Burma Related News - Feb 13, 2000.

[TIN KYI <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Saturday February 12, 5:18 am Eastern Time

ASEAN members warn of backlash on mega-mergers

BANGKOK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries said on Saturday they were concerned about developing nations being hit by a backlash from a current global trend for mega-mergers and acquisitions.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said at a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that because of this, alternative strategies for global economic development had to be found, a spokesman told reporters.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a four-yearly summit of the U.N.'s trade and development agency UNCTAD which began on Saturday.

ASEAN groups Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia,

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said at the meeting that ``these mergers could result in a domestic backlash against globalisation,'' the spokesman, Kobsak Chutikul of Thailand, said.

Mahathir was concerned that such mergers and acquisitions could create giant multinationals that could gain superior advantages over smaller domestic companies in various fields.

Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told Annan that big mergers could provide a backlash by taking multinationals' focus away from social safety nets.

Since the beginning of 2000, there have been two notable world megamergers -- the $151.80 billion AOL (NYSE:AOL - news) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX - news) deal in the United States and the German company Mannesmann's $176.50 billion merger with Vodafone Airtouch (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L) of Britain.

At the meeting, Foreign Minister Win Aung of military-ruled Myanmar asked for help from the U.N. and other international organisations in creating conditions for greater democratisation in the country, according to the spokesman.

Thailand's premier Chuan Leekpai suggested to Annan that ASEAN be given observer status at the United Nations, the spokesman added.

Annan told the 10-member grouping's leaders that there needed to be a structured way for ASEAN and the United Nations to collaborate in the future. He later invited ASEAN to attend the next U.N. meeting in June as an observer.

Sunday February 13 8:05 AM ET

Hong Kong Smuggling Suspect Held

HONG KONG (AP) - A man believed to have masterminded a huge smuggling ring in China has been arrested in Myanmar and turned over to Beijing authorities, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Sunday.

Police arrested Lai Changxing at a hotel where he was staying under an assumed name, the Sunday Morning Post quoted unidentified sources as saying.

Lai was the president of the private Yuan Hua Group, which is alleged to have smuggled billions of dollars worth of goods through the port of Xiamen in southeastern China and paid bribes to nearly 200 Chinese officials, the Post said.

Lai, who is from mainland China, faces execution or life in prison if found guilty of corruption, the newspaper said.

According to the report, Lai managed the Yuan Hua Group out of Hong Kong for six years. He disappeared in October and was found traveling in Myanmar with Hong Kong papers.

A Hong Kong government spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

A wide-ranging investigation in Xiamen has uncovered modern China's biggest corruption scandal, which reportedly involved $9.5 billion worth of oil, cars, cigarettes and other goods.

The probe has led to the arrest or investigation of dozens of officials, including Xiamen's customs and police chiefs and two party secretaries.

Sunday February 13 8:10 AM ET

Annan Backs Myanmar Reform

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Sunday that Myanmar's military-run government needs to begin democratizing if it hopes to attract foreign aid to help its poverty-stricken population.

On Saturday, during a meeting between Annan and ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung asked the U.N. to take a more active role in the development of the country, which has been ruled by its military since 1962.

Annan said he would soon appoint a new special envoy to Myanmar, also known as Burma, whom he hoped would encourage the regime to engage ``other political forces'' in the country.

``I hope that sooner or later we will also hear what measures the government is going to take in political reform and the process of democratization so that we can move together and improve the lot of the people of Myanmar,'' Annan told a press conference in Bangkok.

The military in Myanmar has rejected repeated calls for dialogue from Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept general elections held in 1990 but has been blocked from taking power.

Since 1988, donor nations have restricted most foreign aid to Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, to protest a bloody crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in which thousands were gunned down by army and police. Donor countries want to see political changes before restarting assistance.

The Straits Times -FEB 13 2000

 

Myanmar man dies in lodging house

 

The unidentified man had cuts and bruises on his face which his girlfriend believes were caused by fights that he got himself into

 

A MYANMAR national died several hours after he returned to his lodging house with his Malaysian girlfriend.

 

Although the unidentified man had cuts and bruises on his face, Miss Lau Leong Yut did not think that anything was wrong at first.

 

Now, she believes that they were caused by the regular fights that he got himself into.

 

He was pronounced dead at 11.45 pm on Friday night, at the lodging house in People's Park Complex.

 

Miss Lau said that he would go out and end up fighting with his "friends" after they had a drink or two.

 

She said: "We went for dinner and then he came back to sleep. I noticed he turned pale, so I ran down to the provision shop to call for an ambulance.

 

"I think it is because of the fights. He likes to drink, then fight. And these fights are with people he knew."

 

Police spokesman Inspector Stanley Norbert said that the man was found with injuries to his face, left eye, forehead and left ear.

 

It is understood that the injuries to his face were recent because there was still redness and swelling.

 

There were no other visible injuries on other parts of his body when he was found yesterday.

 

Police have classified this as a case of unnatural death, and investigations are still ongoing.

 

Eyewitnesses or those with more information can contact the Central Police Division on 337-0000. 
 

The Nation Feb 14, 2000.

American peace activist arrested as illegal alien

AN American peace activist who has worked with prostitutes, slum dwellers, drug addicts and refugees is scheduled to stand trial tomorrow on charges of harbouring illegal aliens and working in the country without proper permit.

Norman Max Ediger, 53, who was arrested on Friday along with eight other people who did not have proper travel documents, is likely to be deported for his crime, police said. Human rights organisations have said those arrested are genuine political refugees, and not illegal aliens as charged. Ediger has been living in Thailand since 1979. His work permit expired last August.

His lawyer, Somchai Homla-or, a leading human rights activist from the Law Society of Thailand, blasted the police over the charges, accusing the authorities of conducting a witch-hunt by arresting Ediger.

"The authorities must make the distinction between genuine political refugees and violent groups. In fact, the Thai government should learn from him [Ediger] and praise his non-violent approach," Somchai said.

Ediger, 53, who is well known in the non-governmental organisation circles, has worked with Empower, an NGO that provides help to Thai prostitutes through education and skills training. He has also worked on a number of development projects in several slums in Bangkok, as well as on drug rehabilitation with addicts at the Thanyarak Hospital. He worked with mine victims during the Indochina War and has spoken out against both the military regime in Burma and some of the ethnic rebels fighting the junta.

Ediger started his work with Burmese refugees in 1988 after the military junta in Rangoon launched a bloody nationwide crackdown on pro-democracy activists and students.

"They have been fighting for nearly 50 years with no end in sight. However, I believe there are opportunities to come up with a non-violent approach so the displaced people can return to their homeland," Ediger said.

His "Burma Issue" publications and other documentaries on the plight of the Burmese people are sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee, a US-based Christian organisation.

The raid on Ediger's office, as well as other aid organisations that deal with Burma issues, was deemed to be part of measures by Thai authorities to ensure a trouble-free UN Conference on Trade and Development.

Ediger denied any connection with armed groups along the Thai-Burmese border.

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

Police arrested five Karen, one Shan, one Thai hill-tribe woman and one man from Burma holding an Indian passport. All but the hill-tribe woman would be deported, while Ediger was freed on a bail of Bt50,000 (US$1,350) on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, eight leading human rights organisations yesterday issued a statement to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, urging him to understand the work of aid organisations dealing with Burma issues and dissidents, and to make the distinction between armed groups and humanitarian organisations.

BY Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation