[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
[theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: Ju
Reply-To: theburmanetnews-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: June 8, 2000
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
June 8, 2000
Issue # 1549
*Inside Burma
AFP: SEVERE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS OF MYANMAR,
CHINA
SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: SHAN LEADERS "INVITED" TO GOVERNMENT
GUESTHOUSE ON ELECTION ANNIVERSARY
*Regional
AFP: MYANMAR LOOKS TO CHINA AS ROLE MODEL FOR OPENING UP
MALAYSIAKINI: INVESTMENTS WILL IMPROVE HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA, SAYS
PETRONAS YIN SHAO LOONG
*International
VOICE OF AMERICA: [MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR VETOING BURMA LAW]
*Economy/Business
MYANMAR INFORMATION SHEET: MYANMA GEMS ENTERPRISE SETS RECORD INCOME
IN FISCAL 1999-2000
MIZZIMA: 4,000 PHENSIDYL BOTTLES SEIZED IN BANGLADESH
*Opinion/Editorials
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: APPEAL FOR URGENT ACTION ON BEHALF OF DAW KHIN
NU AND DAW CHAW
*Other
KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP: NEW PHOTO SET ONLINE
PD BURMA: CALENDAR OF EVENTS WITH REGARD TO
BURMA
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AFP: SEVERE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS OF MYANMAR,
CHINA
BANGKOK, June 8 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter
scale struck northern Myanmar in areas bordering China early
Thursday, Thai seismologists reported.
It is a sparsely populated area.
First reports from the region indicate the quake caused little
damage, according to an official in southwestern China.
Meteorologists in Myanmar's capital Yangon confirmed the quake
took place but were unable to give details. Their outposts in
Mandalay and Sitwe have long been in disuse.
A spokesman of the seismology bureau in Tongchong town adjacent to
the Myanmar border in southwest China's Yunnan province said the
quake rocked some mountainous areas in the region.
"As it is a very sparsely populated area and houses are built of
wood, we don't foresee major casualties," the spokesman said.
The Yangon meteorologists too said they had no information of
casualties. A Yunnan seismology bureau official said the epicentre
of the quake was some 180 kilometres (110 miles) from Tongchong.
The quake was also felt in Yunnan's capital, Kunming.
The Strasbourg Observatory of Earth Sciences in eastern France
measured the quake at 6.8 on the Richter Scale.
Its epicentre was 884 kilometres (550 miles) north of Chiang Mai,
in northern Thailand, a local seismological station said.
Similar seismic phenomena are frequent in this region close to
the Himalayas, but none of this magnitude had been registered since
1992, a spokesman at the Strasbourg observatory said.
A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island on Sunday,
killing more than 100 people according to an unofficial toll.
____________________________________________________
SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: SHAN LEADERS "INVITED" TO GOVERNMENT
GUESTHOUSE ON ELECTION ANNIVERSARY
8 June 2000
No: 6 - 4
Shan Leaders "Invited" To Government Guesthouse On Election
Anniversary Leaders of the biggest party in Shan State were detained
throughout 27 May, the 10th anniversary of the historic elections in
1990, said an informed source coming across the border. (6 June)
Khun Htoon Oo, President of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy,
Sai Nood a.k.a. Sai Nyunt Lwin, General Secretary and Shwe Ohn, ex-
Shan People's Freedom League leader and author of the popular
political essay, "Towards the Third Union of Burma", were "invited"
to one of the government guesthouses in Rangoon, early in the morning
of 27 May, the day that marks the elections of 1990, as they were
preparing to participate in the celebrations held at the compound of
Aung San Suu Kyi, National League for Democracy's leader and Nobel
prize-winner.
The three were treated to lunch and dinner and a series of diatribes
against Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD all day long, said the source.
They were driven back home in the evening.
The NLD won nation-wide during the elections while the SNLD won state-
wide.
[Reported by Saeng Khao Haeng]
____________________________________________________
____________________ REGIONAL ____________________
AFP: MYANMAR LOOKS TO CHINA AS ROLE MODEL FOR OPENING UP
BEIJING, June 8 (AFP) - A senior Myanmar military leader told Chinese
Premier Zhu Rongji Thursday that Yangon wanted to follow China's lead
over reforms and opening up to the outside world, official Chinese
news agency Xinhua said. General Maung Aye, vice chairman of
Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council and deputy commander-in-
chief of the armed forces, said one of the aims of his trip to China
was to learn from the Chinese experience, the report said. TV
Myanmar had reported that one of the purposes of the visit was to
strengthen military ties, but Xinhua made no mention of plans for
military cooperation.
