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BurmaNet News: October 13-14, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
          October 13-14, 2001   Issue # 1898
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________


INSIDE BURMA _______
*AFP: UN rights envoy tours Myanmar's northern border area
*AFP: Burma releases 66 Thai prisoners in goodwill gesture
*Guardian (UK): British oil firms accused of Burma abuses
*Burma Courier: Attempt to Open Nld Office in Mandalay Squashed
*Reuters: U.N. envoy sees progress on human rights in Myanmar
*Irrawaddy online: KNPP Claim Firsthand Knowledge of Forced Labor
*Irrawaddy online: Incense or Tamarinds

MONEY _______
*AFP: Myanmar to keep fuel subsidies despite shortage 
*Bangkok Post: Economic agency to handle investments 
*Burma Courier: Shrimp Prices Slump after Terrorist Attack

GUNS______
*Arakan News Agency: Border Security Force (Na Sa Ka), Villagers Clash 
in Northern Arakan 10 persons injured, 6 arrested
*Irrawaddy online: Security Measures Influence New Bridge

DRUGS______
*AP: Source: Burma to Top Heroin Produce
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Poppy growers looking forward to bumper 
harvest

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Shan Herald Agency for News: Ex-Shan leader passes away
*Bangkok Post: Refugee influx hurts fragile ecosystem 

EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*The New light of Myanmar (SPDC): Use edible oil and money sparingly

OTHER______
*Committee for Revival of Burmese Literature: Burmese Literature Talk at 
New York 2001


					
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________




AFP: UN rights envoy tours Myanmar's northern border area


Saturday October 13, 2:30 PM



YANGON, Oct 13 (AFP) - United Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio 
Pinheiro was due to meet with minority and democratic opposition leaders 
in Myanmar's north as part of his second visit here, official sources 
said Saturday. 

Pinheiro was expected to leave Yangon early Saturday for the northern 
Shan state capital of Lashio, with planned stops at points near the 
Chinese border. He is due back in Yangon on October 19. 

The Brazilian academic will first visit Muse before journeying to the 
Kokang and Wa regions, where he is expected to meet with ethnic militias 
that have signed ceasefire agreements with Myanmar's junta. 

According to an official itinerary, he will travel to the ancient 
capital of Mandalay, 540 miles (860 kilometres) north of Yangon, for a 
meeting with leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy 
(NLD). 

For the remainder of his tour, Pinheiro will visit Myintkyina, in the 
Kachin State. 
While there, he is expected to talk with military and government 
officials as well as leaders from the Kachin Independence Organisation, 
the political wing of the minority Kachin Independence Army. 

Returning to Mandalay on Tuesday, he will go to the ancient city of 
Bagan, to stay overnite and visit cultural and religious sites. 

On Thursday, he will visit the capital of southern Shan state to meet 
leaders from another minority group that has signed the ceasefire pact, 
the Pa-o National Organization. 
The UN envoy is expected to meet with NLD leader and Nobel peace prize 
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on his return from the upcountry trip. 

Pinheiro, the first UN human rights envoy allowed to visit Myanmar since 
1996, is to end his visit on October 20. 

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the results of the April trip, 
and the working relationship was cemented Monday when the junta released 
five top political prisoners to mark Pinheiro's arrival. 

During his first visit Pinheiro was allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi, who 
has remained under house arrest for the past year, and spoke of an 
atmosphere of "cautious optimism" for possible change in the country. 

The UN Human Rights Commission passed a resolution in April with the 
support of 53 countries saying rights abuses and persecution of the 
political opposition in Myanmar were at an unacceptable level. 

But Myanmar's junta insisted the resolution failed to accurately portray 
the situation, particularly because it relied on information supplied by 
the UN's previous rights rapporteur.





___________________________________________________



Guardian (UK): British oil firms accused of Burma abuses


Guardian Unlimited


Fri Oct 12 09:53:46 UTC+0900 2001


Andrew Osborn in Brussels
Friday October 12, 2001
The Guardian

Burmese soldiers retained by the British companies Premier Oil and 
TotalFinaElf are guilty of multiple human rights abuses and subject 
local peasants to forced labour, extortion and beatings, the European 
parliament was told yesterday.

At a hearing organised by the British Labour MEP Richard Howitt, a 
non-governmental organisation accused the two of complicity in and 
direct knowledge of "egregious human rights abuses for the benefit of 
western oil companies".

"The soldiers have committed and continue to commit these violations," 
Marco Simons of Earth Rights International said. "Civilians are 
conscripted by the military and forced to carry heavy supplies, beaten 
and left for dead. 

"Forced labour has not stopped in Burma in the pipeline region and 
instead of acting as good corporate citizens and terminating their 
complicity in human rights abuses, it is denied."

He called on the companies to either take steps to ensure that the 
soldiers - whom they retain to protect two gas pipelines - cease these 
abuses or pull out of Burma altogether.

Mr Howitt claimed that peasants are being threatened at gunpoint and, in 
exceptional cases, used as human minesweepers.

"This is a brutal case of human rights abuse," he said.

ERI backed up its allegations with a report containing hundreds of 
witness statements taken in Burma as recently as as last month which, it 
said, proved that the situation was as bad as ever.

Both companies were present at the hearing.

Premier Oil, which has been active in Burma since 1990, despite the 
continued presence of a military dictatorship, said it could not be held 
responsible for the behaviour of troops it retained to protect its 
pipeline and employees.

"There are no international sanctions that do not allow our operation to 
go ahead there," its corporate social responsibility officer, Richard 
Jones, said in an interview with the BBC.

"None of the things we've been accused of is in fact so. We believe 
human rights and related issues are a part of our business and we've 
been training the Burmese government in human rights over the past year. 


"This is an ongoing programme and certainly something we take very 
seriously."

Jean-Pierre Cordier of Total FinaElf said the allegations were "without 
foundation" and told the hearing that it was "unimaginable" that his 
company would have recourse to forced labour.

"Respect for human rights and for decent working conditions in Burma are 
the same as we apply all over the world," he added.

The Burmese government had issued two decrees outlawing forced labour, 
he said, which were prominently displayed in all the villages adjacent 
to his company's pipeline in Yadana.

But human rights activists said these decrees were not worth the paper 
they were printed on, and claimed that villagers were still being 
intimidated into doing back-breaking work for the troops and were forced 
to pay "fines" or worse if they refused.

Mr Howitt claimed that evidence showing that the two companies were 
aware of what was effectively being done in their name was "serious and 
telling". 

He urged them to follow the example of companies such as Pepsi, Texaco 
and Apple computers, which have pulled out of Burma because of the 
problem of doing business with the repressive military junta which has 
been in power since 1962.

Voluntary codes of conduct which can be flouted by the companies which 
draw them up are not good enough, he said, calling for a binding code of 
conduct for European multinationals.

"Premier Oil should be ashamed of themselves," he said. "Who are they to 
make moral judgments that they're helping the situation in Burma when 
the whole international community disagrees?"




___________________________________________________






Burma Courier: Attempt to Open Nld Office in Mandalay Squashed


Based on news received from the Network Media Group:  October 12, 2001 

MANDALAY - Burma's military regime has acted quickly to squash an 
attempt by the National League for Democracy to open a constituency 
office outside of Rangoon.

On Monday, when members of the Pyigyidagun branch of the NLD in the 
south part of Mandalay city sought permission for the party to re-open 
its township office, they were advised by officials of the divisional 
electoral office that the party did not have official  recognition in 
the township, according to a ruling of the national Multiparty Electoral 
Commission. 		

When U Saw Htay of the NLD's Pyigyidagun branch asked for the ruling to 
be delivered in written form, he was told that the local electoral 
office did not have authority from the district electoral commission to 
issue such a statement.

Since NLD party offices have been allowed to re-open in more than 20 
constituencies in Rangoon division, party officials are questioning what 
basis in law the Multiparty Electoral Commission could find for 
recognizing the right of the NLD party branches to organize in the 
capital while denying constituency branches the same right in other 
parts of the country.  The answer would appear to be that the Electoral 
Commission is not guided by the law in arriving at its decisions.




___________________________________________________



Reuters: U.N. envoy sees progress on human rights in Myanmar


Friday October 12, 6:57 PM

By Aung Hla Tun 

YANGON (Reuters) - The U.N.'s human rights envoy to Myanmar believes the 
military-ruled country has made some progress on human rights in recent 
months, foreign diplomats said on Friday.  

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s special rapporteur for human rights in 
Myanmar, arrived in Yangon on Tuesday and is due to stay in the country 
till October 20, meeting government officials, opposition and diplomats, 
U.N. sources said.  

Diplomats who met Pinheiro on Thursday said he gave a fairly optimistic 
view of recent developments in Myanmar, where secretive talks between 
the ruling military and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have been 
continuing for a year.  

"He said he sensed more progress in the situation on human rights since 
he last came here in April," one diplomat from a Southeast Asian country 
told Reuters.  
Military governments have ruled Myanmar for most of the last four 
decades, locking up opposition and allowing little dissent.  

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been under de facto 
house arrest since September 2000. Her National League for Democracy 
(NLD) won the country's last elections in 1990 by a landslide but has 
never been allowed to govern.  

But a year ago, talks began between Suu Kyi and leaders of the ruling 
State Peace and Development Council and since then many pro-democracy 
activists have been released from detention and public criticism between 
the two sides has virtually ceased.  

On Tuesday, the day Pinheiro arrived, five more NLD prisoners were 
released, bringing the total number of NLD detainees sent home by the 
authorities to 174.  

Pinheiro, a Brazilian, first visited Myanmar in April after being 
appointed as a special envoy in February by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi 
Annan.  

A report written by Pinheiro and released by the U.N. last week welcomed 
efforts by Myanmar's ruling military to improve human rights in the 
country, but repeated calls for the release of all political prisoners.  


Amnesty International says there are more than 1,500 political detainees 
in Myanmar.  
The international community has welcomed the dialogue between Suu Kyi 
and the government. But the talks have so far yielded no concrete 
political deal and opposition activists have become increasingly 
pessimistic over their progress.  

Pinheiro's predecessor, Rajsoomer Lallah, was never allowed to visit 
Myanmar, and in his final report last October he accused the military of 
torturing, raping and executing civilians.



___________________________________________________




Irrawaddy online: KNPP Claim Firsthand Knowledge of Forced Labor


 October - 14, 2001.

By Tony Broadmoor and Doh Say

October 11, 2001? Members of the Committee for Internally Displaced 
Karenni People (CIDKnP) have found evidence of forced labour as well as 
recently planted landmines in the Karenni State, according to a 
spokesman from the Karenni National Peoples Party (KNPP). 

The fact-finding mission traveled to areas around the old Taungoo Road 
in District Two of the Karenni State and found local residents clearing 
a section of the road located ten miles from Mawchi. The KNPP told The 
Irrawaddy that the Burmese junta plans to use the road again. KNPP 
officials said that one Karenni village has been ordered to clear a 
one-mile stretch of road as well as thirty-feet on both sides of it.  

According to the CIDKnP each village was to receive 8000 kyat (US $17) 
and two sacks of rice for their work. Villagers said they were given no 
choice in the matter and that the headman of their village was called to 
the Burmese military headquarters in Mawchi to answer as to why 
villagers had not reported to work.  

Other villagers told the CIDKnP that they had offered the military 
troops 10,000 kyat in return for not working but were required to work 
any way. The KNPP has said that despite the nominal fee paid to 
villagers this still constitutes forced labour.  

The CIDKnP?s mission concluded just as the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) began its fourth trip to Burma to investigate the 
continued use of forced labour. The ILO?s trip is now also finished 
although the results of the investigation will not be available for some 
time.  

Brief history of the Taungoo Road:

The Mawchi -Taungoo road was built during World War II. The Burmese 
Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) later used the road to send military 
supplies from Taungoo to Mawchi. The road was abandoned twenty years 
ago. The road is ninety-six miles long with roughly a third of it in the 
Karenni State and the remainder in the Karen State. 

In 1991, the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 
began repairs on the road using forced labour to clear and reconstruct a 
twelve-mile section from Mawchi heading towards Taungoo. During that 
period, villagers from the Karenni State, including the elderly, women 
and children were ordered to repair the road.  

During this period, there are numerous reports of villagers being killed 
or maimed by SLORC land mines. Now in addition to these older land 
mines, newer land mines have been laid by Burmese military troops, 
perhaps even as recently as this year. These newer land mines remain on 
the very stretch of road that Karenni villagers are being forced to 
clear. Military soldiers also remain near the Karenni villagers as they 
work, according to the KNPP. 




___________________________________________________





Irrawaddy online: Incense or Tamarinds




October 14, 2001.

By Zarny Win and Ko Thet

October 11, 2001--Burma is not know as a country with a penchant for 
resource conservation or environmental stability. As seen in a recent 
report released by the Geneva-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization 
(FAO), Burma was among the top ten countries in the world for net losses 
of forested area since 1990. 

The latest resource thought to be endangered in Burma is the tamarind 
tree. According to sources in Burma, tamarind trees have been 
disappearing throughout central Burma as a result of a booming incense 
industry?an industry that relies heavily on tamarind trees as a raw 
material. 

The rise in popularity of incense, or joss sticks as they are known in 
Burma, can be traced to an increase in television commercials that 
portray joss sticks as a necessary and important part of life. There are 
only three televison channels in Burma and the channel predominantly 
watched in Burma airs only commercials. Many Burmese, after years of 
watching propaganda-filled newscasts, have switched to the 
easier-to-watch commercial channel for regular viewing. 

"Joss stick commercials have been appearing more and more on televison 
to promote them throughout the country.The actors in the commercials say 
that everything will be okay if you burn joss sticks. Unfortunately, the 
more people who use the joss sticks, the faster the 
tamarind trees will disappear," said a teacher from Burma?s Dagon 
University.  

Many Burmese are worried that the disappearance of tamarind trees will 
also threaten central Burma?s dry zone. 

Lu Du Daw Ahmar, a highly acclaimed writer and social critic, wrote last 
year that, "It will be very sad if the tamarind trees disappear because 
of this business."  

Magway Division?s Yasegyo Township is famous for its tamarind grooves.  
"In Yasegyo, the tamarind trees are almost all gone because the local 
people have been selling them to joss stick manufacturers," said a man 
in Yasegyo. "Even the trees inside Buddhist monasteries have been cut 
down."  

Historically joss sticks have only been used by Buddhist practitioners 
and also by some ethnic-Chinese living in Burma. 

Joss stick makers have been replacing the more tradtional Indian names 
with more powerful Burmese names to help attract consumers. They have 
changed some of the names to Aung Tate-di ("power"), Lo-ta-ya ("get 
whatever one wishes for"), Kan Pwint ("lucky"). The customers appear to 
be falling for the names, as sales continue to soar throughout Burma.  

Nobody is exactly sure how many of the trees have been logged, but the 
state-run MRTV television station advised people to stop using the whole 
tree when cutting it for wood, according to a tutor from Ye Zinn 
Institute of Agriculture in Mandalay Division. 
Wood-apple trees or elephant-apple trees have already disappeared in 
Mandalay Divison?s Pyinmana Township and surrounding areas due to the 
joss stick business. Wood-apple trees were also used as a raw material 
for joss sticks.







__________________________________________________




AFP: Burma releases 66 Thai prisoners in goodwill gesture


Friday October 12, 5:31 PM

BANGKOK, Oct 12 (AFP) - Burma released 66 Thai prisoners Friday as a 
goodwill gesture to solidify relations between the two countries 
following a visit by Burma's intelligence chief Khin Nyunt last month. 

Thai military airport officials said most of the prisoners were jailed 
on criminal charges of illegal migration, fishing and drug possession. 

They were released from eight prisons throughout Burma and transported 
on military aircraft from Rangoon, arriving in Bangkok in the early 
afternoon. 
Burma authorities set special guidelines for the releases, saying they 
will have to serve out the remainder of their sentences in addition to 
any new penalties if they violate Burma laws again.

Thailand and Burma agreed to release the prisoners when the Burma number 
three, Khin Nyunt, visited Thailand in September on a three-day trip 
aimed at smoothing over a row centred on border issues and the drugs 
trade. 
The spat was set off in March when the two national armies staged a 
half-day clash after becoming embroiled in fighting between rival ethnic 
militias accused of involvement in drug trafficking.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made an inaugural visit to Burma 
in June that largely diffused the argument




______________________MONEY________________________






AFP: Myanmar to keep fuel subsidies despite shortage 


YANGON, Oct 14 (AFP) - Myanmar's military government has pledged to 
maintain its subsidised gasoline and diesel allocations to the public, 
without raising prices, despite a chronic fuel shortage, a report said 
Sunday. 

 The Myanmar junta distributes 7.5 million gallons of gasoline and up to 
19 million gallons of diesel every month at subsidised prices, Energy 
Minister Brigadier-General Lun Thi told the Myanmar Times. 

 The regime has to import more than five million tonnes of crude oil 
annually to meet this quota, he said. 

 "We have no intention of further reducing the present quota or raising 
the official price of 180 kyats (36 US cents) per gallon for gasoline 
and 160 kyats (32 US cents) for diesel," Lun Thi said. 

 Last April the energy ministry cut daily fuel quotas from three gallons 
to two for taxis and private cars. Rumors have abounded since then that 
another reduction was in the offing. 
 On the open market, gasoline costs around 950 kyats (1.90 dollars) per 
gallon and diesel, used mostly for public transport, more than 1,000 
kyats (two dollars). 

 Taxi drivers say the two-gallon allocation does not meet their needs. 

 One told AFP that he had to supplement his allocation with another two 
gallons bought on the open market. 

 "I don't know about the private cars, but taxis have to ply almost the 
whole day and two gallons are hardly sufficient to keep my taxi 
running," he said. 

 The huge gap between the official and open market prices of gasoline 
and diesel has resulted in private car owners selling the fuel they 
don't use at hefty profits. 

 Private cars line up daily at government outlets to buy their two 
gallons of fuel, half of which many of them hawk on the open market. 

 Some have even invested in a cheap extra car for the sole purpose of 
collecting the official daily quota, observers claim. 

 According to official estimates, there are more than 300,000 cars in 
the Myanmar capital alone. 




___________________________________________________






Bangkok Post: Economic agency to handle investments 


October 14, 2001.

Fisheries chief to hold talks tomorrow 
Wassana Nanuam 

All talks on investment between Thailand and Burma will have to go 
through the Thai-Burmese Economic Friendship Association, said Gen Sanan 
Kachornklam, an adviser to the defence minister. 

He said Burma's Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, of the ruling State Peace and 
Development Council, informed all Burmese agencies to go through the 
association. 

The association was founded last month by Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and Defence 
Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. 

Gen Sanan led a delegation to Rangoon for talks with senior Burmese 
military officers on Oct 9-11.  

``Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt believes Thailand and Burma will no longer have 
problems but will co-operate for economic development. He gives us full 
support. If state-level talks fail, the private sector can talk via the 
association,'' he said. 

Thailand and Burma would set up special industrial zones and bamboo 
paper factories in the Tachilek-Chiang Rai, Myawaddy-Tak, and 
Kawthaung-Ranong areas. 

To promote tourism, more tours to Burma would be arranged and joint 
tourism offices set up in Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthaung, in Burma, 
and in Bangkok.  

To boost cultural ties, the nations would join hands to organise Loy 
Krathong festivities, cultural exhibitions and student exchanges. 

Gen Sanan said Burma still refused to grant fishing concessions to Thais 
except for joint-venture investments. But the fisheries chief would hold 
talks on the issue tomorrow with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. 





___________________________________________________





Burma Courier: Shrimp Prices Slump after Terrorist Attack



Oct 7 - 13, 2001 


Based on news from Myanmar Times and Business Tank:  Updated to Oct 9, 
2001 
RANGOON -- A shrimp farming expert from Thailand in Rangoon for a 
seminar last week that the current world crisis has seriously affected 
the bottom line for seafood producers and marketers.

"Shrimp prices have fallen 25 per cent due to the terrorist attacks in 
the U.S.," said Dr Chalor Limsuwan.

His assessment was confirmed by Dr. Aung Lwin of Pyae Phyo Tun, one of 
the leading  marine fishery export companies in Burma.  He told the 
biweekly on-line journal Business Tank recently that the seafood export 
market in general had taken a downturn.   "At present, the Japanese 
market demand for seafood is cool while the situation in the United 
States has worsened the prospects. We are working cautiously because we 
might be faced with huge stocks in our  hands if the global recession 
continues."

Dr Chalor was more optimistic about the long term prospects, 
particularly for shrimp farming.  "The industry still has a good future; 
shrimp farming is the number one seafood business in the region," Dr 
Chalor said. 
The military government has a big push on expanding the shrimp farming 
business.  Plans call for a tripling of land devoted to shrimp 
cultivation between 2000 and 2003 when 220,000 acres is targeted.  
Currently about 100,000 acres has been developed with Arakan state 
leading the way with 83,000 acres under cultivation.  Twenty hatcheries 
run by the government's fisheries department and private companies are 
currently distributing over 90 million shrimp fry annually with the 
private hatcheries producing over 80% of the total.

International competition is tough. Thailand is the world's top producer 
with an annual output of about 320,000 tonnes a year, followed by China 
with about 250,000 tonnes.  Burma produced more than 130,000 tonnes of 
shrimp last year, almost all of which was exported.

According to the fisheries department the number of shrimp farming 
companies has jumped to more than 50 from only six last year.  But the 
main players are international firms such as Thailand's C.P. Co. and 
Marine PCR.  An expert from Marine PCR told the seminar that shrimp 
farms have the potential to be a 'gold mine' for Burma.



_______________________GUNS________________________





Arakan News Agency: Border Security Force (Na Sa Ka), Villagers Clash in 
Northern Arakan 10 persons injured, 6 arrested


12. 10. 2001
 

 
By Our Special Correspondent

Taungbro (near Burma-Bangladesh border), October 10: Border Security 
Force known as Na Sa Ka belonging to Thet Chaung Camp of Na Sa Ka area ? 
No.1 clashed with villagers of Thet Chaung (Taikkom) village about some 
15 miles north-east of Kyin Chaung (Bawlibazar) in northern part of 
occupied Arakan, in south western Burma, resulting in the injuries to 10 
persons, 2 seriously and arrest of 6 persons. 

The incident took place at 11:45 P.M. on September 28 in the said 
village when two Na Sa Ka soldiers namely Maung Myint and Kyaw Maung of 
the said camp tried to rape a girl after forcibly entering into her 
house. The family members raised hue and cry causing alarm among other 
villagers who surrounded the house. While villagers were trying to beat 
up the culprits more Na Sa Ka came to the scene of conflict and started 
firing in the air and at the villagers. 10 persons were reportedly 
injured, 2 of them seriously according to the villagers. The two Na Sa 
Ka soldiers also sustained cut injuries and bruises. 
The situation was brought under control after about an hour. Six persons 
? Aye Kyaw Nyunt, 22, son of Maung Kyaw Hla, Chan Sein Maung, 19. son of 
U Tha Htun, Shwe Maung, 22, son of U Maung Tha Doe, Tha sein U, 23, son 
of U Shwe Htun and two others, all belonging to the said village ? were 
arrested later accusing them as trouble shooters. 

Many similar incidents of rape and looting by the Na Sa Ka forces go 
unnoticed or unreported in extreme border villages as the villagers fail 
to resist or complain for fear of retribution from them. 
 

Abdur Rashid
Chief Reporter
Arakan News Agency




___________________________________________________




Irrawaddy online: Security Measures Influence New Bridge

October 14, 2001.

By Maung Maung Oo

October 12, 2001?Burma?s decision to build a second bridge linking Mai 
Sai in Thailand with Tachilek in Burma?s Shan State is not simply an 
attempt to boost bilateral trade. The move is primarily aimed at better 
controlling the flow of vehicles heading in and out of Burma, according 
to sources in Tachilek.  

"The mixed flow of pedestrians and vehicles on the old bridge creates a 
rather chaotic scene for border officials," said a man in Tachilek. 

The new bridge will only be used for motored vehicles, while the current 
bridge will deal with foot traffic. The bridge is projected to be 
finished in two years. 

The source added that the decision was also based on a recent incident 
involving a group of high-ranking Thai officials who entered Burma 
unnoticed and who were eventually kidnapped by soldiers from the United 
Wa State Army (UWSA). The UWSA is an armed guerilla group that is widely 
believed to be the number-one producer of both methamphetamines and 
heroin in Burma.  

"Rangoon does not want to face another problem like this in the future," 
said an intelligence source in Tachilek. The Thai officials were 
released unharmed after a delegation of Burmese officials brokered their 
release. 

The border crossing was closed for almost five months this year after a 
series of border clashes between the two countries. The border crossing 
reopened in July. 

