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[theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: Ma
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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: May 5, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
May 5, 2000
Issue # 1525
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
NOTED IN PASSING:
"Public access to the Internet is believed to be only a ""matter of
weeks"" away."
The Myanmar Times. (See MYANMAR TIMES: EMAIL STRATEGY SEES 1000
USERS SIGN WITH MPT)
*Inside Burma
MYANMAR TIMES: EMAIL STRATEGY SEES 1000 USERS SIGN WITH MPT
THE STRAITS TIMES: WHERE THE NET IS BANNED
BBC: BURMESE ARRESTS CONTINUE
NLM: ACTION TAKEN AGAINST U THAN LWIN AND OTHER THREE OF NLD FOR
MAKING CONCOCTED ACCUSATIONS, GIVING AGITATIVE TALKS
PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE: CHINESE SHIPPING COMPANY DEVELOPING MYANMAR
MARKET
XINHUA: OPIUM YIELD DECLINES IN MYANMAR IN 1999
THE NATION: HOW ADB VIEWS FUTURE OF REGION'S CRISIS-TORN ECONOMIES
[Burma extract]
AVA NEWSGROUP: MOGOK USDA TO HOLD A SESSION CONDEMNING NATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY
AVA: SPDC SOLDIERS COMMITTED ARM ROBBERY TO REGAIN MONEY LOST AT
CASINO ON SINO-BURMA BORDER
*International
BANGKOK POST: DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-VOLTAGE THAI-BURMA LINK PLANNED
KYODO: OPPOSITION ALLIANCE URGES JAPAN TO RECONSIDER ASSISTANCE
XINHUA: MYANMAR REITERATES ABIDANCE BY "ONE CHINA" POLICY
DOW JONES-UNOCAL: ACTIVISTS WAGING MYANMAR LEGAL BATTLE IN MEDIA
*Other
BURMANET: EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH ASSK IN NY REVIEW OF BOOKS
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
MYANMAR TIMES: EMAIL STRATEGY SEES 1000 USERS SIGN WITH MPT
Issue of May 1-7, 2000
MYANMAR''S sole email server, operated by the Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications (MPT), is operating cleanly and smoothly and its
nearly 1000 users are communicating with the outside world as a pre-
cursor to the introduction of the Internet.
""Due to the system introduced recently, more people now have email
access at an affordable price,"" said an official from the MPT. New
rates which went into effect at the start of the year see subscribers
having to pay US$200 for installation, a US$60 annual fee and a US$30
deposit for ""Dial-up Access"" ?? a total of US$290 to hook on with
their existing telephone line.
Installation does not include the price of a modem which retails for
about US$100 in the capital. Email connection charges have been set
at US$3 an hour. While the connection price is still beyond the means
of an average income earner the new rate is considerably more
affordable than the US$1100 introduced in November, 1997. The move
has been widely welcomed by foreigners, business people and
individuals who have daily correspondence with organisations and
people in other parts of the world. IDD telephone costs remain
prohibitive and email is the logical way to exchange information.
The other form of email access is through a ""leased line."" It is
used mainly for data transfer by financial institutions. Under the
system data and information do not pass through a telephone
switchboard. But, the system costs US$1600 to get started.
MPT''s newly-installed Internet server has brought distinct
advantages other than cheaper rates. In the past attached files
sometimes could not be opened. ""This shouldn''t happen any more,""
said the MPT official. The maximum number of bytes that can be sent
has not been stipulated by MPT. ""How good his or her telephone line
is the decisive factor,"" the officer said.
Currently, there are 929 subscribers on the MPT server including 166
with leased lines. The Ministry has made available 30 lines for
users. The official said that with the present number of users there
will rarely be an occasion when all lines will be busy. ""Connecting
is simple,"" she said.
The MPT has now everything in place in preparation for the nation''s
hook-up to the world wide web with a top class server, hardware
software and technicians to make the Web available in-country.
Therefore, in the not too distant future, Myanmar surfers should be
able to browse through cyberspace to explore the treasure house of
knowledge that lies within the system.
Being an ASEAN member, Myanmar is looking to keep up with its
brothers in the grouping. Under the circumstances, the introduction
of the Information Highway among the wider public is bound to drive
the country forward in both education and commerce, said a Ministry
of Commerce spokesman. Public access to the Internet is believed to
be only a ""matter of weeks"" away.
____________________________________________________
THE STRAITS TIMES: WHERE THE NET IS BANNED
MAY 3 2000
By LEE KIM CHEW
IN YANGON
YANGON throbs with life, but it is also a city of fear. Fear of the
military, whose agents are said to be everywhere. When a dissident
gets caught, his family members suffer too. They risk losing their
jobs.