Zhu told Maung Aye during their Beijing meeting that the two
countries were economically compatible, as Myanmar was rich in
natural resources while China's products and technologies met the
Myanmar's needs. Maung Aye arrived in Beijing on Monday, at the
invitation of Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao, for a week-long
official visit. On Tuesday, Maung Aye agreed a framework of
cooperation in a number of areas, including trade, tourism and a
crackdown on cross-border drug trafficking and smuggling.
The Myanmar general also pledged his government would not develop
official links with Taiwan, reaffirming support for the "One China"
policy, which recognizes the Communist-ruled mainland as the sole
government of China with Taiwan an inalienable part of the country.
The visit was timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar.
China, the first country to recognise Myanmar's military regime after
it seized power in a bloody coup in September 1988, is the junta's
main arms supplier. Since coming to power, senior Myanmar generals
have made frequent visits to China and several high-ranking Chinese
officials have travelled to Yangon.
____________________________________________________
MALAYSIAKINI: INVESTMENTS WILL IMPROVE HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA, SAYS
PETRONAS YIN SHAO LOONG
June 7, 2000
[BurmaNet Editor's Note: Malayasiakini.com is an independent, online
newspaper from Malaysia. It is free of state censorship/influence
but is also non-partisan.]
12pm,WED: Petronas has confidence that its long-term business
engagements in Burma will bring about socio-economic change and
improve the human rights situation in the military-ruled country.
Responding to a malaysiakini query on the alleged violations of human
rights in areas of its operations in Burma, an official spokesperson
for the oil and gas corporation said Petronas believes that its
investments in a particular country would contribute directly or
indirectly to the socio-economic progress of that country and its
people. "In relation to the human rights agenda, it has been amply
demonstrated that respect for human rights will inevitably increase,
and entrenched habits get neutralised, whenever a country achieves
good economic and social progress," said a Petronas spokesperson in a
faxed statement.
Last month, Petronas' UK-based partner in the Yetagun gas field and
pipeline project in southern Burma, Premier Oil, admitted that human
rights violations had occurred within its areas of operations.
Premier Oil chief Charles Jamieson said his company had raised the
issue of human right abuses in Premier-controlled areas with the
Burma government. "It is not just human rights but environmental
[abuses], too," he added. However, in its statement, Petronas neither
acknowledged nor denied reports that human rights abuses, such as
forced labour and military intimidation, were occurring within its
area of operations in Burma.
www.malaysiakini.com
__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________
VOICE OF AMERICA: [MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR VETOING BURMA LAW]
June 1, 2000
INTRO: Last month, Minneapolis, Minnesota became the
latest city in the United States to approve a
"selective purchasing" resolution. Passed narrowly by
the city council, the resolution sought to restrict
city contracts with companies that do business with
Burma's military government. But as VOA's Dan
Robinson reports, the mayor of Minneapolis vetoed the
resolution, prompting allegations - denied by the
Mayor - that her decision was influenced by business
interests:
Text: By a vote of seven to six on May 19, the
Minneapolis City Council approved the resolution which
declared - in its words - the right to measure the
moral character of [the city's] business partners.
The resolution would have required companies
submitting bids to certify they have no business
dealings with Burma.
When the resolution was approved, Burma democracy
activists cheered. Minneapolis had a history of
supporting human rights causes around the world and
would have joined 25 other U-S cities with similar
laws or resolutions regarding Burma.
However, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton vetoed
the Burma resolution. She said she remains committed
to the city's tradition of defending human rights, but
could not approve the resolution in its original form.
Ann Freeman, spokeswoman for Mayor Belton, reads the
mayor's statement:
/// Freeman Act ///
I abhor accounts I have heard of
institutionalized torture and rape as political
instruments occurring under the current regime
in Burma. The reason I vetoed the Minneapolis
City Council's adoption of a resolution
regarding Burma was because it suggested
sanctions that could result in illegal restraint
of trade activities.
/// End Act ///
Mick Schommer of the Free Burma Coalition in
Minneapolis called the veto a slap in the face of
human rights, and suggests the Mayor gave in to pro-
business pressure:
/// Schommer Act ///
Sharon [the mayor] is a former city council
member who has always respected the will of the
city council, so this is a very rogue act on her
part, and obviously business interests got to
her and really influenced her to do something
outside of her nature, outside of her voting
record.
/// End Act ///
Critics focused on the fact that Mayor Belton is one
of the first female African-American mayors in the
United States. They noted that resolution sponsors
drew a clear connection between the civil rights
struggle of African-Americans and human rights abroad.
Mick Schommer says Mayor Belton, in his words, turned
her back on lessons learned from the campaign against
South Africa's apartheid system of racial segregation:
/// (Optional) Schommer Act ///
Selective purchasing is the direct descendent of
anti-apartheid resolutions, which I hope she has
been in support of in the past, so turning her
back on the anti-apartheid movement, on human
rights issues going on right now is very clear
when you are supporting business ventures over
any kind of human rights accountability.
/// End Act (End Opt) ///
However, City Council member Paul Ostrow, defended the
mayor's decision, calling it courageous:
/// Ostrow Act ///
It is very appropriate for us to have concerns
about civil rights and human rights throughout
the world - we certainly have those - but it is
simply beyond our appropriate role as a city
council to essentially make foreign policy.
/// End Act ///
City council member Jim Niland, a co-author of the
resolution, expressed disappointment. He says the
mayor gave in to pressure from big business:
/// Niland Act ///
I know there were individual businesses and
trade and business organizations that contacted
the council and expressed their opposition to
the resolution, and unfortunately they want to
continue to profit from the dictatorship in
Burma.
/// End Act ///
The veto of the Minneapolis resolution comes as the U-
S Supreme Court prepares to decide the fate of the
Massachusetts Burma law.
That law, adopted in 1996, was challenged by the
National Foreign Trade Council, an association
representing some 600 companies. A federal court
struck down the law, saying it infringed on the powers
of the federal government to conduct foreign policy.
Massachusetts appealed to the Supreme Court. The
decision in the case, expected later this month, will
have implications for similar local measures adopted
across the United States.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
MYANMAR INFORMATION SHEET: MYANMA GEMS ENTERPRISE SETS RECORD INCOME
IN FISCAL 1999-2000
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
N0. B-1402(I) 8th June 2000
Myanma Gems Enterprise set a record income in fiscal 1999-2000,
earning over US $ 39.52 million from two gem sales and other
revenues during the period. MGE of the Ministry of Mines fetched US
$ 31.20 million from the two gem sales held in October and March
during the fiscal year. Apart from these two gem sales, the
enterprise also earned US $ 7.57 million from other sales and US $
0.75 million from other revenues. Earnings of MGE in kyats also set
a record reaching K 2.8 billion while the total expenditure of the
enterprise was only K 202.15 million during the fiscal year.
The expenditure of the enterprise was just 7.22 per cent of
the income. National gem entrepreneurs are allowed to sell and
export gems and jewellery during the interim period with the
supervision and assistance of MGE, Customs Department, Myanma
Foreign Trade Bank and the departments concerned. MGE is organizing
two gem emporiums every year in October and March with objectives -
to increase earnings of the nation and the people, to develop gems
and jewellery market in Myanmar by encouraging the gems trade
according to the law and to curb the illegal gems trade.
____________________________________________________
MIZZIMA: 4,000 PHENSIDYL BOTTLES SEIZED IN BANGLADESH
Dhaka, June 8, 2000
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
Bangladesh police yesterday recovered 4,000 bottles phensidyl
estimated to be worth about Taka Five lakh from a highway truck.
The contrabands were seized when police personnel from Shibalaya
Station searched the truck, which was coming to Dhaka from Banapol,
Indian border town. The truck driver and helper were arrested.
Bangladesh police had, in the past, seized thousands of phensidyl
bottles several times along this road but the flow of phensidyl from
India to Bangladesh continues.
Many college students, both male and female, in Bangladesh imbibe
phensidyl, a cough syrup smuggled from India.
