okinawa G8 summit. To send an appeal to the Japanese
government to stop helping the military regime in Burma go to the MoFA
(Japan) web page and give your opinion.
The URL is http://www.g8kyushu-
okinawa.go.jp/e/opinion/index.html
The Government welcomes e-mailed opinions from the public
regarding the G8 Summit. If you would like to send your view to the
Government, please send it to the address below with your name,
organization, address, and telephone number. Views that have been
expressed by many senders are posted on this page, together with the
Government's position on the topic concerned (Sender's individual
identity will not be posted).
g8kyushu-okinawa-e@xxxxxxxxxx
____________________________________________________
NCGUB: UPDATE ON THE MP CAMPAIGN AS OF FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2000
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest
gratitude and highest appreciation to all of you for your continued
efforts and dedication to Burma's struggle for democracy and freedom.
1. 201 MPs at IPU conference in Jordan already signed up
for their Solidarity with the MPs of Burma (representing 82
countries)
2. 132 MPs of Ireland
3. 84 MPs of Norway
4. 78 MPs of Denmark
5. 73 MPs of Belgium
6. 68 MPs of Estonia
7. 63* Members of the United States Congress (18 Senators
and 45 House of Representatives)
8. 53 MPs of European Parliament
9. 44 MPs of Finland
10. 37 MPs of Switzerland
11. 35 MPs and Senators from Canada
12. 32 MPs of Australia
13. 30 MPs of Nepal
14. 30 MPs of San Marino
15. 26 MPs of the Netherlands
16. 19 MPs of Mauritius
17. 14 MPs of Portugal
18. 3 MPs of Cambodia (including Sam Rainsy, Chair of the
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats)
19. 2 MPs of Italy
20. 1 MP of France
* 63 members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States signed up for the co-sponsorship of the concurrent resolution
on Burma (S.CON.RES. 113 IS and H.CON.RES. 328 IH respectively,
expressing the sense of the Congress in recognition of the 10th
anniversary of the free and fair elections in Burma and the urgent
need to improve the democratic and human rights of the people of
Burma).
1025 MPs representing over 80 countries have already signed the MP
Declaration
in support of the legitimate MPs of the Union of Burma.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
MYANMAR TIMES: INDUSTRIAL ZONE CUTS DEALS AND LURES IN NEW INVESTORS
July 19-25 ,2000
INDUSTRIAL zones, hammered by the Asian downturn at the end of the
1990s, are again starting to come back into flavour with the latest
being built out near Yangon's International Airport ready to compete
vigourously than others less strategically located. Already about
US$9 million has been spent on the 3000-acre Yangon Industrial Zone
out near the international airport, 12 miles from the centre of the
city. The project originated as the Mingaladon Garden City, an
upmarket housing estate, but now one-third of it has been allocated
for industrial use and is a mere 30-minute drive from the heart of
the capital. Lying along Highway No.3, it has easy access to No 1
Highway both of which lead to the city of Yangon.
The project will be developed in two phases. "We've got the best of
everything: location, design and price," said Dr Khin Shwe, Chairman
of Zaygabar, the developing company. "I have developed this land into
such a way that foreigners will have a good impression on Myanmar
before they even touch the ground. Articulate care has been taken in
turning this farm land into a fully developed housing estate cum
industrial zone with the full facilities and amenities of a town.
"It is the best location among the industrial zones in Yangon. No
bridge has to be crossed and that's a major advantage. As well we
have strong availability of labour. Being surrounded by the area
where most of the residents are from the working class, it won't have
to fear any shortage of local labour," he said. According to the
developer power transmission lines link direct to the Hlawga power
station and an 11-kv power grid runs through the industrial zone.
200 fixed line telephones will be installed and US$48,000 has been
paid to the Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) for the
purchase of telephone cables. "Our infrastructure is amongst the best
among the industrial zones. Drainage has been built across the
industrial estate and there is a mini reservoir to ensure adequate
water for the trees and plants in the area. Reinforced concrete roads
are 15 inches thick and can bear 30 tons of weight. This is the sort
of detail we have attended to," he said.
"All plots of land in the industrial estate will be on the same level
as the work required will be done by the company. A total of 40 heavy
machine is being used for the project. "We will also put in a water
treatment plant so that industrial waste can be treated before it is
disposed of into the system. Dr Khin Shwe said the winning factor was
also the zone's competitive pricing structure.
"We sell at US$0.88 per square feet or US$38,000 per acre. And we
don't require the purchaser to level the ground which would cost
about US$15,000 more," he said. The purchase of an acre of land in
the Hlaingthaya industrial zone, by comparison, costs US$22,000 to
US$26,000 but, according to Dr Khin Shwe, "investors get only a plot
of land marked by pegs in each corner." "For foreign investors we
lease at US$3/year per square metre. This compares to US$55 being
quoted by the adjacent Mitsui Industrial Park. The industrial zone
part of the development extends over 1000 acres.
Reinforced roads under construction
Since the start of its sale about three months ago 157.5 acres have
been sold. Each plot is at least two acres wide. Garment, parquet,
furniture, steel structure and soft-drinks factories will be set up
in the area. During the "sales promotional period" a purchaser is
required to pay 40 per cent of the price as down payment and the rest
can be settled by paying 12 monthly installments over a year. The
industrial zone is part of the Mingaladon Garden City Project. The
original plan was to create a high-class housing estate but it fell
short of expectation because of the collapse of the property market
in late 1998."When the property market became stagnant, it was a hard
blow to the developers.
The consequence was that banks no longer wished to lend money to the
real estate people and people lost confidence in them," he
revealed. "Our sales cooled down when a government enterprise sold
its housing units at a 50pc discount," he said. Dr Khin Shwe said he
believed the property market was on the move and full pre-Asian
financial crisis levels could be back in two years. And he called for
more favourable conditions for manufacturers to start or expand their
business. "People are doing trade because it is more favourable for
them to do that. If conditions are created in such a way that
manufacturing is equally or more favourable than others, many people
will take up the challenge. "There should be more incentives from the
state to enable the local manufacturers to start their own
operations," he said.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
THE IRRAWADDY: IMAGINING A NEW ROLE FOR CHINA
http://www.irrawaddy.org
Vol.8 No.6, June 2000
Editorial
Recently, Gen Maung Aye, vice chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) visited China to mark the 50th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Burma and China.
In Beijing, the two countries agreed on a framework for bilateral
relations in the 21st century, pledging to increase economic and
diplomatic ties. At home, however, the Burmese media openly stated
that the purpose of the visit was to strengthen military ties. In
fact, it is no secret that in 1989, Burma agreed to purchase US$ 1-2
billion worth of weapons, including jet fighters, tanks and naval
ships, from China. Since then, ChinaÆs defence industry has helped
to dramatically upgrade Burma's military capabilities. Chinese
Defense Minister Chi Haotian acknowledged this aspect of Sino-Burmese
relations when he noted that cooperation between the armed forces of
the two countries is firmly rooted.
Burma's increasingly heavy reliance on China has become a major
source of concern among other Asian nations. Analysts and
intelligence sources continue to believe that Burma has allowed China
to build a listening post on Coco Island in the Bay of Bengal,
despite denials from Rangoon and Beijing. Last year, Burma's army
spokesman said that the regime would never allow "foreign troops" on
its soil and insisted that Burma would never become a "client" state
of China. Recently, however, news from Rangoon indicates that a team
of Chinese military engineers has been active in southern Burma,
helping with the construction of Burmese naval bases.
In any case, Sino-Burmese relations seem to be stronger than ever.
But sadly, the effect of this development has been far from positive
for the Burmese people.
With support from Beijing, the Rangoon junta's grip on power has
grown stronger over the past decade, and shows no signs of weakening.
The sight of Chinese-made tanks on the streets of Rangoon every time
the regime feels threatened by open displays of popular discontent is
by now a familiar one, and has done little to improve Beijing's
image amongst ordinary Burmese.
Nor would many Burmese have felt inclined to commiserate with Chinese
leaders as Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt did following the Tiananmen massacre in
1989: "We sympathize with the People's Republic of China as
disturbances similar to those in Burma last year broke out in the
People's Republic," said the Burmese junta leader in an official
statement
.
Chinese leaders have also been pleased with Rangoon's frequent
reiteration of its support for the "one China" policy regarding
Taiwan.
The current military regime is not the first Burmese government to
pursue friendly relations with China, and there is nothing wrong with
maintaining friendly ties with neighboring countries, particularly
one like China, which has the potential to become a major global
player in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, however, Beijing's willingness to back an
illegitimate regime that is regarded as a pariah state by much of the
rest of the world reflects badly on its own qualifications to fulfill
a future role as a world leader.
This is not China-bashing, because we understand that even after
democracy is restored to Burma, favorable relations with China will
remain crucial. But such relations must be based on the desires of
the people of Burma and China, not just on a marriage of convenience
between authoritarian rulers.
Even the current regime in Beijing must recognize that military rule
in Burma is damaging to its own interests as well as those of the
Burmese people. The flow of drugs and refugees across Burma's
borders has had a destabilizing effect on the entire region,
including China. Ethnic tensions have festered rather than healed in
response to military repression, and continue to breed insurgencies
that stand in the way of efforts to build trade routes that would
link the world's two most populous countries, China and India, to
the dynamic region of Southeast Asia.
Even in its direct dealings with the Burmese junta, China has reason
to question Rangoon's reliability as an international partner. Trade
between the two countries is frequently beset by inconsistencies in
the regime's economic policies. In 1997-98, Sino-Burmese trade
plummeted to just two-thirds of its value in the previous year, from
$600 million to $400 million, when Rangoon arbitrarily imposed
restrictions on border trade, much to the chagrin of policymakers in
Beijing.
Wisely enough, China has not put all of its eggs in the SPDC basket.
It has long allowed Burmese ex-communist leaders to remain in China
on the condition that they not engage in anti-Rangoon campaigns. More
significantly, recent reports say that in the past few years, Beijing
has renewed its contacts with the National League for Democracy
(NLD), the party that overwhelmingly won elections held in 1990. It
should be remembered that the Chinese ambassador to Burma was amongst
the first to congratulate the NLD on its victory ten years ago. China
was also believed to have played a role in nudging the regime towards
dialogue in 1995.
But this has done little to diminish resentment over ChinaÆs growing
influence in Burma. Local Chinese are especially concerned about the
occasional flare-ups of anti-Chinese sentiment that have a great deal
to do with perceptions that Beijing is the major force behind the
hated regime.
If China is not overly concerned at this stage about what the Burmese
people think, it should at least pay attention to the demands of its
own people. Although the country is set to become a member of a World
Trade Organization (WTO) and hopes to enjoy a more important role on
the world economic stage, it continues to lag in its recognition of a
growing international consensus that favors more popular
participation in political processes. Once Chinese leaders come to
appreciate the value of democracy as an essential element in any
nation's quest for development, they will surely understand why the
Burmese people continue to believe in the choice that they made a
decade ago. And China will, in turn, finally become the trusted and
respected partner that it has long sought to be.
____________________________________________________
LABOR PARTY (AUSTRALIA): HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING IN BURMA
LAURIE BRERETON MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
98/00
28 June 2000
The Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurie Brereton, today
called on the Howard Government to cancel its human rights training
program with Burma's military regime.
"Labor has expressed strong reservations about the Howard
Government's plans to step up its engagement with Burma's military
regime", Mr Brereton said.
"The Howard Government's $100,000 program to conduct human rights
workshops for Burmese Government officials marks the resumption of
direct government-to-government aid to Burma. This program
represents a significant shift in Australian Government policy."
"The first of these workshops is planned to be held in Rangoon next
month. The second workshop is scheduled to take place in September.
Approximately 75 Burmese Government officials will receive training
in the initial program. The Burmese military will have the final say
on who participates."
"This program comes in the absence of any real human rights
commitments from Rangoon or benchmarks against which performance will
be measured. Burma's human rights situation appears as bad as ever.
The Howard Government's initiative appears naive and unlikely to
bring any substantive benefit to the long suffering Burmese people."
"At a Senate Estimates Hearing on 31 May, senior DFAT officers
admitted that 'the likely [human rights] impact of this exercise is
at the margin'."
"The Howard Government's decision to proceed with the human rights
training program has been strongly criticised by Burma's democracy
movement including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. What is required
in Burma is fundamental political change and real movement toward the
restoration of democratic processes. The only consequence of this
ill-considered initiative may be to give international legitimacy to
Burma's military regime."
Mr Brereton noted that the Government has emphasised that no training
will be provided to the Burmese armed forces and that courses will be
delivered to middle ranking civil servants from Ministries including
Foreign Affairs, Attorney-General's, Home Affairs and the Burmese
Police.
"It is no surprise that the Government emphasises this distinction,
but no one should have any illusions about the regime in Rangoon and
the extent of military control over the bureaucracy, police and
judiciary", Mr Brereton said. "Burmese Government agencies are
deeply implicated in the repressive practices of the military regime
and unlikely to be influenced or reformed by a limited Australian
human rights training program."
"Labor considered view is that this program should be cancelled. The
funds involved could be more usefully spent to programs to assist
Burmese refugees and the many victims of human rights abuse in
Burma."
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
WORLDVIEW RIGHTS: BURMA EDUCATION MAILINGLIST
The list has existed since early February and was at that time closed
for strategy discussions etc. Since then, it's been purged of
sensitive materials and opened up to anyone that's interested. The
list is devoted solely to education in Burma, already has a good
number of subscribers from all over the world and contains nearly 50
articles, reports etc. related to education matters in Burma. I would
yhink it would be of interest to campaigners of all sorts. According
to an agreement made between us, it replaces the other egroups list
devoted to this issue, the Burmaed- list.
Please access the list and register to become a member or send a
request to ronny@xxxxxxxxxxxx
This service is intended to facilitate the exchange of information
and articles about the educational situation in Burma. It is also a
place to share ideas about the worldwide campaign for educational
reform in Burma and the reopening of Burma's schools and universities-
"Open Our School, Enlighten Our Future". The campaign is
coordinated by The Campaign Committee for Open School with the
assistance of the Norwegian human rights organization Worldview
Rights.
Please submit updated newspaper articles and reports about the state
of Burma's educational system, suggestions for campaign topics,
events that should be covered etc. The list is moderated and
maintained by Worldview Rights.
_________________________________________
Ronny Hansen
Project Manager
Worldview Rights
Oslo, Norway
Tel: + 47 22 98 90 02
92 80 86 07
Fax: +47 22 11 49 88
www.WorldviewRights.org
_________________________________________
____________________________________________________
________________
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