Businessman Sein Lwin says: "If you ask me what I want, it is the
freedom to choose our own leaders, and freedom from fear."
The monks are getting restive. Last November, senior abbots in
Mandalay wrote letters to Senior General Than Shwe, the country's
leader, former strongman General Ne Win, and Nobel peace laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, saying they were "sick at heart" of the political
stand-off.
They urged them to "let bygones be bygones, wipe the slate clean and
work towards peace". One outspoken abbot in Bagoh told intelligence
chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt that Myanmar was in a state of decay.
Such talk angers the military leaders.
Restrictions have been placed on the movements of the offending
abbots, according to Mr Tin Oo, the National League for Democracy
(NLD) vice-chairman.
Young militant monks in Mandalay have set May 26 as the deadline for
the government to start a dialogue with the NLD.
They have threatened to organise strikes and protest marches.
Says Mr Nyunt We, a senior NLD official: "We have offered our olive
branch all along. It has not been accepted until today. I don't see
any sign from the government that it is prepared to work on a
peaceful solution in the next six months."
NLD leaders say they welcome a dialogue with the generals. But what
sort of dialogue? Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's talks with them had come to
nothing. Government spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Hla Min says she
is "incapable of listening".
Mr Tin Oo says: "They are soldiers. They just give the commands and
expect them to be followed." Like when they summarily ordered NLD
leaders to appear before a minister to be told a litany of their
political sins.
Like when senior NLD members who fought for the country's
independence in 1948 were called up and given a reading of Myanmar's
history by officials young enough to be their sons.
"That's their idea of a dialogue," says Mr Tin Oo.
The NLD has withdrawn from the national convention, now in long
recess, to rewrite the country's Constitution. It won 392 seats in
the 1990 elections, but only 86 NLD MPs were allowed to take part in
the convention. The other 700 members were handpicked by the
generals.
There is no real discussion on the new Constitution, says Mr Tin Oo.
Instead, the MPs are given directives on what to do to enshrine the
military's leading role in government.
"There is no real dialogue. If the government is sincere, it should
release the political prisoners and allow the NLD to operate freely
as a political party. It should convene Parliament," he says.
Myanmar has little roots in democracy. Except for one period, the
country has been governed by the military since 1962.
Mr Tin Oo says: "The people detest the military. They want a civilian
government that is elected by the people."
Like it or not, military rule in Myanmar is a reality. The generals
are in charge, but they are not popular. A minister who retired
recently told friends that he found life in retirement rather
restrictive because of his small social circle. These days, he spends
most of his time at home.
Abroad, the government has been on the defensive because of its poor
human-rights record, its harsh treatment of political opponents, and
its disavowal of the NLD's right to rule.
One bright spot in an otherwise dismal picture of the government's
relations with the outside world is its recent decision to allow the
International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the country's
notorious prisons.
This has led to an improvement in prison conditions. Political
prisoners are allowed to see their family members face to face for
the first time in years.
Myanmar joined Asean in 1997 to end its self-imposed isolation. But
it remains cocooned in a real sense. Beyond Asean and China, it has
few friends.
The regime's mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, accuses the
Western countries regularly of meddling in the country's domestic
politics. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is rarely mentioned by name.
In its columns, she is "that so-called party general-secretary
woman", "an axe handle", a "traitor" and a "subversive" in the
service of foreign powers.
The vilification, a daily fare, passes the people by. Says a Western
diplomat: "It's the same thing every day. It's a newspaper of a
regime that talks to itself."
The military's heavy hand is evident. Its exhortations are
blunt. "Don't smoke", New Light tells its readers. A hoarding in the
city's outskirts barks out: "Obey the law".
Giant billboards tell the people to oppose and crush the regime's
enemies.
In the old days, the government jammed BBC and VOA broadcasts. Not
anymore. Satellite dishes, prohibited officially, pop up on the roofs
of those who can afford them.
They get CNN, CNBC, HBO, ESPN, Star Sports, Thai television, Indian
channels, NHK -- the works.
Myanmar Television offers cultural fare and "songs to uphold national
spirit", but people prefer foreign videotapes. Last month, the
government torched a load of uncensored tapes, VCDs and objectionable
publications which, it says, sully Myanmar culture.
The Internet is banned, save for the privileged few and foreign
missions in Yangon, because it has become a domain of the dissidents
who use it to attack the regime from abroad.
Access to fax and e-mail is also restricted. The law prescribes a
seven to 15-year jail term for unlicensed ownership of a computer
modem.
But Myanmar people are not starved of news. They listen to foreign
broadcasts. They have tea shops everywhere -- and the rumour mills.
In the absence of a credible local media, news often spread by word
of mouth.
"This is why it can be hard to know the truth in Myanmar," says tour
operator Niang Niang.
Myanmar's military is so well-entrenched it will take something
cataclysmic to force it out of the government.
Some of its opponents hope the regime will be swept out like former
Indonesian president Suharto's. But the Myanmar military has more
armed troops now than at any other time. In the past decade, the army
has more than doubled to 400,000 men.
The cash-strapped government, perpetually in deficit, spends a third
of its budget on defence, nine times the money it spends on health,
or twice the expenditure on education.
Myanmar is among the world's poorest countries with a per capita of
US$300 (S$510), but the government rejects any aid that is linked to
political reforms.
Stories about abject poverty in the rural areas are dismissed by
Brigadier General David Abel, an economics minister, as isolated
cases and fairy tales. A miracle has happened, he says. The people
are living far better that they used to 10 years ago.
If that's the case, why are the people not happy with the government?
"Then they are not contented. But in Myanmar, we have contentment,"
he says. Will Myanmar accept foreign aid that is linked to political
reforms?
"We've closed our doors for 26 years," Brig-Gen Abel says.
That has not done Myanmar a jot of good.
"Yes, it hasn't been good, but it's very good now," he says.
Time is not on Myanmar's side.
He dismisses this as naive. "Haste makes waste," the minister
says. "The world's changing fast, but who's coming out of it in one
piece? Who's benefiting from it? Not us."
So what if Singapore opens up its telecommunications industry to
benefit from globalisation. He says: "Singapore is trying, but you
will be beaten. You open your doors to information technology, all
your companies will be bought out. Singapore will not be Singapore's
property."
[The writer is Chief Regional Correspondent of The Straits Times.
This is the second of four articles.]
The Straits Times -MAY 4 2000
____________________________________________________
BBC: BURMESE ARRESTS CONTINUE
Friday, 5 May, 2000,
Reports from Burma say the arrest of opposition activists has
continued.
Four members of the opposition National League for Democracy are said
to have been held in Mandalay Division in central Burma.
Among them is, Than Lwin, who was elected as an MP in the NLD's 1990
electoral victory, which was ignored by the military.
Burmese press reports said local constituents had expressed no
confidence in him, and the others were accused of threatening peace
and stability.
Yesterday, the Burmese Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the NLD
in a court action accusing the country's military rulers of abuse of
power.
The NLD says that since 1990, about two thousand people have been
detained for political reasons and more than forty have been arrested
in the past month.
____________________________________________________
NLM: ACTION TAKEN AGAINST U THAN LWIN AND OTHER THREE OF NLD FOR
MAKING CONCOCTED ACCUSATIONS, GIVING AGITATIVE TALKS
YANGON, 4 May-Authorities have taken action against U Than Lwin, an
ex-representative-elect of National League for Democracy of Madaya
Township, Mandalay Division, in accord with the law for writing and
distributing letters of concocted accusations and giving agitative
talks in some villages.
Voters of Madaya Township have already presented signed petitions
expressing confidence in U Than Lwin on 30 March at Kyauksayit and
Shinhla (North) villages in the township, openly declaring their
withdrawal of support on him as a representative-elect. The
ceremonies were attended by over 8,700 voters and the people of 39
villages. The delegates of the people and the voters had already
presented the petitions signed by 41,390 voters or 99.01 per cent of
the voters expressing no confidence in U Than Lwin to members of the
Township Multiparty Democracy General Election Sub-Commission.
Concerning the matter, U Than Lwin was not satisfied with the
authorities and Union Solidarity and Development Association of the
township and distributed letters of accusations, saying that the
authorities had made threats that any villager who failed to sign the
petition will be fined K 500 or be ordered to dig five pits of earth,
to Madaya Township Peace. and Development Council, Multiparty
Democracy General Election Commission, Township Multiparty Democracy
General Election Sub-Commission and USDA offices. In addition to such
acts, he toured Wayindok, Pwetainggeaw, Sinttaingkan. Kyauktada,
Lekawgyi, Taungtanga, Panya and Shwetachaung villages in the township
and gave instigative talks to the villagers. The authorities had had
to call in U Than Lwin for inquiry as the villagers filed a complaint
on him as they disliked his agitative talks.
U Than Lwin could not present firm evidence concerning his
accusations and agitative talks; moreover, he confessed that he had
made fabrications based on ru-mours as he was displeased with the
ceremonies to express no confidence in him. Legal action is being
taken against U Than Lwin, U Kyaw Shwe, U Nyein Maung and U Tin Aung
Lay for breaching the existing laws, such as, launching fabricated
accusations on township organizations, making instigation s to
threaten peace and stability by spreading ru-mours in trying to
mislead the people and illegally organizing villagers without seeking
permission of the respective local authorities.
____________________________________________________
PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE: CHINESE SHIPPING COMPANY DEVELOPING MYANMAR
MARKET
Tuesday, November 16, 1999, updated at 15:43(GMT+8)
Business
The Myanmar COSCO Limited of China, a subsidiary company
of the China Ocean Shipping Companies (COSCO) Group, has been
actively developing its market in Myanmar and achieved initial
success.
The Myanmar COSCO Ltd was founded in October 1996. Not
long after its establishment, due to the impact of the Asian
financial crisis, many foreign companies investing in Myanmar pulled
out one after another for poor business operation.
But the Myanmar COSCO Ltd did not give up and has tried
hard to develop its business in the Myanmar market.
Since its founding, the company's container transport business has
grown from the import of only a dozen containers per month in the
initial period to the present average import and export quantity of
about 350 containers per month.
Meanwhile, the transport business of bulk cargo has grown out of
nothing, making it possible for four to five 10,000-ton vessels to
call at the Yangon Port every month.
The Myanmar COSCO Ltd also undertakes trading business in addition
to the traditional transport business operation of containers and
bulk cargo.
Managing Director of the Myanmar COSCO Ltd Sun Liang told Xinhua
that Myanmar and China are friendly neighbors and the friendly
bilateral relationship is extremely conducive to the promotion of
economic and trade ties between the two countries.
Sun said the Myanmar COSCO Ltd is also planning to invest and
establish real estate in Myanmar.
____________________________________________________
XINHUA: OPIUM YIELD DECLINES IN MYANMAR IN 1999
Friday, May 04, 2000 11:12 PM EST
YANGON (May 5) XINHUA - Opium production has declined significantly
for three consecutive years since 1997 with only 1, 090 tons
registered in 1999, 38 percent less than the previous year,said a
Myanmar high-ranking official.
Quoting a report of the survey jointly conducted by Myanmar and the
United States, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the
Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, said the opium
production in the country in that year registered the lowest within a
10-year period since 1988, official newspaper The New Light of
Myanmar reported Friday.
Meanwhile, poppy cultivation areas have shrunk to 8,950 hectares in
1999, 31 percent less than the previous year, he said at an annual
meeting of the Myanmar Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control on
Thursday.
It is estimated that opium production will further decline in the
country this year due to bad weather, destruction of poppy fields by
the authorities and setting up of opium-free zones under the
arrangement of ethnic groups, he noted.
Myanmar has conducted opium survey for six times since 1993 in
cooperation with the U.S. under the two countries' anti-drug program.
In 1998, Myanmar began every-six-month collection of baseline data
about cultivation of poppy and drug addicts in the country as a
nationwide activity.
Later in 1999, Myanmar started implementing a 15-year plan (1999-
2014), aimed at total eradication of narcotic drugs in the whole
country. The plan covers 51 townships in the country's Shan, Kachin,
Chin and Kayah states.
____________________________________________________
THE NATION: HOW ADB VIEWS FUTURE OF REGION'S CRISIS-TORN ECONOMIES
[Burma extract]
May 5, 2000
THE Asian Development Bank's progress reports on countries in the
region, released before tomorrows meeting of its governors in Chiang
Mai, provide a comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic and
development issues which face the Asian economies. This is the second
of a series. Thailand was featured yesterday.
Burma
Following several years of strong economic performance in the early
1990s, Burma's growth rate slowed for the third consecutive year
since 1996. Unless necessary structural reforms are undertaken, the
economy will continue to depend heavily on ad hoc policies formulated
in reaction to random factors such as weather and the changing
regional economic environment.
In the early 1990s, GDP increased at the rapid rate of around 8 per
cent. Official estimates showed that GDP growth slowed to 5 per cent
in 1998. The structure of the economy has not changed substantially
since the introduction of market- oriented reforms in 1988.
Real growth was about 4.5 per cent in 1999. While industry and
services maintained approximately the same growth rate as the
previous year, growth in agriculture decreased because of bad
weather. The external sector remained weak, with trade and current
account deficits putting more pressure on the kyat
exchange rate.
Inflation has been high in recent years, largely because of
increasing food prices and excess liquidity resulting from the
central bank financing of around 70 per cent of the budget deficit.
Inflation in Rangoon increased to 49 per cent in 1998.
No data are available for 1999, but inflation likely remained high
for three reasons: a tenfold increase in electricity prices effective
March 1999; an increase in transportation costs because of high
taxes; and a decline in commodity production.
The foreign exchange market remained highly distorted, with the
parallel market rate at around 350 kyat per dollar, compared with
the official rate of about 6 kyat per dollar.
According to official figures, imports amounted to around US$2.6
billion in 1998, while exports were around US$1.2 billion, mostly
primary products. Border trade with neighbours accounted for 30 per
cent of exports, and the current account, excluding official
transfers, registered a deficit of US$546 million.
Burma has the economic potential to grow at a high rate. However,
the economy remains highly controlled and has yet to adopt sound
economic policies to exploit its potential and sustain economic
growth. After the initial economic liberalisation in 1988, progress
stagnated, and persistent structural problems undermined its
progress.
Some of the most pressing issues the government needs to address
are the distortions in the foreign exchange market, the continuing
high level of inflation, and the low levels of revenue collection and
public expenditure.
Unifying the exchange rate would have to go hand in hand with
removing price controls and easing restrictions on exports, imports,
and foreign exchange transactions.
Infant mortality at 79 per 1,000 births is also slightly higher
than the average of 68 per 1,000 births in four other Southeast Asian
countries with similar levels of GDP per capita. Child mortality is
significantly higher, 113 per 1,000 compared with an average of 77.
Under these circumstances, it is particularly worrisome that from
1997 to 1998, public expenditure on education fell from 0.93 to 0.64
per cent of GDP, and expenditure on health fell from 0.28 to 0.18 per
cent of GDP. This trend should be reversed to raise the standards of
living and to upgrade Burma's human resources.
____________________________________________________
AVA NEWSGROUP: MOGOK USDA TO HOLD A SECESSION CONDEMNING NATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY
May 4, 2000
The Mogok Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) to hold
a condemning session against the National League for Democracy and
Daw May Hnin Kyi, a female Member of Parliament from NLD. The
secession will be held on May 7, 2000 at Kyatpyin football field. The
preparation for this session was conducted since late April of this
year.
USDA along with the local authorities has been pressuring the people
to attend this secession. Civilians have been forced to sign
petitions against the parties involved. Daw May Hnin Kyi is one of
the 15 female members of parliament from NLD who won support in 1990
general elections. SPDC have been pressuring Daw May Hnin Kyi to
resign but when she refused, the SPDC's USDA organized this upcoming
secession. There are two members of parliament in Mogok Township. The
other Member of Parliament from Mogok is U Bo Hla Tint, who is
currently working as Foreign Minister for National Coalition
Government of Union of Burma (exile government).
Ava News Group May 4, 2000
for further information please contact + 66 1 950 9533
____________________________________________________
AVA: SPDC SOLDIERS COMMITTED ARM ROBBERY TO REGAIN MONEY LOST AT
CASINO ON SINO-BURMA BORDER
May 4, 2000
10 members of the SPDC supply and transportation regiment 936 seized
money and valuables from a casino along the Sino-Burma border after
5 members from their regiment lost money from gambling at the casino
on May 1, 2000.
On May 1, 2000 evening in the border town of Taoshwehtan (east to
Kyugok), 5 members from the regiment 936 including Lance Corporals
Soe Yan Naing and Thet Oo, went to a local casino to gamble. The
evening led up to a loss of money by the SPDC soldiers. The soldiers
demanded their money to be returned at the end of the night from the
casino. The authorities at the casino refused to refund their money
so the SPDC soldiers attempt to seize the money but the security
guards of the casino arrived to arrest them. The SPDC soldiers fled
the scene to their base. Myanmar Nationals Democracy Alliance Army
(cease-fire ethnic Kokant group led by Phoun Kyah Shin) provided the
security for the casino.
The SPDC soldiers returned to their base to regroup with other
soldiers to rob money from the casino. After regrouping, around ten
soldiers entered the casino fully armed and they fired several shots
into the air to threaten the people within the casino. The soldiers
seized not only 40,000 Yuan (approximately $5,000 US) but also the
items pawned at the casino. The band of soldiers also took a riffle
from the Kokant security guard. Several people were injured from
blows punched by the soldiers while leaving. Many items from the
casino were also destroyed.
The event has angered several members of the MNDA Army. Fearing a
dispute between MNDA and SPDC, the leaders of both sides are in the
process of talking to resolve this dispute. MNDA has sent its Vice-
Chairman to dissolve this conflict while Commander of Laukai
Regional Control Command, and Military Intelligence Number 29's
Major Saw Aung, and Regiment Commander of the Supply and
transportation regiment 936 has been sent by SPDC.
