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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: April 7, 2000 





  ________________ THE BURMANET NEWS _________________
/       An on-line newspaper covering Burma           \
\________________ www.burmanet.org ___________________/


April 7, 2000
Issue # 1503

*Inside Burma

MIZZIMA: WORLD HEALTH DAY: BLOOD TRANSFUSION SITUATION IN BURMA 
HAS IMPROVED, SAYS WHO
	

*International

UN: STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPOKESMAN ON MYANMAR 
ENVOY

NATION: KAREN REFUGEES MOVED FARTHER FROM FIGHTING 

BANGKOK POST: ENVOY SOUNDS WARNING ON REFUGEES
	
SCMP: DOUBT OVER RIGHTS TRAINING

THE NORTHERN ECHO (UK): PROTESTOR CALLS OFF FOOD STRIKE


*Opinion/Editorials

STATESMAN (New Delhi): WILL NO ONE LISTEN?


*Other

FBC: BURMA FREEDOM DINNER 2000



___________________ INSIDE BURMA ______________________
	
				

MIZZIMA: WORLD HEALTH DAY: BLOOD TRANSFUSION SITUATION IN BURMA 
HAS IMPROVED,
SAYS WHO

New Delhi, April 7, 2000

Mizzima News Group

Concerned about the fact that millions of people around the 
world do not have access to safe blood supplies, the World 
Health Organization (WHO) has dedicated World Health Day 2000 to 
blood safety, with the slogan: Safe blood starts with me: blood 
saves lives"

Since 1950, the WHO has been celebrating World Health Day on 7 
April each year. This year WHO's birthday celebration is being 
joined by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red 
Crescent Societies. Their new partnership aims to increase 
public awareness and understanding of blood safety through 
voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation from low-risk 
populations.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi yesterday, WHO Regional 
Director for South-East Asia Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei warned that 
safety of blood transfusion is a serious problem in many parts 
of the world, including
the WHO's South-East Asia Region. "Today 80 per cent of the 
global
population, which lives in developing countries, has access only 
to 20
per cent of the global supply of safe blood," said Dr. Uton.

He said that safety of transfused blood is a crucial issue as
transfusion transmitted diseases, like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B & 
C, cause incalculable harm. Of the 5.5 million people estimated 
to have HIV infections in the Region, 5-10 per cent are 
transfusion induced.

WHO's South-East Asia Region has ten member states: Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, Burma, Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri 
Lanka and Thailand.

Dr Uton said that there is a severe shortfall of available blood 
in the Region. Estimated 15 million blood units are required 
every year whereas only 7 million blood units are collected. 
"People, particularly the youth, must be informed about the 
importance of blood safety, so that they can get into a habit of 
regularly donating blood. If only one per cent of the population 
regularly donated blood, and together with strict
screening, there would be an adequate supply of safe blood," 
added Dr. Uton.


Dr. Jai P. Narain, Regional Advisor (STD, TB & AIDS) to WHO said 
that blood transfusion situation in Burma has improved quite 
remarkably in the last 3 to 4 years. "Earlier about 30 per cent 
of blood was screened for HIV. Now I think it has increased up 
to 90 per cent. But, one of the major problems in Burma has been 
the limitation of resources," said Dr. Jai P. Narain.

He also added that blood transfusion in Burma is quite high due 
to voluntary blood donation of the people. "Voluntarism is still 
very much high as far as Myanmar (Burma) is concerned. People 
are very much interested to contribute to the development of 
their community. Number of people who comes forward for blood 
transfusion is quite high compared to, for example, India. I 
have been to some of the areas in Myanmar where I have seen that 
the community itself builds the primary health centers," said 
Dr. Jai P. Narain.



___________________ INTERNATIONAL _____________________ 


UN: STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPOKESMAN ON MYANMAR 
ENVOY

4 April 2000


	The Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Razali Ismail as 
his Special Envoy for Myanmar, succeeding Mr. de Soto in that 
position.  The Secretary-General hopes that Mr. Razali would be 
able to visit Myanmar shortly to carry out the Secretary-
General's good offices efforts to facilitate the implementation 
of General Assembly resolution 54/186.  

	Mr. Razali has been serving as the Special Advisor to the 
Prime Minister of Malaysia.  As many of you are aware, Mr. 
Razali was the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the 
United Nations from 1988 to 1998, and is remembered for his many
contributions to the work of the United Nations during his 
tenure.  Mr. Razali was active in a variety of areas, and has 
left an indelible mark at the United Nations for having 
skillfully managed the preparation of the Rio Summit meeting, 
being an active voice in the reform process and taking an 
exemplary leadership role in serving as the President of the 
fifty-first session of the General Assembly (1996-97).  The 
Secretary-General is very pleased to have the opportunity to 
work with him closely again.


_______________________________________________________ 


NATION: KAREN REFUGEES MOVED FARTHER FROM FIGHTING 
THA SONG YANG, Tak ?  '¶ Border authorities yesterday started moving 
about half 
of the 4,000 Burmese refugees who this week fled heavy fighting 
between Karen 
rebels and Rangoon junta soldiers to a camp deeper inside Thailand. 

Lack of clean water at the camp in Ban Nong Bua and the village's 
closeness 
to the border area where the fighting is taking place were the 
reasons for 
the relocation, said Tha Song Yang district chief Vira Phothisuk. 

The move has dashed prospects that the refugees would soon return to 
their 
homeland. 

The refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, started crossing into Thailand on 
Saturday 
after heavy fighting broke out between the Karen National Union (KNU) 
and 
Burmese junta troops. Junta soldiers are being assisted by a 
breakaway Karen 
faction known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. 

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung, in an interview during his 
stopover in 
Bangkok on Wednesday, insisted that the villagers were Karen soldiers 
from 
refugee camps inside Thailand. 

The military offensive was part of its ongoing campaign of crushing 
any 
possible buildup by the Karen National Union, he said. 

Rangoon is prepared to sit down with the group's leaders any time, he 
said, 
but he would not elaborate on the conditions for a ceasefire or 
political 
settlement. 

Throughout the day, convoys of trucks jampacked with refugees, mostly 
women 
and children, were seen shuttling back and forth between Ban Nong Bua 
and Ban 
Thi Nok Krok, which is about four kilometres further from the Moei 
River, the 
natural border between the two countries. 

Despite earlier reports of illness among the refugees, Medicins Sans 
Frontieres field coordinator Dr Agnes Sobry said the situation was 
now under 
control. A number of refugees, however, were still suffering from 
malaria, 
she said. The next step is to conduct a preliminary assessment as 
well as 
immunisation, to prevent outbreaks of epidemics such as measles, 
Sobry said. 

The refugees will be allowed to stay at Ban Thi Nok Krok while 
authorities 
assess the situation, Vira said. If the fighting does not let up, 
they would 
be moved to a more permanent site, he said. 

Late Tuesday the KNU retreated from the border village Mae La Portha 
after a 
halfhour battle, it said. Burmese troops razed the entire village, 
burning 
635 houses, three schools and a hospital, it said. 

About 100,000 refugees from Burma's internal fighting live in Thai 
camps. 
Most are Karens. The KNU is the only major ethnic rebel group that 
has not 
reached a ceasefire with the military junta that has ruled Burma 
since 1962. 

BY VORAPUN SRIVORANART and 
DON PATHAN 

The Nation (April 7, 2000)



_______________________________________________________ 


BANGKOK POST: ENVOY SOUNDS WARNING ON REFUGEES

April 7, 2000
Rangoon apathy on narcotics dismissed
Saritdet Marukatat

Karen insurgents constitute the bulk of the refugees currently 
fleeing Burma 
for Thailand, said Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung.		

Ordinary villagers are also being affected by Rangoon's offensive in 
the 
border area, he said, during a five-hour transit in Bangkok on his 
way to 
attend a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Catagena, Colombia.

"They are mostly KNU soldiers," Win Aung said, referring to the Karen 
National Union that is still holding out against Rangoon.

A new influx of refugees, estimated at between 2,000 and 4,000, has 
crossed 
into Tha Song Yang district in Tak to escape fighting between Burmese 
government troops and the KNU.

The minister also strongly denied charges Rangoon was neglecting 
efforts to 
crack down on amphetamine production on the border.

He said the Burmese government was doing all it could to stamp out 
production 
of speed pills and other narcotics in the country.

His statement contradicted an assessment by Thai authorities who 
voiced 
frustration over the sharp increase in the inflow of amphetamines 
from Burma, 
with some even calling for a review of the official policy towards 
Rangoon.

Win Aung claimed Burma had no raw materials, equipment or technicians 
to 
produce drugs.
However, he expressed optimism that all joint bodies between the two 
countries could combat drugs and other border problems.

About 45 million amphetamine pills were seized last year, said the 
Office of 
the Narcotics Control Board.

Win Aung was not so optimistic about Thai fishing fleets' bid to get 
an early 
return of their fishing rights in Burma He said an assessment, 
currently 
under way, on fishery ventures would take time because of unsolved 
problems, 
including illegal fishing practices.

The junta froze fishing concessions granted to Thai vessels 
after its embassy in Bangkok was stormed by anti-Rangoon 
students in October.
	
_______________________________________________________ 

	

SCMP: DOUBT OVER RIGHTS TRAINING 
Thursday, April 6, 2000 
South China Morning Post 
Doubt over rights training 
WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok and ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney 

The Australian Government may be trying to distance itself from 
its human rights initiative in Burma by having outside 
consultants run the programme. 

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Burmese 
civil servants would take part in Australian-run courses this 
year. 

The consultants would be used to appraise Burmese officials, and 
perhaps members of the security forces, on international human 
rights standards, Canberra sources said yesterday.
 
The announcement came at a particularly sensitive time for the 
Howard Government, coinciding as it did with mounting 
controversy over mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory 
and Western Australia and an acrimonious debate over the so-
called stolen generation of Aborigines. 

Last month, Australia's Human Rights Commissioner, Chris Sidoti, 
compared Canberra's attempts to water down a scathing United 
Nations report on mandatory sentencing with the sort of response 
that could be expected from Burma, China or Malaysia when 
criticised. 

_______________________________________________________ 



THE NORTHERN ECHO (UK): PROTESTOR CALLS OFF FOOD STRIKE

April 6, 2000

Bruce Unwin


PRO-DEMOCRACY activist James Mawdsley came through a 20-day fast 
in a Burmese prison cell "in reasonably good shape", it was 
confirmed last night.

His mother, Diana, of Brancepeth, near Durham, received the 
"heartening" news from the Foreign Office after her 27-year-old 
son ended his hunger strike, as planned, in remote Kentung Jail, 
in north-east Burma.

James, serving a 17-year sentence imposed just hours after his 
arrest for handing out pro-democracy literature in August, ate 
some chicken soup early yesterday, having taken only liquids 
since March 15.

He staged the hunger strike to press his Burmese captors to 
provide him with a transcript of his trial.

The Foreign Office said last night a British Embassy consular 
official from the Burmese capital, Rangoon, made an hour-long 
visit to check on James' condition in prison yesterday.

"The report said he came off his hunger strike at midnight on 
April 4 and was in reasonably good shape," said a Foreign Office 
spokesman, who added that the next consular visit to the prison 
would be on April 16.

Mrs Mawdsley said: "We are heartened with the report. It says a 
Burmese doctor is supervising his return to solid food."

But Mrs Mawdsley said his fast appears to have failed to achieve 
the main aim.

"He still hasn't received a transcript of his trial. If he is to 
appeal he needs to know exactly why he was shut up for 17 
years."

James' elder sister, Emma, a Durham University geography 
lecturer, and brother Jonathan, who lives in Australia, are to 
meet in Rangoon next week to visit the British Embassy.

The US State Department is now putting pressure on the ruling 
Burmese junta to release James on compassionate grounds.

US congressman Frank Wolf, informed of James' plight by Liberal 
Democrat peer Lord Alton, has also asked the United Nations to 
censure Burma over his treatment.




________________ OPINION/EDITORIAL __________________ 


NATION: UN'S BURMA APPOINTMENT PUTS ONUS ON ASEAN TO ACT 


THE recent appointment of veteran diplomat Razali Ismail, a close 
aide of 
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, as the United Nation's 
special 
envoy for Burma has once again put the ball in Asean's court. 
"The onus is on Asean to prove that it can do the job," said an Asean 
diplomat, referring to the grouping's belief that it can influence 
change in 
Burma through engagement and not isolation, as advocated by the West. 
Razali, who is currently a special adviser to Mahathir, will have a 
big task 
in getting the Burmese junta to accept the UN inquiry into official 
abuses of 
human rights. Malaysia was the key player in bringing Burma into 
Asean in 
1997 when it hosted the Asean summit to commemorate its 30th 
anniversary. 

As a special envoy, his main job is to implement the UN resolution 
54/186 on 
Burma. Razali will soon have to visit Burma, something his 
predecessor, 
Alvaro de Soto, was unable to do last year. "This will test if Asean 
has 
political clout or not," said the same Asean diplomat. 

With an expanded mandate, Razali might use his position to encourage 
the 
Burmese junta to hold dialogue with opposition groups in the country. 
His 10-
year experience as the Malaysian envoy to the UN, from 1988-98, will 
be 
useful to mobilise UN members on Burma. 

The UN resolution 54/186, adopted in December last year, 
deplored "continuing 
violations of human rights in Myanmar [Burma], including extra-
judicial, 
summary or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape, 
torture" and 
other abuses. 

Razali's appointment comes at the time when there are increased 
frustrations 
in the international community that something must be done to break 
the 
current impasse in Burma. 

Growing criticism against Burma is also getting more widespread. Last 
week 
the UN special rapporteur for human rights, Rjasoomer Lallah, sent a 
report 
on Burma to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. 

At the moment, the International Labour Organisation is considering 
harsh 
measures to stop the Burmese military authorities from using forced 
labour. 
They could use article 33 to oust Burma from the ILO. 

The ILO report said that hundreds of thousands of people have been 
forced to 
work as porters or on building projects and the Burmese authorities 
have 
shown an utter contempt for human rights. 

At a recent meeting in Hua Hin of Asean senior officials, Burma 
indicated 
that it would be more flexible in order to get moving the stalled 
dialogue 
between Asean and the EU. For the past three years both sides have 
failed to 
organise a ministerial meeting due to the Burmese issue. 

According to Bangkok-based diplomats, Burma's new flexibility was 
linked to 
the ILO planned debates on Burma. "The Burmese know that this June 
will be 
tough on them, and Asean might not speak in one voice," said one of 
them. 

As in previous years, Thailand will face a new dilemma in voting on 
the 
labour condition in Burma. Last year Thailand, as part of Asean, 
voted in 
support of Burma as part of the grouping's show of solidarity, but it 
is 
uncertain if Thailand will follow that decision this year. 

Relations between Thailand and Burma are slowly improving. Foreign 
Minister 
Surin Pitsuwan will meet his Burmese counterpart, Win Aung, in 
Columbia 
during the upcoming foreign ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned 
Movement. 
The two were also expected to meet in Bangkok on Wednesday. 

In Thailand, frustration also prevails among top civilian and 
military policy 
makers. They have realised that while they want to improve ties with 
Burma, 
Rangoon's junta leaders have not been sincere. They would like to see 
a more 
responsive Burma that cooperates with Thailand, Asean and the 
international 
community. 

BY KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN 

The Nation (April 7, 2000)
				

_______________________________________________________ 



STATESMAN (New Delhi): WILL NO ONE LISTEN?

Is Suu Kyi's crie de coeur in vain

>From the Statesman (New Delhi)
April 7, 2000

It used to be said of communists that they thrived on increasing 
misery. Keeping their people in ignorance and without the 
benefit of education was merely a refinement on the reasonable 
premise that an uneducated population is unable to distinguish 
between information and propaganda.

Authoritarian regimes, whether communist or of any other 
persuasion, particularly military dictatorships, share this 
perception, their hatred of communism notwithstanding. The 
military junta of Myanmar is no exception. And thanks to the 
indifference of the world, this has been going on for twelve 
years. In a remarkable video clip smuggled out of that 
unfortunate land, Aung San Suu Kyi, the acknowledged leader of 
her people, has made specific charges fleshing out her frequent 
pleas for help from the civilised world to pressure the military 
junta to relax their iron grip on her people. Barely three days 
ago, they had angrily dismissed yet another international appeal 
to respect human rights. Suu Kyi has responded with specific 
charges.


In a candid comment one has learnt to expect from her, Suu Kyi 
charges her tormentors with interfering with education; 
generations of young Myanmarese, she says, are without proper 
education. Universities are shut and medical and engineering 
colleges are open only to the children of the New Class, the 
military. Suppression has intensified. Asean countries have held 
the view that to influence the junta, trade and commerce with 
that country should be encouraged; experience has shown
that they were wrong, grievously wrong. Anyone wanting to do 
business with Myanmar has only to contact established military 
channels, settle with the colonels and proceed to business. This 
has not changed. There are Indian businessmen who will swear 
that there are no restrictions in Myanmar, they are at ease 
because they have clear consciences, clear of everything except 
self-interest. They point to Asean businessmen who do the same 
and their governments encourage them. President Clinton who
read the riot act to chief executive Musharraf of Pakistan in 
apparently not too c9ncerned about Myanmar as it does not 
impinge on American interest.

Twelve years is but a speck of history in a nation's life, it is 
however enough to inflict irreparable damage on a young 
generation. The stifling atmosphere is leading to frustration 
among the young but also among the not so young who see no hope 
of their voice being heard where it matters, in the 
international community. Burma, that is Myanmar, is rich in 
natural resources, and this appeals to the poor in spirit who 
wish to
see nothing beyond immediate gains. Tourists are encouraged and 
are able to purchase gems, handicrafts and other items without 
too much fuss so long as they do not engage in any concern for 
human rights or contact anyone in the Pro-Democracy movement. 
All military regimes have a flawed vision, some have no vision 
at all and Myanmar falls into the latter category. The calm on 
the surface is unnatural. It should be remembered
that monks, Buddhist monks, led the earlier struggles for 
democracy and liberty; if the junta will not do business with 
Suu Kyi, they will one day face the wrath of monks who will 
articulate the anger and frustration of an increasing number of 
their people. The result will be a bloodbath, if there are no 
safety valves, there will be an explosion.

And if there is any justice in this world, it will encompass 
those who so shamelessly join the junta in exploiting the 
ordinary peace loving people of this nation. Will no country in 
the world listen to Suu Kyi's crie de coeur?


_______________________ OTHER _________________________
          

FBC: BURMA FREEDOM DINNER 2000


DanBeeton@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:DanBeeton@xxxxxxxxxx]
	
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY FREE BURMA COALITION



Tuesday, April 11, 2000
6:30pm Reception			7:00pm Program

On April 11, 2000, the American University Free Burma Coalition 
will host Burma Freedom Dinner 2000.  This year, the dinner 
counts on bringing 600 persons from the Washington, DC and 
surrounding area and raising $20,000 to be used to educate 
Americans about the democracy movement.

The American University is known for its continuous support of 
the Burma movement.  In 1997, the University appointed Aung San 
Suu Kyi as its commencement speaker, where her late husband, 
Michael Aris delivered one of Suu Kyi's first speeches in 
Washington, DC.  In the summer of 1998, four American University 
students were arrested, detained and deported from Burma for 
handing out pro-democracy leaflets.  Since then, AU has remained 
a hotbed of support for Burma, hosting two international 
conferences and raising nearly $20,000 for the freedom struggle 
at the past two Burma Freedom Dinners.

This year, the dinner will include traditional Burmese dancing 
and cuisine, in addition to a slide show detailing student 
activism and the Burma movement. The keynote speaker will be 
Representative Dennis Kucinich. The dinner starts at 6:30pm with 
a reception and the program will begin at 7:00pm


_______________________________________________
		

________________

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