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BurmaNet News: January 13, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: January 13, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 07:10:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
January 13, 2001 Issue # 1710
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
NOTED IN PASSING:
INSIDE BURMA _______
*United Press International: Letter from Rangoon
*National Public Radio: Bertil Lintner interview on "All Things
Considered"
*Asia Times: Sanctions seen behind junta's talks with Suu Kyi
*Fear Eastern Economic Review: Karens Flee Scorched-Earth Policy
*Muslim Information Center of Burma: Junta kills repatriated migrant
workers in Burma
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Daily Star (Bangladesh): Land mine blasts along Myanmar border continue
*Kyodo: Thai policeman, 3 Karens shot dead in Myanmar jungle
*The Nation: Khun Sa Aide Tells Court He Got Betrayed
*The Nation: God's Army Allegations Questioned
*The Nation: Drug Courier Caught with One Million 'Ya Ba' Tablets
*Bangkok Post: Rights Group Opposes Call to Relocate Refugee Camp
*Bangkok Post: 'Decisive' Steps in Drug War
*France-Africa (France): Names of the leaders
*The Northeast Daily (Aizawl, India): Myanmar lifts lid off Chin rebels,
submits Mizoram probe report
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Dow Jones Newswires: Business News From The Thai Press Friday
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Bangkok Post : High Time for Reconciliation
OTHER______
*Britain-Burma Society: Prospect Burma scholarships announced
*Britain-Burma Society: BBS Announces Shweplanet
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
United Press International: Letter from Rangoon
Friday, 12 January 2001 11:20 (ET)
By CALUM MACLEOD
RANGOON, Burma, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- To read the political tea leaves,
Burma-watchers feast on propaganda rags like the New Light of Myanmar.
Its Orwellian slogans shout the ``People's Desires'' -- ``crush all
internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy'' -- but
read between the lines and public enemy number one, Aung San Suu Kyi,
had come off lightly over the past month.
The rumors exciting Rangoon's diplomats were finally confirmed this
week. The generals who run Burma are holding secret talks with the
embattled torchbearer for democracy, confined to her house or city
limits since her landslide election victory in 1990. The dialogue
spells breakthrough, or another cynical public relations exercise by her
captors.
For the casual reader of Burma's press, little else had changed. On a
late December visit, I spotted the usual diatribes against the
``democracy witchcraft masters of the international colonialist bloc''
and annoying puppets like ``screwball'' James Mawdsley, the British
human rights activist released in October after 415 days in solitary
confinement. Poor boy, sympathized the paper, it was not his fault he
was ``infected by others with the democracy gastric.''
This unfortunate ailment seems to plague many of Burma's 50 million
people. Despite the military's best efforts to silence opposition
politicians, and hound their supporters into renouncing ties, "The Lady"
and her National League for Democracy enjoy the whispered support of
almost everyone I encountered, from Rangoon to Mandalay.
But "government spies are everywhere," warn my confidantes, steering
conversation back to safer ground like the English soccer ruling
Saturday night television screens. "Did you see our Oscars?" inquires a
taxi driver, his tongue loosened by Mandalay rum. The Burmese film world
had just gathered for its annual back-slap. "Every winner thanked the
military," he spits with disgust. "But they don't thank from their
hearts."
The lies perfected by Burma's acting profession are repeated
countrywide. Most families harbor bitter grievances, but the choice is
clear: Bear your heart and go to jail, or learn to live with the junta.
"We were the luckiest students in the world," enthuses a tour guide in
Rangoon. Let's call him Than. "We had a three-year holiday!"
Than was reading philosophy when the government shut all universities in
1996 to teach the students a lesson for their democratic yearnings. Like
his classmates, Than had voted for Suu Kyi's coalition party, and
watched in despair as the regime ignored her triumph. 'It has been an
illusion since then," he says. "Now we can't trust anything the
government says."
The universities eventually reopened, after relocation to the distant
suburbs to dampen thoughts of protest, and Than got his degree. "We
don't forget, but we have to live," he says. "People have basic needs,
and no time to worry about politics. Now they think only about the
lottery!" Tourism is slack so Than helps out at a friend's lottery
stall. The $100,000 jackpot offers instant nirvana to players with an
average wage of just $300 per year.
Like many Burmese in the service sector, Than resents Suu Kyi's
high-minded call on foreigners to boycott her nation until the election
results are respected. "We need evolution not revolution," he argues,
"and the more people who come, the better. We need foreign investment
and foreign technology. We want to swim in the ocean again."
After decades of self-imposed isolation, the government says it is ready
to take the plunge. "I hope the international community will not force
us into a corner," said Foreign Minister U Win last month. "We can stay
in the corner, but we don't want to." Burma's Asian neighbors are
prepared to embrace their awkward cousin, while the west demands
improvements to its atrocious human rights record.
"The only way to change the situation in this country is by engaging
it," believes Bernard Pe-Win, a British businessman who was born in
Burma. At his Forum club in Rangoon, a talking shop for the city's small
expatriate community, Pe-Win argues the west has little leverage to
bring down the military government. Resource-rich Burma can feed itself,
and most other essentials slip across the 1,362 mile border with China.
"Burma is a handy whipping boy," Pe-Win suggests. "The west engages
China, with its large population and market, and even North Korea, with
its nuclear weapons, but feels it can ignore Burma. The military
government is not as good as we would want them to be," he admits, "but
they are a far cry from how they have been painted. Idi Amin would have
wiped out the opposition."
Instead, Suu Kyi endures internal exile in her Rangoon home. Like
Tibet's Dalai Lama, a fellow Nobel Peace Laureate, she remains a potent
symbol of an oppressed people, yet ``The Lady'' is hardly the regime's
only concern. Some observers believe the international focus on Suu Kyi
serves the government's aims, by denying support and negotiating space
to Burma's restless minority groups, victims of the worst human rights
abuses.
"This place could be like the Balkans!" warns a western oil executive in
Rangoon. Burma's borderlands are home to rebel insurgents, drug
traffickers, and a confusion of ethnic and religious agendas. "I take
trouble to hire Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and animists, and they
work well together. But left to themselves, they would just hire their
own kind. The 'do-gooders' call for democracy, but where will they be
when the trouble starts?"
The military raises the specter of national disintegration to justify
its firm grip on power, with the promise of democratic reform when
circumstances allow. "The repression continues day by day," a former
political prisoner tells me in Rangoon. He was jailed under a law
protecting the state from ``destructive elements'' like ``The Lady.''
"You can feel it, everybody is tight-lipped, everybody is frightened. If
there are no sanctions from abroad," he cautions, "then foreign donors
should see that their money doesn't go into the pockets of the military,
to enhance their power."
____________________________________________________
National Public Radio: Bertil Lintner interview on "All Things
Considered"
Jan. 10, 2001
INTERVIEW: BERTIL LINTNER DISCUSSES THE PERSECUTION OF NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AUNG SAN SUU KYI IN BURMA Cat. Title:
ACTIVIST AUNG SAN SUU KYI & BURMA'S MILITARY GOVERNMENT HOLDING
TALKS
NOAH ADAMS, host:
The opposition party in Burma, the National League for Democracy, today
confirmed that the military government has been holding secret meetings
with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The pro-democracy activist and Nobel
Peace Prize winner has been under house arrest since September. Her
party won national elections in 1990, but the military junta never gave
up power. Bertil Lintner covers developments in Burma for the Far
Eastern Economic Review. He says this
isn't the first time that there'd been talks between military leaders
and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr. BERTIL LINTNER (Far Eastern Economic Review): In 1994, the last time
Suu Kyi was under house arrest, she met with, you know, Khin Nyunt, and
several other junta leaders at that time, too. And those talks were
discontinued because the government claimed that she was inflexible and
it was impossible to talk to her. She kept on demanding that the
government should respect the outcome of the 1990 election and ease
repression in the country and so on. And it's not inconceivable that the
generals of Rangoon are playing a very similar game this time. That they
will hold a couple of rounds of talks with Suu Kyi then turn around and
say, `Look, it's impossible to talk to her. Isn't this exactly what we
said?'
ADAMS: Remind us about the logistics here. She's been back under house
arrest. A United Nations' special envoy has been visiting there. Has he
been going to her house as the military leadership been going to her
house?
Mr. LINTNER: It is not clear whether meetings between Suu Kyi and
military leaderships have been held. But Rasona(ph) definitely went to
her house in Rangoon to talk to her there. She did not leave the
compound. She was not allowed to. And this is kind of important to
remember; that Suu Kyi remains under house arrest and her movements are
severely restricted. Most of her co-workers in the National League for
Democracy are in jail. And inside the country the repression is just
getting worse. And since last July hundreds of NLD supporters have been
rounded up, sent off to different prisons. Local offices of the party
are being closed down by the military, and there's no signs that Burma's
moving to anymore political openness.
ADAMS: A couple of years ago, Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris, was dying
in London. The government of Burma wouldn't allow him a visa to come and
visit her. And she was actually afraid to leave to visit him because she
would not be allowed back into the country to continue her fight.
Mr. LINTNER: It is absolutely true. And since Michael's death, the
campaign against Suu Kyi has actually intensified and they've become
much worse. That is why she, last year took this initiative to travel
out of Rangoon. She tried to go to Mandalay, the second biggest city in
the country. She was repeatedly stopped by the military. She was not
allowed to meet members of her own party.
ADAMS: Any way of knowing the response is among the opposition? I
noticed that the All-Burma Students Democratic Front, exiled opponents,
called the news of these talks a truly historic breakthrough.
Mr. LINTNER: That is what the ABSDF has said in a statement today. But
given the junta's previous record of manipulating things to its
advantage, and also the divide and rule among its opponents, it is very
hard to say that this is a breakthrough at this stage. The first thing
that would have to happen if you're talking about a breakthrough would
be a total release of all political prisoners in the country. And
there's hundreds, if not thousands, of them in prisons all over Burma.
ADAMS: For that to happen, would one think that the opposition would
need the support of the people. What do the people of Burma think about
this now?
Mr. LINTNER: It's very hard to say what the people of Burma think
because if they open their mouths and say something, they end up in
jail. And a lawyer--a 77-year-old lawyer was sentenced to 20 years in
prison only a few months ago because he had written on the back of a
book, `We have no freedom. Our mouths are sealed.' It was enough to
sentence a 77-year-old man for the rest of his life in prison. And no
one in Burma really dares to criticize the government openly. It doesn't
mean that the government is any more popular now than it was, for
instance, at the time of the 1990 election when the NLD won a landslide
victory. It won 392 out of 485 seats in the parliament. But the
parliament was never convened.
ADAMS: Mr. Lintner, thank you for your time, sir.
Mr. LINTNER: OK. Thank you.
ADAMS: Bertil Lintner is a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic
Review, author of the book, "Burma in Revolt." He spoke to us from
Chiang Mai, Thailand.
ROBERT SIEGEL (Host): This is NPR, National Public Radio.
____________________________________________________
Asia Times: Sanctions seen behind junta's talks with Suu Kyi
January 12, 2001
BANGKOK - Leading states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) are surely breathing easier following the announcement by a
United Nations special envoy that Burmese military rulers are finally
ready to hold talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Burmese
pro-democracy activists have often accused Asean and Western governments
of providing legitimacy to Burmese military rulers by not discouraging
business deals. However, the junta may finally be feeling the pressure
of international economic sanctions. Pro-democracy activists here
believe that this was a key factor in making the military regime realize
the need for a dialogue with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD).
The military regime, known as the State Peace and Development Council,
has been under intense pressure from the international community to
start a political dialogue as a first step to restore democracy in the
country. The junta is also under heavy international criticism for
alleged human rights excesses. These include charges of arbitrary
arrests, torture, forced relocation of civilians and forced labor. The
regime is also accused of turning a blind eye to the large-scale drug
trafficking out of the country, which has led to the loudest protests
from neighboring Thailand.
The UN Special Envoy for Burma, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, disclosed
Tuesday after a five-day mission to Rangoon that Suu Kyi and the
military regime held talks late in December. According to unnamed
Western diplomats quoted by newspapers Wednesday, the Burmese
pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate has started preliminary
consultations with the military regime. ''They are discussing the
subjects they will develop,'' one diplomat was quoted as saying by one
of Thailand's main English dailies, The Nation.
Pro-democracy activists here say that the first contact between Suu Kyi
and the military rulers in the past seven years was to reach an
agreement on the nature of the forthcoming dialogue. ''It is hoped that
this will bring an end to the long-term political deadlock. We see it as
a positive step forward in the political transformation of the
country,'' said the All Burmese Students' Democratic Front (ABDSF).
Despite its landslide win in the 1990 parliament election in Burma, the
NLD has been kept out of office by the military rulers who have
routinely cracked down on its leader. Suu Kyi herself has been
restricted to her home since September 22 last year, after trying twice
to defy the military regime by travelling outside the capital. Two
senior NLD leaders are in jail.
The pro-democracy activists praise Razali's role. Malaysia's permanent
envoy to the United Nations, Razali has visited Burma three times since
his appointment as special envoy in April last year. His visit to
Rangoon closely followed that of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad.
Malaysia is said to be one of the few countries which the Burmese
government is willing to listen to. Malaysia has traditionally glossed
over Burmese human rights record and defended that nation in the face of
international criticism and demands for more openness there.
In a media interview, Burmese Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win said:
''Because Mr Razali is from Asia I believe he has a better understanding
of the issues involved.''
Kuala Lumpur played a key role in getting Burma admitted into the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 1997 in the face of
protests from the Western world and reservations by other Asean members.
Burma's membership of Asean has since clouded the regional grouping's
ties with the West and often put Asean capitals in delicate diplomatic
situations.
Countries like Thailand have been vocal in advising greater political
openness in Burma and speaking out for human rights in that country.
However, critics have accused key Asean nations of shoring up the
military regime in Rangoon by encouraging business investments in that
country.
Malaysian firms have invested US$587 million in 25 projects in Burma in
the last 12 years. Malaysia is the fourth largest foreign investor in
Burma after Singapore, Britain and Thailand.
Thailand's state oil company, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT),
and Malaysian state oil firm Petronas are reported to be planning
setting up a natural gas processing plant in southern Burma. Petronas is
also a partner in the $650 million Yetagun gas field development in a
consortium that includes British, Thai and Japanese oil firms.
The pro-democracy activists have hailed the announcement as an
''historic breakthrough''. ''This is a truly historic breakthrough after
12 years of struggle. We're very optimistic. This is the most positive
sign we've seen since the general election held in 1990,'' the ABDSF
said in a press note on Wednesday.
___________________________________________________
Fear Eastern Economic Review: Karens Flee Scorched-Earth Policy
Issue of January 18, 2001
Concerted drives by the Burmese army against Karen guerrillas have
displaced up to 30,000 people in eastern Burma, Western relief workers
say.
The army, in a bid to deprive the separatist Karen National Union
fighters of their support base, has in recent months been using
scorched-earth tactics in the hills lying between the Sittang and Bilin
rivers, say the workers, who are based in Thailand but help refugees
across the border.
Village after village has been burned and the Karen inhabitants have
fled to the surrounding hills. The relief workers are worried about the
Karens' welfare and say many are starving and suffering from disease,
including malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea.
The Karen National Union is one of the few ethnic rebel armies in
Burma that hasn't reached a ceasefire with the government. It has
several thousand guerrillas in the eastern hills.
The war has forced more than 100,000 civilians to seek refuge in
Thai camps and the Burmese army's current push could trigger a fresh
influx.
___________________________________________________
Muslim Information Center of Burma: Junta kills repatriated migrant
workers in Burma
Jan. 13, 2001
[Abridged]
Thai authorities in Maesot, Tak province of Thailand have been
repatriating Burmese migrant workers almost every day over the past six
months. [At least 12] Muslims were among those Burmese migrant workers
repatriated by the Thai authorities and were killed by the Burmese .
According to a migrant worker, (name withheld) who escaped, the
military authorities led by Lt. Soe Win of Light Infantry Battalion
No.206 under Light Infantry Division 22, and Bo Chit Thu of Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) killed Burmese migrant workers respectively,
between 8th November, 2000 to December, 25, 2000. The DKBA is an
alliance army of ruling military junta, known as State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC).
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
Daily Star (Bangladesh): Land mine blasts along Myanmar border continue
Jan. 13, 2001
>From Our Correspondent
COX'S BAZAR, Jan 12: Explosion of land mines along Bangladesh-Myanmar
border continued for the third day today, creating panic among people in
border villages of Bangladesh, sources said.
Local people and BDR sources said, a series of land mine explosions took
place in Naikkongchhari, Fultali and Amtali border areas.
Two cows were killed in land mine explosions at Amtali 'Zero point' this
morning. Panic-stricken Bangladeshi villagers are fleeing their homes.
Villagers said a series of land mines planted by Myanmar border forces
Nasaka in the zero line of the border exploded near border pillar number
47 and 48 in the last three days.
BDR jawans requested the woodcutters and local people not to go near
border pillers as Nasaka continued to plant land mines along the border.
Our correspondent from Bandarban reports, Nasaka imposed curfew along
20-kilometre bordering areas on their side on January 10.
The curfew was imposed in the backdrop of massing of troops along
Myanmar border. BDR and Nasaka exchanged fire on January 18 over
construction of a dam over river Naf by Nasaka.
BDR sources said, a flag meeting between the two sides will be held on
January 14 at Ulubonia, Cox's Bazar.
___________________________________________________
The Nation: God's Army Allegations Questioned
Saturday, January 13, 2001
SENATORS and human rights activists yesterday said there was not enough
evidence to support allegations that a Karen rebel group was behind the
recent killings of six villagers in Ratchaburi's Suanphung district.
Pensuk Juksuchinda, vice chairman of the Senate's Foreign Affairs
Commission, and members of Forum Asia, urged security officials to put
the issue in perspective and not to take drastic measures such as the
repatriation or relocation of refugees.
Some officers had alleged that members of the God's Army were behind the
murder of six Thai villagers.
Reports suggesting that the God's Army was behind the deaths have caused
an uproar among the residents, hundreds of whom have demanded that the
Karens, living in the nearby Thamhin refugee camp, be relocated.
The group of senators and activists presented the results of their
fact-finding mission yesterday.
Pensuk said authorities first needed to clarify that there was no
connection between the God's Army and the refugees.
The group also called on the government to form a clear policy on how to
deal with the refugees.
More than 100,000 are living in border camps.
Soon after the killings last month, Thai soldiers said they discovered
the corpse of a God's Army soldier known as Rambo along the border. They
said he might have had something to do with the killings.
However, Pensuk said it was uncommon for Burmese rebels to kill innocent
Thai villagers, adding that the closest witness to the scene was about
200 metres away.
Aporn Vongsang, who took part in the group's fact-finding mission, also
downplayed suggestions that Karen refugees in the camp could have taken
part, saying that the security there was tight.
BY JEERAPORN CHAISRI
___________________________________________________
Kyodo: Thai policeman, 3 Karens shot dead in Myanmar jungle
BANGKOK Jan. 12 Kyodo - A Thai policeman and 3 Karens were shot dead
Thursday in the Myanmar jungle about 30 kilometers from the border with
Thailand, police said Frixxday.
Sgt. Maj. Suvit Rungarunkarn and the three Karen laborers were killed
Thursday morning by unidentified gunmen while working at a road
construction site, they said.
As Thai police have no authority to guard work sites in foreign states,
the group is under suspicion of involvement in narcotics trafficking,
according to a border source.
____________________________________________________
The Nation: Drug Courier Caught with One Million 'Ya Ba' Tablets
Saturday, January 13, 2001
POLICE caught a Thai national transporting one million methamphetarnine
tablets across the border from Burma's Tachilek to Chiang Rai's Mae Sai
dis trict yesterday, said a senior officer.
Pornsak Kulana, a Lamphun resident, was arrested as he crossed to the
Thai side, said Lt Gen Priewphan Damaphong, commissioner of the Drug
Suppression Unit.
Priewphan said Pornsak told police that he had been hired to transport
the drugs across the border, and that he had been paid Bt5,000 for
making the deliv ery. He also said he had carried out the task twice
before. - The Nation.
____________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Rights Group Opposes Call to Relocate Refugee Camp
SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2001
Changes sought in negative attitudes by villagers
A human rights group yesterday opposed a call for a Burmese refugee camp
in Ratchaburi to be relocated or shut down for safety of villagers at
the border.
The Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) said though
it sympathises with the villagers' difficulty in living near the border
with Burma, moving the camp out of the area or closing it was not a
solution to their safety.
Some residents of Ratchaburi's Suan Phung district have shown growing
disapproval of the camp following a raid by Karen guerrillas of the
God's Army group on Thai villages on Dec 30 last year.
But Forum Asia, which visited the area on Thursday, said the refugees
had no connection with the raiders and would return to Burma if the
situation in their country becomes safe and secure.
The group also suggested authorities launch activities to change
villagers' negative attitudes towards refugees and make them understand
that the refugees had no link with armed Karen rebels.
____________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: 'Decisive' Steps in Drug War
SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2001
Thailand to act alone if Burma won't help
Saritdet Marukatat
Ampha Santimethaneedol
Thailand will resort to "decisive means" to deal with illegal drug
factories on the border if Rangoon does not act, Thaksin Shinawatra said
in Chiang Mai.
While declining to explain what he meant by "decisive means", the Thai
Rak Thai leader said yesterday he would attempt to deal with the problem
diplomatically.
On the basis of "mutual sincerity and good neighbourliness", he would
have talks with Burma's leaders about cracking down on methamphetamine
factories on the Burmese side of the border.
If this failed to secure their co-operation, Mr Thaksin said Thailand
might have to deal with the problem in its own way.
"Neighbours which share a common border must not cause trouble for each
other. If there is no response and the troubles persist, we will make
things right," said Mr Thaksin. Thailand, he said, could not tolerate
allowing ethnic people to produce drugs "on its doorstep". The prime
minister-in-waiting said he would explore personal connections with
neighbouring countries to improve relations.
Earlier, Thai military officers suggested precision cross-border raids
to destroy drug factories run by the Wa ethnic group.
The factories reportedly churn out millions of methamphetamine tablets a
day, most of which are smuggled across the border to satisfy the needs
of up to one million users here.
Burma's military strongman Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt yesterday sent a
congratulatory message to Mr Thaksin for winning the elections. He
expressed hope that Thai-Burmese relations would improve. Analysts,
meanwhile, urged the government to act promptly to stamp out the influx
of drugs and illegal labour from Burma, the two most serious security
threats facing Thailand.
They said Mr Thaksin could not afford to sit back while society was
devastated and the economy slowly crippled.
"Thai society is encountering a new war on the western frontier-the war
against drugs," warned Surachart Bamrungsuk, deputy director of the
Institute of Security and International Studies at a seminar organised
by the Supreme Command.
The government faced an uphill task. It could not rely on help from
western countries whose focus was on stamping out heroin use. The influx
of speed tablets was perceived as Thailand's domestic problem because it
posed no immediate danger to others, said Mr Surachart, a political
scientist at Chulalongkorn University.
Rangoon's policy of relocating the Wa from Burma's north to border areas
close to Thailand made it easier for the group to smuggle drugs.
Somkiat Osothsapha, an economist at Chulalongkorn University, said drug
addiction would deplete the workforce and affect foreign investor
confidence. He pointed to Colombia and Peru, where foreign investment
was drying up amid a crisis of confidence in their ability to fight the
drug scourge.
He said the problem was too serious for any one agency. A war room
should be set up with the armed forces as the spearhead agency. Mr
Surachart said the emergence of international gangs dealing in drugs
could prolong the problem for a decade.
___________________________________________________
France-Africa: Names of the leaders
[Appr. Jan. 11, 2001]
[Translation from French]
At midday today Jean-Christophe Mitterrand was released from jail
(Prison de la Sante, Paris).
Danielle Mitterrand paid out the 5 million francs bail money to have her
son freed. Yesterday he commented that Judge Philippe Courroye had been
showing towards him a "deep hostility, expressing real hatred".
Francois-Xavier Verschave, President of the "Survival" association
(which works at new franco-African relationships), also author of "La
Francafrique" (Stock publisher) and "Noir Silence" (Les Arenes
publisher) adds: "The judges are facing a steep mountain.
Jean-Christophe Mitterrand is only a first catch, an easy and
eye-catching one which points at the Mitterrand-Pasqua losers group.
Pierre Falcone, Charles Pasqua, Michel Roussin (The French management's
Man in Africa), Jean-Charles Marchiani (European Parliamentarian and
former adviser to Pasqua) and Arcadi Gaydamak are much more important
players of the Francafrique scenario."
To illustrate this point, Francois-Xavier Verschave recalls how Burma,
"main supplier of heroin to the world, is a caricature of Francafrica.
It has been annexed by the Francafrican networks in the fields of
petroleum/[gas], weapons and secret services. Pierre Falcone's company
is present there, and Michel Roussin has taken many trips to this
country."
___________________________________________________
The Nation: Khun Sa Aide Tells Court He Got Betrayed
Saturday, January 13, 2001
A Former close aide to Burmese opium warlord Khun Sa told a Thai court
yesterday that he was stunned when former associates also loyal to Khun
Sa showed up at his residence with the Burmese police officers who
arrested him.
Yang Wan-Hsuan, also known as Lao Tai, was living in the Burmese border
town of Tachilek at the time he was apprehended. He was immediately
handed over to the Thai police in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai.
Yang told the Thai court that the people who had him captured were
ordered to betray him by Khun Sa's son. He added their appearance at his
arrest amazed him, because not long before New Year's Day the same men
showed up at his home to pay their respects.
Yang, who is wanted in the United States for drug trafficking, dismissed
allegations that he is involved in the trade.
He admitted that he had worked for Khun Sa as a private aide for two
decades but insisted that he was not involved in any illegal activities.
Yang was indicted in the US Eastern District Court in New York in 1994,
along with more than 20 other drug traffickers from the infamous Golden
Triangle. He has a price tag of US$2 million (Bt86.8 million) on his
head.
According to Lt Gen Priewphan Damaphong, deputy commissioner for the
Police Drug Suppression Unit, Yang's arrest came after a tip from US
narcotics officers.
Priewphan said Yang, who was based in Baan Hin Taek, was responsible for
Khun Sa's financial affairs and investments, including illegal logging
along the Thai-Burmese border, before Khun Sa and his Shan United Army
surrendered to the military government in 1995 in return for amnesty.
Yang holds both Burmese and Chinese nationalities and is believed to
have a Thai identification card, which makes him a Thai national as
well.
Priewphan said authorities were investigating how Yang obtained the Thai
identification card.
Priewphan added the extradition process should be completed within two
months.
Burma is one of the world's biggest producers of opium and its refined
form, heroin. Its military rulers have been accused by the US of turning
a blind eye to the drug trade.
The government has consistently come under criticism from the US and a
number of Western countries for not doing enough to curb the flow of
drugs coming out of the country.
The US has also demanded that Rangoon hand over Khun Sa to face charges
in the US. But the two countries, often at odds over accusations of
human rights abuses, do not have an extradition treaty.
___________________________________________________
The Northeast Daily (Aizawl, India): Myanmar lifts lid off Chin rebels,
submits Mizoram probe report
January 11, 2001
AIZAWL, JAN 10: Myanmar has sent the interrogation report of its two
nationals suspected to be involved in the daring bank robbery in South
Mizoram last year.
The two have reportedly confessed looting the State Bank of India
Lwangtlai branch, of about Rs five crore on January 17, 2000, to the
Myanmar authorities.
The Mizoram officials were upbeat as the state police had been claiming
the involvement of Myanmarese nationals in the crime from the very
beginning. ôBut till the time they record their statements to an Indian
court we cannot celebrateö, additional secretary (home) C Tawnluia told
UNI.
According to the report, which was received by the state government
through the Northeast division of the Union home ministry, Lalfela and
Laineigha distributed most of the booty between themselves. The police
were able to recover part of the amount in Mizoram, while some money was
recovered from a few people arrested during the course of investigation.
The two are suspected to be former members of the underground Chin
Nationnal Army of Myanmar.
There is a growing opinion in the state that Mizoram might request New
Delhi to use diplomatic channels to extradite the two suspects. (UNI)
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
Dow Jones Newswires: Business News From The Thai Press Friday
Friday January 12, 10:02 AM
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand plans to issue 10 billion baht
($1=THB43.378) worth of domestic bonds this year to refinance its
dollar-denominated debt and to finance a contract for gas delivered from
Yadana, Myanmar, The Nation reports.
______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
Bangkok Post : High Time for Reconciliation
SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2001
News of dialogue between the military junta in Rangoon and prodemocy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi can only be welcome.But doubters still lurk and
Rangoon must prove them wrong.
Thailand was among the first to welcome news of contact between Aung San
Suu Kyi, first lady of the National League for Democracy, and Lt-Gen
Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the ruling State Peace and Development
Council in Rangoon.
A Foreign Ministry statement expressed hope that this would lead to
national reconciliation in Burma, commended the United Nations
secretary-general KofiAnnan, and his special envoy Razali Ismail, for
their "unrelenting efforts", and urged them to pursue the matter to its
desired conclusion.
Singapore, a top-ranking investor in Burma, said the "positive
development" showed the importance of "patient and quiet diplomacy".
The generals in Rangoon should be pleased with the friendly
encouragement from Thailand, an immediate neighbour and partner in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Singapore, a topranking
investor in Burma, and Asean colleague.
They should not be surprised by the scepticism that tinged the reactions
of Western governments, notably that of the United States,
whose Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called for respectful
treatment of Ms Suu Kyi.
Britain's Foreign Office Minister John Battle said there would be no
easing of pressure for the assurance of democracy and human rights in
Burma "until we see real progress."
Mr Razali, a veteran Malaysian diplomat, announced news of the contact
in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday after a five-day trip to Rangoon
during which he met Ms Suu Kyi twice, and held separate talks with
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister Win Aung.
The NLD and the UN spokesman in New York Fred Eckhard subsequently
confirmed that the contact was made. Mr Eckhard moreover specified
meeting took place in October.
Though it iS not public knowledge yet whether the meeting preceded or
followed Mr Razali s trip to Rangoon that month, his second after being
appointed special envoy in April, it makes sense that something should
rnove now.
Mr Razali is known to be a skilful diplomat well versed in UN
procedures, and this was his third mission to Rangoon . The military
junta owes much to his country, Malaysia, which spearheaded the move for
Burma to be admitted into Asean in July 1997, and tried hard to protect
it from sanctions approved by the International Labour Organisation in
November for failure to end forced labour.
In addition, Burma is soon to receive a fact-finding mission of the
European Union troika, comprising the current Swedish presidency, the
High Representative to the Common and Foreign Security Policy Xavier
Solana, and a European Commissioner.
Suggested by Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung during an AseanEU meeting
in Vientiane last month, the mission would be important to Burma's
chance of sealing a bilateral agreement with the EU. This
event would make the cash-strapped country eligible to development aid
from the affluent bloc as nine other Asean member states are.
Mr Razali is due to go on what will be his fourth mission to Rangoon
shortly, and Ms Suu Kyi is expected to meet with a member of the junta
again in March.
The UN secretary-general has urged the Burmese government and opposition
to "seize the momentum" and work for national reconciliation "at an
early date".
To keep up this momentum, and prove doubters wrong, Rangoon should free
Ms Suu Kyi and other NLD members from virtual house arrest, and allow
them freedom of movement. Real and lasting reconciliation would be hard
to achieve so long as such a basic right is denied to the side that
undoubtedly won the Burmese people's mandate in elections in May 1990.
______________________OTHER______________________
Britain-Burma Society: Prospect Burma scholarships announced
Jan. 2001
Prospect Burma Scholarships, 2001-2
Prospect Burma has announced its scholarships for the coming
academic
year. The awards will be made to students of Burmese origin who are
studying a particular range of subjects. Preference will be given to >
applicants who are presently in South-East Asia or the Indian >
sub-continent. The closing date for applications is 15th March 2001. >
Full details - and forms to download - can be obtained from
the Britain-Burma Society web sites, Planet Burma and Planet Myanmar, on
> http://www.planet.simplenet.com/
On arriving at the web site, click on the red START HERE link
at the
bottom of the screen, and then the further link to the scholarship
page.
Derek Brooke-Wavell
Hon secretary, Britain-Burma Society
___________________________________________________
Britain-Burma Society: BBS Announces Shweplanet
Jan. 2001
The Britain-Burma Society, a non-political body, continues to offer web
sites with two
alternative environments: Planet Burma and Planet Myanmar.
What is new is our web host; we have moved from Simplenet to Shweplanet.
>From now on, Planet Burma can be found on http://Shwepla.net/Burma
Planet Myanmar can be found on http://Shwepla.net/Myanmar
All visitors are welcome
Derek Brooke-Wavell
Hon secretary, Britain-Burma Society
________________
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