BurmaNet News: March 20, 2001

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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         March 20, 2001   Issue # 1760
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

INSIDE BURMA _______
*Radio Netherlands: Broadway in Burma
*AP: Karenni refugees escape fighting into Thailand
*Bangkok Post: Rival troops killed in clash near border 

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Bangkok Post: Surakiart won't react to criticisms: Bilateral relations 
may be affected 
*Bangkok Post: Bilateral withdrawal from disputed areas proposed 
*AFP: Myanmar ethnic groups bid for inclusion in opposition-junta talks
*The Nation: Support for border commander 
*Canada NewsWire: Ken Wiwa leads activists fighting for the release of 
Burmese political prisoner

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*The Nation: Chavalit Afflicted with Foot-in-mouth Disease
*Business Day (Thailand): Thaksin Should Be Careful Who He Listens to on 
Myanmar
*The New Light of Myanmar: Foxes under the guise of lions - Part III 

OTHER______
*DVB: Internship announcement
*KNU: New website announced
*UNESCO: Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2001--U Win Tin, 
Myanmar
	


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________


   
Radio Netherlands: Broadway in Burma
 
 
by Walter van Opzeeland, 19 March 2001
 
 
You can hardly miss them when you walk down the street: enormous 
colourful sheets of paper. Posters are used as advertisements, for film 
and theatre and as a means of protest. But behind many of these 
seemingly harmless pictures there is an untold story. Walter van 
Opzeeland tells the story behind one of the many posters that he has 
collected over the years. This week: Burma.

The chaos in the aftermath of the American presidential elections was a 
godsend for stand-up comedians. Everything and everybody was made fun 
of. But in Burma it doesn't quite work that way. For the past few 
decades Myanmar, as the country is now officially called, has been ruled 
by a military junta that is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984.  
Politicians never need to explain themselves, but comedians certainly 
do, especially when their jokes go too far.

The Moustache Brothers perform their show every evening on the Broadway 
of Mandalay, Burma's second largest city. ? Political satire' the 
leaflet says. A-Nyeint, as stand-up comedy is called in Burma, is a mix 
of traditional dance, music, opera and comedy sketches. 

 
 
 
Polite
Bicycle-rickshaws shuttle spectators along a bumpy track to the small 
theatre on 39th Street. Lu Maw, one of the Moustache Brothers, 
personally greets his audience with tea and a green Burmese cigar. It's 
characteristic of the country's hospitality. After the tea the audience 
watches a typical Burmese show.  Lu Maw's wife performs her traditional 
dances, for which she has to twist her body into a series of seemingly 
impossible knots. These dances are hard to understand for a foreign 
audience. The expression on their faces is a strange mix of bewilderment 
and pleasure. After all, they are here to see other cultures, the more 
exotic the better. The dance-show is the warm-up for the real thing: 
comedy.

Risk
Artists put themselves at risk by doing stand-up comedy.  Lu's brother, 
the other half of the Moustache Brothers, has been sentenced to seven 
years hard labour after speaking at a meeting of Aung San Suu Kyi's 
democratic movement. "In the old days we called thieves thieves, now we 
call them party members", he jokingly told the meeting. The junta didn't 
see the joke. The prison is several days away to the north of Mandalay.  
The brother is not allowed any visits there but he does receive the 
occasional food parcel from his wife. But even she is not allowed to go 
beyond the prison entrance, where she has to leave the parcel. 

Painful
Lu now performs on his own, wearing the traditional Burmese comedian's 
headscarf tied with a knot on the side of his head. He tells jokes that 
would make even the unfunniest American stand-up comedian cringe. At the 
same time he also plays the role of his partner. The absence of his 
brother is painfully obvious: the show lacks edge. Lu Maw does his very 
best to make his audience laugh. But it's no good. His western audience 
is used to comedians who are free to say virtually anything. It makes me 
feel uneasy. 

 
 
Censorship undermines all forms of entertainment. It is no different in 
the rest of Burma. Cinemas show harmless, Bollywood-type films.

Courage
Only after much insistence on my part does Lu give me an old poster 
picturing both brothers. I am taken up to the bedroom on the first 
floor. After locking the door Lu carefully folds the poster until it 
fits in an airmail envelope. " If they find this poster, please tell 
them you got it in Thailand" he says his voice full of fear. "Otherwise 
this could have very unpleasant consequences for my brother. But do show 
it to as many people as possible outside of Burma, so they know what is 
going on here." 

I was suddenly struck by how difficult the circumstances are in which 
these artists have to work. Burmese comedy may not compare favourably to 
its American and European counterparts, but it does take a lot more 
courage in Burma for comedians ?to stand up'. 







___________________________________________________



AP: Karenni refugees escape fighting into Thailand 

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) _ More than 100 members of Myanmar's Karenni 
ethnic minority fled into Thailand on Tuesday after Myanmar troops 
attacked a stronghold of the Karenni National Progressive Party, Thai 
provincial officials said. 

 Myanmar troops attacked the KNPP rebel camp at Doi Ta Khe, opposite 
Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, Thai district chief Kasem Chemchoi 
said. 

 Hong Son is 650 kilometers (400) miles northwest of the Thai capital, 
Bangkok. 
 ``We can hear the noise of heavy guns but it is about 3-5 kilometers 
(2-3 miles) from the border. Now the concerned authorities are on duty 
to protect residents of Thailand,'' he said. 

 Kasem said that more than 100 villagers fled to Thailand's border area. 

 The military government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has in the 
past decade reached cease-fires with most of the ethnic minority groups 
which long sought autonomy from the central government 

 The KNPP reached a cease-fire with the government in 1995 but took up 
arms again a few months later in a dispute over the army's occupation of 
rebel areas rich in teak and key for smuggling. 

 An official of the KNPP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 500 
Myanmar troops were involved in Tuesday's assault. 

 He said one Karenni guerrilla died and four were wounded, and six were 
wounded on the the government side.




___________________________________________________



Bangkok Post: Rival troops killed in clash near border 


March 20, 2001 



Chiang Mai - Two Shan rebels and one pro-Rangoon guerrilla were killed 
in a clash close to Doi Kor Wan opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang 
district, a Shan State Army officer said yesterday. 

Lt-Col Korn Zuan of the SSA said the United Wa State Army fired hundreds 
of anti-aircraft rounds at the SSA stronghold, killing two Shan 
fighters. 

The fighting between the pro-Rangoon Wa troops and Shan rebels resumed 
on Sunday afternoon, he said. 

Some 1,500 Burmese soldiers were deployed at Doi Kor Wan and some 300 Wa 
troops at Tachilek-Mong Yawn road. 

A source said the SSA has cancelled its planned Army Day celebrations on 
March 25. 







___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				

   
Bangkok Post: Surakiart won't react to criticisms: Bilateral relations 
may be affected 

March 20, 2001
 


Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will not react to the latest 
verbal attacks from Burma to avoid damaging already fragile ties. 

Mr Surakiart insisted reports of Rangoon's criticisms could not be 
verified and said the two neighbours could only improve relations 
through co-operation, not finger pointing. 

After a two-hour meeting with Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Mr 
Surakiart said it was agreed to hold talks every month for better 
co-ordination. 

The minister said bilateral relations might be affected if an official 
statement was issued before the news report was verified. 

In an official information sheet, the Burmese junta apparently condemned 
Thailand as a bad neighbour for shifting the blame onto Burma to hide 
its failure to solve the drug crisis. The government would try find ways 
to reach agreements with Burma on drug suppression, fisheries, trade and 
tourism, the foreign minister said. 

With a 2,400km common border, the two nations were bound to run into 
problems, Mr Surakiart said. 

They must tackle those disputes through the Township Border Committee 
and Regional Border Committee. 

Gen Chavalit was confident the Regional Border Committee meeting on 
April 2-4 in Keng Tung would resolve fundamental problems. 

Mr Surakiart said there were good opportunities for himself and Prime 
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to meet Burmese leaders and bring relations 
back to normal. 

Mr Surakiart also said Thailand's position on international issues was 
weakening due to a lack of co-ordination among government agencies. 

Gen Chavalit and Mr Surakiart promised to send officials to meetings 
with foreign ambassadors and guests, especially on security issues. 

Bhanravee Tansubhapol 


___________________________________________________



Bangkok Post: Bilateral withdrawal from disputed areas proposed 

March 20, 2001
 


Thai and Burmese military will hold their Regional Border Committee 
(RBC) meeting in Burma's Keng Tung during April 2-4, with a planned 
proposal from the Thai side to designate as no-man's-land disputed areas 
in the North. 

Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuenwong, the Third Army commander who will head a 
30-man delegation to the meeting, yesterday said he would propose a 
bilateral military withdrawal from Phuteng Nayong area in Mae Sai 
district of Chiang Rai and Doi Lang mountain in Mae Ai district of 
Chiang Mai, pending negotiations on demarcation. 

He will not discuss the withdrawal of troops from Tachilek-Mae Sai 
border. 

Lt-Gen Watanachai's counterpart at the meeting will be Maj-Gen Than 
Sein, commander of the Burmese regional force adjacent to Thailand's 
North. 

Lt-Gen Watanachai is expected to retain his post at the Third Army 
Region in an upcoming reshuffle, commander-in-chief Surayud Chulanont 
confirmed yesterday. 

Gen Surayud said the RBC meeting would focus on disputed areas claimed 
by both sides, though he was not sure whether the matter could be 
settled at these talks, as part of the issue would need to be discussed 
at a higher level. 

Asked to comment on Rangoon's remark that Thailand was "a bad neighbour" 
for shifting the narcotics blame onto Rangoon to cover up its own 
failure in fighting drugs, Gen Surayud said Thai authorities should heed 
the remark to improve certain weaknesses which would prove beneficial. 

However, army spokesman Col Somkuan Saengpataranet gave a different 
reaction in an army radio programme yesterday. He said Thailand was a 
good neighbour to all nations and it was Burma that had failed to 
co-operate with Thailand in drug suppression. 

Burma also closed its border passes at will without consulting Thailand, 
he said. 

Wassana Nanuam and Theerawat Khamthita 



___________________________________________________




AFP: Myanmar ethnic groups bid for inclusion in opposition-junta talks 

BANGKOK, March 20 (AFP) - A Myanmar dissident alliance called Tuesday 
for the nation's ethnic minority leaders to be included in landmark 
talks between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

 Pro-democracy activists and ethnic leaders from 53 organizations and 28 
countries met in Thailand for three days ending Monday to evaluate the 
talks and demand firmer action by the regime as a show of good faith. 

 "They are happy with the talks, but concerned that problems are still 
ongoing (and that) there is not a genuine tripartite dialogue," said a 
spokeswoman for the Alternative 
Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN). 

 The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has won a 
reprieve from economic and diplomatic pressure by the international 
community as a reward for the talks, but little progress has been made, 
she said, speaking on behalf of the "International Strategy Meeting" 
delegates. 

 "All the participants were concerned that the SPDC was granted a 
honeymoon. The talks were overdue, they welcomed the talks, but want 
them transformed into a genuine dialogue, with the SPDC, the NLD and 
ethnic nationalities." 

 A statement released after the meeting demanded the junta show its 
sincerity by releasing political prisoners, allowing political parties 
to function freely, and ceasing all military hostilities and forced 
labor. 

 The group also asked the international community to stand firm against 
the military regime until the talks yield change for the people of 
Myanmar. 

 "There's been a lot of hype over the talks but they haven't really 
produced much. But they've given the SPDC a six-month holiday. They 
should deliver results," the spokeswoman said. 

 The calls follow a statement released earlier this month in which seven 
armed ethnic minority groups which have signed ceasefire agreements with 
the junta asked to participate in the talks. 

 "The talks are not productive unless there are positive results, and at 
the moment we don't see positive results for the people of Burma," 
ALTSEAN said. 

 In October last year, National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung 
San Suu Kyi and military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin 
Nyunt began historic talks aimed at setting up the first official 
dialogue since 1994. 

 The substance of their discussions has been kept tightly under wraps by 
both sides, irritating the exiled dissident community and minority 
leaders who have called on the junta to reveal what progress has been 
made. 


 





___________________________________________________




The Nation: Support for border commander 


March 20, 2001


ARMY chief General Surayudh Chulanont maintained yesterday he had no 
intention of transferring the outspoken commander of the Third Army 
Region and suggested any attempt to do so would constitute interference 
by "a higher authority". 

The names of all Army officers to be transferred had already been 
submitted to the Office of the Supreme Command, and did not include any 
from the Third Army Region, Surayudh said. 

"General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, deputy prime minister and minister of 
defence, has said transfers of Army officers were to be left up to 
myself and the supreme commander. If General Chavalit really wants to 
transfer somebody, he must first have a thorough discussion with us to 
see whether such a decision would be appropriate," Surayudh said. 

Surayudh's statement yesterday was his strongest attempt yet to dismiss 
growing concerns that Lt-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, commander of 
the Third Army, would be transferred to an inactive post because of his 
outspoken criticism of Burmese generals amid high tensions along the 
border over the past month. 

Chavalit has been evasive about whether he would endorse Surayudh's 
proposed transfer list. 

Speaking to reporters yesterday after a meeting with Foreign Minister 
Surakiart Sathirathai, Chavalit expressed confidence that the upcoming 
meeting of the Regional Border Committee, to be co-chaired by 
Wattanachai and his Burmese counterpart, Brig-General Thein Sein, would 
solve the "fundamental problems" between the two countries. 

Once the two countries began talking to each other on the basis of 
friendship and peace, the border tensions and the harsh rhetorical 
exchanges would cease, Chavalit said. His remarks came on the heels of 
Rangoon's latest salvo accusing Thailand of "breaching the principle of 
good neighbourliness". 

Since the clashes, official Burmese mouthpieces have churned out 
vitriolic articles and statements slamming Thailand, especially in the 
wake of the recent drug meeting chaired by Prime Minister Thaksin 
Shinawatra in Chiang Rai. 

Wattanachai, who responded swiftly to what he called Rangoon's "gross 
violation of Thailand's territorial integrity" after a battalion of 
Burmese soldiers took over a Thai Ranger outpost last month, also 
accused the Burmese generals of taking kickbacks from their ally, the 
United Wa State Army (UWSA). 

The UWSA, headquartered in Panghsang on the Chinese border, operates 
independently from Rangoon in parts of Burma's Shan State. The group is 
reportedly one of the world's largest armed drug-trafficking 
organisations and is said to operate a number of drug labs near the Thai 
border. 

Thai and Burmese troops engaged in a day-long cross-border exchange of 
shelling and gunfire in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai last month, just as 
Bangkok underwent a change of government. Senior government officials 
accused Rangoon of taking advantage of the political situation in 
Bangkok, believing Thailand would not be able to respond firmly given 
the recent change of administration. 

But the Army, working in tandem with the Foreign Ministry, responded 
swiftly, mobilising troops to the area, closing the border and summoning 
the Burmese Ambassador to Bangkok to receive a protest letter condemning 
the incident. 

Wattanachai, a graduate of class 12 of the Chulachomklao Military 
Academy, is a classmate of Surayudh. His military experience includes 
commanding a task force along the country's eastern border with Cambodia 
at a time when the area saw a heavy concentration of Vietnamese troops. 
He has received praise from the public for his firm stand against the 
Burmese. 

The Nation 



___________________________________________________




Canada NewsWire: : Ken Wiwa leads activists fighting for the release of 
Burmese political prisoner



    MONTREAL, March 19 /CNW/ - Nigerian writer Ken Wiwa is joining 
students
at Ottawa University on March 21, calling for the immediate release of
political prisoner Min Ko Naing of Burma.

    A leader of the student pro-democracy movement, Min Ko Naing is 
serving
the 12th year of a 10-year prison sentence for his role in the uprising 
in
1988.

    With the help of Rights & Democracy, students have organized a 
postcard
campaign calling for the release of Min Ko Naing. Mr. Wiwa will lead the
students in delivering the cards to the Burmese Embassy on Range Road.
    The event gets underway at noon at the Agora lounge of the 
Jock-Turcot
Centre at the University of Ottawa, 85, University Avenue.



For further information: Mary Durran, Rights & Democracy, (514) 283-6073 

or cell: (514) 898-4157; Corinne Baumgarten, Canadian Friends of Burma,
(613) 237-8056




_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 

_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



The Nation: Chavalit Afflicted with Foot-in-mouth Disease

Tuesday, March 20, 2001




Deputy Prime Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is also defence 
minister, has created quite a stir since day one of joining the Thaksin 
government. His penchant for uttering silly comments has made him a 
target of ridicule. Now, with the next military reshuffle in the 
pipeline, Chavalit is making the newspaper headlines once again, but for 
all the wrong reasons.

This time around it concerns the fate of Lt-General Wattanachai 
Chaimuaenwong, commander of Third Army Region. This popular general, who 
is responsible for security along the 2,401-kilometre Thai-Burmese 
border, has been at loggerheads with his boss, Chavalit. The current 
army chief, General Surayudh Julanonda, has praised Wattanachai on a 
number of occasions for his courage and well-planned strategies in 
dealing with the security threat emanating from Burma. His troops are 
also very loyal to him and regard him with fondness.

Since he has been responsible for border security, Wattanachai has 
cooperated closely with other ministries and agencies, much to the 
chagrin of the Burmese leaders, who had become cocky from outmanoeuvring 
previous Thai military leaders. But Wattanachai calls a spade a spade, 
and he has not been hesitant about naming Burma and the United Wa Army 
as the main source of methamphetamines (yaa-baa, "crazy drug") and other 
drugs flooding Thailand. Rumours are sweeping through the corridors of 
the Defence Ministry that the commander will be removed to another post. 


The speculation is that his departure is being linked to the upcoming 
border talks with Burma. It is an open secret that the Burmese junta 
leaders are not happy with Wattanachai's straightforward manner and have 
indicated they want somebody else to head the Thai delegation to the 
Regional Border Committee meeting in Ketong, Burma, early next month. 
The reshuffle, which will be effective in early April, will be in time 
for the border meeting. Chavalit has made it known that he wants his own 
man to fill Wattanachai's shoes in order to speed up the border 
discussion. Yet both Surayudh and Supreme Commander General Samphao 
Chusri have promised to retain him in his current role in the Third Army 
Region because his mission to combat drugs is not finished yet.

It will be interesting to see how Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra 
reacts to the reshuffle. So far he has tolerated Chavalit's asinine 
behaviour because he still wants the support of the New Aspiration Party 
as a coalition partner. But Chavalit's comments and policies seem to be 
diametrically opposed to those espoused by the Thaksin administration. 
When the government was talking tough on drugs, Chavalit was conspicuous 
by his absence. When Thaksin and Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai 
revealed that the prime minister's visit to Burma would be delayed, he 
announced that he would be going there.

That kind of behaviour by Thai leaders could, in diplomatic speak, be 
labelled a dual approach. But with a government that has barely had time 
to warm its seat and the region throbbing with pressing issues, this is 
hardly the time for double talk. Thailand needs to maintain credibility 
in its policies concerning Burma, especially after three years of high 
diplomatic standards. With the international community looking on with a 
higher level of scrutiny, thanks to the nascent dialogue between the 
junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Development and the 
burgeoning drug menace, Thailand cannot afford to send out any wrong 
signals on the policy and diplomatic fronts.

Thaksin must sit down with Chavalit and the rest of the government to 
map out credible strategies towards Burma. Yesterday Chavalit and 
Surakiart had a meeting to develop steps for the coordination of the 
efforts of civilian and military leaders. But it will need to be 
followed up. The danger for Thaksin is that mistakes in diplomacy are a 
one-step-forward, two-steps-back situation. In other words it's 
difficult to regain lost ground when foreign policy wavers. Effective 
diplomacy involving Thailand's near neighbours needs solid backup from 
the defence and the security apparatus.




___________________________________________________


 .   
Business Day (Thailand): Thaksin Should Be Careful Who He Listens to on 
Myanmar 


March 20, 2001 




At the height of Thai-Myanmar border conflict which began last month, 
there was a small war of words between two former prime ministers about 
the deteriorating relationship with our neighbour. 

Moreover, former prime minister Chuan Leekpai and his Democrat 
colleagues openly took prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his aides 
to task, saying that the Thai Rak Thai-led government was over-reacting 
and too open in its criticism of Myanmar. 

Former deputy foreign minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra pointed out in 
support of Chuan that his Democrat-led government had never blamed the 
earlier government led by the New Aspiration Party for passing on the 
burden of repairing fragile Thailand-Myanmar relationships. Sukhumbhand 
also said that never had the Democrat-coalition government openly 
accused Yangon of supporting the production of narcotics in the Wah 
state, bordering Thailand's northern province of Chiang Rai. He said 
that such criticism should never be uttered by any Thai leader, if 
Thailand really hopes to solve long-standing differences with Myanmar. 

Earlier, former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh criticised Chuan 
for refusing to accept invitations from Myanmar's ruling junta to make a 
state visit during his administration. This, said Chavalit, had created 
ill-feeling with Myanmar's leaders, making it more difficult to solve 
the problems that have arisen in the last three years. 

Chuan responded that any visit to Myanmar during his tenure would not 
have had any bearing on existing problems between the two countries. He 
added that Chavalit's own visits to Myanmar had served his personal 
interests more than anything else. 

Despite loud applause for his energetic CEO-style attitude towards 
handling the nation's numerous socioeconomic problems, Thaksin is still 
badly in need of advisors, particularly in the field of foreign affairs. 
He could be right in pinpointing the fact that the Wah state city of 
Muangyon is a production hub for methamphetamines and other drugs, and 
that the Wah economy depends very much on drug production and trade, 
using Thai territory for trafficking the narcotics. 

What has been said by the Prime Minister regarding the role of Wah drug 
lords, and the flourishing development of Maungyon - built from selling 
narcotics in Thailand - should not be taken back to please the junta. 
The information that Thai military and national security units have 
supplied to the PM is certainly not fabricated simply to discredit 
Myanmar, or to encourage the prime minister to take action against Wah 
narcotics producers and traders. 

It is probably better that Thaksin disregard the words that Chuan and 
Chavalit have used against one another. What he should be more concerned 
about is a recently reported request by Yangon to Defence Minister 
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to remove Thailand's outspoken Third Army 
commander, Watthanachai Chaimuenwong, in return for Yangon's cooperation 
in border trade and narcotics suppression. Apparently the Myanmar junta 
is unhappy with Watthanachai's hardline operations against Wah narcotics 
producers and runners. If the reports are true, we can only hope that 
our Prime Minister knows well what he must do with such an offer from 
Myanmar's leaders. 



___________________________________________________



The New Light of Myanmar: Foxes under the guise of lions - Part III 

Monday, 19 March, 2001)

(Continued from 18-3-2001)

I will now present some of the terrorist acts and killings committed by 
the KNU and Shan drug smuggling insurgents who have taken refuge in 
Thailand as special refugees for the so-called causes of democracy, 
human rights and federal policy. The terrorist acts of the present 
trouble-makers, the KNUs and fugitives, who are launching various kinds 
of atrocities and engaging in opium trafficking, are endless. The 
terrorists insurgents are the brash persons in seeking self-interest, 
betraying the nation and the people, and committing terrorist acts, 
looting and murders. As they are terrorist insurgents, they are 
committing terrorist acts, causing unrest and violating all the laws. 
What is strange to me is those who are accommodating and flattering-them 
as democracy activists. Thailand should learn the bitter lessons of 
receiving the crooks and robbers as guests of honour from the single 
incident in which the armed group seized a civilian hospital in Rajburi. 
It will continue to suf! fer the evil consequences of keeping venomous 
persons within its own yard.  

Committing armed insurgency and breaching laws is no politics. Such is 
only the act of a hopeless gang of thugs. Committing murders and 
robberies, planting mines and kidnapping people axe the lowest terrorist 
acts. Whatever they are saying they are just robbers and murderers. 
Although they are covering themselves under the democracy cloak, their 
standard cannot be higher than the foxes under the guise of lions.  
At 8.15 pm on 3 March 2001 BBC news report said that a Thai Airways 
Boeing 747 exploded and caught fire on Bangkok International Airport 
runway killing one crew member and injuring three others who were on 
board the plane. The explosion came before Thai Prime Minister Thaksin 
Shinawatra, who was scheduled to fly to Chiangmai in northern Thailand, 
and - passengers boarded the plane, BBC added.  
The VOA evening news aired on 4 March 2001 reported that concerning the 
bomb explosion on board the Thai Airways plane on Saturday just before 
he boarded it, the Thai Prime Minister was quoted as saying that it was 
an attempt to assassinate him. The news reports also quoted the Thai 
police general as saying that it was a phosphorus bomb and that Mr 
Thaksin was to be suspicious of a person who was presumed to be 
assassin.  

In 5 March 2001 VOA evening news, Mr Thaksin was quoted as saying that 
it should not be assumed that he was the target of the bomb attack. Some 
of the Thai media said that it was the act of drug smugglers who were 
-angry with the pledge made by the Thai Prime Minister to curb drug 
trafficking especially from Myanmar. The 7 March 2001 issue of The 
Bangkok Post daily reported under the title "Army points finger at 
Junta" (Thai Army points finger at Myanmar military government). In 
other words, the daily was making a slanderous accusation to drive in a 
wedge.  

The news report quoted the Thai Army brass as' saying the bomb attack on 
the plane could be a revenge made by the Myanmar Military. It added that 
the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok denied the accusation (slander).  

The western media and some Thai dailies in collaboration with some Thai 
politicians launched injurious attacks on the new Thai Prime Minister 
who was saying that he would maintain cordial relations with the 
neighboring countries and would visit these countries for progress of 
the national economy soon after he had assumed the premiership and the 
new Defence Minister Chavalit Yong Chaiyud. The kind of the man they 
want is not Mr Thaksin the person who will promote national interests 
and good neighbourly relations. One can see this trend if he studies the 
news reports. These media and politicians are repeatedly saying that 
fugitives, drug smuggling robbers and insurgents at the border may not 
be able to continue to enjoy an easy- live if Mr Thaksin becomes prime 
minister. Thus, as soon as Mr Thaksin assumed the premiership, they used 
Ywet Sit with the involvement of some officers of No 3 Thai Military 
Command from behind the curtain in firing on Tachilek and trespassing on 
Myanm! ar territory. 

The 4 March 2001 VOA news quoted the new Thai Prime Minister as saying 
the bomb attack on the Thai aircraft was meant to assassinate him and 
that there was a suspect. The next day VOA quoted the Prime Minister as 
saying that he didn't believe that he was the target. The radio station 
also quoted Thai dailies as saying that it was the act of drug 
traffickers at the border who were disappointed with Mr Thaksin's drug 
eradication policy.  

The No 3 Thai Military Command is none other than the army under the 
charge of Watanachai who maintains close and cordial relations with drug 
trafficking robbers like Ywet Sit in northern Thailand. The military 
command is the one that gave supporting fire to Ywet Sit group which 
fired on Tachilek with heavy weapons.  
It is a well-known fact that the Myanmar Tatmadaw in accord with its 
tradition is always giving priority to safeguarding of the sovereignty, 
territorial integrity, non-disintegration of the Union and the national 
interest mobilizing the internal forces for the cause. It is a well 
known fact that Myanmar always strictly adheres to the norms of 
international relations, the basic principles of her independent foreign 
policy, the five principles of peaceful co-existence and the UN Charter. 
It never trespasses on other's territory. It has no greed or evil desire 
to do so. But it never yields to anyone who tries to intrude on her 
territory.  

Myanmar never commits mean acts such as terrorism, assassination, 
kidnapping or planting mines in the military or political operations. 
Myanmar always upholds her dignity which is always free from such 
conspiracies. While accommodating- the atrocious drug smuggling armed 
insurgents in a cordial manner, they (foreign media and some Thai 
dailies, officials and politicians) are speaking and writing words of 
accusations on others concerning the bomb attack on the Thai Airways 
plane which in reality is their own internal problem. The ones that are 
giving trouble to Thailand are the ones who are making these verbal and 
written words of accusation.  
However, I wish the new government of Mr Thaksin Shinawatra which has 
the will to serve the interest of Thailand and its people, to develop 
Thai economy and further strengthen relations with neighboring countries 
overcome all instigation and obstacles and able to work for the benefit 
of Thailand and the region.  

Author : U Pyay Kyaw



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DVB: Internship announcement

Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) is seeking interested individuals to 
apply for an internship that will be conducted in Oslo. DVB will be 
applying for  funding under the OSI internship program. The applicants 
must have an  interest in working
with DVB after the internship period is over, if she/he is appointed. 
DVB has been distributing application forms to all Burmese organizations 
and interested people based in Thailand through e-mail and fax since the 
last week of February 2001. This announcement on the BurmaNet is aimed 
to reach those who do not yet know about the program. The deadline to 
apply is 31  March 2001. Please contact Ko Khin Maung Win by phone 
(01-4089963) or  e-mail <maung@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx DVB (Bangkok Bureau) for 
more information  and to receive the application form. The application 
should then be  returned to DVB (Bangkok Bureau) by fax (02-5132051) or 
e-mail. 


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KNU: New website announced

The Karen National Union has launched a new website at www.tawmeipa.org 



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UNESCO: Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2001--U Win Tin, 
Myanmar

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano 

World Press Freedom Prize

The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, instituted in 1997, 
is intended to honour each year a person, organization or institution 
that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or 
promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially if some 
risk was involved. It was established on the initiative of UNESCO's 
Executive Board and is formally conferred by the Director-General of the 
Organization, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May. The 
Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist 
assassinated by the drug cartels on 17 December 1986, in front of the 
offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotß. Guillermo Cano's 
fate exemplifies the price paid by journalists and the media the world 
over: Journalists are imprisoned and ill-treated on account of their 
profession every day. The fact that these crimes for the most part go 
unpunished is even more alarming.
The US $25,000 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize is awarded on the 
recommendation of an independent jury of 14 news professionals chaired 
by Mia Doornaert, President of UNESCO's Advisory Group for Press 
Freedom. Names are submitted by regional and international 
non-governmental organizations working for press freedom and by UNESCO 
Member States.


                    
This year's laureate, U Win Tin - former editor of the daily Hanthawati 
newspaper in Myanmar, vice-chair of Myanmar's Writers' Association and a 
founder of the National League for Democracy - was arrested in July 
1989. Three months later, accused of being a member of the banned 
Communist Party of Myanmar, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 
transported to Insein jail in Rangoon. In 1996, U Win Tin was tried in 
prison and sentenced to an additional five years for breaking prison 
regulations prohibiting the possession of writing materials. Later that 
year he was moved to Myingyan jail north of Rangoon, where his family 
and friends could no longer visit him or send him food and medicine. In 
early October 1997, he was transferred to Rangoon General Hospital, 
where he remains and is reported to be seriously ill. His prison 
sentence will only end in July 2008, unless he renounces all political 
activities, which he refuses to do. 







________________


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