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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: May 16, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
May 16, 2000
Issue # 1531
This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
NOTED IN PASSING:
(1) "Inexcusable"
Charles Jamieson, chief executive of Premier Oil describing Burma's
human rights record (See FINANCIAL TIMES (LONDON): PREMIER DEFENDS
STANCE OVER BURMA)
(2) "Burma alone is one of the single largest users of child
soldiers anywhere in the world."
Rory Mungoven, coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child
Soldiers (See NATION: GROUP SEEKS GLOBAL BAN ON CHILD SOLDIERS)
*Inside Burma
AP: MYANMAR GOVERNMENT DENIES ORDERING ``ANNIHILATION'' OF DEMOCRATS
NLM: 8 PYINBONGYI VILLAGE NLD MEMBERS RESIGN OF OWN ACCORD
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR : U.S. EMBASSY SLAMS MYANMAR JUNTA FOR
CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION
KYODO: KAREN REBELS SAY MYANMAR GOV'T SOLDIERS POISED TO ATTACK
ARNO: ATTACKS ON MOSQUE, MADRASSA AND RELIGIOUS PERSONS
ARNO: MOSQUE LOCKED UP AND ULEMA HUMILIATED
NATION: GROUP SEEKS GLOBAL BAN ON CHILD SOLDIERS
SSA NEWS: PA-O REFUGEES FLEE TO BORDER
BERG: ABOUT CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT IN KARENNI, BURMA
*International
MYANMAR'S GENERAL AND PM THAN SHWE TO VISIT BANGLADESH
BANGKOK POST: BORDER PATROLS INCREASED TO HALT DRUG FLOW FROM BURMA
BANGKOK POST SECURITY WATCH ON MONKS
BANGKOK POST: THREAT TO EMBASSY KEPT UNDER WRAPS
*Economics/Business
XINHUA: MYANMAR'S FOREIGN TRADE UP 9.62 PERCENT
SHAN: NEW REFINERIES BURGEONING AWAY FROM THE BORDER
FINANCIAL TIMES (LONDON): PREMIER DEFENDS STANCE OVER BURMA
FINANCIAL TIMES: OILY SHOW
PRESS ASSOCIATION NEWSFILE (UK): BRITISH FIRMS URGED TO QUIT BURMA
LIBERATION (FRANCE): TOTAL, THE BURMESE JUNTA'S FLAG BEARER
*Opinion/Editorials
ARNO: ARNO APPEALS TO PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE REFUGEES
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: MYANMAR GOVERNMENT DENIES ORDERING ``ANNIHILATION'' OF DEMOCRATS
May 15, 2000
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) Myanmar's military government rejected claims
Monday from exiled students that police and officials nationwide had
been ordered to ``annihilate'' the opposition party led by Nobel
Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi by year-end. The All Burma
Students' Democratic Front, the main political group of Myanmar
student activists living in exile, said that the Home Affairs
minister, Col. Tin Hlaing, issued the instruction April 20 at a
ministry meeting in Yangon, the capital. The Thailand-based ABSDF
said it was latest step by the ruling generals to undermine Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, which on May 27 will commemorate the
10th anniversary of a general election victory that the military
refused to honor.
``It is no secret that the anti-government quarters have been
cranking up their media campaign against the government, and this
latest rumor is apparently part of their campaign,'' said a Myanmar
government spokesman in a fax from Yangon. The alleged order has
also been reported by an Oslo, Norway-based dissident radio station,
the Democratic Voice of Burma. Myanmar is also known as Burma.
However, the spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity,
conceded that on several occasions bogus instructions had been issued
in the name of senior officials ``to create confusion in the
country.''
``This is also not the first time where fake instructions were being
issued by an unauthorized person or some organization or even a
prankster illegally using the police radio communication channel for
a vested interest,'' the spokesman said. The NLD is a legally
registered political party in Myanmar, but hundreds of its members
have been jailed since its election victory. The anniversary has been
the occasion of mass arrests in previous years.
In 1998, the NLD set up a 10-member committee of its leaders as a
surrogate parliament. The authorities responded by forcing many party
members to resign and detained others who refused. Pressure has
increased in recent weeks. The government is accusing NLD members of
links with outlawed rebel groups based along the border with
Thailand. Commentaries in state-run media have suggested Suu Kyi and
associates should face the death penalty for alleged treason. Since
April, the NLD has reported the arrest of one of its victors in the
1990 elections, along with three party members in the northern city
of Mandalay, more than 40 youth members in Yangon and one member of
the parliamentary committee.
____________________________________________________
NLM: 8 PYINBONGYI VILLAGE NLD MEMBERS RESIGN OF OWN ACCORD
NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR
YANGON, 15 May-Eight members resigned from the National League for
Democracy of Pyinbongyi Village in Bago Township, Bago Division.
Eight members of Pyinbongyi Village, Bago Township NLD, Bago
Division, of their own accord, resigned by sending letters of
resignation to Bago Township Multiparty Democracy General Election
Sub-commission and the party concerned on 3 January 2000 as they no
longer wished to participate in party politics of NLD.
***
BurmaNet adds?the preceding article is representative of articles
that run virtually every day in The New Light of Myanmar and which
invariably announcing that on that day, X number of NLD
members "resign of own accord" ostensibly because "they no longer
wished to participate in party politics."
***
___________________________________________________
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR : U.S. EMBASSY SLAMS MYANMAR JUNTA FOR
CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION
Yangon
The U.S. Embassy to Myanmar (Burma) on Monday strongly condemned the
ruling junta for its latest crackdown on the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLP) party that won the country's general
election exactly ten years ago. In an show of frustration with the
ruling regime, the embassy issued a statement expressing its regrets
that the ruling regime had failed to "follow through" on the results
of the 1990 polls, and had recently launched a new crackdown on NLD
members.
The NLD, led by Nobel Peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won the
May 1990 polls by a landslide, but the party has been denied
political power since Myanmar's military junta, a pariah among
Western democracies. "We further regret that the regime has chosen
to commemorate the anniversary with yet another wave of mass arrests
of democractic party members," said the U.S. embassy statement.
Myanmar's military junta reportedly arrested scores of NLD
supporters last month on allegations that they had taken part in an
attempt to launch terrorists attacks from the Thai-Myanmar border
areas.
"We reject the regime's latest gambit of associating the NLD with
terorist plots and view these arrests as a further act of repression
aganist the Burmese people engaged in the peaceful expression of
their political beliefs," said the statement.
It added, "This political party has demonstrated for more than a
decade that it seeks non-violent political change in Burma."
The U.S. refuses to use the name Myanmar, the junta's official name
for the country since 1989.
___________________________________________________
KYODO: KAREN REBELS SAY MYANMAR GOV'T SOLDIERS POISED TO ATTACK
MAE HONG SON, Thailand, May 13 Kyodo
Myanmar's ruling junta is preparing a fresh attack on an ethnic Karen
guerrilla group's last stronghold as well as on a refugee camp inside
Thai territory, the group said Saturday.
Aung Myat, deputy commander of the Karenni National Progressive Party
(KNPP), said government troops plan to attack the KNPP base in Ya
Hmoo, about 8 kilometers from the Thai border.
The government troops will be supported by members of the Karenni
National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), an ethnic Karen group
that made peace with Yangon in 1994, Aung Myat told reporters.
The operation will begin within the next two weeks, he said. Another
government unit and KNPLF fighters are preparing to attack a refugee
camp of some 10,000 Karens inside Thai territory, he said. A Thai
military officer in Mae Hong Son Province on the Thai-Myanmar border
said intelligence reports indicate an unusual deployment of 300
troops near the border area moving toward the refugee camp.
The Thai military is on alert and ready to prevent any intrusions, he
said. The KNPP was set up in July 1957 to fight for a Karen state.
The 2,000-strong rebel group gets support from Karens in Myanmar's
Kayah State. The refugee camp in Thailand mostly houses members of
the KNPP and families of KNPP fighters.
The group reached a cease-fire agreement with Yangon in 1995 but the
peace was broken after only three months.
Based near Loikaw in Kayah State, northeast of Myanmar, the KNPLF was
set up in 1978 to fight against Yangon but surrendered to the junta
in September 1994. There are reportedly 400-500 fighters under the
KNPLF deployed near Mae Hong Son to help the Myanmar army fight
ethnic guerrillas.
___________________________________________________
ARNO: ATTACKS ON MOSQUE, MADRASSA AND RELIGIOUS PERSONS
News and Analysis of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation,
Arakan (Burma)
Volume: 2, Issue-4 April, 2000
In the dead of night of 5 April 2000, 25 soldiers under the command
of Major Kyaw Naing of NaSaKa Area No.5 went to the village of Dudan,
about 13 miles north of Maungdaw town, and intruded into the village
madrassa (religious school). The NaSaKa forces dragged the teachers
and students out and lined them up in queue in front of the school.
The inmates were severely kicked and beaten by boots and gun buds,
beards of some teachers were plucked out, vandalised the nearby
mosque without any reasons. Then they ordered the teachers to close
the school with a threatening that they would be shot dead if the
school is reopen. Now the Chairman of the Village PDC Noor Alam,
Secretary Sultan and Member Nagu are being hunted by the soldiers.
Again on 10 April 2000, Major Kyaw Naing arrested a group of
preachers (religious persons) from the same village of Dudan and
extracted forced labour from them to construct army camp and build
road for 4 days. The names of the victims are: (1) Jafar Islam (2)
Abdul Rahman (3) Abdul Karim (4) Jamal Ahmed (5) Abdu Salam (6) Noor
Hashim (7) Syed Ahmed (8) Abul Hussain. This persistent SPDC
sponsored terrorism and religious persecution are part of the ill
design of the military regime to rid Arakan of the Muslim population.
____________________________________________________
ARNO: MOSQUE LOCKED UP AND ULEMA HUMILIATED
News and Analysis of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation,
Arakan (Burma)
Volume: 2, Issue-4 April, 2000
On 10 April 2000 a mosque and a madrassa (religious school) attached
to it, in the Sonkala Para of Ziban Chaung village tract, about 15
miles north of Maungdaw, were closed down by the commander of the
NaSaKa Area No.4 for alleged repairs of the mosque. In this
connection, the Head of the Mosque Trust Maulvi Hussain Ahmed and
three other teachers of the madarassa have fled away to escape the
arrest of the NaSaKa. In fact, the Ulema (religious leaders) with the
villagers have already obtained prior permission from the concerned
authorities such as, District PDC, Commander of the NaSaKa Area No.4
(stationed in Laikra village), U Sein Tha Zan, Head of the Department
of Religious Affairs, Maungdaw Township. In spite of that the NaSaKa
closed these sacred places reasoning that the repairs are done in the
form of permanent structure. There are many other mosques and
religious institutes which have been either locked up or are standing
in ruin without repairs in the whole of Arakan. The military is bent
to obliterate the vestiges of Islam from the soil of Arakan and
Burma.
____________________________________________________
SSA NEWS: PA-O REFUGEES FLEE TO BORDER
May 16, 2000
On 21st March 2000, 30 ethnic Pa-Os arrived to take refuge with SSA
troops near the Thai border opposite Mae Hong Son province. These
people are former villagers of Na Mak Tee, Loi Weing tract, not so
far from Homong (former MTA's headquarters), eastern Salween area.
They could no longer withstand the violations of SPDC troops and that
was their reason for deserting their homes.
____________________________________________________
NATION: GROUP SEEKS GLOBAL BAN ON CHILD SOLDIERS
May 16, 2000
A COALITION of international nongovernmental organisations (NGOs)
yesterday urged Thailand to sign an optional protocol banning the
use of child soldiers and children as weapons of war.
Rory Mungoven, coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of
Child Soldiers, said Thailand supports the 18 yearold ban on the
use of children in war and is well positioned to take a leadership
role on this issue among Asean members. "We want the governments
to adopt the global ban, to sign the new optional protocol to the
convention on the rights of the child and to back this up with the
right laws and the right programme," Mungoven said.
Speaking at a press conference, Mungoven said Asia ranks second
behind Africa in "the appalling use of tens of thousands of
children as cannon fodder in conflicts across the region".
He estimates that 300,000 children younger than 18 are serving as
soldiers worldwide. Of those, about 120,000 are in Africa while
more than 75,000 are in Asia, particularly in Afghanistan,
Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Burma, he says. Children have also been
used in every conflict in the region, including East Timor and Aceh
in Indonesia and Nagaland, Manipur and Assam in northeast India, he
said.
"In some cases, such as Manipur, we believe a majority of the
fighters are children under eighteen," he said.
Despite the high profile coverage of the Karen rebel child soldiers
Luther and Johnny Htoo, the problem has received little media
attention, he said. "Burma alone is one of the single largest
users of child soldiers anywhere in the world," he said. "This is
not just a problem in the ethnic groups pitted against the Burmese
regime."
Mungoven said many children in their early teens are serving in the
Burmese army voluntarily because they are attracted by the power
and prestige. But some are enlisted forcibly, he said.
He quoted an ILO Commission of Inquiry which found evidence of
children as young as 10 being used by the Burmese army as porters
and mine sweepers. The Burmese government denies the use of child
soldiers and it will be difficult to deal with it regarding this
issue. However, since the government has been willing to discuss
other children's rights issues with the international community, it
may be possible to engage them in a dialogue on this issue as well,
Mungoven said.
Abu Sayyaf, the Muslim group currently holding Western hostages in
the southern Philippines, is also known to recruit young boys,
Mungoven said. And in Pakistan, religious schools churn out young
fighters for jihads holy wars in neighbouring Afghanistan and
Kashmir.
Also, Cambodia is facing a tough problem in coping with the large
numbers of former Khmer Rouge child soldiers who are being expelled
now as the regime disintegrates.
Mungoven said the typical image of young boys posing with rifles
misrepresents the situation, because many young girls are involved
as well, performing menial tasks or being held as sex slaves.
The coalition, which includes such groups as Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch and Save the Children, wants to work with armed
groups in a practical manner. It seeks to promote alternatives to
using children as soldiers and to illustrate that the longterm
interests of the groups involved are best served by protecting
rather than exploiting their children.
"This is issue of the child soldier is also important because while
child soldiers are victims, they are also the perpetrators of
atrocities," he said. The coalition also intends to raise
awareness of the problems among governments as an issue of child
labour, and to make the use of child soldiers as unacceptable as
biological or chemical weapons.
A conference next week in Kathmandu, Nepal, will bring together
more than 15 governments and nearly 100 NGOs from around the region
to address this issue. One topic will be how to influence rebel
groups which often use children, Mungoven said.
BY Rita Patiyasevi
The Nation (May 16, 2000)
____________________________________________________
BERG: ABOUT CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT IN KARENNI, BURMA
Contact: burmaresearch@xxxxxxxxxxx
Full Report available at http://www.burmaresearch.org
Chiang Mai, Thailand, 15 May 2000
The Burma Ethnic Research Group (BERG) has published a new
report; 'Conflict And Displacement In Karenni: The Need For
Considered Responses' by Vicky Bamforth, Steven Lanjouw and Graham
Mortimer
Looking at Karenni, one of the least known and poorest areas of
Burma, the report documents how decades old armed conflict has laid
waste to the environment and uprooted its peoples. Focusing on how
the combination of chronic conflict, resource scarcity and
development projects have displaced populations throughout the
state's history, the authors provide new information on the status of
over 10 percent of the population who have been internally displaced
since 1996.
Since numerous armed groups are established in the area, the report
examines the different elements of the conflict and questions the
widely held perception that it is an ethnic war. The report also
examines the current ceasefire like arrangements with a number of
armed groups, and concludes that these arrangements have exacerbated
the social and humanitarian crisis. This has made it particularly
difficult for those wishing to address humanitarian concerns from
both inside and outside the country.
Wishing to provide more data, the authors raise serious questions
about the socio-economic environment and examine how this has
impacted on health and education. Drawing attention to the
nutritional status of displaced populations as well as their ability
to access basic social services, the report concludes by
questioning how humanitarian interventions can be appropriately
designed to deal with this complex political situation and to find
ways of reaching all those with needs.
Using hitherto unpublished data and maps from both government and
opposition sources, as well as refugee testimonies, academic papers,
NGO reports, and information from service providers, BERG has
written a comprehensive and non-partisan analysis of the environment
in Karenni with detailed statistics, comprehensive maps and
triangulated population figures at village level throughout much of
the state. This approach differs from that of previous reports in
that it has enabled the authors to work with a range of different
actors and provide detail about all sides in an environment that is
highly polarised.
The Burma Ethnic Research Group was formed in 1997 to undertake
research on, amongst others, displacement amidst different ethnic
communities and peoples in Burma. Working within an applied research
environment, BERG focuses on defining the needs of displaced and
resettled communities and advocates culturally appropriate, gender
sensitive solutions that are implemented in collaboration with local
institutions. This report follows on from BERG's 1998 report on
displacement in Karen state 'Forgotten Victims of a Hidden War:
Internally Displaced Karen in Burma' and its 1999 short
paper 'Internal Displacement in Myanmar [Burma]'.
__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
THE NATION: THAI ARMY DENIES AIDING KNU IN RAID
May 16, 2000, Tuesday
A SENIOR army officer has dismissed allegations by a Burmese military
commander that Thai troops helped the Karen National Union with a
recent offensive against a juntaheld position.
Col Chainarong Thanarun, commander of the 4th Infantry Special Task
Force in Mae Sot, said it was not in line with Army policy to
interfere in Burmas internal affairs or help foreign troops in any
way.
Burmese Army Lt Col Thin Ngwe was earlier reported as saying Thai
troops had allowed the Karen National Union (KNU) to cross over into
Thailand to use a route along the Moei River to launch an attack
against a governmentheld position in Myawaddy district in Burma,
adjacent to Mae Sot.
Chainarong said the area in question was a long stretch and had yet
to be secured. If the Burmese had any questions they could raise them
with the ThaiBurmese Joint Border Committee, which addresses security
issues along the border.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Banyat Bantadtan yesterday dismissed
allegations that Thailand is not doing enough to ensure security
along the ThaiBurmese border. He said many of the problems stemmed
from Burmas internal conflicts. The Burmese junta attacked the Thai
government recently in a shortwave radio broadcast in the Mae Hong
Son area for detaining six Burmese soldiers since February. The
soldiers were caught by border security after crossing over into
Thailand, allegedly to carry out attacks against Burmese refugees.
The incident placed relations between the Thai and Burmese officials
in the Mae Hong Son area at one of their lowest ebbs when Thailand
refused to release the men.
Banyat, on the other hand, insisted ThaiBurmese bilateral relations
were solid and improving steadily. He said this was not the first
time Thai security officials had detained Burmese nationals for
questioning. Any request for the release of the six men would have to
comply with international law. Nevertheless, the minister has
ordered security to be stepped up in the Mae Hong Son area where the
six men were captured.
The problems along the [ThaiBurmese] border stem from the conflict
inside Burma, Banyat said.
ThaiBurmese relations had improved over the year, said Banyat,
pointing to a series of meetings. Nevertheless, he said, officials
had to be extremely careful, as international relations were a
sensitive issue.
AFP: TENSIONS RISE ALONG THAI-MYANMAR BORDER
DATELINE: BANGKOK, May 15
Tensions rose along the Thailand-Myanmar frontier as ethnic Karen
rebels based in Thailand launched attacks on Myanmar border towns,
reports said Monday. Thai media reported that a group of heavily-
armed Karen National Union (KNU) fighters killed one person on
Saturday near Myawaddy in eastern Myanmar. A Myanmar government
spokesman confirmed to AFP that rebels carrying grenade launchers and
small arms launched an attack on a plantation south of Myawaddy.
The spokesman for the Yangon junta said one person was wounded.
According to the Bangkok Post, Myanmar Lieutenant Colonel Tin Ngwe,
chairman of the Thai-Myanmar Border Committee, a bilateral border
organization aimed at improving relations, slammed Thailand for
allowing the KNU fighters to be based on Thai soil.
Myawaddy is directly across from the Thai town of Mae Sot, where the
head of the KNU reportedly lives.
Relations between Thailand and Myanmar have been deteriorating for
weeks. Thailand has begun arming northern villagers and training
them to fight drug traffickers based in Myanmar and even the Myanmar
army.
Thailand blames Myanmar for producing most of the some 600 million
methamphetamine pills that flow into Thailand each year, and charges
that the Yangon junta does little to halt the influx.
Myanmar has introduced a program which it says will wipe out domestic
drug production within 15 years, and officials say the country is
determined to shed its pariah status as a drug producer.
In the meantime, security has been stepped up around the Myanmar
embassy in Bangkok following a bomb scare on Sunday evening.
A police bomb squad sealed off the embassy and combed the premises
for two hours, but found no sign of any explosive device, they said.
The KNU is an ethnic insurgent group that has fought the central
government ever since Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence
from Britain more than half a century ago.
KNU fighters control only small pockets of territory after a series
of military setbacks in the late 1990s.
___________________________________________________
MYANMAR'S GENERAL AND PM THAN HAWE TO VISIT BANGLADESH
DHAKA, May 14 (AFP) Myanmar's Senior General and Prime Minister Than
Shawe will pay a tree-day state visit to Bangladesh this month, the
first by a top military junta leader, it was announced here Sunday.
Th evisit, beginning May 29, follows an invitation from Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the official BSS news agency, said.
Relations between the two neighbours were strained in the early 1990s
with an influx of some 250,000 Myanmar nationasl into Bangladesh who
alleged atrocities commited by the military.
Most of the refugees, were repatriated home under a UNa greement, but
some 20,000 are still living in Bangladeshi camps.
___________________________________________________
BANGKOK POST: THREAT TO EMBASSY KEPT UNDER WRAPS
May 16, 2000
High-level officer denies it was a hoax
Wassayos Ngarmkham
Police bomb disposal experts were kept busy on Sunday and yesterday
following a series of bomb threats in Bangkok.
Yan Nawa police and a bomb disposal unit rushed to the Burmese
embassy on North Sathorn road on Sunday night after being informed
at 8.45pm of a bomb threat there. According to the embassy
secretary, a Burmese-speaking man phoned the embassy and warned
that an explosive device had been planted inside the embassy and
would go off between Sunday night and Monday morning.
However, police found nothing suspicious in a two-hour search
except an empty black can. Special Branch Bureau commissioner Pol
Lt-Gen Yothin Mathayomnant said he believed the bomb hoax was the
work of some Burmese wanting to attract public attention to the
problems in Burma.
According to him, the Burmese embassy has not put in any special
request for the deployment of more police guards to beef up the
embassy security. However, a high- level police source said the
bomb threat at the embassy was not a hoax since an M-26 detonator
was found there but authorities wanted the discovery to be kept
secret for fear of hurting Thai-Burmese relations and police probes.
Yesterday, an object believed to be an explosive device was found
in a garbage bin in Phaya Thai district while a detonator was also
found in the backyard of a house in Din Daeng.
At 11.05am yesterday, Phaya Thai police were informed by Prakit
Sangwal, 60, about the discovery of an item suspected to be a bomb
in a trash bin behind Wat Makok in Phaya Thai.
After a 20-minute check by a police bomb clearance team, the object
turned out to be two pens and a concrete block tied together with a
rod and covered with a plastic bag. At 1.30pm yesterday, police
rushed to a house in Ratchadaphisek Soi 13 in Din Daeng to clear a
US-made M-61 explosive device found in a can and wrapped with brown
paper. The defused detonator was later sent to the police Ordnance
Division for further examination.
Bangkok Post (May 16, 2000)
____________________________________________________
BANGKOK POST SECURITY WATCH ON MONKS
May 16, 2000
Wassayos Ngarmkham
Police are closely watching Burmese monks at several temples in the
North for fear they may stage political activities on Thai soil.
Last week some 20 Burmese monks joined non-governmental
organisations in protest demonstrations against the Asian
Development Bank during its annual conference in Chiang Mai.
Pol Maj-Gen Charnwut Watcharapuk, deputy chief of the Immigration
Bureau, said measures were being worked out to limit Burmese monks'
period of stay at temples in the North.
A recent survey showed up to 70 Burmese monks had entered Thailand
illegally and taken refuge at temples in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,
Mae Hong Son and some other northern provinces, the officer said.
Their number was rising and many Burmese were believed to have
disguised themselves as monks to enter Thailand illegally, he added.
Immigration police were co-ordinating with other authorities to
prevent Burmese monks from entering Bangkok, he said.
Bangkok Post (May 16, 2000)
____________________________________________________
BANGKOK POST: BORDER PATROLS INCREASED TO HALT DRUG FLOW FROM BURMA
May 16, 2000
Border patrols have been increased to prevent the smuggling of
illicit drugs from Burma. An immediate increase in the frequency of
border patrols was ordered by Third Army chief Lt-Gen Wattanachai
Chaimuenwong, in his capacity as director of the drug suppression
centre in the North.
Joint patrol units made up of soldiers, local and border patrol
police were despatched to border areas in Mae Ramat and Mae Sot
districts of Tak regularly used as drug transit routes.
Ten people were arrested in separate raids last month in which some
100,000 speed pills were seized, army officers in the North said.
Meanwhile, a fact-finding inquiry has been launched into Burma's
accusation that Thailand had allowed Karen rebels to launch a
rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a border village in
Myawaddy opposite Mae Sot district.
Sources said Fourth Infantry Regiment task force commander Col
Chainarong Thanaroon yesterday ordered border officials to
investigate the Burmese claim. The move came after Myawaddy
authorities demanded Thai officials explain why they allowed Karen
National Union guerrillas to launch four RPGs from Thai soil on a
border village in Myawaddy. One Wa villager was killed and another
seriously injured in the 20- minute attack on Saturday.
Bangkok Post (May 16, 2000)
____________ ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS _________________
XINHUA: MYANMAR'S FOREIGN TRADE UP 9.62 PERCENT
Xinhua, Rangoon, 16 May 2000. Myanmar's foreign trade, including the
border trade, totaled 585.93 million U.S. dollars in the first two
months of this year, up 9.62 percent from the same period of 1 999,
according to the country's Central Statistical Organization (CSO).
Of the total trade volume, imports were valued at 402.4 million
dollars, while exports amounted to183.53 million dollars, producing a
trade deficit of 218.87 million dollars, the CSO said in its latest
data.
The figures also indicate that Myanmar's private sector is playing a
leading role in the country's foreign trade. During the first two
months of this year, the import value of the private sector made up
76.93 percent of the total imports, while its export value
represented 70.97 percent of the total exports.
The import and export value of the government sector during the
period accounted for only 23.06 percent and 29 percent respectively.
____________________________________________________
SHAN: NEW REFINERIES BURGEONING AWAY FROM THE BORDER
Shan Herald Agency for News
15 May 2000
No: 5 - 5
Gen Khin Nyunt's Involvement Implied By Sources
Refineries have begun to move away from the Thai border through
private instructions from Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1 of the State
Peace and Development Council, sources told S.H.A.N..
One such refinery is in Hueykhai, between Mongnai and Wanzid,
operated by Col. Mahaja from the ex-Mong Tai Army of Khun Sa with
approval from the powerful Secretary 1, who had already made two
trips during the past few months into the areas opposite Maehongson,
Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces of Thailand.
The reason was two-fold, said a source: Refineries set up along the
border had been subject to attacks by Yawdserk's Shan State Army and
also subject to complaints by Thailand as well as the international
media.
Another refinery was recently established between Hoparng and Hoyawd
of Mongton Tonwship. It is at the deserted village of Namakzawk, 2
miles northeast of Hoyawd and 3 miles northwest of Hopang. "Entry to
the vicinity is strictly restricted," said another source. "Even Wa
soldiers who are not involved with the operations are not allowed to
go near."
According to him, the "factory" produces 25-30 blocks of heroin and
3,000,000 pills of methamphetamine per month.
Gen Khin Nyunt had already visited the area twice, he said, first in
February and the second time in March, when he presided over the
ceremony of opening the Hsaikhao Bridge in Monghsat.
____________________________________________________
FINANCIAL TIMES (LONDON): PREMIER DEFENDS STANCE OVER BURMA
OIL & GAS PROTESTORS DISRUPT ANNUAL MEETING AS COMPANY ADMITS THERE
IS 'NO EXCUSE' FOR GOVERNMENT'S BEHAVIOUR:
May 16, 2000, Tuesday London Edition 3
By ANDREW WARD
Premier Oil yesterday repeated its rejection of government calls for
it to pull out of Burma, but conceded that human rights abuses in the
country by its ruling military regime were "inexcusable".
The admission came at the company's annual meeting in London, which
was dominated by debate about the Pounds 406m oil-drilling operation
in Burma, which was criticised last month by John Battle, foreign
office minister. Charles Jamieson, chief executive, said there
was "no excuse" for the Burmese government's behaviour but insisted
that Premier Oil's presence in the country was helping stimulate
change.
"We believe that constructive engagement in the economy will, however
slowly, have a positive effect on the country in the long term," he
said. Mr Jamieson announced the launch of an independent audit into
Premier's activities in Burma to determine how well the company was
fulfilling its "social responsibilities" there. He said the company
was working with Save the Children USA to build schools and improve
health in Burma.
But protestors accused the company of using roads and helipads built
by slave labour and said its pipelines in the country had displaced
25,000 people. They claimed the pipelines were protected by security
forces guilty of rape, torture and murder.
A man tortured by Burmese security forces and a father whose son is
serving a 17-year jail sentence for protesting in the country were
among the human rights campaigners attending the meeting.
Despite the speeches of the chairman and chief executive being
disrupted, the protestors remained peaceful.
David Mawdsley, from Lancashire, whose 27-year-old son, James, was
imprisoned in Burma last August for handing out anti-government
leaflets, accused the board of "arrogance" and shareholders
of "ignorance". "Charles Jamieson conceals the full extent of the
atrocities in Burma," he said.
Ko Aung, Co-ordinator of the Free Burma Coalition, was tortured while
serving a six-year jail sentence from 1988 to 1994 for protesting
against his government. He said the aid work carried out by Premier
and Save the Children USA helped prop up the military regime.
An 85-year-old man who owns shares in 170 companies said he "had
never witnessed such bad feeling towards a board of directors" at an
annual meeting. But most shareholders present applauded when Sir
David John, chairman, defended Premier's stance. Observer.
____________________________________________________
FINANCIAL TIMES: OILY SHOW
May 16, 2000, Tuesday London Edition 1
OBSERVER COLUMN
It was a case of pass the barrel at Premier Oil's annual meeting in
Drapers Hall, London yesterday. The career protestors turned up en
masse to agitate over the company's Pounds 400m operation in Burma.
Inside, a dozen-or-so infiltrators bombarded the management with an
hour of questions. Everyone knows that delegation is the art of good
management - but the board felt strangely unable to answer the
questions and fobbed them off onto Dr Richard Jones,
Premier's "manager of global social responsibility". But he soon
became tired of doing the directors' dirty-work.
Responding to one question referred to him by chief executive Charles
Jamieson, Jones pointedly suggested that future questions should
be "directed at the board".
Other shareholders were more concerned about the falling share price
and lack of dividend than human rights abuses in some far flung
land. One entertaining "ex-army" type bravely bellowed his contempt
for the protestors and added that he hated the Burmese regime "as
much as the Chinese government and the IRA", but that "constructive
engagement" was a good thing. All the fun was caught by a company
cameraman filming the trouble-makers. Observer can't wait for the
video.
____________________________________________________
PRESS ASSOCIATION NEWSFILE (UK): BRITISH FIRMS URGED TO QUIT BURMA
May 15, 2000, Monday
Andrew Evans, Lords Staff, PA News
A new call to UK company Premier Oil to pull out of Burma, to help
put pressure on the military regime to improve its human rights
record, was made by the Government today.
But junior Foreign Office minister Baroness Scotland of Asthal told
peers: "We have no legal powers to force them to do so, nor do we
seek any." Lady Scotland said: "The presence of reputable companies
in Burma is not helping the democratic cause there. We therefore told
Premier Oil, the largest UK investor, that we would welcome their
moving out of Burma." She added: "We also tell British companies
inquiring about Burma that we do not encourage trade with nor
investment there."
Tory former Foreign Office minister Lord Blaker contrasted the
Government's attitude to Burma with its policy towards China. "Is
that an ethical foreign policy?" he demanded.
Lady Scotland explained that, unlike isolationist Burma, China was
engaging in "critical dialogue" with the West on human rights. "Burma
will not bend her knee in any way to the lures that we put out for
reasonableness," she said.
____________________________________________________
LIBERATION (FRANCE): TOTAL, THE BURMESE JUNTA'S FLAG BEARER
12 - 05 - 2000
At the National assembly, Mister Hubert Vedrine (Minister of Foreign
affairs) gave a rare example of contempt. Contempt of the realities
of the french presence in Burma, contempt in considering everybody
who access to this information. No, Minister of Foreign Affairs, our
market share in this country is not miniscule as you claimed on the
25th of April. With the presence of Total, France is the leader of
all investors. The petroleum compagny, leader of the Yadana
consortium, pilots the most important project ever to be taken in
this country. As she never ceases to repeat Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
Nobel prize laureate and speaker of the winning democrats of the 1990
elections, the compagny Total is the flag wich is being waved by the
Narco burmese Junta to try to hide multiples crimes.
Already last summer, French diplomacy took a ridiculous turn at the
time of the nommination in Rangoon of Mister Amaudric Du Chaffaut.
This ambassador effectively broke an internal record in the french
administration : he stayed for fourteen consecutive years in the
direction of ELF's (Note in passing : French Oil giant which merged
with TotalFina last March, now TotalFinaElf) International affairs.
He left the petroleum group at the same time as Alfred Sirven with
whom he rubbed shoulders with during three years. The Petrol-
Diplomacy has always designed the framework for relations between
France and Burma. Your reply to the Assembly, supporting the presence
of Total in Burma confirms this tendency : From now on how to
distinguish between our diplomacy in Burma and an appendix of
TotalFinaElf's communication department ? This Firm is no more than a
purely private company with a majority of foreign capital.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
MIC: FACING THE TRUTH 11
[BurmaNet adds?The Myanmar Information Committee is the regime's
Ministry of Information. This article was disseminated via the
regime's myanmar listserv.]
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
No.B-1370 (I) 16th May 2000
SPECIAL FEATURE
This office is presenting the article entitled ''FACING THE
TRUTH 11'' which appeared in the Internet Web-site of Deja.com on 15
May 2000 for your reading pleasure.
>> Forum : soc.culture.burma
>> Thread : FACING THE TRUTH 11
Subject : FACING THE TRUTH 11
Date : 05/15/2000
Author : SA < sam 7007 @ wongfaye.com>
FACING THE TRUTH 11
by SA
I was recently hospitalised and my stay of a couple of weeks brought
to my mind the matter of health care in Myanmar. I have noticed that
many criticised Myanmar for having inadequate health care for the
poor. It is true. Myanmar is still a developing country, not a rich
one, still without a proper, well-established Health Care Program
that will benefit people who cannot afford it. Now, there is the
next question that needs to be asked: in this situation, isn't it
more important to help than to sit aside and sneer ? Unfortunately
the people who take pleasure in sneering had done nothing to help
ease the situation; and when others help, out of pure goodwill, they
get attacked. It is a very strange way of showing that they are
doing it 'for the good of the people.' It is more than strange, it
is a cruel hypocrisy. Health care is expensive, anywhere in the
world. Private Health care is expensive, and beyond the means of the
ordinary low-income people. So is that not reason enough to want
them to have better job opportunities ? Also, when health NGOs come
in help these very people, they are attacked for ' working with the
government.'
On the other hand fortunately we have well-trained doctors, a lot of
them with degrees obtained from prestigious Universities of UK,
Scotland and America. What we lack is the money for the medication
etc. During the days before market economy, even the hospitals in
the cities had no proper facilities such as modern machines and
equipments. Now, they have them, as do private hospitals. The use
and maintainance of these facilities do not come cheap; and unless
the country as a whole prospers, so that a stable Health Care
Program can be set up, how will it benefit the poorer class of
citizens, for politicians to demand that the country stay poor ?
What really brought this to my mind is an old newspaper clipping that
a friend showed me: it was from the February 17 , 2000 issue of the
International Herald Tribune. On page two there was a reprint of a
Q&A session with Daw Aung San Su Kyi and one Bernard Krisher of
Cambodian Daily.
One question asked was, "How can people who wish to give humanitarian
aid really help the needy Burmese people without going through the
military regime?
Her answer was, " The first question to ask is how effective is this
humanitarian aid ? What kind of aid is that ? And how many people is
it supposed to help ? In general, whatever humanitarian aid that
nongovernmental organizations may be able to give is a drop in the
ocean compared to what is needed in Burma. What we really need in
Burma is substantive change, the kind of change that will enable
people to help themselves. "
There are many kinds of NGO aid, such as in AIDS prevention, basic
health care, etc. There is no need for questions. No NGO in the
world is going to set themselves up in the country to give help the
generals' families.
Now, if this 'drop in the ocean' saves some babies' lives, is it not
worthwhile ? Because what is the alternative? If NGOs are not here,
because the help is not enough for everyone, what is the alternative
offer? What good do we get when ALL NGOs leave ?
There are UN organizations and NGOs concentrating to set up projects
that will enable the people to help themselves, and DASSK had
condemned each of them because it ' legitimises the government.'
Legitimate or not, any project going on in the country would need to
be connected to any level of government that is necessary. That is
just part of the administrative set-up, in any country in the world.
Ignoring the real issues at stake is hurting the people. But for
anyone to see the reality of the issues involved he would need to
face the truth. And if he does not want to see the reality, he will
refuse to face the truth.
____________________________________________________
ARNO: ARNO APPEALS TO PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE REFUGEES
News and Analysis of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation,
Arakan (Burma)
Volume: 2, Issue-4 April, 2000
In a press release dated 27 March 2000 the Arakan Rohingya National
Organisation (ARNO) expresses it serious concern over the heinous
killing of one Gul Mohammed (70), a Rohingya refugee housed in Shed
No.72, Room No.6, Block C, of the Nayapara Refugee Camp1 of
Bangladesh, by a magistrate of the camp on 7 March 2000 for no
reasonable ground. The press release says, according to the refugees
of the camp, Gul Mohammed, who consented to be repatriated to Arakan,
was beaten to death when he approached the camp authorities for the
quota he deserves as a returnee. This incident was said to have
occurred before the very eyes of the UNHCR staff. The press release
continues, there have been reports of many irregularities and
untoward incidents in the past too, in the Rohingya refugee camps in
Bangladesh. And it appeals that the authorities should exercise
maximum self-restraint and treat the helpless and hapless poor
refugees with sympathy, love and affection. Also it urges upon the
Government of Bangladesh to look into the matter for proper redress
and punish those found guilty. Meanwhile, the ARNO expresses its
hope that the UNHCR will not continue to fail to give adequate
protection to these refugees.
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
_______________
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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