[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
[theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: Ap
Reply-To: theburmanetnews-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: April 20, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
April 20, 2000
Issue # 1513
This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$333
NOTED IN PASSING:
(1) "Why would we want to collect garbage, as it were, in our own
homes?"
Lt. Col. Hla Min commenting on allowing Burma's people access to
websites like www.burmanet.org. (See AP: FEARING FREE SPEECH
PANDORA'S BOX, MYANMAR'S RULERS BLOCK INTERNET)
(2) "I personally feel gratified that the government of Burma has
criticised me. It convinces me that I have been saying the right
things."
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook. (See AFP : BRITAIN'S COOK
BLASTS "BRUTAL" MYANMAR JUNTA DURING REFUGEE TOUR)
*Inside Burma
AP: FEARING FREE SPEECH PANDORA'S BOX, MYANMAR'S RULERS BLOCK INTERNET
XINHUA: MORE VEHICLES IN OPERATION IN MYANMAR
*International
AFP : BRITAIN'S COOK BLASTS "BRUTAL" MYANMAR JUNTA DURING REFUGEE TOUR
AFP: CAMBODIAN COURT RELEASES MYANMAR REBELS IN LANDMARK CASE
NLM: APPOINTMENT OF JAPANESE AMBASSADOR AGREED ON
*Opinion/Editorials
BANGKOK POST: UN MUST SEND JUNTA A 'SOLID' MESSAGE
MIC: MYANMAR URGES BRITAIN TO BE CONSISTENT IN HER FOREIGN
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
CSM: SCATTERED TACTICS VS. THOUGHTFUL STRATEGY ON BURMA
*Other
KHRG: NEW KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP REPORTS AVAILABLE ONLINE
CSW: BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD SLATED BY UN
OPEN SCHOOL CAMPAIGN: MISSION STATEMENT
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
Fearing free speech Pandora's box, Myanmar's rulers block Internet
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON -- The Associated Press
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Dozens of key-tapping students stare intently
at computer screens in a cramped classroom three floors up a
crumbling colonial terrace in downtown Yangon.
At the private Knowledge, Management and Dedication Co. computer
study center, these eager teens learn everything from operating
systems like Microsoft Windows to programming.
But there's one glaring gap in the curriculum: the Internet.
While the rest of developing Asia is rushing headlong into the
information technology revolution, Myanmar's unelected military
rulers forbid cyberspace, fearing it could open up a Pandora's box of
dissent.
Sales of computers are growing rapidly in Myanmar's otherwise
sluggish economy. The 100-member Myanmar Computer Federation
estimates there are more than 50,000 computers in this land of 48
million people, one of the
world's poorest.
But networking between those computers and the outside world is still
forbidden. A 1996 law imposes a 7- to 15-year jail term for the
unauthorized ownership of a modem.
"If we go online, I expect we won't be able to see politics," said
Maung Thwin, 17, one of more than 3,000 youths competing for 300 to
400 places this year at Yangon's Computer Science University.
Pro-democracy campaigners abroad have set up dozens of Internet sites
and Web discussion groups critical of the Myanmar regime, which is
widely accused of abusing its citizens' human rights and suppressing
democracy.
Most of those sites are brim with words and images of Aung San Suu
Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of the party that captured
1990 general elections but was never allowed to take power. Myanmar,
also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military for nearly 40
years.
"Why would we want to collect garbage, as it were, in our own homes?"
a government spokesman, Lt. Col. Hla Min, said when asked about
banning Burmese from seeing foreign-produced pro-democracy Web sites
like www.burmanet.org.
"We want to use the Internet for constructive purposes to improve the
knowledge of our people, not as a platform for troublemakers to
create problems," he said.
But while the regime produces its own colorful Web site,
www.myanmar.com, and has the capacity to provide the public with
Internet access, it chooses to keep the international information
spigot closed.
Even e-mail has struggled for official acceptance. Three years after
it was first introduced, e-mail remains restricted to a few hundred
foreigners and to privileged Myanmar officials and businessmen with
close ties to the government.
In January, the government's own Internet server, which cost $1.5
million to install, went into general service after 11/2 years of
delays.
The server, owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, is
set to provide e-mail for about 600 users in Yangon and Mandalay.
Access to the World Wide Web, however, will remain restricted to a
few select government insiders.
The new server will restore service to the hundreds of frustrated e-
mail users cut off by the government in December when it abruptly
pulled the plug on five private e-mail providers.
Those services had been set up without the government's explicit
authorization and the episode underlined state paranoia about
cyberspace.
"We were operating in the gray," said Pat James, the Texan boss of
the longest-running private provider, the Eagle Group, one of those
shut down. "Ministers were well aware of what we were doing but we
were treated like common criminals."
Technicians and managers were hauled in for questioning. Despite self-
censorship in its operations, including a refusal to pass burmanet's
daily news roundups in e-mail form to a client -- the British Embassy
in Yangon -- Eagle had thousands of dollars of equipment confiscated.
The ministry declared that only it was authorized to provide e-mail
and began taking applications for its new service.
What about the Internet, which senior officials have been promising
since 1998?
If the experience of more prosperous China is anything to go by,
Myanmar will struggle to censor any Net service it does provide with
filtering software.
In China, the government has set up a special Internet police unit
and has even jailed a few users for posting information purported to
pose a national security threat.
But opinions critical of China's government still appear in local
chat rooms. And while Chinese authorities do intermittently block
access to foreign Web sites they deem unacceptable, savvy users often
set up alternate "proxy" servers to get around this.
Burma's government is still trying to figure out how to control the
information flow.
And it's being cagey about exactly when it will make the World Wide
Web available to the select audience, though it did issue rules in
January governing Internet use.
No prizes for guessing what is expressly forbidden: politics.
____________________________________________________
XINHUA: MORE VEHICLES IN OPERATION IN MYANMAR
Tuesday, April 18, 2000 9:30 PM EST
YANGON (April 19) XINHUA - The number of motor vehicles in operation
in Myanmar totaled 423,958 at the end of 1999, an increase of 6.62
percent compared with that at the end of 1998.
Of the total, there were 171,130 passenger cars, 54,012 trucks,
16,492 buses and 169,425 motor-cycles, according to the latest
Economic Indicators issued by the country's Central Statistical
Organization.
Motor vehicles used in Myanmar are mainly those manufactured in Japan
and most of them are second-hand or outdated ones.
To ensure smooth transport and traffic safety, the Myanmar transport
authorities have introduced harsher measures to punish drivers who
break the traffic rules and have built more roads in the country with
its total length extended to 29,187 kilometers ( km) in 1999 from
23,316 km in 1988.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
AFP : BRITAIN'S COOK BLASTS "BRUTAL" MYANMAR JUNTA DURING REFUGEE TOUR
BAN THAM HIN, Thailand, April 20 (AFP) - Britain's Foreign Secretary
Robin Cook on Thursday blasted Myanmar's "brutal" junta for forcing
thousands of ethnic Karen to flee into neighbouring Thailand.
Accusing Myanmar's army of torching Karen homes and farms, Cook
used a visit to a packed refugee camp here to reinforce Britain's
hawkish line on the Yangon junta as he wrapped up a two-day visit to
Thailand.
Cook said he was shocked "that any government should have behaved
so brutally as to drive out such friendly, gentle people."
"I have heard enough and I have seen enough to know that the
people that are here only came here because they were fleeing from
brutality, from military action which has burned their villages and
destroyed their farms," he said.
Around 8,000 refugees fled to Ban Tham Hin and other camps after
Myanmar troops launched a huge offensive against Karen National Union
(KNU) insurgents in March 1997.
They are now packed into camps of bamboo huts nestled amid the
hills of the Thai-Myanmar border, joining more than 100,000 refugees
already in the country.
Cook also moved to profit from Yangon's criticism of his tour,
which has already taken in India and heads to Nepal later Thursday.
"I personally feel gratified that the government of Burma has
criticised me. It convinces me that I have been saying the right
things," he said during his tour of the camp.
Britain, which ruled Burma -- as Myanmar was then known -- as a
colony until 1948 is one of the fiercest critics of the military
regime in Yangon and is a firm supporter of democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Speaking to scores of refugees and touring a school and hospital
to donate medical supplies, Cook promised that Britain would not
forget their plight and would do all it could to force the junta from
power so they can return
home.
He also insisted Britain had convinced its European Union partners
to adopt a stronger line on Myanmar as part of a package of measures
being discussed permitting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and the EU to resume ministerial meetings.
Contacts between the two groupings have been stalled over
Myanmar's presence in ASEAN.
Thailand is home to more than 100,000 refugees from Myanmar who
fled either persecution by the military government or fighting
between junta troops and insurgent groups.
On Wednesday a Myanmar spokesman issued a statement in Yangon
lambasting Britain and its attitude towards the military-ruled state.
"Myanmar has not only been a victim of colonial Britain's divide-
and-rule
policy but it is still a victim of today's Britain's double-standard
ethical foreign policy," said the spokesman.
Myanmar frequently accuses the British government of interfering
in its affairs and dismisses accusations that it is guilty of gross
human rights abuses as post-colonial meddling.
____________________________________________________
AFP: CAMBODIAN COURT RELEASES MYANMAR REBELS IN LANDMARK CASE
PHNOM PENH, April 20 (AFP) - Cambodia's military court on Thursday
released two Myanmar rebels arrested for illegally entering the
country in January, allegedly in search of weapons and support for
their battle against the
Yangon junta.
The court sentenced the two members of the ethnic Mon hilltribe
Rehmanya Restoration Army to time already served and released them
following the first trial here of foreign insurgents, officials said.
"The sentence is based on the charges from prosecutors that these
two persons, Mot Sayhamsamai, 45, and Chao Sak Nounchai, 26, entered
Cambodia illegally," said presiding judge Nou Chantha reading the
verdict.
"They did not commit an offense against the royal government of
Cambodia while here," he told the court, adding that they had been
ordered to leave the country as soon possible.
"They did not bring arms or ammunition with them or conduct
sabotage or drug running. That is why they get a sentence of three
months and eight days from the day of the arrest. So they are free
now."
He alleged the pair also tried to solicit arms and supplies from
Cambodian officers stationed on the border with Thailand. The pair
spoke in Thai which was translated into Khmer for the court.
"They wanted to strengthen the relationship with the leaders of
Cambodia and requested logistic and arms supplies to their movement
but were not charged due to lack of evidence."
There was only one witness in the court, an officer whom the pair
allegedly approached requesting arms. The only evidence was a stamp
bearing the imprint "Rehmanya Restoration Army" with a crest and
Burmese writing.
They crossed from Thailand into Cambodia's western Battambang
province on January 8 and were arrested four days later, the court
heard.
"We consider this case as the first trial of its type against
rebels illegally entering Cambodia," the chairman of the military
court, Ney Thol, told AFP.
"We don't want to have problems with our foreign friends," he
said, adding the foreign ministry had urged the court to proceed
quickly with the case.
Cambodia and Myanmar are both members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations. Myanmar embassy officials here declined to
comment on the case.
The two accused admitted to the court they were members of the
ethnic Mon army, adding they were seeking "support."
"We don't know anything except we were arrested after seeking to
strengthen the relationship between Cambodians and the Mon. I did not
commit any offenses except talking about friendship," said Mot
Sayhamsamai.
He said he had served in the rebel army for 25 years and was a
colonel, adding he was a leader in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Chao Sak Nounchai said he served with the Mon rebels for six years
and achieved the rank of lieutenant.
Cambodian and foreign officials have expressed concern in the past
that the country -- which is currently decomissioning weapons and
soldiers after three
decades of civil war ended in 1998 -- would become an arms bazaar.
"Our country tries to avoid that kind of dealing and we are going
to do our best along the border so they cannot cross illegally in the
future," said Pa Socheatvong, second deputy governor of Battambang
province.
"I understand why they were released, as there was no hard
evidence to charge them (with arms smuggling), just words are not
enough."
With arms and ammunition easily and cheaply available here,
Cambodia is reported by intelligence sources to be one of the the
most significant sources of weapons for the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.
A delegation led by Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar visited
Cambodia last year to discuss the problem.
____________________________________________________
CGDB: INFORMATION ABOUT MYANMAR AMBASSADOR VISIT TO TORONTO APRIL 15
The Canada Group for Democracy in Burma
Newsgroups: soc.culture.burma
Wednesday, April 19, 2000 3:57 PM
Burmese Ambassador Nyut Tin met with selected members of the Burmese
community in Toronto, on April 15th!
Those in attendance were:
U Aung Myint Thein and his wife
U Than Htut and his wife
U Win Mg and his wife
U Ye Win and Daw Khin Aye Lwin
U Hla Win and his wife
Dr. Hla Tun and his wife
Dr. Nyi Nyi Han and his wife
U Pe Tun and his wife
Daw Khin mar
Daw Grassey
At the meeting:
Nyut Tin, encouraged the Burmese Students in attendance to surrender
to the military government, suggesting that they would meet the same
fate as Ko Aung Ko (of Toronto) if they did not.
Nyut Tin also stated that Burmese youth had been misled into running
away and that they should rescind their statements of abuse at the
hands of the SLORC/SPDC and return to Burma.
He said they would be welcome with open arms.
The student community of Toronto would like to state that they did
not run away, they are fighting for DEMOCRACY for the people of Burma
and will return when the military ceases to exist as the governing
power.
It is suspected that Nyut Tin's purpose is to divide the Burmese
Student community as well as the organizations fighting for democracy
for Burma.
It is also suggested he wants to form a Burma (Kyint Fort) in
Toronto.
We, as a community have to look back at out BLOOD HISTORY.
We, as a community have to remember those who have sacrificed their
lives
to the fight for Democracy in Burma.
We, as a community must remember Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
We, as a community have to speak out against those willing to
surrender to
the lies of the JUNTA.
We, as a community must also find out who is seeking favor for
investment
in Burma with the Ambassador.
The Burmese Military is not a globally recognized government! It is
not to be supported.
The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
states:
In accordance with its mandate under standing order 108(2), your
committee has considered the issue of human rights in Burma and has
agreed to report the following:
It was agreed,- That the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Trade urge the Parliament of Canada to recognize the
Committee representing the People's Parliament as the representatives
of the people
of Burma; and further urge the Government of Canada to consider the
imposition of investment sanctions on the regime in Burma.
We believe that the community knows who is right and who is wrong.
We don't want to see the Democratic community segregated.
Nyut Tin has mentioned plans to meet with the student activists who
were not present/invited to the meeting to encourage them into the
military fold.
But there will be no representative to meet with him.
The Canada Group for Democracy in Burma
____________________________________________________
REUTERS: AUSTRALIA PLAN TO FUND MYANMAR TRAINING UNDER FIRE
2000-04-20 Thu 02:20
CANBERRA, April 20 (Reuters) - Australia's conservative
government came under fire on Thursday over leaked plans to fund a
human rights training course for military-ruled Myanmar. The
Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) expressed scepticism
about the benefits of such a course unless Rangoon made a basic
commitment to upholding human rights.
``There's also the question of whether increasing
Australia's ties with the military regime in Rangoon is the right
move, given continuing international condemnation of the Burmese
government's actions,'' ACFOA executive director Janet Hunt said.
News of the initiative, described as an introductory course on human
rights and an overview of international law for middle ranking
Myanmar civil servants, was part of a draft government aid budget
briefing leaked by the opposition Labor Party. Officials from
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the
leaked report.
Myanmar's generals have been widely condemned for rights
abuses since killing thousands to crush a pro-democracy rising in
1988 and ignoring the result of the last general election in 1990
won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National league for Democracy.
Australia suspended aid to Myanmar over the military's
annulment of 1988 election results, but provides some
humanitarian assistance through the United Nations and
non-governmental organisations for basic health care.
Hunt said the ACFOA has previously supported many human
rights training initiatives undertaken by the Australian government
in Asia, but it was unclear what would be achieved by spending aid
dollars on human rights training for Myanmar.
``The Burmese government needs to make at least a basic
commitment to upholding human rights and become a part of key
international human rights conventions before such training
activities for its government officials would have any chance of
success,'' she said in a statement.
____________________________________________________
NLM: APPOINTMENT OF JAPANESE AMBASSADOR AGREED ON
New Light of Myanmar
YANGON, 20 April-The Government of the Union of Myanmar has agreed to
the appointment of Mr Shigeru Tsumori as Ambassador Extraordinary,and
Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Union of Myanmar in succession to His
Excellency Mr Kazuo Asakai.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
BANGKOK POST: UN MUST SEND JUNTA A 'SOLID' MESSAGE
April 20, 2000
The international community should close ranks behind the new United
Nations special envoy to Burma to push for a dialogue between
Rangoon and the opposition, a former UN rapporteur said yesterday.
Yozo Yokota, who served as the rapporteur on human rights in Burma
from 1992-96, said the "slightly different positions" that Japan,
the US, the European Union, Asean and Australia previously took
failed to send a "solid" message to Rangoon. These countries
should "get together and take a firm position to support the work of
the special representative of
[UN Secretary-General] Kofi Annan," Mr Yokota told the Bangkok Post
on the sidelines of a seminar sponsored by the UN Development
Programme and the independent InterAction Council.
Mr Yokota, who visited Burma several times as the rapporteur for
human rights, said the task of a special envoy like Razali Ismail
was more important than that of a reporter on the situation.
"The most important thing is not just investigating human rights
violations in Myanmar. It is a well-known fact that the most
important thing is to [activate] a dialogue between the government
and the NLD," Mr Yokota said, referring to the National League for
Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Razali, a retired Malaysian diplomat currently serving as Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad's special adviser on foreign affairs, will
go to Burma next month as the new special envoy.
Mr Yokota, now an economic law professor at the University of Tokyo,
said Mr Razali would have a "better chance" than others of
succeeding. "In dealing with an old and traditional country like
Myanmar, you need to send a high-level representative," Mr Yokota
said.
Bangkok Post (April 20, 2000)
____________________________________________________
MIC: MYANMAR URGES BRITAIN TO BE CONSISTENT IN HER FOREIGN
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
No.B-1337 (I) 20th April 2000
The world is today witnessing a new form of law
which has been introduced by some rich and powerful
countries on the developing Third World nations.
Condemnation, confrontation, forced isolation and
sanctions imposed to slow down the economic, social
and political development of those target-countries
are being justified as the only solution in solving
and overcoming poverty and malnutrition as well as
bringing about development in other areas of basic
human needs.
It is also quite regretful to learn that a British
Embassy spokesman in Bangkok was quoted by AFP as
saying''.....the fact that Burma is a phenomenal
burden on Thailand'' when historical facts have
clearly revealed that Britain is the key player in
incessantly creating narcotics problems in our region
as well as ethnic armed insurgencies. Realistically,
Myanmar not only has been a major victim of colonial
Britain's Divide and Rule policy but it is still a
victim of today's Britain's double-standard ethical
foreign policy.
Nevertheless, Myanmar sincerely hopes that Britain
will come to realize the fact that sharing
responsibility, cooperation and maintenance of peace
and stability are the essential factors required to
make our world a better place to live in, rather than
promoting confrontation, isolation and worst of all, a
double-standard ethical foreign policy.
____________________________________________________
CSM: SCATTERED TACTICS VS. THOUGHTFUL STRATEGY ON BURMA
Op/Ed in The Christian Science Monitor by John J. Brandon
April 19, 2000
WASHINGTON
Last month, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments about
whether the State of Massachusetts can impose a "selective
purchasing" law which penalizes multinational companies from doing
business with Burma (also known as Myanmar). This law is designed to
force companies to choose between doing business with one of the
world's most repressive governments, known as the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), or bidding on lucrative
state contracts valued at $2 billion per year.
Critics, led by US business, believe the Massachusetts law is
unconstitutional because it infringes on the federal government's
ability to conduct foreign policy and its right to regulate foreign
commerce.
Supporters of the law contend there is nothing in the Constitution
that denies states the right to apply a moral standard to their
spending decisions.
A key issue in the case is whether states (and cities) can impose
tougher sanctions on foreign trade than the federal government. The
court is expected to render its decision on Natsios v. National
Foreign Trade Council
in June.
In some respects, however, the constitutional questions raised in
this case are moot for the peoples of Burma. The important question
for them is whether sanctions are able to change the SPDC's behavior.
Though the Massachusetts law and US sanctions have been successful in
portraying Burma as a pariah state, they have not had any success in
fostering democracy or improving the human rights situation. In fact,
sanctions appear to have
only hardened the resolve of Burma's generals to continue dominating
the country's political and economic apparatus.
Supporters of the Massachusetts law point to the success of similar
legislation used in the 1980s that helped end apartheid in South
Africa and believe similar pressure can contribute to the downfall of
the SPDC.
This is an incongruous analogy. In the 1980s South Africa's economy
was well integrated in the global economy, and all of its neighbors
supported sanctions. Conversely, Burma's economy is at a subsistence
level, and none of its neighbors support sanctions. Though foreign
investment in Burma has plummeted 95 percent in the past year, this
has more to do with the country's political uncertainty, inefficient
economic policies, and the
Asian economic crisis than sanctions from the West. Indeed, Burma's
economy is faltering, but this doesn't necessarily mean the SPDC is
on the verge of
collapse.
