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BurmaNet News: October 10, 2000
- Subject: BurmaNet News: October 10, 2000
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 10:40:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
_________October 10, 2000 Issue # 1636__________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*AP: Suu Kyi's party gets eviction notice from headquarters
*Asiaweek: Homeless in Yangon
*AFP: Myanmar taking tough line in meeting with UN envoy: government
sources
*AP: Apartment block collapses in Yangon, killing 11
*Reuters: Suu Kyi refusing to meet U.N. Myanmar envoy-sources
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: EU talks postponed not cancelled: Myanmar junta
*AFP: Vietnam tells ASEAN to stay out of Myanmar crisis
*AFP: Myanmar junta leader congratulates new Yugoslav president
*AP: Official: Drugs hurt Southeast Asia's international standing
*Reuters: Myanmar nationals languish in Bangladesh jails
*Mizzima: Dr. Sein Win re-elected as PM of Burmese exiled govt.
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*The Financial Times: Burma denies economy 'stagnant'
*Globalexchange: Aeroground out of Burma
OPINION/EDITORIALS _______
*NCGUB: Dublin Declaration and Press Statement of NCGUB on Convention of
Elected Members
OTHER _______
*British Broadcasting Corp: Job opening, BBC WORLD SERVICE BURMESE
SECTION
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: Suu Kyi's party gets eviction notice from headquarters
Oct 10, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) The pro-democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi has
been asked by landlords to vacate the building housing its headquarters
in the capital, party members said Tuesday.
The owners of the aging two-story brick building, a rallying point for
the embattled National League for Democracy, served the eviction notice
two weeks ago, an NLD member said on condition of anonymity.
The party has until Oct. 25 to leave the premises, the member said.
It was not clear what the NLD planned to do, as Suu Kyi and all other
members of its central executive committee are currently either in
detention or kept incommunicado under virtual house arrest.
The military junta has in recent months stepped up pressure on the NLD,
which can barely function outside Yangon with scores of its members
detained or coerced into resigning. While access to the Yangon
headquarters is often blocked, authorities usually allow party meetings
to go ahead.
The NLD has occupied the property on Shwegondaing Road in central
Yangon since 1989, one year after it was founded. The party won general
elections in 1990 but Myanmar military refused to hand over power.
The NLD has reported that the building's owners, Khin Nu, 70, and Kyaw,
whose age was not known, were arrested after the NLD marked the 10th
anniversary of its victory at the polls on May 27.
Kyaw, who uses only one name, and Khin Nu were apparently accused of
and held responsible for causing public disturbance when the NLD used
loudspeakers. They were released from detention.
The eviction notice was served soon after the government slapped its
latest restrictions on NLD leaders on Sept. 22 after Suu Kyi was blocked
from traveling by train outside Yangon on party work.
It is not clear if NLD will go to court to fight the eviction.
Normally, civil suits take years to resolve.
In early September, authorities for the first time raided the party
office as part of an investigation into the NLD's alleged links with
anti-government terrorists. The party denies such links.
The news of the eviction notice came as a U.N. special envoy was in
Myanmar this week in an effort to end the political deadlock between the
junta and the NLD.
____________________________________________________
Asiaweek: Homeless in Yangon
Asiaweek: Intelligence
October 13, 2000
Who are Ma Kyaw and Ma Khin, two elderly sisters living in Yangon? And
what is their significance to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy? The two women own the premises which houses the NLD's
headquarters on Shwe Gon Taing Road, where the party held almost daily
meetings. The pair, who until now resisted pressure from the ruling
junta to kick out their tenants, gave the NLD until Oct 25 to vacate the
premises. The women's decision came after a few weeks in jail -- they
were incarcerated in the sweep that follows Suu Kyi's August foray into
the countryside. In their letter telling the NLD to leave, the sisters
said neighbours were complaining of the disruption caused by the
government frequently closing off the street. The letter said the
decision was not due to any outside pressure. A blow for the NLD, yes.
But possibly a setback for the government, which until now has been able
to disarm critics by pointing out that the NLD has always been allowed
to run its office and hold meetings.
____________________________________________________
AFP: Myanmar taking tough line in meeting with UN envoy: government
sources
YANGON, Oct 10 (AFP) - Myanmar took a hard line in its meeting Tuesday
with visiting UN envoy Razali Ismail, lecturing him at length about Aung
San Suu Kyi's confrontational tactics, sources in the government said.
During the meeting First Secretary Khin Nyunt, head of intelligence,
spent most of the time telling Razali the country's junta would give no
ground to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), the
sources said.
The military regime would continue to take a tough stance against the
NLD, which Khin Nyunt told Razali had adopted an extremely
confrontational attitude that was damaging the process of democracy in
Myanmar.
The NLD also was collaborating with dangerous "external elements," the
sources said Khin Nyunt told Razali.
Thus far Razali appeared to making little progress on his four-day
visit to Yangon, which began Monday, an attempt to break the deadlock
between Myanmar's junta and the NLD, they said.
Aung San Suu Kyi and other party seniors have remained under de facto
house arrest since they were prevented from travelling to the northern
city of Mandalay on September 22. There has reportedly been little or no
communication between them since then.
Earlier Tuesday a commentary in the state-controlled New Light of
Myanmar newspaper had warned the UN against getting involved in
Myanmar's affairs.
"No outside country should need to come to negotiate or settle or give
guidance; should they send a scheme to settle, people will not accept
it," the paper said.
The junta had not confirmed whether Razali would meet with Aung San Suu
Kyi.
But a source close to the opposition party said she might not even want
to meet the envoy unless the movement restrictions on the rest of the
NLD's leadership were removed.
"Whether she'll see Razali alone without the rest of the party's
Central Executive Committee and under the present restrictive
circumstances remains to be seen," the source told AFP.
Diplomatic sources said Razali was also expected to meet with a number
of foreign missions in Yangon and then travel upcountry to the tourist
destination of Inle Lake.
Razali came to Myanmar to discuss "continuing violations of human
rights in Myanmar" and would report back to UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said last week.
The veteran Malaysian diplomat's second trip to Myanmar under UN
auspices has come against the backdrop of deteriorating relations
between Yangon and the European Union and the junta's renewed crackdown
on the NLD, despite fierce international criticism.
During his first trip in July Razali apparently made little headway in
restarting relations between the NLD and the junta.
The UN special envoy is scheduled to end his visit on Thursday.
The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta
has never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and
human rights groups of severe repression of its opponents.
____________________________________________________
AP: Apartment block collapses in Yangon, killing 11
Oct 10, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) A three-story apartment building collapsed in an
eastern suburb of Yangon last week, killing 11 people and injuring at
least five others, local officials said Tuesday.
The tragedy, which occurred last Thursday, was not reported in official
newspapers, the main source of news in this country where information is
tightly restricted.
Rescue workers uncovered 11 bodies including a 12-year-old boy from the
debris, said an official, who requested anonymity. One of the injured
people was seriously hurt.
About 15 families lived in the 70-year-old brick building in the
capital's Pazundaung township but not many were at home when it
collapsed, apparently due to old age, lack of maintenance and vibrations
from passing container trucks, a resident said.
Local people said residents had ignored earlier warnings by the local
authorities to evacuate the building.
____________________________________________________
Reuters: Suu Kyi refusing to meet U.N. Myanmar envoy-sources
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
has refused to meet the visiting United Nation's special envoy unless
the military government lifts restrictions on her movements, diplomats
said on Tuesday.
Suu Kyi was refusing to meet special envoy Razali Ismail in protest at
the restrictions, the diplomats told Reuters. She has been confined to
her house with her telephone cut and diplomatic access barred since
September 21.
There was no word from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Senior NLD members are cut off from contact and are subject to similar
restrictions to the 55-year-old Nobel laureate.
There had been doubts on whether the authorities would allow Razali to
visit Suu Kyi, but the government said earlier this week it would not
prevent them from meeting.
Razali, a Malaysian national, arrived in Myanmar on Monday and is due
to leave on Thursday.
U.N. officials in Yangon declined to comment on whether Razali would
meet Suu Kyi, but said the envoy would leave Yangon on Tuesday for a
trip up country.
Myanmar officials said Razali met the powerful Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) and head of military intelligence, on Tuesday morning.
On Monday he met Foreign Minister U Win Aung and two other cabinet
ministers.
MOUNTING CONDEMNATION
Myanmar has faced mounting international condemnation this year over
its treatment of Suu Kyi and the NLD, which won elections in 1990 by a
landslide but has never been allowed to govern.
Senior NLD officials are confined to their homes, and NLD Vice Chairman
U Tin Oo has been in detention since the government blocked a bid by Suu
Kyi to travel from Yangon to Mandalay by rail last month.
International anger at Myanmar has threatened to derail a planned
meeting of Southeast Asian and European Union foreign ministers in Laos
in December.
Myanmar's newspapers, regarded as mouthpieces of the military
government, launched another of their regular attacks on Suu Kyi on
Tuesday, saying the authorities were happy to hold dialogue with the NLD
but not with ``illegal members'' like Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo.
``Should the special representative of the United Nations come, it will
be explained to him that efforts are being made for the emergence of a
disciplined, flourishing democracy,'' said a commentary in the Kyemon
and New Light of Myanmar newspapers.
Razali was appointed U.N. special envoy in April and visited Myanmar
from June 29 to July 3 this year.
Razali's predecessor, Alvaro De Soto, visited Myanmar several times to
mediate between the SPDC and the NLD but his visits produced no tangible
success.
(With additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok)
____________________________________________________
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: EU talks postponed not cancelled: Myanmar junta
YANGON, Oct 10 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling military junta said Tuesday that
it had not cancelled a visit by an EU delegation scheduled for the end
of the month but had postponed it because the timing was wrong.
"As the present environment is not favourable for the meeting to be
constructive, Myanmar has requested the EU side to postpone the visit to
a later date," a government spokesman told AFP.
"In fact, the visit was not cancelled but only postponed to a later
date acceptable to both sides," he added.
An EU foreign policy troika was due to visit Yangon during the last
week of October, tasked with trying to break the deadlock between the
junta and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).
The EU deplored the decision to "cancel" the delegation's visit but
reiterated its full support for UN special envoy Razali Ismail who began
a four-day visit to Myanmar on Monday for talks with the military
authorities.
The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta
has never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and
human rights groups of severe repression of its opponents.
____________________________________________________
AFP: Vietnam tells ASEAN to stay out of Myanmar crisis
HANOI, Oct 10 (AFP) - Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien told
Southeast Asian officials they should stick to their tradition of not
intervening in others' internal affairs, despite mounting pressure for
action in Myanmar, the official media reported Tuesday.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should "keep its
basic principles -- non-interference, consensus, and the resolution of
issues in ASEAN -- in sight," the official VNA news agency quoted Nien
as telling a meeting of ASEAN officials here Monday.
The regional grouping has come under mounting pressure in recent weeks
to intervene in the Myanmar crisis sparked by the military junta's
placing of opposition leader Aung Sung Suu Kyi under de facto house
arrest.
ASEAN should "re-examine its principle of non-interference" and "take
all possible steps to end the current political crisis in Myanmar," the
Alliance for Reform and Democracy, a network of Asian pro-democracy
politicians, urged Sunday.
But as current ASEAN chairman, Vietnam has steadfastly opposed any
action.
Last week the foreign ministry announced its contacts with other ASEAN
members had concluded "the recent development of the situation in
Myanmar is an internal affair for the Burmese and that foreign countries
should not intervene."
Nien insisted that, instead of taking on a new more political role,
ASEAN should focus on the widening gap between its new and longstanding
members.
Without effective action by the grouping, growing globalization would
lead to the "unavoidable danger of having two groups of countries --
rich and poor -- in ASEAN," the official English-language daily Vietnam
News quoted him as telling delegates.
Critics say ASEAN's decision to admit Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and
Vietnam, with their impoverished, long state-controlled economies and
sensitivity to Western human rights criticism, has prevented the
grouping from playing a more effective regional role.
____________________________________________________
AFP: Myanmar junta leader congratulates new Yugoslav president
BANGKOK, Oct 9 (AFP) - Myanmar military leader Senior General Than Shwe
sent a message of congratulations on Monday to Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica, state-run TV Myanmar reported.
Kostunica was sworn in late Saturday as the new Yugoslav president
before a joint session of parliament in Belgrade, ending 13 years of
iron rule by Slobodan Milosevic.
____________________________________________________
AP: Official: Drugs hurt Southeast Asia's international standing
Oct 10, 2000
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) Thailand's foreign minister warned Monday that
Southeast Asia's international standing has been hurt by illegal drugs
produced and trafficked out of the region.
``Drugs are a serious threat in the region that has tainted our image
and affected our negotiating power with outsiders,'' Minister Surin
Pitsuwan told a news conference. ``We will lose confidence from the
international community.''
Surin said the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
need to work to achieve their goal of a drug-free ASEAN by 2015 _ the
theme of a three-day conference that starts in Bangkok on Wednesday.
ASEAN includes major drug producers Myanmar and Laos, which with
Thailand comprise the Golden Triangle, a major source of heroin and
methamphetamines.
The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
About 34 countries, including China, Japan, the United States and
European countries are expected to participate in the conference
organized by the United Nations International Drug Control Program.
Surin said the meeting aimed to show ASEAN was serious about fighting
drugs. He hoped it would encourage donor countries to give more aid.
``It is necessary to lift this problem on the international agenda as
it affects all of us,'' Surin said.
Military-run Myanmar, the world's second largest producer of heroin
after Afghanistan, has faced years of international criticism for
failing to control drug production within its borders. The regime says
it does all it can with limited resources and little foreign assistance.
ASEAN countries are careful not to comment on the affairs of fellow
member states, but Thailand is increasingly outspoken on the drugs issue
as it is the main market for huge amounts of methamphetamines produced
in secret jungle refineries in eastern Myanmar.
In mid-November Myanmar will host a meeting in Yangon on narcotics law
enforcement in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific, said Laxanachantorn
Laohathan, director of the international organization department of the
Thai Foreign Ministry.
____________________________________________________
Reuters: Myanmar nationals languish in Bangladesh jails
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Oct 9 (Reuters) - More than 500 Myanmar
nationals have served full sentences in Bangladesh jails but are still
languishing behind bars, a senior official said on Monday.
They are in jail because military-ruled Myanmar refuses to take them
back and they would be arrested as illegal immigrants into Bangladesh if
freed.
Pulin Bihari Dev, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar district,
bordering Myanmar, said many of those in jail came from west Myanmar's
Muslim-majority Arakan province.
In all, more than 2000 Myanmar nationals were in Bangladeshi jails, he
said, for illegally crossing into the country or smuggling.
____________________________________________________
Mizzima: Dr. Sein Win re-elected as PM of Burmese exiled govt.
Dublin, Ireland, October 8, 2000
Mizzima News Group
Dr. Sein Win, a former professor and cousin of Burmese opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, was re-elected as Prime Minister of the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) for the next
five-year term. At the meeting held in Dublin, Ireland from October 2 to
7, the exiled Members of Parliament from Burma reformed the Burmese
government in exile with a reshuffle of Cabinet ministers and some
changes in governmental set-up. Observers say that there are no dramatic
major changes in the exiled government, which enjoys little support
among the Burmese democratic forces in exile.
The new set-up of exiled government has nine Cabinet ministers,
including the Prime Minister. Speaking to Mizzima News Group after the
meeting, U Maung Maung Aye, minister for News and Information Committee
said that there are six governmental affairs committee, such as Human
Rights Affairs Committee, Democracy Development Affairs Committee,
Education and Health Affairs Committee, Federal Affairs Committee, and
News and Information Affairs Committee. While a Minister heads each
sub-committee, other Members of Parliament get involved in it. There are
two Cabinet Ministers for the Prime Minister Office (PMO), which is
currently based in Washington D.C.
The meeting was participated by 21 Members of Parliament who left Burma
after the military regime refused to keep its promise of handing over
power to the elected Members of Parliament in the 1990 general
elections. The government in exile was formed with a group of elected
parliamentarians at Manerplaw, the former stronghold of Karen guerillas
ten years ago.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
The Financial Times: Burma denies economy 'stagnant'
By Amy Kazmin
Published: October 8 2000 15:50GMT
Burma's military regime insisted that the country's economy had not
suffered from its international isolation, despite a recent US
government report that described Burma as plagued by rampant inflation,
stagnant growth and chronic scarcity of foreign exchange. "There is no
poverty, there's no starvation, there's no unemployment," Brigadier
General David Abel, a top official in the military regime, said at the
weekend after a meeting of economic ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
He claimed that Burma's gross domestic product had grown 10.9 per cent
in the last year, propelled largely by increased agricultural
production, which accounts for around 40 per cent of GDP.
He also said inflation was 7 per cent, and that the country had
sufficient foreign exchange to cover six months of imports.
"The foreign exchange problem is not so critical to Myanmar (Burma)," Mr
Abel said. "In a time of crisis, we can sustain ourselves. We might not
have the good things in life, but we can hold out for a long time."
But a report of the US Commercial Service released last month suggests
that Burma has paid a far higher economic price for the years of
isolation and military rule since 1988, when the army violently
suppressed a hugely popular pro-democracy uprising and installed itself
in power.
According to the US report, inflation and the overvalued currency -
which has been pegged to the dollar at the same rate for 36 years - have
created "serious macroeconomic imbalances", in Burma's economy, while
increased "crony capitalism" has exacerbated the gap between the rich
and the poor, the study said.
Consumer price studies conducted by diplomats suggests that urban
inflation was around 40 to 45 per cent last year, while bank interest
rates, of about 10 per cent, were negative in real terms, discouraging
savings. In April, the government was forced to give civil servants a
five-fold pay increase to compensate for rapid erosion of the market
value of the currency.
Its value has depreciated by about 92 per cent over the past three
years, while foreign direct investment since 1988 has been just $7.2bn
and tapered off to just $278m in 1998-99, following the Asian economic
crisis and the imposition of sanctions on new investments in Burma by
the US.
Two Japanese companies, Toyota and Ajinomoto, recently pulled out of
Burma because of difficulties operating there, while other investors are
said to be increasingly frustrated by corruption, according to the
report.
With per capital income stagnating at around $300 per year according to
the World Bank, an estimated 23 per cent of the population lives below
minimum subsistence levels while around 40 per cent of Burmese children
are malnourished. The report also suggested that Burma's government had
just $312m in net foreign reserves last year - enough for less than two
months of imports.
"The regime's economic mismanagement is the chief cause of the
continuing downward spiral of Burma's economy," the report said, adding
that "there is little likelihood of improvement in the business climate
under the current regime."
But a defiant Mr Abel said Burma's military rulers had no intention of
relinquishing power until a long-promised constitution is completed.
Nor, he suggested, did they have any intention of talking to Aung San
Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy leader, who won an election in 1990 but was
never allowed to take power.
"Whether the opinion of certain countries might not be favourable to us
doesn't matter," he said. "We're not worried about what the US or the UK
thinks."
____________________________________________________
Globalexchange: Aeroground out of Burma
Oct 10, 2000
From: Shannon Wolfe <shannon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Dear all Activists,
Members of San Francisco Bay Area Burma Roundtable, Burma Image,
representing all Burma activist groups in the San Francisco Bay Area met
with the President of Aeroground Travel marketing on Friday October 6,
2000. They accepted a copy of a letter from Aeroground Travel marketing
to the Chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board resigning from
their contract to promote tourism in Burma.
The letter reads as follows:
" Due to recent events at our corporate headquarters, our board of
directors, on advise of council, has instructed me to advise you that
Aeroground Travel marketing, must resign as the office of the Myanmar
Tourism Promotion Board. Effective immediately."
San Francisco Bay Area Burmese activists representing San
Francisco Burma Activist Groups and Relocated Burmese Students held a
demonstration on Saturday, September 16 in front of Aeroground's world
Headquarters in south San Francisco to protest Aeroground's promotion of
tourism in Burma. Subsequently, Burma activists around the USA sent
letters and emails to Aeroground requesting that the company discontinue
operations in Burma.
In response to this pressure, the company decided to end their
contract in Burma. This is significant victory for the democracy
movement in Burma. Aeroground Travel Marketing had been hired by the
Ministry of Hotel & Tourism in august to promote tourism in Burma among
North Americans.
We commend Aeroground for their important decision for the
people of Burma.
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
NCGUB: Dublin Declaration and Press Statement of NCGUB on Convention of
Elected Members
Convention of the Representatives of the People
of the Union of Burma
2-7 October
Dublin, Ireland
The Representatives of the People of Union of Burma elected in the 27
May 1990 general elections held a National Consultative Convention in
Dublin, Ireland, 2-7 October 2000. The Representatives reviewed the
situation in Burma, mapped out a strategy to resolve the political
stalemate in the country with the strength of the people and assistance
from the international community, and implemented plans to consolidate
the forces dedicated to restoring freedom, human rights, and democracy
in the Union of Burma. Following the meeting they concurred with the
National League for Democracy that the best means of achieving national
reconciliation and restoring democracy and human rights in Burma is
through substantive political dialogue between the democratic forces led
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leaders of the non-Burman ethnic
nationalities, and the military.
In order to achieve that goal, the Representatives decided to redouble
their efforts to create a domestic and international atmosphere
conducive to a political dialogue. A four-prong strategy was adopted to
implement political programs. The Representatives will give priority to
the empowerment of democratic forces inside the country while seeking
greater international economic and diplomatic pressure, conduct closer
consultations with all democratic forces to carry out political
programs, build the capacity of individuals and organizations dedicated
to restoring democracy in Burma, step up efforts to strengthen the unity
of all ethnic nationalities, and at the same time prepare for the future
by developing policies to reconstruct the nation with Burmese and
foreign experts and intelligentsia.
The Representatives of the people of the Union of Burma attending the
Convention also resolved to establish the Members of Parliament Union
(MPU), adopted the Constitution of the MPU, and voted to form a Standing
Committee to dedicate the MPU to the strengthening of relations with
Parliaments, parliamentary institutions, political parties, and
political institutions to seek their recognition for the Committee
Representing the People's Parliament and their help in the efforts to
peacefully restore democracy to Burma.
Following the formalization of the Members of Parliament Union and in
accordance with its Constitution, the elected representatives,
officiating as Parliament for the duration of the Convention,
unanimously elected Dr. Sein Win as the Prime Minister of the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, and bestowed him with powers
to form a new Council of Ministers.
The Prime Minister formed the Council of Ministers and assigned
representatives of the MPU to the affairs committees under the
Ministries formed.
The Prime Minister also decided to invite from ethnic and democracy
organizations various experts, women, and youth to join the affairs
committees of the various ministries.
---------------------- ---------------------
-----------------
Dublin Declaration
of the
CONVENTION OF ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNION OF BURMA
2-7 October 2000
Dublin
Ireland
We, the representatives of the Union of Burma, elected in the 27 May
1990 general elections hereby -
Express our deep appreciation to the Government and the people of
Ireland for their warm hospitality and kind assistance to facilitate our
convention in Dublin;
Thank all governments and peoples who have been unwavering in their
support for Burma's democracy movement and the struggle of the ethnic
nationalities for self-determination and equal rights;
Affirm our firm support for the National League for Democracy (NLD) and
its leaders who are trying to implement the principle that the will of
the people shall be the basis of the authority of government as declared
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Re-affirm our determination to join the NLD and the other political
parties in their endeavors to establish a multi-party parliamentary
democracy within the framework of a genuine federal union;
Re-affirm our strong confidence in the Committee Representing the
People's Parliament and appreciate the initiative it has taken to draft
a federal constitution and the work it is undertaking on behalf of all
the elected representatives before the Parliament can convene;
Condemn the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for illegally
detaining the leaders of the NLD and unfairly incarcerating NLD members,
other democracy activists, and politicians;
Strongly urge the SPDC to stop placing its interests above those of the
nation and the people, including the officers and the rank and file in
the military, and to immediately release all detained political
prisoners, restore their democratic rights, and start working for
national reconciliation with the leaders of the NLD and the non-Burman
ethnic nationalities so as to stop the deteriorating socioeconomic and
political conditions in the country;
Applaud the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General in his
endeavor to seek a peaceful solution to the political problems in Burma,
including the appointment of Mr. Razali Ismail as the UN Special Envoy
to Burma;
Thank the Governments and political leaders who have expressed their
concerns regarding the restrictions imposed by the SPDC against the NLD
leaders and for its violation of human rights in Burma;
Call on the European Union to strengthen its common position on Burma
given the deteriorating situation and to continue closely monitoring the
situation in Burma and to take appropriate action to dissuade the SPDC
from following through with its plan to eliminate the NLD;
Appreciate the Government and the Congress of the United States for
championing Burma's cause for democracy and urge the United States to
strengthen its current policy of political and economic sanctions
against the SPDC and to step up diplomatic initiatives aimed at
expanding multinational action to bring about democratic change in
Burma;
Appreciate the Royal Thai Government for advocating efforts to bring a
peaceful end to the political problems in Burma and urge ASEAN as a
whole to initiate steps to stop the injustices being committed by the
SPDC against the NLD--a party chosen by the people to lead the country;
Applaud the International Labor Organization for its efforts to deter
the SPDC from conscripting the people as forced labor to implement
infrastructure projects and to make them carry military supplies and
serve as "human minesweepers" in frontline areas;
Welcome the dawn of democracy in Yugoslavia and the victory of the
Yugoslav people who through their display of tremendous courage ensured
that their will expressed through the ballot box is honored
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
British Broadcasting Corp: Job opening, BBC WORLD SERVICE BURMESE
SECTION
The BBC World Service?s Burmese Section is the best known and most
respected international broadcasting organisation in Burma and the
world. Broadcasting for one hour and fifteen minutes every day,
programmes cover news and current affairs as well as features.
We currently have an opportunity for a Radio Journalist/Producer
however, for applicants with a higher level of skills and experience it
may be possible to be considered for a more senior vacancy.
Radio Journalists/Producer (three year fixed term contract)
We need people with an international outlook on life who enjoy using
their own initiative and developing their own ideas. Benefiting from
first class training, you will be required to undertake all aspects of
radio production including translating and preparing scripts, reporting,
interviewing, writing, recording, using a computer keyboard and
broadcasting at the microphone.
To be considered you will need to demonstrate; Burmese as your first or
best language, a good understanding of English (both written and
spoken), education to degree level (or equivalent), the ability to
translate quickly and accurately from English to Burmese, the ability to
write well and to work effectively in a team (often under pressure) and
a good microphone voice. Understanding of the target area, journalistic
experience, a knowledge of good sources, the ability to conduct
interviews and familiarity with new technology would be advantageous.
Successful applicants will be offered a salary starting from ú23,290 per
annum plus an allowance of ú1,957 per annum for working unpredictable
hours.
If you are interested and you meet the necessary requirements, please
send a full Curriculum Vitae, in English, detailing your education and
work experience with a covering letter saying why you would like to be
considered to; Recruitment Office, BBC World Service, Bush House,
Strand, London WC2B 4PH, U.K, Fax 44 20 7836 3215 or you can e-mail it
to wsrecruit@xxxxxxxxxx quoting reference 47442/www.
Applications must arrive by Monday November 6th 2000. Written and voice
assessments and interviews are expected to be held in November.
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For a subscription to Burma's only free daily newspaper, write to:
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