BurmaNet News: February 9, 2000

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=========== The BurmaNet News ===========
Wednesday, February 9, 2000
Issue # 1458
=========================================

NOTED IN PASSING:  Two numbers--

Burma's ranking among countries surveyed in "Economic Freedom of the 
World: 2000 Annual Report": #123

Number of countries surveyed in "Economic Freedom of the World: 2000 
Annual Report": 123

(See JOURNAL OF COMMERCE: NUMBERS SHOW IT: ECONOMIC FREEDOM ADVANCING)


=========
Headlines
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Today's edition--

BURMANET: FEBRUARY 8, 2000 IN A NUTSHELL

===

Inside Burma--

DVB: FARMERS PROTEST OVER RICE SEIZURE BY AUTHORITIES 

===

International--


JAPAN TIMES: MYANMARESE FIND EMBASSY TAXING 

JOURNAL OF COMMERCE: NUMBERS SHOW IT: ECONOMIC FREEDOM ADVANCING 

AFP: EU CALLS FOR INQUIRY INTO THAI SLAYING OF HOSTAGE-TAKERS 

AFP: THAI ARMY SAYS HOSTAGE KILLINGS ARE LEGAL 

JDW: THAI ARMY TO OVERHAUL INTELLIGENCE 

ERI: SOME KAREN REFUGEES LET INTO TEMPORARY SHELTER

USG: STATEMENT OF MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT SECRETARY OF STATE  BEFORE THE 
SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE [Excerpt]


=========================================

BURMANET: FEBRUARY 8, 2000 IN A NUTSHELL

The regime seizes rice from poor farmers and its embassies tax Burmese 
nationals abroad for the privilege of existing.  Not surprisingly, a 
survey of economic freedom around the world by a group of economic 
think-tanks rates Burma dead last.  

The EU calls for an investigation of the summary executions of the 
gunmen at Ratchaburi and the very next day the Thai army stages a press 
conference to insist that everyone was shot legally and furthermore, the 
press conference had nothing whatsoever to do with the EU 
representative's remarks the day before.  It looks like the Vigorous 
Warriors achieved one posthumous victory though--Thailand has allowed 
civilian refugees from the God's Army camp to take shelter in a Thai 
refugee camp.  Thai intelligence sets up a new agency, among other 
things, monitor the Internet for news about Burma (to our newest Thai 
subscriber, sawasdee khrap).  

And finally, Madeleine Albright promised that despite this being an 
election year in the U.S., the administration would aggressively 
continue to pursue its goals including that of pressuring Burma's regime 
to move toward democracy.


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 INSIDE BURMA
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DVB: FARMERS PROTEST OVER RICE SEIZURE BY AUTHORITIES 

Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 7 Feb 00 

Translation by BC Summary of World Broadcasts 

About 300 farmers held a peaceful demonstration on 5th February in front 
of the township Peace and Development Council Office in Kyaunggon, 
Irrawaddy Division. It was learned that the farmers demonstrated because 
their paddy had been seized by township authorities for failure to sell 
the prescribed amount of paddy.  The farmers, whose fields were affected 
by the heavy rains during the last monsoon, had been unable to sell the 
prescribed amount of paddy. 
Anti-riot units composed of the police and members of the Fire Brigade 
and Red Cross arrived at the scene and the township authorities urged 
the farmers to disperse, saying that the staging of such a public 
gathering to present their problem could affect the township's law and 
order situation. They promised to hold talks with representatives of the 
farmers. The farmers dispersed and nominated their representatives.  
 


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 INTERNATIONAL
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AFP: EU CALLS FOR INQUIRY INTO THAI SLAYING OF HOSTAGE-TAKERS 

Agence France Presse 

February 7, 2000, Monday 


BANGKOK, Feb 7 

European officials called Monday for Thailand to launch an inquiry into 
the killing by elite troops of 10 Myanmar rebels who held hundreds 
hostage in a hospital siege last month. 

European envoys warned reports that ethnic Karen gunmen, some in their 
teens, were executed after surrendering were damaging Thailand's image 
as a democracy. 

"They should open an inquiry into exactly what happened, how they were 
killed and what fighting took place," Portuguese ambassador Jose da 
Costa Soarez, who represents the EU presidency here, told AFP.  
"The action by the guerrilla fighters was wrong. The government has all 
the right to intervene, but the forces of order also have to act inside 
legality. They are not above the law. 

"I think there is damage as long as it is not clear what happened." 
European Commission ambassador Michel Caillouet also said an enquiry was 
needed and urged Thailand not to use the hostage drama as an excuse to 
crack down on Myanmar refugees and push them back across the border. 

He told AFP the EU, as a major provider of humanitarian aid to Myanmar 
refugees in Thailand, was concerned at their plight at a time of high 
border tensions. 


"We would like to see them well treated in the camps. It is no time to 
put them in Burma," he said. 

At least 10 gunmen from the ethnic Karen God's Army rebel group crossed 
into Thailand last month and took over a hospital west of Bangkok for 24 
hours. 

The crisis ended after Thai special forces stormed the complex, killing 
all the gunmen. 

Witnesses claimed later a number of those killed had surrendered before 
being ordered to strip and were shot in the head. 

Journalists who viewed the bodies after the siege said the gunmen 
appeared to have all been shot only in the head. At least one appeared 
to have his hands tied behind his back. 

Thai government and police officials have angrily dismissed reports the 
men were slain in cold blood. 



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AFP: THAI ARMY SAYS HOSTAGE KILLINGS ARE LEGAL 
Agence France Presse 

February 8, 2000, Tuesday 

BANGKOK, Feb 8 

The Thai army on Tuesday denied executing 10 Myanmar rebels who were 
shot after holding hundreds of hostages in a day-long hospital siege. 

Thailand has strenuously denied press reports that the rebels who took 
over the hospital in Ratchaburi, western Thailand, last month were shot 
in cold blood after tried to surrender. 

"I cannot confirm or deny if they surrendered or not, but the operation 
was legal and in line with principle," said Major General Bunchon 
Chavalsilpa, of the army's civil affairs department.  

"I can assure you there were no executions." 

Bunchon said authorities had tried hard to avoid the use of force to end 
the crisis on January 25 but all efforts had failed. 

"The anti-terrorist doctrine we used was in accordance with that of 
other countries," he said. 

"The operation was also in line with our criminal code which stipulates 
that anyone has the right to protect themselves and they cannot be 
prosecuted if they act in self-defence. 

"All ten were shot in an administrative building as they fought with 
Thai forces with personal weapons and hand granades," he told a press 
briefing. 

Bunchon said the 10 rebels were hardline Myanmar students and renegade 
rebels. Only three bodies had so far been identified by Thai 
authorities. 

Dissident sources have told AFP the rebels were from the ethnic Karen 
splinter group God's Army and the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors 
which was behind a siege at Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok last year. 

Bunchon said the press conference was called to put the army's side of 
the hostage siege and was not a reaction to calls by European Union 
officials on Monday foran inquiry into the incident. 

The Thai army on Tuesday denied executing 10 Myanmar rebels who were 
shot after holding hundreds of hostages in a day-long hospital siege. 

Thailand has strenuously denied press reports that the rebels who took 
over the hospital in Ratchaburi, western Thailand, last month were shot 
in cold blood after they tried to surrender. 

"I cannot confirm or deny if they surrendered or not, but the operation 
was legal and in line with principle," said Major General Bunchon 
Chavalsilpa, of the army's civil affairs department. 

"I can assure you there were no executions." 

Bunchon said authorities had tried hard to avoid the use of force to end 
the crisis on January 25 but all efforts had failed. 
"The anti-terrorist doctrine we used was in accordance with that of 
other countries," he said. 

"The operation was also in line with our criminal code which stipulates 
that anyone has the right to protect themselves and they cannot be 
prosecuted if they act in self-defence. 

"All ten were shot in an administrative building as they fought with 
Thai forces with personal weapons and hand granades," he told a press 
briefing. 

Bunchon said the 10 rebels were hardline Myanmar students and renegade 
rebels. Only three bodies had so far been identified by Thai 
authorities. 

Dissident sources have told AFP the rebels were from the ethnic Karen 
splinter group God's Army and the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors 
which was behind a siege at Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok last year. 

Bunchon said the press conference was called to put the army's side of 
the hostage siege and was not a reaction to calls by European Union 
officials on Monday for an inquiry into the incident. 


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JDW: THAI ARMY TO OVERHAUL INTELLIGENCE 
Jane's Defence Weekly 

February 9, 2000 

Anthony Davis JDW Correspondent 

The Royal Thai Army (RTA) is conducting a rapid overhaul of its 
intelligence structure and plans to establish a new Army Intelligence 
Command (AIC) following last month's hostage crisis in the border town 
of Ratchaburi.

Criticism over perceived failures of intelligence leading to the 
incident, during which 10 Burmese rebels held more than several hundred 
Thai civilians in a hospital before being killed by security forces, has 
prompted the review, according to local reports.  

Subject to approval from Prime Minister and defence minister Chuan 
Leekpai, the proposed restructuring will involve upgrading and expanding 
the RTA's Directorate of Intelligence to form the AIC, which will be 
headed by a lieutenant general answering directly to the army chief.

The AIC will control regional intelligence units, including the three 
Army Operations Centres - which cover the neighbouring states of Laos, 
Cambodia and Myanmar - as well as collate intelligence gathered by 
border forces. It will co-ordinate directly with other
intelligence agencies, including the Supreme Command Armed Forces 
Security Centre, Police Special Branch, the National Intelligence Agency 
and foreign intelligence services. The command will monitor open source 
intelligence available from the foreign press and
various internet websites.

Critics of the proposal argue the AIC will merely serve to re-inforce 
the interservice and interagency compartmentalisation and duplication of 
intelligence functions. "They're trying to do something as a knee-jerk 
reaction to Ratchaburi rather than restructuring on the basis of a White 
Paper that defines requirements and optimum structures," said one 
military source. "What is really needed is to create a single defence 
intelligence centre that collates and processes intelligence from all 
the various agencies."

- Anthony Davis JDW Correspondent 


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ERI: SOME KAREN REFUGEES LET INTO TEMPORARY SHELTER

Earthrights Report (posted by Jeremy Woodrum, FBC)

February 8, 2000

Over the last week, there were repeated rumors of people crossing the 
border, but no confirmation until the weekend.  About 280+ women and 
children were let into a temporary shelter along the border at Bo Wi 
over the weekend.  These people had most likely come from the Kamarplaw 
area.  In the Bo Wi temporary shelter, there were already an estimated 
1000 refugees from Mae Pya Kee.  It is estimated that another 110 males 
(males over age 13) would be brought down to Bo Wi by the Thai army last 
night or today (Tuesday).  Thai authorities may be screening the males, 
who are most likely from the Kamarplaw area, before letting them into 
the temporary shelter. 

There is no good information on the whereabouts of God?s Army. 

It still appears as if the Thai authorities in the area, especially the 
Thai's First Army's Ninth Division, are restricting access at times, 
particularly outside Bo Wi camp.  NGOs and UNHCR have access to Bo Wi 
and are providing assistance.  However, UNHCR could not get access to 
the new arrivals as of yesterday.  Outside the Bo Wi camp, access is 
restricted for ?security reasons.?  There are still people scattered in 
the jungle?perhaps several hundred. They are most likely in small 
groups, and it will be very difficult to confirm their numbers or 
provide them with assistance in the short term.  Many may have fled 
deeper inside Burma and may not be close to the border at this point.  
This is the unfortunate story in places all along the Thai-Burmese 
border and inside Burma; there are internally displaced people that are 
receiving little or no assistance.


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JAPAN TIMES: MYANMARESE FIND EMBASSY TAXING 


February 09, 2000, Wednesday 


By TAKUYA ASAKURA Staff writer The Feb. 18 revision of the Immigration 
Control Law has prompted many undocumented foreigners to return home, 
but some Myanmarese are unable even to go through deportation procedures 
because they find it hard to pay overdue taxes to their government.

The Myanmarese said they cannot obtain or renew passports needed for 
deportation from Japan because they cannot pay taxes imposed by the 
Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo that can be hefty for those who have contacted 
the mission for the first time after illegally working in Japan for 
years.

The embassy levies a tax of Yen 10,000 per month on all Myanmarese who 
are living in Japan illegally, regardless of how much they earn. Those 
living here legally pay more, said an official at the mission.  

Nearly 10,000 Myanmarese are estimated to be living in Japan, most of 
them without proper visas, according to the People's Forum on Burma, a 
Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization.

Because many undocumented Myanmarese do not pay regular levies, they 
face a huge amount of tax when they visit the embassy to obtain 
documents such as a passport to return home.

Most foreigners working in Japan pay income taxes to the central 
government and usually do not have to pay any additional levy to their 
home governments, due to bilateral agreements between Japan and their 
mother countries aimed at preventing double taxation.

Japan and Myanmar do not have such an agreement. "This is a rare case," 
a Foreign Ministry official said.

A Myanmarese man who visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau last 
week to submit to deportation procedures said he had paid the embassy 
Yen 120,000 in taxes and Yen 90,000 for a new passport. He said he came 
to Japan by ship without a proper passport two years ago.
The man, who declined to be named, said the embassy halved his levy 
after he explained that he could not get a job for the first year.

He showed The Japan Times a paper with signatures that serves as a 
provisional passport, and a receipt for Yen 90,000 from the embassy. He 
also took out a bank remittance record for Yen 120,000, saying the 
embassy does not issue receipts or bills for the tax.
Although he may have been lucky, some of his compatriots have been told 
to pay over Yen 1 million after staying here for about a decade.
The Myanmar Embassy official said taxpayers can pay the rest when they 
return home if they cannot pay the full amount. He said the minimum they 
must pay here varies "according to taxpayers' abilities."
However, some Myanmarese claim the embassy will not issue passports 
unless they pay at least some part of the whole amount, which many 
cannot afford.

One Myanmarese said he faces more than Yen 1 million in unpaid taxes. 
The man, who requested anonymity, has overstayed his visa for nearly 10 
years.

The man said in fluent Japanese that he has a Japanese wife and son. 
However, he said, Japanese authorities have not officially recognized 
his marriage because he could not obtain a marriage certificate from the 
embassy due to the unpaid taxes.

He had a copy of a filled-in marriage registration form in Japanese and 
a memo from his local administrative office that said in Japanese 
"please submit a marriage certificate from the Myanmar Embassy."

A Japanese doctor who runs a clinic in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward said he 
knew of at least three Myanmarese men who died here in 1999 due to 
illnesses - two from AIDS and the other from cancer. They were unable to 
return home and spend their last days with their families because they 
could not pay the taxes and obtain passports, he said.

Many undocumented foreign laborers, besides not being covered by 
Japanese health insurance, develop illnesses from overwork under harsh 
conditions, the doctor said.

He declined to be named, saying he does not want an unfavorable 
relationship with the embassy because he must negotiate with officials 
there on behalf of his patients.

"When I have patients who will not live much longer, I try to help them 
return home before they die," he said.

The tax imposed by the embassy is a heavy burden for many Myanmarese 
because they normally earn only about 70 percent of the wages paid to 
Japanese engaged in similar work, the doctor said. In addition, many of 
those who illegally entered Japan owe Yen 1 million to Yen 2 million to 
brokers who smuggled them here.

"I would not say (to the embassy) stop the taxation. I am asking for 
exceptional pardons for those who are suffering illness," he said.

The embassy official said those hospitalized or held by police to be 
deported are exempted from taxes. He noted that the embassy takes the 
situation of each individual into account, adding that such 
considerations are made at its discretion.

The doctor said he knows the embassy has given discounts to some people 
but noted that those who died in Japan could not pay even the reduced 
amount.

While many Myanmarese declined to talk, apparently in fear of trouble 
with their embassy and compatriots, Khine San Kyaw, who is seeking 
refugee status here, said many of his compatriots in Japan do not want 
to pay the tax because the money is supporting the military junta back 
home.

"The embassy does nothing to help us and only takes money from us," San 
Kyaw said. "How can the embassy take money from people who are not 
supposed to stay in Japan?" he asked, reckoning the embassy is 
effectively condoning illegal stays by collecting taxes from them.

The embassy official said, "The problem sits on the side of those who do 
not fulfill their duties."

Japanese immigration officials said they cannot do anything about the 
matter, noting it is an internal affair of the Myanmarese government.

The Foreign Ministry is also aware of the problem. "(The tax) seems to 
be a heavy burden for the people," a ministry official said.

He said the ministry has recently contacted the embassy to ask for 
flexibility in the payment of the tax. But negotiations for a bilateral 
agreement to avoid double taxation is still not on the agenda, he said.

Shogo Watanabe, a Tokyo-based lawyer who has provided legal assistance 
to many Myanmarese, said he fears the embassy will not welcome such a 
taxation agreement because the money collected here is a significant 
source of funds for the junta.  


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JOURNAL OF COMMERCE: NUMBERS SHOW IT: ECONOMIC FREEDOM ADVANCING 

February 8, 2000, Tuesday 

BY ROBERT LAWSON & JAMES GWARTNEY 

In the intellectual battle between state control of resources and free 
markets, some people argue that the market economy now reigns supreme. 

The Berlin Wall has fallen. Maoism has given way to joint ventures in 
China.  In the United States and England, New Democrats and New Labor 
both claim to support the basics of free markets.  

The hegemony of free markets appears so complete that noted author 
Francis Fukuyama has declared that we have arrived at the ""End of 
History.'' 

Ideology is one thing; reality is another. 
Much of the world's population still endures insecure property rights, 
corrupt courts and arbitrary bureaucracies. Thugs and tyrants are slow 
to change their ways. How much progress has been made in liberating 
people from government control? 

For the last decade, we have measured economic freedom around the globe. 
Our publication, "Economic Freedom of the World: 2000 Annual Report,'' 
ranks 123 countries by measuring 23 indicators in seven areas: size of 
government; economic structure and use of markets; monetary policy and 
price stability; freedom to use alternative currencies; legal structure 
and security of private ownership; freedom to trade with foreigners; and 
freedom of exchange in capital markets. 

Hong Kong and Singapore share the top rating of 9.4 on a scale of 10. 

New Zealand, the United States and Britain, in that order, are the next 
most free economies in the world.
 
The five least free, starting from the bottom and working up, are 
Myanmar (formerly Burma), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), 
Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Madagascar.
 
We have calculated economic freedom ratings of 123 countries every five 
years since 1970. The average economic freedom rating grew from 5.3 in 
1980 to 6.6 in 1997 (the last year for which data are available)... 

There are astounding differences in economic and social outcomes in 
nations that are more economically free and those that are less free. 

Life expectancy is 20 years longer for people in the 24 most-free 
countries, the top fifth, than in the 24 least-free countries, the 
bottom fifth. 

Average income per person in the top fifth was $18,108 in 1997, compared 
with less than $2,000 for the bottom fifth. 

Several countries have improved remarkably in economic freedom, with 
corresponding benefits for their people...


Although many people still live under governments that are hostile to 
private property rights, personal choice and freedom of exchange, 
economic freedom is advancing and people's opportunities for prosperity 
look brighter than ever.  


***

BURMANET ADDS:

For Burma's entry in the report, see: 

http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/publications/books/econ_free_2000/section_12/myanmar.html



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USG: STATEMENT OF MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT SECRETARY OF STATE  BEFORE THE 
SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE [Excerpt]
  
February 8, 2000, Tuesday 


SUBJECT - AMERICA AND THE WORLD IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 

[Excerpt begins...]

 I. PRIORITIES FOR THE NEW YEAR 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, good morning. I am pleased to 
be here to testify regarding the President's proposed Fiscal Year 2001 
budget request for international affairs, and to review U.S. foreign 
policy around the world. 



On Monday, the President submitted his Fiscal Year 2001 budget, 
including a request for about $22.8 billion for international affairs 
programs. I ask you to support that request in its entirety. And I do so 
with the clear understanding that the vast majority of the funds 
requested will be spent next year, under a new Administration. The 
President's request has nothing to do with parties or personalities; it 
has everything to do with our nation's ability to protect our interests 
and promote our values...

Because this is an election year, some say it will be harder to gain 
Executive-Legislative cooperation in international affairs. But you and 
I both know that the world does not stand still even for American 
elections. We have an obligation--which I am confident we will meet-- to 
work together responsibly on behalf of American interests. And this 
morning, I would like to review with you our agenda for leadership in 
the year ahead...

No part of the world will play a greater role in determining the 
character of the 21st Century than the Asia Pacific. The region's 
stability and its continued development and democratization are of 
profound interest to the United States. This is reflected in my ten 
visits to the area since becoming Secretary of State. 


Elsewhere in the region, we will continue to work with the UN, the 
Philippines, Australia, Thailand, and others to bring lasting peace and 
democratic rule to East Timor. And we will press for a meaningful 
dialogue in Burma between the government and the democratic opposition, 
led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). Burmese authorities must 
understand that the path to acceptance and progress lies in movement 
towards a popularly supported government in Rangoon. In Cambodia, we 
continue to work with the government and UN to bring senior Khmer Rouge 
leaders before a tribunal that meets international standards. 


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