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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: March 6, 2000
=========== THE BURMANET NEWS ===========
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=========== www.burmanet.org ============
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NOTED IN PASSING:
'Ask me again in six months time'
Ross Dunkley, editor of the new Myanmar Times, on whether his paper
would give equal coverage to Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime. (See
AP: NEW PUBLICATION BEGINS IN MYANMAR)
Monday, March 6, 2000
Issue # 1479
Inside Burma--
AFP: SUU KYI CALLS FOR GREATER COMPASSION TOWARDS WOMEN
AP: NEW PUBLICATION BEGINS IN MYANMAR
REUTERS: HEROIN OVERDOSE KILLS UK PEER'S BROTHER IN YANGON
AFP: MYANMAR TO HOST ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING
KNU: TWO VILLAGERS ACCUSED OF KILLING AN OFFICER AND WERE EXECUTED
International--
AFP: INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON MYANMAR CLOSES IN SECRECY
THE HINDU (India): MYANMARESE STUDENTS DO NOT WANT TO BE SHIFTED
FTUB/CNYB: BURMESE WORKERS, STUDENTS START INITIATIVE IN FT. WAYNE TO
WORK WITH AFL-CIO CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
Opinion/Editorial--
NATION: THAILAND RIGHT NOT TO GIVE IN TO JUNTA
IMAGES ASIA: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY NO CELEBRATION FOR BURMA'S
WOMEN
=========================================
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
INSIDE BURMA
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: SUU KYI CALLS FOR GREATER COMPASSION TOWARDS WOMEN
BANGKOK, March 6 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi on Monday urged international financial institutions to
"develop care and compassion" for women.
"There is a great need to develop care and compassion--care and
compassion for the weak. The weak and the needy are women and
children," National League of Democracy head Suu Kyi said in
a statement released to mark World Woman's Day on Wednesday.
"Women and children are the ones who suffer most from
violence and from poverty."
"I would like to appeal. . .to the international financial
institutions to make special provisions for the fight against
violence and poverty."
The statement was timed to coincide with not only Women's Day
but also the Wednesday debut of the World March of Women, a
movement with a mission statement denouncing the "disastrous
impact on women of policies created by the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank."
On Wednesday the World March will begin a global signature
campaign in support of womens' struggle against violence
and poverty.
Signed cards will be sent to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan,
and on October 17, 2000, World March hopes to organize a rally
of "millions of women" outside UN Headquarters in New
York.
Aung San Suu Kyi praised World March's ideals, which she said
were directly related to the situation in her country.
"I wish I could be marching with you today ... Our women here in
the National League for Democracy learned about this march of the
women and were very inspired by it ...Only women understand the
needs of women," she said. "Our political problems are such
that there are now many political prisoners in Burma. When men
are taken prisoners, it is the womenfolk who are left to
struggle."
Myanmar's military junta has refused to recognise the NLD's
sweeping victory in the 1990 elections and has imprisoned
hundreds of party supporters.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AP: NEW PUBLICATION BEGINS IN MYANMAR
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) A new independent English-language weekly
newspaper began publication Monday in Myanmar, offering a fresh
window on a military state where the dominant regime controls the
flow of information.
But Ross Dunkley, the Australian editor of the new Myanmar Times
and Business Review, gave no promises about giving equal coverage
to the democratic opposition of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San
Suu Kyi.
``I'm trying to be conservative for the time being,'' he told
The Associated Press, when asked if the newspaper would cover
the activities of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
The party won elections in 1990 but was blocked by the
military from taking power.
``Ask me again in six months time,'' he said.
The government keeps a tight grip on the press in Myanmar, also
known as Burma. Daily newspapers are state-dominated and their
coverage of domestic news is restricted to the activities of the
ruling generals, and often feature vitriolic commentaries about Suu
Kyi.
The first 24-page color Myanmar Times covered a selection of
economic, social and cultural events in Myanmar and world
affairs. ``The publication will rest its reputation on its
independence, authority and integrity,'' said a commentary
on the front page. The lead stories in Monday's issue were
about a Buddhist monk who can recite 8,026 pages of scriptures
and about the introduction of Global System Mobile
telecommunications to Myanmar. The Myanmar Times is a
Myanmar-Australian joint venture which is publishing with
approval from the government.
It sells for 2 dollars, compared with 3 kyat for state
daily newspapers. The prevailing rate of exchange is
330 kyat to the U.S. dollar.
There are already more than 40 independent magazines and
journals, mostly in the Myanmar language, focusing on sports,
crime, pop culture and the economy.
They avoid criticism of the regime and generally publish at
least one page of state-sanctioned articles in every issue.
Dunkley, who has published the Vietnam Investment Review in
the face of heavy-handed state-censorship from Hanoi's
communist regime, said the Myanmar Times would act as ``a
window into the country allowing its variety and potential
to go on display.'' The company owning the Myanmar Times
is Myanmar Consolidated Media Co. Ltd., a joint venture
between Golden Future of Myanmar and the Australian-owned
Far East Consolidated Media (British Virgin Islands).
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
REUTERS: HEROIN OVERDOSE KILLS UK PEER'S BROTHER IN YANGON
YANGON, March 6 (Reuters) - The younger brother of a British
viscount died last week of a heroin overdose in a hotel
room in Myanmar, official media reported on Monday.
Hugh Fitzroy Newdegate, 38, died at Yangon's five-star
Traders Hotel last Friday, the Myanmar-language Kyemon daily
said. Newdegate was the younger brother of James Newdegate,
who became the fourth Viscount Daventry last month.
A British embassy official confirmed the death, but
said he could not comment on the cause.
``I can confirm a British citizen was found unconscious
in his hotel room and was later pronounced dead. But I
can't say anything else at the moment because I haven't
got the post-mortem police report.
An industry source said Newdegate had been in Myanmar on
business working for a U.S. insurance company. He had visited
Myanmar at least twice before, the source said.
The paper quoted doctors at Yangon General Hospital and
forensic experts of the chemical examiners' office who made the
post-mortem examination and inspection of objects found in the
hotel room as saying Newdegate had died of a drug overdose.
Police would not provide further details.
The spokesman for the military government did not respond to
faxed questions on the case.
Newdegate's death came less than a month after that of his
father -- Francis Newdegate -- on February 15, aged 78. The
paper said Hugh Newdegate arrived in Yangon from Bangkok on
March 1 and checked into the Traders Hotel.
On Friday morning, he failed to answer an overseas phone
call and hotel officials later unlocked the door and found him
in bed, the paper said.
Police officers and doctors found a packet of heroin
weighing about 0.02 gram in a drawer of the telephone
desk next to his bed, it said.
Military-ruled Myanmar is the world's second largest
producer of heroin after Afghanistan.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: MYANMAR TO HOST ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING
BANGKOK, March 6 (AFP) - Myanmar is to host its first Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economics ministers meeting in
May, Thai foreign ministry officials said Monday.
"This meeting is on the schedule and it is Myanmar's turn to hold
it as the meetings move from nation to nation alphabetically,"
an official said. The meeting ill take place on May 1 and 2 in
the capital Yangon, and will draw economics ministers from all 10
ASEAN nations as well as the group's dialogue partners including
Japan, South Korea and China.
There was no immediate comment on the meeting from the
Myanmar government on Monday.
Myanmar's entry into ASEAN in 1997 was vigorously opposed by
European nations and the United States over the military-ruled
state's human rights record.
Opponents accuse the Yangon regime of violations including
forced labour, torture and imprisonment without trial of
political opponents.
The government is also vilified for refusing to hand over power
to the National League for Democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi
which won a landslide election victory in 1990.
The meeting is expected to resume discussion on topics for debate
at the ASEAN summit last year in Manila, including plans to
enhance trade and economic ties between ASEAN members and
powerful Asian neighbors.
An anonymous diplomat quoted in the Bangkok Post newspaper said
that the meeting would also touch on new guidelines on
humanitarian assistance for Myanmar, which is in the grip of a
deep economic crisis. The economy has been brought to its knees
by the combined impact of economic sanctions imposed by western
states and an investment drought triggered by the Asian economic
crisis.
The World Bank said in a leaked report late last year that the
economy was on the verge of collapse, submerged in debt, choked by
inflation and starved of foreign investment.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
KNU: TWO VILLAGERS ACCUSED OF KILLING AN OFFICER AND WERE EXECUTED
KNU Mergui-Tavoy District Information Department
March 6, 2000
02/2000
Mergui-Tavoy District, Burma: A combined troop from Burma Army's
LIB 560 and 589 led by Nay Linn Soe and Se Sein entered to
Keh Chaung village, arrested and killed two villagers, accused
them of killing one of their men on February 27, 2000.
On February 27, 2000 a troop Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion
560 lead by Company Commander Nay Linn Soe combined with a troop
from LIB 589 led by battalion Commander Se Sein entered to
Keh Chaung village in Tenasserim township, Mergui district,
Tenasserim division and summoned all the villagers and accused
them of killing one of their officers from LIB 560 on February
25. They interrogated all the villages and later arrested two
villagers named Saw Ba Saw, 60 yr. and Saw Ya Kyaw, 40 yr.
(son of Saw Kya Din) and killed them all.
On February 25 an officer from LIB 559, which camp at Setkin
(Monorone village tract) went to buy some food at Keh Chaung
village. On his way back to his camp four soldiers from LIB 560
waiting for him and slashed him to dead with knife on a place
close to Keh Chaung village.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
INTERNATIONAL
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON MYANMAR CLOSES IN SECRECY
SEOUL, March 6 (AFP) - An international forum of nations concerned
by the long standoff between Myanmar's military junta and the
opposition ended in Seoul on Monday with he proceedings
shrouded in secrecy, sources said.
The outcome of the two-day meeting, held in an outlying building
of a hotel far from Seoul's city centre, was unknown with
officials involved remaining tight-lipped even about the purpose
of the session.
"It was private brainstorming session and any comment will come from
the United Nations in New York," said a diplomatic source linked to
the informal talks attended by around 30 diplomats and officials
from 14 countries.
Sources and reports have indicated he talks were aimed at
kickstarting a long-frozen dialogue between Yangon's military
rulers and the democratic opposition of Nobel peace laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Seoul meeting was on the lines of a retreat in Chilston,
England in 1998 which reportedly came up with a" carrot and
stick" formula for diplomacy designed to nudge the junta
into making concessions.
Soon after the talks, Western states working in conjunction
with the World Bank reportedly offered Yangon a one billion
dollar package of aid in return for reforms. The approach
was later rejected by the ruling generals.
Diplomats in Yangon have denied any specific figure was
discussed at Chilston. The opposition and the junta have been
locked in a protracted and sometimes violent standoff despite
years of appeals by the international community for both
sides to enter dialogue.
The junta is accused of severe human rights violations in
its repression of the opposition since it refused to
recognize its victory in 1990 polls and subsequently
put Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Years later, the movements of the Nobel laureate are still
heavily restricted and her party's ability to organise has
been crushed by a junta campaign of intimidation and detentions
of members.
"The forum is also partly aimed at improving the human rights
situation there and of course is related Aung San Suu Kyi," a
Seoul government official said on condition of anonymity.
Another official said the low-profile meeting would produce no
formal and written results, and he refused to elaborate on
the politically sensitive forum. Myanmar earlier urged its
ASEAN partners not to attend the Seoul meeting, a according to
reports in the Thai press. But Thailand, Malaysia and the
Philippines, leading ASEAN members, all sent delegates to the
forum, which was also attended by officials from the
United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Britain and the United
Nations.
Indonesia has not sent any delegates, said Seoul officials
who have expressed hopes that peaceful and democratic
solution can be found in Myanmar.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE HINDU (India): MYANMARESE STUDENTS DO NOT WANT TO BE SHIFTED
>From the Hindu (New Delhi)
March 6, 2000
GUWAHATI, MARCH 5. The Manipur Government, has asked Myanmarese
students living in the State for over a decade after they fled
the country antagonising the military junta, to return to the camp
set up for them at Leikun in Chandel district.
The Government Order dated February 11 directs the district SPs
to "inform the refugee to go back to the Leikun refugee camp"
and to take action against those who do not comply.
The order says that to avoid complications, it has been decided
"not to allow Myanmarese refugees in locations other than the
camp established by the Government" and names several students
who have been staying at "unauthorised" camps.
For the 60-odd students living in Imphal, it has come as a
surprise. They are aggrieved, more so because their mentor in
this country is none other than the Defence Minister, Mr.
George Fernandes, himself. There are about 120 Myanmarese students
in Delhi.
During an informal chant here today, Mr. Kyaw Than, vice-president
of the League, said he had written to the President, Mr. K. R.
Narayanan, that the order would have an adverse impact on the
peaceful movement for democracy in Myanmar. The President should
use his good offices with the Government "for the safety of the
asylum-seeking Burmese" in India.
The letter underlined the fact that the League had never
been involved in any criminal or illegal activity.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
FTUB/CNYB: BURMESE WORKERS, STUDENTS START INITIATIVE IN FT. WAYNE TO
WORK WITH AFL-CIO CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
Federation of Trade Unions, Burma and Confederation of National Youth
For Burma. [The Confederation of National Youth For Burma is an
organization of Burmese workers and students from the Ft. Wayne
area.]
March 6, 2000
A panel discussion on "Worker and Human Rights in Burma" was held on
March 4 from 1 PM to 4 PM at the assembly hall of the Central Labor
Council, AFL-CIO, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The opening address was
delivered by Tom Lewandowski, the president of the council, who said
in part that" I am excited. We will work forward to bring democracy
to Burma"
The visiting general secretary of the Federation of Trade
Unions-Burma, Mr. Maung Maung, gave accounts of his background and
how he got involved in the trade union activities in and outside
Burma. Over thirty people from various locals affiliated to the
AFL-CIO and the Central Labor Council in Northeast Indiana, members
of the Church groups, members of the Burmese Organizations and
individuals from the community participated in the discussion.
The Confederation Of National Youth For Burma delivered a message
to the Labor Council, saying in part:
It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity and exchange
greetings with you today. We, the pro-democracy youths from
Burma, have been in Fort Wayne for quite a while and this is
the first labor initiative which, we should have done
earlier.
The majority of us here were pro-democracy youths in 1988
when the entire Burma rose up against military-guided
totalitarian rule. The democratic principles and the
fundamental human rights had long been forbidden by
the successive military governments in Burma since 1962.
The term "Union" is viewed by the ruling successive juntas
as an organization that engages in a conspiracy against
the government, which refers to itself as the "State".
However, the role of the working people was exploited
through the state run "Workers Asiayone (organization)".
Like in all other single party dictatorships, it was under
strict guidance by the State and was merely an excuse to
lie to the international community, especially the ILO
and the many international socially aware forums...
After we found Fort Wayne as our new home, despite language and
cultural barriers, some of us have joined the workforce that is
alien to us. We have then come across some work-related problems...
We share work-related experiences between those who work at
union shops and those who are at non-union ones. Therefore, we
are aware of the fact that the most effective ways to protect
employees and their families is to have an organized labor
under a collective bargaining process in order to handle
numerous workplace issues such as wage, benefits, working
conditions and safety...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OPINION/EDITORIALS
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NATION: THAILAND RIGHT NOT TO GIVE IN TO JUNTA
March 6, 2000
Since its admission into Asean in 1997, Burma has
been main reason for splits within the grouping. It
is also the only member considered a pariah state by
the world. Using the so-called Asean way and Asean
spirit and solidarity, Burma has managed to muddle
its way around its promises for further
democratisation.
It was not surprising, then, that when the military
junta found out that Thailand was sending a delegation
to attend the international meeting on Burma in Seoul
over the weekend, it moved swiftly to let its feelings
be known. Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung wrote a
letter dated Feb 21 to his Thai counterpart Surin
Pitsuwan, urging him not to send the delegation because
it would not augur well with the Asean principle of
non-interference. He urged Thailand to stand by Burma.
Win Aung's letter caused a lot of distress within
the Foreign Ministry because a large number of
policy-makers viewed it as blatant interference
in Thailand's affairs. Deputy Foreign Minister
MR Sukhumbhand Paripatra, who earlier planned
to take part in the meeting, decided not to go.
He attended the first meeting in England last
year, which brought together top officials from
the Western democracies, the European Union and
some Asean countries. This time there were to be
no ministerial delegates at the meeting.
Instead, the ministry decided to send a four-member
delegation headed by Surin's secretary-general,
Noppadon Pattama, and UN Ambassador Asda Jayanama.
It was a good political choice. The Thai team said
it would discuss the reality of Burma and not the
ideal Burma that people would like to see. The
meeting is part of the ongoing effort by key UN
members to find a way to implement the UN resolution
on the situation in Burma, which has been adopted
every year since the junta leaders cracked down
on the pro-student democracy movement more than
a decade ago.
The UN has been frustrated with the deteriorating
political and economic situation in Burma and
wants to move ahead with encouraging changes within
the country. At the last meeting, an idea was floated
that would allow Burma to have financial aid in
exchange for some liberalisation. But the proposal
was shot down by Rangoon. Therefore, the Seoul
meeting, which will end today, is trying to come
up with some workable resolutions to break the
current political impasse.
As far as Thailand is concerned, it has to be
clear that whatever happens inside Burma will
affect Thailand one way or another. Since Burma's
brutal suppression of the pro-democracy movement,
Thailand has been on the receiving end. Frequently,
we have been criticised by the international
community for the problems caused by the Rangoon
junta. For example, the influx of economic
migrants, relocation of minorities along the
Thai-Burmese border and drug trafficking are
internal problems of Burma which have spilt
over into Thailand.
Therefore, Thailand has to take part in all the
international efforts to encourage dialogue between
the junta and Burmese opposition leaders. As Burma's
neighbour, Thailand must be forceful. We can no
longer accept things as they are. Bilateral efforts
in recent years have been slow to produce results,
so we have to join the international community in
further pressing the Burmese military to change
its atrocious behaviour.
These days the formulation of Thai policy towards
Burma rests in civilian hands, unlike in the
past. If it still can be manipulated by the
junta leaders in Rangoon as when the military
was in control, then the government should
stop talking about cooperating with the
international community in the efforts to
promote human rights and democracy in Burma.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
IMAGES ASIA: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY NO CELEBRATION FOR BURMA'S
WOMEN
6 March 2000
On 8 March, International Women's Day, women all over the world join
together to celebrate their rights to live in dignity, free from fear
and harm. However, in Burma women face daily threats to their bodily
integrity and are denied social, economic and political equality with
men.
The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) was created to make governments accountable for
protecting and promoting women's human rights in all aspects of
their lives, private and public. Burma ratified the CEDAW in 1997,
and in January 2000, representatives of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) presented their first obligatory report to
the CEDAW Committee at its 22nd session, held at UN headquarters in
Geneva. The Committee received additional information on which to
base their assessment, including two shadow reports, from
representatives of independent NGOs and women's groups from Burma in
exile who also attended the meeting.
CEDAW Committee experts raised extensive and detailed questions about
what actions the SPDC had taken to comply with their Convention
obligations and requested further information from the delegation.
Committee members expressed particular concern about consistent
reports of the rape of ethnic women by military personnel; the
effects of forced relocation and armed conflict on women;
availability of services to Burma's refugee and internally displaced
women, especially to survivors of sexual violence; the military's
pervasive use of women for forced labour; the prevalence of
trafficking of Burmese women to other countries in the region; the
alarming spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the country; and the
particular hardships suffered by women as a result of
the country's economic crisis.
The Committee voiced great concern for the safety of Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, still a virtually prisoner of the regime despite her 1995
release from house arrest. Committee members praised Burma for
producing a woman who is not only a political leader in her own
right, but also Asia's first woman Nobel Peace Prize winner.
However, they questioned the SPDC as to how their treatment of Suu
Kyi was expected to encourage and increase women's political
participation.
In addition to the serious obstacles to realization of the Convention
arising out of the ongoing civil war, the Committee noted "the
absence of an enabling environment for women in the country. As long
as there was neither a democratic constitution nor a strong civil
society in place, all actions would be regarded as token, never
substantial."
However, the SPDC delegation assured the Committee that "the
establishment of a democratic society is the ultimate goal of the
Government," without stating what measures they were taking towards
the realization of this goal.
Daw Khin Aye Win of the SPDC delegation addressed a number of the
Committee's questions on specific gender-related issues, explaining
among other things that, while the country had established a National
Committee for Women's Affairs, this national machinery had not been
granted any government budget, but operated solely on "donations from
well-wishers." She also placed the number of cases of trafficking in
women and children at 2,140, while regional organizations estimate
the number of women trafficked from Burma may be as high as 50,000
annually.
The Committee advised the SPDC delegation to disseminate both the
CEDAW itself and the Committee's concluding comments throughout the
country as widely as possible.
For UN Press Releases (WOM/1159, WOM /1160, and WOM/1166) on the CEDAW
Committee's questions and the SPDC's report and responses see:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000
For the Committee's concluding comments and observations on Myanmar
(Burma) see:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/Myaclu.htm
These documents and further information, including the complete texts
of the government's presentations and shadow reports, are also
available from Images Asia.
Contact:
Brenda Belak
Images Asia
P.O. Box 2
Prasingha Post Office
Phone: (053) 278-948
Fax: (053) 279-544
Email: <images@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing
comprehensive coverage of news and opinion on Burma
(Myanmar). For a subscription to Burma's only free
daily newspaper, write to: strider@xxxxxxx
Voice mail +1 (435) 304-9274
Fax +1 (810)454-4740
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
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