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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- March 14, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - EU team to meet Suu Kyi as coup bid
rocks Myanmar
Reuters - EU Seeks to Spur Myanmar Talks Amid
Coup Confusion
BBC - EU delegation holds talks in
Burma
UN Wire - U.N. Envoy Welcomes Release Of 195
Female Prisoners
DST - Unknown neighbour Myanmar: A bridge to be
built
Bkk Post - Work permit leniency only for early
birds
The Nation - Trafficking suspects believed to be
well connected
The Nation - 90% of Burmese workers
surveyed have hepatitis
The Nation - Surakiart evades Burma question
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Releases 27 More Female
Detainees
Xinhuanet - Japan Helps Myanmar Revive
Yarn Production
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday March 14, 1:36 PM
EU team to meet Suu Kyi as coup bid rocks Myanmar By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - European diplomats visiting Myanmar just days after the government said it had foiled a coup plot will hold talks on Friday with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her National League for Democracy (NLD) said. Both the military junta and the NLD have said the coup attempt will not
disrupt their peace talks.
Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has been held under house
arrest at her Yangon residence for 18 months. Her release is a central demand of
Western nations pushing for political change in the secretive military-ruled
country.
A European Union mission of four senior diplomats arrived in Myanmar late
on Wednesday to assess human rights and the political situation in Myanmar. They
will stay until Friday.
The diplomats met Foreign Minister Win Aung on Thursday morning and were
due to meet the powerful military intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt, in the afternoon.
A senior member of the NLD, which won Myanmar's last elections in 1990 by a
landslide but was never allowed to take power, said the diplomats would meet the
opposition on Friday.
"They will meet us, the central executive committee members, at our
headquarters on Friday morning, and our leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her residence
in the afternoon," NLD Secretary U Lwin told Reuters.
The team's visit comes a month before the EU "common position" on Myanmar
is reviewed. The EU currently maintains a visa ban on the junta's leaders, as
well as trade and aid sanctions.
Myanmar's government has been making efforts to improve its image. It began
secret talks with Suu Kyi in October 2000, and has released hundreds of
political and female prisoners.
But the talks have yet to yield any concrete results, and the opposition
says more than 1,000 political prisoners still languish in jail.
COUP CONFUSION
The EU mission's visit has been complicated by government claims that it
had uncovered a coup plot masterminded by the family and cronies of elderly
former dictator Ne Win, who ruled the country for more than a quarter of a
century until 1988 and presided over Myanmar's retreat into poverty and
isolation.
The military government says it has arrested the son-in-law and three
grandsons of Ne Win, and accuses them of planning to overthrow the government
with help from allies in the military and an expert on black magic who provided
astrological advice.
But many foreign diplomats are sceptical that a coup was being planned,
saying the allegations may be the latest salvo in a power struggle between
Myanmar's top generals.
Diplomats say the government is divided over how to deal with Suu Kyi. They
say a faction led by Khin Nyunt favours dialogue with the opposition to try to
end Myanmar's international isolation, but supporters of army chief General
Maung Aye are against making any concessions to the opposition.
Ne Win's family is seen as close to Khin Nyunt, and some analysts say the
current purge could be a bid by hardliners to get the upper hand and scupper any
easing of military rule.
The military, which for years accused the NLD of trying to destroy the
country, has made no accusations that the party was involved in the coup bid.
News of the alleged coup caused a sensation in Yangon, with newspapers
selling out and the prices of key commodities rising.
Thai military sources say an attack on Myanmar troops by separatist Karen
rebels near the border may also have been prompted by the coup reports.
Around 80 fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) attacked a Myanmar
army outpost near the border town of Myawaddy on Wednesday evening, killing six
soldiers, the sources said.
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EU Seeks to Spur Myanmar Talks Amid Coup
Confusion
Wed Mar 13, 3:09 AM ET By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Just days
after Myanmar's junta said it foiled a coup plot, European officials begin a
short visit Wednesday in a bid to encourage democratic reforms and end the
impoverished nation's long isolation.
The delegation plans to meet pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, under house arrest for more than a year, and will try to assess whether
government claims to have uncovered a planned coup signal a major shift in the
political landscape.
The ruling junta says the son-in-law and three grandsons of elderly former
dictator Ne Win had been plotting to install a puppet government, aided by a
handful of senior commanders and a well-known astrologer and black magic expert.
The claims have caused a sensation in Yangon. Official newspapers, which
carried a long report on the coup plot on Wednesday, sold out early in the day
and residents were paying up to 10 times the cover price to get their hands on a
copy.
"Business was very brisk this morning," said one vendor. "I sold about 100
newspapers in less than 20 minutes."
But many foreign diplomats are skeptical that a coup was being planned,
saying the allegations may be the latest salvo in a power struggle between
Myanmar's top generals.
RULING GENERALS DIVIDED
Diplomats say the government is divided over how to deal with Suu Kyi and
her National League for Democracy (NLD), which won elections in 1990 but was
prevented from taking power.
The military has been holding confidential talks with Suu Kyi since October
2000, saying it wants to agree a framework for a transition to civilian rule.
But Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, and the talks have produced no concrete
results.
Diplomats say Myanmar army chief General Maung Aye is opposed to making any
concessions to the NLD, but a rival faction led by military intelligence head
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt favors a flexible approach to try to ease
Myanmar's isolation.
Ne Win's family is seen as close to Khin Nyunt, and some analysts say the
current purge could be a bid by hard-liners to get the upper hand and scupper
any concessions to Suu Kyi.
But the government said Tuesday the dialogue with Suu Kyi would not be
affected by the coup plot.
NLD Secretary U Lwin told Reuters Wednesday he also thought the talks would
continue.
"I think the dialogue will be unaffected, and will keep going," he said.
"It is taking place at a regular pace now."
The leader of one of Myanmar's many ethnic minority parties said the
government should move quickly to build a democratic system to avoid future coup
attempts.
"I think building a democratic society is the only way to avoid this kind
of thing," Khun Tun Oo, leader of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy,
told Reuters.
Myanmar's government says it is committed to building democracy but that
moving too fast risks unleashing anarchy.
EU WANTS PROGRESS
The European Commission (news - web sites)'s representative in the EU team,
Pierre Amilhat, said the coup claim had complicated the visit.
"This is a completely new event and we'll be discussing it on our flight,"
Amilhat told Reuters shortly before leaving Brussels for Yangon, where they will
arrive late Wednesday.
"We want to inform ourselves of the situation and meet everyone concerned
to see what their assessment is."
The government has been making some concessions to the NLD since the talks
with Suu Kyi began. It has released more than 200 political prisoners, and last
month it also started releasing female prisoners who were pregnant or had
children.
In a statement, the government said it released 25 female detainees
Wednesday, bringing to 220 the number to have been recently freed from the
country's notorious jails.
But the international community says this is not enough.
Top of the EU's demands is the immediate release of Suu Kyi, and an
estimated 1,500 political prisoners in Myanmar's jails.
The EU team is scheduled to arrive in Yangon Wednesday evening and depart
late Friday. The visit aims to assess the human rights and political situation
in Myanmar a month before the EU "common position" is reviewed.
Myanmar has practically no development assistance and faces sanctions from
the EU and the United States.
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BBC - Thursday, 14 March, 2002, 11:13
GMT
EU delegation holds talks in Burma A European Union delegation has held meetings with the military government
in Burma at the start of a three-day mission to encourage political
reconciliation.
The visit comes just days after the government said it had foiled a coup plotted by the family of the former military ruler, Ne Win. But both the government and the opposition have said the coup attempt will
not disrupt peace efforts.
The EU delegation is due to meet the Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San
Suu Kyi, on Friday.
It is the third EU mission since 1999 as it tries to help end the deadlock
between the Burmese military authorities and the opposition National League for
Democracy.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Myanmar:
UN Wire, Thu 14 Mar 2002 U.N. Envoy Welcomes Release Of 195
Female Prisoners
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights' special
rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar, today welcomed the release during the
past three weeks of 195 women prisoners in the country, including 136 with young
children and 59 expectant mothers, who had been detained on criminal
charges.
Pinheiro stated in his to be reviewed at the next commission session
that female prisoners with children and those who are pregnant constitute one of
the most vulnerable groups in the prison population. He said he is
"encouraged that the government of Myanmar is beginning to address this
concern."
Pinheiro added that he hoped this positive step, taken shortly after his
visit to Myanmar last month, would be followed by the release of all political
prisoners in the near future.
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The Daily Star - March 14,
2002.
Unknown neighbour Myanmar: A bridge to
be built
Major General (Retd) Syed M Ibrahim, Bir Protik The forthcoming single country Bangladesh trade fair at Yangon should be
the beginning only. Myanmar cannot remain an unknown neighbour. We want a
friendly region and a friendly neighbour. We want Bangladesh also to be a
friendly neighbour of Myanmar.
Millions in Myanmar and Bangladesh would not know the physical locations of the neighbour and each other's proximity. Fewer still would know about the people and their culture. Countable few only realize the importance of each to the other. It is in this backdrop that on 8th April 2001, the Centre for Strategic and Peace Studies (of Dhaka) organized a day long seminar on MyanmarBangladesh Relations. Of course, the question of knowing the country of Myanmar personally, remained. Therefore, on my way to Colombo for a seminar I thought I would go to Yangon the capital of Myanmar. So I spent 96 educative hours at Yangon. The feelings must be shared with the readers of The Daily Star. Teknaf is the Upazila in the extreme south-east of Bangladesh. It is in the
district of Cox's Bazar. Geographically it is long north-south and gradually
tapering off towards the south like the tail of a Lizard. On the eastern side of
Teknaf is the Naf river. On the other side of the Naf river is the territory of
Rakhine State of Myanmar. Rakhine State was previously Arakan and Myanmar was
Burma. Rangoon a few years ago became Yangon. Yangon was a very famous work
place to many people of Chittagong half a century ago and beyond.
As I came out of the Yangon International Airport and drove through the
city roads, first and foremost to strike my eyes was the cleanliness of the
city. In the four days I visited the downtown Yangon, drove through narrow roads
as well as wide avenues, that cleanliness of the city was confirmed. With hills
and high grounds, lot of trees and wood, many lakes and water bodies, the beauty
of the city was understood. We could easily say, it was in friendship with
nature. How would the habits of the people be? Having met and talked to people
while dining at the beautiful Karaweik Palace or Royal Garden restaurant on two
successive evenings, while exchanging greetings with devotees at Shwe Dagon
Pagoda, or at the Bojo Aung Sung market, I found people to be very
nationalistic, polite and modest, respectful of their own government and
somewhat ignorant about their neighbour Bangladesh.
In the evening I saw people walking on roadsides or footpaths, ladies or
girls walking alone. My local host told me, the law and order situation was
immensely better than we Bangladeshis could ever imagine. Girls would walk at
midnight with costly ornaments. There is nothing to be afraid of. There were no
traffic congestion, at may places no traffic police were seen, yet vehicular
traffic followed the rules strictly. What made the people so much law abiding? I
surmised that the government has been able to inculcate a habitual respect for
obedience of law and a nationalistic feeling in the minds of people.
Over the four days, I came across only one English language daily called
"The New Light of Myanmar" published from Yangon. The paper gives its own
circulation as 25,669 (on 31 January 2002). This paper is in the ninth year of
publication. I came across one weekly called "The Myanmar Times & Business
Review". It is in the fifth year of publication. There is a monthly called "The
Business Tank" covering Myanmar business and travel.
Myanmar is in a state of self realisation. This can be best understood from
the newspapers. On most days, the front page of 'The New Light of Myanmar'
contains a similar number: 'Four Political Objectives', 'Four Economic
Objectives' and 'Four Social Objectives'. These are the objectives of the
Government of Myanmar. 4th January is the Independence day of Myanmar and 27th
March is the Armed Forces Day. On many days preceding the 27th March, the
newspapers print 'Objectives of the Armed Forces Day'. At the bottom of the
front page is always printed the slogan: "Emergence of the State Constitution is
the Duty of All Citizens of Myanmar". The newspapers give extensive coverage to
the nation building and state building activities of the personalities of the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which is the successor body to SLORC
or State Law and Order Restoration Council formed while the military had taken
over the government in 1988 in the wake of near total political collapse.
The responsibility for planning and execution of all nation building and
developmental works is of the State Peace and Development Council, but the eyes
of Lt Gen Khin Nyunt (who is secretary one of the SPDC) oversees most of the
activities of the government of Myanmar. The aim of all such activities is a
strong, well-developed Myanmar. The base is being developed very well and
Myanmar in 2020 will be ahead of many countries of similar ranking now. Myanmar
is following an independent foreign policy and maintaining low profile in
international relations. In terms of development, it is self sustaining.
Myanmar's position of being between China, India and ASEAN (Malaysia,
Singapore) gives her certain strategic advantage because these countries eye
each other in the context of past conflicts imbedded in their history. India and
Malaysia are not likely to feel comfortable with increased Chinese influence in
Myanmar. China has been Myanmar's great ally since mid nineties when they
provided huge military aid, which helped the government to expand and strengthen
the Armed Forces. Chinese military help was crucial in defeating innumerable
insurgent groups in the nineties. Biggest achievement of the present regime is
that the entire country is under government control and 17 insurgent groups have
signed peace deal with the present government. Only three groups remain out side
the fold of peace with Yangon. These are Rohingyas (ARNO), Karens (KNU) and a
small group of Chins operating in the area opposite Mowdok/Bandarban. These
groups were also called for peace deal but they have refused to agree to peace
with the present government.
It is worth talking of India-Myanmar relations briefly. Until 1990 Indian
policy seemed to be one of no support to the military government in Yangon and
possible support to all Myanmar dissident groups. They gave Nehru Peace Award to
Aung San Su Kyi, NDL leader. Later, India seems to have got worried about
increasing Chinese influence in Myanmar specially in military field. Another
consideration was that National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) which was
still active in the Nagaland Province of India had bases in Myanmar jungles
bordering India. Indians needed Myanmar's help on this issue. By 1992 Indian
foreign policy was reviewed and took almost a one hundred and eighty degrees
turn. Since then the policy seems to be one of enhancing contacts with Myanmar
in diplomatic, trade and military fields. We heard that every year many military
officers go to India as India's guest for education. India has provided some
loans to Myanmar especially in the Railway sector to buy Indian Railway
products. To facilitate increased trade India offered the services of an Army
Engineer Battalion to build the TammuKalewa road in north-central Myanmar, about
100 miles long, from 1997 to February 2001, at a large cost. This was done as a
mark of friendship like China or Japan have built bridges in Bangladesh. This
service or hospitality is similar to the construction of many difficult roads in
Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh by Bangladesh Army Engineer Battalion,
because of the difficult nature of the job on the part of civilian sector.
Bangladesh has friendly relation with China. Compared to China, India,
Malaysia or Thailand, Bangladesh has hardly any contact with Myanmar which is
our only other physical neighbour. The necessity to improve BangladeshMyanmar
relation was felt in Yangon too. In May 2000 Senior General Than Shwe who is the
Chairman of SPDC (Head of the State and Government) was to visit Dhaka which
would have been a breakthrough in the mutual relations. But the visit was
cancelled about a week before. It was felt that the cancellation was because of
certain imprudent remarks by the then Bangladesh Foreign Minister, which had the
potential of embarrassing the visiting Myanmar high-powered delegation.
Many feel that one major or critical issue in our relations with Myanmar is
the Rohingya issue. But the problem can be mutually addressed. Since the
Rohingya leaders are, even according to Bangladesh media reports, all in Cox's
Bazar or Chittagong, and their web site used to show Chittagong address and
telephone numbers, therefore many in Yangon tend to believe that Bangladesh
Government supports the Rohingyas in their armed struggle. These are difficult
perceptions and Bangladeshi readers may recapitulate our perception of the
Indian support for the Shanti Bahini offered from across Khagrachari border from
the soil of Indian province of Tripura.
There is lot of smuggling activities in border area of Teknaf, increasing
in volume day by day while official trade figures and transaction between
Bangladesh and Myanmar is very fast going against Bangladesh. There exists a big
market for various Bangladeshi goods in Myanmar to be traded across our border.
Myanmar is very rich in resources like gas, limestone, timber, bamboo, stones
and gems, livestock and fisheries etc. Larger portion of Myanmar's resources has
remained untapped. Bangladesh could derive much benefit from economic
co-operation with Myanmar. Indeed Myanmar could have been a member of SAARC but
because of moribund state of SAARC, Myanmar decided otherwise. ASEAN countries
have very happily welcomed Myanmar into ASEAN. It can therefore be said that,
Myanmar and Bangladesh jointly are the bridge between ASEAN and SAARC or South
East Asia and South Asia. Bangladesh must take full advantage of the
geo-strategic location of both countries for reasons of economic development and
international relations.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are both members of regional economic co-operation
effort called BIMSTEC. Bangladesh and Myanmar are also members of a joint
governmental and private sector (track2) economic co-operation effort among
China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, about which the third meeting was held at
BRAC Centre at Mohakhali in Dhaka city in early February 2002. In addition to
these, Myanmar and Bangladesh can mutually develop trade including tourism. To
recover from the alleged strategic damage caused by the erstwhile Foreign
Minister of Bangladesh, lot of effort is being made. Centre for Strategic and
Peace Studies (Dhaka) organized a seminar in April 2001, on improvement of
Bangladesh-Myanmar relations and got the ball rolling. The Bangladesh print
media gave genuine coverage to the matters and spirit of the said seminar. In
end February 2002 the government sector strategic think tank BIISS has also
taken up the subject. Bangladesh Myanmar Business Promotion Council is also
working hard. It is hoped that all out efforts will be made by the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Shipping of the Government of Bangladesh. Civil
Aviation and Tourism Minister has already recognized the reality and amended a
flight route of Biman. Forthcoming single country Bangladesh trade fair at
Yangon should be the beginning only. Myanmar cannot remain an unknown neighbour.
We want a friendly region and a friendly neighbour. We want Bangladesh also to
be a friendly neighbour of Myanmar.
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Bangkok Post - Thursday 14 March 2002
Work permit leniency only for early
birds
Late medical results would be tolerated
Penchan Charoensuthiphan
The March 25 deadline for renewal of work permits for alien workers will be
extended only for those who give prior notice while awaiting medical checkup
results.
Wanchai Phadulsupalai, director-general of the Employment Department, said
the Labour Ministry would be lenient with alien workers who could not produce
results of medical checkups by March 25.
A total of 94,803 alien workers nationwide reported for six-month work
permit renewals during Feb 24-March 12, but many complained about the need to
wait for another 7-15 days for medical checkup results, he added.
He said leniency papers will be issued free of charge for workers and their
employers who notify the ministry or provincial employment offices of the
delay.
Yodying Yukhunthorntham, an entrepreneur, suggested that concerned agencies
send mobile medical teams to provide medical checkups at workplaces with alien
labour, and speed up the process to announce medical checkup results.
Many alien workers and employers were worried about the delay since it
should take only 3-4 days instead of more than a week for hospitals to issue
medical certificates, he added.
According to Dej Boonlong, the labour minister, at least half of the
560,000 registered Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian workers nationwide had yet to
report to authorities to have their work permits renewed by March 25.
It was reported only 9,259 of the 110,536 registered alien workers in
Bangkok had contacted the ministry between Feb 24-March 11 to renew work
permits.
As many as 30% of pregant female workers who turned up for resgistration
said their employers were the fathers of their babies.
Thawil Pliansri of the National Security Council said many were worried
about attempts by the alien workforce in Mae Sot, Chiang Mai, Samut Sakhon and
Trat to form labour unions.
Thai law bars foreign workers from being members of labour unions and
stipulates that labour union founders and executives must be Thai nationals
only.
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The Nation
Trafficking suspects believed to
be well connected
Published on Mar 14, 2002
Police are hunting for five people suspected of being part of fugitive drug
kingpin Wei Hsuehkang's network and believed to have close connections with
influential people in Thailand.
Following Tuesday's simultaneous raids on drug cells allegedly linked to
Wei in six provinces, Chiang Rai police chief Maj-General Wuthi Withitanont
yesterday said arrest warrants for five suspects had already been issued and
police were tracking them.
Police are searching for Sampao Daenchutimaphanich, allegedly a close aide
to Wei, her brother Pairaj sae Lee, and three Burmese drug runners believed to
be hiding in Chiang Mai, Wuthi said.
"They may have supplied caffeine - a precursor chemical to methamphetamines
- to speed pill factories in Burma, then smuggled the drugs back into our
country," he said.
Sampao, the owner of the mansion worth more than Bt50 million seized on
Tuesday, is said to have a firmly established drug-trafficking network in
Thailand with cell members across the country.
"She has recruited both private individuals and those working for state
agencies," Wuthi said.
Sampao's luxurious estate had often hosted ministers and senior police
officers at lavish parties where guests were entertained by karaoke singers and
go-go dancers, said a source at the Office of Narcotics Control Board.
"Chinese Haw girls were hired for shows and sexual services there," the
source said.
Police said they found women's underwear close to loudspeaker equipment at
the mansion.
Officials also suspect that the drug gang might be involved in selling
Chinese women to brothels in Bangkok and other major cities.
Sgt-Major Damneon Rattanawiktham of Uthai Thani police, former police
officer Snr Sgt-Major Anan Mamu and his son Wanchai Mamu, who were arrested on
Tuesday, denied any involvement in Wei's drug network, Wuthi said.
"We will question each of them in separate locations," he said. The three
suspects were apprehended in other provinces and were handed over to Chiang Rai
police, who had issued the warrants for them.Anan only admitted having been
convicted of a gun-related charge, Wuthi said.
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The Nation
IN BRIEF: 90% of Burmese workers
surveyed have hepatitis
Published on Mar 14, 2002
The Public Health Ministry yesterday warned employers of workers from
neighbouring countries - especially Burma - to beware after a random survey
found nearly all such workers carry a type of the hepatitis virus.
A recent check on 567 Burmese workers in Rayong found that most of them
tested positive for at least one type of hepatitis and some had more than one
type, said ministry spokesperson Nittaya Chanruang said.
Hepatitis inflames the liver and some types of it can be fatal.
Of the 567 workers surveyed, 89.5 per cent carried hepatitis A, 67.1 per
cent hepatitis B, 5.8 per cent hepatitis C, 2.9 per cent hepatitis D and 18.6
per cent hepatitis E.
About 560,000 workers from neighbouring countries, 80 per cent of them
Burmese, are now legally employed in Thailand, Nittaya said.
The workers could also be carriers of other communicable diseases, such as
tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria and elephantiasis, she said.
Hepatitis can be transmitted through saliva so it can be passed on via
shared eating utensils, she said.
As a result employers should exercise extreme caution, she said.
Most of those carrying hepatitis viruses were under 15, so employers should
be most cautious around younger workers, she said.
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The Nation
Surakiart evades Burma question
Published on Mar 14, 2002
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai was caught off guard yesterday by a
demand from outspoken Opposition lawmaker MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra to explain
whether the Burmese government had indeed "apologised" or merely express
"regret", over a recent article in the state-run New Light of Myanmar that was
deemed offensive to the monarchy.
Surakiart was asked to either take back his statement or go on the record
as saying the Burmese government had apologised for the offensive article.
"Please explain so it will be news tomorrow," Sukhumbhand said.
Instead, Surakiart turned to the chair of the meeting, Suchart Tancharoen,
saying that he had already said what he wanted to say.
Democrat Sukhumbhand's point was that the Burmese government must be held
accountable for the content of the article because the publication was an
official mouthpiece.
Sukhumbhand, a former deputy foreign minister, blasted Surakiart for not
taking tougher action against the Burmese, saying the least government could do
was to recall the Thai ambassador in Rangoon to Bangkok.
Instead, the Opposition politician said the Thaksin administration had bent
over backwards to please the military government of Rangoon, despite it being
just a year since troops from both sides were engaged in cross-border shelling
following Burma's incursion onto Thai soil.
Surakiart said the ministry had summoned the Burmese ambassador to Thailand
to give him a warning over the article.
On the issue of Thailand's international standing, Sukhumbhand blasted the
ministry's effort to push through an "empty" mechanism, the Asian Cooperation
Dialogue (ACD) scheme, aimed at turning Thailand into the meeting point for East
Asia and the subcontinent.
Surakiart responded by insisting that major powers, including the Asean
bloc, had already stated that they would support the Thai initiative. He pointed
to Australia, China, India and Pakistan as having already confirmed their
commitment to the ACD.
Sukhumbhand accused the Foreign Ministry of misleading the public about its
accomplishments in the past year, pointing to Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's trip to the US where both sides had different views about how the
Thai contingent had been received.
Surakiart shot back, saying the premier and the delegation were treated
properly, that they were allowed to stay at Blair House like other foreign VIPs
and that all their expenses were paid for by the US government.
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Myanmar Releases 27 More Female
Detainees
Xinhuanet 2002-03-14 20:17:37 YANGON, March 14 (Xinhuanet) --
The Myanmar government Thursday released 27 more female detainees on
humanitarian grounds, an official Information Sheet said here.
All of the detainees, who are either pregnant or with young children and
were incarcerated for various criminal activities, were freed from various
"correctional facilities," the information sheet said.
The release was another batch in a series since the government granted
amnesty to criminal offenders since February 22 this year and the number of such
release on humanitarian grounds has reached 247.
In February this year, United Nations Human Rights envoy to Myanmar Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro visited the country for 10 days and three days after the end of
his trip, the Myanmar government started releasing criminal offenders on
humanitarian grounds.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has also been setting free members of the
opposition National League for Democracy and so far the total number of the
freed party members and its activists since January 2001 has been brought to
232.
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Japan Helps Myanmar Revive Yarn
Production
Xinhuanet 2002-03-14 11:02:29 YANGON, March 14 (Xinhuanet) --
Japan has helped Myanmar revive the production of naturally-dyed yarn and its
export to the Japanese market has been made possible since the beginning of this
year, according to the Cottage Industries Department (CID) of the Myanmar
Ministry of Cooperatives.
The Japan External Trade Organization has been providing Myanmar with
training on natural dyeing processes since 1999,
designing attractive color to draw buyers in Japan. So far, about seven companies have begun exporting Myanmar's naturally-dyed
yarn to the Japanese market in demand.
Meanwhile, the yarn export was also boosted especially when the
naturally-dyed yarn was exhibited in some Japanese trade fairs late last year,
the CID said.
The Myanmar-produced naturally-dyed yarn, exported to Japan, would be
competing against similar textiles imported from India and Laos, the CID
added.
Most Myanmar yarn was woven at a factory on the outskirts of Mandalay, the
country's second largest city in northern part of the country.
According to official statistics, altogether 325,215 hectares of cotton
were cultivated in Myanmar in the fiscal year 2000-01
and the country's target to grow such crop in 2001-02 was 348,300 hectares. In the last two years, Myanmar produced about 5,461.35 tons of cotton yarn
and 21,309,007 meters of cotton fabrics annually.
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