Ava News Group May 4, 2000
__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
BANGKOK POST: DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-VOLTAGE THAI-BURMA LINK PLANNED
May 5, 2000
Financial and other aspects being studied
Supamart Kasem in Tak
Thailand and Burma plan to complete a high-voltage link from Mae
Sot district to Pegu in 2003 under a development co-operation
project.
A source on the technical staff of the Electricity Generating
Authority said a Thai panel was studying financial and engineering
aspects of the 230-kilovolt link.
Viravat Chlayon, the authority's general manager, said Rangoon was
seeking a supply of 100-150 megawatts until it completes four power
plants with a combined capacity of 5,555 megawatts. On July 4, 1997,
an accord was signed in which Thailand would help Burma develop a
capacity to generate enough power to meet domestic demand and to
export at least 1,500 megawatts to Thailand in 2010.
After that, a joint panel to run the project was set up and met in
April 1998 and January 1999.
Mr Viravat yesterday declared open a 115-kilovolt power plant in
Mae Sot as part of an initiative to end frequent blackouts in Mae
Sot, Mae Ramat, Tha Song Yang and Phop Phra districts.
The Provincial Electricity Authority's Mae Sot branch is
responsible for supplying the districts and Myawaddy, Burma. The
plant is part of a 245-million-baht upgrade.
____________________________________________________
DOW JONES-UNOCAL: ACTIVISTS WAGING MYANMAR LEGAL BATTLE IN MEDIA
Wednesday, May 3
By Heather Draper
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--A Unocal Corp. (UCL) spokesman said
Wednesday that human rights activists are using the media to dredge
up baseless allegations of Myanmar human rights violations against
the U.S.-based oil company.
Unocal was responding to a Washington Post story Tuesday reporting
that attorneys for a group of Myanmar refugees claim they have
evidence Unocal was involved in human rights abuses with the Myanmar
military. Unocal spokesman Barry Lane said the allegations weren't
true, the story was "old news" and that the allegations "have been
made for five years."
"This is just the latest media effort by various activists...They
want to try their case in the media because they have a weak case in
court," Lane told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview from
California.
The Post reported that attorneys for a group of Myanmar refugees
say they have discovered a "smoking gun" government document that
supports their claims that Unocal should be held accountable for
human rights violations related to the construction of a 416-mile
natural gas pipeline in Myanmar, also known as Burma, from 1992-
1998.
The 15 plaintiffs, representing thousands who fled to the Myanmar-
Thailand border in the early 1990s, charge that Unocal and partner
French oil firm Total Fina SA (TOT), were complicit in human rights
abuses by Burmese forces. The allegations include charges of slave
labor and numerous deaths, beatings, rapes and property seizures.
Unocal denies the charges, and U.S. District Judge Richard Paez has
dismissed Total and the Myanmar government as defendants in the case.
Total Fina couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
The class-action suits, filed against Unocal and its partners in
1996 by the International Labor Rights Fund and other groups, seek
more than $1 billion in damages from the California-based oil
company.
Attorneys for the refugees say that government cables obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act contradict the company's
denials. They specifically cite a 1995 State Department interview
with Unocal official Joel Robinson.
In the interview, Robinson allegedly said three truckloads of
Burmese soldiers typically accompanied project officials when they
did survey work, the Post said.
Lane, however, said neither Unocal nor Total hired any Burma
military personnel during the pipeline's construction. Total hires
its own security forces to guard its operations, Lane said, "just
like any industrial facility in the U.S."
Lane added that the interview being cited by the attorneys is part
of long document and isn't "an official word-by-word transcript" of
the Robinson interview. Robinson has said that his words were
misinterpreted in the report.
"The wording is very nebulous...he's (Robinson) not even being
quoted. It's all interpretation and indirect quotes," the Unocal
spokesman said.
A federal judge in Los Angeles will decide May 22 whether the
refugees' suits, the first to try to hold an American company liable
for human rights abuses abroad, can proceed to trial.
The Free Burma Coalition, which supports the plaintiffs and has an
active campaign against Unocal, claims that Unocal paid Burma's
military junta US$20 million to gain the pipeline concession.
On its Internet site, the Free Burma Coalition says: "To completely
control the pipeline region, thousands of people have been forcibly
relocated and their homes and farms destroyed by the junta's troops.
Imprisoned in new settlements, these villagers have been forced to
work without pay, constructing roads, railways and military bases and
clearing forest along the pipeline route. Many of them have been
tortured, raped and murdered by the troops providing security for the
pipeline."
But Unocal's Lane said the $1.2 billion pipeline project, which
starts at Myanmar's Yadana offshore gas field in the Andaman Sea and
connects with facilities in Thailand, has actually improved living
conditions for many Burmese people.
Unocal brought in a dozen doctors and opened health clinics in the
Yadana region, as well as hired teachers, opened schools and provided
low-cost loans to villagers to start their own businesses, he said.
He added that Unocal and Total hired 2,500 workers to construct the
pipeline, many of them locals.
Unocal is committed to its Yadana investment and "has no plans to
leave," Lane said.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton's administration prohibited new
U.S. private investment in Myanmar, prompting some companies such as
Levi Strauss & Co., Eastman Kodak Co. and Hewlett-Packard Co. to pull
out of the country, the Post said.
In addition, four U.S. states and 30 municipalities have declared
some form of boycott against Burma in protest of the military junta
that seized power in 1988 and brutally suppressed a democracy
movement.
Attorneys for the refugees say that government cables obtained under
the Freedom of Information Act contradict the company's denials. They
specifically cite a 1995 State Department interview with Unocal
official Joel Robinson. In the interview, Robinson allegedly said
three truckloads of Burmese soldiers typically accompanied project
officials when they did survey work, the Post said.
Lane, however, said neither Unocal nor Total hired any Burma military
personnel during the pipeline's construction. Total hires its own
security forces to guard its operations, Lane said, "just like any
industrial facility in the U.S."
Lane added that the interview being cited by the attorneys is part of
long document and isn't "an official word-by-word transcript" of the
Robinson interview. Robinson has said that his words were
misinterpreted in the report.
"The wording is very nebulous...he's (Robinson) not even being
quoted. It's all interpretation and indirect quotes," the Unocal
spokesman said. A federal judge in Los Angeles will decide May 22
whether the refugees' suits, the first to try to hold an American
company liable for human rights abuses abroad, can proceed to trial.
The Free Burma Coalition, which supports the plaintiffs and has an
active campaign against Unocal, claims that Unocal paid Burma's
military junta US$20 million to gain the pipeline concession.
On its Internet site, the Free Burma Coalition says: "To completely
control the pipeline region, thousands of people have been forcibly
relocated and their homes and farms destroyed by the junta's troops.
Imprisoned in new settlements, these villagers have been forced to
work without pay, constructing roads, railways and military bases and
clearing forest along the pipeline route. Many of them have been
tortured, raped and murdered by the troops providing security for the
pipeline."
But Unocal's Lane said the $1.2 billion pipeline project, which
starts at Myanmar's Yadana offshore gas field in the Andaman Sea and
connects with facilities in Thailand, has actually improved living
conditions for many Burmese people. Unocal brought in a dozen
doctors and opened health clinics in the Yadana region, as well as
hired teachers, opened schools and provided low-cost loans to
villagers to start their own businesses, he said.
He added that Unocal and Total hired 2,500 workers to construct the
pipeline, many of them locals. Unocal is committed to its Yadana
investment and "has no plans to leave," Lane said. In 1997,
President Bill Clinton's administration prohibited new U.S. private
investment in Myanmar, prompting some companies such as Levi Strauss
& Co., Eastman Kodak Co. and Hewlett-Packard Co. to pull out of the
country, the Post said.
In addition, four U.S. states and 30 municipalities have declared
some form of boycott against Burma in protest of the military junta
that seized power in 1988 and brutally suppressed a democracy
movement.
____________________________________________________
KYODO: OPPOSITION ALLIANCE URGES JAPAN TO RECONSIDER ASSISTANCE
Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 1320 gmt 4 May 00
Text of report by Japanese news agency Kyodo. BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts
Bangkok, 4th May: A leading Myanmar [Burma] pro-democracy group urged
Japan on Thursday [4th May] to reconsider its decision, unveiled last
Monday, to provide Myanmar with economic assistance to smooth the
transition to a market economy.
A statement from the banned National Council of the Union of Burma
(NCUB), an alliance of four parties which considers itself a de facto
parliament, said it was "surprised and saddened to learn of Japan's
decision". "At a time when other members of the international
community are putting pressure on the regime to end widespread human
rights abuses, Japan's decision sends the wrong message," the
statement said. "Providing economic assistance at this time can be
interpreted as tacit support for the continuation of inhuman
oppression carried out by a regime that refuses calls for dialogue
with pro-democracy and ethnic groups," it said.
International Trade and Industry Minister Takashi Fukaya, the first
Japanese cabinet minister to travel to Myanmar since the military
crushed a democracy uprising in 1988, unveiled the assistance plans
in a meeting with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the country's military junta.
The assistance, which is intended to help Myanmar develop its human
resources and nurture small and medium-size firms, will come from the
500m-dollars "Obuchi Plan" announced last November in Manila by then
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to boost human resources development in
East Asia and boost Japan's relations with other countries in the
region.
The move further cements Japan's break with the United States and the
European Union, which both want to isolate the junta because of its
poor human rights record and its suppression of democracy.
Japan has argued for promoting dialogue with the junta to encourage
it to move towards democracy.
The NCUB statement, however, noted [that] the generals have refused
calls to solve Myanmar's problems through political means and has
instead stepped up repression of opposition groups, to the extent
that there are now more than 2,000 political prisoners in the
country's jails, including dozens arrested in recent weeks. "While we
respect Japan's desire to engage the SPDC in a dialogue concerning
democracy, we believe that, given the current situation in Burma, any
economic support given will be used solely for the regime's benefit,
and will not serve to advance the cause of democracy or human
rights," it said.
The NCUB is comprised of the Members of Parliament Union, the
National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, the Democratic Alliance
of Burma, and the National Democratic Front, an alliance of armed
ethnic organizations.
The group backs the UN call on the junta to hold a substantial
political dialogue with ethnic and democratic forces led by Aung San
Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, which won
Myanmar's last election 10 years ago but was never allowed to govern.
____________________________________________________
XINHUA: MYANMAR REITERATES ABIDANCE BY "ONE CHINA" POLICY
Friday, May 05, 2000 10:26 AM EST
YANGON (May 5) XINHUA - The Myanmar government firmly supports
China's "One China" policy and peaceful reunification of its country,
Myanmar leader Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt said here Friday.
Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), reiterated this position of his governemt
when meeting with visiting Chinese Minister for Foreign Trade and
Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng here Friday afternoon.
"This year is a year marking the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, and
Minister Shi's visit to Myanmar has important significance," he said.
Myanmar and China have long had mutual understanding and supported
each other internationally with a wide range of common views on many
issues, he noted.
At the meeting, Shi Guangsheng expressed thanks to Myanmar for its
consistent stand of supporting China on issues such as the question
of Taiwan and China joining the World Trade Organization.
Recalling that the "Paukphaw (fraternal)" friendship between China
and Myanmar was established and developed by leaders of elder
generations of the two countries, Shi said China holds positive
attitude towards the
further development of the friendly and cooperative ties with
Myanmar.
He noted that the strengthening of economic cooperation between China
and Myanmar has contributed to the promotion of the two countries'
economic development and social progress, and to peace and stability
in the region.
Shi promised that China will try to settle the issue of unbalance
occurring in the bilateral trade, saying that it will encourage
financially strong Chinese companies to cooperate with Myanmar in
different sectors.
Also present at the meeting was Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Liang
Dong.
Before the event, Minister Shi and Brigadier-General Abel, Myanmar
Minister at the Office of the SPDC chairman, representing their
respective governments, signed an agreement on providing assistance
to Myanmar for building an agricultural machinery factory on
Wednesday.
Shi and his delegation began their three-day official visit to
Myanmar on Wednesday, after attending the one-day meeting of the
economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and
three Northeast Asian dialogue partners-- China, Japan and South
Korea.
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
BURMANET: EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH ASSK IN NY REVIEW OF BOOKS
May 5, 2000
The current print issue of the New York Review of Books carries an
extended interview with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The print edition of
the New York Review comes out before the web edition is updated so it
is not yet available in electronic form. Look for it to appear
shortly at:
http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/
_______________
Acronyms and abbreviations regularly used by BurmaNet.
AVA: Ava Newsgroup. A small, independent newsgroup covering Kachin
State and northern Burma.
KHRG: Karen Human Rights Group. A non-governmental organization
that conducts interviews and collects information primarily in
Burma's Karen State but also covering other border areas.
KNU: Karen National Union. Ethnic Karen organization that has been
fighting Burma's central government since 1948.
NLM: New Light of Myanmar, Burma's state newspaper. The New Light of
Myanmar is also published in Burmese as Myanmar Alin.
SCMP: South China Morning Post. A Hong Kong newspaper.
SHAN: Shan Herald Agency for News. An independent news service
covering Burma's Shan State.
SHRF: Shan Human Rights Foundation
SPDC: State Peace and Development Council. The current name the
military junta has given itself. Previously, it called itself the
State Law and Order Restoration Council.
________________
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