[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
BurmaNet News: January 17, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: January 17, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 10:20:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
January 17, 2001 Issue # 1713
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
NOTED IN PASSING:
And although only a few days remain in this administration, please rest
assured we have not spoken our last word on Burma."
Madeleine Albright, See Voice of America Burmese Service: Albright¨C¡®we
have not spoken our last word on Burma.¡±
INSIDE BURMA _______
*Myanmar Times: ILO ¡®study group¡¯ formed
*The Nation: Khun Sa Aide Not One of Us, Says Shan Rebel Leader
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Ceasefire leader: General keeps General
happy
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Tens of Thousands of Wa waiting to be
relocated--Chinese among Wa resettlers
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Voice of America Burmese Service: Albright¨C¡®we have not spoken our
last word on Burma.¡±
*Bangkok Post: Security Forces to Keep Close Eye on Tak Medical Clinic
*Bangkok Post: Six Burmese Arrested, 98, 000 Pills Seized
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*The Hindu (New Delhi): Engaging a democracy 'icon'
OTHER______
*PD Burma: Calendar of events with regard to Burma
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Myanmar Times: ILO ¡®study group¡¯ formed
Issue of January 8-14, 2001
A NETWORK of local businessmen have joined forces to form the ILO Study
Group, with the goal of countering international response to the
International Labour Organisation¡¯s decision, late last year, to take
measures against Myanmar. The group¡¯s principal aim will be to monitor
any potentially negative impact arising from the decision, and develop
strategies to protect their, and the nation¡¯s, economic interests. The
group will liaise with the Government in delivering its findings.
¡°One response we might recommend the government to take will be to
formulate action plans such as submitting petitions to the ILO signed by
local workers angry at the sanctions,¡± one member of the newly-formed
group told Myanmar Times. ¡°If enough workers, say, 100,000 sign the
petition, perhaps the sanctions will be reviewed by the ILO.¡± U Zaw Min
Win, general secretary of the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (UMFCCI) - a body with several members in the new business
group ¨C said: ¡°The 10-member business group will report any findings
it makes to the Ministry of Commerce. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be
difficult to get the required signatures,¡± he said. ¡°Our workers want
to be protected, as well as our employers, from the effects of the
sanctions.¡±
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Khun Sa Aide Not One of Us, Says Shan Rebel Leader
BY SA-NGUAN KHUMRUNGROJ
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
THE head of a rebel army fighting the military government of Burma for
autonomy has disputed claims made by the Thai police that a former aide
to Burmese opium warlord Khun Sa was their leader.
Shan State Army's leader, Col Yawd Serk, in a statement sent to The
Nation yesterday, said Yang Wan-Hsuan, also known as Lao Tai, was not a
member of his movement. Yawd Serk said Yang had surrendered to the
military government of Rangoon along with Khun Sa in 1995 in return for
amnesty.
Yang was arrested by Thai police last week. Both Yang and Khun Sa are
wanted by the United States government on charges of drug trafficking.
Thai authorities have said Yang would be extradited to the US, where he
has been indicted on charges of trafficking heroin, by the end of
February.
Yawd Serk also claimed that Burma's State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), the junta's highest decision-making body, has been involved in
drug trafficking.
He said the recently seized heroin and methamphetamine near the Surin
Islands "gives clear evidence that the SPDC was involved in this drug
case because the drugs had passed through Rangoon, the capital of Burma.
"These drug gangs and drug traffickers are strong and powerful and they
have good contacts in every country. Therefore, if the international
community cannot cooperate to bring all these foreign drug traffickers
to trail, there is little hope to eradicate drugs," Yawd Serk said in
the statement.
He went on to say that the amount of heroin and amphetamines being
produced has risen even after Khun Sa's surrender. "In Shan State and
Kachin State, the SPDC has been commanding the ethnic people in the area
to cultivate opium plantations repeatedly," he said.
"The Burmese military has been using narcotic drugs as a weapon of
ethnic cleansing, systematically, against the people in Shan State since
the state's power was usurped by General Ne Win in 1962. As part of the
conspiracy¨¤by the Burmese military, drug laboratories have been
permitted, and more heroin and amphetamines have been produced by drug
traffickers under SPDC security," he said.
Yawd Serk said he is willing to work with the international community to
curb the flow of drugs, but so far has largely been ignored.
___________________________________________________
Shan Herald Agency for News: Ceasefire leader: General keeps General
happy
17 January 2001
A Shan leader whose group enjoys a ceasefire agreement with Rangoon told
S.H.A.N. recently through a telephone interview that Gen. Maung Aye,
slated to become the next chairman of the ruling military council,
appeared to be satisfied with the power-sharing arrangements made by
Gen. Khin Nyunt.
The Shan leader, who was not anxious to be named, conceding there were
differences between Khin Nyunt, the powerful military intelligence chief
and Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, and the
Maung Aye-Tin Oo clique, said: "Both nevertheless know they have to
stand together in order to survive, and Gen. Khin Nyunt has been smart
enough to keep his rivals sweet by his seemly magnanimity."
Gen. Maung Aye, designated heir-apparent to Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the
current office holder, had often made it quite clear he did not cherish
the idea of becoming a mere "figurehead."
"According to inside sources I know, the deal made between the two is
that Maung Aye will be handling the military and economic affairs while
Khin Nyunt manages the political affairs", said the Shan commander.
"So I don't think there'll be any falling-out with each other as long as
the deal is in place".
Gen. Khin Nyunt himself had lately disclaimed rumors of split between
the two factions.
"However, it may be a different picture, once foreign pressure is
lifted."
____________________________________________________
Shan Herald Agency for News: Tens of Thousands of Wa waiting to be
relocated--Chinese among Wa resettlers
Jan. 17, 2001
Travelers who came through Panghsang, the Wa capital near Chinese border
two weeks ago, said they saw tens of thousands of people outside the
town in temporary shelters waiting to be transported to the Thai border
in Mongton Township.
"The townspeople told us these people were forced out from mountain
villages," one said. "Not all of them were Wa. We saw many Lahus,
Chinese and even some Shans among them."
Another source from Mongton, interviewed by S.H.A.N. this morning about
Chinese citizens mingling with Wa resettlers, said: "Not all of them are
Hans (ethnic Chinese) although many of them are. Like in Thailand, Laos
and else where, China also has many hilltribes who, finding a Chinese
yuan has more value in Burma than in China (1 yuan is roughly 50 kyats)
and that law is laxer and easier on the hilltribes, have been moving
into the Wa region. Many Chinese also come because in Burma there is no
restrictions on the number of children you can have as in China."
Hawk, S.H.A.N. reporter, reported from Fang of finding several Wa and
Chinese holding Thai identity cards. "In the village of Ban Nawngphai
(87 households) in Mornpin Tract alone, we found at least 15 Wa and
Chinese, who by marrying local Lahu women, have automatically become
Thai citizens, because Thai laws favor hilltribes over Shans, their own
cousins."
S.H.A.N. source in Mongton added: "You can therefore expect more and
more Chinese and Chinese hilltribes coming along with the Wa in the
coming years."
____________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Security Forces to Keep Close Eye on Tak Medical Clinic
Jan. 17, 2001
Supamart Kasem
Local officials will look into activities of an NGO-run clinic in Mae
Sot amid reports illegal migrants have set up shelters near the
premises.
Col Chainarong Thanaroon, chief of the Fourth Infantry Regiment Task
Force, has asked authorities to monitor Cynthia Clinic, which treats
locals and Burmese.
The centre, run by Dr Cynthia Maung with foreign volunteers, was set up
without Medical Council permission. Burmese authorities had asked Dr
Cynthia to move the clinic to Myawaddy, offering to pay for medical
supplies and find a site, sources said. A source close to Dr Cynthia
said the founder had yet to decide on the proposal but felt the move
might be risky.
Dr Cynthia confirmed she had been approached by Burmese authorities but
refused to go into detail.
Sources said Dr Cynthia and her team opened the clinic in 1989 in a
rented house near the Thai-Burmese border. They have worked closely with
non-governmental organisations and local health agencies to give free
health care services to border villagers and underprivileged people.
Dr Cynthia later expanded the clinic by having more rooms built on
rented land nearby, the sources said
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
Voice of America Burmese Service: Albright¨C¡®we have not spoken our
last word on Burma.¡±
VOA Report Broadcast on January 16 (As Transcribed from Voa Burmese
Website)
With a few days to go before the end of the Clinton Administration,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has spoken about Burma. Her
comment came as she announced new U.S. government funding for
organizations fighting child labor and sweatshops.
"As anyone who has heard me knows, I have been particularly appalled by
the forced labor situation in Burma which the I-L-O has condemned and
which is unlikely to improve as long as democracy is denied. And
although only a few days remain in this administration, please rest
assured we have not spoken our last word on Burma."
She did not elaborate. However, U.S. officials say a statement will be
issued soon expressing Clinton administration hopes for the political
dialogue in Rangoon.
Officials say the statement will emphasize Washington's concern that
Burma's military not use the dialogue process as a political stall
tactic. However, no change in U.S. policy toward Burma will be
announced now.
One dozen U.S. senators signed a letter to the President asking him to
ban all textile and apparel imports from Burma.
U.S. officials say that is not likely to happen given the delicate
nature of the political dialogue in Rangoon.
The issue of textile imports made headlines in December when the U.S.
Army/Air Force Exchange was forced to end imports of clothing from Burma
in response to protests from labor and human rights groups.
At the Tuesday ceremony, Secretary Albright spoke about what she feels
should be U-S guidelines on apparel imports.
"When we buy a blouse or a shirt, we want to know that it is not
produced by people who are under-age, under coercion, underpaid or
denied their basic right to organize."
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt Tuesday called for an end to, what he
called, "pressure tactics and sanctions" if they really wish to see the
emergence of a democratic state in Burma.
Speculation is mounting as to how the incoming Bush administration will
handle the question of sanctions. The U.S. Congress in 1997 approved a
ban on new U.S. investment in Burma and President Clinton signed the
bill into law.
U.S. officials say the administration is happy that a political dialogue
has begun and wants to see progress. They say it is important that the
SPDC understand that Washington will be watching closely. However,
there is absolutely no intention of making any change in U.S. policy
now.
The U.S.-based Free Burma Coalition says there should be no easing of
U.S. pressure on the SPDC. Jeremy Woodrum of the coalition's
Washington office
"We don't think that the Western world or democracy should be paralyzed
by the fact that one dictator made an announcement that it would be
difficult for dialogue to move forward if there continues to be
pressure from these countries, especially since the SPDC has proved
time and time again that they cannot be trusted and that they will back
out of the dialogue pretty much any moment they feel like it."
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Six Burmese Arrested, 98, 000 Pills Seized
Jan. 17, 2001.
Six Burmese nationals were arrested on narcotics trafficking charges on
Monday and 40 Thais on other drugs-related charges.
City police chief Pol Lt-Gen Anant Piromkaew said the six Burmese were
arrested at The Mall department store in Bang Khae, Lotus superstore on
Ratchadapisek road and on Soi Ramkhamhaeng 50.
A total of 98,000 methamphetamine pills were seized, he said, adding
that the Burmese were accused of distributing speed pills to city
students.
Police also raided a house in Banglampu Lang, Klongsan district, and
arrested three people on drug charges. They found 240 speed pills and
two sets of drug-related equipment, the commissioner said.
Officers then posed as drug dealers and waited in the house for over
five hours. Nearly 50 people showed up apparently to buy speed pills.
He said 37 were arrested aftertesting positive for drugs in a urinetest.
_______________OPINION/EDITORIAL_______________
The Hindu (New Delhi): Engaging a democracy 'icon'
January 17, 2001
THE UNITED NATIONS has done well to broker a political engagement
between Myanmar's ruling military junta and its arch adversary and a
phenomenal proponent of democracy, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. However, it is
a measure of diplomatic circumspection that the global organisation
appears to have waited for this new reality to seem sustainable before
announcing the evident breakthrough. Ms. Suu Kyi and the governing SPDC
(the State Peace and Development Council) have held at least one
meaningful meeting in recent months to begin addressing the intractable
puzzle of how best Myanmar can be administered. The aim of ``confidence
building'' was at the core of the in camera discussions that the two
sides have held so far under the current initiative of the U.N. The more
tangible objective, discernible in the latest official comments at the
U.N. headquarters, is to facilitate a round of preliminary talks between
the SPDC and Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) so that
the two can try and agree to begin direct parleys on the substantive
questions of how Myanmar should reorganise its constitutional order. It
is obviously too early to judge how promising the U.N.'s facilitation is
for a final political settlement of the impasse between the SPDC and the
NLD.
In one sense, the U.N.'s current agenda in regard to Myanmar's internal
affairs is particularly delicate, given that there has been no
intervention in that country by any external force within the
conventional definitions of the world body's diplomatic business.
However, the SPDC had consented to the appointment of a veteran
Malaysian diplomat, Mr. Razali Ismail, as the U.N. Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan's Special Envoy to Myanmar last April. The Yangon
regime's action then was explainable on two counts - Myanmar's
reasonably cordial equation with the U.N., which had been cognisant of
that country's domestic situation all along, and possibly the SPDC's
calculation that the democracy question could perhaps be `internalised'.
Myanmar's military Government had by that time traversed a long way in
gaining leverage in regional institutions such as the Association of
South East Asian Nations. Yet, it was arguable that a U.N.- facilitated
`internalisation' of the challenge from Ms. Suu Kyi's
externally-applauded movement would be a bonus for the SPDC. For the
U.N., it was simply a matter of affirming international interest in
Myanmar's political question in the wake of a controversy over the
so-called ``dollars for democracy'' plan.
The message in Myanmar's contemporary history is that its military
leadership, long used to being the `government', will not be willing to
transfer power to the people without a grim struggle. A parallel reality
is that Ms. Suu Kyi has somehow been unable in recent years to recapture
her earlier mystique of a messianic leader so as to unseat the military
dictatorship through a revolution of `people power'. This has not of
course diminished her status as a democracy `icon', although the SPDC
seems to have skilfully resorted to the politics of manipulation within
a societal framework of poverty and ethnic diversity in order to stay in
power. The SPDC's top leaders such as Gen. Than Shwe and Lt. Gen. Khin
Nyunt are also aware of the political power of the gun barrel besides
the potency of propaganda. The skewed but perceived meaning of Ms. Suu
Kyi's marriage to a foreign national has remained an emotive topic in
the political counter-attack against her by the SPDC and its earlier
incarnation in power, the State Law and Order Restoration Committee
(SLORC). In addition, the SPDC's hold on power is traceable to a
tangential political discourse on the need for measured steps towards
`full' democracy over time. Linked to the SPDC's version of a slow march
towards democracy is its constant refrain about the need to sustain
Myanmar's territorial integrity in the face of divisive tendencies along
ethnic lines.
______________________OTHER______________________
PD Burma: Calendar of events with regard to Burma
Jan. 17, 2001
Published by PD Burma.
¨Z January 29-31st : The EU troika to visit Burma
¨Z February 5-6th : Meeting of Solidarity Groups, Brussels
¨Z February 6th : James Mawdsley to address the European
Parliament, Brussels
¨Z February 15th : Conference on Burma in Stockholm, Sweden. Oluf
International Center and Foundation for Human Rights
¨Z February 15-16th : Burma Donor Meeting, Sweden
¨Z March/April : Teachers/ Students Union Conferences
¨Z April : EU Common Position Review
¨Z March/April : UN Human Rights Commission, Geneva
¨Z May 13-20th : UN LDC III, UN conference on the LDC-countries,
Brussels
¨Z May 27th : 11th Anniversary of the 1990 elected.
¨Z May : ARF Senior Official Meeting, Hanoi
¨Z June 19th : Aung San Suu Kyi birthday party and Burmese
Women's Day
¨Z July : Belgium takes over EU Presidency
¨Z July : 8th RFA Ministerial Meeting, Hanoi
¨Z July : 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Post-Ministerial
Conference
¨Z July : ASEAN Summit
¨Z Aug. 31st- Sep.7th : World Conference against Racism and Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia
and related intolerance, South Africa
¨Z December 1st : Worlds Aids Day
¨Z December 10th : 10th Year Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize
for Aung San Suu Kyi,
________________
The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing comprehensive
coverage of news and opinion on Burma (Myanmar) from around the world.
If you see something on Burma, you can bring it to our attention by
emailing it to strider@xxxxxxx
To automatically subscribe to Burma's only free daily newspaper in
English, send an email to:
burmanet-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe to The BurmaNet News in Burmese, send an email to:
burmanetburmese-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:
Voice mail or fax (US) +1(202) 318-1261
You will be prompted to press 1 for a voice message or 2 to send a fax.
If you do neither, a fax tone will begin automatically.
Fax (Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143
________________
Burma News Summaries available by email or the web
There are three Burma news digest services available via either email or
the web.
Burma News Update
Frequency: Biweekly
Availability: By fax or the web.
Viewable online at http://www.soros.org/burma/burmanewsupdate/index.html
Cost: Free
Published by: Open Society Institute, Burma Project
The Burma Courier
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail, fax or post. To subscribe or unsubscribe by email
celsus@xxxxxxxxxxx
Viewable on line at: http://www.egroups.com/group/BurmaCourier
Cost: Free
Note: News sources are cited at the beginning of an article.
Interpretive comments and background
details are often added.
Burma Today
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail
Viewable online at http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/today.html
To subscribe, write to pdburma@xxxxxxxxx
Cost: Free
Published by: PD Burma (The International Network of Political Leaders
Promoting Democracy in Burma)
________________
____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01