KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Reuters) - The newly appointed U.N. special
envoy to Myanmar said on Tuesday he will visit the country next month and
plans to meet all relevant parties including pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
"Yes, I have to (meet Suu Kyi). I will meet all the
relevant parties there, including Aung San Suu Kyi," Razali Ismail was
quoted by Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency as saying.
Razali, Malaysia's former U.N. representative, was appointed last
week as Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for Myanmar, with a
mandate to promote human rights and the restoration of democracy in that
military-ruled country.
He succeeds Alvaro de Soto, who in recent years paid periodic visits
to Myanmar to try to persuade the military government to negotiate with
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace
Prize winner Suu Kyi.
Razali said he hoped to get the understanding of all groups in
Myanmar when he embarks on his mission.
"We cannot have a solution straight away. It takes a process," he
said.
Tuesday April 11 3:13 AM ET
World Bank Critics Launch Boycott
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Advocates of human rights in
Myanmar, peace in Colombia and economic justice here in the nation's capital are
pressing their concerns, taking advantage of daily protests against the World
Bank.
Washington is awash in demonstrations, teach-ins, concerts and news
conferences, including a planned religious procession today that was to end at
World Bank headquarters.
The economic ``Stations of the Cross'' protest is sponsored by The Religious
Working Group on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The
coalition of about 40 church-affiliated groups normally conducts its procession
on Good Friday.
This year, ``we're taking advantage'' of the weeklong
protests against the two institutions that lend money to poor nations, said the
coalition's Judy Coode. But with an office in Washington and a regular dialogue
with economic policy-makers, ``we're always here,'' she said.
Protesters believe that the bank and IMF, which lend money to poor countries,
impose crushing austerity and debt repayment conditions that make it impossible
for those nations to spend money on social programs.
The religious protesters are not alone in taking advantage of a week when
demonstrators are pouring into Washington.
There's a dinner to promote democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma. A
rally will oppose military aid to help Colombia fight drug lords, a protest
coinciding with the U.S. visit of Colombian President Andres Pastrana. And a
forum in a poor section of Washington will explore poverty, health care, racism
and employment in the capital.
Monday, World Bank critics launched a global campaign to boycott the
institution's bonds. Boycott organizers announced their plans just as
environmental demonstrators blocked a street and triggered a confrontation with
police. Seven were arrested.
Demonstrators against policies of the bank and the IMF are building toward a
large rally Sunday, when world finance ministers are scheduled to meet in
downtown Washington. Protesters said they would try to stop the ministers from
entering the bank's headquarters only a few blocks from the White House.
The anti-bank groups want to persuade labor unions, churches, brokerage
houses, commercial banks, universities, municipalities and average investors not
to buy the bank's bonds, which now enjoy the highest rating.
``We want to chip away at their AAA rating,'' said Dr. Kevin Danaher,
director of public education for Global Exchange, a San Francisco human rights
group. He said that while some boycott organizers want to reform the bank,
others want it abolished.
Added Pratap Chatterjee, an environmental commissioner of Berkeley, Calif:
``We want to break the bank.''
World Bank President James Wolfensohn called the bond boycott ``a misguided
effort aimed at the wrong target.''
``Investors ... are unlikely to be swayed by this campaign,'' Wolfensohn said
Monday.
In a message to the World Bank staff, he said they should be proud of the
work they do. ``We are leading in many of the areas people are complaining
about, such as the fight against poverty,'' he said.
Meanwhile, hoping to counter criticism of its operations, the International
Monetary Fund decided Monday to establish an independent watchdog group.
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers welcomed the IMF's action, saying it
``demonstrates important progress in making the IMF a more accountable and
transparent institution...''
In the past the IMF has relied on self evaluation by its own departments
supplemented by reports commissioned from outside consultants.
The World Bank supplies loans to fund development projects in poor countries,
and the IMF, its sister institution, responds to financial crisis.
EU toughens Myanmar sanctions
April 11, 2000
Web posted at: 11:53
a.m. HKT (0353 GMT)
LUXEMBOURG
(AP) -- European Union foreign ministers on Monday toughened sanctions against
Myanmar saying the country's military government has been intensifying
repression of civil and political rights.
In 1998, the EU banned visits by Myanmar officials, withdrew trade privileges
and imposed an arms embargo. To that, the foreign ministers added a ban on
equipment "that might be used for repression" and agreed to freeze funds held
abroad by members of Myanmar's military regime.
Also, the visa ban on traveling officials was toughened by listing
specifically those in Myanmar's military regime to whom it applied, the
ministers said in a statement.
At the same time, the ministers "reaffirmed the importance" they attach to
good relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- a regional
grouping that includes Myanmar, also known as Burma -- and proposed a
ministerial meeting with ASEAN nations later this year.
It was not immediately clear how that could be arranged. In recent years,
high-level EU-ASEAN meetings have been canceled because the Asean side refused
to drop Burma from its ranks to please the Europeans.
In a statement, the EU ministers deplored "the continuing and intensified
repression of civil and political rights (in Myanmar) as well as the harsh
conditions hindering the people's enjoyment of economic, social and cultural
rights."
They again urged the country's leaders "to respect human rights, restore
democracy and engage in a dialogue with the opposition that could lead to
national reconciliation in a united and democratic state."
The EU reviews its sanctions against Myanmar every six months. The measures
are designed to punish Myanmar military leaders for not turning over power to a
democratically elected government.
The Nation - April 11, 2000.
Alliance of Asian democracy groups
needed
TO keep the democracy ball rolling in Asia, says James Gomez, there needs
to be closer cooperation between those involved in each country.
Democratic forces in Asia need to form a multi-tiered alliance to
consolidate gains made following the region's economic crisis. This is necessary
in order to prevent the old economy from retarding reform efforts during this
crucial period of transition.
Events following the Asian economic crisis are pointing towards a greater
potential for pluralism in Asia. Changes in leadership and government in South
Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and most recently in Taiwan are examples of outcomes
following greater pressures for political liberalisation.
This trend is also increasingly reflected in the other countries in the
region. The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan continues to weaken, the United
Malays National Organisation (UMNO) -led National Front faces daily challenges
from civil-society groups and a newly strengthened political opposition, and in
Singapore, the People's Action Party-led liberalisation could set the momentum
for a political change. In short, Asia is undergoing a transition towards
democracy.
However, a key challenge in this process lies in operationalising the
necessary reforms needed to sustain this process. There is oftentimes inertia
and the threat that the old ways stand to retard the transition to democracy.
Those who were schooled and who operated in the old economy continue to claim
that changes, if any, must be executed by being close to the existing regime.
Further, the experiences in each country differ from one another.
In several of the democracies in transition, such as Indonesia and
Thailand, new constitutions have been drawn up with new institutions and
electoral laws put in place. Chief among these institutions are electoral and
human-rights commissions, information and privacy acts, a statement of citizen
rights and the recognition of civil-society participation.
In Malaysia, old institutions are grappling to respond to political demands
of a newly awakened society following the sacking of former deputy prime
minister Anwar Ibrahim. The recently set up Human Rights Commission is seen as
being caught in the old economy as its composition ignores some that have been
actively being working in the field, and the range of rights issues that it is
prepared to take up is unclear.
The path to democracy has not been without sacrifices. Lives have been lost
and broken. Many a time it was the consequence of responses taken by the
authorities to political _expression_. The people of South Korea, Indonesia,
Thailand, Taiwan have paid huge sacrifices to get to where they are today. Other
countries in the region, such as Cambodia and Sri Lanka, also make these very
sacrifices as they work towards change.
A principal collaborator in this abuse of the rights has been a compliant
judiciary. A mixture of patronage, rewards and fear has for a long time caused
the rule of law to give way to rule by law. An independent judiciary is unlikely
to emerge if a reform-minded executive or legislature is not in place.
Undoubtedly, an important contribution to the democratic process has been
that made by civil-society groups. After decades of suppression, citizens in
organised groups are forcing many governments to open up. In the Philippines the
people sector continues to be strong, while in Malaysia many groups are active
on a day-to-day basis.
Yet in countries like Singapore some civil society groups claim special
wisdom in insisting that gains are made best by working with the existing regime
and asking for space. Most are reluctant to question or campaign directly for
changes in legislation that curb civil liberties.
An important source of control over the political process has been the
presence of tightly controlled media. Singapore and Malaysia continue to be
dominant examples. International and regional media that were once looked upon
as a last resort have been cowed into self-censorship. However, the media in
regimes that have been suppressed for so long are being challenged by the
Internet and alternative methods of news delivery and distribution.
A major issue in many of the countries in the region has been the
centralised nature of the state. A rich and dominant centre is often put in
tension with the poorer parts of the country. One major reform has been to give
local governments more autonomy over certain areas of legal control and revenue
collection.
The military has for a long time played a major role in politics in the
region. Indonesia and Thailand have been notable examples. Once the military
straddled politics and owned big businesses; however, the political changes
following the crisis are slowly reconfiguring the civil-military equation. Yet
in not-too-distant Pakistan a military coup replaced a civilian government, and
the former prime minister was sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism and
hijacking.
While there seem to be some inroads into democracy with the occasional
tendency to fall back, there are some countries where the path to democracy
seems less than promising. Burma and Indochina continue to be caught in the
political past.
However, a principal problem of reform is that many of these measures to
facilitate political pluralism are taken at different levels, areas, countries
and paces. They are not synchronised. There is a need to forge some kind of
grand alliance that pulls in the strengths of various issues and actors to
leverage on the weakness of others as well as to facilitate mutual learning, and
more importantly to build on some of the nascent regional structures that have
begun to spring up.
Regional groupings such as the Southeast Asian Press Alliance have been one
of the recent examples that can lend strength and structure for a stronger press
voice, especially in countries that do not have a free press. Another has been
the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats that serves as a regional platform
for political parties in government and opposition to consolidate and coordinate
a democratic political agenda.
There is also the Asean Human Rights Mechanism, which is trying to foster
the setting up of human-rights commissions in the region. Efforts at looking at
a regional social safety net can be seen as another example set in motion by
those interested in promoting social justice. Collectively these efforts should
been seen as a growing number of geographical responses to form a democratic
alliance. And this momentum needs to be harnessed and expanded into other areas.
For instance a regional secretariat to coordinate the activities of
civil-society groups that have a democratic agenda could be one initiative.
Others could include a regional network of electoral monitoring organisations
and an Asian watchdog mechanism to survey the independence of the judiciary. A
regional privacy-of-information and access-to-information project is another
network to consider among the number of possibilities to foster an Asian
democratic alliance. Finally an Internet portal to connect all these various
initiatives through cyberspace could add a communications advantage to this
endeavour.
The many victories by liberal democratic forces in the region has created a
sense of optimism. This optimism can be consolidated via a grand, multi-tiered
Asian alliance for democratic development.
The Nation
-----------------------
James Gomez is director of the Think Centre based in Singapore. He
contributed this article to The Nation.
WIRE:04/11/2000 10:35:00 ET
UPDATE 1-Britain pressures oil firm to
pull out of Myanmar
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, trying to pressure Myanmar to improve its
human rights record, said Tuesday it had urged exploration firm Premier
Oil Plc to pull out of a major gas project in the military-ruled
state.
Foreign Office Minister John Battle said he asked the
firm's chief executive Charles Jamieson two weeks ago to leave the
Yetagun gas project in which Premier has a $200 million stake.
"Our views are very clear. We are asking them to withdraw where they
can. Not to break the law, but to negotiate and withdraw," Battle told
reporters.
Describing Myanmar's rulers as a "disgraceful regime," Battle cited
what he said was a record of killings, forced relocations, forced labor,
lack of press freedoms and repression of ethnic minorities in the
country.
"Burma (Myanmar) has one of the worst human rights records in the
world and so far shows no sign of improving," Battle said. "Against that
background we have worked to ratchet up the pressure."
He said the renewed pressure on Premier Oil came as Britain was
pushing its European partners to take a harder line against Myanmar. The
International Labor Organization had also denounced the country's record
on forced labor and was preparing moves against it.
"Burma's record on enforced labor, and allegations of child labor, is
the worst in the world," Battle said.
He declined to say what Premier Oil's response was to his plea which
he described as "not new or unexpected." It followed a similar request
nearly two years ago. The final decision rested with the company, he
said.
BBC-Tuesday, 11 April, 2000, 13:26 GMT
14:26 UK
Dalai Lama to visit
Japan
![Dalai Lama]()
China has urged Japan not to grant the Dalai Lama a
visa
The Japanese Government has granted a visa to
the Dalai Lama, despite previous requests from China not to allow him to visit.
Reports from Tokyo say the Tibetan spiritual leader is scheduled
to travel to Japan from 13 to 18 April, to give sermons and lectures on Buddhism
and environmental protection.
But China has repeatedly urged Japan not to grant a visa to the
Dalai Lama, saying it would undermine bilateral relations.
Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as asking
for China's understanding in the matter.
'Internal affair'
The spiritual leader has lived in exile in northern India since
he fled Tibet in 1959, after China suppressed an uprising against Chinese rule.
Since then he has been an outspoken critic of China's human
rights record in Tibet and has sought autonomy for the region.
Japan has said that Tibetan leaders' problems with the Chinese
Government would not be a factor in its decision as Tokyo maintains that issues
regarding Tibet are an internal affair of China.
According to newspaper reports, the Tibetan spiritual leader has
been invited by a university in Kyoto to attend a symposium.
It will be the Dalai Lama's eighth visit to Japan.
On Monday, he indicated that did not plan to go to Taiwan for
the inauguration of the island's new president, Chen Shui-bian, next month,
despite reported plans to invite him.
He said he would be in Europe at that time, and even if he were
free to attend, he would regard such a trip as sending too provocative a signal
to Beijing.
BBC-Tuesday, 11 April, 2000, 12:16 GMT 13:16 UK
UN Envoy to meet Suu Kyi
The United Nations special envoy to Burma says he's to meet the
pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, during a planned visit to the country
next month.
Razali Ismail, who has just been appointed to the post, said a concerted
and coordinated effort was needed to end Burma's isolation.
He declined to comment on whether human rights would be discussed.
The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, on announcing Mr Razali's
appointment, said he hoped it would lead to the implementation of a UN
resolution which calls for Burma's military government to halt human rights
violations.
The government denies such abuses.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service.
Channel Newsasia
Tuesday, April 11 11:10 AM SGT
EU toughens Myanmar sanctions; proposes
ministerial meeting with ASEAN
European Union foreign ministers on Monday toughened sanctions against
Myanmar saying the country's military government has been intensifying
repression of civil and political rights.
In 1998, the EU banned visits by
Myanmar officials, withdrew trade privileges and imposed an arms embargo.
To that, the foreign ministers added a ban on equipment "that might be used
for repression" and agreed to freeze funds held abroad by members of Myanmar's
military regime.
Also, the visa ban on travelling officials was toughened by listing
specifically those in Myanmar's military regime to whom it applied, the
ministers said in a statement.
At the same time, the ministers "reaffirmed the importance" they attach to
good relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - a regional
grouping that includes Myanmar - and proposed a ministerial meeting with ASEAN
nations later this year.
