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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: July 7, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
July 7, 2000
Issue # 1572
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
*Inside Burma
AP: MYANMAR OPPOSITION SUES MILITARY CHIEF
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: GENERAL MAUNG AYE PLAYS FRIENDLY GOLF WITH
GENERAL VP MALIK
SHAN STATE ARMY NEWS: BATTLE NEWS
*Regional
THE HINDU NEWSPAPER (INDIA): BIMSTEC GROUP SEEKS NEW TRANSPORT LINKS
*International
AFP: NORTH KOREA WANTS TO NORMALISE MYANMAR TIES: REPORT
BORBA INTERNET NEWS (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC
RECEIVES MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER
BORBA INTERNET NEWS (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): FOREIGN MINISTER
ZIVADIN JOVANOVIC MEETS HIS MYANMAR COUNTERPART U WIN AUNG
BORBA ENGLISH DAILY (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): U WIN AUNG TOURS
BOMBED BUILDINGS, "ETERNAL FLAME" MONUMENT
*Economy/Business
MYANMAR TIMES: MOU SIGNALS JV FOR GIANT JAPANESE INSURER
*Opinion/Editorials
BANGKOK POST: LETTER--WHAT WE REALLY DO AT UNHCR IS
*Other
SOUTHEAST ASIA RIVERS NETWORK: EAST AND SE ASIA ACTIVISTS UNITE TO
PROTECT RIVERS, FIGHT DAMS
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: MYANMAR OPPOSITION SUES MILITARY CHIEF
July 7, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) The opposition National League for Democracy is
suing Myanmar's military leader for harassment of party members and
failing to honor its election victory, the NLD said Friday.
The suit filed on Tuesday targets the chairman of Myanmar's Election
Commission, Ba Htay, and the chief of the ruling military council,
Senior Gen. Than Shwe, accusing them of failing to keep ``election
promises'' and violating electoral law.
The NLD, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, swept general
elections in 1990, but the military which has ruled since 1962
refused to convene Parliament. Hundreds of NLD members have been
arrested and many languish in prison after summary sentencing.
Myanmar is also known as Burma.
The NLD filed a complaint last year against top government
officials, including the regime's third-ranking general and
intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, for ``illegal detention of
NLD members and for allowing anti-NLD rallies.''
The Supreme Court rejected the case in October for lack of evidence.
The NLD appealed to the Supreme Court in February but the appeal was
rejected on May 4 on the same grounds.
Thai and Myanmar open historic meeting to fight disease
BANGKOK, July 7 (AFP) - Senior Thai and Myanmar health officials
Friday opened a historic first meeting to map out measures to
eradicate diseases along their common border, public health officials
said.
The three-day meeting in the northern province of Chiang Mai opened
Friday with a Thai proposal to establish four joint Thai-Myanmar
health centres along the border, home to the world's strongest
strains of malaria, Thailand's public health ministry said in a
statement.
The World Helath Organisation (WHO) will contribute to these centres
and will work to boost the quality of Myanmar's hospitals, it said.
Residents of villages along the mountainous, jungle-filled two-
thousand kilometre (1,200 mile) long Thai-Myanmar border have high
rates of malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
The malaria problem along the border has been exacerbated by the
constant migration of illegal Myanmar workers, spreading strains of
the disease, and by a lack of cooperation between Thailand and
Myanmar.
In 1999, 63 percent of reported malaria cases in Thailand came from
the 10 provinces along the Myanmar-Thailand border.
Standards of health care along the largely inaccesible border are
low, and residents of border villages usually are far from any high-
quality trauma centres.
Representatives from the WHO, Japanese Ineternational Cooperation
Agency, the United Nations' AIDS program, and UNICEF are also
attending the Chiang Mai meeting.
____________________________________________________
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: GENERAL MAUNG AYE PLAYS FRIENDLY GOLF WITH
GENERAL VP MALIK
Friday, 7 July, 2000
YANGON, 6 July-Vice-Chairman Of the State Peace and Development
Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence services Commander-in-
Chief (Army) General Maung Aye played friendly golf with Chief of
Indian Army Staff and Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee General VP
Malik at Thiriyadana Golf Club at Konmyintlha this morning.
Members of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-chief
(Navy) Vice-Admiral Nyunt Thein Commander-in-Chief (Air) Lt-Gen Kyaw
Than and Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council
Commander of Yangon Command Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, Ambassador of
India Mr Shyam Saran, members of the Indian goodwill delegation and
senior military officers of the Ministry of Defence also took part in
the friendly golf.
Before the friendly game, General Maung Aye and General VP Malik and
officials had documentary photos taken together. After the game,
General Maung Aye presented gifts to General VP Malik and party .
____________________________________________________
SHAN STATE ARMY NEWS: BATTLE NEWS
July 7, 2000
On 28 June 2000, from 08:00 to 10:00 hrs., SSA's 164th and 169th
Battalion of Sur Kharn Fah Column led by Major Sai Ta engaged in a
firefight with more than a hundred troops of SPDC's 99th Infantry
Battalion, at a place north of Loi Wieng, Wan Nong tract, Hsipaw
township, northern Shan State. 11 SPDC soldiers were killed and many
more were wounded. 3 of SSA men had sacrificed their lives in this
encounter and one more was wounded. SSA also lost 3 small arms.
The same day in the evening, from 17:00 to 18:00 hrs., a battle was
fought again between the SSA's 164th and 169th Battalion with 70-men-
strong SPDC troops for the second time at Loi Lom - Wan Sim, Wan Nong
tract, Hsipaw township. The enemy casualities were 6 deads and many
more wounded. SSA intact.
___________________________ REGIONAL ___________________________
THE HINDU NEWSPAPER (INDIA): BIMSTEC GROUP SEEKS NEW TRANSPORT LINKS
7 July, 2000
New Delhi, July 6, 2000: In a bid to develop key sectors of their
economy, the group of five countries straddling the Bay of Bengal-
BIMSTEC- have decided to develop new transport links, expand energy
cooperation and enhance trade.
The ministers of state of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and
Thailand who concluded their meeting today have decided to prioritize
the development of intra-regional roads and railways.
These discussions took place in the backdrop of the assertion by the
External Affairs Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh, this morning that the
BIMSTEC must deliver the concerted economic benefits to the people of
member countries.
According to the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Ajit
Panja, BIMSTEC representatives have decided to speed up construction
of a trans-Asian highway.
That essentially means extending an existing road of around 1,500 km
from Vietnam to Thailand towards Myanmar and Bangladesh. The corridor
is expected to terminate at Calcutta.
The details of the alignment of the road corridor have already been
worked out and work on the project is expected to commence soon.
Studies about the rail passage are still being conducted, the
secretary (ER) in the Foreign Office, Mr. S.T. Devare, said.
The five countries have also decided to push cooperation in the field
of energy.
Myanmar is the hub of energy supplies in this zone and is already
exporting its Andaman Sea gas to Thailand. Details of the westward
extension of this route are still to be worked out.
According to analysts, Myanmar and Bangladesh can establish a
pipeline, which will take gas and oil to the energy-hungry market of
India. Bangladesh, which is likely to have large reserves of natural
gas, however, is yet to show enthusiasm of exporting energy to India
because of internal political compulsions.
According to Mr. U Tin Latt, Ambassador of Myanmar to India, Thailand
has been assigned the responsibility to implement an action plan on
crating the regional infrastructure for the development of natural
gas in the Bay of Bengal area. India, on its part will be chief
coordinator for developing renewable energy resources in this zone.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________
AFP: NORTH KOREA WANTS TO NORMALISE MYANMAR TIES: REPORT
BANGKOK, July 6 (AFP) - North Korea wants to normalise ties with
Myanmar by next year, ending a 17-year dipomatic freeze caused by a
dramatic assassination attempt in Yangon, a report said Friday.
North Korea's foreign ministry conveyed its desire to normalise
relations between the two international pariah states to Thailand's
foreign ministry early this week, the Nation newspaper reported,
citing diplomatic sources.
Myanmar severed ties with North Korea in November 1983 after North
Korean agents launched a dramatic, though unsucessful, attempt to
assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan in Yangon.
North Korean agents planted a bomb in a Yangon mausoleum that
President Chun was visiting. The explosion killed 21 people,
including four South Korean cabinet members -- but not the president.
Since 1997, North Korea had launched a series of diplomatic
offensives designed to promote reconciliation between it and Myanmar.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung recently stated that Yangon
supports North Korea joining the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) Regional Forum, an organization that groups twenty-
two Southeast and Northeast Asian states.
Myanmar's military regime, accused of a host of human rights abuses,
has been isolated economically and politically by many Western and
Asian states, who have slapped sanctions on the Yangon junta.
Hard-line socialist state North Korea has historically ranked
alongside Myanmar as one of the world's international pariah nations,
though the recent Seoul-Pyongyang summit has improved North Korea's
image.
____________________________________________________
BORBA INTERNET NEWS (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC
RECEIVES MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER
7 July, 2000
[FBIS Transcribed Text]
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday received Myanmar
Foreign Minister U Win Aung, who is on an official visit to
Yugoslavia. In cordial and friendly talks, the sides expressed
satisfaction at the successful development of cooperation between the
two countries. Yugoslavia and Myanmar have common interests in
economy and other areas of bilateral ties, as well as in
international affairs. Milosevic said he was confident Yugoslavia and
Myanmar would continue to strengthen their friendship and cooperate
successfully, primarily toward the intensive development of the two
countries, but also toward closer links between all peoples and
states which offer resistance to world domination, in particular to
separatism and terrorism as a means for destabilizing countries which
practice a policy of independence. Yugoslav Foregn Minister Zivadin
Jovanovic and Myanmar Ambassador to Yugoslavia U Kyar Nyo Chit Pe
took part in the talks. President Milosevic Receives Leaders of Bor
District Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday received
the leaders of the eastern Serbian district of Bor, including
representatives of the Mining-Smelting Complex Bor, the Djerdap hydro-
electric power system, the Prahovo chemical works, from Majdanpek,
Negotin, and other leading companies from this area.
The visitors informed Milosevic about development projects and
activities in the areas of industry, power, agriculture, tourism, and
others. The successful realization of development projects in this
region is of great importance not only for the development of this
part of Serbia, but for the republic's entire growth, and the
economic potentials in this area provide great possibilities for
speedy economic progress, it was concluded during the talks. The
president's special adviser Zoran Lilic also took part in the talks.
Chamber of Citizens Adopts Proposal to Amend Constitution The Chamber
of Citizens of the Yugoslav parliament adopted a proposal to amend
the Yugoslav Constitution at an emergency session on Thursday. The
proposal was approved by more than two-thirds of MPs in the Lower
House of Yugoslav parliament after an extensive debate. This
initiative was launched by MPs of the Socialist Party of Serbia, the
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro, the Serbian Radical Party,
the Yugoslav Left, and the Serbian People's Party in both parliament
chambers. Chamber of Republics Adopts Proposal to Amend Constitution
The Chamber of Republics of the Yugoslav parliament unanimously
adopted a proposal to amend the Yugoslav Constitution at an emergency
session on Thursday.
The draft was submitted by MPs of the Socialist Party of Serbia, the
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro, the Serbian Radical Party,
the Yugoslav Left, and the Serbian People's Party. The draft
envisages direct elections for the Chamber of Republics, direct
elections for republican president, and changes in the election of
federal MPs and expiry of their mandates. At the end of the session,
Chamber President Srdja Bozovic said the MPs who had submitted the
request for Constitution changes have meanwhile presented a new
request for an emergency session at which the draft constitutional
amendments would be considered. Yugoslav Prime Minister Receives U
Win Aung Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic received on Thursday
a delegation from Myanmar, led by Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Win
Aung, said a government statement. In their discussions, the high
officials paid special attention to further development regarding
bilateral relations and, notably, economic cooperation. The two
countries agreed to make additional efforts in order to contribute to
consistent practice in international relations, and insisted on due
adherence to the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
Accordingly, Yugoslavia should be given stronger international
support in the attempts to reinforce its global position and,
especially, to reactivate its role in the Non-aligned Movement.
____________________________________________________
BORBA INTERNET NEWS (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): FRY FOREIGN MINISTER
ZIVADIN JOVANOVIC MEETS HIS MIANMAR COUNTERPART U WIN AUNG
7 July, 2000
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic conferred on Wednesday
with Mianmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung, who began an official visit
to Yugoslavia, said a statement by the federal Foreign Ministry. In
an extremely friendly atmosphere, the diplomats considered the
results of the present development of relations and prospects for
promoting future bilateral cooperation. During the talks, both sides
expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations so
far and expressed interest in and readiness for their further
expansion and deepening in future. Jovanovic underscored Yugoslavia's
resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, in
keeping with the U.N. Charter and the guarantees of the Security
Council inherent in Resolution 1244. The Mianmar foreign minister
stressed that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija was exclusively an
internal affair of Serbia and Yugoslavia.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Visits Serbian Vojvodina Province Vojvodina
Parliament Speaker Zivorad Smiljanic and Executive Council President
Damnjan Radenkovic received on Wednesday a Myanmar delegation, headed
by Foreign Minister U Win Aung. U Win Aung arrived earlier on
Wednesday on an official return visit to Yugoslavia, at the
invitation of Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic. During Wednesday's
talks, the two sides discussed the cooperation potential of the
northern Serbian (Yugoslav) Vojvodina province and regions in Myanmar
as part of agreed cooperation between Yugoslavia and Myanmar, a
Vojvodina government statement said. U Win Aung showed understanding
and support for and solidarity with Yugoslavia in its brave
resistance to big power hegemony and interference in the internal
affairs of sovereign states which destabilise regions and states.
.
____________________________________________________
BORBA ENGLISH DAILY (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA): U WIN AUNG TOURS
BOMBED BUILDINGS, "ETERNAL FLAME" MONUMENT
July 7, 2000
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung, who began a four-day official
visit to Yugoslavia on Wednesday, on Friday toured the buildings of
the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and Serbian Radio Television RTS,
which were bombarded in last year's NATO aggression on Yugoslavia,
and the "Eternal Flame" monument in Belgrade's municipality of Novi
Beograd.
The foreign minister, who was accompanied by Myanmar Ambassador to
Yugoslavia U Kyar Nyo Chit Pe and members of the state-economic
delegation of this country, first visited the Chinese Embassy
building which was attacked on May 7, 1999.
Chinese national news agency Xinhua correspondent Shao Yunhuan,
Guangmin Ribao correspondent Su Sinhua and his wife, and reporter ZHu
Ying were killed in the bombing.
Over 20 embassy employees were wounded in this attack by the NATO air
force.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
MYANMAR TIMES: MOU SIGNALS JV FOR GIANT JAPANESE INSURER
July 2000
JAPAN'S giant Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance company has taken prime
positioning in the nation's insurance industry with a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to form a joint venture with the State-owned
Myanma Insurance.
With the signing of an MOU to start a JV we have determined to
channel our experience, expertise and financial resources into
Myanmar,' said a company statement.
"We'll be working to expand the insurance business,' said Mr Masashi
Sawada, Yangon Representative of the company, " and we hope the
business will flourish as the market expands.'
Yasuda, as one of Japan¨¹fs oldest insurance companies, has more than
a century of experience. According to the annual report of the
company it has assets of US$35 billion and last year had net premium
written of more than US$8 billion.
It has more than 500 domestic and 38 overseas branches, and is rated
AA+ by Standard and Poors Rating, which according to Mr Sawada is top
ranking in the global finance sector.
The Myanmar market is not new for the company. It operated in Yangon
during the period 1958-64 and re-opened a representative office in
1995 participating as a reinsurer.
Currently, it is involved in reinsurance activity with MI. "Our main
operation in Myanmar currently is to introduce overseas firms
operating in-country to the MI for underwriting their insurance,' Mr
Sawada said.
The company is liaising with Myanma Insurance for all major types of
insurance except for marine hull, aviation and life.
The company has signed a "Facultative Obligatory Reinsurance Treaty
with MI for motor vehicle insurance business written by MI in foreign
currency.
Mr Sawada gave an example of MI's pricing structure under its treaty
with Yasuda. "If a car is insured for US$30,000 the owner has to pay
a US$1200 premium annually.
"Motor comprehensive insurance and fire insurance are very popular
among overseas real estate developers and manufacturers operating in
Myanmar,' he said.
The entry of Yasuda, via the MOU in 1997 to form a joint venture with
Myanma Insurance is likely to positively change the face of the
industry and help develop the sector.
"We are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with Myanma Insurance
via a joint venture,¨¹h said Mr Sawada.
As one of the world¨¹fs largest insurance players the joint venture
will be the first of its kind in Myanmar.
The result for customers will be international quality service and in
the longer run competitive insurance prices.
¨¹gOnce the joint venture deal has been struck we can put in our own
expertise and pricing structure,' said Mr Sawada.
"Our company has a financially strong reinsurance system. We can use
that capacity for our mutual benefit in the JV,' he added.
In preparatory gestures before entering into the JV Yasuda has been
arranging a series of seminars in Myanmar and personnel training for
MI staff at its Tokyo headquarters.
According to an official report of Myanma Insurance, the organisation
has increased its income from K1.5b in 1997-98 to K 1.7b in 1998-99.
Fire insurance represents the largest portion with the almost 60 per
cent of its total income, followed by motor insurance representing
21pc.
According to Yasuda there are a total of four overseas insurance
firms in Myanmar.
"Myanmar Foreign Investment Law emphasises that foreign firms buy
insurance policies compulsorily from Myanma Insurance.'
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
BANGKOK POST: LETTER--WHAT WE REALLY DO AT UNHCR IS
July 7, 2000
By Rob Burrows, UNHCR
Your editorial of July 4 headlined "Time for Burma to talk refugees"
contains several erroneous assertions concerning the UNHCR which must
be addressed.
The editorial claims the UNHCR has "barely met its basic duties" and
goes on to cite such duties as providing "minimal shelter, food and
water". Surely you ought to be aware that since the early 1980s the
Thai government has granted permission to a consortium of NGOs to
provide such assistance to these camps. It was not until mid-1998
that the government invited the UNHCR to assume a role at the border
and even then the basic arrangements for shelter, food, water, etc,
did not change.
Next, you charge that "UNHCR has provided no help or guidance for
individual refugees". On the contrary, UNHCR staff, together with the
government, have registered nearly all the 100,000 refugees in the
border camps. Moreover, thousands of new arrivals have been
interviewed by the UNHCR on a group or family basisand received
relevant counseling. We are seeking to enhance our counselling in
the camps through a more regular presence, a presence that only
started in early 1999. Away from the border, in the Maneeloy Centre
and Bangkok, the UNHCR provides ongoing and varied counselling to
large numbers of individuals. This counselling includes their
protection needs and prospects for the future.
your next' incorrect assertion states that the UNHCR "has
inexplicably, and stubbornly, failed in its responsibility to discuss
repatriation with Burma". You will notice from your own records,
including your July 2, 2000 issue, that the UNHCR has for some time
discussed this matter with the authorities in Rangoon, most notably
in March 2000 when the assistant high commissioner for refugees
visited Burma.
Finally, your readers should be aware that the UNHCR has worked in
Thailand for 25 years and has helped find solutions for over one
million refugees previously in this country. Our commitment to help
with the remaining 100,000 is well understood by the government and
the international community.
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
SOUTHEAST ASIA RIVERS NETWORK: EAST AND SE ASIA ACTIVISTS UNITE TO
PROTECT RIVERS, FIGHT DAMS
Email: searin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
July 4, 2000
[BurmaNet adds--Although not mentioned by name, Burma¡¯s inclusion in
the Pak Mun declaration is because of the prospective construction of
Japanese funded dams on the Salween River]
Anti-dam and river protection organizations in East and SE Asia have
united
to form a regional network to fight dams and protect rivers in East
and SE Asia. At the First East and SE Asia Regional Meeting on Dams,
Rivers and People, held in Kong Jiam, Ubon Ratchathani Province from
June 28-July 2, more than 60 participants from fourteen countries
announced their intention to "unite our struggle at the local,
national and international level so as
to stop the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to
restore rivers to the communities who depend on them."
Mr. Chainarong Srettachau, Director of Thai NGO Southeast Asia
Rivers Network, the local organizer for the meeting, said, "the
joining together of groups from all over East and SE Asia will
provide a powerful force to protect the rights of communities who
depend on rivers for their survival. We have recognized that we
share common problems caused by dams the appropriation of local
communities' rights to their rivers and water resources by
governments and private developers. By joining forces we will drive
a stake through the heart of the dam-building industry in this
region."
Participants at the meeting, which included dam-affected people
from Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and
Cambodia, together with allies from across the region, produced the
Pak Mun Declaration, which calls for:
a moratorium on large dam construction until the problems created
by existing dams have been rectified and reparations made to
affected communities.
the decommissioning of dams which have created irreversible social,
environmental and cultural destruction, and
an immediate stop to the financing of dam projects by bilateral and
multilateral organizations, particularly the World Bank, Asian
Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Pak Mun Declaration
Approved at the First East and SE Asia Meeting on Dams, Rivers and
People
Demanding a moratorium on dam construction, decommissioning of
existing dams, reparations for dam-affected people
Mae Mun and Mekong Rivers,
Kong Jiam, Thailand
July 1, 2000
We, the people from 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia namely
Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Burma,
Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, representing
organizations of dam-affected people and their allies, have gathered
here at the mouth of the Mun River (Pak Mun) in order to express our
unity in strengthening the people's power and supporting our
struggle against the injustices that we are now encountering.
We have exchanged our experiences both at the local and regional
level and recognize that all of us are facing similar kinds of
problems caused by dams. Dams have brought about the destruction of
rivers and the lives and livelihoods of villagers. Dams undermine
the rights of people, their community and culture as well as
destroying the environment, all of which are basic needs for their
survival.
In order to protect the rights and livelihood of people and rivers,
our demands are as follows;
1. A moratorium on large dam construction in East and SE Asia until
the problems created by existing dams have been rectified and
reparation made to affected communities. Further, dams which have
created irreversible social, environmental, and cultural destruction
must be decommissioned and the rivers restored.
2. The bilateral and multilateral organizations must stop financing
dam projects. Development assistance should not be spent on
destroying the lives of the people. The transnational corporations,
private companies and private banks must also abolish their
investment in dam-building projects that do not do justice to people.
3. Governments, dam-building companies, dam industry consultants,
the World
Bank, private banks and the Asian Development Bank, who are all
responsible for the havoc wreaked upon our communities by large dams,
must pay proper reparations to all dam-affected communities.
4. Critical and independent inquiries on the rationale and
justification of
proposed dam projects should be carried out. Integrated Resource
Planning, demand side management and conservation of natural
resources should be prioritized. Cheaper, cleaner and better
alternatives to dams should be undertaken to meet actual needs of
people for energy and water.
5. No development projects should be built without the voluntary,
prior and
informed consent of all affected people. Information regarding
proposed projects must be disclosed, in a timely and transparent
manner, to the general public and, especially, to people directly
impacted from such projects. Further, we demand democratic reforms
throughout the region to increase freedom of speech, press and
assembly so that people can participate without fear in the decision-
making process regarding the use and management of their resources.
6. The oppression of indigenous peoples by dams and other projects
should be stopped. We demand that the cultural, social, economic and
land rights of indigenous peoples be fully recognized and respected.
7. We oppose the privatization of rivers and water resources. We
also oppose the control of rivers and water resources by
illegitimate and repressive governments, as in Burma. Access to
water is a basic human right. Rivers must be in the hands of the
people, not the private sector or
military regimes.
In order for our demands to be implemented, we declare that we will
unite our struggle at the local, national and international level so
as to stop the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to
restore rivers to the communities who depend on them.
Water for Life, not for Death!
Ao Khuan kuen bpai, ao Dhammachat kuen ma! Take your dams back,
give us nature!
Endorsed by
¨Z Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives, Hong Kong ¨Z
Assembly of the Poor, Thailand
¨Z Cambodia Environmental Preservation Association, Cambodia ¨Z
Church World Services, Cambodia
¨Z Coalition of Concerned NGOs Against Bakun Dam, Malaysia ¨Z
Committee Against the Yongwong Dam Project, Tong River, Korea ¨Z
Cordillera Peoples' Alliance, Philippines
¨Z Earth Rights International, Thailand
¨Z Friends of the Earth, Japan
¨Z Friends of the People, Thailand
¨Z Group of Villagers Affected by Hua Na Dam, Thailand
¨Z Group of Villagers to Protect the Yom River (Kaeng Sua Ten),
Thailand ¨Z Indigenous Peoples Development Centre, Malaysia
¨Z Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, Korea
¨Z Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KSK/Friends of
the Earth-Phils), Philippines
¨Z LRA, Indonesia
¨Z Meinung People's Association, Taiwan
¨Z Mekong Watch, Japan
¨Z National Dam Opposition Network, Japan
¨Z Sagami River Campaign-Symposium, Japan
¨Z Sahabat Alam Malaysia
¨Z SOS Selangor, Malaysia
¨Z South-East Asia Rivers Network, Thailand
¨Z Taiwan Environmental Action Network, Taiwan
¨Z TUNOD KSM Alliance of Indigenous Organizations in Sierra Madre
Mountain,
Philippines
¨Z Villager Committee to Restore the Mun River, Thailand ¨Z Villager
Committee to Protect the Lam Dom Yai River, Thailand ¨Z Villager
Committee to Protect the Rub Ror River Basin, Thailand ¨Z WALHI,
Indonesia
¨Z WALHI Papua, Indonesia
¨Z Wildlife Fund Thailand
¨Z Yayasan Tanah Merdeka, Indonesia
____________________________________________________
________________
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