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The BurmaNet News February 20, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News February 20, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 20:16:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: February 20, 1997
Issue #644
HEADLINES:
==========
NEW YORK TIMES: SHOULD YOU GO TO BURMA?
THE NATION: BURMESE TROOPS READY TO ATTACK KAREN REBELS
REUTER: U.N. OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS BURMA'S IMAGE
CFOB: CANADIAN MINISTER CONCERNED OVER REFUGEE ATTACKS
BKK POST:MERGER OF REFUGEE CAMPS GETS NOD
BKK POST: TANG SCRAPS MISSION
BKK POST: MASS SURRENDER OF REBEL KNU FIGHTERS
NCGUB: DETAINEES SINCE DECEMBER 1996
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CUSHIONS BANK'S FALL
THE NATION: BT300M THAI LOANS FOR ROAD UPGRADE IN BURMA
THE NATION: BURMA ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS CONFLICTING CULTURES
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: MITSUBISHI LOSES SF CONTRACT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK TIMES: SHOULD YOU GO TO BURMA?
February 16, 1997
Seth Mydans
A vacation trip does not commonly require a moral choice, but in the case of
Burma/Myanmar, there is no way to avoid one.
On Dec. 9, the U.S. State Department issued an announcement recommending
that "U.S. citizens exercise all due caution in traveling to Burma and
should for the time being curtail travel to Burma (Myanmar) absent a
compelling reason."
In a bid to build tourism and win international legitimacy, the military
government has undertaken an effort to attract visitors by inaugurating
Visit Myanmar Year in November.
Its opponents are urging tourists to stay away, part of a broader call
for an economic boycott.
Scores of new hotels have been opened in the capital city of Rangoon and
other tourist areas. Two new domestic airlines have started service and a
new airport arrival hall has been opened in Rangoon. Tourist sites have been
refurbished and visa procedures eased.
But politically, little has changed; the last year has seen an escalating
crackdown on pro-democracy forces.
Even without a boycott, the success of Visit Myanmar Year is far from
assured. The county has already scaled back its 12-month target from 500,000
visitors to 250,000.
And it is not even clear that it can accommodate that many. Last year fewer
than 100,000 tourists visited Burma, according to government figures. There
are fewer than 5,000 seats a week on international flights into the country
and, despite the flurry of building, fewer than 3,500 hotel rooms in the
capital.
***************************
THE NATION: BURMESE TROOPS READY TO ATTACK KAREN REBELS
February 19, 1997
CHUMPHON Burmese troops were yesterday poised to attack armed ethnic Karen
soldiers in Chong Kamin as they inched their way towards the Thai border,
some four kilometres from Ban Song Phi Nong in the province's Tha Sae
district, border security sources said.
The Burmese force consists of the 262nd, 342nd, 224th, 358th, 431st and
362nd battalions, who are stationed just behind Strategic Hill 491, opposite
Tha Sae the scene of a brief military occupation by both sides when
contesting territorial ownership in 1994.
Chong Kamin is where the Karen National Union's (KNU) 11th and 12th
battalions are based.
The attack is part of Rangoon's major military operation to secure control
of the entire 2,500-kilometre border with Thailand.
The two sides stood about 15 km apart. Intermittent shelling has been heard
every night since the initial launch of the attack, but there were no
reports of any shells straying onto Thai soil.
The latest flare-up has forced some 280 Karen refugees into Thailand,
joining the almost 100,000 Karen refugees who have fled over the years
because of conflicts between Rangoon's armed forces and the KNU, which began
intensifying in the latter part of January.
Border authorities have sent the latest refugees to a temporary shelter at
the Prak Ying Khan Camp. Other shelters around Ban Ran Thad Phom and the
province's silk-worm cultivation centre are being prepared for further
refugees.
Provincial Governor Kongsak Liew-manolmonty and provincial authorities were
briefed yesterday on the on-going situation by provincial armed forces.
According to Maj Gen Nibhat Thapmonkhol, commander of the provincial Army,
the situation is not yet worrisome.
He said that border authorities and security forces have been put on full
alert around the camps, as well as along the border area, to cope with the
influx of refugees in case further fighting breaks out or any of the forces
try to use Thai soil to their advantage.
Thai security forces were backed by reinforcements from the 41st and 414th
border patrol police task forces from Ranong province, and a para-military
unit from Nakhon Si Thammarat. (TN)
**********************
REUTER: U.N. OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS BURMA'S IMAGE
February 19, 1997
RANGOON, Feb 19 (Reuter) - The U.N. Director of Political
Affairs is in Burma on a six-day visit to discuss how to improve
the country's battered image abroad, a Rangoon-based U.N.
official said on Wednesday.
Francese Vendrell arrived on Monday, said the official, who
asked not to be identified.
"The main purpose of Mr Vendrell's visit is for consultation
with the Burmese government about improving Burma's
international image," he said.
Official newspapers said Vendrell called on Secretary
General U Than Aung of the government-sponsored Union Solidarity
and Development Association (USDA) on Tuesday.
The USDA was the group accused by Burma's opposition of
launching an attack with sticks and rocks on the motorcade of
their leader Aung San Suu Kyi last November.
Suu Kyi earlier this month said a government minister had
urged USDA members to kill her. The government has dismissed the
charge.
A diplomatic source said Vendrell was expecting to meet Suu
Kyi before he left Burma on February 23.
Burma's government has held hundreds of opposition activists
in recent years, although many of them have since been released,
and Suu Kyi has accused it of harassing her party, the National
League for Democracy.
Some major corporations and private investors from the
United States and European Union, which support Suu Kyi's call
for greater democracy in the country, have withdrawn investments
from the cash-strapped country.
The country's image received another blow in a U.N. rebuke
of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
for suppressing the opposition. Washington has threatened
economic sanctions if the situation worsens.
The SLORC has told the United States and other Western
powers critical of it to allow it to handle its domestic
politics in its own way.
*****************************
CFOB:NEWS RELEASE-CANADIAN MINISTER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REFUGEE ATTACKS
February 18, 1997
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada
News Release:
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today expressed deep concern over
the threat of further attacks by the Burmese Army on refugee camps located
along the Thai-Burma border and the implications for security in the region.
There have been a number of attacks on refugee camps in recent weeks,
forcing the relocation of refugees to escape death, conscription or forced
labour.
"Of growing concern to Canada are the frequent reports of attacks on unarmed
civilians in Burma and on Burmese refugees in Thailand," said Mr. Axworthy.
"Canada strongly urges Burma's military regime to make a concrete commitment
to democratic reform and to its stated objective of national
reconciliation."
******************************************
BKK POST:MERGER OF REFUGEE CAMPS GETS NOD
February 19, 1997
Refugee camps in three border provinces would be merged and moved deeper
inside Thai territory to ensure greater protection for Karen refugees and
prevent them from becoming targets of attacks by the pro- Rangoon Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army, it was agreed yesterday.
During a meeting at navy headquarters the armed forces decided to bring all
11 refugee camps in Tak, Mae Hong Son and Kanchanaburi provinces under one,
at the most two, roofs by moving them deeper inland keeping in mind that the
relocation must not jeopardise the life and property of Thais living in the
area.
The armed forces also resolved to enforce stricter checks on entry and exit
procedures at the camps.
Armed Force Information Office director Lt-Gen Rattana Chalermsaenyakorn
said the meeting proposed the building of different shelters to separate
refugees who were neutral from those belonging to Karen National Union, the
main Karel rebel group.
The meeting was chaired by Supreme Commander Gen Mongkol Ampornphisit and
attended by Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Gen Oraphan Vattanaviboon, Army
Commander Chettha Thanajaro, Army Chief-of-Staff Chan Boonprasert, Navy
Commander Adm Vijit Chamnankarn, Navy Chief-of-Staff Adm Theera Haocharoen,
Air Force Commander-in-Chief Amorn Naewmalee and Air Force Chief-of-Staff
Thananit Niemthan.
National police chief Gen Pracha Phromnok also attended the meeting.(BP)
**********************************
BKK POST: TANG SCRAPS MISSION
February 19, 1997
Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has cancelled his visit to Burma,
Thailand and South Korea, a Foreign Ministry official said yesterday.
The ministry was told of Beijing's decision on Monday without explanation,
but the official believed it was due to the deteriorating health of Chinese
paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
Mr Tang, who is in charge of Asian affairs, was scheduled to be in Rangoon
today, visit Bangkok as a guest of Thai counterpart Pitak Intravithyanant
from February 22 to 26, and end the trip in Seoul.
He was expected to ask Burmese leaders about their accusation of Beijing's
support for the now-defunct Communist Party of Burma, diplomats said.
Intelligence chief Khin Nyunt has accused "a neighbouring country" of
offering the party's underground members an operation base to mastermind two
consecutive bombings on December 25, one at Kaba Aye Pagoda and the other at
a nearby cave in Rangoon where Buddha's tooth relics, borrowed from China,
were on display for the paying of homage.
The bombs left five dead and 17 injured.
The party was also involved in student unrest in early December and had
connections with the rebellious Karen National Union, the National League
for Democracy Party of Aung San Suu Kyi and the All Burma Students
Democratic Front, according to Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt. (BP)
**********************************
BKK POST: MASS SURRENDER OF REBEL KNU FIGHTERS
February 19, 1997
Three hundred fighters of the Karen National Union surrendered with 250
assorted weapons to the Burmese government on Monday, according to a
statement from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok.
The statement said Burmese troops involved in a dry-season offensive against
Karen rebels "encountered only slight opposition in the clearing-up
activities" and were "wholeheartedly" welcomed by villagers.
If the report was true, it would be the first group in the KNU's sixth
brigade to defect to the Burmese military junta, officially called the State
Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), after last week's fighting.
The embassy also quoted a report it had received as saying more KNU rebels
were about to give themselves up.
The statement did not mention the whereabouts of top rebel leaders including
Gen Bo Mya who has fought the Rangoon government for five decades, saying
only that they "went into hiding for fear of their lives".
A source said Thailand had turned down Gen Bo May's request to take refuge
in Tak's Umphang district opposite the KNU's stronghold.
The Karen sixth brigade is estimated to be about 2,000 strong. A total of
11,000 KNU guerrillas are believed to be fighting against 15,000-20,000
Burmese troops in the area.
Their fighting has reportedly increased the number of Karen refugees in
Thailand to over 90,000.
A senior KNU official said yesterday that Karen fighters were pinning their
hopes on guerrilla tactics to thwart the Burmese forces.
"We fight very swiftly, so we don't lose many men," KNU joint secretary Mahn
Sha said. "They cannot use their artillery effectively against us."
"The Slorc is making a major offensive against all our revolutionary base
areas. We expect fighting all season, with the Slorc pushing to the (Thai)
border line," Mahn Sha said.
KNU officials held that junta troops would eventually tire of the difficult
jungle fighting conditions and be unable to effectively counter the mobile
guerrilla forces.
But analysts said it was the KNU that was likely to run out of steam.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front, an alliance of ethnic minority
rebel groups, has vowed to continue struggling against the Rangoon government.
During a week-long meeting which ended on Saturday, the NDF has pledged to
reject Slorc's ceasefire agreements, which it described as "nothing but
divide and conquer tactics"
"The agreements do not lead to real and lasting peace, but only propagate
ethnic cleansing programmes as they provide the Slorc with greater freedom
to operate in the ethnic areas," the NDF said in its statement released
yesterday.
An NDF source said the alliance's future would depend on Gen Swe Sein, 70, a
powerful KNU vice president who was chosen at the meeting to replace Gen Bo
Mya as the NDF's new leader.
The KNU is the last ethnic rebel group which continues to reject Rangoon's
peace overtures. Slorc maintains that at least 15 rebel factions have
already reached ceasefire accords with the government.
The NDF was formed in 1976 and became a sharp thorn in the Burmese
government's side during the 1980s. But its influence began to decline in
the early 1990s when a number of its members entered into ceasefire
agreements with Rangoon.
Among its 10 members are the KNU, the Shan United Revolutionary Army, and
groups representing the Wa, Chin, Mon, Kokang and Karenni.
Meanwhile authorities in Tak have prohibited the residents of five districts
from going near the Thai-Burmese border along the Moei River between 6.00
p.m. to 6.00 a.m. to prevent possible danger from fighting in Burma.
Pongpayom Wasaphut, director of the Thai-Burmese border operation, said the
ban which takes effect immediately has been issued to residents in Mae Sot,
Mae Ramat, Tha Song Yang, Pob Phra and Umphang districts.
Army personnel have been deployed to tighten security along the border.(BP)
*******************************
NCGUB: DETAINEES SINCE DECEMBER 1996
February 7, 1997
kyaw@xxxxxxxxxxxx
NLD YOUTH MEMBERS DETAINED since DECEMBER 1996
NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF ARREST REMARKS
01 Ko Zaw Win Kemmedine 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN
02 Ko Tin Hla Lanmadaw 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN
03 Ko Kyaw Soe Sanchaung 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN
04 Ma Thi Thi Aung Kamayut 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN
05 Ko Khing Ko Oo Insein 3/12/96 7 years/pc KN
06 Ma Cho Sanchaung 6/12/96 7 years/pc KN
07 Ma Khin Mar Yi Sanchaung 6/12/96 7 years/pc KN
08 Ma Thida Myint Sanchaung 9/12/96 released
09 Ma Kyi Kyi Win Kemmedine 7/12/96 released
10 Ma
Than Than Suu Win Insein released
11 Mg Nyi Nyi Naing South Okkalapa 7/12/96 released
12 Mg Tin Aye Thingangyun 7/12/96 released
13 Maung Maung Htay Sanchaung 6/12/96 released
14 Ma May Chaw Shein released
15 Ma Sabae Phyu released
16 Ko Aung Kyaw Soe West Bassein
17 Ko Wai Lin West Bassein
18 Ko Wai Lu West Bassein
19 Ko Zaw Win Tint Bahan 1/1/97 Member
20 Ko Toe Lwin Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Youth Organiser
21 Ko Thein Swe Phyapon Youth Organiser
22 Ko Mya Shwe Sanchaung 06/12/96 pc KN
23 Ma Myat Sabae Moe Kamayut 06/12/96 released
24 Ko Wain Sanchaung 06/12/96 released
25 Ko Soe Naing 1/2/97 SLORC pc
26 U Tin Win Kamayut Secretary
27 U Pa Khan Tamu Chairman
28 Ko Win Cho Kamayut
NOTE: pc means press conference
KN means Khin Nyunt
NLD MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS DETAINED SICE DECEMBER 1996
NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF REMARKS
ARREST
01 Dr. Than Win North Okkalapa 10/12/96 MP/released
02 U chit Khin South Okkalapa released
03 U Than U South Okkalapa 09/12/96 released
04 U Maung Maung Kamayut released
05 U Ar Zar Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Vice Chairman
06 U Toe Win Ngaputaw 13/12/96 Joint Secretary
07 U Ko Wai Wakema 13/12/96 Secretary
08 U Aung Kywei Wakema 13/12/96 Joint Secretary
09 U Htun Shwe Wakema 13/12/96 EC
10 U Win Kyi Wakema 13/12/96 EC
11 U tin Nyein Wakema 13/12/96 EC
12 U Maung Kan Wakema 13/12/96 EC
13 U Yu Wai Wakema 13/12/96 EC
14 U Pe Tin Wakema 13/12/96 EC
15 Daw Tin Yi Wakema 13/12/96 Member
16 U Tin Aung Wakema 13/12/96 MP
17 U Kyaw Din Wakema 15/12/96 Chairman
18 U Nyunt Win Ye Kyi MP/released
19 Dr. Tin Min Htut Pantanaw MP/released
20 U Tin Wear Mohnyin Chairman
21 U Kyaw Khin Mohnyin Vice Chairman
22 U Nyunt Lwin Mokaung Chairman
23 U Htun Kyi Mokaung MP/house arrest
24 U Taung Aye Maubin 19/12/96 Div.EC
25 U Win Shwe Maubin 19/12/96 Vice Chairman
26 U Kyaw Zaw Maubin 19/12/96 EC
27 U Lwin Nyein Maubin 19/12/96 EC
28 U Aung Thuya West Bassein 21/12/96 Div. EC
29 U Thein Han Kyaungone Chairman
30 U Myint Kyaing Zalun Member
31 U Than Nwe Zalun Member
32 U Soe Myint Zalun Member
33 U Than Htun Nyaungdon Secretary
34 U Khin Thaung Phyapon Member
35 U Tin Maung Kyi Kemmadine 03/12/96 NLD supporter
36 U Zeya Thingangyun 06/12/96 NLD supporter
37 Dr. Hla Myint North Okkalapa 07/12/96 NLD supporter
38 Ko Khin Maung Oo North Okkalapa 06/12/96 Member/released
39 U Kyaw Tingangyun 06/12/96 Member
40 U Hla Maung Kemmadine 06/12/96 Member
41 U Moe Myint Pazundaung 07/12/96 NLD supporter
42 U Myo Myint West Bassein 03/02/97 Chairman
STUDENTS DETAINED SINCE DECEMBER 1996
NO NAME INSTITUTION DATE OF REMARK
ARREST
01 Ko Ye Kyaw Zwa YIT 01/02/97 pc of SLORC
02 Ko Kyaw Kyaw Soe YIT
03 Ko Thet YIT
04 Ko Kyaw Wunna YIT released
05 Ko Min Zaw thein YIT
06 Ma Nilar Thein YIT
07 Ko Aung Moe Dagon
08 Ko Pho Thar Dagon
09 Ko Ba Thein Latt Dagon
10 Ko Soe Thaung Dagon
11 Ko Ye Min Dagon
12 Ko Ye Min Kyaw Dagon
13 Ko Mon Gyi Dagon
14 Ko Phone Thet Paing Dagon
15 Ko Maung Zaw Dagon
16 Ko Ye Min Thu Dagon
17 Ko Than Zaw Dagon
18 Ma Aung Gyi Dagon
19 Ma Thin Thin Aye Dagon 7 years sentence
20 Ma Lay Lay Mon Dagon
21 Ko Toe Toe Htun Distance
22 Ko Yan Myo Thein IM2 released
23 Ko Maung maung Latt RC 2 7 years sentence
24 Ko Myo Min Naing RC 2
25 Ma Yee Yee Htun University 01/02/97 pc SLORC
Computer Center
26 Ko Myo Zaw Oo pc KN
27 Ko Zaw Maung Maung Win
NOTE: YIT means Yangon Institute of Technology
IM means Institute of Medicines
RC means Regional College
Distance means Distance Education Course/Correspondence Course
OTHER PEOPLE DETAINED SINCE DECEMBER 1996
NO NAME TOWNSHIP DATE OF REMARK
ARREST
01 Ko Thet Oo Mingalar 02/01/97 01/02/97 SLORC pc
taungnyunt
02 Robert San Aung Mingalar 03/01/97 01/02/97 SLORC pc
taungnyunt
03 Ko Wai Lin Rice shop owner
04 Ko Aye Naing Tea shop owner
05 Ma Mee Mee Aung
06 Ko Aung Than
07 Ko Htay Aung 01/02/97 SLORC pc
08 Ko Thaw Htun Oo 11/12/96
09 Ko Ye Maw Htoo
10 Ma Mar Mar Oo 01/02/97 SLORC pc
11 Ko Ye Naing Aung
12 Ko Min Zeya 04/12/96
13 Ko Thar Myat Kyaw 13/12/96
14 Ma Nilar 07/12/96
15 Ko Htun Myint Aung 13/12/96
16 Ko Kyaw Zeya 13/12/96
17 Ko Ngwe Lin 06/12/96
18 Ko Zeyar Win
19 Ko Lay Lwin
20 Ko Myint Thein 17/01/97
21 Ko Myint Swe 01/02/97 SLORC pc
22 Ko Myint Shwe 01/02/97 SLORC pc
23 Ko Aung Naing 01/02/97 SLORC pc
24 Ma Pyone Pyone Aye 01/02/97 SLORC pc
25 Ma Hnin Hnin Hmwe 01/02/97 SLORC pc
26 Ko Win Naing 01/02/97 SLORC pc
27 Ko Nyi Nyi 01/02/97 SLORC pc
28 Ko Tin Ko Oo 01/02/97 SLORC pc
29 Ko Hsaung Win Latt 1 year sentence
SOURCE: The Human Rights Documentation Unit of the NCGUB
***************************************
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR CUSHIONS BANK'S FALL
February 19, 1997
Stephen Brookes, Yangon
In its first intervention into the country's fledgling private banking
sector, the Central Bank of Myanmar this month assumed control of
controversial Prime Commercial Bank (PCB) and is liquidating its assets,
according to Yangon bank officials.
About 60 percent of PCB's loans were nonperforming and the board of
directors appeared unable to solve the problems, said Kyaw Win,
deputy-director of the central bank's supervision department.
"We have taken over the bank and are returning the depositors' money," said
Kyaw Win, who is acting as the managing director of the bank during the
six-month liquidation process expected to cost an estimated 200 million
kyats (US$1.2 million at the unofficial rate). The government was
guaranteeing that the bank's 2,000 depositors would receive all their
principal as well as interest accrued through to January 31, he said.
PCB's three-man board of directors, including former central bank governor
Maung Maung Han, had been fired and their assets frozen, but no allegations
of wrongdoing have yet been made, according to sources in Yangon.
The bank has been the subject of controversy since its launch in October
1994 by a Malaysian entrepreneur named Yunus Shamshudeen. Prior to his
arrest last year on charges of running a prostitution operation, the
Myanmar-born Shamshudeen, 35, operated a network of some 18 different
companies in Myanmar ranging from property development to teak exports.
PCB, which reportedly had US$10 million in assets at its peak, was at the
center of his business network, and about half of the bank's nonperforming
loans are to companies owned or controlled by Shamshudeen, according to
central bank authorities. The bank is nominally owned by a "cover group" of
Myanmar nationals funded by Shamshudeen, they said.
Shamshudeen is now serving a four-year sentence in Yangon's Insein prison,
according to Myanmar authorities. His Limelight Discotheque, allegedly a
center for prostitution, was closed last year, and his other enterprises -
including the US$77 million City Square development project in downtown
Yangon - are "on ice", according to one business analyst.
According to reliable sources in Yangon, the central bank became concerned
over PCB when the company announced a new board of directors last October.
After an audit, the central bank found that board members and associates had
taken out non-collateralized loans and 50 million kyats worth were
nonrecoverable.
Sources also said the central bank was concerned about possible fraud. PCB's
managing director Kyaw Myint was also chairman of a company called Myanmar
Kyung Yuan, which announced in local newspapers last year that investors who
bought a minimum of 200,000 shares in the company would receive a guaranteed
annual rate of return of 84 percent.
"It was questionable for a member of PCB's board to be offering that kind of
return, when savings deposits only yield 12 to 14 percent," said one
business analyst.
Members of the Yangon banking community welcomed the intervention, saying it
would instill confidence in the private banking system that was only
launched in 1990. "The central bank is managing the situation extremely
well," said one bank manager in Yangon. "There hasn't been any run on the
bank, or any panic."
Sources in Yangon said that although its losses were not large it was likely
the bank would be closed and the licence granted to a new bank. Myanmar
limits the number of private banks in the country to 15.
According to central bank officials, PCB has total assets of 382 million
kyats and outstanding loans amounting to about 193 million kyats.
Although PCB's main office in Yangon was open on Tuesday it is doing no new
business and no customers were to be seen. (AT)
**************************************
THE NATION: BT300M THAI LOANS FOR ROAD UPGRADE IN BURMA
February 19, 1997
(AP) Rangoon - In the first government-to-government loan between the two
countries, Thailand will lend Burma $12 million (Bt300 million) to upgrade a
key trade route linking their northern provinces, the state-run New Light of
Myanmar said yesterday.
Burma will use the money to procure equipment and services from Thailand to
improve the 102-kilometre-(63-mile) road from Kengtung to Tachilek in
eastern Shan State, according to an agreement signed on Monday by
representatives from the two governments.
The newspaper described it as a long-term loan.
Tachilek is separated from Mae Sai in Thailand by a shallow stream. It
developed into a smuggling center during Burma's self-imposed socialist
isolation from 1962-88.
Consumer goods entered Burma from Thailand, while drugs, gems and timber
flowed the other way.
The city was once under the control of opium warlord Khun Sa, who
surrendered to Burma's military govnerment in January 1996 and is still
wanted to stand trial for narcotics trafficking by the United States.
The Tachilek-Kengtung road will link up with the Kengtung-Mongla road that
is Burma's gateway to China's Yunnan province.
Building a sound network of roads is an important objective for Burma's
military govnerment in its plan to develop border areas.
By providing a means for farmers from ethnic groups to transport crops to
market, the government hopes to entice them away from growing opium. Burma
is the world's largest producer of opium. (TN)
****************************
THE NATION: BURMA ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS CONFLICTING CULTURES
February 19, 1997
The European Union could be playing right into the hands of the Rangoon
junta by its stance on Burma, writes Inter Press Service's Jacqueline Lee in
Singapore.
>From a public relations point of view, Western nations are putting on a big
show for their constituents that they are doing all in their power to bring
pressure on Burma's ruling military junta to democratise.
But the very high-profile campaign that the West has embarked on may be
playing right into Rangoon's hands, particularly in its bid to join the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which is clearly becoming
more and more irritated by Western attempts to impose its will and ways on
the regional bloc.
A case in point came at the weekend when European Union (EU) officials
emerged from two days of high level talks with their Asean counterparts, and
told reporters of just how hard they had tried to get Asian leaders to see
the folly of "constructive engagement" with Burma's military regime.
"What's happening in Burma in unacceptable," said EU President and Dutch
Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo. "We have to fight it ... we are counting
on Asean to do it," he told reporters.
And while EU ministers emphasised they were not trying to bully their Asean
counterparts into adopting a tough stance on Burma, for sensitive Asian
ears, such words are tantamount to an order.
As Philippine Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon put it: "The EU is, in fact,
suggesting that Asean delay admission [of Burma]. We say that is our business."
The issue at hand concerns Burma's application for membership into Asean
which may give Rangoon just the political and economic leverage it needs to
defy international efforts to isolate the military regime.
Western governments and investors may bow to pressure from human rights
groups not to do business with Burma, but the issue takes on a much wider
dimension when it comes to the Southeast Asian bloc comprising the world's
most dynamic economies.
The issue is particularly problematic because it would mean that future
Asean-EU Ministerial Meetings (AEMM), like the one held in Singapore last
Friday and Saturday, would include Burma at the negotiating table.
For EU ministers, under pressure from activists and a European Parliament
that makes no compromises on issues such as human rights, such a possibility
threatens future Asean-EU summits.
French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, for example, made clear that his
country had no intention of lifting a ban on issuing visas to senior Burmese
officials - at least "for the moment".
Such uncompromising statements, issued to reporters, might satisfy a
European audience clamouring for pressure to be brought on Burma's military
junta, but are unlikely to win friends, or more importantly, yield the
desired results when dealing with Asian leaders.
Europeans must avoid "finger pointing" or catering to 'the international
media agenda," said Singaporean Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar.
Indeed, the post-summit joint statement would have reflected just how much
the Asean ministers wanted said publicly on the issue. It contained a
one-sentence reference to Burma, appearing as item 6 in paragraph 10 of the
final declaration.
"We had an exchange of views on Myanmar [Burma]," it said, giving no
indication that the subject was the touchiest issue during the ministerial
talks.
This is not to say that Asian leaders are unconcerned by the political, or
human rights situation in Burma where a repressive military regime is
accused of widespread human rights abuses, ranging from forced labour to
suppression of any political opposition.
But Asean deals with its problems in a "quiet and non-confrontational"
manner, said Jayakumar. Europeans, on the other hand, prefer to "express
views publicly".
He explained that the AEMM debate was 'not a case of one side against
another". But Asean's "mild" style, he added, has enabled member-countries
to keep an open mind without disturbing Burma's internal politics.
"Let us draw an analogy. The Europeans urged Asean to negotiate a prenuptial
agreement with Myanmar. One Asean minister's response was in Asia, we marry
first and expect to bride to adapt her behaviour after marriage. Once
Myanmar joins Asean, it would be influenced by her peers," Jayakumar said.
Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Rodolfo Severino also made reference to
the two region's distinct styles and strategies.
He said: "Europe is approaching it for reasons of conviction. If you're far
away, you can afford to be philosophical, lofty and speak from principle. On
the other hand, if you're right next [to Burma], and what happens there has
repercussions on your own interests, on your own security, your own
survival, you take a more practical approach which is what works.
"To us in Asean, what works is engaging Myanmar and helping it progress in
both economic and political terms," Severino added.
Exiled Burmese dissidents and international human rights campaigners have
however criticised Asean's "constructive engagement" policy.
Another sure critic would be the European Parliament which imposes strict
human rights standards in the EU's dealings with foreign countries.
With Burma, a pariah for its often blatant suppression of political
opposition, particularly that coming from popular pro-democracy leader and
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the European Parliament is almost certain
not to endorse any kind of cooperation agreement with Asean if Burma becomes
a member.
Aware of this, Van Mierlo spoke of "non-automaticism" in which a country
that becomes an Asean member does not automatically join the AEMM.
Some countries with more rigid views called for an outright freeze on
membership. European Commission Vice President Manuel Marin of Spain was
quoted as saying that Burma was a "thorn" in Asean-EU relations.
"Other sounded veiled threats that if you take in Myanmar, it might be
difficult for us to enter into any kind of cooperation agreement," said Siazon.
While Asean said it is not blind to the abuses of Burma's ruling State Law
and Order Restoration Council (Slorc),,it cannot conceivably delay
membership of Burma at this point when the country is already an official
Asean observer.
"It [Burma] has a foot in Asean, it participates in several meetings of
Asean, it's almost part of us," said Severino. (TN)
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ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: MITSUBISHI LOSES SF CONTRACT
February 12, 1997
MITSUBISHI LOSES SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT CONTRACT
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Feb. 12'97 (ENS) - Rainforest Action Network
executive director Randall Hayes is celebrating a ruling Monday by Superior
Court Judge William Cahill against Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi. The
decision threw out a contract to build a people-mover at San Francisco
International Airport awarded in December to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of
America (MHIA).
The judge's ruling was based solely on the grounds that San Francisco's
Human Rights Commission (HRC) has ultimate power to decide whether a city
contractor fits human rights guidelines. HRC recommended against awarding
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America the $137-million contract because of
the activities of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Burma.
Although the judge's decision was not based on environmental grounds, the
Rainforest Action Network opposed the contract because Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries is supplying the material for a SLORC-sponsored oil pipeline
project with Total Petroleum and California-based Unocal. The project will
displace upwards of twenty traditional communities and will destroy part of
Burma's rainforest.
The Airport Commission sought guarantees from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries f
America that its parent company would participate in the San Francisco
Airport project. MHIA has never built a people-mover.
The San Francisco Airport Commission voted December 23, 1996 to accept
the Mitsubishi bid, in face of HRC opposition, and objections from area
human rights and environmental organizations. Besides ignoring the HRC
recommendation, Commission president Henry Berman said he believed the
people-mover project is exempt from San Francisco's Burma
selective-purchasing ordinance due to a loophole in its wording. The Burma
ordinance prevents The City from contracting with corporations that do
business with Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Committee (SLORC).
Hayes commented, "The Court's ruling confirms what social change activists
already know: Mitsubishi shows little concern for human rights. The company
is still in bed with Burma's repressive military government. Additionally,
Mitsubishi is proceeding with plans to destroy one of the last gray whale
calving lagoons in Mexico to build a salt mine there. However, now that
Mitsubishi has lost a $137-million contract in San Francisco, company
executives should realize they've got to make fundamental changes in the
ways they do business."
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