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BurmaNet News: December 7, 1994
- Subject: BurmaNet News: December 7, 1994
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 07 Dec 1994 21:47:00
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************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
**************************************************************
BurmaNet News: December 7, 1994
Issue #76
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Contents:
1 BKK POST: POLICE KEEP EYE ON NEWSLETTER SUSPECTS
2 BURMANET: COMMUNITY INVOVLEMENT IN HIV VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
3 BURMANET: NETWORKING REQUEST
4 NATION: TERMS FOR SUU KYI'S RELEASE SAID IN PLACE
5 BKK POST: KHUN SA "AIDES" FACE CHARGES OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
6 NATION: BURMA DUBS UN REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AS 'RITUAL THING'
7 FIGHTING IN BURMA A RISK TO MAE SOT
8 BKK POST: KAREN WANT TO HOLD PEACE TALKS WITH RANGOON JUNTA
9 NATION: OHN GYAW RETURNS HOME AFTER MEETING KING, PM
10 KYODO: MYANMAR'S JUNTA PLANS REFERENDUM ON CONSTITUTION
11 BKK POST: CHIANG RAI MEET TO SET UP MEKONG PANEL NEXT YEAR
12 BUSINESS TIMES: EURO RSCG GOING INTO BURMA
13 AWSJ: RANGOON HINTS AT RELAXATION AS FOREIGN BUSINESS STIRS
14 NATION: SUU KYI RELEASE HOPES
15 NATION: TORTURE REPORTING A RITUAL
16 NATION: BURMA SIGNS ARMS DEAL
17 NATION: FROM DEFENCE TO TOURISM
18 BKK POST: THREE PAGODA PASS OPENS TO PUBLIC
19 NATION [LETTER]: REFUGEE CONCERNS
20 BKK POST: UNCERTAIN FUTURE AWAITS BURMESE AT SAFE CAMP
21 NATION: DETENTION CELLS INUNDATED WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
22 NATION: HMONG REFUGEES FEAR FORCED REPATRIATION
23 BKK POST: ASIA SAID TO NEED MIGRATION NETWORK
24 BKK POST: CHIANG RAI MEET TO SET UP MEKONG PANEL NEXT YEAR
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BKK POST: POLICE KEEP EYE ON NEWSLETTER SUSPECTS
December 6, 1994
Special Branch Bureau police are keeping a close watch on people
suspected to b e behind a Mon News Agency newsletter which includes
articles attacking the Tha i Government.
The newsletter has been distributed among Thais of Mon origin and
displaced Bur mese in Thailand.
A special Branch police source said the newsletter has continued
to accuse the Thai Government as well as high-level figures
including Prime Minister Chuan Le ekpai, former foreign minister
Prasong Soonsiri, Deputy Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and Na
tional Security Council secretary-general Charan Kullavanijaya.
It accuses them of mistreating Mon people who recently fled attacks
by Burmese soldiers across the border into Thailand in
Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri Distri ct. The newsletter accused
Thailand of pushing back the 6,000 Mon people into the h ands of
Burmese troops in violation of international humanitarian
principles. Thailand also discriminated against the Mon people, the
newsletter said, adding that a large number of Vietnamese, Lao and
Cambodian refugees had been allowed to temporarily take refugee in
Thailand for over a decade.
It said Thailand had taken no legal action against Burmese
immigrants. More than three million Thai, people of Mon origin will
not vote in the next el ection for parties in the Government which
have mistreated them, the newsletter said. (BP)
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BURMANET: COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN HIV VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
December 7, 1994
BurmaNet has received an enquiry from a group of people who are
interested in encouraging community involvement in HIV vaccine
development and trials. Their goal is to support community based
organizations and individuals to become involved in the vaccine
trial process in their own countries. They would also like to form
a network of people to discuss trial issues from a global
perspective. Issues to share information and ideas on include:
protecting trial participant rights, ethical trial design,
community involvement, trial priorities, and affordable access to
a vaccine. If readers in Thailand or those focusing on AIDS in
Burma would be interested in discussing these issues, please
contact BurmaNet.
*****************************************************************
BURMANET: NETWORKING REQUEST
<2022000366@cdp> Organization: Cornell University
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 19:56:51 -0500
Dear friend:
My name is Zheng Xing, the coordinating editor of a journal,
DIGNITY, sponsored by a group of Chinese students and scholars in
U.S.A. I am particularly interested in this item of news,
regarding human rights report issued by U.N.
I would like to know more information, and am especially ardent
to talk with the reporter writing the news or getting contact
with any Burmese organizations in U.S. which are concerned with
human rights conditions in your country.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Zheng Xing
Please reply to:
Zheng Xing,
DIGNITY-l@xxxxxxxxxxx, or zx11@xxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************************
NATION: TERMS FOR SUU KYI'S RELEASE SAID IN PLACE
November 30, 1994
Tokyo - A Buddhist monk who played a key role in getting Burma's
military rulers to engage in dialogue with democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi said yesterday the conditions for her release from
house arrest are in place.
Rev Rewata Dhamma, who met the two parties separately in Burma
earlier this year, told a press conference in Tokyo that the two
sides appear to be working on an agreement under which Suu Kyi will
remain in Burma after she is freed.
He said he cannot predict when the country's military government
will free her, but added that they are negotiating the terms of her
release through a series of meetings which he predicted will
continue. Rewata Dhamma, who is in Japan to raise money for
construction of a Buddhist temple in Britain, said he is not a
party to the talks between the Suu Kyi and the leadership of
Burma's governing State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc).
Asked for his main impression of Suu Kyi, Rewata Dhamma said the
1991 Noble Peace Prize recipient had told him that the release of
Burma's political prisoners is more important than her own release
from house arrest.
He said she had also told him that she will never leave Burma until
democracy is achieved in the country. "One of her many good points
is that she does what she says she will do," he said.
Rewata Dhamma left Burma in 1956 to study in India and has been
living in Britain for the past 20 years. At the ruling of the
United Nations, the 65-year-old monk returned to the country on May
4 for the first time in 30 years to talk with top junta
officials.He met Slorc Chairman Gen Than Shwe and First Secretary
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt. He visited Burma again from Aug 5 to 10 to meet
Suu Kyi. His efforts as mediator paves the way for the first
face-to-face meeting on Sept 20 between the two junta leaders and
Suu Kyi since she was placed under house arrest in 1989 for
allegedly endangering public security. The junta seized power after
violently suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and has
held on to it, continuing to stamp out dissent.
Rewata Dhamma said Foreign Ministry officials whom he met yesterday
had told him that Japan is ready to give aid to Burma. But he said
he interpreted their statements to mean that Tokyo will only supply
aid after Burma has a democratic government. Tin Maung Win, 57, the
Thailand-based vice chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Burma,
an organization working for democracy in Burma, told the press
conference that the release of Suu Kyi is the "key" to achieving
any change in Burma. Reuter adds from Myawaddy: At lest four
Burmese soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in a clash with
karen rebels in jungles close to the country's eastern border, a
senior Burmese said yesterday.
The three-hour exchange of gunfire took place late on Sunday near
Thichara village in Karen state 32 km north of this Burmese border
town when a patrol unit of about 60 soldiers, deployed to crackdown
on illegal loggers, came across the rebels, the official said. The
official, who asked not to be identified, said at least four
government soldiers were killed and ten others wounded. There were
no details on rebel casualties. (TN)
**************************************************************
BKK POST: KHUN SA "AIDES" FACE CHARGES OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
1 December 1994
NARCOTICS Supression Bureau police have arrested nine suspected
drug traffickers believed to be close aides of drug warlord Khun
Sa. NSB sources said Ho Mengtoa or Chatchai Pattarawibun, Chalee
Yangwilikul or Yang Sue Hua, and Koa Chang Ping or Thawee
Apiradeethonsarn were arrested in Bangkok. Chukiat Nimitpakpum or
Nachai Kuy Sae Noa, Kua Fa Moa or Ashafa Sanlee, and Chao Fu Chern
or Somboon were arrested in Ching Rai. Chang Toa Chai or Toa Chai
Sae Chang and Lew Fung Toa or Siewsing Sae Sia were arrested in Mae
Hong Son. Meechai Pathummani or Arhee was arrested in Chaing Mai.
The nine are suspected of being linked to the smuggling to more
than 300 kilogrammes of heroin to the United States two year ago.
The heroin was transported by ship from Thailand to New York. A
source said the US drug control unit issued an arrest warrant for
nine suspected.(BP)
**************************************************************
FIGHTING IN BURMA A RISK TO MAE SOT
1 December 1994
THE Maesot district authority yesterday warned people living along
the Burmese border to beware of possible danger from fighting
between Burmese soldiers and Karen National Union guerrillas in
Burma opposite Mae Sot District. The warning, signed by district
officer Kasem Wattanatham, to watch for stray shells and gun shots.
Four Burmese troops were killed and at least 10 others wounded in
an ambush by a KNU unit at Techara Botae, about six kilometres from
the border opposite MaeSot on Sunday. The ambush was followed by a
six hour battle. A suppression drive against the KNU along the
border is expected to take place soon.
**************************************************************
NATION: BURMA DUBS UN REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AS 'RITUAL THING'
1 December 1994
BURMESE Foreign Minister U ohn Gyaw declined to comment yesterday
on the recently released UN human rights report on Burma, saying
that the paper "Is a ritual thing". He also denied that Professor
YozoYokota, special rapporteur for the UN Human rights Commission,
had asked him about the released of Burmese pro-democracy leader
Suu Kyi. Speaking upon his arrival yesterday a Bangkok Don Muang
Airport, Ohn Gyaw, who is here to attend the second meeting of the
joint Thai-Burmese Committee, said Yokota's preliminary human
rights report "Is a ritual thing and we express ed our welcome to,
and cooperation with, the Human Rights Commission." He said Yokota,
who made a 10-day visit to Burma between Nov 7-10 to investigate
human rights in the country, was provided with venues to conduct hi
s meetings with the people he had requested to meet. The report,
which was recently submitted to the UN General Assembly, is very
critical of the Burmese junta saying human rights violations __
torture, arbitrary killing , rapes, disappearances and confiscation
of private property __ still continue, being "most frequent in the
border areas" instigated by Burmese troops in the course of their
operations, by forced relocation and by developme nt projects. It
also charges that the drafting of a new national constitution "is
not headin g towards multi-party democracy" due to a lack of
democratic procedure and freedom of opinion and expression while
deliberating and drafting the charter. Yokota stated that his
repeated requests to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi and to have meeting
with political party leaders take place in his Un Development
Programme office were turned down.
He added in his report that the junta, known as the Slorc, had
promptly replied to a number of his written questions of human
rights abuses, and the progress made by the National Convention in
drafting the new constitution. However, Ohn Gyaw yesterday
countered Yokota's report saying that the Japanese special
rapporteur did not raise questions about the release date of S uu
Kyi, winner of the 1991 Noble Peace Prize and daughter of Burmese
independence hero Aung San. "There was no question like that
because the situation is according to our exit ing laws," he said.
Slorc's rhetoric to any questions about Suu Kyi freedom is that the
detained political leader "is being dealt with according to the
existing laws". Ohn Gyaw and his Thai counterpart, Foreign Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, will this morning inaugurate a two-day meeting
of the joint committee which is to discuss bilateral issues
including political, economic, social affair and acade mic and
technical cooperation.(TN)
**************************************************************
BKK POST: KAREN WANT TO HOLD PEACE TALKS WITH RANGOON JUNTA
1 December 1994
KAREN nationalist leader Bo Mya, making a rare appearance at a
Bangkok news conference yesterday, said his rebel group was ready
to discuss a cease fire wi th the Rangoon junta and called for
Japan's help. General Bo Mya, whose KNU forces have battle for over
four decades against Burmese government troops, urged Japan to use
its position od power in Asia to mediate a peace settlement. "we of
the KNU never consider the Burman as our enemy. The Burman is our
friend and we are only fighting __ against the chauvinism of the
Slorc," Bo Mya said, referring to Burmese ruling Slorc. Burmans are
a major subgroup in Burmese population of about 42 million people.
The Karen and Shan are two main ethnic groups still fighting for
self-rule.
Bo Mya, 76, was in Bangkok as the guest of a Japanese friendship
association linking businessmen, academic and politicians who are
committed to working for peace and unification in Burma. The
Japanese association and KNU signed an agreement in which the KNU
repeated earlier statements that it was ready to negotiate a
ceasefire pending a peace settlement. "japan is the most important
country in Asia and we sincerely believe that with the help of the
Japanese government and the Japanese people, peace and democracy
can be resort in Burma," the self-styled general said in a speech.
Bo Mya and members of his cabinet, wearing lounge suits at the four
star hotel ceremony were expected to leave after the ceremony for
their jungle base on the Burmese side of the Moei River in
northwest Thailand. Hattori Chiharu, a university lecturer and
chairman of the Japanese association , said the organization was
prepared to mediate in peace negotiations. It would also "put
pressure on the Japanese government not to provide assistanc e to
the Slorc until Burma has reached national reconciliation with the
Karen and other ethnic minority rebels," Chiharu said.
|The veteran fighter said he had met secretly with a Slorc
representative in Bangkok five months ago, but the talks had not
progressed because the junta refuse to negotiate outside Burmese
territory. "we now agree to talk in Rangoon, but the talks must be
held with witnesses from international agencies. Now with help of
our Japanese friends, I hope the country will be able to reach
national reconciliation in the near future," Bo M ya said. The
Karen are regarded ethnic minority rebels still fighting against
the centra l government.
The Shan State People's Council, the political wings of notorious
opium warlord Khun Sa, say their Muang Tai Army(MTA) is also
continuing an armed struggle against the Slorc. The Rangoon
government, and international drug enforcement agencies, describe
them as heroin traffickers. Thirteen armed rebel organizations,
including the Karen' Former major ally the Kachin Independence
Organization (KIO) have sign peace pacts with the Slorc in the past
two years. Slorc, the ruling body of the Burmese junta, was formed
in 1988 after the military crackdown on a nation wide pro-democracy
uprising.(BP)
**************************************************************
NATION: OHN GYAW RETURNS HOME AFTER MEETING KING, PM
December 6, 1994
Rangoon - Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw has returned home
after two days of "friendly exchanges in Bangkok with his Thai
counterpart on matters of mutual interest, an official newspaper
reported yesterday.
The Mirror daily said that the Thailand-Burma Joint Commission for
Bilateral Co operation, which began on Dec 1, touched on technical
cooperation, culture, for estry, tourism and banking.
The commission also agreed to establish new immigration checkpoints
between the two countries, it said, without adding details. Ohn
Gyaw had an audience with the Thai King and Thai Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai during his visit, the Mirror reported.
Last Thursday, Thai Foreign Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told the
second meeting of the commission that Thailand would allocate
US$2.1 million for "technical c ooperation" during fiscal year
1995, a 33 per cent increase over last year.
He also told reporters that Rangoon and Bangkok had agreed to
consider holding regular meeting with Laos and China, and added
that construction of the friends hip bridge over the Moei River was
proceeding smoothly.
Despite the progress on Thursday, "a lot remains to be done,"
Thaksin said. He referred only to "a number of outstanding issues"
which required more discussio n. (TN)
**************************************************************
KYODO: MYANMAR'S JUNTA PLANS REFERENDUM ON CONSTITUTION DATELINE:
YANGON, Dec. 2 Kyodo
BODY: Myanmar's new constitution will be adopted by a referendum,
and general elections will be held in accordance with the new
charter, a member of the ruling military junta has told a Japanese
business delegation.
National Planning and Economic Development Minister Brig. Gen.
David Abel, a member of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), told this to the 24-member group of Japanese business
leaders in Yangon on Thursday, sources close to the group said.
A national convention of nearly 700 delegates is meeting in Yangon
to draw up guidelines for the state constitution. The convention is
currently dealing with chapters on the legislature, judiciary and
administration, Abel reportedly said.
The constitution will be written based on the guidelines to be
adopted by the ongoing convention. The draft constitution will then
be adopted by a referendum, and the election will be held under the
new constitution for power transfer to the elected government,
according to the program.
Abel told the Japanese delegation, '...We cannot say for certain
how long the delegates will take to write the constitution. But the
remaining chapters are less important and can be dealt with much
quicker.'
**************************************************************
BUSINESS TIMES: EURO RSCG GOING INTO BURMA
Copyright 1994 Times Business Publications
Business Times
December 2, 1994 SECTION: Advertising & Marketing; Pg. 15 LENGTH:
734 words HEADLINE: Euro RSCG steps up push into Asia BYLINE:
Michelle Low BODY: Paris-based agency to pour more than half of its
global investment into the region next year, and plans to open five
offices in China, reports Michelle Low
IF EURO RSCG has its way, the world will be its oyster by the end
of the decade, and the Asia Pacific, its pearl.
The Paris-based advertising agency is beefing up its Asia-Pacific
network and aims to raise its profile by bagging more international
and regional business.
While chairman and chief executive officer Alain de Pouzilhac
declines to give figures, more than half of Euro RSCG's worldwide
investment next year will be poured into the Asia Pacific.
The area now accounts for just 3 per cent of Euro RSCG's 4 billion
francs (S$ 1.1 billion) of billings, but the agency wants its
existing and new offices to double gross margins and bring in 7-8
per cent of total billings by the year 2000.
Five offices will be opened in China, and the agency is developing
partnerships in India, Vietnam, MYANMAR. Three or four offices will
be opened in Eastern Europe. And in South America, offices will be
opened in Argentina and Chile.
Top these plans with a target to rank among the top five agencies
in every country that Euro RSCG operates in -and you have one very
grand design.
"We don't have a choice," says Mr De Pouzilhac. "If you look at
the top 10 agencies worldwide, seven are US companies, two are
Japanese and only one (Euro RSCG) is European. At this time, Europe
is not represented enough. We have an obligation to acquire market
share."
Mr De Pouzilhac and Euro RSCG's senior vice-president and area
director, Pierre Lecosse, were in town recently as part of a tour
to brief local offices on the expansion plan. The French agency
wants much more international and regional business. "With the US
agencies, their offices get everything because of the weight of the
US clients," Mr De Pouzilhac says. "That's not the case with us. If
we count our clients with international business, we don't even
have five. But in 1995, we want regional and international business
to bring in 50 per cent of income." This is not to say that Euro
RSCG lacks big clients. About 18 months ago it clinched the Philips
Electronics account for Europe in a three-way contest with
long-time incumbent Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi. This
year it acquired the Philips lighting business.
Today, the Philips business brings in one billion francs -one
quarter of total billings. And from Dec 1, Euro RSCG takes over all
of Philips consumer electronics business.
Despite the Singapore outfit, Euro RSCG Ball Partnership, losing
top staff and going through an upheaval after a restructure, "we
haven't lost any business", says Ball's regional director Eugene
Seow.
Ball's new business includes the Compaq and Intel accounts for
Asia as well as Tiger Balm and Prudential. Billings this year will
top $ 40 million and will reach "at least $ 45 million" next year.
All this points to Euro RSCG going full steam ahead. Indeed, it
prides itself as an agency with attitude. "We have to learn the
consumer habits of the locals. We don't have a choice," says Mr De
Pouzilhac. GRAPHIC: Mr De Pouzilhac (left) and Mr Lecosse: in town
recently as part of a tour to brief local offices on the expansion
plan. -Photo by Arthur Lee Japan Economic Newswire DECEMBER 2,
1994, FRIDAY LENGTH: 259 words
*****************************************************************
AWSJ: RANGOON HINTS AT RELAXATION AS FOREIGN BUSINESS STIRS
Wednesday, November 30, 1994
by Marcus W. Brauchli
A Backwater With Promise?
Figures are estimates for 1992, unless otherwise noted.
Population (1994) 44.3 million
% in urban areas 25.4%
GNP per capita $250
Trade deficit (1993) $406.6 million
Government deficit $3.5 billion
International reserves $280.1 million
(Sources: World Bank, Kerry Investment Management Ltd, CIA World
Factbook)
BURMA, one of the worlds poorest, most autocratic states, is riding
a wave of foreign business interest to greater international
prominence. Eager to share in the dynamism of its Southeast Asian
neighbors, the countrys military regime is relaxing some political
controls and accelerating economic change. At the moment, there is
almost no political freedom, inflation is rampant and
under-employment is prevalent. Yet in a striking development, the
countrys leaders have met twice recently with their chief
opponent, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom they have
long denounced and kept under house arrest despite an international
outcry. They also have hosted a spate of diplomatic and business
delegations, most of which have pushed for reform in Burma, also
known as Myanmar.
One must assume they are desperate for some form of cooperation,
says Burton Levin, director of the Asia Societys Hong Kong office,
who was the last US ambassador assigned to Burma. He left in
October 1990. But its going to take some major change in the
thinking of that leadership to embark on intelligent, long-term
policies of economic development. Diplomats in Rangoon hope the
government, which installed itself in 1989 after throwing out the
results of a popular election, may be moving to allow a more
pluralistic political system and an open economy. But even the US
until recently opposed to contact with the regime, has talks with
it. Such openings, however narrow, are viewed by many Asians as
validation of a policy of constructive engagement as opposed to
international isolation. The strategy, pressed by the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations despite US resistance, has produced a
flurry of business activity in the past year.
Foreigners, mostly Asian, are building hotels, factories and
mines, and infrastructure. Unocal Corp of the US is a partner in
a historic $500 million project signed in September to pip natural
gas from Burma into Thailand.
Burmese are starting to buy products from abroad, too: The number
of automobiles in the country has swelled to 300,000 from 72,000
about five years ago.
Even financial companies are taking an interest. Banks are opening
offices in the Burmese capital, even though the government still
cant obtain international loans. It is too early to compare
Burma, a country of 44.3 million where incomes average about $250
a year, with the vast developing markets of neighboring China,
India and Vietnam, businesspeople say. But the arrival of the Asian
venture capitalists who often pioneer new economies may start to
unfetter Burmese society.
The government is loosening up, says Jeremy King, managing
director of Kerry Financial Services Ltd, a Hong Kong securities
company that has set up the first mutual fund for investing in
Burma. And moving from pariah status to nonpariah status can happen
very fast.
What has kept most investors out of Burma has been a mixture of
political chaos and economic quagmire. The government is trying
hard, but its hard for them to grasp the concepts of reform, says
A. Cushman May, a director of Peregrine Capital Ltd of Hong Kong,
which wants to establish a $30 million investment company in
partnership with the regime.
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, came
to power when it quashed the results of a 1989 [sic] election
that took place in the aftermath of a student uprising in which as
many as 10,000 may have been killed or summarily executed by the
army. The military put the elections winner, the National League
for Democracys chairwoman [sic], Aung San Suu Kyi, under house
arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi has refused a deal to leave the country in
exchange for her freedom, and won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for
her courage.
While political life in Burma was in limbo, economic life
worsened. Prices have soared, foreign assistance all but dried up
and the financial system is bankrupt.
Only when Southeast Asian countries began their constructive
engagement policy did conditions start to improve. The
confrontational attitude was like pounding your head against a
wall, says one Rangoon-based diplomat. It was a different
approach.
And there are signs of progress to show for it. In addition to the
growing business interest in Burma, the World Bank has sent two
study missions in the past two months. The United Nations has sent
a key human-rights official three times. Japans powerful Keidanren
industry federation and the British chambers of commerce in Hong
Kong and Singapore have passed through.
All of them have pushed reform. We arent interested in isolating
or seeing Burma isolated, says a European diplomat in Rangoon. But
there also has to be an element of criticism in the dialogue.
Some delegation members think the blunt talk has made a difference.
They note that the Burmese leadership held its two meetings, on
Sept 20 and Oct 29, with Aung San Suu Kyi amid indications that a
clearer political future might bring economic gain. Some even say
they were led to believe she might be released next year.
The military government wants to gain her support, they say, for
a constitutional reform that would create a government in which
the military retains a substantial say, but relinquishes much
day-to-day control to elected legislators.
I think they genuinely want to move toward reconciliation, says Mr
King of Kerry. And we want to be there when they do.
*****************************************************************
NATION: SUU KYI RELEASE HOPES
Sunday, December 4, 1994
A Buddhist monk who played a key role in getting Burma's military
rulers to engage in dialogue with democrat leader Aung San Suu Kyi
said the conditions for her release from house arrest were in
place. Ven Rewata Dhamma said the two sides appeared to be
working on an agreement under which Suu Kyi would remain in Burma
after she is freed.
*****************************************************************
NATION: TORTURE REPORTING A RITUAL
Sunday, December 4, 1994
Burma's foreign minister U Ohn Gyaw said recent UN human rights
report critical of the torture, arbitrary killings, rape,
disappearances and confiscations of private property in the
country was a ritual thing.
*****************************************************************
NATION: BURMA SIGNS ARMS DEAL
Sunday, December 4, 1994
Burma has signed a defence contract with China for $400 million
worth of helicopters, armoured vehicles, field guns, assault
rifles, parachutes and patr ol boats, according to Janes Defence
Weekly. The London-based trade paper said the weapons appeared
destined for a planned offensive against the Homong, the Shan
State headquarters of Burmese drug lord Khun Sa.
*****************************************************************
NATION: FROM DEFENCE TO TOURISM
Sunday, December 4, 1994
Burma's military junta Wednesday appointed Brigadier General in Aye
as the new deputy hotel and tourism minister, state-run Radio
Rangoon reported in a dispatch monitored here. The report did not
give any reason for the switch. Tin Aye was previously
inspector-general of the Burmese defence services.
*****************************************************************
BKK POST: THREE PAGODA PASS OPENS TO PUBLIC
Sunday, December 4, 1994 Kanchanaburi
THE THREE Pagoda Pass, a Thai-Burma border town in Sangkhla Buri
District here, opened to the general public yesterday.
Hundreds of people from Thailand and Burma have already travelled
through the pass over the past two days which is expected to
develop into a thriving trade centre.
Burmese people, mostly traders can enter Thailand as far as
Sangkhla Buri district, about 30 kilometres from the border, for
shopping and to sell their goods. They can also sell carved woods
and sea products and other handicrafts.
As for Thai people and traders, they are restricted to a
two-kilometre area on the Burmese side of Three Pagoda Pass.
The opening of this pass last Thursday is still only for a trial
period. The permanent opening is expected early next year, when
traders and people will be allowed to travel deeper into both
countries for shopping and sight-seeing.
The Three Pagoda Pass, which is also known by its Burmese name of
Payathonzu, was formerly a stronghold of Mon rebels of the New Mon
State Party, but the base was overran by Burmese forces in 1990.
A senior Mon rebel whose base is about 40 kilometres from the
Three Pagoda Pass, said yesterday that their group has no policy to
harass the Burmese forces occupying the area or to obstruct the
opening of the pass.
He also said that the peace talks between the NMSP and the Burmese
military had come to a temporary halt.
*****************************************************************
NATION [LETTER}: REFUGEE CONCERNS
Sunday, December 4, 1994
We appeal to you as the editor of a newspaper. As such, you have
the ability and duty to inform the people of what is going on.
We are deeply concerned with the asylum-seekers and refugees in
Thailand, especially for people from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
[Burma], and Vietnam.
These people are fleeing their country because their lives are
threatened but they are considered as any illegal immigrants by the
authorities. Moreover, they are detained in inhuman conditions --
jails are over-crowded, food is not sufficient and women have to
share theirs with their children, and ill- treatments at the
Bangkok IDC and the Kanchanaburi IDC have been reported. Finally,
if they can afford the ticket, asylum-seekers and refugees a re
sent back to their respective countries where anything can happen
to them.
Therefore, we would like to urge the Thai authorities to accede to
the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to its
1967 Protocol to ensure the better protection of asylum-seekers and
refugees in Thailand: and to make inquiries in the allegations of
ill-treatment in detention centres.
Geraldine Delavaud Amnesty International Group 446 France
*****************************************************************
BKK POST: UNCERTAIN FUTURE AWAITS BURMESE AT SAFE CAMP
Sunday, December 4, 1994
Burmese political dissidents are working out their strategies at
a safe area set aside by the Thai Government. They have freedom to
move but are still a long way from achieving democracy in their
country. Supara Janchitfah reports on how some of the dissidents
spend their time in Ratchaburi camp.
[Photo caption: #1 A Burmese woman with her son at the safe area
at Ban Maneeloy in Pak Tho district of Ratchaburi Province. #2
Two Burmese dissidents mend their fishing net at the camp. #3 Two
female students learn typing.] CLAIMS that Burmese students in
the safe area are suffering from abuse are denied by Ratchaburi
Governor M.L. Gamloonthep Dhevakul.
The political dissidents are staying at the Burmese Students
Centre at Ban Maneeloy in Pak Tho district.
Sunday Perspective [the section of the Bkk Post this article
appears in] was given access to the camp last week to talk to the
dissidents, but on condition that no pictures of the flying
peacock flag were taken. Diplomatic relations between Thailand and
Burma would, according to Thai authorities at the camp, be
hampered by publicity given to the flag, which is much revered by
Burmese dissidents.
The camp provides shelter to 209 men, 27 women, 20 boys and 9
girls. Two hundred and ninety-one Burmese have been resettled in
third countries, for example, 151 to the US, 91 to Canada, 40 to
Australia and 4 to Sweden, said the head of the Maneeloy Centre.
We allow these refugees to leave the camp for a short period. For
a two-day stay in Rachaburi town, they must submit a request three
days in advance. For a maximum seven-day stay in Bangkok and
elsewhere in Thailand, they must make a request at least seven
days in advance, he said.
The new regulation of the Interior Ministry requires all political
dissidents t o register with Thailand authorities in order to
qualify for the resettlement programme.
We are likely to see more Burmese at our centre. If they want to
go to third countries, they have to report to the ministry, the
Thai officer said.
In the meeting room of the Burmese Students Association (BSA),
there is a picture of key dissident Aung San Suu Kyi and the
peacock flag.
We hold meetings once a week with Interior officers to discuss the
situation in our centre. We also meet twice a month among
ourselves, discuss political goings-on in Burma and to try to gauge
the Thai Governments position on our problems, said BSA chairman
Maung Maung Lay.
At lunchtime, asylum-seekers at the centre joined the queue to get
their ration of food. Some complained about the food, while
others took only rice.
We have to cook. We cant eat the food given to us, said a Burmese
man who lives in one of the houses provided for those with
families. The taste of the food here is so different from what we
were used to.
The cook said: The menu was drafted by the Burmese themselves.
However, we have to cook what the contracted seller gives us. The
food you see may vary from the menu. Generally, the Burmese like
eating cooked food with a lot of monosodium glutamate.
Cultural differences have posed a few problems for camp residents.
Food is only one example of a lack of understanding between Thai
officers and Burmese dissidents.
An American volunteer who taught English at the centre for 18
months said: The two parties dont seem to communicate with one
another very well. The Thais tend to see the Burmese as being
harsh and aggressive in manner, which is probably not intentional.
I dont want to point a finger at any party. But I must point out
that some incidents here just stem from differences between the two
cultures.
On a sluggish afternoon, some of the Burmese dissidents killed
time by reading in the library or in the dormitory. Hot days were
not a pleasure for those who felt like doing many other things that
were not allowed. Some turned to typing and computer classes,
provided by the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees,
a non-governmental organisation. However, many just passed the
afternoon on stools, a bottle of soft drink in hand while talking
about political struggles in their homeland.
Pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi adorn the walls.
She is out hope and faith, said a student who is due to resettle
in Canada.
Another student said: I will take her picture to Canada with me.
She is our leader and our representative. Everyone will recognise
us as the Burmese fighters for democracy.
A tall, young Burmese man responded angrily on being asked to
answer a questionnaire: Are you an Interior Ministry spy? All of
you are very tricky. All the time, you just keep extracting
information from us. What more do you want now? Refusing to
supply any answer, the man revealed pent-up emotions.
I hate journalists. They publish that we are spies for the
Australian government. We are not a spy of Australia. I am aware
you have permission from the students association but I dont want
to answer to any of your questions. What do you want? He was
told the reporter did not want to interview only a few people. The
report was to be about the situation of all Burmese students in the
safe area.
Accurate information was needed, hence the questionnaires.
The mans reactions are understandable given the nightmare in their
home country, their boredom with partial freedom at the camp and
frustration about an uncertain future.
Despite the hurdles they face, all Burmese approached at the camp
said they would continue to fight for democracy in Burma, even when
they were in third countries.
One resident, a former soldier, said: I dont want to leave
Thailand. I want to be here so I can continue to fight for
democracy in my beloved country. We want to go back to our country
to restore peace and bring about revolution. Previously, Id never
thought about applying to a third country, but the Thai Government
seems to indirectly force us to leave this country.
The Thai Government has been shaking soiled hands with SLORC while
turning a blind eye to human rights problems in our country and to
our conditions here, the man said.
I want to know the details in the constitution about allowing
foreigners into this country. The third countries are too far for
us to unite and air our problems. Thais are very good; they are
kind. But the Government is violating international law, he said.
The majority of respondents expressed dissatisfaction at
Thailand's foreign policy. Generally, they have an impression that
the Thai Government is not sincere about the Burmese and is
concerned only with investment in Burma.
Others expressed concern about the fascist military junta,
over-spending on weapons, the under-budgetted education system, and
fellow countrymen allegedly used as human shields for the SLORC
soldiers.
So far, SLORC has been effective in attracting foreign investors
and in selling our Burma's natural resources, they claim. While
a number of cities in Burma are undergoing a mini-boom, people in
the countryside appear to be worse off than five years ago. Many
of them have to migrate to neighbouring countries, especially to
Thailand, to work as cheap labourers. Some go into prostitution.
The Burmese dissidents want the Thai Government to reconsider its
foreign policy.
As a democratic country, Thailand should put more effort toward
promoting real development in Burma instead of supporting the
SLORC. Many of us want to be able to leave the camp to be able to
express our ideas freely. We want to be able to stage a
demonstration in front of our embassy and to write letters to ask
for international assistance. Some of us who are students would
also be able to continue our studies in formal schools, one student
said.
Another said: We want to show the world how we are suffering. We
dont want anybody to suppress our democratic movement. Thailand
is a democratic country, so why doesnt it let us to express our
needs and beliefs? Some people may say we are simply rioters. In
fact, real Burmese dissidents will never do anything illegal.
Therefore, an Burmese who is found to be violating the law of
Thailand should be punished.
Burmese music wafting from a house lulled a mother who was feeding
her child. Other people were cleaning their houses, clearing
water pipes. One young man was mending his net.
We have to catch fish in a nearby canal. We cant rely on what they
provide for us, he said.
A woman added: We have to pick morning glory as well as other
vegetables. When we were in Bangkok, the UNHCR gave us 2,500 baht
a month. Now in this safe area, we are given only 800 baht as
they said they provided us with food and accommodation. Besides, we
have to pay for the electricity. Most of the time we cant eat the
food they provide. Some of us grow vegetables so we can cook what
we want.
FOR SOME, the prospects for peace in Burma are still bleak.
We dont know how long we have to wait before we can go home and
restore peace to our country, said a student. We want to go back to
our country but who will guarantee our safety? If we go back we
will wither be put in jail or killed.
One of the dissidents, a former lecturer at Rangoon University,
spends his time reading. He was translating an article from and
English-language newspaper.
I want to help some of the camp residents who are not good in
English to be able to follow whats happening in our country.
Despite the uncertainties of life, the lecturer wishes that he
could return hom e to teach those young Burmese so that they will
become democratically- minded leaders for the future generations.
*****************************************************************
NATION: DETENTION CELLS INUNDATED WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Sunday, December 4, 1994
IMMIGRATION police swamped by the 550,000 illegal immigrants
taking refuge in the Kingdom face a critical shortage of
detention cells, Immigration Bureau Commissioner Poll Lt-Gen
Kiattisak Praphawat said yesterday.
Burmese immigrants illegally entering the country are the most
numerous, at 350.000, with Chinese immigrants the second largest
group. The remaining 50,000 are from various other countries.
According to Kiattisak, although police could arrest about 1,500
illegal immigrants every two months, officials are not able to
send them back home until proper legal procedures have been
completed -- which takes at least two months.
The maximum capacity of his bureaus cells is 1,500, he said.
On Dec 12 he will ask the Interior Ministry to grant the
construction of more cells at the Maneeloy Burmese Students Centre
in Ratchaburi.
Kiattisak said the bureau under his command would be free of all
corrupt officials.
He added that he would work his best to prevent communists or
international terrorists from entering the Kingdom.
*****************************************************************
NATION: HMONG REFUGEES FEAR FORCED REPATRIATION
Sunday, December 4, 1994
A veteran journalist who has covered Asian issues for years,
writes about the Hmong refugees in Thailand and their alleged
forced repatriation to Laos.
[Photo caption: HMONG REFUGEES IN THAILAND: Lost and uncertain of
the future.] AS the Cold War unwinds and new alliances are
forged, the Hmong, allies of Thailand and the US in the secret
Laotian theatre of the Vietnam War, now suffer because their
friends have abandoned them.
About 40,000 to 50,000 Hmong political refugees and
asylum-seekers in Thailand fear coerced repatriation to Laos
under the Luang Prabang Tripartite Agreement (LPTA), launched in
1991 by the Thai, Laotian and United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees with support and financing from the United States.
The Hmong want to return to their homeland but many insist they
cannot until democracy returns.
In early September, 5,000 refugees at the Na Pho camp in northeast
Thailand signed a petition to the US Congress begging it to
intercede and stop their forced repatriation to Laos.
Within hours of this petitions delivery, six of the petitioners
were arrested b y Interior Ministry police with the assistance of
UNHCR personnel. On September 20, they were taken to Suan Plu
Immigration Jail in Bangkok.
According to a US Embassy spokesman, these men will be kept at IDC
(Suan Plu) until they sign up voluntarily to return to Laos.
During the secret Laotian campaigns of the Vietnam War, Thailand
counter on the Hmong special forces under the command of Hmong Gen
Vang Pao to keep at bay in northern Laos the North Vietnamese
divisions operating there.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Hmong gathered intelligence for the
Thais and Americans, rescued their downed air crews and protected
navigational sites in Laos that directed air strikes against
targets in northern Laos and North Vietnam. About 10 per cent of
the Hmong population died during these years.
Last spring, during the congressional hearings in Washington on
Hmong repatriation, William Colby, former director of the CIA,
recalled Hmong contributions: A measure of the heroism and
effectiveness of the Hmong struggle can be seen in the fact that
the North Vietnamese forces arrayed against them increased over
the years from the original 7,000 to 70,000 including several of
North Vietnams best divisions.
When the communists took power in 1975, they launched a campaign
to eliminate the old order, including the royal family and
minorities -- particularly the Hmong -- who allied themselves
with the US.
Thousands were killed. Survivors fled to Thailand. Since 1975,
others have been resettled in the West. About 130,000 now live in
the US with significant Hmong communities in France, Australia and
Canada.
While the US Department of States report on human rights shows
democracy has not returned to Laos, former Hmong allies, now
vulnerable refugees, are being forced into the hands of their
enemy.
About 30,000 Hmong have fled refugee camps in fear they might be
forced back to Laos. About 11,000 are held in Na Pho, the
repatriation camp. And 15,000 Hmong have sought sanctuary at Wat
Thamkrabok. Others have taken to the hills. About 7,000 Hmong
wait in Phanat Nikhom, a processing centre for resettlement. Even
here, some fear repatriation.
Until recently, reports of abuses were largely ignored. Supporters
of repatriation deflected such reports by claiming they were
either efforts by groups in Laos to defame the country or were
outright lies.
US embassies in Bangkok and Vientiane respond to congressional
inquiries into abuses with a no credible evidence stance.
However, affidavits of American Hmong document abuses and forced
repatriation of relatives.
As early as 1989, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights warned:
Screening [for refugee status] is conducted in a haphazard manner
with little concern for legal norms. Extortion and bribery are
widespread.
Initially, the Hmong were to return to Laos in large settlements
of 5,000 per site, with promises of schools, hospitals and land. As
time passed, not only di d the plans change significantly, but
Laos took control of the repatriation of it s former enemies.
Instead of large resettlement sites where returnees might have
some protection in numbers, the Hmong are resettled in smaller
numbers on marginal land in unfamiliar territory. They are not
allowed to return to their mountain homelands. They report that
basic necessities are lacking and many are hungry.
Human rights investigators, journalists, relatives of refugees and
members of the US Congress have been blunted in efforts to
investigate.
In September, a US House of Representatives foreign affairs staff
delegation travelled to Thailand to investigate reports of
reductions of food and charcoal , jailings and beatings to induce
refugees to volunteer to return to Laos. The delegation was denied
access to Na Pho.
Denial came from the Thai Interior Ministry with acquiescence of
the local UNHCR and US Embassy. As a result, refugees in Na Pho
were unable to give to the staff their 5,000-signature petition
intended for the US Congress.
A non-governmental source with many years in Thailand claimed of
the arrest of the six petitioners: The UNHCR is way, way out of
bounds on this case. Since when does the UNHCR arrest and imprison
those it is mandated to protect? This is disgraceful and needs
investigation.
Private, non-governmental personnel in Thailand say that in Na Pho,
some refugees are coerced into volunteering through reductions in
food, threats by Thai authorities and the fear of arrest and
removal from the camp as occurred tot he six Na Pho leaders.
Further, the sources claim that Thai authorities have prohibited
Hmong women from making needlework. In the past, needlework was
a source of a February additional baht per month critical to
family subsistence.
Last February, Marc Kaufman, a journalist for the Philadelphia
Inquirer, wrote of the Hmong as casualties of peace abandoned by
an America more interested in post-Cold War political interests.
He described forced repatriation and efforts to mislead and
manipulate congressional investigations. His portrait of
corruption and ethical malaise among those paid to care for
refugees is alarming.
Kaufmans article followed Jane Hamilton-Merritts compelling expose
of the US and Thai secret war in Laos in her award-winning book,
Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, The Americans and the Secret Wars
for Laos, and her powerful descriptions of cruelty and
ethnic-cleansing inflicted upon the Hmong by the current Laotian
government.
In October, St Paul Pioneer Press journalist Brian Bonner
documented horrific abuses against the Hmong, Laotian concentration
camps where Hmong prisoners were tattooed with numbers, forced
repatriation of Hmong to Laos and a blindness by the
non-governmental organisations and the US State Department to the
evidence.
Despite media coverage of this issue, the US State Department and
NGOs with financially rewarding contracts to repatriate Hmong, as
well as the UNHCR, insist Hmong and Laotian refugees are not being
returned involuntarily and that no credible evidence of abuse of
returnees or of abuses in UNHCR camps in Thailand exists. On the
contrary, there is much damning evidence.
* On September 11, 1993, Hmong refugee leader Vue Mai, the
high-profile Hmong recruited by the US Embassy in Bangkok and
NGOs to promote and lead Hmong repatriation, disappears.
Intelligence reports that Vue Mai is abducted in Vientiane by Unit
53, a combined Laotian-Vietnamese elite secret police unit trained
during the Cold War by East Germans and controlled by Hanoi.
Vietnam, it seems, wants Vue Mais knowledge about activities in
Laos against Laotian and Vietnamese targets.
Vue Mais family persistently seeks information on his fate, but is
stonewalled by US and Laotian officials.
* In 1993, a group of 305 Hmong, unfairly screened-out as
ineligible for sanctuary, are told by Thai officials that if they
pay them a fee, they can arrange refugee status and join their
families in the US. These penniless peopl e write to their
relatives in the US asking for the money. After turning over
US$200,000 this group, known as the 305, realises it has been
scammed.
Their US relatives, through their congressmen, ask for
investigations, compensation and protection of these refugees.
None of that happens. The Thais say the Hmong tried to bribe their
way into refugee status. US Embassy officials concur, blaming the
victims. The 305 are returned to Na Pho and then to Laos.
Moua Chao, one of the 305 whose family paid the $2,000 for his
rescue, disappears on May 18 -- only 20 days after his forced
return to Vang Vieng resettlement site in Laos.
Since there is not enough food, he tells his wife late that day
that he is goin g to search for some for his small son and that
he will be back soon. Three days later, his family is told that he
has drowned in the river that flows through Vang Viang -- some
miles from the resettlement site. Laotian authorities say it was
a fishing accident. His family insists that Laotian authorities
murdered him.
* On Thanksgiving Day, 1993, an American Hmong receives a phone
call from his sister and her husband in Na Pho. They tell him
that Thai soldiers pointed guns at families, forcing them to
sign-up to volunteer for repatriation .
While I was speaking to my sister on the phone, he explained, a
[Thai] soldier took the phone and spoke to me. He said that they
only do what the UN wanted them to do and that my sister will have
to be repatriated with force. During the conversation, my sister
and brother[-in-law] were crying and yelling for help.
* On September 12, at Na Pho, a Hmong attempts suicide by stabbing
himself in the stomach. He knows he will be killed if he is
returned to Laos. He prefer s to die in Thailand.
* On September 21, at Na Pho camp, six Thai camp guards armed with
M-16s see a middle-age Hmong woman doing needlework for her
daughters dress for Hmong New Year. They take it and order her to
get on a motorcycle. She refuses. The guards beat her unconscious,
leaving her almost-severed tongue dangling from her mouth.
Hiding behind the comment that there is no credible evidence of
refugee abuse no longer plays.
While the State Department insists that the Hmong can return
safely, most independent observers concur that qualified, objective
monitoring of returnees to Laos is not possible and worry about
the increasing Laotian control of the repatriation process.
Laos now determines where returnees will resettle, when they will
return, and who will monitor them.
DURING THE PAST YEAR, members of the US Congress have become
highly critical of the tripartite agreement. Recently,
Representative Pat Schroeder wrote that the agreement was invalid
because of well-documented cases of mandatory repatriation of
Hmong to Laos and gross violations of human rights by the Laotian
government, which has closed Laos to all monitoring by independent
human rights organisations. Other US law-makers have also called
for an end to Hmong repatriation to Laos.
On September 22, US Senators Kennedy, Simpson, Simon and Moynihan
and Congressmen Gilman, Berman, McCollum and Schumer wrote to US
Secretary of State Warren Christopher expressing concern about the
disturbing arrest of the six refugee leaders in Na Pho and asked
that they be allowed to come to the US. To date, there has been no
response from Christopher.
Campaigners for Hmong rights are calling for: * Immediate
release of the six refugee leaders detained at Suan Plu and
international protection for them and their families at Na Pho; *
Immediate opening of Na Pho camp for interviewing. Send in a team
of objective interviewers fluent in Lao and Hmong languages with
knowledge of the history of Laos that predates 1975 to interview
the refugees fairly, professionally and confidentially.
* Re-interview those who signed-up to follow Vue Mai back to Laos;
* Do not close Na Pho camp at the end of this year as scheduled;
and * Discontinue withholding of food, threats and abuse in Na
Pho as a means of coercing refugees to sign-up for repatriation.
*****************************************************************
BKK POST: ASIA SAID TO NEED MIGRATION NETWORK
Sunday, December 4, 1994
ASIAN countries need a network to tackle migration problems
emerging as a major concern for the region, according to academics.
They made the suggestion at Chulalongkorn Universitys international
conference entitled Transnational Migration in the Asia-Pacific
Region: Problems and Prospects, which was organised by Institute
of Asian Studies and the Indochinese Refugee Information Centre.
The two-day forum, which ended on Friday, gathered academics
working on labour, population and refugee issues to discuss ways
for Asian countries to handle refugees and population movements in
the region.
Insecurity and conflicts have caused an influx of refugees in some
countries and a lack of labour and economic prosperity attracts
people from one place to another.
Academics agree migration has become a problem which is impossible
for one country to handle. It requires a joint effort from all
countries in the region.
They can start by setting up an information network and by
adopting the same goal and policy on migration, according to
Jorge Tingo, a social scientist from the University of the
Philippines.
Surachai Wun-geow agreed with the idea, as Asian countries cannot
escape the problem but need to be able to regulate population
movement and protect their rights.
We need a multilateral network to deal with this issue, said Mr
Surachai, a Chulalongkorn University political scientist who is an
adviser to the Labour and Social Welfare Ministry.
Mr Surachai and Supang Chantavanich, director of the Indochinese
Refugee Information Centre, urged the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations and other regional organisations to pay more
attention to this issue.
Migration problems should be put on ASEANs agenda for member
countries to discuss, the director said.
Wong Sio-Lun of the University of Hong Kong said the territory
faced a big loss of young and educated executives because of the
uncertainty about what would happen when it was returned to China
in 1997.
Mr Wong said Hong Kong needed a policy to attract new blood and to
sustain its economy, because the collapse of Hong Kongs economy
would affect the region.
*****************************************************************
BKK POST: CHIANG RAI MEET TO SET UP MEKONG PANEL NEXT YEAR
November 30, 1994
Ministers from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will gather in Chiang Rai
early next year to sign a formal agreement setting up the Mekong
River Commission. The ministerial level ceremony will be followed
by an in formal meeting chaired by the United Nations Development
Programme which mediated the agreement. The first official
ministerial talks on development cooperation will be held mid-next
year in Phonm Penh. Senior representatives from the four countries
making up the lower Mekong basin concluded their meeting here
yesterday following a ceremony Monday when a draft agreement for
the sustainable use of the Mekong River was signed. Cambodian
Environment Minister Mok Mareth proposed Phnom Penh as the site of
the Mekong River Commission's secretariat yesterday. There was no
reaction to the proposal, a delegate told Bangkok Post.
The location of the secretariat will be decided at the Mekong River
Commission's first council meeting in Phnom Penh, he said. All four
countries pledged under the agreement to secure formal approval in
line with their own constitutional requirements and have it signed
within three months. The commission will have a ministe- rial-level
council which drafts polices and makes decisions, a joint committee
to implement the polices and a secretarial. UNDP assistant
administrator Nay Htun chaired the two-day session here. He called
for immediate ratification of the pact by the four governments as
this could lead to "extending the benefits of the agreement" to
Burma and China, the other two countries bordering the Mekong
River.
The agreement open the door for Burma and China to participate,
depending upon their applications. The meeting agree that the
chairmanship of the council and joint committee be rotated, with
Cambodia and Vietnam taking the respective positions initially,
according to a UNDP release. The UNDP pledged to continue its role
in mobilising financial resources and technical assistance for the
commission. (BP)
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END OF ISSUE
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