Saturday, February 12 7:24 PM SGT

Protestors confront trade conference, slam globalization

BANGKOK, Feb 12 (AFP) -

A thousand activists marched on a major UN trade conference on Saturday calling for radical changes to the global financial system which they say keeps much of the world locked in poverty.

Demonstrators were not deterred by a massive Thai security curtain around the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) designed to prevent a repeat of violence which marred trade talks in Seattle and Davos.

As world leaders and delegates met inside a conference centre, singing and yelling protestors carrying banners lambasting the World Bank, World Trade Organization and IMF found their route to the venue blocked by riot police.

"WTO/IMF/ADB/WB - Go to Hell" and "Struggle Against the New Imperialism" read banners hung between balloon-decked trucks carrying the protesters.

Flanked by cordons of police, several hundred Thai and foreign protestors were later allowed to approach the conference centre hosting UNCTAD and stand across the road from the venue.

Once in front of the venue, protestors slammed globalization and presented their demands to UNCTAD officials, who came out to police barriers to meet demonstrators.

"We hope organizations realize globalisation is leading the world to chaos, inequality and madness," said protestor Demoussa Dembele, leader of a non-governmental organisation coordinating committee in Senegal.

"UNCTAD is a good opportunity to rethink policies that more equally redistribute the benefits of globalisation and alter the international financial system," he said.

Among their demands demonstrators called on UNCTAD delegates to reform the world's financial system to benefit developing countries and help protect natural resources.

"We share your feelings, we have the same aspirations for developing countries to have a better life, and we want this conference to give you and your families hope," said Awni Behnam, secretary of the UN trade and development board, who received the protestors' demands.

"Your cause is our cause," he said.

Earlier, protestors gathered in a Bangkok park to coordinate their demands and plan the march, which progressed through slum districts near the conference centre.

"The Thai government always says it's democratic, but they don't allow us a real protest, showing that they're just like a dictatorship," said Virasak Sunthorncamorn, director of Labour Academy, one of the protesting groups.

Although there were brief outbreaks of pushing and shoving between demonstrators and the police, the protest was mostly peaceful. A number of protestors sang upbeat songs and laughed and joked with police.

Several times protestors sat down in front of police.

Most of the demonstrators came from Thai non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but they were joined by foreign protestors from over 40 countries and 200 textile workers who accuse the government of failing to save their struggling industry.

In a statement, Bangkok-based NGO Assembly of the Poor lambasted UNCTAD as an organization dominated by a few states.

Because UNCTAD is controlled by powerful countries and transnational corporations, it will not promote free trade and genuine development, and will exploit developing countries, the statement said.

The group also accused the Thai government of selling control over its economy to foreigners.

"The government does not protect the people's sovereignty but acts as a slave of imperialism," said the statement.

"This organization of poor people is very important, since their mobilization shows that even the most disadvantaged people can have a say in determining trade policies," said Christopher Aguiton of a French NGO.

Thai police were already on red alert after 10 Myanmar rebels last month besieged a hospital in western Thailand and took hundreds of hostages in a 24 hour stand-off. The 10 hostage-takers were killed by security forces.

Saturday, February 12 5:58 PM SGT

Protesters march on UN trade meet

BANGKOK, Feb 12 (AFP) -

More 1,000 protestors marched on a major UN trade conference on Saturday, demanding immediate action to share the spoils of globalisation with the developing world.

As world leaders and delegates gathered for the start of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), protestors carrying banners lambasting global finance institutions found their route to the venue blocked by riot police.

Several hundred were later allowed to approach the Queen Sirikit conference centre to stand across the road from the venue, flanked by cordons of police. Representatives then handed a letter to senior UNCTAD officials.

The Thai hosts of the trade talks launched a huge security operation to try to prevent a repeat of anti-globalisation protests which marred economic talks in Seattle and Davos.

At least 200 armed police faced off the protesters Saturday, including nearly 100 in riot gear who stood behind the barricade in rows, with their shields held in front of them.

"Globalisation is leading the world, to chaos, inequality and madness," said protestor Doussa Dembele from a non-governmental organisation coordinating committee in Senegal.

"UNCTAD is a good opportunity to rethink policies that are more equally redistributive of the benefits of globalisation."

"WTO/IMF/ADB/WB - Go to Hell" read a banner stretched between balloon-decked trucks carrying the protesters who gathered earlier in a Bangkok slum district.

Although there were brief outbreaks of pushing and shoving between demonstrators and the police, the protest was mostly peaceful.

A number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were represented at the demonstration, joined by 200 textile workers who accuse the government of failing to act to save their struggling industry.

In a statement, Bangkok-based NGO Assembly of the Poor called on delegates at the conference to reform the world's financial system to benefit developing countries.

"UNCTAD is controlled by powerful countries and transnational corporations it will not promote free trade and genuine development because it exploits developing countries."

The group also accused the Thai government of selling control over its economy to foreigners.

"The government does not protect the people's soverienty but acts as a slave of imperialism," said the statement.

They said they are confident their precautions will avoid a repeat of the violence which erupted at the World Trade Organisation summit in Seattle last year and the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

Saturday, February 12 7:33 PM SGT

Military Warns Democracy Leader

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - In independence celebrations, the head of Myanmar's military regime issued a veiled warning Saturday to dissident Aung San Suu Kyi to stop alleged attempts to destabilize the country.

Suu Kyi, in turn, told supporters that while the country was independent ``the people of Myanmar are not enjoying freedom or their rights.''

Speaking to more than 400 members of her National League for Democracy, diplomats and others, Suu Kyi said national unity could only be achieved if the aspirations of all Myanmar's ethnic groups were addressed.

The NLD ceremony marking Myanmar's emergence as an independent country 53 years ago was separate from the official one held at Yangon's People's Park.

In the official ceremony, the regime's head, Gen. Than Shwe, said, ``The entire union must ward off the danger of internal and external destructionists who are attempting through various means to ruin and undermine national peace, stability and development.''

His words were an apparent reference to Suu Kyi, who is frequently accused by the military of conspiring with foreign nations - particularly the United States - against the regime.

Union Day, a national holiday, commemorates the day when ethnic minorities and the majority Burmans jointly signed an agreement to break from the British Empire and form the Union of Burma, the name formerly given to Myanmar. Myanmar includes eight major ethnic groups and 135 subgroups.

The country's history since independence has included decades of military domination, poverty and wars between the central government and ethnic minorities.

Saturday, February 12 7:34 PM SGT

American Detained in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - An American activist known for his 30-year commitment to helping victims of violence in Southeast Asia has been detained for harboring illegal immigrants from Myanmar, Thai police said Saturday.

Police said they raided Norman Max Ediger's office Friday and rounded up eight people who had illegally entered Thailand or were not carrying proper travel documents. Ediger could faces a jail term of up to two years - but a police official said he would most likely be handed a fine of $1,600.

Ediger, 53, of Turpin, Okla., provides training and other assistance to refugees from Myanmar and seeks nonviolent ways to end the conflicts that have plagued the nation, which is also known as Burma. He is sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee, a U.S.-based Christian organization.

The raid was part of measures Thai authorities have taken to ensure a trouble-free U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. The conference, attended by representatives of some 190 nations, began Saturday.

Under particular scrutiny were students and members of Myanmar's ethnic minority groups, such as the Karen. Last month, a Karen rebel group known as God's Army seized hundreds of hostages at a Thai-Myanmar border hospital before being killed by Thai troops.

Ediger denied any connection with militant groups along the frontier.

``Our goal is to see the violence diminish so people can survive and build. We believe that this could best be done through nonviolent means,'' he said.

Police Maj. Sakulwat Wilairattana said Ediger would probably be given a fine since it was his first offense during his more than 20-year residence in Thailand.

Saturday, February 12 7:58 PM SGT

Thai Police Arrest US Man For Harboring Illegal Aliens

BANGKOK (AP)--A U.S. activist who has helped victims of violence in Southeast Asia for nearly three decades was arrested for harboring illegal immigrants from Myanmar, police said Saturday.

Police said they raided Norman Max Ediger's office Friday and rounded up eight people who had illegally entered Thailand or weren't carrying proper travel documents. Ediger faces a jail term of up to two years or a fine of 60,000 baht ($1=THB37.455).

Ediger, 53, of Turpin, Okla., provides training and other assistance to refugees from Myanmar and seeks non-violent ways to end the conflicts that have plagued the nation, which is also known as Burma.

He is sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee, a U.S.-based Christian organization.

The raid was part of measures Thai authorities have taken to insure a trouble-free U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. The conference, attended by representatives of some 190 nations, was to begin Saturday.

Ediger denied any connection with militant groups along the frontier.

"Our goal is to see the violence diminish so people can survive and build. We believe that this could best be done through non-violent means," he said.

Police Maj. Sakulwat Wilairattana said Ediger would probably be given a fine since it was his first offense during his more than 20-year residence in Thailand.

Police arrested five Karen, one Shan, one Thai hilltribe woman and one man from Myanmar holding an Indian passport. All but the hilltribe woman would be deported, Sakulwat said, while Ediger was freed on a THB50,000 bail.

Ediger worked with mine victims during the Vietnam War and has assisted prostitutes and other needy people in Thailand. He has spoken out against both the military regime in Myanmar and some of the ethnic rebels fighting it.

Rebels face tough deal for peace with Myanmar junta

YANGON, Feb 11: Myanmar's military regime shows little sign of making concessions to remaining ethnic Shan and Karen insurgents to make peace, reports AP. Lt. Col. Hla Min, a government spokesman, said the Shan State Army (South) would have to lay down its weapons in surrender and effectively ruled out the political settlement sought by the Karen National Union.The Shan and Karen are Myanmar's largest ethnic minorities and have waged rebellions through various small armies for independence or more autonomy against the central government for decades. These rebel armies have long operated on the fringes of Thai territory as safe rear areas, but after, two hostage taking in four months in Thailand by fringe rebel groups, the days of Thai tolerance appear over, leaving Yangon in a stronger position.Thailand sent a chill to insurgents along the border by ending the latest siege in uncompromising fashion, killing 10 gunmen who had seized hundreds of hostages Jan. 24 at a provincial hospital.The gunmen were from a fringe Karen group, God's Army, led by 12-year-old twin boys and a radical student group that had taken hostages at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok in October.Days after the hospital siege ended in bloodshed, the main Shan and Karen rebel armies said they wanted to start peace negotiations. But the their prospects for getting a better deal than outright surrender appear bleak.Hla Min said neither group has yet made contact with the government, although the "door was open" for talks.The once powerful KNU was giving "mixed signals" on reaching a deal, although its never-say-die general, Bo Mya, has just been demoted as leader after 24 years."I think the new chairman said that he wanted to solve this issue in a more peaceful way," Hla Min said."But we are also reading in the media Bo Mya saying that nothing is going to change; that they have been fighting central government for 50 years and can continue to go on fighting," Hla Min said.Some 17 ethnic insurgent groups have reached ceasefires with the government since 1989, enabling the burgeoning Myanmar army to consolidate its grip on the country it has ruled since 1962.The KNU has vowed to fight on until it gets a share of political power denied so far to other ethnic groups, many of whom still hold their weapons in exchange for making peace. But Hla Min said ethnic minorities wanting a stake in government would have to await a long-delayed national constitution. Drafting began seven years ago and shows no sign of completion.The process has been partly delayed by a boycott led by the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who says the drafting is a charade to extend military rule.Suu Kyi's party won general elections the military allowed in 1990 but was never permitted to take power. Hla Min said the KNU's desire to keep its weapons after a cease-fire would have to be discussed but intimated they had lost their chance."If they had come back into the fold like other groups did in the earlier time, that could have been accommodated," Hla Min said.He estimated that the KNU had no more than 1,500 armed men, compared with independent estimates of 3,000 to 4,000.Hla Min said the 3,000 to 4,000 troops of the Shan State Army (South) leader Yawd Serk, who are former fighters of drugs warlord Khun Sa, would have no choice but to disarm."It's my personal opinion that if he wants to make peace, he'll have to take the same stance as Khun Sa," Hla Min said.Most of Khun Sa's 15,000 troops surrendered in 1996. Khun Sa, formerly behind much of the heroin smuggled to the United States, has retired to Yangon and Myanmar has resisted calls for his extradition.

Bangkok Post - Feb 12, 2000.

THAI-BURMESE BORDER

NSC still silent on night crossing plea

Army against lifting the time restriction
The National Security Council has yet to respond to a request by Ranong's private-state joint committee to lift the ban on opening the border with Burma at night.

The request was made to the Interior Ministry which passed it on to the NSC. The committee argued that easing the restriction would facilitate cross-border activity, an informed source said.

This was a renewal of an earlier bid for the crossing to operate round-the-clock, which was rejected by the ministry in the middle of last year, the source added. Under the ministry's order dated Aug 11, 1997, permanent border crossings in Chiang Rai, Tak and Ranong open at 6am and close at 6pm every day.

Ranong has a heavy volume of trade with Burma, including fishing activities and tourism, making it one of the most commercially bustling coastal provinces.

The committee sought an extension of the opening time after the Andaman Club Hotel on Burma's Thatay Kyun island was the subject of a police complaint filed by the army for allegedly defying the travel ban.

Vikrom Aisiri, the Andaman Club proprietor, was accused of operating ferry services beyond the permitted time to shuttle gamblers to and from the hotel's casino.

The Fourth Army insisted the club was putting national security at risk as people were passing through the hotel's pier on the Ranong side at night when the immigration office was closed.

The hotel has agreed to obey the rules and since Tuesday has stopped operating the ferry after 6pm. Only hotel staff take the late ferry service, according to the source. Thawatch Hantra, the provincial governor, confirmed the hotel had now complied with the time restriction.

He maintained the province had always been strict about supervising border crossings, but said it was difficult keeping check on every boat leaving Ranong port as their destinations were unknown.

He said if the border regulation was too rigid, trawler operators and the fishing industry in general would suffer.

However, Somkiat Satthajit, chairman of Ranong-Koh Song businesses, said authorities were rather lax in handling border security. Meanwhile, the army has increased border patrols in the province as part of security arrangements for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Bangkok.

Virat Romyen, a Democrat Party MP for Ranong and a close aide of Mr Vikrom, accused the army of over-reacting to the situation and causing damage to the local economy and tourism.

Close watch ordered on visitors to Burma casinos

Move to discourage Thais from gambling

Supamart Kasem, Tak
Border officials have been instructed by a deputy finance minister to keep a close watch on Thais making regular visits to casinos in Myawaddy, Burma.

The government did not want Thais to go to other countries to gamble, Pichet Phanvichartkul told a meeting of customs, immigration and other officials at Mae Sot checkpoint yesterday.

But people had the right to cross the border and the government had no authority over casinos operating in neighbouring countries.

"What Thailand can do is use immigration and customs laws. Immigration officials must be strict and watch out for people crossing the border frequently without business to perform.

"In addition, measures must be stepped up to stop illegal entries and control people crossing the border beyond the regular hours, from 6am to 6pm every day," the Democrat MP added.

Customs law should be enforced strictly to prevent people from taking more than 500,000 baht in cash with them when travelling to countries which share a border with Thailand, and no more than 50,000 baht in cash when going elsewhere.

The Nation - Feb 12, 2000.

Burmese aid agencies raided

ONE day after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised Thailand's humanitarian policy towards Burmese refugees and urged deeper understanding of their plight, police raided two local humanitarian organisations, arresting aid workers and dissidents.

A 30-member unit from Special Branch yesterday searched the Jesuit Refugee Services office on Phraholyothin Road for evidence linking it to illegal activities, a source in the Special Branch said. They left without finding any incriminating evidence, the source said.

Police were also looking for Maung Soe, a Burmese dissident, the source said, but could not say why they were looking for him.

Shortly after, the same unit raided the office of Burma Issues, a research centre that documents human rights violations committed by Burma's military junta. Police spent about three hours searching the office and interrogating staff, a worker at the organisation said.

Police arrested eight Burmese dissidents and six foreign workers, she said. Police also seized documents and videos, she said.

Police have detained American citizen Max Edigor, 56, a staff member of Burma Issues, on charges of working illegally and harbouring illegal immigrants, the Special Branch source said. Edigor's work permit expired last August.

Edigor and the eight dissidents were sent to the immigration detention centre on Soi

Suan Plu, but the foreign workers were released.

Police recently launched a nationwide crackdown on Burmese dissidents in Thailand after years of tolerating them.

The crackdown comes amid growing fears that Burmese dissident groups would cause more disturbances in Thailand following armed sieges at the Burmese Embassy in October and Ratchaburi Hospital last month.

BY SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS

The Nation