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The BurmaNet News: January 20, 2000
- Subject: The BurmaNet News: January 20, 2000
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 16:42:00
--------------- The BurmaNet News ---------------
January 20, 2000
Issue # 1443
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==========
HEADLINES:
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KYODO: 4 THAI SOLDIERS DIE IN CLASH WITH MYANMAR REBELS
MIC: RANGOON WISHES "A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR" TO PARDONED BRITISH ACTIVIST
THE NORTHERN ECHO: JAMES' CAMPAIGN GOES ON
AFP: MYANMAR REFUSES RETURN OF 14,000 MUSLIM REFUGEES FROM BANGLADESH
REAKSMEI KAMPUCHEA (CAMBODIA): TWO BURMESE MON "RESISTANCE" LEADERS
DETAINED
BANGKOK POST: POLITICS 'NOT JUST FOR MEN'
BANGKOK POST: BORDER ALERT OVER UNITED WA STATE ARMY
RESETTLEMENT
BANGKOK POST: TROOPS READY TO REPEL KAREN FIGHTERS
BANGKOK POST: BORDER PIONEER-IN BRIEF
LETTER TO THE EDITOR--MAE KONG KHA REFUGEE CAMP COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON
ACCUSING KAREN WANTS TO GO HOME
LETTER TO THE EDITOR--PROSPECT BURMA ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS COMING YEAR
LETTER TO THE EDITOR--DAYS OF PRAYER FOR BURMA
********************************************
KYODO: 4 THAI SOLDIERS DIE IN CLASH WITH MYANMAR REBELS
BANGKOK, Jan. 20 Kyodo
Four Thai soldiers were killed and five seriously injured in a clash
with Myanmar rebels in the border province Ratchaburi, a Thai army
spokesman said Thursday.
The clash took place Wednesday afternoon when Thai soldiers were
deployed in the area around Kao Krachom, about 200 kilometers west of
Bangkok, after the army learned about an armed intrusion into Thai
territory.
The deaths and injuries all came from land mines in the area, Col.
Somkuan Sangpattaranetr said.
The rebel force is believed to have been the 'God Army,' an armed
faction of the Karen National Union, the strongest rebel opposing the
military junta in Yangon.
The God Army was attacked by the Myanmar junta last week and the
guerrillas lost their base. It is believed they wanted to capture Thai
territory for a new base to fight the junta, a military officer said.
The operation has also forced more than 1,000 Karens to flee Myanmar
into Thailand.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 20, 2000
***********************************************
MIC: RANGOON WISHES "A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR" TO PARDONED BRITISH ACTIVIST
Myanmar Information Committee
Rangoon, in English 19 Jan 00
The government of Myanmar wishes the Goldwyns all the best and happiness
for the new year
Text of information sheet No B-1223(I) issued by the "Myanmar
Information Committee" in Rangoon on 18th January, carried by Myanmar
[Burma] National Homepage web site on 19th January; subheading as
carried
The Myanmar government does not feel disappointed but it feels sorry for
Ms. Rachel Goldwyn [British activist] that she has to change her ground
so suddenly. It is quite understandable that she is under tremendous
pressure from people with vested interest. The government of Myanmar,
realizing that she has been victimized by a certain group of people
while recognizing the love and affection of the distressed parents on
their daughter, decided to release her on humanitarian grounds.
The government has no regrets for the leniency and clemency it had
granted to Ms Rachel Goldwyn and continues to wish her all the best.
Taking this opportunity, the government would also like to extend the
Goldwyns a very happy new year.
***********************************************
THE NORTHERN ECHO: JAMES' CAMPAIGN GOES ON
Jan.20 2000
Bruce Unwin
A PROTEST is to be staged outside the Burmese Embassy in London next
month to highlight the plight of jailed pro-democracy campaigner James
Mawdsley.
The 26-year-old human rights protestor from Durham has spent the past
four-and -a-half months locked up in a prison cell in remote northern
Burma.
He was sentenced to 17-years imprisonment on September 1, for alleged
illegal entry into the south-east Asian country and for handing out
pro-democracy leaflets, banned by the ruling Burmese military junta.
The plan to peacefully demonstrate outside the Burmese Embassy emerged
from a meeting at Westminster on Tuesday, between members of James'
family, human rights campaigner Lord Alton, and the action group Jubilee
Campaign, which speaks up for oppressed minorities round the world.
James' mother Diana, a nurse from Brancepeth, near Durham, said the
protest would be staged on St Valentine's Day, February 14, her son's
27th birthday.
"It will raise awareness, not just of James' situation, but hopefully
make our Government aware of what is happening out there.
"That's what James wants. It's not an ego-trip for himself. He wants to
expose the horrors of what is happening in Burma.
"Thousands of people from the largest minority group, the Karen, have
been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. It's ethnic
cleansing, genocide, and yet British companies continue to invest in
Burma and tourists take holidays there."
She visited James in November and her estranged husband, David, a London
businessman, returned at the weekend after also seeing his son in Burma.
Mrs Mawdsley admits she was concerned at the junta's recent statement
suggesting James may have to serve the full sentence.
"The whole tone was bullying, to intimidate us, his family. They rule by
fear, and I can't say I was over the moon at the statement.
"James is speaking up for the people by what he's doing. Because he's
British it gets attention, and for the moment he's determined to keep it
going."
While in prison James has received a message of support from Aung San
Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's democratically-elected party, which has
been never been allowed to take power by the junta.
***********************************************
AFP: MYANMAR REFUSES RETURN OF 14,000 MUSLIM REFUGEES FROM BANGLADESH
DATELINE: DHAKA, Jan 19
BODY:
Yangon is refusing to accept the return of some 14,000 Muslim
refugees who have been held in camps in Bangladesh since escaping
Myanmar in 1991, officials here said Wednesday.
The military junta refused to recognise the refugees as Myanmar citizens
during a weekend visit to Yangon by a Bangladeshi delegation sent to
settle the problem, a foreign ministry official said.
However, Myanmar softened its stand on the repatriation of another 7,000
of the refugees, who it cleared earlier, saying they could return home
at any time, he added.
A seven-member delegation led by the secretary of Bangladesh's Relief
and Disaster Management, Azad Ruhul Amin, returned to Dhaka Saturday
after talks with a Myanmar team led by the deputy immigration and
population minister, Maung Aung.
More than 250,000 Myanmar refugees took shelter in Bangladesh's
southeastern frontier district of Cox's Bazar nine years ago.
Most returned by 1997 under a 1992 bilateral agreement and subsequent
intervention by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The return of the 21,000 has been stalled since 1997 by questions of
identification and clearance by Myanmar, and also by logistical
problems, said a Relief Ministry official who asked not to be named.
An official report here last month said that in the past nine years some
31,500 children have been born to the refugees, who fled Arakan Province
to escape atrocities by the Yangon troops.
Myanmar's military rulers deny the atrocities ever took place.
Nearly 7,500 of the refugees died in the Bangladeshi refugee camps.
Dhaka, which has called the refugees an "economic burden," said the
children were not entitiled to Bangladeshi citizenship because their
parents were in the country "illegally."
***********************************************
REAKSMEI KAMPUCHEA (CAMBODIA): TWO BURMESE MON "RESISTANCE" LEADERS
DETAINED
January 17th, 2000
Two activists of the independence movement from Burma crossed into
Cambodian territory through the Fifth Military Region and were sent to
the security and criminal office of the military police headquarters of
Battambang Province at 1800 [local time] on 12th January.
Col Pao Vannak, the provincial military police commander, ordered his
men to take the two resistance movement leaders to the Defence
Ministry's research department the same night.
Lt Kaeut Sophal, head of the military police's provincial security and
criminal office, told 'Reaksmei Kampuchea' that one of the leaders of
the resistance movement for independence, based on the Thai-Burmese
border, is Mawn San, a 40-year-old man of Mon [a major ethnic group in
Burma] descent; he is the leader of the resistance movement. The other
is Kau Soek Nuonchhay, a man of Mon descent; he speaks Thai.
The two told the Fifth Military Region commander that they crossed into
Cambodian territory through Thailand, accompanied by Thai soldiers. They
said they came to Cambodia with the aim of requesting political and
military assistance from the Royal Government of Cambodia, reasoning
that they are from the Khmer-Mon stock sharing the same blood, had been
oppressed, and that 29 of their provinces in Burma had been annexed. In
their opinion, they think the Cambodian government has sentiments on the
basis of which they can establish relations.
The resistance movement leaders also said their movement currently has
over 10,000 people who have volunteered to fight for liberation from
Burma with over 500 weapons.
Reasoning that this is beyond his authority because this is an
inter-governmental matter, Col Pao Vannak said he decided to send the
two resistance leaders to the research department of His Excellency Mol
Roeup at the Defence Ministry that night without waiting until the next
day.
***********************************************
POLITICS 'NOT JUST FOR MEN'
18.1.00/BANGKOK POST
MANILA
DPA
Two top Asian women leaders yesterday exhorted women worldwide to
break into the "traditionally male bastion" of politics to boost
efforts to eliminate discrimination and equalise opportunities
for women.
At the opening of a three-day Global Forum of Women Political
Leaders in Manila, former Philippine president Corazon Aquino
said it is only "when women take matters into their own hands
that they are able to secure their rights and privileges as full
human beings, equal partners of the menfolk".
"It is up to the women who are in positions of power and
responsibility to push for the equality that women aspire for and
deserve," Ms Aquino told delegates to the forum held in
preparation for a United Nations review of the 1995 Beijing
women's conference.
"We, who are the keepers of the values of the family and of
society, should not leave the important task of leadership in the
political sphere to the men alone," she added. "It is a job men
and women can and should do together, in complementarity."
In a videotaped message sent to the conference, Burmese
opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
stressed the need for more women in government, noting "women in
general have more compassion than men".
"I would like to think that there's built-in compassion in women
because we are the ones who have to nurture the children, we are
the ones who have to look to the next generations," said Ms Suu
Kyi, who is still under house arrest in Burma.
"I'm sure that we can always think of some women leaders who have
made tremendous impact, greater impact .than any of their male
counterparts," Ms Suu Kyi added.
The forum noted the slow increase in the number of women in
parliaments.
Pippa Norris, a Harvard University lecturer, said during the
1970s, women accounted for only 11% of the total number of
parliamentarians around the world. In the 1980s, the number
inched to 12% and in the 1990s, 13%.
Ms Aquino, cited by Time magazine as one of the most influential
Asian women in the last century, lamented; that gender
inequalities and violence against women remains rampant.
"While it is heartening to note that the world is indeed
realising and taking into serious consideration the advancement
of women. it has not moved fast enough for the women of the
world," Ms Aquino said.
*****************************************************************
BORDER ALERT OVER UNITED WA STATE ARMY RESETTLEMENT
20.1.00/BANGKOK POST
NUSARA THAITAWAT / WASSANA NANUAM
The Third Army is keeping a close watch on the United Wa State
Army amid its plan to resettle tens of thousands of soldiers and
civilians opposite Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwongse, the Third Army commander, said
he was concerned about the latest activities of the biggest drug
trafficking group in the Golden Triangle.
"I don't believe they can accommodate all newcomers as their Mong
Yawn projects have been stalled," he said in reference to the
closure of the San Ton Du-Mong Yawn border pass five months ago."
"The spill-over could spell problems for Thailand," said Lt-Gen
Watanachai, who has placed forces on alert from Tha Ton, Chiang
Mai, to Mae Sai, Chiang Rai.
A source close to the UWSA leadership in Mong Yawn, opposite Ban
San Ton Du in Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai, said some 90,000
ethnic Wa, mostly civilians, are moving in from eastern Shan
state and Yunnan, China.
The relocation programme, to be completed by April, would boost
Mong Yawn's population to 120,000, the source said.
Burma said it planned to relocate 50,000 to opium-growing
villages in Shan State in conjunction with Wei Hsueh-kang, a Wa
commander based in Mong Mai, opposite Ban San Maked, Mae Fah
Luang district, Chiang Rai.
The Mong Yawn and Mong Mai leaders, though at odds, remain UWSA
members. Lt-Gen Watanachai said as many as 20,000 newcomers were
approaching Mong Yawn. He said Burma aimed to gather ethnic
minorities in one place.
The source said the UWSA were responding favourably to the
Rangoon policy in the expectation of political rights.
"The mostly civilian ethnic Wa in Mong Yawn are unlikely to cause
problems," he said, and they were happy with their new homes
after years of war with Burma, he added.
*****************************************************************
TROOPS READY TO REPEL KAREN FIGHTERS
20.1.00/BANGKOK POST
NUSARA THAITAWAT / WASSANA NANUAM
Security has been stepped up in Suan Phung district after Karen
guerrillas fleeing an attack by Burmese troops crossed into
Thailand.
About 200 armed members of God's Army had fled the Burmese action
and many had crossed the border, said Maj-Gen Sanchai
Ratchatawan, chief of the Surasi Task Force.
He warned that troops would push them back, first with warning
shots, and then fire on them if they refused to leave.
*****************************************************************
BORDER PIONEER
20.1.00/BANGKOK POST-IN BRIEF
Dr Singha, former health minister of the Karen National Union
government, died yesterday in the jungle in Umphang district of
Tak. He was 70.
The doctor, who headed the Burma Medicine Association, suffered a
heart attack after leading a team of physicians to treat Karen
refugees at Nu Pho refugee camp.
After resigning as minister, Dr Singh teamed up with an alliance
of foreign physicians and non-governmental organisations in
forming the association to treat refugees on the Thai-Burmese
border.
***********************************************
LETTER TO THE EDITOR--MAE KONG KHA REFUGEE CAMP COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON
ACCUSING KAREN WANTS TO GO HOME
15 Jan, 2000
We, Camp Committee of Mae Kong Kha Refugee Camp dispute about more than
10,000 Karen in Mae Kong Kha Camp want UNHCR to repatriate them with
support from the National Security Council. That news expressed 4
January, 2000 in Bangkok Post. We also dispute about the Camp Committee
collected the list of refugees that already signed by refugees.
In or around about our camp, there are no narcotics trafficking but also
the Camp Committee had clearly declare the regulation on no drug
strictly.
The refugees want to keep the environment, and they cut bamboo and wild
wood only for their shelters.
We are in the Refugee Camp in case of the war and we fled to the Refugee
Camp from very oppressive military government (SPDC). We thank the Thai
government for our shelters in Thai soil.
During we are in Thai soil, we would like to express our opinion that we
will obey either state regulations or local regulations. As soon as
there could restore peace and true democracy in Burma, we will return
back our home land.
Camp Committee
Mae Kong Kha Refugee Camp
Please more detail contact ? 66 - 053 ? 682429
***********************************************
LETTER--PROSPECT BURMA ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS COMING YEAR
Information on scholarships for the coming academic year for students
of Burmese origian offered by Prospect Burma is now available.
The details can be obtained from either of the Britain-Burma Society's
web sites -Planet Burma on
<http://www.planet.simplenet.com/index.mv?Burma> or
Planet Myanmar on <http://www.planet.simplenet.com/index.mv?Myanmar>
In either case, click on START HERE at the bottom right, then follow
the link. Students with access to MS Word or Word Pad can download the
form and instructions from the same place.
Derek Brooke-Wavell, Britain-Burma Society
***********************************************
LETTER--DAYS OF PRAYER FOR BURMA
MARCH 10-12, 2000
Please Join Communities of Faith throughout the World
in Supporting Human Rights in Burma by Participating in the
International Days of Prayer for Burma
On March 10-12, 2000 communities of faith will join together to observe
a moment of silence or join in prayer for the people of Burma.
"The people of Burma are struggling to reclaim their rights and their
country from one of the world's cruelest and longest lasting
dictatorships... The facts cannot be hidden, and we outside Burma
cannot look away and ignore the plight of Burma's people. Our religious
and philosophical teachings tell us that human suffering anywhere must
be accepted as our own suffering.
... In South Africa, we gratefully learned that the people's voices
raised is indeed a most powerful tool. It is time we raised our voices
together to demand that our governments and the world community take
effective action to bring respect for human rights and democracy to
Burma"
-The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town
How Communities of Faith Can Help
Throughout the centuries, brutal regimes have sought to
divide-and-conquer those they oppress by fomenting dissent among the
different religious communities. The current military regime ruling
Burma is no different and has been relentless in its attempts to pit
ethnic and religious groups against one another.
On the International Days of Prayer, MARCH 10-12, 2000, however,
communities of a multitude of different faiths will come together to
support the people of Burma in their struggle against the brutal
military regime.
The Weekend of Prayer
March 10-12, 2000
The Weekend of Prayer, March 10-12, 2000 is an opportunity for
communities of faith to raise awareness about the human rights situation
in Burma.
We invite communities of faith to join in the weekend of prayer for
Burma by participating in a wide array of activities. Some ideas for
participating include:
* Observing a moment of silence at faith services reflecting on
the Burmese people who are suffering at the hands of military regime of
Burma.
* Highlighting the situation in Burma as part of an appropriate
reading at a faith service.
* Inviting a Burmese person or person knowledgeable on Burma to
share their experiences and insight at a faith service.
* Organizing discussions of readings, an educational slideshow or
video on the situation in Burma. Inviting a speaker knowledgeable on
Burma from our speakers list to initiate a dialogue.
* Including information about the situation in Burma in your
regular newsletters and publications.
* Contacting the Burma Forum for various campaigns you can become
involved in to help the people of Burma (for example organizing letter
writing campaigns)
Where to Write To Write For More Information
The Burma Forum is also inviting communities to add their place of
worship to the growing list of participants of the Days of Prayer. We
are compiling this list to show the diversity of faiths and cultures
joining in Prayer.
Please contact Heidi Quante at the Burma Forum if you would like to
receive more information and if you have any additional questions.
Contact Information:
Attn: Heidi Quante
Days of Prayer
Burma Forum of Los Angeles
Suite 104
8124 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Telephone (323) 653-4571
Fax (323) 653-4581
E-mail: zquante@xxxxxxx
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