"Business is only back to about half of what it was before the closure," 
said a businessman in Tachilek. The Burmese government is still 
prohibiting the import of certain Thai products such as MSG and some 
energy drinks."  

Last Sunday, Burma?s Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and Thai Foreign Minister 
Surakiart Sathirathai inspected the new bridge site. 



________________________DRUGS______________________





AP: Source: Burma to Top Heroin Producers


Friday October 12 12:20 PM ET

LONDON (AP) - Burma could become the world's biggest supplier of heroin 
if Afghan growers adhere to the Taliban's ban on opium poppy 
cultivation, a U.N. researcher said Friday.

Dr. Sandeep Chawla, chief of research for the U.N. drug control program, 
said last year's ban by Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s hard-line 
Taliban rulers was highly effective.

``Afghanistan has gone from producing 70 percent of the world's opium to 
less than 10 percent,'' Chawla told a London conference organized by the 
British charity Drug Scope.

During the 1990s, Afghanistan produced between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of 
opium per year, followed by Burma, which produced 1,000 tons a year, and 
Laos and Colombia, which produced 100 tons a year, Chawla said.

At poppy harvest time last year, Afghanistan had 200,000 acres under 
poppy cultivation, producing 3,276 tons of raw opium. This year, 18,700 
acres under cultivation have produced 185 tons of opium.

The price of raw opium in Afghanistan went from $20 a kilo last year to 
more than $200 this year. It was $700 just before the Sept. 11 attacks, 
after which it plummeted dramatically on speculation that the Taliban 
prohibition on poppy cultivation would not be enforced, Chawla said.

For the first time in 30 years, the price of raw opium in Burma is at 
the same level as in Afghanistan, when usually it is up to three times 
higher, he said.

Although there was no evidence so far that farmers were returning to 
growing opium, Chawla said they might if political instability and 
widespread poverty continued.





__________________________________________________




Shan Herald Agency for News: Poppy growers looking forward to bumper 
harvest

12 October 2001

No: 10 - 03:



Poppy farmers along the Thai border are predicting a rich yield of opium 
this season compared to last year when poor weather ruined countless 
fields, according to sources. 
Many fields across Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai are already near 
harvest. Farmers said they expected another harvest in December and a 
third one in January. 
Apart from the weather condition, there were other favorable factors, 
they told S.H.A.N.. 
"For one thing the arrival last year of Wa troops in the areas where the 
Shan State Army used to be active against both the Burma Army and drug 
operators has turned the scales in the favor of the investors both from 
within and without," he said. "The SSA has been less active since." 

Anti-narcotics operations of the SSA, led by Col Yawdserk, who is 
avowedly against drugs, led to retaliations by the Burma Army that 
escalated into military confrontations between Rangoon and Bangkok early 
this year. 

"The SSA is clearly in a bind," said one border watcher. "It cannot 
fight both the Wa and the Burmese at the same time like Khun Sa did 
before his surrender in 1996. His military campaigns against the Burmese 
in the meanwhile are increasingly frowned upon by Bangkok. And if he 
does war with the Wa, he is only helping Rangoon." 

The SSA have strongholds opposite Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai 
provinces of Thailand. 




___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				







Bangkok Post: Refugee influx hurts fragile ecosystem 


October 14, 2001.

Western forest now `severely degraded' 
Kultida Samabuddhi 

The refugee influx from Burma has severely degraded Thailand's western 
forest complex, one of the most pristine ecosystems in Southeast Asia, 
environmentalists said yesterday. 
Thirteen refugee camps with around one million displaced people, mostly 
ethnic minorities from Burma, have been set up along Thailand's western 
border, which was part of the forest, said Ratchada Chaisawadi, of the 
Union for Civil Liberty. 

``The government's unstable policy on the western border issue and 
refugees are causing negative effects on soil, water and biological 
resources in the country's largest protected forest area,'' she said. 

Rataya Chanthien, of Sueb Nakasathien Foundation, said the camps, packed 
with people, had depleted a great deal of natural resources. 

Problems relating to refugees and the border were intractable, related 
as they were to national security and Thailand's relationship with its 
neighbour. 

``Even the government is unable to tackle these problems,'' Mrs Rataya 
told a forum on the western forest complex, organised by the Thai 
Society of Environmental Journalists. 
Covering 11.7 million rai, the forest consists of six wildlife 
sanctuaries, 10 national parks, and one forest reserve. They include the 
natural World Heritage sites Thung Yai and Huay Kha Kaeng wildlife 
sanctuaries. 

The complex is home to more than 2,500 varieties of plant, 150 types of 
animal and 470 bird species. 

It is also the last habitat for large and near-extinct animals such as 
wild elephants, tigers, gaurs, bantengs, tapirs. 

Chatchawal Pisdamkham, head of the Western Forest Complex Ecosystem 
Management Programme (Wefcom), said degradation of the forest arose from 
misuse of forest land. 
People lacked knowledge about forest ecology.

Wefcom is a three-year project, initiated by the Forestry Department 
with financial support from the Danish Co-operation for Environmental 
Development. 

``Some sensitive areas, such as Khao Ban Dai in Huay Kha Kaeng wildlife 
sanctuary, must be saved as a strictly natural area, a place free from 
human activity, to protect the 
fragile ecosystem of fauna and flora,'' he said. 

Anak Pattanavibool, Wefcom's wildlife ecologist, said activities 
threatening the forest included state development projects such as dams 
and roads, depletion of natural resources by minority groups, the camps, 
and poaching wild animals. 

``There are still poachers in the protected areas. Most of them hunt for 
wild elephant tusks,'' he said. 

Panelists also expressed concern about mining concessions in the forest, 
including two mines at the south of Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife 
sanctuary. 

Mrs Rataya said mine operators had applied for concessions covering more 
than 20,000 rai of land and were waiting for permission from the 
Forestry Department. 

``The department should not allow mining in the forest and should 
immediately annex the area to the proposed Lam Klong Ngu national 
park,'' she said.




___________________________________________________



Shan Herald Agency for News: Ex-Shan leader passes away


12 October 2001

No: 10 - 04:



Major Nawmong Awn, 60, from Shan State Peace Council, died at 03:28 on 
Monday (8 October), reported a source from Tachilek, opposite Chiangrai. 

Nawmong, a native of Langkher, joined the resistance in 1959. He served 
as a radio operator and intelligence officer in the Shan State Army. He 
also served as Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Front, following 
the assassination of Col Hsengharn, his predecessor, in 1982. 

He suffered a massive stroke on 14 May in Lashio and was hospitalized, 
said the source. 
He funeral was held on Wednesday (10 October) at Khaisim, the SSPC's 
headquarters in Hsipaw. 





___________________________________________________




The Nation: Illegal labourers' deadline extended 


October 14, 2001.

Published on Oct 14, 2001 

Up to 670,000 illegal foreign workers in the country were expected to 
register with the government after yesterday's registration deadline was 
extended to October 25. 
Elawat Chandraprasert, permanent secretary for labour, said the 
registration of illegal workers in the South already reached nearly 
100,000, making it the country's largest home for these workers. 

The latest figures show that 427,072 workers had registered with the 
government since September 24. 

According to Elawat, the final tally could reach 670,000 against the 
government's target of 500,000. 

Registration fees cost Bt4,450 each person per year. Of this amount, the 
first Bt3,250 is collected first and was good for the first six months 
of the registration. Another Bt1,200 will have to be paid later to cover 
the remaining six months. 

Elawat said many business operators had applied to register their 
foreign workers but could not complete the registration process by the 
original October 13 deadline. So the government has decided to postpone 
the deadline to October 25.
 
Besides these operators, the extended deadline was also expected to 
cover those who had not started the registration process. The latter 
group will have to provide acceptable reasons to officials in order to 
qualify. 

The breakdown of such workers regionally were as follows: a total of 97, 
182 workers in the South had registered; followed by 91,969 in the 
Central region; 83,524 in Bangkok; 64,693 in the North; 46,706 in the 
East; 33,480 in the West; and 9,518 in the Northeast. 
Workers of Burmese nationality topped the list, followed by those from 
Laos and Cambodia.



___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________





The New light of Myanmar (SPDC): Use edible oil and money sparingly


[BurmaNet adds--This editorial, calling on Burmese to use less cooking 
oil is an indication of economic desperation and in particular, of a 
shortage of hard currency.  Much of Burma's cooking oil is imported.  
The New Light assures the reader that economic conditions are not 
desperate and that Burmese people earn enough money to purchase a basic 
commodity like cooking oil but in blaming the Burmese people for their 
spendthrift ways ("our Myanmar people tend to spend as much as they 
have" the regime   indirectly acknowledges that the real shortage is 
money, not oil.



[Abridged]


Saturday, 13 October, 2001   



Ours is the most edible oil consuming nation. Myanmar people like edible 
oil very much. An old man living in our rural community cannot help 
sprinkling edible oil on cooked rice and eating it, however good curries 
are. Even there is a pork curry, he sprinkles edible oil on cooked rice. 
Now we should eat less edible oil for the sake of our health. The 
economic condition of Myanmar is good. Things have come to such a pass 
that everybody can earn as much as they can work. Their daily income is 
substantial. Individual income is not meagre, either. In our Myanmar, 
there are a good deal of job opportunities. There is not any form of 
restrictions. So the economic condition is favourable.  

However, our Myanmar people tend to spend as much as they have. I happen 
to find the method of spending less money on food in order to save 
money. In our Myanmar, goods are not scarce. One can buy whatever one 
wants. The State has employed every way and mean to stimulate economic 
growth. It has taken every measure to raise the social status of the 
people as well. Our housewives are required to reduce expenditure in 
view of individual income and the size of family. Therefore, our 
housewives should discard the previous extravagant life style, spend 
money prudently in consideration of commodity prices and not squander 
money on unnecessary matters.  

Our staple food is rice. We eat rice as soon as morning comes. We cannot 
reduce the amount of rice we eat daily. If, for instance, a one-Pyi 
container of rice has to be cooked for a household, that amount of rice 
cannot be reduced. For those who consume rice as their staple food, rice 
is essential. 
 
As we are satisfied only after eating our fill of rice, we eat rice to 
our heartsÕ content. Therefore, we cannot reduce the amount of rice we 
eat. However, it is possible to reduce the amount of edible oil we use. 
There are cookery methods, according to which less edible oil is used. 
There are also methods in which no edible oil is used at all. There are 
other methods in which the cooking can be done by reducing the amount of 
edible oil. Some housewives are systematic in doing the cooking. The 
methods of using edible oil are different according to individual 
persons concerned. If what should be reduced is reduced, one can feel 
relief and will not have any stress. So I would like to give some good 
methods of doing the cooking with the use of less edible oil. I happen 
to think of how to cook curries with no edible oil at all, how to cook 
curries with edible oil and how to cook curries with a moderate amount 
of edible oil. 

Curries cooked with no edible oil at all is shrimp paste baked and 
pounded with dried shrimp and spices, soup, fish sauce, pickled, boiled 
or raw vegetables, fish salad, boiled fish with vegetables and pounded 
fish. The method of cooking curries with a reduced amount of edible oil 
is cooking meat by boiling and frying with a small amount of edible oil 
and cooking meat with vegetables. Although these methods require use of 
edible oil, the amount is small. The method of cooking curries with the 
use of a small amount of edible oil is not cooking many dishes, using 
the amount of edible oil according to the dish and eating a side dish 
cooked without edible oil together with another main dish cooked with 
edible oil. 

Here I would like to relate my experience. While I was living in the 
army quarters, housewives had to use an edible oil ration. We had to 
find out the method of doing the cooking with a small amount of edible 
oil. We cooked a pork curry with a little amount of edible oil and mixed 
it with gourds, brinjals, carrots, peas, bamboo shoots, roselle, 
potatoes, gram and pigeon pea. Some boiled meat without using edible oil 
and fried it with a little amount of edible oil. Some ate meat cooked 
with thin gravy.


 These are cookery methods which can save money and provide nourishment. 
A systematic plan has to be made to strike a balance between income and 
expenditure. In order to save money, we should eat with the use of what 
we have. If everyone is not indulged in extravagance and practises 
thrifty, it can save expenditure and the economic condition of everybody 
and every household will improve. Our housewives have to reduce the use 
of edible oil so that there may not be unnecessary use of money for the 
kitchen. I would like all the housewives to know the cookery methods 
which involves use of only a small amount of edible oil and money. I 
have a large family. There are many relatives also. Guests can always be 
seen at my house.  

Therefore, I have to exercise prudence in balancing expenditure against 
income. For example, if I am going to spend K 100 doing the shopping, I 
put remaining K 10 or 5 in a box in the kitchen. If there are some 
occasions to use money, I can use the money from that box. I don't use 
money on extras. If it is necessary to use money, I use only the 
necessary amount. The expenditure for the kitchen is large, and the 
kitchen is the source of daily expenditure. Therefore, all the family 
members need to know it. If they like the same thing, extra money does 
not need spending. The habit of eating food which most of the family 
members like should be cultivated. Old people say that people do not see 
the food one eats, but the clothes one wears. So they do not pay 
priority to food. They eat only properly. They wear suitable clothes 
which can be put on in all weathers. Therefore, it is the best life 
style if one can follow the maxim " You should not discard the old 
tradition, nor should you be extravagant."  


 

 

Author : Mann Khin Khin 






______________________OTHER______________________




Committee for Revival of Burmese Literature: Burmese Literature Talk at 
New York 2001

Burmese Literature Talk at New York 2001
Dear Friends, 

We, Committee for Revival of Burmese Literature, are proud to announce 
our second annual Literature Talk event to be held in New York City.  
This year we will present one of our favorites U Tin Moe, most 
influenced and philosopher-poet of today in Burma, former political 
prisoner(1991-1995); Dr. Tin Maung Than, former chief editor of 
Thintbawa [Your Life]; U Aung Saw Oo(Pen Name, Mat Myin, Mg Pauk Kyine 
and Chan Mhing Aung), editor, former students leader and former 
political prisoner(1976-78 and 1982-84); and Ko Aung Din (Pen Name, Dat 
Hta), poet and former ABFSU vice chairmen (2), former political 
prisoner(1989-1993). They will enlighten how and why Burmese literature 
is deteriorating.  
Therefore, we warmly would like to welcome you to attend this wonderful 
occasion as followings. Please, mark the day on your calendar. Actions, 
laughter, and grief are guaranteed. It will be a memorable day in our 
history.  
Day: Sunday October 14th 2001
Time: 12:00 NOON to 5:00 PM (Literature Talk)
5:00PM to 6:00PM (Questions and Answers)
Place: Sun Yet San
100 Huster Street
New York, NY.10002 

Contact: Ko Zaw Win (Founder and In charge of CRBL)
(718) 424-5272
Freeburma2001@xxxxxxxxx
U Kyaw Win(Treasure of CRBL)
(718)651-2687
Ko Moe Chan (Secreaty of CRBL)
(718)335-2240
srfantasy@xxxxxxxxx
Ko Aung Min Tun (Committee Member)
(646)594-3999 












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