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BurmaNet News: February 20, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 20, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:51:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
February 20, 2001 Issue # 1740
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*The Nation: Burma not aggressive, Nyunt says
*Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar copter crash caused by engine trouble,
not ground fire
*AP: 14 Myanmar Crash Victims Missing
*Stratfor.com: Political infighting weakens Burma
*Myanmar Times: UN refugee chief expects lesser role
*People's Daily (PRC): WHO's Regional Health Secretaries Meet in
Myanmar
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Myanmar Times: Malaysian PM does Myanmar?s PR abroad
*Financial Express (India): Myanmar seeks Indian expertise for IT park
*Xinhua: Nepali FM Ends Visit to Myanmar
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*AsiaWeek : A Boom Town Beckons
*Xinhua: Myanmar to Privatize More State Enterprises
*Myanmar Times: Carlsberg for Myanmar brewery
*Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.:Ivanhoe's Exploration Team Discovers a High-grade
Mineralized Gold System in Myanmar
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
The Nation: Burma not aggressive, Nyunt says
Nation/Associated Press - February 20, 2001.
RANGOON - Burma's military regime was not "aggressive" in its foreign
relations and wanted to resolve its border dispute with Thailand
peacefully, a top Burmese general was quoted as saying yesterday.
"The current [Burmese]-Thai border problem should be solved with [an]
optimistic approach based on mutual understanding, respect and
magnanimity as true good neighbours," Lt-General Khin Nyunt, fourth
highest official in the state hierarchy, was quoted as saying by all
three official Burmese newspapers yesterday.
Earlier this month Burmese and Thai troops clashed when fighting between
Burmese and rebel Shan State Army (SSA) forces spilt over into
Thailand's Chiang Rai province. At least five civilians were killed on
both sides of the border, driving relations to their lowest point in
several years. Border checkpoints in the region have been closed for
more than a week.
Thailand launched a heavy artillery attack to drive out Burmese forces
that the army said intruded onto Chiang Rai's Ban Pang Noon hill to
attack the SSA. Burma, meanwhile, accused Thailand of aiding the Shan
rebels.
Khin Nyunt said the SSA and "a misunderstanding by some Thai authorities
who had relied on false information from lower-level Thai officials" had
been to blame for the dispute.
"Although our government is a military government, we have no aggressive
attitude. We promote friendly relations with every country and abide by
international rules and regulations," Khin Nyunt said at a ceremony to
mark the end of a teacher-training course on Monday at Phaunggyi, 60
kilometres north of Rangoon.
But in an apparent jab at Thailand for allegedly supporting the Shan
rebels, Khin Nyunt said Burma had never allowed another group to
endanger other countries from its territory or used such groups for its
own ends.
That claim would be contested by Thailand, which has expressed growing
frustration at the activities of another Burmese ethnic army, the United
Wa State Army, that produces illegal drugs in the border area adjoining
Thailand.
The drug trade is regarded as socially divisive and a major cause of
violent crime in Thailand. But the Wa army has reached a cease-fire
agreement with Burma and enjoys virtual autonomy in areas of Shan State
in eastern Burma.
Thai Third Army commander Lt-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong said
yesterday tension on the northern border would be reduced if Thai and
Burmese officials could hold a high-level meeting, but Burma would have
to initiate this.
"We would lose face if we went up to them and asked for one. We didn't
do anything wrong. Besides, it's their turn to call a meeting," the
commander said.
There was no indication, Wattanachai said, that the Burmese government
would reconvene the Regional Border Committee (RBC) set up to settle
border disputes between the two countries. But Thailand believed Burma
should be the one to call the meeting as it was Burma which "violated
our sovereignty and territorial integrity".
The RBC has not met for two years.
Wattanachai said Thai troops would stand firm on the border, at least
until there was an indication that the Burmese would pull back.
According to the Shan Herald Agency for News (Shan) yesterday, ethnic
Shan living in Thailand have been supplying the SSA.
"Thanks to the media's kind coverage of our Army's struggle against
drugs and the Burmese military, Shan exiles in Thailand have been
visiting us every day with food, clothing, medicine and even cash
donations," Lt-Colonel Kawnzuen, 39, commander of the SSA's Keng Tung
front, was quoted by the agency as saying.
The Keng Tung front is facing 11 battalions, two of which are from the
United Wa State Army, a pro-Burma rebel army, according to the agency.
___________________________________________________
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar copter crash caused by engine trouble,
not ground fire
Bangkok
Feb. 20, 2001
A helicopter crash which killed the fourth most powerful member of
Myanmar's (Burma's) military junta was caused by mechanical failure, not
ground fire, government officials and Western diplomats said Tuesday.
"Considering the poor state of Myanmar's aircraft, both military and
civil, the most likely cause for the crash was mechanical failure," a
Yangon-based diplomat, who is also a pilot, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
dpa by telephone.
His point of view conformed with announcements by the Myanmar government
saying the helicopter crashed due to engine trouble and not, as some
foreign media reported, as a result of an attack by Karen or Shan
rebels.
The Russian-built helicopter crashed Friday morning into the Salween
River near the town of Pha-An, 160 kilometres east of Rangoon, killing
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Second Secretary Lieutenant
General Tin Oo. Twenty-one others, including some other top military
leaders, were on board the aircraft.
The military government appeared unusually quick in confirming through
state-controlled newspapers and radio the deaths of the second secretary
and one other unnamed military officer on Tuesday, just one day after
the crash.
"Generally, official announcements of this magnitude are held back for a
couple, three days. This time, the government has been unusually quick
in confirming Tin Oo's death, who was one of the junta's top members,"
said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.
According to Myanmar radio broadcasts, the secretary was still alive
after the accident but died shortly afterwards in a military hospital
near the crash site.
Rescue teams were searching Tuesday for 14 missing passengers who are
also feared dead, the radio broadcasts said, while refraining from
commenting on earlier rumours that other prominent military officials
might be among the missing.
Ambassadors in Yangon (Rangoon) have received an official invitation by
Myanmar's foreign ministry to sign a condolence book laid out at the
ministry to commemorate Tin Oo's death.
___________________________________________________
AP: 14 Myanmar Crash Victims Missing
AYE AYE WIN
YANGON, Myanmar
Feb. 20, 2001
Rescue workers failed on Tuesday to find 14 people missing in a
helicopter crash that killed the No. 4 general in Myanmar's ruling
military junta the worst tragedy to befall the junta in its 12 years in
power.
Twenty-nine people were aboard the helicopter when it went down Monday
in a river 100 miles southeast of Yangon, the capital. In addition to
the 14 still missing, 13 were known to have survived and two, army chief
of staff Lt. Gen. Tin Oo and Maj. Aung Phone Naing, were confirmed dead.
The search effort is difficult because the river is flowing so rapidly,
a government official said on condition of anonymity.
Official newspapers reported that the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter
crashed into the Salween River in bad weather Monday near Pa-an in Karen
State. The helicopter was carrying Tin Oo to inspect a new bridge.
Tin Oo, 67, was an opponent of rebel groups fighting for independence in
Myanmar and had survived an assassination attempt four years ago. There
was no indication that the helicopter that crashed had been attacked or
sabotaged.
Tin Oo's obituary in official newspapers said he had ''suddenly died
while serving the country.'' He was the fourth most powerful man on the
ruling council, a 21-member group of army officers who took power in
Myanmar in 1988 after crushing a democracy uprising.
Official media said that of the 14 missing people, nine were government
officials, two were pilots and the rest were crew members.
Government officials said the missing included one other member of the
dominant ruling military council, Maj. Gen. Sit Maung, who is the
commander of the southeastern forces, and Brig. Gen. Lun Maung, a
minister in the prime minister's office.
Ba Thein, president of the Karen National Union rebels, told The
Associated Press that it believed the accident did not involve sabotage.
Tin Oo was a veteran of campaigns against ethnic and communist
insurgents and had often threatened in public to ''annihilate''
opponents of the regime.
He had survived at least one assassination attempt in April 1997, when a
parcel bomb exploded in his house, killing one of his daughters. Tin Oo
was in the house but escaped unhurt.
The government blamed dissidents, but rebel groups said the bombing was
the result of a power struggle in the junta.
On Christmas Day in 1996, two bombs tore through a Yangon pagoda that
Tin Oo had visited hours earlier. Five people were killed, but it wasn't
clear if Tin Oo was the target.
Tin Oo rarely spoke about politics and was not regarded as a key
government policy maker.
His death comes as the military regimes moves to improve relations with
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is also seeking to resolve a border dispute with its neighbor,
Thailand.
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt was quoted in official newspapers Tuesday as saying
that Myanmar wanted a border solution based on ''mutual understanding,
respect and magnanimity.''
Earlier this month, Myanmar and Thai troops clashed when fighting
between Myanmar and ethnic Shan rebels spilled into Thailand. The
fighting drove relations to their lowest point in several years.
Stratfor.com: Political infighting weakens Burma
Global Intelligence Update
Asia Times, Feb 20, 2001
Summary
Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, Secretary 2 of Burmese State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff of the army, died in a
helicopter crash on February 19. Tin Oo's death is likely to accelerate
the factional struggle within the SPDC, as the more liberal factions see
an opportunity to acquire some of the conservatives' waning power. The
political infighting threatens not only Rangoon's stability, but also
threatens already strained relations with Burmese neighbor Thailand.
Analysis
Lieutenant General Tin Oo, Secretary 2 in Burmese State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff of the army, died in a
helicopter crash on February 19. According to official state media, the
crash resulted from inclement weather. Earlier reports from Burma and
Thailand, however, have cited the cause of the crash as engine failure
or an attack by ethnic rebels.
Tin Oo, No 4 in the SPDC hierarchy, was responsible for military
operations and economic affairs. He advocated a strong response to
Burmese numerous ethnic and political opposition groups and reportedly
survived three assassination attempts in the last five years. His death
will likely stir an internal power struggle within the SPDC between
hard-line leaders and a competing pragmatic faction. The internal
political strife threatens not only Rangoon's stability, but will
further strain relations with Burmese neighbor Thailand.
For several years, the SPDC leadership has been embroiled in an internal
power struggle over who will replace the aging chairman, Senior General
Than Shwe. At the center of the battle are SPDC Vice Chairman and army
Commander in Chief General Maung Aye and SPDC Secretary 1 and Chief of
the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence Khin Nyunt, the
respective No 2 and No 3 within the ruling council.
Maung Aye holds the support of the armed forces, and as vice chairman
stands to inherit the leadership role from Than Shwe. The more pragmatic
Khin Nyunt, who has less support from the military, instead has been
instrumental in arranging peace deals with various ethnic rebel factions
and promotes a more moderate and economically open Rangoon.
Tin Oo, a hard-line element in the SPDC, was rumored to be Maung Aye's
choice for SPDC vice chairman, supplanting Khin Nyunt in the ruling
junta. Sources in Burma say that Khin Nyunt has long wanted Tin Oo dead,
suggesting previous assassination attempts were part of the internal
power struggle. With Tin Oo gone, both Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt will
move to fill the vacuum with their own supporters.
While the competition heats up inside Rangoon, relations with
neighboring Thailand may suffer. Bangkok and Rangoon share a contentious
relationship, due largely to Burmese ethnic armies and drug cartels
along the border. During the term of former Thai prime minister Chuan
Leekpai, Bangkok pulled back from contact with Rangoon, sending
relations into an even deeper spiral. Thailand's new Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, elected February 9, has pledged to reopen the
stalled contact with Rangoon.
On the same weekend that Thaksin was elected, however, clashes between
the Burma army and Thai army broke out around the Thai border town of
Mae Sai in Chiang Rai province. The fighting, a spillover from Burmese
annual spring offensive against ethnic Shan rebels, left at least 19
dead on both sides of the border, according to The Associated Press.
While the fighting subsided after three days, a war of words between the
neighbors continued to intensify. Thailand accused Burma of violating
its territory and shelling civilians in an artillery barrage. Thaksin,
who had earlier suggested his first official foreign visit would be to
Rangoon, criticized Burma for allowing some ethnic minority groups on
the border to produce drugs. Thaksin added that if diplomatic means
proved insufficient to solve the long-standing border issue, "We will
have to deal with it in our own way, and this is an assertive policy,"
according to the Times of India.
For its part, Rangoon repeated allegations that the Thai military
supports the ethnic Shan rebels, giving them sanctuary and even
supplying them with landmines and other explosives. Official Burma media
said Thailand was suspected of reinvigorating a 50-year-old concept of
"Greater Thai Policy" which called for the annexation of parts of Laos,
Burma and China.
With increasing numbers of troops on both sides of the border, the
situation remains tense. On February 19, Thai cabinet members, including
the foreign minister and defense minister, emphasized they no longer had
plans for any official visits to Rangoon. For its part, Rangoon played
up fears of a Thai military coup, releasing an editorial in the official
New Light of Burma that politicians and military officers in Thailand
were stirring border problems and arming ethnic rebels in order to
undermine Thaksin's intentions of rebuilding ties with Burma.
Tin Oo's death further complicates efforts for the two sides to
reconcile. While state media blamed weather for the crash, radio reports
in Thailand and Burma suggest ethnic Shan rebels shot down his
helicopter - the very group Thailand has been accused of supporting.
Acceleration of infighting within the SPDC ranks will cause settling the
border rift with Thailand to take the back seat. Worse, the political
wrangling in Rangoon could lead to two different sets of negotiations
with Thailand, likely leading to more chaos.
Myanmar Times: UN refugee chief expects lesser role
Feb. 5-11, 2001
RAJIV Kapur, a 23-year veteran of the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR), started work last week as the agency?s new Myanmar
representative. Formerly head of desk with the UNHCR?s Asia Pacific
Bureau, Mr Kapur already has three years? experience coordinating UNHCR
policy on refugee-related programs in Myanmar and South East Asia. He
replaces Canh Nguyen Tang, who completed his tenure in October.Mr Kapur
said his focus would be the reintegration of refugees repatriated from
Bangladesh back into Myanmar.
Another priority will be to reduce the overall involvement of the UNHCR
in refugee repatriation,? Mr Kapur said.?We?ll find a mechanism by which
Government institutions, with the support of international NGO?s and
other UN development agencies, can assist the UNHCR to slowly reduce its
involvement.?We?re not a development agency.There are just too many
problems in the world today for us to be able to have the luxury of
devoting all of our resources to this one problem. Whether the issues
are about health or refugees, I think there is no substitute for
national institutions putting forward their own initiatives. The UNHCR
can only be a catalyst in these areas.? Mr Kapur cited the need for a
concerted effort by the UNHCR to better coordinate plans for
humanitarian assistance for displaced people along the
Myanmar-Bangladesh border in the event of the UN agency?s withdrawal
from the region.
?The challenge now is how to pull together international NGO?s and
development agencies, and then link them in with the Government so that
the UNHCR is not having to constantly fill in gaps.? Mr Kapur said that
although Myanmar and the UNHCR had developed good relations over the
past decade, there was still room for improvement. But he felt it was
premature at this stage to suggest that the agency step in to assist in
the repatriation of refugees.?In some cases the situation is just too
unstable. I don?t think the agency would be able to safely run its
operations,? he said.
?It?s a very complicated situation. The tens of thousands of refugees in
Thailand are not from one homogeneous group, as you?d imagine. We need
to understand the nature of the problem before we can address it.?Asked
whether sanctions by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) ? a
sister agency to the UN ? would inhibit his own agency?s efforts in
Myanmar, Mr Kapur said: ?Of course, as a humanitarian agency this
doesn?t affect us. But we?re all concerned about where the process of
the ILO resolutions will lead. It is very encouraging, though, that the
Government appears to be addressing the issue.We don?t want to things to
snowball out of control.?
___________________________________________________
People's Daily (PRC): HelpWHO's Regional Health Secretaries Meet in
Myanmar
Feb. 20, 2001
The Sixth Meeting of Health Secretaries of the Countries of the World
Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asian Region began Monday in Yangon.
The three-day meeting will serve as a forum for exchanging views and
experiences with respect to health and health-related matters in
countries of the region, said Tuesday's official newspaper The New Light
of Myanmar.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Myanmar Health Minister
Major-General Ket Sein urged countries in the region to act accordingly
to meet the changing conditions and challenges in political, economic
and social sectors all over the world over the past few years.
He said that the WHO is always trying to improve and intensify its
efforts in fulfilling the health development needs of member countries,
stressing that promotion of health and social development is vital for
enhancing the quality of life.
He told the meeting that Myanmar, in accordance with its social
objective of uplifting the health standards of the entire people, has
accorded priority in allocation of government budget to the health
sector, adding that the country's ministry of health is one of the
largest recipients of budgetary funds.
He also disclosed that aimed at increasing equity, efficiency and
quality of health services, the Myanmar Health Ministry has carried out
health sector reform which encompasses policy, organization,
institutional development, human resources, health financing and the
private sector.
He described the meeting as a very useful one, saying that such meetings
have not only been able to address regional health problems but also to
formulate sound plans of actions and strategies to tackle the issues of
common concern.
He was convinced that inter-country cooperation can be further
strengthened to effectively reduce the burden of ill health in the
countries of the region.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
Myanmar Times: Malaysian PM does Myanmar?s PR abroad
Feb. 5-11, 2001
Malaysia PM Dr Mahathir
THERE could be ?no doubt? that the Myanmar Government had opened up the
country and sought ways to improve the living conditions of its people,
Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said.Dr Mahathir said
that no country liked foreign interference in internal affairs, and that
the less the west interfered in Myanmar ?the better for solving the
problems?.?Let the people of Myanmar decide for themselves,? he said.Dr
Mahathir, whose backing secured Myanmar?s membership of ASEAN in 1997,
made his comments during an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun
newspaper in Japan, where he attended the launch of his book Reflections
on Asia and delivered a keynote address at a symposium organised by
Mainichi newspapers.Extracts of his question-and-answer interview were
published in the New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Dr Mahathir was in Myanmar last month, his visiting overlapping that by
fellow Malaysian national Razali Ismail, the United Nations? Special
Envoy to Myanmar.The Malaysian PM told Mainichi Shimbun he made the
visit because Senior General Than Shwe had been given insufficient time,
at the ASEAN summit in Singapore in November, to explain ?what the
actual situation in Myanmar was like?.?Myanmar tried to explain to all
the ASEAN leaders, but there were only 15 minutes. So I went to listen
to (Sen Gen Than Shwe), to find out what progress Myanmar has made and
what can be done in order to solve this problem about Myanmar being
accused of having oppressive dictatorship, bad labour practice, using
slave labour, etc,? Dr Mahathir said.?The (Myanmar) Government may not
be an elected Government. But there is no doubt that the present
Government has opened up Myanmar to foreign investments. They are trying
to improve the living condition of the people of Myanmar.
?The accusation that they use slave labour is not true. In all the
countries in East Asia and South East Asia, we are used to using
voluntary labour. If we are building a road for a certain village or
town, the people of the village or town must contribute the labour. This
helps to reduce the costs for a poor country. ?When the British were
ruling Myanmar, they also used the same kind of labour. For a poor
government, it is a way of taxing the people; contributing the labour
instead of money.?Asked to evaluate the state of play between the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and National League for Democracy
(NLD), Dr Mahathir told Mainichi Shimbun that it was ?something which
cannot be solved through confrontation?.?What is needed is to put the
interest of Myanmar above party interests. And I think the Government is
willing to discuss with (Daw Aung San) Suu Kyi to find solutions for
Myanmar.
Dr Mahathir
?That is good for the whole of Myanmar and its people,? he said.?I
suppose eventually they would have to have elections. But before they
do, they must understand the conduct of elections. ?We see sometimes
elections being held in many countries but they do not reflect the
feelings of the people. When elections are held, people must understand
elections have limits. And not to use elections to undermine
authority.?Dr Mahathir said that from his discussions with Sen Gen Than
Shwe, at which he ?spoke about these things generally?, he believed the
SPDC Chairman and Head of State was ?willing to hold the elections
eventually?.?The elections will not be held this year or next. It should
be held in a few years,? the veteran Malaysian politician said. ?They
have to determine proper voter registration. You have to do it step by
step. Even those countries which have accepted elections as a means of
setting up the government have not been able to carry out the elections
properly,? he said, in a pointed reference to the recent US presidential
vote.
Asked by the Mainichi Shimbun journalist if his personal involvement in
Myanmar meant that ASEAN was shifting away from its policy of mutual
non-interference, Dr Mahathir said: ?No, it is because Myanmar is a
special case?.?The west is trying to pressure Myanmar, pressure ASEAN,?
he said. ?While we do not want to interfere in the internal affairs of
other countries, we feel that the benefits of the kind of liberal
democracy that we have in ASEAN countries should be exposed and made
known to the people and Government of Myanmar so they will not reject
the system. ?Because this system is good and will ensure that the
country can have the Government of its choice.?
___________________________________________________
Financial Express (India): Myanmar seeks Indian expertise for IT park
Feb. 20, 2001
Our Corporate Bureau
New Delhi: Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF) and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
collaborate in the field of information technology. "India can serve as
a model for Myanmar in the IT sector, and we have sought support for the
development of an IT park in our country," Myanmar's deputy minister for
science and technology U Hlainng Win said while addressing a meet
organised by CII here on Monday. Setting of this IT park is being viewed
as an opportunity for boosting bilateral ties between the two countries,
he added.
Complementing India's progress in the IT sector, Mr Win said, "India is
churning out world-class IT professionals, software solution providers,
technical know-how, IT-enabled services, and also has a large domestic
market, apart from the overseas market, for these services. Myanmar has,
therefore, asked for Indian expertise in the setting up of the IT park."
The government will help Myanmar in preparing a draft of the master plan
for the development of this sector, where IT is the main thrust.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe/daily/20010220/fco20011.html
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: Nepali FM Ends Visit to Myanmar
2001.02.19 23:14:22
YANGON, February 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Nepali Foreign Minister Chakra
Prasad Bastola left here Monday after concluding his three-day official
visit to Myanmar.
During his visit, Bastola met with Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace
and Development Council Senior-General Than Shwe.
He also met with his Myanmar counterpart U Win Aung and the two
ministers discussed maintenance of friendly relations between the two
countries and mutual cooperation.
At the invitation of U Win Aung, the Nepali foreign minister arrived
here last Tuesday and first attended as an observer the two-day Third
Trade and Economic Ministers' Meeting of the BIMST- EC (Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic Cooperation) before
starting his official visit to Myanmar on Friday.
This is the first visit to Yangon of a high-ranking official of Nepal in
five years during which there were almost no economic and trade
activities between the two countries except maintenance of cultural
exchange.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
AsiaWeek : A Boom Town Beckons
FEBRUARY 23, 2001 VOL.27 NO.7
Business radars are on alert in the wake of political talks. But is
investment wise? By ROGER MITTON
The meeting was unusual enough, but the outcome even more so. On one
side were two generals from Myanmar's military junta, and on the other
were members of Yangon's leading chambers of commerce. The businessmen ù
local and foreign ù had a common gripe: too much bureaucratic red tape
getting in their way. Could the generals help them cut through it? Yes,
came the answer. The next day, a trader in the fisheries industry
received a call from his bank. He had complained to the generals about
currency exchange problems that dogged his export business. The bankers
asked him to drop by so they could devise a solution. An efficient
response, in anyone's commercial language.
Myanmar is back in business. With a moribund economy and biting
sanctions, the generals are bending over backwards to keep the vital
signs ticking over. Indeed, business interests may have helped spur the
recent talks between the junta and its determined nemesis, National
League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The dialogue may lead to
nothing, but the fact that it is even taking place has already warmed
the international climate toward pariah state Myanmar. The new U.S.
administration has hinted that economic sanctions imposed in 1997 due to
political repression may be lifted. The European Union is scrambling to
establish meaningful ties after years of avoiding eye contact. Is it the
beginning of real change for Myanmar, or just a cynical gambit by the
military dictators?
Whatever the case, developments have foreign investors rubbing their
hands ù and the generals licking their lips. "Economic stability is the
key to political stability," says respected Myanmar analyst-in-exile
Aung Naing Oo. "The junta sees sanctions as obstacles to economic
development and thus a threat to their future hold on power." Despite a
shambolic economy born of decades of mismanagement, Myanmar is often
rated Southeast Asia's richest nation in terms of natural resources. And
now the time seems ripe for a sustainable boom. "When foreign investors
hear the talks {with Aung San Suu Kyi} are going on, they feel a glimmer
of hope," says Moe Kyaw, who heads a market research company in Yangon.
"They feel Myanmar may no longer be ostracized."
If only it were that simple. Yes, out of self-interest, the junta has
sent unmistakable signals that it is preparing to come in from the cold.
And yes, the generals are increasingly eager to make life easy for
investors. But ethical dilemmas remain. Will increased engagement result
in a rapprochement between Suu Kyi and the generals, ending the 13-year
military dictatorship? Or will it serve to prop up the regime? Will
investment make a difference to the lives of ordinary Burmese, or will
the junta cream the benefits? Not least, will forced labor be used to
build this new Myanmar? ASEAN countries, plus China, India, South Korea
and Japan, have already made up their minds: business opportunities are
too hot to ignore. For the rest of the world, the writing on the balance
sheet isn't hard to read. Says Bo Olson of the nongovernment
Sweden-Democratic Burma Friendship Association: "The West is just dying
to get in there."
But should it? That depends on whom you ask. Broadly speaking, three
schools of thought have emerged. One says that whatever political game
the junta is now playing, more business activity will inevitably enrich
the population. Even if the generals and their cronies rake off most of
the profits, the man in the street will still benefit. Big business is a
leading proponent of this line. U.S. oil company Unocal arrived in
Myanmar in 1993 to help build the Yadana offshore gas pipeline to
Thailand, now among Myanmar's most profitable legitimate operations. The
Washington sanctions barred U.S. companies from setting up new business
deals, but Unocal, as an established outfit, was allowed to remain. It
retains a small foreign workforce of managers and technicians on the
pipeline with its French partner Total ù and points to the jobs and
community facilities it provides for local maintenance workers. "Real
change and improvement will come when there are dozens of Yadana-size
projects," says Unocal spokesman Barry Lane. Critics say forced labor
was used to build Yadana. The companies deny this.
A second school of thought is more cautious. It has few problems with
investment, but does want to see evidence of political progress. Olson
believes that foreign investment on the whole is a positive thing:
"Naturally the generals get most out of it, but ordinary people can get
jobs and can sell their produce if the economy is rolling." Yangon-based
lawyer and foreign business consultant Alec Christie thinks investment
can only improve standards of living for all. "If you ask me what are
the areas where there are problems, it would be infrastructure,"
Christie says. More money would improve telecommunications, electricity
supply and roads ù especially outside the capital. "If there is
investment and international aid, things would be better," he says.
Compromise, however, remains a dirty word for many Burmese. Kanbawza
Win, a dissident and visiting professor at the University of Winnipeg,
Canada, believes that investment merely strengthens the dictatorship.
"The system put in place by the junta aims to prevent the growth of the
middle class ù which has the potential to lead the country to
democracy," he says. "Only the top brass and the cronies get richer
while the mass of the people remain poor." The rallying cry of Western
labor groups, too, remains "sanctions on, business off." Says Phillip
Fishman, the assistant Asia director for the American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations: "What would most help the
citizens of Burma would be the restoration of civilian, democratic
governance and the rule of law, and an end to widespread corruption."
That's a big wish list, but one that helped convince mostly U.S.
companies to abandon Myanmar in 1997. Pepsico Inc., for instance, which
had an estimated 80% share of the soft-drink market, sold its
joint-venture stake with a local company in 1996. The next year it
closed shop completely by canceling supplies of Pepsi syrup. The company
said its decision was "based on our assessment of the spirit of current
U.S. government policy." In fact, its involvement in Myanmar had
resulted in boycotts by U.S. students ù the company's main domestic
market ù which soon translated into shareholder concern. Other U.S.
firms quick to toe the domestic-opinion line included Levi Strauss,
Amoco, Apple and Eastman Kodak.
Did their withdrawal make a difference? Possibly. But for almost every
outfit that left, one arrived. Tiger Beer (Singapore), Rothmans (U.K.,
tobacco), Japanese conglomerates Sumitomo and Mitsui, Clough Engineering
(Australia) and Ivanhoe Mines (Canada) are well established. Oil and gas
players Premier (U.K.), Petronas (Malaysia) and Nippon (Japan) jostle
with Unocal and Total. Singapore companies, the biggest investors, have
hotels, garments, defense supplies, banking and travel services. A
French-Myanmar fisheries joint venture began operations in November. The
bottom line, says market researcher Moe Kyaw, is that if you know how to
do business, you can do it in Myanmar. So long as you are not too fussy
about the company you keep.
Xinhua: Myanmar to Privatize More State Enterprises
YANGON, February 20
Five more state-owned enterprises, which include a land plot, a saw mill
and three cinemas respectively located in the country's Bago and
Mawlamyine townships, will be sold through competitive biddings,
official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.
These state enterprises are the first batch to be privatized in this
year.
Myanmar has been implementing a privatization plan for its state-owned
economic enterprises since January 1995, aimed at systematically
transferring them into effective business organizations.
The plan, being implemented by the government-formed Privatization
Commission, is carried out by auctioning and leasing out the enterprises
or establishing joint-ventures with local and foreign investors.
The first phase of the scheme covered 51 such enterprises including
processing and manufacturing factories, livestock breeding farms and
cinemas.
According to official statistics, 118 state enterprises in 1999 and 19
of such enterprises in 2000 were covered by the privatization plan.
These enterprises include land plots, rice mills, saw mills, cinemas,
hotels, biscuit and garment factories and timber shops.
It is reported that there is a total of 1,760 state enterprises in
Myanmar, mostly being industrial enterprises.
___________________________________________________
Myanmar Times: Carlsberg for Myanmar brewery
Feb. 5-11, 2001
THE managing director of one of the world?s best known beer brands,
Carlsberg, has expressed its interest in opening a brewery in Myanmar.
Michel Iuul told Bangkok Post that the Danish company which manufactures
the household name brand expected to establish a brewery here once
political barriers could be overcome. Mr Iuul said Myanmar was the only
big market in South East Asia that Carlsberg had yet to enter, the Post
reported. Meanwhile, the company has formed an equal joint venture with
the Asian Chang Beverage Co, which produces Thailand?s Chang lager, to
promote that beverage outside Thailand.
The venture company is called Carlsberg Asia Ltd. Mr Iuul, who oversees
Carlsberg Asia, did not specify the prime targets for Chang beer
exports, but said they could include neighbouring countries where the
brand was already known, and possibly China, the Post reported. Chang is
brewed by the Beer Thai company owned by liquor tycoon Charoen
Sirivadhanabhakdi, a major shareholder of Carlsberg in Thailand and a
key partner in Carlsberg Asia Ltd, which was launched in January with
its head office in Singapore. Mr Iuul said the company could be listed
on the Singapore stock market within three years. The Post reported that
Asia?s total beer consumption was 333 million hectolitres in 1999, up
from 84 million in 1997.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.:Ivanhoe's Exploration Team Discovers a High-grade
Mineralized Gold System in Myanmar
Feb. 18, 2001
[Abridged]
Recent work by Ivanhoe's exploration team has discovered a promising new
gold-bearing vein system in a concession located in central Myanmar,
approximately 100 kilometres north of the capital city of Yangon. The
project is accessible by road and is 10 kilometres from a major highway.
For competitive reasons, the exact location is not being disclosed at
this time. To date, exploration has focused on driving adits, trenching
and channel sampling on a number of quartz veins in the prospect area.
Throughout the prospect area, measuring three kilometres by two
kilometres, visible gold occurs in persistent quartz veins, which
outcrop over a 400-metre vertical interval.
Surface rock-chip samples collected across the width of the vein system
are strongly mineralized, with a maximum gold value of 3,475 grams per
tonne (112 ounces per tonne) over 1.3 metres. DGSE Laboratories in
Myanmar assayed all the samples. Two internationally accredited
laboratories, MAS Laboratories, of Bangkok, Thailand, and Analabs, of
Perth, Australia, conducted check assays on the preliminary surface
samples and pulps, and have verified the initial high-grade gold
results.
A list of assay results from adit and trench samples assayed to date is
posted on the Ivanhoe Mines website (www.ivanhoemines.com), on the
Myanmar exploration page. Assays on recent samples from adits and
trenches are pending.
Ten adits are currently being driven at depths of up to 30 metres below
the surface to access the veins and the near-surface oxide
mineralization. This work will help to ascertain the strike lengths,
widths and grades of the veins and potential near-surface gold
mineralization. It is unknown at this time whether future exploration
will confirm the existence of an economic mineral resource on the
project.
Ivanhoe's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings, has an 83%
interest in a joint venture to explore and develop the concession.
Ivanhoe's joint-venture partner is the Myanmar Department of Geological
Survey and Mineral Exploration.
Ivanhoe Mines is an international mining company producing LME Grade A
copper from its Monywa joint venture in Myanmar and high-quality iron
ore products from ABM Mining's Savage River mine and Port Latta pellet
plant in Australia. Ivanhoe Mines acquired ABM Mining on December 31,
2000. Ivanhoe Mines and ABM had combined revenues of approximately
US$84.8 million (CDN$127.2 million) in 2000 on net sales of
approximately 13,350 tonnes of copper, 2.19 million tonnes of iron ore
pellets and 19,400 tonnes of iron ore concentrate.
Ivanhoe is a public company whose shares are traded on the Toronto and
Australian stock exchanges under the symbol IVN.
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