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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet News: November 13, 2000
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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
________November 13, 2000 Issue # 1660__________
NOTED IN PASSING: "This is Myanmar's Gulag: NLD party members
disappear and their families are not told where they are for days or
weeks, and then they have only very limited access to them. But every
right-thinking person must hope that the day will come soon when
these four just men of Pathein will be able to take up their
positions as elected members of parliament....Unfortunately, right
now, they do not live in a civilized country"
Roger Mitton of Asiaweek. See Asiaweek.com: Four Just Men of Pathein-
-Swallowed up by Myanmar's Gulag
INSIDE BURMA _______
*AFP: Myanmar Muslim rebels claim to have killed 11 Yangon troops
*Mizzima: Prawn breeding business effects environment in Rekhine
State of Burma
*Bangkok Post: BORDER: Burma exiles would rather stay at home; DKBA
leaders urge more Karen to return
*Asiaweek.com: Four Just Men of Pathein--Swallowed up by Myanmar's
Gulag
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AP: Australian in small plane crash lands in Myanmar
*AFP: Thais plan evacuations if Myanmar border fighting worsens
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*AP: Boulder may suspend anti-Myanmar law; leave it as symbolic
gesture
OPINION/EDITORIALS _______
*The Boston Globe: a Guardian of Hope in Burma
*The Hindu: Editorial--The Burma Road
OTHER _______
*PD Burma: Burma Calendar of events
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AFP: Myanmar Muslim rebels claim to have killed 11 Yangon troops
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Nov 13 (AFP) - Myanmar's separatist Rohingya
Muslim rebels claim to have killed 11 government troops in a
gunbattle last week in Arakan province, bordering Bangladesh,
according to a faxed statement received here Monday.
The gunbattle began Friday when Myanmar troops opened fire on the
militants trying to lay land mines along Arakan's border with
Bangladesh, the statement by the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation
(RSO) said.
No confirmation from Bangladeshi frontier officials was available.
But a senior official of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles Monday
said their frontier troops had reported hearing exchanges of gunfire
from Myanmar, close to Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar
district.
The militants from Myanmar's mostly poor Muslim Rohingya community
have been fighting a long bush war for Arakan's independence.
Nearly 250,000 Rohingyas fled into Bangladesh in 1991, alleging
persecution by Myanmar troops. Most of them were later repatriated.
But some 20,000 Rohingya refugees were left in two of the refugee
camps in Cox's Bazar waiting clearance from Myanmar authorities for
repatriation.
____________________________________________________
Mizzima: Prawn breeding business effects environment in Rekhine State
of Burma
Dhaka, November 10, 2000
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
In Taungkok town of Rekhine State of Burma, people are facing with
drinking water shortage problem as the brine-prawn breeding ponds in
the township make the water salty. The salty water from the prawn
breeding-ponds instill into the wells, gardens and farms, especially
in the area of ôPatin Kyunö Island and therefore plants cannot
be
grown any longer on the island.
A few months ago, Taungkok-based 544 and 346 infantry regiments of
Burmese military forced the villagers of ôNat Mawö and
ôKalain Pyinö
to dig up for the military-owned prawn breeding business in
ôZeepinyinö village and ôKalain Taungö village without
giving any
wages. Moreover, the rich people from nine villages of ôPatin
Kyunö
are also widely working with this profitable brine-prawn breeding
business.
Although the suffering villagers had been repeatedly reporting these
problems to the concerned township authorities, there was no concrete
action taken on their complaints. Recently, the authorities came and
inspected the prawn breeding sites in the area and directed to reduce
the briny water through water canals. But as the prawn owners bribed
the authorities, nothing has come to the better condition yet. The
villagers from ôKan Pyinö village in ôPatin Kyunö are
therefore
planning to migrate to other villages.
Moreover, ôNgamun Daingö-based Burmese military units in
ôPatin Kyunö
recently forced the villagers from nine villages to dig up the ponds
without providing wages for over two months and forced them to sign
the paper which says that their work was voluntary.
Rekhine State is estimated to have over seventy thousand acres of
prawn breeding areas and said to be the largest prawn breeding state
in the whole Burma.
____________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: BORDER: Burma exiles would rather stay at home; DKBA
leaders urge more Karen to return
November 13, 2000
More than 5,000 displaced Burmese would rather stay in a DKBA-held
area of Burma, opposite Tak, than return to Thailand.
Their decision was in line with the wishes of some Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army leaders who want Karen refugees in Thailand to return
to DKBA-held zones.
Most of these displaced Burmese are former Karen refugees who used to
live in refugee camps in border areas of Tak.
Of the 1,000 families living in an administrative zone of the pro-
Rangoon DKBA's 999th Division, 460 came from Huaykalok and Mawkier
refugee camps in Mae Sot and Phop Phra districts, and 183 from Mae La
camp in Tha Song Yang district.
The remainder are Burmese workers and Karen tribespeople.
The centre of this 50-km DKBA-held area is Kok Ko village, north of
Myawaddy and opposite Tak's Mae Sot and Mae Ramat districts.
"Newcomers are usually unable to provide for themselves. So we will
help them by providing them with shelter and food in the first six
months and then allow them to run corn and nut plantations and rice
fields here," said Lt-Col Maung Chit Tu, head of the DKBA's 999th
Division.
"Some of them run coffee shops or boutiques or become labourers."
He said some displaced Burmese served the administrative zone as
teachers, officials, sawmill labourers, furniture factory workers and
tailors making uniforms for DKBA troops.
The zone also has schools and a temple, from which abbot Luang Phor
Yai and other monks sit on the district's advisory committee for
education.
Lt-Col Maung Chit Tu said the DKBA were forced to take care of the
refugees because Rangoon refused to help them or allow international
organisations or neighbouring countries to assist them.
However, Rangoon had no problem with their stay in DKBA-held areas.
"We want all refugees to come back to live in Burma to work and help
develop our Karen society.
"We do not want them to suffer the indignity of waiting in line for
food at refugee camps in Thailand," he said.
It would not be easy for the DKBA to welcome almost 100,000 Karen
refugees, he said, adding that they would have to return to the Thai
shelters if the DKBA were unable to cope.
"These refugees are not liked by many Thais even though the Thai
government has a policy of giving them humanitarian assistance.
"So we want them to come back to live in Burma," Lt-Col Maung Chit Tu
said.
He promised to ensure the safety and peaceful livelihood of all
refugees who return.
With the exception of soldiers of the anti-Rangoon Karen National
Union and their relatives, most Karen refugees wanted to return.
The KNU rebels tried to force Karen refugees already living in Burma
to go back to Thailand and threatened to harm those who refused.
The KNU's 7th Division earlier attacked Ta Pong camp in Burma,
opposite Ban Wang Takhian, after unsuccessfully trying to force Karen
villagers there to return to Thailand.
San Kyi, 65, said her family and many neighbours returned to Kok Ko
village in Burma when they learned they would be moved from Huaykalok
camp in Mae Sot to Umpiommai camp, which they disliked.
Her family would never return to Thailand unless they were forced to
by fighting, she said, adding that it was better than living in a
refugee camp where they were not free to move around.
Ketti, 21, from Moulmein in Mon state, said strict regulations on
alien labour employment forced her to leave Thailand and stay with
her sister in Kok Ko village.
She will return if she fails to find a job in the village.
Although willing to welcome all displaced Burmese to his
jurisdiction, Lt-Col Maung Chit Tu refused to accept Muslims since
they have long caused unrest in Burmese society.
Maj Kyaw Kar, commander of the DKBA's 555th Division, reportedly
ordered more than 1,000 Muslims to leave Ta Kwet Poe village,
southeast of Hlaingbwe, within two months.
About 20 Muslim families moved to a border area opposite Tha Song
Yang late last month but the remainder asked the DKBA to allow them
to stay until the end of the harvest season.
Senate panel set to inspect refugee shelter
A senate panel sub-committee on foreign affairs is to inspect a
refugee camp in Tha Song Yang district in Tak today to investigate
problems posed by refugees.
The province is home to more than 61,700 refugees, most of whom are
Karen people fleeing fighting in Burma. Some of the refugees have
reportedly caused problems for local villagers and threatened natural
resources.
The 10-man panel, chaired by Sen Udorn Tantisunthorn for Tak, is
scheduled to visit Mae La Camp, which houses 36,941 refugees.
Recently, local residents and officials submitted a petition with the
Senate asking it to look into their problems.
It alleged some refugees encroached on forest reserves, stole produce
from farms and worked without official permission.
"A lot of them are paid to cut trees and burn forests to make way for
farming in forest reserve areas. Some of them have encroached on
forests to occupy the lands," said the senator.
He voiced concern about the birth rate in refugee camps, saying it
would be a burden for Thailand in the future.
Supamart Kasem Tak
____________________________________________________
Asiaweek.com: Four Just Men of Pathein--Swallowed up by Myanmar's
Gulag
>From Our Correspondent
By ROGER MITTON
October 16, 2000
[BurmaNet adds: Asiaweed.com Web posted articles in the From Our
Correspondent section are not necessarily published in the print
version of the magazine. While some FOC articles do see print
publication, it is in abbreviated format. This is the full text web
posted article.]
Last week, I was in Pathein. It is the administrative center for
Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Division, and with a population of 150,000, the
nation's fourth-largest city. I wanted to go there partly because I
have been to Myanmar's three other major cities ? Yangon,
Mandalay
and Mawlamyine ? and partly because it receives relatively few
visitors from the outside world and so I thought it would provide me
with an unblemished glimpse of what provincial Myanmar life is really
like. As the crow flies, Pathein is only 150 km east of Yangon, but
the road is narrow and pot-holed, and at this time of year, its
woeful condition is exacerbated by the monsoon rains. The drive took
a bone-jarring five and a half hours.
After I had checked into the Pathein Hotel ($25, single air-con room
with breakfast) and freshened up, I strolled over to the club house
of the adjacent Ayeyarwady Golf Club. A couple of tables were
occupied in the main room where some members were having a snack and
drinking beer. High up on the wooden walls were honors boards marking
the names of competition winners and club captains and other office
holders. I was intrigued at the preponderance of military names. In
1984, for instance, the Captain's Cup was won by Brig.-Gen. Than
Shwe, then the southwest regional commander based in Pathein, and
now ? as Senior General ? the nation's supreme leader. The
winner in
1998 was Brig.-Gen. Shwe Mann, the current regional commander, who is
widely tipped to follow the Than Shwe trajectory. Other names
included Than Shwe's predecessor as head of the junta, Gen. Saw
Maung, and the current deputy prime minister, Maj.-Gen. Tin Hla.
Absent from the honors boards were the names of Nyunt Hlaing, Hla
Kyi, Tin Chaw and Kyaw Min. Ten years ago, on May 27, 1990, these
four Pathein citizens, all members of the National League for
Democracy, were elected by the people of their city to represent them
in parliament. But, like the other 388 victorious NLD members, they
were not allowed to take their seats. As I sat in the Pathein golf
club, I read over my notes about this quartet. Of Nyunt Hlaing, now
55, I had little information. He had won a scholarship to study in
the old Soviet Union, and after returning to Myanmar, he had obtained
a Master's degree in "Fishery" ? understandable, perhaps, coming
from
this river town. He had worked at Mandalay University before becoming
involved in politics via his trade union activities (which had led to
his arrest in 1988 and his subsequent forced retirement a year
later). I think it fair to say without fear of contradiction that
Nyunt Hlaing's name will never go up on one of the honors boards at
the Pathein golf club.
Ten days before I ventured into the Ayeyarwady, I had paid a one-day
visit to Mandalay ? ostensibly to witness the opening of that
northern city's new international airport. The regime's No. 2, Gen.
Maung Aye, who is regarded as Than Shwe's heir apparent, was to
officiate at the ceremony and I had hoped I might meet him and
arrange an interview. Unfortunately, our chartered flight arrived
more than an hour after the opening ceremony had ended and Gen. Maung
Aye and his retinue had long since left. We were greeted by a
deserted terminal and a sea of empty plastic chairs. But at least I
got to see the spiffy new building with its airbridges and trendy
lounges and well-stocked shops; all that was lacking were passengers.
A couple of jumbo jets flew in for the occasion, one each from Thai
Airways and All Nippon Airways; but neither of these airlines, nor
any other international carrier, has plans to use the new facility.
Of course, some international services will eventually include
historic Mandalay, possibly even with 747s; but Tin Chaw, 65, is as
likely to travel on one of those jumbo jets as he is to take up his
seat as the duly elected member for the constituency of West Pathein
1. He is a former school principal, and until he joined the NLD and
entered politics 12 years ago, was head of the West Pathein Education
Department. Still, he may take some comfort from the fact that the
University of Pathein has finally reopened and is thronged with
students, who, on the Saturday evening I was there, crowded the
teashops along the road leading to the campus gates, chatting,
reading, flirting and listening to noisy music as students do the
world over.
I, too, had been listening to some special music on the Friday
evening before I went to Mandalay. At the Thailand Cultural Center in
Bangkok, the visiting Novosibirsk Theater of Opera and Ballet had put
on a stunning performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, one of my
all-time favorite compositions. Unaware of exactly what it was, I had
first seen this cantata-cum-ballet in 1970 at the National Arts
Center in Ottawa and been awestruck by the music, the dancing, and
the monastic chanting of the earthy love poems. I had feared the
performance by the Novosibirsk company would not make the same impact
upon me. I was wrong. It was magic.
After the finale, the audience ? and remember, Thais are not
renowned
for their fondness of Western classical music ? rose and gave the
company a standing ovation. Indeed, if the theater staff working the
curtains had not called a halt, I think the encores and curtain calls
would have continued long into the night. Sadly, Kyaw Min, 66, will
never see such a concert. Soon after his election victory in the West
Pathein 2 constituency, the U.S.-trained architect and former
lecturer at Yangon's Institute of Technology was detained by the
military authorities. Released a year later, he was arrested once
again in 1996 and placed in Yangon's notorious Insein Jail, along
with several other NLD colleagues. For him, unheard melodies must, we
hope, remain sweeter.
Ironically, at the time I attended the Novosibirsk company's Carmina
Burana, I was mid-way through reading a fabulous new book called In
Siberia by Colin Thubron. It is an account of his 24,000-km journey,
by plane, train, boat, truck and foot, across Siberia from
Yekaterinburg to Magadan. I recommend it to anyone thinking that
there are no new frontiers. In it, there is a section on Novosibirsk
?
a city, says Thubron, most notable for being so spread out and
spacious. He recalls going downtown and finding himself "in the void
of Lenin Square, where the largest opera house in Russia, bigger even
than the Bolshoi, crouches like a square-headed tortoise under a dome
of silver scales." His rather jaundiced description somewhat turned
me off the place, but then when I saw a picture of the theater in the
Carmina Burana program, it did not look so bad. And it made me think
that perhaps I should temper my enthusiasm for this particular
section of Thubron's account ? though I would still
unhesitatingly
recommend the book to everyone.
Of course, it is not something that Hla Kyi, 55, is ever likely to
get a chance to read. Winner of the East Pathein 2 seat, he remains
the NLD's treasurer and chief organizer for the Ayeyarwady Division.
Regrettably, one of his colleagues, Maung Maung Gyi (a 78-year-old MP-
elect from Mon state, who was himself only recently released from 18
months' detention), told me at the NLD headquarters last week that
Hla Kyi had been taken away by the military authorities on Sept. 27
and his whereabouts remain unknown.
This is Myanmar's Gulag: NLD party members disappear and their
families are not told where they are for days or weeks, and then they
have only very limited access to them. But every right-thinking
person must hope that the day will come soon when these four just men
of Pathein will be able to take up their positions as elected members
of parliament. And that they will be able to read and travel and
listen to music like other civilized people. Unfortunately, right
now, they do not live in a civilized country
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: Thais plan evacuations if Myanmar border fighting worsens
MAE SOT, Thailand, Nov 13 (AFP) - Thai authorities are planning to
evacuate 3,000 villagers living on the Myanmar border if fighting
between the government and rebel troops escalates, officials said
Monday.
District chief in Tak province, Satawat Sanmuk, said Myanmar had
sent 2,000 fresh troops to the area over the weekend, after losing a
base to the rebel Karen National Union (KNU).
Thai authorities were meeting to discuss an evacuation plan if the
fighting between the KNU and government soldiers worsened, Satawat
said.
"If the fighting becomes more serious and shells start crossing into
Thailand, we will evacuate our people to an area deeper inside the
country," he said.
Nearly 3,000 Thais live in two villages directly opposite the area
where conflict has raged for nearly two weeks during the annual dry
season offensive.
The KNU's Major Neda (eds: one name) said six Myanmar soldiers were
killed and 10 injured in clashes Sunday night and Monday morning.
Neda said two of his men were also injured, but the casualty figures
could not be independently confirmed.
____________________________________________________
AP: Australian in small plane crash lands in Myanmar
Nov. 13, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ An Australian businessman flew out of Myanmar
Monday, two days after his small plane crash-landed on a southeastern
island, the Australian Embassy said.
Kim Parker, 53, was rescued by a Myanmar navy patrol boat on the
Mali island after his New Zealand-made, single-engined Fu-24 made an
emergency landing on the beach, the New Light of Myanmar said.
Parker, 53, was flying from Phuket in Thailand to Calcutta, India,
when his plane developed engine trouble, the newspaper said. It came
down in shallow water and hit a mound of sand.
Parker, who was the sole occupant of the plane, was not injured.
Mali, which has a naval base, is 460 kilometers (285 miles)
southeast of the capital, Yangon, near the Tanintharyi coast.
Parker was taken to the nearest town of Myeik and transported by air
to the capital, Yangon, where he was transferred to the Australian
Embassy Sunday.
On Monday, he left for Bangkok, Thailand, an Australian Embassy
staffer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Parker's immediate
plans were not known. It wasn't clear what he would do with the
wreckage of his plane.
The New Light of Myanmar said Parker was rescued ``safe and sound''
but the landing gear of the aircraft was broken, the propeller
twisted and the cowling burned.
The embassy said Parker was flying to India on company business. The
New Light of Myanmar said Parker worked for an Australian company,
Universal Tracking System Ltd. No details of the company were
available.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
AP: Boulder may suspend anti-Myanmar law; leave it as symbolic
gesture
Nov. 13, 2000
BOULDER, Colo.
The city attorney is recommending Boulder suspend a law banning
business with companies in Myanmar, but keep it on the books as a
protest of the country's human-rights record.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned a Massachusetts state
law that boycotted purchases from companies doing business in
Myanmar, the south Asian country also known as Burma.
The city attorney's office says the ruling invalidates a 1996 Boulder
ordinance similar to the Massachusetts law.
A coalition of corporations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the
National Association of Manufacturers successfully challenged the
Massachusetts law on grounds the U.S. Constitution gives only the
federal government the power to make foreign policy.
A military regime rules Myanmar despite a victory in 1990 by the
National League for Democracy party. The party's leaders, including
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, have been put under house
arrest and their movements restricted.
Deputy City Attorney Jerry Gordon said his office consulted a law
professor about options regarding the ordinance, and decided there
was little choice but to leave it on the books as a symbolic gesture.
The city boycott was partly inspired by Boulder resident Inge
Sargent. The Austrian-born Sargent married Sao Kya Seng, a Burmese
prince, in 1953. In 1962, the Burmese army imprisoned the prince and
Sargent later with their two daughters.
In retirement, she and her husband Howard Sargent have raised money
for Burmese refugee assistance.
The Sargents support suspending the ordinance but leaving it in
place.
"We don't want to walk away from this situation and act like it
doesn't matter any more. The generals in Rangoon will notice that and
will act if they think the world doesn't care," Howard Sargent
said. "At least on the other side of the world, people know Boulder
is watching."
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________
The Boston Globe: a Guardian of Hope in Burma
November 13, 2000,
OP-ED; Pg. A15
H.D.S. GREENWAY; H.D.S. Greenway's column appears regularly in the
Globe.;
RANGOON
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, "THE LADY," AS HER SUPPORTERS CALL HER, IS A
STUBBORN WOMAN. MORE THAN 10 YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE BURMA'S BRUTAL
MILITARY JUNTA REFUSED TO ACCEPT HER PARTY'S STUNNING VICTORY IN THE
FIRST FREE ELECTION BURMA HAD SEEN IN 30 YEARS. THE JUNTA PUT HER
UNDER HOUSE ARREST AND IMPRISONED HER LIEUTENANTS. HUNDREDS FLED THE
COUNTRY.
But for 10 years Suu Kyi has refused to accept the verdict of the
junta. By so doing she won the Nobel Peace prize in 1991 and remains
to this day the constant if flickering flame of resistance to tyranny
in this sorry land.
She has paid a heavy price: For 10 years she has been either under
house arrest or unable to leave the capital. She has been separated
from her children, and when her British husband was dying of cancer
in England he was refused a visa to see her one more time. She
refused to leave the country to see him knowing that the generals
would never let her return. Her two sons remain in Britain.
In August she attempted to drive out of Rangoon to attend a
political meeting. She was stopped but for nine days refused to leave
her car in silent protest. She was then escorted back to the capital.
In September she tried to board a train north to another political
event but was told there were no more tickets. She was confined to
her house near the Inya Lake. The road to her house is sealed off,
and only those with government permission may approach. People
attempting to see her risk arrest.
The generals have bottled her up, all but destroyed her political
party, and show no sign of losing their hold on power. But such is
Suu Kyi's prestige that they dare not kill her, as they have others
who have opposed them.
The West, led by the United States and Britain, have imposed
sanctions and urged isolation. But the West has little influence
here, and the regional powers that matter and share a border, India
and China, have said little.
Three years ago Burma was accepted for membership in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, but ASEAN is an organization famous for
not interfering in the domestic politics of its members.
Burma is accustomed to isolation. From the early '60s to 1989 Burma
adopted a xenophobic "Burmese Road to socialism" that cut the country
off from the rest of world almost as completely as North Korea. It
also brought what had been a rich country with more than half the
world's rice exports to ruin. Today socialism has been replaced by
crony capitalism, and although the country is more prosperous,
Rangoon is still the most down-at-the-heel capital in Southeast Asia.
The government ministries and many businesses are stocked with
military men whose incompetence is exceeded only by their greed.
The kind of people power that toppled corruption and dictatorship in
the Philippines and Indonesia was met by bullets here in 1988.
Hundreds of pro-democracy student demonstrators were killed - nine
months before a similar event took place in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square.
Enter Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of the man who led Burma to
independence from Great Britain in 1948 only to be felled by
assassins. She had arrived only recently from England, but as has
happened to other dutiful daughters of Asian politicians, people
ralled to her.
Some will tell you that her refusal to compromise with the military
has achieved nothing. The generals have marginal ized her. They say
people will soon forget her.
Others will say that her stand against foreign investment and tourism
is hurting the Burmese people without achieving any political gain.
But, like a military commander who has been overrun by an enemy, Suu
Kyi will call down artillery on her own position if it will hurt the
junta.
People are afraid to discuss politics, but an acquaintance whom I met
in a public place opened her purse to retrieve her glasses and left
it open long enough for me to see Aung San Suu Kyi's photograph
within. The glance that passed between us seemed to say: Despite what
you may hear, and whatever the generals may do, we have not forgotten
her.
____________________________________________________
The Hindu: Editorial--The Burma Road
NEW DELHI, NOV. 12. In rolling out the red carpet to a top gun from
the military Government of Myanmar, India is signalling a new phase
in its relations with a very special neighbour and a readiness to
pursue its interests in Asia with some vigour.
Gen. Maung Aye, who ranks number two in the military and political
establishment of Myanmar, is arriving here on Tuesday on an extended
visit to India.
This is the first exchange at the higher political level between the
two neighbours since the late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had
travelled to Yangon in 1987. It marks a culmination of the quiet but
productive engagement between the two nations in recent years.
Since Rajiv Gandhi's trip to Myanmar, the relations between the two
neighbours have gone through a roller coaster. Following the military
crackdown in 1988 against the struggle for the restoration of
democracy in Myanmar, India went out of the way to support the
dissidents. There was an outpouring of Indian sentiment in favour of
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi leading the democratic movement.
But by the early 1990s, India had to reconsider the wisdom of working
against the Government of an important neighbouring country and began
a cautious engagement with the military rulers of Myanmar. There were
far too many stakes for New Delhi in a cooperative relationship with
Yangon to persist with a hostile policy. In warmly welcoming Gen.
Maung Aye this week, India is doing much more than picking up pieces
from the Rajiv Gandhi visit of 1987. It is trying to rebuild a
relationship that got sundered four decades ago, when Myanmar turned
insular and the large Indian community had to leave that country.
India and Myanmar have put behind the many negative elements of the
past and are ready to lay the foundation for a productive bilateral
partnership that is not predicated on the political colour of the
Government in Yangon.
Gen. Maung Aye's interaction with the top echelons of the Indian
establishment over the next few days will suggest that the limited
engagement of last decade is yielding place to a new warmth between
New Delhi and Yangon.
Critics of Indian foreign policy at home and abroad will surely point
to the apparent inconsistency of the Indian refusal to deal with the
military Government in Pakistan while laying it out for the Generals
of Myanmar.
But the fact is that India's reluctance to engage Pakistan is not
based on the nature of the regime in Islamabad. It has to do with
Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism in India.
There is a huge difference, as far as India is concerned, between the
Generals in Pakistan and those in Myanmar. While the military rulers
in Islamabad are relentless in their support to terrorism in this
country, the military Government of Myanmar has been very helpful in
countering the festering insurgencies in the North- East.
The benefits of cooperation between the Indian security establishment
and the military in Myanmar have indeed been immeasurable in the
management of the situation in the North- East. With terrorism
looming large over India's security agenda in the recent years, few
of India's neighbours have been as cooperative as Myanmar in dealing
with this threat.
But will India risk international opprobrium in engaging Myanmar, at
a time when Western nations are trying to isolate it? Unlikely. All
major powers understand the conflict between ideological principle
and national interest in the conduct of foreign policy.
Even the richest and most powerful nations cannot claim to have
resolved the inherent tension between the ideas of "power"
and "principle". The United States, for example, argues that trading
with the Chinese Communists will encourage their evolution into
democrats.
At the same time Washington has suggested that trade embargoes
against Myanmar will force its Generals into restoring democracy. The
difference probably lies in the American assessment that there is
more money to be made in China than in Myanmar.
In any case, the attempts to isolate Myanmar have not really
succeeded. Myanmar is now part of the Association of South East Asian
Nations. It is also part of other regional groupings. Most Asian
nations reject the idea of barricading Myanmar out of the regional
mainstream.
Unlike the West and the U.S., India needs to be modest about its
capacity to export democracy to other nations and ability to engineer
political change in other nations. While democracy is indeed a
virtue, it can only be established through an internal impetus rather
than external pressure.
A number of factors are at work in Indian diplomacy towards Myanmar.
Four sensitive States of the North-East lie along the volatile border
of nearly 1600 km between the two nations. Beyond the immediate
common interest in countering terrorism, New Delhi and Yangon will
have to work together in bringing peace and prosperity to the north
eastern parts of India and the remote western regions of Myanmar.
Myanmar is the bridge-state between India and South East Asia. When
the new road link between the North-East and Myanmar, built by the
Indian Border Roads Organisation, opens in a few weeks, the two
countries would have taken the first step in realising the huge
potential for trans- regional cooperation in the transportation and
energy sectors.
India and Myanmar have a stake in transforming the Bay of Bengal
littoral into a community of States cooperating across a broad front.
New Delhi and Yangon also have a big responsibility in ensuring the
waters of the Bay of Bengal remain tranquil and do not come under
destabilising external influences.
India is beginning to understand that it cannot shape the future
balance of power in Asia without showing the political will to take
difficult decisions and the institutional energy to pursue its
interests.
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
PD Burma: Burma Calendar of events
╖ November 10-11th : Meeting of the Council of the
Socialist International, Maputo
╖ November 2-17th : 279th Session of the Governing Body
and
its committees, Geneva
╖ November 17th : Global Day of Action on Open Schools
╖ November 30th : ILO Review of Burma's practises
╖ December 11-12th : EU and ASEAN
Ministerial-level
meeting, Laos
╖ December : Japan-Burma panel on reform
of
Burma's economic structure, Tokyo
╖ January 2001 : Sweden takes over EU
Presidency
╖ February : Meeting of Solidarity Groups,
Brussels
╖ March/April : Teachers/ Students Union
Conferences
╖ March/April : EU Common Position Review
╖ March/April : UN Human Rights Commission,
Geneva
╖ May/June : Meeting of Solidarity Groups
╖ July : Belgium takes over EU
Presidency
____________________________________________________
________________
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