Moreover, phensidyl bottles are smuggled from Bangladesh to Burma
across the border. Not less than 1,000 bottles of phensidyl are being
smuggled every week to Moung Daw in Arakan State of Burma through
Taknaf, trade sources in the Bangladesh boder town say.
Like in Bangladesh, youngsters in Burma imbibe phensidyl as drug to
escape their sense of disillusionment and frustration over the
country's situation. Major universities in Burma have been
exclusively closed since December 1996 by the ruling military junta
to prevent the students from political assembling.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: APPEAL FOR URGENT ACTION ON BEHALF OF DAW KHIN
NUAND DAW CHAW
7 June 2000
Daw Khin Nu (f), Daw Chaw (f)- in their late 60s /early 70s
Daw Khin Nu and Daw Chaw were arrested on 27 May 2000 in Rangoon
(Yangon, the capital) and are currently being detained in Insein
Prison without access to their families or proper medical care. Both
women are being denied essential medication, which they must take on
a regular basis. Amnesty International is concerned that their health
may deteriorate significantly if they do not receive prompt medical
attention.
Daw Khin Nu and Daw Chaw were reportedly arrested because they had
been renting their property to the National League for Democracy
(NLD, Myanmar's main opposition party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi).
On 27 May the NLD celebrated its 10th anniversary election victory
and held a ceremony at their headquarters in Daw Khin Nu's and Daw
Chaw's office building. Although the ceremony was peaceful and posed
no security threat, the two women were arrested at 17.30 on 27 May
for having rented their property to the NLD. According to reliable
sources, Daw Khin Nu and Daw Chaw were not involved in the ceremonies
in any capacity. Amnesty International considers them to be
prisoners of conscience, arrested for their association with a
peaceful political party.
In the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the NLD election victory,
scores, perhaps hundreds of NLD members and supporters have been
arrested. Amnesty International has recently obtained the names of
148 political prisoners arrested in the first five months of 2000 by
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, Myanmar's military
authorities). Those arrested include NLD youth organizers, members
of local organizing committees, and at least 12 members of parliament-
elect.
For more information, go to the Amnesty International Burma Group's
website at:
http://www.angelfire.com/al/homepageas/index.html
or
http://www.angelfire.com/al/homepageas/index.html#UA070600
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP: NEW PHOTO SET ONLINE
KHRG Photo Set 2000-A now available online
The Karen Human Rights Group has just released Photo Set 2000-A,
which can be seen on our web site (www.khrg.org). Released on June
1, 2000, the set consists of photos gathered by KHRG since the
release of Photo Set 99-B in August 1999. It includes 137 photos
from Papun, Nyaunglebin, Toungoo, Thaton, Pa'an and Dooplaya
Districts of Karen State/Pegu Division, and from Karenni (Kayah) and
Shan States. Topics covered include village destruction, the
internally displaced, torture and killings, forced labour, and
landmines.
____________________________________________________
PD BURMA: CALENDAR OF EVENTS WITH REGARD TO
BURMA
June 2000
http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/about.html
Published by PD Burma.
May 30th- June 15th : 88th Session of the International Labour
Conference, Geneva
June 5-12th : General Maung Aye,
vice-chairman of the Burmese junta, will visit China
June 5-9th : Beijing +5 Review, UN, New York
June 6th : 278th Session of the Governing Body, Geneva
June 18th : Fundraising benefit at the Royal Court
Theatre, London
June 19th : Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday and Burmese
Women's Day
June 24th : Burma Solidarity Meeting, Dublin
July 7th : Commemoration of bombing of student union and
shooting in 1962
July 19th : Martyrs Day (Official)
July 24-25th : 33rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM),
Bangkok
July 27th : 7th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Bangkok
July 28-29th : 33rd ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences
(PMC), Bangkok
August 8th : 12th Anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising
September 18th : Anniversary of SLORC Coup, 1988
September 24th : National League for Democracy formed
1988
October : 104th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, Jakarta
November 2-17th : 279th Session of the Governing Body and
its committees, Geneva
________________
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 or fax (US) +1(202) 318-1261
You will be prompted to press 1 for a voice message or 2 to send a
fax. If you do neither, a fax tone will begin automatically.
Fax (Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143
________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember four years of good friends, bad clothes, explosive chemistry
experiments.
http://click.egroups.com/1/4051/6/_/713843/_/960482977/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
theburmanetnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx