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BurmaNet News: November 24, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: November 24, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2001 09:40:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
November 24, 2001 Issue # 1926
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*DVB: State council reorganization said to enhance talks with Suu Kyi
State council reorganization said to enhance talks with Suu Kyi
*AFP: Myanmar gets pumped up for Mr. Universe Contest in Yangon
*Arakan News Agency News Release: Military junta forcing Muslims to
flee
MONEY _______
*Straits Times (Singapore) : Panic selling of big kyat notes in Myanmar
*Xinhua: Myanmar To Hold Annual Gems Emporium
GUNS______
*The Indian Express: On Pak request, Burma lets in 2 nuke experts
*AP: Relief group: Myanmar army attacking resettled villagers
*DVB: SPDC holding secret talks with armed groups
DRUGS______
*DVB: Wa cease-fire group suspends road construction near China border
Wa cease-fire group suspends road construction near China border
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: God's Army twins afraid to resettle in US
*Reuters: UN seeks more progress in Myanmar democracy talks
*Xinhua: U.N. Envoy to Visit Myanmar
*Xinhua: Japanese Company Donates Instruments to Myanmar
EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*Irrawaddy: Ms Ma Thanegi's Rules of Good Political Etiquette
OTHER______
*Manly Daily (UK): (Book Review) Author's plea for democracy battle
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
DVB: State council reorganization said to enhance talks with Suu Kyi
State council reorganization said to enhance talks with Suu Kyi
Text of report by Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) on 17 November
The Burmese Military Intelligence today disclosed that the positions
left vacant by the dismissal of [State Peace and Development Council,
SPDC] Secretary-3 Lt-Gen Win Myint, and [SPDC] Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin
Oo, who died in a helicopter crash, will not be filled and the SPDC
will be managed by a troika of top three generals.
The disclosure was made by Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, deputy chief of Military
Intelligence, at a press conference held in Rangoon this morning. The
troika mentioned by Maj-Gen Kyaw Win is SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe,
SPDC Vice-Chairman Gen Maung Aye, and SPDC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt. At the same time Maj-Gen Kyaw Win admitted that 10 regional
commanders were relieved from their positions and recalled to Rangoon.
He told the correspondents that it was simply a measure to inject young
blood into the Defence Ministry and the regional commanders' positions
will be filled by divisional commanders.
When asked about the detention of Lt-Gen Win Myint and Lt-Gen Tin Hla
[dismissed deputy prime minister] he replied that they are still under
interrogation. When he was asked whether the changes in the SPDC would
affect the ongoing talks with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, he answered that the
changes would not affect the talks but would enhance it instead. That
was from the press conference held in Rangoon and reported by various
news agencies.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 17 Nov 01
___________________________________________________
AFP: Myanmar gets pumped up for Mr. Universe Contest in Yangon
YANGON, Nov 23 (AFP) - Myanmar has pinned its hopes on eight
muscle-bound bodybuilders to claim gold medals in the 55th Mr. Universe
Contest to be held here from November 25 to 26, a sports official said
Friday.
"We have made a final selection of eight body builders who will
participate in four events," Myanmar coach Than Swe was quoted as saying
in a report. "We are hoping to get a couple of golds in the 60 and 65
kilo classes."
Some 150 bodybuilders from 63 countries are expected to take part in
the prestigious international event, which military-ruled Myanmar is
hosting for the first time, organisers told AFP.
Featuring finely-toned athletes, the Mr. Universe Contest was sponsored
by the International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) and organised by
the Myanmar Body Building Federation, they added.
Competitors arriving for the event formally known as the 55th World
Amateur Men's Bodybuilding Championships and International Congress were
scheduled to tour Yangon Friday before registering and undergoing drug
tests.
___________________________________________________
Arakan News Agency News Release: Military junta forcing Muslims to flee
20. 10. 2001
By Our Special Correspondent
Gundhum (Burma-Bangladesh border), Oct. 20: New stringent measures
against Muslim inhabitants in Burmese occupied Arakan State compelled
many of them to flee across the border into Bangladesh recently.
One Abdul Hakim 42, son of Roshan Ali from Fakira Bazar, about 45 miles
north of Maungdaw township in Arakan State, told this correspondent that
his family of 6 members along with other two families fled their homes
across the border on October 15 and are, at present, residing with their
relatives in the village of Gundhum just on the Bangladesh side of the
common border. Abdul Hakim claimed that many other Muslim families also
fled recently from different villages in northern part of Maungdaw as a
result of various stringent measures, lack of security and economic
hardship.
Abdul Hakim narrated that Na Sa Ka (border security force) have imposed
new toll charges hitherto unknown upon the Muslims living in Na Sa Ka
area 1 to 6. An amount of Kyat 3000 for a person who dies, Kyat 2500 for
a newborn baby, Kyat 5000 for a buffalo which dies, Kyat 3000 for a
newborn buffalo, Kyat 2000 for a cow which dies, Kyat 1500 for a newborn
calf, Kyat 500 for a goat which dies, Kyat 1000 for a newborn goat and
Kyat 100 for a newborn chick has to be paid respectively as toll charges
to the Na Sa Ka. Serious restrictions have also been imposed on movement
and on going to river for fishing and forest for cutting firewood or
bamboo. If, by chance, a person is found in another man?s house at night
without prior reporting he is liable to six months imprisonment and a
fine of Kyat 10,000. Na Sa Ka forces often enter into houses late at
night violating women or stealing valuables.
Abdul Hakim expressed that Na Sa Ka would not disturb those who leave
Arakan for good across the border.
Abdur Rashid
Chief Reporter
Arakan News Agency
__________________________________________________
______________________MONEY________________________
Straits Times (Singapore) : Panic selling of big kyat notes in Myanmar
Straits Times
Saturday, November 24, 2001
Panic selling of big kyat notes in Myanmar
Despite govt moves to ease the situation, the value of the currency has
plunged and inflation is serious
By Larry Jagan
IN YANGON
THE latest indication that Myanmar has not escaped the economic fall-out
from the Sept 11 attacks on the United States and Washington's ongoing
war on terrorism is the panic selling of the country's
large-denomination kyat notes.
'No one wants to hold 1,000- or 500-kyat notes for fear that the
government was planning to withdraw them from circulation,' said a
Myanmar businessman.
Decades ago, Myanmar had withdrawn large-denomination notes overnight,
devaluing many people's savings instantly.
But the government has been quick to intervene.
'As long as the military government is in charge, there will be no
withdrawal of the official currency notes, be it the 1,000-kyat note or
the 500-kyat note,' the country's deputy chief of military
intelligence, Major-General Kyaw Win, said recently.
While the government's intervention has stopped the panic selling of the
large kyat notes, it has not stemmed the fall of the value of the kyat
on the open market.
'It's been sliding downwards for several months now,' said a
Yangon-based analyst. 'It's virtually in a free-fall against the
dollar.'
The exchange rate is now more than eight hundred kyat to US$1.
Money changers in Yangon expect it to fall even further in the next few
weeks.
'Residents in the capital are continuously complaining about rising
prices,' said an Asian diplomat.
The prices of eggs, vegetables and peanut oil have more than doubled in
the past two months.
'One egg now costs more than thirty kyat,' complained a resident.
Although meat prices have increased only marginally, many families have
given up eating meat to be able to afford essential foodstuffs whose
prices have increased astronomically.
Rice has remained relatively stable because of government intervention
to control its price.
The military authorities have long feared that large increases in the
price of rice would provoke food riots.
Privately, UN officials fear a massive humanitarian crisis is looming.
They estimate that one child in three is already malnourished. If the
economic crisis remains unchecked, they fear that this could double
within the next 12 months.
The situation is particularly critical in the countryside, they say.
Bus and taxi fares have also increased dramatically since May when the
government stiffened petrol rationing.
'The buses are less crowded now,' said a Western diplomat. 'And fewer
people are taking taxis, so there are lots of cabs and drivers sitting
idle waiting for customers.'
The prices of cars have also more than doubled in the past three months.
Moreover, the fall in the kyat is forcing the prices of imported goods
like medicines and cosmetics to rise.
With the economic slowdown, analysts also estimate that Myanmar's
tourist revenue will fall by more than 50 per cent in the next six
months. Many foreign businessmen have also chosen to leave the country.
The military government is increasingly worried about the country's
spiralling inflation and the falling value of the kyat.
Analysts believe Myanmar is starting to realise that economic recovery
will come only when the country has solved its political problems,
including agreement on some form of power sharing with opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: Myanmar To Hold Annual Gems Emporium
YANGON, November 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will hold its 39th annual gems
emporium in March 2002 to put on sale locally-produced quality gems,
pearl and jewelry through competitive bidding, tender and at fixed
price, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Mines Friday. However, the
exact date of holding the emporium has not been fixed yet. In addition
to annual events taking place every year in March since 1964, Myanmar
also used to hold mid-year ones in October introduced since 1992 to
boost the country's gems sale. At the 38th and 10th mid-year Myanmar
gems emporiums held during this year, 10.12 million and 9.556 million
U.S. dollars were respectively earned.
Each emporium attracted hundreds of merchants from over a dozen
countries and regions, mostly from China, China's Hong Kong, Japan,
Singapore and Thailand. Myanmar, a well-known producer of jade, ruby and
sapphire in the world, has fetched a total of 339.834 million dollars of
foreign exchange from its 38 annual and 10 mid-year gems emporiums,
according to official statistics. Myanmar enacted the New Gemstone Law
in September 1995, allowing national entrepreneurs to mine, produce,
transport and sell finished gemstone and manufactured jewelry at home
and abroad. Since April 2000, the government has reportedly started
mining of gems and jade in joint venture with 10 private companies under
profit sharing basis.
_______________________GUNS________________________
The Indian Express: On Pak request, Burma lets in 2 nuke experts
Sat Nov 24 07:27:54 UTC+0900 2001
NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of US Intelligence officials questioning
two Pakistani scientists on their alleged links with Osama bin Laden's
Al Qaeda, Burma authorities have reportedly granted sanctuary to two
other Pakistani nuclear scientists after a request from Islamabad,
according to intelligence sources.
Dr Suleiman Asad and Dr Mohammad Alimukhtar have been flown to Sagaing
division of Burma, after Rangoon acceded to Pakistan's request, sources
said here.
The request made by Pakistan's Foreign Office was accepted after
Islamabad gave an assurance the duo were not involved in terrorist
activity, sources said. They said Asad and Mukh-tar were part of
Islamabad's nuclear programme and the US was looking for them too. (PTI)
___________________________________________________
AP: Relief group: Myanmar army attacking resettled villagers
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Myanmar's army has been attacking settlements
of the Karen ethnic minority, forcing many to flee toward the border
with Thailand, a relief agency claimed Friday.
According to the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, nine
Myanmar army battalions launched attacks on Nov. 11 in three areas of
Papun district in Karen State in northeastern Myanmar
Armed Karen insurgents, seeking more autonomy for their people, have
been fighting the government for more than five decades. The fighting
has displaced many Karens from their villages, who now live in temporary
settlements such as the ones reportedly being attacked by the army.
In a news release sent to the AP, the committee detailed attacks
beginning shortly after midnight on Nov. 11 which have driven at least
800 people north and east out of their homes.
``Most fled with only the clothes on their backs. Those on the run
include over 70 children from a primary and middle school that was
located on the Bilin river,'' said the committee.
The Myanmar government did not immediately respond to a faxed request
by The Associated Press for comments on the claim.
The committee said there were no casualty figures, adding that these
are usually low because people generally can flee ahead of the
government troops. But it added there was ``an immediate need for relief
supplies such as food, cooking pots, and especially now for blankets and
warm clothes.''
The committee is a Karen organization that operates on the Myanmar-Thai
border, gathering information on the plight of the internal refugees and
provides limited assistance.
Earlier this month, the committee issued a report saying 37,007 Karen
remained displaced in Papun district where over 50 villages were
forcibly relocated.
It said that people from the nearby districts of Nyaunglebin, Taungoo
and Thaton districts had also resettled also in Papun district since
fleeing army attacks last year.
``This has put a strain on the people of this district as they struggle
to help feed these new arrivals from their own stocks,'' it said, adding
that food shortages forced some people to refugee camps in Thailand.
The report claimed that Myanmar's army ``continues its attacks ...
destroying rice supplies, torturing and executing villagers, looting
villages, relocating people by force, conducting forced labor, and
terrorizing the population by the systematic laying of land mines
throughout each district.''
The army has a history of harshness in dealing with ethnic insurgents
in the country's border regions.
The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in June
that ethnic minorities continue to be repressed, mostly with forced
labor.
Earlier this month, the U.N.'s International Labor Organization said
after an inspection tour that legislation enacted in Myanmar last year
had failed to wipe out forced labor.
2001-11-22
___________________________________________________
DVB: SPDC holding secret talks with armed groups
Text of report by Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) on 18 November
DVB has learned that prisoners from various prisons have been sent to a
logistics battalion in Pa-an to be deployed in Karen State open season
offensive. On 13 November, 125 prisoners from Akyab jail together with
350 prisoners from Insein, Henzada, and Prome jails were sent to No.1
Logistics Battalion in Pa-an, Karen State.
Prisoners instead of ordinary civilians are being used since the
International Labour Organization, ILO, issued a report condemning the
practice of forced labour in Burma. The prisoner porters were sent en
masse for the offensive at a time when there is speculation about the
SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] holding secret talks with the
KNU - Karen National Union, KNPP - Karenni National Progressive Party,
and SSA - Southern Shan State Army.
In another news report, the Police Director-General's Office has issued
an emergency directive to township police stations. The directive states
that all burglars, robbers, thieves, fraudsters, gamblers, human
traffickers, etc. detained at the police stations should be charged,
sent to court, and sentenced immediately. Then they should be sent to
the logistics battalion and attached to the forward areas as logistics
support personnel [porters]
.
DVB has learned that local police stations are preparing to send all
criminal cases to court for immediate sentencing and then to send the
prisoners to the forward areas.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 18 Nov 01
________________________DRUGS______________________
DVB: Wa cease-fire group suspends road construction near China border Wa
cease-fire group suspends road construction near China border
Text of report by Democratic Voice of Burma on 21 November
The Wa Army, which signed the cease-fire agreement with the SPDC [State
Peace and Development Council] military government, has suspended the
road construction project in the Wa region near China-Burma border on
16 November. The project was carried out under the contract signed with
the SPDC.
The Wa organization was permitted to freely engage in economic
enterprises under the agreement signed with Secretary-1 Lt Gen Khin
Nyunt since the signing of the cease-fire agreement with the SPDC
military government. The Wa were permitted to hire Chinese companies
for logging and the Wa Army built roads allegedly for regional
development.
On 13 of this month, Maj Thuta Swe, commander of SPDC military
intelligence unit No 24 banned the Wa Army from logging enterprise.
Following the ban, the Wa Army suspended the construction of 90-mile
long road between Panghsang and Mong Yang.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 21 Nov 01
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: God's Army twins afraid to resettle in US
BANGKOK, Nov 24 (AFP) - The young twin brothers who once led the Myanmar
rebel militia God's Army say they are afraid of moving to the United
States, which is considering a resettlement offer, a report said
Saturday.
Johnny and Luther Htoo, who surrendered along with a group of their
followers to Thai authorities in January, told the Thai News Agency they
were worried for their safety in the wake of the September 11 terrorist
attacks.
"I'm afraid of living in tall buildings," Luther reportedly said in an
interview at a Thai border police camp where they have been living. "I
don't want to go. An airplane will crash into the building."
Johnny added that he was troubled by images of Saudi terrorist suspect
Osama bin Laden he saw on television, the report said.
The ethnic Karen brothers, who are believed to be aged 13, said they
would rather live at the Karen refugee camp of Ban Tham Hin in western
Ratchaburi province, where several of their friends were staying.
"We'll have friends to play with, we'll be able to play football, we'll
be able to go to school," they were quoted as saying.
US immigration officials interviewed the internationally known pair in
May and have been considering a resettlement offer, according to Thai
authorities.
The boy leaders were once revered by their ethnic Karen followers who
believed they had mystical powers that made them invincible in battles
against Myanmar troops along the Thai border.
After their surrender to Thai troops in January, the Htoo brothers
debunked the myths surrounding their militia band and said they dreamed
only of returning to Myanmar and going to school like ordinary children.
___________________________________________________
Reuters: UN seeks more progress in Myanmar democracy talks
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail will
press for fresh progress in democracy talks between the government and
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits Myanmar on Tuesday,
the United Nations said on Friday.
The weeklong visit will be Razali's sixth to the military-ruled
southeast Asian nation since he took up his mandate to promote human
rights and democracy there, in April 2000.
During his stay, the veteran Malaysian diplomat is expected to meet
Secretary One and intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, one of the most
powerful officials of Myanmar's government, officially called the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
He also is due to confer with senior members of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD), including Suu Kyi, the party's leader and a
Nobel laureate.
The NLD won Myanmar's last election in 1990 by a landslide but was
never allowed to govern.
Suu Kyi has been under virtual house arrest for more than a year,
despite having entered into secretive talks -- brokered by Razali --
with the SPDC.
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: U.N. Envoy to Visit Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS, November 23 (Xinhua) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's Special Envoy to Myanmar is scheduled to visit the country at
the end of this month to help facilitate the talks between the
government and opposition leaders, a U.N. spokesman announced Friday.
"Razali Ismail is expected to meet with government leaders, including
General Khin Nyunt, and senior members of the National League for
Democracy... on democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar,"
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters in New York.
According to the spokesman, Ismail is slated to visit Yangon, the
capital, from November 27 to December 4 for his sixth mission to Myanmar
since he was appointed special envoy in April 2000.
__________________________________________________
Xinhua: Japanese Company Donates Instruments to Myanmar
YANGON, November 23 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese company, the Mitutoyo
Corporation, has donated a total 143 kinds of teaching and research
instruments to two Myanmar science and technological institutions to
develop the sector of science and technology of the country, according
to the Myanmar Ministry of Science and Technology Friday. The
instruments were handed over to the Yangon Technological University and
the Myanmar Scientific and Technological Research Department Thursday.
Speaking at the donation ceremony, First Secretary of the State Peace
and Development Council Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt praised the
donation as further strengthening the existing good relations between
Myanmar and Japan. Khin Nyunt, who is also chairman of the Myanmar
Education Committee, said Myanmar and Japan have been able to forge and
strengthen their relations and friendship over the years, noting that
there has been cooperation between the two countries in the economic,
education, health, social and cultural sectors. "There is such bilateral
cooperation not only on a government- to-government basis but also
between voluntary humanitarian organizations and between Myanmar and
Japanese people as well," he emphasized.
He expressed Myanmar's belief that there should be cooperation rather
than contests of wealth and power among countries in the world for the
emergence of a world order where peace, stability, justice and equal
opportunity prevail. Based on this main reason, he added, Myanmar has
always being guided by mutual respect and understanding in its relation
with countries in the world irrespective of whether they are friends or
neighbors, developed and powerful, or underdeveloped and weak. He also
pledged Myanmar's firm commitment to the guiding principle of making
every endeavors to promote cooperation and enhance good relations. Japan
is Myanmar's largest donor country. In March this year, Japan resumed
its Official Development Assistance to Myanmar which have been suspended
for 13 years. In addition, Japan also provided a total debt relief of
3.594 billion yens (29.22 million U.S. dollars) to Myanmar during this
year.
___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________
Irrawaddy: Ms Ma Thanegi's Rules of Good Political Etiquette
By Dr Kyi May Kaung
November 23, 2001?On October 29 Ms Ma Thanegi, former trusted companion
of Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and now one of Suu
Kyi's most vocal critics, came to Washington DC to participate in a
panel discussion at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She
was scheduled to speak on what she said were her own views of Burma.
Many dissidents inside and outside Burma consider Ma Thanegi to be a
spokesman for the regime. At the presentation, however, she was
introduced, by moderator Dr. G John Ikenberry, as a close associate of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and that Ms Ma Thanegi had been imprisoned because
of her closeness to Suu Kyi.
Ma Thitsa, a former political prisoner who was detained in Insein prison
and is now a student in Boston, said that when she was in prison during
1990-91, she and Ma Thanegi were held in the same building. Ma Thanegi,
she said, was actually incarcerated for having been Suu Kyi's personal
assistant. However, according to Ma Thitsa, due to the strict rules of
Insein prison and the fact that Ma Thanegi was given a cell all to
herself, whereas the other political prisoners were forced to share
cells, the two were never able to discuss politics.
While introducing Ma Thanegi, John Ikenberry said that she had evolved
her own ideas after being released; to the dissident community, this
translates as "selling out" to the military regime in Burma. One
dissident noted that it was ironic that even a critic of Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi sought to legitimate herself to the international community by
establishing her former close association with the democracy leader.
Jeremy Woodrum, Director of the Free Burma Coalition, was among those
demonstrating outside the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
while Ma Thanegi spoke inside. Woodrum told Radio Free Asia's (RFA) Sein
Kyaw Hlaing in a broadcast interview that David Steinberg of Georgetown
University helped arrange Ma Thanegi's visit through the Sasakawa Peace
Foundation. He added that she is a contributing editor to the Myanmar
Times, an English-language paper widely believed to have connections
with the regime.
During the small reception prior to the beginning of the panel, I had a
chance to talk to Ma Thanegi briefly. She is a small woman with black
hair stylishly cut short and flipped upwards away from her face. She has
smooth brown skin and a pixie face with an outjutting jaw that seemingly
never cracks a smile. It was easy to spot her among the milling guests.
She was wearing a black blouse that looked hand-tailored in Rangoon, a
red longyi and matching bright red lipstick. She told me that she had
gone to Methodist English High School in Rangoon at the same time that I
was there and mentioned the name of a relative of hers that I could not
recall. She also said that she knew some of my extended family still
living in Burma.
I noticed that several important people in the Burmese democracy
movement and the international donor community attended the event and
Voice of America (VOA) and RFA reporters were in attendance. As Ma
Thanegi was the featured speaker she spoke first on her topic, which had
been announced ahead of time: The Culture Clash and Political Breakdown:
Relations between the United States and Myanmar. The title is dense and
almost incomprehensible and later on I found out I wasn't the only one
who didn't understand this title. Brian Joseph, another speaker on the
panel, also said he did not understand the meaning of her topic.
The main points she made were as follows:
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Bogyoke Aung San, the leader of
Burma's pre-war Independence movement and the founding father of the
nation, and because of this association she received an elitist
education overseas. Ma Thanegi said Suu Kyi is naturally idealistic in
her beliefs and that because the international press has continually
reported on her and subsequently pushed her into a corner that she has
become even more idealistic than before. Ma Thanegi also added that the
international press has taken a liking to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because
she is "so beautiful and charming".
In regards to the timing of the reconciliation process and the
transition to democracy in Burma, Ma Thanegi advocated patience. She
said that there is no reason to get frustrated about the process "as it
depends on the two sides and should be secret".
On the issue of sanctions she mounted quite an emotional argument
compared to the beginning of her presentation where she spent a great
deal of time talking about her interpretation of Burmese culture. She
accused United States foreign policy of "economic terrorism". She then
referred to US Senate Bill 926 and speculated that it could cause
"100,000 women and children" to lose their jobs. However in an interview
with RFA?s U Sein Kyaw Hlaing that was broadcast the next day, the
figure became "200,000 to 300,000". In response to questioning from RFA
about this difference, she said that she got the numbers from "some
garment industry association".
During the evening?s question and answer session she returned to this
"women and children" point, which seemed to be an attempt to appeal to
the audience?s softside. By then it must have been obvious to her that
her talk had not received a good reception from the forty to fifty
people who attended, all of whom had been required to pre-register.
After Ma Thanegi's talk there was complete silence in the room, with no
one making a move towards even a semblance of polite applause. After a
few seconds of obvious surprise, she seemed to regain her composure and
the moderator introduced the next speaker.
Ma Thanegi spent about 30 % of her panel time lecturing the audience on
"Burmese culture," that is, on Ms. Ma Thanegi's view of Burmese culture,
which incidentally coincides with the junta's view. According to Win
Min, an activist in exile, this frustrated and annoyed the audience.
Right at the beginning of her talk she announced her political
affiliation and sympathies none too subtly by announcing that she used
the term Myanmar and not Burma which she said was the term used by the
English (colonialists). The Burmese dissident community who refuses to
recognize the use of Myanmar sees this to be evidence of her support for
the military regime. Ma Thanegi said Burmese politics is an internal
affair and foreigners should not get involved in it.
On the whole she spoke calmly but at times she stuttered a bit as she
tried to formulate what she was trying to say and to buy time after some
of the audience?s questions, which on the whole were very
confrontational and aggressive. She came across, at least to me, as a
careful and polished but rather opaque speaker, who goes back to the
Burmese military line every time she is in a bind. At times she sounded
like an old record running along in the old groove of the Burmese
military's mindset. Some of her statements contradicted each other. For
example in her emotional pitch using "the women and children will lose
their jobs" rhetoric, at first she said that 100,000 will lose their
jobs and "it's so unfair, it's so cruel." She then later said in
response to a question that S926 would "make no difference to how the
government acts." This seemed more like bluffing and saving face than
anything else. !
I had a chance to talk to some democracy advocates in private and some
of them felt that the junta must be in quite a crisis to be sending
advocates to America in a public relations campaign. In September of
this year Dr.Win Naing, based in Japan, gave a speech at Human Rights
Watch in Washington DC. A DC-based analyst told me that "as Win Naing
had not done his homework, and was not well prepared, his presentation
more or less flopped". Analysts feel that Ma Thanegi was sent on this
tour because of that recent failure. Win Min, who heard Dr Win Naing?s
speech, said that although Ma Thanegi was better prepared she still was
not adequately prepared to handle the tough questions from democracy
activists and former political prisoners.
In a recent interview with the Myanmar Times Lt Gen Khin Nyunt pleaded
for withdrawal of sanctions. Myanmar Times also ran interviews with
local businessmen on the possible impact of S926. The Myanmar Chamber of
Commerce also sent pleas to President George W. Bush. The junta seems
desperate to prevent S926 from being passed and Ma Thanegi's trip looks
like it is part of an orchestrated lobbying strategy by the junta.
The other two speakers on the panel were Brian Joseph, of the National
Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Burmese analyst David Steinberg of
Georgetown University who helped organize the event.
Brian Joseph's speech was a strong and clearly in favor of democratic
change in Burma. He stressed the point made by Aung Din and Free Burma
Coalition members that if the release of political prisoners were to
continue at this rate, it would take a decade for all 2000 political
prisoners to be released.
David Steinberg, the evening?s third speaker, did not take a clear side
in the debate, something he is known for, but he appeared more
supportive of the democratic majority in the room than he has been in
the past. One well- known academic said in private that Steinberg has
"fire on one shoulder and water on the other" a famous Burmese saying.
Others feel that Steinberg remains neutral in hopes of eventually
becoming the US Ambassador in Myanmar.
Steinberg did agree with one comment from Ma Thanegi's Far Eastern
Economic Review article about sanctions. He said that it is quite naive
to think that economic assistance alone would automatically lead to
political changes. He cited examples of East Asian authoritarianism and
suggested a well-rounded approach for Burma.
Some young activists, however, expressed to me in private that "on the
panel there were two people for the junta and only one (Mr. Joseph)
speaking for a speedy transition to democracy". One senior Burma watcher
observed that the seminar organizers had carefully calculated even the
selection of Mr. Joseph as a panelist. He said, Mr. Joseph is a strong
supporter of democracy in Burma but he has on occasion publicly
criticized the democracy movement.
I asked Ma Thanegi who she spoke for when she made sweeping comments
such as "the Burmese people are conservative, Burmese parents hate MTV,
and ahnarde is a problem in Burma." (Ahnarde is feeling bad or
embarrassed to say or do something, something said to be a problem in
Burmese culture). I also asked how Ma Thanegi could be absolutely sure
that economic sanctions alone and not the years of mismanagement and
misguided policies of the military government caused the unemployment
numbers that she gave. She said simply that she knew because she was a
writer and had been all over the country.
During her talk Ma Thanegi had many prescriptions as to how people
should talk and act in this normative "Burmese culture" that she was
condoning. This portion of her presentation amounted almost to a
harangue and judging by the title she gave to her talk and the amount of
time she devoted to this, it seems this "culture clash" was her
over-riding argument and theme. One of the elected Members of Parliament
commented later that if culture and the ahrnade concept were of such
importance as Ma Thanegi made them out to be, then democracy leader and
Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would have titled her book
"Freedom From Ahnarde" rather than "Freedom From Fear."
I also asked Ma Thanegi about the patience issue as she had said she was
willing to wait for the outcome of the secret talks between the National
League for Democracy and junta. I said for people like her and myself,
living in the relative comfort of middle class neighborhoods in Burma
and the United States, perhaps we could afford to wait; but what about
student leader Min Ko Naing who had already served his sentence and was
in poor emotional and physical health because of being incarcerated.
When I got carried away and said, "I'm asking you a rhetorical question,
you need not answer it." I heard a ripple of cynical laughter behind me
in the room. A co-worker who is a close friend of Min Ko Naing told me
later it was very difficult to keep a cool head and not be emotional
when confronting Ma Thanegi. "As I was asking her a question, I began to
feel as if I were talking to a Burmese general," the man said.
Former political prisoner Ko Aung Din, of FBC and Association for
Assistance for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPPB) asked two questions
of Ma Thanegi and one of David Steinberg. The first question was if she
was aware of the number of political prisoners in Burma. Also as she
spoke of "economic terrorism" was she aware that the Burmese government
in fact sponsored terrorism under which she and he had all lived. "Then
why," he asked, "do you say that sanctions are the culprit in all this."
As Steinberg in his talk spoke of the military government donating to
the pagodas, which was a method used by the Burmese kings, Aung Din
asked him if he knew how the junta was pressuring the monks including
Kya-Khat Waing Sayadaw. He also asked Ma Thanegi if, as she had special
contact and access to Gen. Khin Nyunt and had interviewed him once for
Myanmar Times, she would go back and ask him to do what the dem! ocratic
opposition and dissident groups are asking. Ko Aung Din asked her, "Why
not ask Khin Nyunt to follow these directions if you are really sorry
for the women and children of Burma." He then went on to talk about S926
and its conditions that state the release of all political prisoners,
un-reversible and positive results from dialog for reconciliation and
more aggressive participation in anti-narcotic efforts.
If these conditions are fulfilled the President of the United States can
ask Congress to withdraw this Bill. Aung Din said these conditions come
originally from the people of Burma and so if she, Ma Thanegi, "has such
good connections then she does not need to come halfway around the world
but can ask Khin Nyunt" directly.
Then the "surprise attendee" Ma Thitsa, mentioned before, who had come
to DC specifically for this occasion rose from her seat to ask
questions. Ma Thitsa's two questions, asked in a soft voice, can be
viewed as a coup for the Burmese democracy movement.
Ma Thitsa is a quiet, soft-spoken and rather shy woman. She had been
secretly brought to DC by Bakatha, the Burmese student union from Boston
where is going to college. During the reception before the talk, Ma
Thitsa sat quietly in a corner, obviously composing herself for the
confrontation to come with a former friend, which was likely to be at
the very least highly emotional.
Ma Thitsa delivered each of her questions in Burmese and Ko Hlwan Moe of
the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
translated each question into English. Ma Thanegi was visibly surprised
when Ma Thitsa stood up. Ma Thitsa said she did not need to introduce
herself to Ma Thanegi as they had been in jail together. The gist of the
questions were,
a. As far as I understand there is no freedom of expression in Burma.
Won't it be difficult for you when you go back to Burma?
b. I can accept Burmese culture in the sense of going to a monastery.
But forced labor, is that Burmese culture?
After the presentation Ma Thitsa told a close friend that it was good
that she had not been noticed by Ma Thanegi prior to the talk.
"Otherwise Ma Thanegi might have worked her charm, and then it might
have made it difficult to ask tough questions," she said.
Immediately after the talk, people said that Ma Thanegi came over to Ma
Thitsa and warmly greeted her. To one person who knew her in Burma that
is a sign of Ma Thanegi's "heart," but this same person also said that
he found it difficult to talk to her as he saw her as a symbol of the
regime. To me it seems a strange coincidence that Ma Thitsa's name in
Burmese means Truth or Loyalty.
Win Min asked about the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ)
statements about the lack of independence of the English language
Myanmar Times where Ma Thanegi is a contributing editor. Win Min then
read a quote from the CPJ about Myanmar Times.
Min Zaw Oo of the University of Maryland asked what other methods of
protest outside dissidents had besides asking for sanctions. He said
that if the junta "will stop pressuring us, we will stop pressuring
them".
At this point the facilitators were starting to run out of time and had
Ma Thanegi answer all the questions at the same time. This gave her time
to demur on some of the answers some of which were - To Ma Thitsa's
question about danger on going back, "well, I have to survive by talking
carefully between the tigers and the crocodiles." In response to Min Zaw
Oo's question, she repeated again, it's so unfair.
Ma Thanegi is apparently what one would call a very cool customer. She
has the ability to talk calmly even if she is not exactly answering the
questions but is rather dodging and evading them and defending the
junta.
The questions were all posed aggressively but she kept emotional
distance. Maybe she was able to do this because she is not deeply
involved emotionally unlike the dissidents whose emotional engagement
and political commitment came through in the questions. Ma Thanegi
pretty much kept repeating the Burmese culture theme in her so-called
arguments but as one of the democracy leaders in exile has stated, she
herself seems very much ingrained in the junta culture of "father knows
best".
Still it was a good thing that dissidents overseas had a chance to talk
to someone at the other end of the political spectrum. "Otherwise we
would all be talking to each other all the time," said one dissident.
He went on to say, however, that it was curious that such a person as Ma
Thanegi or the junta wanted a fair hearing internationally and seemingly
wanted the right to sit at table and talk as equals while themselves
denying similar rights to the Burmese people, the ethnic groups and the
democracy advocates within Burma.
Eyewitnesses of the panel that was in Berkeley, CA reported that it was
an even greater debacle for Ma Thanegi and her cohorts than the one in
Washington DC had been. Prominent dissidents such as Dr. Zarni, founder
of the Free Burma Coalition, and Min Zin, one of the leading
intellectuals in the Burmese democracy movement attended. There were
reports that dissidents got up and said they wished to comment, not ask
questions. The pro-democracy faction in the audience were reported to
have booed those who applauded Ma Thanegi's position, and that she had
to be hustled away by the organizers before she could finish speaking.
Although throughout her US trip, Ma Thanegi spoke on "Burmese culture,"
Brian Joseph of NED said at the DC session that in a totalitarian
country it is impossible to know what national sentiments are. Even in
an open society people do not necessarily answer questionnaires
truthfully so with no scientific study of any sort, Ma Thanegi's
opinions will remain only her opinions and those of the people around
her. They cannot be presented in a more general light.
Jeremy Woodrum of FBC said that, "It is ironic that Ma Thanegi claims
that more money will help the Burmese. Actually the exact opposite is
true. In the early 1990s, when millions of dollars of US investment
money poured into Burma, there was a massive increase in forced labor,
which many refer to as slave labor. In fact, more money meant more
repression. Investment and trade doesn't happen in a vacuum. If you pump
money into an abusive system you get more abuse not less."
Since 1988 the NLD and democracy advocates have been calling for a
system change.
As I am writing this article the WTO Ministerial Meeting is winding up
in Qatar, after having admitted both China and Taiwan as new members.
Sales to China alone are estimated as being worth two billion dollars a
year to the United States. On November 5th, the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) put out a statement that the
persistence of forced labor on a large scale in Burma, which has been
confirmed by the International Labor Organization, should prompt all
member states to impose binding trade sanctions on the Burmese regime.
Kyi May Kaung holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of
Pennsylvania and currently works for the Burma Fund in Washington, DC as
a Senior Research Associate. The opinions expressed here belong to K.M.
Kaung alone and not to any organization or other individual.
______________________OTHER______________________
Manly Daily (UK): (Book Review) Author's plea for democracy battle
November 23, 2001, Friday
MOST people travelling to Burma can only obtain a one-month visa.
James Mawdsley stayed for more than a year but not by choice.
Sentenced to 17 years in jail for protesting against the Burmese
military regime, Mawdsley returned home to Britain after enduring 14
months of solitary confinement and torture in a Burma prison. Unlike
other protesters of the regime Mawdsley, 28, lived to tell the tale.
Guest speaker at the Literary Feast Bookclub in Manly yesterday,
Mawdsley also spoke to TIMEOUT of the experiences chronicled in his book
The Heart Must Break.
After a childhood friendship with a Burmese boy, Mawdsley developed a
passion for the troubled country. He spent four years in and out of
Burma teaching children English, witnessing "the genocidal persecution
of Burma's border people".
On his last visit in August 1999, just 10 hours after entering the
country, Mawdsley was caught distributing pro-democracy letters and
jailed.
In October 2000 he was released after pressure from Australia, Britain
and the US and a United Nations decree that he was being "held
illegally" by Burmese officials.
Despite being placed in solitary confinement, Mawdsley said he never
felt alone in jail.
"I felt a sense of solidarity with a lot of the prisoners because they
were all working for the same cause," he said.
Mawdsley, who recently set up a charitable trust to educate Burmese
children, said education would be the key to bringing democracy back to
Burma.
While more international intervention was needed in Burma, he said
individuals could make a real difference.
"It's true that governments and international bodies should do more for
countries like Burma, but I'm one for believing that individuals can
often do more," he said.
"Basically, the one thing that the people need most is love and these
governments can't give that. "Supporting education schemes in Burma will
encourage self-respect, which is exactly what the military regime is
trying desperately to destroy."
DONNA SAWYER
* The Heart Must Break, published by Random House, was reviewed in the
The Manly Daily last Friday. It received four stars, or a "very good"
rating, from Angus & Robertson Bookworld reviewer Mark Beresford.
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