The US government has weighed in on the side of US business, saying
the Massachusetts law should be struck down because it interferes
with the federal government's efforts to craft a comprehensive policy
toward Burma.
However, unilateral sanctions, whether imposed by a state or national
government, should not be construed as being a policy, but a tactic.
The US has been very specific in what it wants the SPDC to do
(relinquish power)
in order to improve Burma's standing in the international community.
But the US has also been opaque about what it is willing to offer the
SPDC leadership if it was willing to step aside. Burma's generals
will not go gently, and any strategy on how to move beyond the
political stalemate
between the SPDC and the country's main political opposition, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), will have to bear this in mind.
Whatever decision the Supreme Court renders in June, the US will have
some form of sanctions in effect. The US cannot remove sanctions
because that would reward the regime for doing nothing. But without
the SPDC
capitulating to the NLD and the US's demands to relinquish power (a
highly unlikely scenario) what can be done?
Burma's prospects are dim. SPDC policies are unable to deliver
improvements in employment, human development (particularly health
and education), and poverty reduction that will be needed if Burma is
to achieve its potential.
And the international community's lack of unanimity will not work to
bring the SPDC to the negotiating table and help bring national
reconciliation.
This will require that parties both within and outside Burma
demonstrate a willingness to compromise. This will not be easy given
how poorly Burma's successive military governments have treated their
people for almost 40 years, and the generals' subsequent fear of
retribution from both internal and external influences if they were
to lose power.
But until there is a coordinated strategy by the international
community, and a willingness by all sides in Burma's political
equation to compromise, the international community and forces for
democratic political change inside Burma should expect to remain at
loggerheads with a regime whose policies continue to erode the
country's potential and bankrupt its people's
future.
*John J. Brandon, a Southeast Asia specialist, is assistant director
of The Asia Foundation in Washington. The views expressed here are
his own.
______________________ OTHER _________________________
KHRG: NEW KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP REPORTS AVAILABLE ONLINE
April 20, 2000
Three new KHRG reports are now available online at the KHRG web site:
http://metalab.unc.edu/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive
"Starving Them Out: Forced Relocations, Killings, and the Systematic
Starvation of Villagers in Dooplaya District" (#2000-02, 31/3/00)
documents the escalating SPDC clampdown on villagers throughout this
large district of south-central Karen State, culminating in the
regime's latest orders to relocate all remote villages and confiscate
the entire 1999 rice harvest. Villagers have been ordered to hand
over their entire crop to the Army, then receive it back as a ration
day by day. Not daring to face the Army or the forced relocations,
many villagers are beginning to starve, surviving only on taro roots
and jungle vegetables. In the meantime, they face increasing demands
for forced labour and extortion, and a new campaign of systematically
torturing village elders for intelligence.
"Exiled At Home: Continued Forced Relocations and Displacement in
Shan State" (#2000-03, 5/4/00) provides an update on the worsening
situation for the people of over 1,400 villages in central Shan State
which have been forcibly relocated and destroyed since 1996. The
villagers who testify in the report describe starvation, forced
labour and physical abuse in the relocation sites, the arrests and
killings of people found outside the sites, the SPDC massacres of
January and February 2000, the struggle of the internally displaced
hiding in the forests, and the continuing flight of over 1,000
villagers per month to Thailand. The report also contains an
eyewitness update on progress of the Salween River Dam project in
southern Shan State.
The third report is an issue of "KHRG Commentary" (#2000-C1, 6/4/00),
which discusses the situations mentioned above and comments on their
relationship to 'drug eradication' aid in Shan State, the Salween
Dam, the Thai government's plans for forced repatriation of Karen
refugees, UNHCR initiatives on repatriation, and the latest steps by
the International Labour Organisation against forced labour in Burma.
