BurmaNet News: March 5, 2001

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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         March 5, 2001   Issue # 1749
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

INSIDE BURMA _______
*Reuters: Angry Myanmar tells Thailand stop ``war hysteria''
*AFP/Times of India: Myanmar says Thai "buffer zone" cause of border 
conflicts
*AP: Myanmar blames Thai army for border tensions 
*Xinhua: Myanmar Hopes to Solve Border Issues With Thailand Peacefully: 
Official
*AP: Working elephants make last stand in Myanmar's teak forests
* DVB : Disaffection in army after helicopter deaths 
*Myanmar Times: Satellite dish owners will be okay, says DG
*Daily Star (Bangladesh): Tremor jolts northeast India, Myanmar

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Mizzima: George friend of Burmese rebels, says Bhagwat 

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*The Nation: Chavalit Is Back with a Vengeance
*The Age (Australia): ACTU urges book boycott for Burma  
*AFP: Malaysia to send first ministerial trade team to new Manila 
government 

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*The New light of Myanmar: The Bad Neighbour

__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________




Reuters: Angry Myanmar tells Thailand stop ``war hysteria''

March 5, 2001

By Aung Hla Tun 

 YANGON, March 5 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government told Thailand 
on Monday to curb ``war hysteria'' over bloody border clashes last month 
and to cooperate in ``quiet diplomacy'' to restore frayed relations. 

 In a statement, the government again accused members of the Thai 
military of aiding ethnic Shan rebels battling the Myanmar military. 

 ``Above all, it is time for Thai officials, including military 
officers, to stop providing support and assistance to insurgent groups, 
which is the main reason for the present unhappy situation,'' the 
statement said. 

 ``Let amity be eternal and enmity ephemeral.'' 

 Myanmar called for an end to ``war hysteria and inflammatory statements 
emanating from Bangkok.'' 

 Relations between Thailand and Myanmar plummeted last month after a 
series of clashes along the border. The usually busy border crossing 
between the Thai town of Mae Sai and Myanmar's Tachilek remains closed 
because of the tension. 

 Bangkok says Myanmar troops crossed into Thai territory on February 10, 
seizing an outpost which was later recaptured. A day later, shells hit 
Mae Sai as Myanmar soldiers and their allies in the United Wa State Army 
(UWSA) clashed with ethnic Shan rebels across the border. 

 Thai soldiers retaliated by firing at Myanmar military positions. 

 Myanmar denies firing any shells into Mae Sai and says they were fired 
by the Shan rebels. It also says the border outpost taken over by its 
troops was not in Thai territory. 

 ``It must be emphasised that this hillock is right on the borderline 
and therefore cannot be said to be within Thai territory,'' the 
statement said. 

 TRADING ACCUSATIONS 

 Bangkok says the UWSA is the major player in the drugs trade in the 
region and is the source of most of the heroin and amphetamines flooding 
Thailand. Thai officials have accused the Myanmar government of allowing 
the drugs trade to flourish. 

 But Myanmar says the rebel Shan State Army is to blame for most drugs 
trafficking in the area. 

 ``It is quite absurd...to state that all Myanmar officers along the 
border are getting kickbacks from drug trafficking and that they have a 
vested interest in the drugs trade,'' the statement said. 

 ``The very fact that Myanmar forces have been sacrificing life and limb 
to fight the war against narcotic drugs relying on its own limited 
resources gives the lie to such illogical comments,'' it said. 

 ``The truth is that some Thai army units are supporting and helping the 
narco-insurgents and are assisting them in their attacks against Myanmar 
troops and installations.'' 

 Thailand's new government, led by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is 
widely expected to be less confrontational with Myanmar than the 
previous administration. 

 Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Chavalit 
Yongchaiyudh says he can boost ties through his good personal 
relationship with some of Yangon's ruling generals. 

 But elements of the Thai military have been less conciliatory in their 
approach to Myanmar. Yangon said the Thai military was pursuing ``a 
hidden agenda.'' 

 ``Some elements of the Thai military are trying to drive a wedge 
between the Myanmar leadership and the new administration in Thailand,'' 
the Myanmar government statement said. 

 (With additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok) 

___________________________________________________





AFP/Times of India: Myanmar says Thai "buffer zone" cause of border 
conflicts 

March 4, 2001

YANGON: A senior Myanmar military figure said Saturday the situation 
along the border could remain tense as long as Thailand continues its 
policy of maintaining a "buffer zone." Deputy chief of military 
intelligence Brigadier General Kyaw Win accused the Thai military of 
supporting the ethnic Shan State Army (SSA) fighting Yangon's rule in 
the remote east of the country in order to create a "buffer zone".

"As long as this policy is being pursued, it would be difficult to 
defuse the situation. And our two militaries will not be able to work 
together," Kyaw Win said in a statement. Tension has been running high 
along the border region after incursions by Myanmar troops into Thailand 
last month in their fight against the SSA. Yangon has accused the Thai 
army of using the SSA to fight a proxy war, while at the same time 
justifying its crackdown on the rebels to curtail their role in the 
production and trafficking of drugs. The SSA is one of the only major 
armed factions in Myanmar yet to agree to a ceasefire with Yangon.

It has been fighting for an independent state for decades. However, Kyaw 
Win stressed Myanmar would take every possible step to maintain peace 
along the border and played down the "isolated shooting incidents." "We 
understand that the present issue is bigger than the normal border 
issues and needs to be addressed at a higher level.

"Our two governments can coordinate with each other to improve the 
situation but it is still unclear whether the present administration has 
any control over the third army," he said, referring to the SSA. Kyaw 
Win said the exchange of fire between Thai and Myanmar forces last month 
had stopped since the new Thai government of Thaksin Shinawatra had 
taken office.

"There is friendship between us and the Thaksin government ... our 
friendship with some of its leaders go back a long way and our armies 
understand each other," he said. Kyaw Win outlined Myanmar's policy 
towards Thailand, saying "we give priority to friendship ... we have 
never allowed anti-Thai elements to establish bases on our soil." He 
also opened the door to possible conciliatory meetings. "Once it is 
established by both sides when it would be convenient to hold such 
meetings ... we will choose a time convenient to both sides," he said. 
(AFP




___________________________________________________



AP: Myanmar blames Thai army for border tensions 

March 3, 2001


YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar has ``friendly'' relations with the new 
Thai government despite recent fighting on the border, a senior Myanmar 
military officer said Saturday. 

 But tensions will not ease unless the Thai army overseeing the northern 
frontier stops giving military help to Shan rebels fighting the regime 
in Myanmar, said Maj. Gen. Kyaw Win, deputy director of the defense 
services intelligence. 

 ``As long as the Third Army does not change its attitude, the 
improvement of the border situation will be slow,'' Kyaw Win said in 
Yangon, the capital of Myanmar. Myanmar is also known as Burma. 

 The Thai government has repeatedly denied helping the rebels. 
 Kyaw Win said a Thai-Myanmar regional border committee would meet to 
resolve the dispute, but did not say when. 

 Last month, Myanmar and Thai troops clashed when fighting between 
Myanmar and ethnic Shan rebels spilled into Thailand. At least five 
civilians were killed on either side of the border, driving relations to 
their lowest point in several years. Border checkpoints in the region 
were closed. 

 Kyaw Win intimated that relations would be better under the new 
government of 
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose defense minister, Chavalit 
Yongchaiyudh, is a former prime minister with close ties with Myanmar's 
ruling generals. 

 Thailand's previous premier, Chuan Leekpai, did not visit Myanmar 
during three years in office. His government was relatively outspoken 
about the political conflicts in Myanmar. 

 Kyaw Win said Myanmar had ``friendly relations'' with Thaksin and noted 
that Chavalit was the first Thai general to visit Myanmar after the 
military junta took power 12 years ago. 

 The State Peace and Development Council assumed control in September 
1988 after a military crackdown on protests for democracy in which 
thousands of civilians were gunned down, drawing international 
condemnation and sanctions. 

 Lt. Col. San Pwint, a military intelligence officer, said the Shan 
rebels launched a series of attacks this week on a Myanmar border 
outpost at Lwe Taw Kham, 550 kilometers (340 miles) northeast of Yangon, 
with supporting fire from Thailand. 

 ``The attack was well-planned and aided by the Thai army on the 
border,'' he said, adding that the attacks were covered by Thai 
television networks. 

 Twenty-three Myanmar troops were killed and 62 soldiers were wounded 
between Feb. 5 and March 2 in the fighting along the border, San Pwint 
said. 




___________________________________________________




Xinhua: Myanmar Hopes to Solve Border Issues With Thailand Peacefully: 
Official

YANGON, March 3 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Myanmar military official 
said Saturday that the country hopes to solve the current border issues 
with Thailand peacefully by holding a border meeting at regional level 
as soon as possible. Major-General Kyaw Win, Deputy Chief of the Office 
of Strategic Studies and Deputy Director of the Myanmar Defense Services 
Intelligence, told a press conference here that there were gun- fire 
exchange since February 5 up to March 2 between Myanmar government 
forces and the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA), an anti-government 
Shan ethnic armed group led by former drug warlord Khun Sa's close aide 
Lieutenant-Colonel Ywet Sit, around Tachileik, a Myanmar border town 
opposite to Mae Sai of Thailand. He accused Thailand of supporting the 
SURA's series of attack on the Myanmar side across the border with 
artillery cover and disclosed that during the battles period, 23 Myanmar 
soldiers were killed and 62 others injured, without mentioning any 
casualties on the SURA's side. 

Meanwhile, Thursday's Myanmar official Information Sheet said that in 
view of the fact that Myanmar and Thailand are both members of the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is about time to 
initiate a proper assessment on this buffer policy so that the visions 
and wisdom of the ASEAN leaders in safeguarding the political, security 
and economic interest of the region embracing all 10 countries of South 
East Asia can be realized. According to Thai official sources, Myanmar 
soldiers seized one of its border outposts on February 10 and hit Mae 
Sai with stray shells during a battle against the SURA. The tension 
between the two countries has prompted Thailand to shut down the Mae Sai 
border check point, the sources said, adding that the Thai side would 
only reopen the border point if there is assurance that Myanmar soldiers 
would not cross the frontier in their battles against SURA. Thailand 
also urged Myanmar to show goodwill by not deploying excessive troops 
near the Thai border, warning Yangon not to divert attention from the 
real cause of the problem that Myanmar troops had encroached on Thai 
soil, while Thailand has taken the leading role in drug suppression.

___________________________________________________


AP: Working elephants make last stand in Myanmar's teak forests 

Feb. 4, 2001


SHWE PYI AYE CAMP, Myanmar (AP) _ Deep in a jungle where motors fear to 
tread, a bull elephant drives his tusks, trunk and forehead against two 
tons of felled teak, sending the log crashing down a steep riverbank. 

 Nearby, three workmates power their way through the forest, flicking 
aside thick branches, shoving logs into clearings and hauling them away 
with chains. 

 ``Swe, Swe'' _ ``Pull'' _ shouts a rider, using one of 28 commands 
obeyed by these ``living vehicles,'' intelligent, indispensable laborers 
of Asia's forests for hundreds of years. 

 But across the continent, elephants have lost one job after another: 
first as battle ``tanks,'' then beasts of burden, finally as loggers. In 
neighboring Thailand, a dramatically shrinking elephant population is 
relegated to tourist rides and carnivals. 

 The working elephant and the ancient traditions that go with it are 
making their last stand in Myanmar, also known as Burma. At least as 
long as the forests remain _ and they appear to be rapidly vanishing. 

 Richard Lair, an expert on the species, estimates Myanmar is home to as 
many as 7,000 domesticated elephants _ more than 30 percent of the 
world's population _ and up to 6,000 wild ones. 

 ``Elephant-wise, Myanmar is in an entirely positive sense a living 
museum, seemingly frozen in time decades or even centuries ago,'' said 
the Thailand-based Lair. 
 Myanmar's elephant men hope it long will remain one. 

 ``Vehicles can't go up there,'' says Wan Thun, a veterinarian and 
elephant manager, pointing to a steep, forested hillside. ``Our terrain 
and weather won't allow mechanical vehicles, so elephants have a good 
future.'' 

 Mechanized logging is feasible when forests are clear-cut, but the 
government's Myanmar Timber Enterprise, which has a monopoly on teak 
extraction, uses a selection system inherited from British colonial 
days. 

 Under this, only trees of a certain girth can be felled within a 
designated area that is harvested in a 30-year cycle. With much of the 
often dense forest left intact, elephants are not only more suitable but 
less destructive to the environment than churning, polluting mechanical 
skidders. 

 Myanmar Timber Enterprise, which employs 2,700 elephants around the 
country, runs what Lair describes as a classic, 19th century logging 
operation. 

 The Shwe Pyi Aye base camp is a collection of thatch and bamboo huts in 
the Pegu Yoma Range of central Myanmar that provides support for 82 
elephants and 25 ``oozies,'' or riders, who work out of seven primitive 
logging camps even deeper in the forest. 

 Shwe Pyi Aye, which translates as ``Peace and Quiet,'' includes a 
clearing where a 3-year-old elephant is starting schooling based on 
lore, understanding and love of the animal handed down through the 
generations. 

 The still unnamed baby is getting accustomed to being roped to a tree, 
his patience rewarded by sugar cane, tamarind and other pachyderm 
favorites. Shadowing him is Than Aye, a 32-year-old cow, who also serves 
as a mentor, going through routines the youngster clumsily imitates. 

 Elephant kindergarten lasts a month, with students learning one command 
every two days. Sessions run daily from 5 a.m. to midnight, with one 
hour of rest and bathing alternating with an hour of classroom time. Not 
unlike humans, elephants don't leave school until age 18, when they're 
put to work. 

 Wan Thun, the veterinarian, describes labor regulations more 
enlightened than for most human beings in Asia: Elephants can work no 
longer than eight hours a day during the cool season, five hours when it 
gets hotter. Weekends are off, and vacation lasts from mid-February to 
mid-June. There's mandatory retirement at 55. 

 Wan Thun, who has worked with elephants for 19 years, says he or 
another veterinarian are always on standby to treat diseases or 
on-the-job injuries with both Western and traditional medicines. 

 ``It's all from the jungle,'' the vet says as an oozie throws saddle 
padding made of tree bark across an elephant's back in preparation for 
late afternoon work. Next comes the harness, originally designed in the 
time of Myanmar's ancient kings. 
 Pig fat, a lubricant to prevent skin sores, is smeared on, and four 
elephants, along with a baby tangled around its mothers legs, set off 
from one of the seven working camps into the forest. 

 One bull rolls a fallen tree trunk into a clearing where it is quickly 
stripped of large branches. Logs are flipped around like matchsticks by 
the now revved up elephants. 

 Htun Nyu, the 38-year-old tusker, has the day's toughest task of 
dragging a log he has rolled into the stream through the water and then 
up a muddy bank to a roadside pickup point. The hunk of teak _ Myanmar's 
``brown gold'' _ is estimated to be 150 years old. 

 Despite the optimism of people like Wan Thun, Myanmar appears to be 
trailing other Asian countries down a sad spiral. This begins with a 
hefty demand for elephants in intense logging, followed by a great loss 
of jobs, and food sources as the forests are depleted with, ironically, 
the help of the animals. 

 Although their numbers are still relatively large, Myanmar may have 
employed as many as 20,000 elephants before World War II. 

 After the war, 70 percent of the country was under healthy green cover 
as compared to some 30 percent today. The environmental group Rainforest 
Action Network says the rate of deforestation has doubled since 1988, 
when a military junta seized power. 

 The timber industry is ``fraught with corruption, graft and laundering 
of unsustainable, illegal wood into the `legal' chain of custody,'' the 
group says. Once pristine forests along the borders with Thailand and 
China have been ravaged by foreign concessionaires. 

 When night falls and a main road is reached, the wondrous trumpeting of 
elephants in the jungle is soon replaced with the rumble of trucks 
weighed down with teak. 

 ___ 
 On the Net: 
 Elephant Information Repository: http://elephant.elehost.com 




___________________________________________________



 DVB : Disaffection in army after helicopter deaths 

28 February

DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] has learned that dissatisfaction is 
growing among junior military officers since the death of some senior 
military officers including SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] 
Secretary-2 Lt Gen Tin Oo in a helicopter crash. The discontentment is 
more at the Records Office of the Defence Services [RODS], Office of the 
Ministry of Defence, and the Artillery and Armoured Battalion.

According to latest reports received by DVB, there was a commotion of 
junior officers at No 502 Air Base in Mingaladon. Confirmed sources said 
that security personnel have been increased today at Indaing Central 
Ammunition Depot. These internal discontentment started after SPDC 
Secretary-2 Lt Gen Tin Oo was killed in a helicopter crash on 19 
February.

Battalion and tactical commanders from the frontlines were displeased 
because the only report they had about the helicopter crash were from 
foreign news media sources and no official announcement nor explanation 
was made from the military top brass.

Furthermore, some military officers from the Southeast Military Command 
wrote a letter to the Defence Ministry on 24 February seeking an 
official explanation about the crash. The letter also warned that due to 
foreign media reports about the crash, dissatisfaction among the 
military officers has intensified and the situation should be put under 
control before it gets worse. Leaflets about the helicopter crash were 
distributed at the RODS and the No 2 Military Hospital in Rangoon on 25 
February while posters were posted at the Defence Ministry. There is 
growing displeasure at the Artillery and Armoured Battalion because the 
deputy director, Col Win Myint Aung, perished in the helicopter crash.

Early this morning, personnel from other battalions were used for 
security duty at No 502 Air Base in Mingaladon and the Central 
Ammunition Depot. One commander wrote in his report to the War Office 
that the discontentment is not only among the grassroots level solders 
but it is also growing among junior officers. DVB has learned that since 
the list of the dead from the crash was provided by the foreign media, 
some junior officers believed that the government's failure to produce a 
news report demonstrates the suspicious nature of the helicopter crash.


__________________________________________________



Myanmar Times: Satellite dish owners will be okay, says DG


February 26 - March 4,2001 



MOST existing satellite dish users will be licensed to keep their cable 
television equipment under a nationwide check being conducted by the 
Posts and Telecommunications Department, according to the director 
general of the agency. U Kyi Than told Myanmar Times the department's 
ward-by-ward investigation of satellite licences, announced in the local 
press in January, could take months to complete, despite its original 
January 28 deadline. But he said the department did not expect to 
confiscate many satellite dishes. "I am not in a position to describe 
the number of satellites that we have found, although they have all been 
counted," U Kyi Than, the PTD director general told Myanmar Times. "But 
I can say there are a lot of satellite users in Myanmar. Most of the 
users are members of the public, and we intend to issue licenses to most 
of them."

An official from the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs 
(MPT) - of which the PTD is a part - said there could be as many as 
20,000 satellite dishes in use across the country. Last month, MPT 
announced it would investigate the use of satellite television dishes 
and issue licences to "appropriate" users. A decision as to which users 
would be licensed to own the dishes, and consequently receive cable 
television services, would be made by MPT according to the announcement. 
Before 1993, PTD issued about 2000 satellite licences, mainly to hotel 
and government departments, for the first time. The number of dish users 
has grown since then, without any additional licences having been 
issued. Non-licence holding satellite users were asked to contact the 
PTD at 125 Pansodan Street with information including name; NRC number; 
profession; address; location of the satellite dish; its model, log 
number and size; and the date it was installed. Anyone who did not 
conform with the order, the announcement said, would be punished by law.


__________________________________________________




Daily Star (Bangladesh): Tremor jolts northeast India, Myanmar

March 5, 2001


AFP, Guwahati


An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook India's 
northeastern region and parts of neighbouring Myanmar early yesterday 
morning, officials said. The quake caused panic among the people living 
in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram, though there 
were no reports of any damage to life and property.

According to AK Sahu, a seismologist with the Regional Seismological 
Centre in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, the epicentre of 
yesterday's quake, which occurred at 04:26 AM was plotted along the 
Indo-Myanmar border.


Reuters adds, a tremor measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the 
western Indian state of Gujarat yesterday, more than a month after a 
giant earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people there.


Residents of Ahmedabad, the state's biggest city, ran out of their homes 
in panic but there were no reports of any casualties or damage to 
property. An official at the local meteorological office told Reuters 
the tremor was felt at around 1.45 pm and lasted eight to nine seconds.


Several high-rise buildings in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial centre, 
were flattened in the January 26 killer quake that measured 7.7 on the 
Richter scale. India has felt a series of tremors since then.




___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				


Mizzima: George friend of Burmese rebels, says Bhagwat 


New Delhi, March 5, 2001 


Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, sacked as Chief of Naval Staff by the present 
Indian government on 30th December 1998, accused the Defence Minister 
George Fernandes of being an active supporter of the Burmese militant 
groups, which are fighting against the Junta. In his book ôBetrayal of 
the Defence Forcesö, which is released in New Delhi, the former Naval 
Chief has accused that the Indian defence minister has had long interest 
in gun running and narcotics operations in the North East India and had 
many times met the leaders of the Burmese outfits.  
ôHis friends included the leaders of the Kuki National Army. His home in 
Delhi was already famous for harbouring Burmese students; a practice he 
continued when he became Defence Minister, until it hit the press and 
the Parliament. Sometimes these students were involved in the narcotics 
trade and propaganda against the Government of Burmaö, said the fomer 
Naval Chief.  
However, the Burmese students living in India had denied his allegations 
of being involved in arms and narcotics smuggling.  In his book, Bhagwat 
has also alleged that the defence minister has links with rebel groups 
based on Indo-Burma border. The two chapters of the book: ôAnti-Gun 
Running Operationsö and ôThe Defence Ministerö has detailed these 
alleged links.  ôFernandes also met Vungzakap, a Burmese from Tiddin 
(Chin State), Head of the Zomi Reunification Organization (ZRO), which 
had armed rebel camps in Myanmar and North Mizoram and whose objective 
was a Zomi home land extending to both sides of the border. Fernandes 
had promised political support to him.  

He also accused that George Fernandes has close links with an Arakanese 
armed group, the National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), which he says 
is doing a gun-running business to the North East insurgent groups.  

In the aftermath of Operation Leech which was conducted in February 
1998, as soon as the BJP led alliance formed a government, the 
self-styled foreign minister of the Arakan Independence Army wrote to 
Fernandes and thereafter reportedly met him in Calcutta. He assured the 
leader that he would conduct an inquiry into Operation Leech..

The book is the latest attack of the former Naval Chief on the Indian 
defence minister who is known for his sympathy and political support for 
the Burmese student activists in India. Fernandes has several times 
denied of aiding Northeastern and Burmese militants.  









_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 



The Age (Australia): ACTU urges book boycott for Burma  

By PAUL ROBINSON
WORKPLACE EDITOR
Saturday 3 March 2001

The ACTU has called for a consumer boycott of Lonely Planet travel books 
as part of a union campaign against companies who trade with the 
repressive regime in Burma.

The ACTU has written to up to 60 Australian companies with commercial 
ties with Burma asking them to cease trading with the country also known 
as Myanmar.

About 17 companies have told the ACTU that they have made decisions to 
cut ties with Burma, including a big fishing company in Perth, known as 
the Kailis MG Group.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow is in Tokyo, where she is at a 
international conference on the labor movement's approach to the regime. 
She said the conference had resolved to isolate the nation because of 
its repressive, forced-labor policies.

As AsiaPacific president of the International Council of Free Trade 
Unions, Ms Burrow said the ACTU had asked Lonely Planet to withdraw its 
travel guidebook on Burma but the company had refused.

"We are extremely disappointed that Lonely Planet has taken this view. 
We have called on students and international travellers to boycott the 
company's products," she said. "Their refusal to withdraw the travel 
guide on Burma from distribution is to continue tacit support for travel 
to a country oppressed by a military dictatorship and is at odds with 
the request for boycotts by the democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi."

A spokeswoman for Lonely Planet, Anna Bolger, said the group had been 
aware of concerns by tourism lobby groups in Britain about its guide to 
Burma and the company had been asked to withdraw it.

But Ms Bolger said she could find no record of an ACTU approach on the 
issue. "It may well be that the ACTU has approached the directors (of 
Lonely Planet). They are in France at the moment. I will check with 
them," she said.

Ms Bolger said the company would not withdraw the guidebook, which had 
been reprinted more than six times.

Ms Burrow applauded the actions of the Kailis group and said other 
companies said they were moving to wind back their Burma trade. 

She said the ACTU would be listing the companies that did not respond to 
ACTU correspondence "and urging consumers to boycott them".

Ms Burrow said Asian billionaire Robert Kuoc's international ShangriLa 
Hotel chain had been condemned by the ICFTU meeting in Japan for 
continuing to operate the Travellers Hotel in Rangoon. Mr Kuoc, with 
associated companies, was the leading tenderer for the prestigious 
Victoria Harbor precinct at Melbourne's Docklands.

Mr Burrow said Mr Kuoc, who was also in conflict with unions at the 
ShangriLa Hotel in Jakarta, would be asked to "de-invest" from Burma or 
be targeted by Australian unions.


__________________________________________________



AFP: Malaysia to send first ministerial trade team to new Manila 
government 

MANILA, March 4 (AFP) - Malaysia is to send a ministerial-level business 
delegation to the Philippines this week as part of a bid to boost trade 
and investment in Southeast Asia, officials said Sunday. 

 Led by International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz, it will 
be the first ministerial-level investment mission to Manila since 
President Gloria Arroyo was installed on January 20 after a military-led 
popular uprising. 

 The four-day business mission comes after a weekend Supreme Court 
decision affirming Arroyo's legitimacy as president. 

 There had been much uncertainty among business groups in thg her 
legitimacy. 

 "The visit is very timely as it also boosts bilateral relations as well 
as enhances intra-ASEAN trade and investment," Malaysia's ambassador to 
the Philippines Arshad Hussain told AFP. 

 Malaysia and the Philippines belong to the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, 
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

 Rafidah's mission to the Philippines, comprising officials from up to 
40 Malaysian companies, begins Wednesday and is the first stop of a 
regional tour that includes Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. 

 Bilateral trade between Malaysia and the Philippines from January to 
November 2000 totalled 2.4 billion dollars compared with 1.6 billion 
dollars in 1997, Arshad said. Malaysia is the Philippines' eighth 
largest trading partner. 

 Trade between the two neighbours has been in the Philippines' favour 
since 1998, when Malaysia began importing more of Philippines' 
semiconductor and electronic components which are key inputs for its 
manufactures. 

 "We want to try to narrow the trade gap as well as diversify trade. The 
potential for this is very good," Arshad said. Malaysia has about 40 
joint ventures in the Philippines. 

 Rafidah, a key member of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet, is 
scheduled to hold talks with Arroyo and meet with Philippine business 
leaders. 

 Malaysia's relations with the Philippines had briefly soured during 
Estrada's rule following his criticism of Malaysia's handling of the 
case of Mahathir's former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed for 
alleged sodomy and abuse of power. 



_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



The Nation: Chavalit Is Back with a Vengeance

Monday, March 05, 2001



Kavi Chongkittavorn

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's new government already faces a huge 
foreign-policy problem. By allowing Deputy Prime Minister General 
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who also serves as defence minister, to take his 
own personal initiatives toward Burma, the country's diplomacy could 
unravel in a short time.

This pathetic situation has undermined time and again Thailand's ability 
to deal with the repressive Burmese junta. After three years, Chavalit 
is back with a vengeance. Sad as it may be, he does not know what is 
really going on. 

Following criticism from academics and the media, Thaksin and Foreign 
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai cancelled proposed visits to Burma. But 
somehow this criticism has had the opposite effect on Chavalit. In fact, 
it has strengthened his resolve to visit Burma. He told his aides that 
he would visit soon, and he recently dispatched trusted aides General 
Sanan Kachornkarm and General Phat Akkranibutr to Rangoon to begin 
mending fences with the junta.

It is this sort of personal diplomacy that the junta leaders have been 
yearning for. Prior to 1997, Burma had mastered this tactic of dividing 
Thai civilian and military decision-makers. Hefty incentives were their 
main instruments.

Chavalit's determination to lead the policy formulation toward 
neighbouring countries has its roots in the security-oriented diplomacy 
of the Cold War. For years, the military reigned supreme in 
decision-making, covering the gamut of bilateral ties with countries 
sharing our borders. 

This changed throughout the Cambodian conflict. The military was unable 
to address security issues that had regional implications and drew 
international outcries. The Foreign Ministry, which normally played 
second fiddle, gradually stepped in and occasionally took the lead. This 
joint effort between the military and the ministry later became 
institutionalised, but their cooperation is elastic, depending on 
personal ties and the issues involved.

At the Foreign Ministry, there is a military-political liaison officer, 
who proved useful during the Cambodian conflict in facilitating 
cooperation between civilians and the military. However, this position 
has now become rather ceremonial.

Furthermore, Chavalit's hard-headed approach to Burma demonstrates his 
personal confidence that he alone can improve relations between the two 
countries. He was credited as the leader who helped break Burma's 
international isolation in 1988. This time, he thinks his old boy 
connections will instantly result in better Thai-Burmese relations. 
Burma has already let it be known that it would like to deal with an old 
pal rather than someone from the Foreign Ministry.

As defence minister, Chavalit's maverick style will cause irreparable 
damage to Thai foreign policy. In addition, it will constrict the 
Foreign Ministry's manoeuvrability. If this trend is allowed to continue 
it will hamper Thailand's diplomacy and international reputation.

Unchecked, it can lead to polarisation of Thai diplomacy into a few 
narrow issues, which will further weaken the country's bargaining power 
in the international arena.

The military and civilians have been at odds in running foreign policy, 
but the rivalry has been subdued in recent years. Under Chuan, 
security-related apparatus and civilians worked hand-in-hand to 
formulate and implement a unified policy toward neighbouring countries. 
The policy had begun to yield results until the Thai Rak Thai Party's 
victory.

Thai Rak Thai insiders admit that there is a growing concern about 
Chavalit's personal ties with Burma, which can lead to possible 
compromises in other areas. Chavalit still has the grand illusion that 
when it comes to policies related to neighbouring countries, he has 
magical powers to change things - even though history tells of 
disastrous consequences. 

Chavalit wants to use Burma as a stepping stone in regaining his fading 
influence in formulating policy toward neighbouring countries. If he 
succeeds, he hopes to extend his influence to Laos and Cambodia. Both 
countries have had bad experiences with Chavalit and his associates - 
the former was engaged in border war in mid 1980's and the latter in a 
coup. 

In his second week at the ministry, Surakiart has been quick absorb 
views and positions from senior foreign ministry officials on 
Thai-Burmese relations. He has postponed his trip to Burma indefinitely, 
and is expected to firm up his position in the weeks to come.

The new minister was wise to do that. Otherwise, he could have faced the 
possibility of completely losing control over the making of foreign 
policy. For one thing, he will not have the luxury that his predecessor, 
Surin Pitsuwan, enjoyed in answering to and being trusted by a single 
prime minister and defence minister.

When Chavalit visits Burma, it enables the junta leaders to play him 
against the Foreign Ministry, which has wrested control over Burmese 
policy during the past two years. With Army Chief General Surayuth 
Julanond in charge, the army follows the civilian leadership without 
dispute. 

The Burmese junta can further divide the top echelon in Bangkok by 
rewarding Chavalit's personal venture generously. Such an obvious tactic 
still works simply because some Thai leaders are foolish and selfish 
enough to barter the national interest for vested interests.



__________________________________________________




The New light of Myanmar: The Bad Neighbour


Thursday,  1  March, 2001

Two families, each comprising grand-parents, parents and children and 
their  uncles and aunts and other relatives have lived in close 
friendship. But one  family, violating the principles of the 
good-neighbourly relations with its  immediate neighbour, interferes in 
the affairs of the other and instigates  quarrels among the members of 
the family, setting brother against brother and  sister against sister. 

The most suitable and clearest words to describe such family making of  
interferences in the affairs of the other family and instigations to 
cause  arguments and quarrels among its members are "The Expansionist 
Bad  Neighbour". 

The above words are my assessment and definition of the bad family. 
Myanmar  has five immediate neighbours, namely, India, Bangladesh, the 
People's  Republic of China, Thailand and Laos. Myanmar shares a 
903-mile long border  with India, 169-mile long border land with 
Bangladesh, 1384-mile long border  with China, 1,304-mile long border 
with Thailand and 146-mile long border  with Laos. 

Myanmar has maintained not only the good-neighbourly relations with her  
neighbouring nations but also cordial relations with all the nations of 
the  world. In extending friendly ties with her neighbours and all the 
world  nations, Myanmar strictly adheres to the following Five 
Principles of  Peaceful Co-Existence: 

(1) mutual respect for territory integrity and sovereignty;  
(2) non-aggression; 

(3) non-interference in one another's affairs; 

(4) equality and mutual benefit; and 

(5) peaceful co-existence.   

Moreover, Myanmar practises the active and independent foreign policy 
and  takes part in international affairs in earnest. Though Myanmar 
lives in  accord with these principles, Thailand among the neighbours 
has failed to  follow the code of conduct of a good-neighbour. 

When the people's Liberation Army of the Mainland China, which is 
Myanmar's  neighbouring country, drove out Kuomington troops of 
Chan-Kai-Sheik from the  country in 1953, some of the renegade KMT 
trespassed on Myanmar territory and  stationed its troops in Monghsat 
region. Myanmar presented the matter  concerning the intrusion of 
Nationalist Chinese troops under the command of  General Limi to the UN. 
The matter was discussed in Bangkok. When the matter  could not be 
solved, the Myanmar Tatmadaw drove out the Nationalist Chinese  troops 
from Myanmar territory. 

The Nationalist Chinese troops fled to Thailand and took refuge in towns 
and  villages inside. Thai territory at the border areas and their 
descendants are  still still there. Since the time of their forefathers, 
the Nationalist  Chinese have been engaged in drug production and 
trafficking. In reality,  Thailand should not accept Nationalist Chinese 
troops who had intruded into  Myanmar territory. But instead of 
expelling them from the country it  continues to accept and feed them. 

Since about 1960, Thailand have been accommodating expatriates and armed 
 insurgents from Myanmar in her territory. In 1969, Thailand permitted 
the  expatriate group led by U Nu which was trying to oppose the 
Revolutionary  Council of the Union of Myanmar to stay in and carry out 
acts of sabotage  from Bangkok. 

Members of the expatriate group from inside the Thai territory at the 
border  gave a lot of troubles to Myanmar. 

KNU insurgents under the charge of Bo Mya and U Nu's expatriates formed  
alliance. When the Myanmar Tatmadaw launched offensives against them, 
they  ran away across the border into Thai territory. What Thailand has 
done is  like the act of a person in a ward who is accommodating 
hoodlums, ruffians,  crooks and robbers at his house. These hoodlums, 
ruffians, crooks and robbers  burgle other houses at night. When the 
people in a ward chase them they  entered the house of that person and 
disappeared. 

At the end of 1988 anarchic unrest, many persons who took part in the  
disturbances and those who had no dear conscience fled to Thailand. 
Thailand  opened camps and accepted them as it made much profits by 
doing so. There are  fugitive camps in Thailand till now. Thailand 
violated the principles of the  good-neighbourliness in dealing not only 
with Myanmar but also with Laos. It  was many years ago that Thailand 
forcefully took away the Emerald Buddha  Image, revered by all the 
Laotian people, from Vientiane to Bangkok.  
I was included in the Myanmar journalist delegation which visited Laos 
in  1999. On our way to Laos, we had to make a stopover at Bangkok 
International  Airport. During the stopover, the delegation visited the 
Emerald Buddha  Image. We had to pay the entrance fee to pay obeisance 
to the Image. While in  Laos, we also visited the temple which is the 
original place of the Emerald  Buddha Image. We found that the throne on 
which the Image was once placed was  empty. 

When we asked the Laotian hosts why there was no Buddha image on the 
throne,  they said that one day they would take back their own Buddha 
Image and  restore it in its original place. It seems that whenever the 
Laotian people  see the empty throne at the temple, they remember the 
hegemony of Thailand  with bitterness like a person who always remembers 
his enemy whenever he sees  the scars inflicted by the latter. 

It will become an endless story if I write all about Thailand which has 
lost  the moral conduct of a friendly neighbour. When the Tatmadaw began 
to crush  the SURA drug smuggling insurgents under the leadership of 
Ywet Sit, Thailand  got involved in the matter by giving assistance to 
the SURA insurgents.  Thailand is showing hostilities and making threats 
against Myanmar. A large  number of Thai forces were deployed along the 
border as a means to show  hostilities toward Myanmar.   

The Bangkok Post and The Nation dailies in Bangkok are instigating the 
Thai  armed forces and flattering the new Thai government. The western 
media which  is jealous of Myanmar is colluding with the Thai dailies. 
The Myanmar  government is concentrating its efforts on the peaceful 
settlement of the  problem at Myanmar-Thai border. 

Myanmar which has safeguarded its territorial integrity and sovereignty  
always respects other nations' territorial integrity and sovereignty. 
When  the Tatmadaw launched Operation Moehein from phase 1 to phase12 
against the  Shan insurgents who were producing and trafficking narcotic 
drugs at  Myanmar-Thai border, it took great care to ensure that its 
operations did not  give any harm to territorial integrity and 
sovereignty of the other country  and to ensure that not a single round 
fired by its forces landed in the  other's territory. 

Such instances are the firm proof that Myanmar always strictly adheres 
to the  principles of the good-neighbourliness and never violates them. 
Myanmar in  accord with the old saying "Let amity be enduring and enmity 
ephemeral" and  "Try to be virtuous whoever is otherwise", will continue 
to uphold her  good-neighbourly relations with all the neighbouring 
countries.  
Author: Chit Kyiyay Kyi Nyunt 





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