____________________________________________________
CSW: BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD SLATED BY UN
CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE, PO BOX 99,
NEW MALDEN, SURREY, KT3 3YF, UK
PRESS RELEASE: 19th APRIL 2000
BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD SLATED BY UN
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
In a resolution passed by the UN Commission on Human Rights
yesterday, the Government of Myanmar (Burma) received strong
censure for its `continuing pattern of gross and systematic
violations of human rights, including extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, particularly in areas of ethnic tension, and
enforced disappearances, torture, harsh prison conditions, abuse of
women and children by government agents, arbitrary seizures of land
and property, and the imposition of oppressive measures directed in
particular at ethnic and religious minorities, including systematic
programmes of forced relocation, destruction of crops and fields,
the continued widespread use of forced labour, including for work
on infrastructure projects, production of food for
the military and as porters for the army.'
The resolution went on to deplore the regime's `continued
violations of the human rights of, and widespread discriminatory
practices against, persons belonging to minorities, including
extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, ill- treatment and the
systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic
minorities, notably in Karen, Karenni, Rakhine and Shan states and
in Tennasserim Division.'
The Human Rights Commission's resolution comes two weeks after a
brutal attack by Burmese troops on a settlement of internally
displaced Karen in Noe Boe, a small village along the Burma/Thai
border. According to a CSW source, the troops began shelling heavy
artillery on the settlement on 1st April, moving in closer the
following day to torch all the homes in the area, as well as other
structures including three school buildings and a hospital. An
unspecified number of Karen were taken by the military to work as
forced porters carrying their ammunitions, while approximately
4,000 managed to escape over the border into Thailand. The sudden
arrival of such a large number of refugees created a humanitarian
crisis which local NGOs are still trying to address.
The British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, reached Thailand
yesterday for the next leg of his tour of Asia. Although a visit to
the Noe Boe region has not been scheduled, he is planning to visit
a Karen refugee camp in Tham Hin tomorrow. Karen leaders have
expressed their gratitude that the Foreign Secretary has made this
a
priority, and have urged the British government to maintain
pressure upon the Burmese regime to establish a tripartite dialogue
both with pro-democracy and ethnic groups in accordance with UN
resolutions on this subject.
The latest UN resolution has further called upon the Burmese regime
to `ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including the freedoms of expression, association, movement and
assembly, the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial
judiciary and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to
ethnic and religious minorities, and to put an end to violations of
the right to life and integrity of the human being, to the practices
of torture, abuse of women, forced labour and forced relocations
and
to enforced disappearances and summary executions.'
For further information about human rights in Burma or a copy of
the latest UN resolution, please contact CSW on: 44 208 942 8810
____________________________________________________
OPEN SCHOOL CAMPAIGN: MISSION STATEMENT
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We are Campaign Committee for 'Open School'. Our members consists of
representatives from All Burma Students' Democratic Front
(ABSDF),Burmese Women Union (BWU), Democratic Party for New Society
(DPNS),
National League for Democracy [Liberated Area] (NLD-LA), Safe Guard
ssociation for Political Prisoners of Burma (SAPPB), and Student and
Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB).
'Open Our Schools, Enlighten Our Future', is a campaign aimed at
opening the universities and schools of Burma, by raising awareness
both internationally and domestically. This action will pressure the
military regime to re-open the schools of Burma.
We are working to network with Non Government Organizations
worldwide, as well as with the Burmese community and international
Student Unions to achieve our goal. Without your help, it would not
be possible for this campaign to take place. Therefore, we are asking
for your assistance and support in our cause and to spread the
message of Burma's sufferings and infringements of basic human
rights.
There will be an international launch date and on that date support
activities around the world will occur to raise awareness from the
world community.
During the month of May, there will be an educational seminar
focusing on the deteriorating education system of Burma, the future
education system of Burma and the current education system in the
refugee camps along the Thai-Burma
border. The event with scholars from around the world to brainstorm
on these matters and to find a solution to the education crisis of
Burma.
Please join us to tell the world and the oppressive military regime,
in one voice that, " Our educational rights must be returned to us
and open our schools, enlighten our future."
After all, real power can not be achieved with guns, violence, and
fear but through knowledge.
Please support and contact us at:
P.O. Box 132
Mae Ping Post Office
Chiang Mai, 50301
Thailand.
oschool1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sincerely,
Campaign Committee for Open School
____________________________________________________
________________
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
You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:
Voice mail +1 (435) 304-9274
Fax + (202) 318-1261
________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get paid while you shop!
You also get an additional 10% off on retailers
like--Disney.com, eCost.com, FogDog.com and more.
http://click.egroups.com/1/3416/4/_/713843/_/956246266/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
theburmanetnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx