|
WIRE:05/16/2000 04:29:00 ET
U.S. slams Myanmar generals over 1990 election YANGON, May 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Myanmar has issued a statement deploring the military government's refusal to recognise a democratic election win 10 years ago and its arrest and harassment of opposition members. The statement dated May 15 and received by Reuters on Tuesday was released ahead of the anniversary of the National League for Democracy's May 27, 1990 landslide election win. "We deeply deplore the fact that Burma's military regime refuses to
follow through on the results of those free and fair elections and has
thwarted all attempts to convene a parliament and form a democratic
government," it said.
"We further regret that the regime has chosen to commemorate the
anniversary with yet another wave of mass arrests of democratic opposition
party members."
The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, won
392 of the 485 seats contested in the election. But the military, which
had seized power two years earlier by killing thousands to crush a
pro-democracy uprising, ignored the result.
The United States imposes economic sanctions on Myanmar for its
failure to democratise and for human rights abuses.
The NLD estimates around 2,000 political prisoners, who are mostly
its members, are being held in the country.
On April 16, it said another 38 of its youth members had been
arrested in Yangon in the preceding days.
On May 5, the NLD said a clampdown during the last week of April had
seen 37 others being detained in Taungdwingyi, a township 480 km (300
miles) north of Yangon.
Among those arrested was Aye Thar Aung, a senior party official
responsible for issues related to ethnic minorities.
Also on May 5, official newspapers reported that four NLD members,
including one who had been elected to parliament in 1990, were arrested in
the central town of Mandalay and accused of agitation.
The U.S. statement, on which the Myanmar government had no immediate
comment, dismissed the military's attempts to associate the NLD with
terrorist plots as a "malicious fabrication."
"We view these arrests as a further act of repression against Burmese
people engaged in the peaceful _expression_ of their political beliefs," it
said.
"This political party has demonstrated for more than a decade that it
seeks non-violent political change in Burma."
Bangkok Post- May 16,
2000.
Border patrols increased to halt drug
flow from Burma
Border patrols have been increased to prevent the smuggling of illicit drugs from Burma. An immediate increase in the frequency of border patrols was ordered by Third Army chief Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, in his capacity as director of the drug suppression centre in the North. Joint patrol units made up of soldiers, local and border patrol police were despatched to border areas in Mae Ramat and Mae Sot districts of Tak regularly used as drug transit routes. Ten people were arrested in separate raids last month in which some 100,000 speed pills were seized, army officers in the North said. Meanwhile, a fact-finding inquiry has been launched into Burma's accusation that Thailand had allowed Karen rebels to launch a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a border village in Myawaddy opposite Mae Sot district. Sources said Fourth Infantry Regiment task force commander Col Chainarong Thanaroon yesterday ordered border officials to investigate the Burmese claim. The move came after Myawaddy authorities demanded Thai officials explain why they allowed Karen National Union guerrillas to launch four RPGs from Thai soil on a border village in Myawaddy. One Wa villager was killed and another seriously injured in the 20-minute attack on Saturday. Bangkok Post - May 16, 2000. THAI-BURMA RELATIONS Threat to embassy kept under wraps High-level officer denies it
was a hoax Yan Nawa police and a bomb disposal unit rushed to the Burmese embassy on North Sathorn road on Sunday night after being informed at 8.45pm of a bomb threat there. According to the embassy secretary, a Burmese-speaking man phoned the embassy and warned that an explosive device had been planted inside the embassy and would go off between Sunday night and Monday morning. However, police found nothing suspicious in a two-hour search except an empty black can. Special Branch Bureau commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Yothin Mathayomnant said he believed the bomb hoax was the work of some Burmese wanting to attract public attention to the problems in Burma. According to him, the Burmese embassy has not put in any special request for the deployment of more police guards to beef up the embassy security. However, a high-level police source said the bomb threat at the embassy was not a hoax since an M-26 detonator was found there but authorities wanted the discovery to be kept secret for fear of hurting Thai-Burmese relations and police probes. Yesterday, an object believed to be an explosive device was found in a garbage bin in Phaya Thai district while a detonator was also found in the backyard of a house in Din Daeng. At 11.05am yesterday, Phaya Thai police were informed by Prakit Sangwal, 60, about the discovery of an item suspected to be a bomb in a trash bin behind Wat Makok in Phaya Thai. After a 20-minute check by a police bomb clearance team, the object turned out to be two pens and a concrete block tied together with a rod and covered with a plastic bag. At 1.30pm yesterday, police rushed to a house in Ratchadaphisek Soi 13 in Din Daeng to clear a US-made M-61 explosive device found in a can and wrapped with brown paper. The defused detonator was later sent to the police Ordnance Division for further examination. Security watch on monks Wassayos Ngarmkham Police are closely watching Burmese monks at several temples in the North for fear they may stage political activities on Thai soil. Last week some 20 Burmese monks joined non-governmental organisations in protest demonstrations against the Asian Development Bank during its annual conference in Chiang Mai. Pol Maj-Gen Charnwut Watcharapuk, deputy chief of the Immigration Bureau, said measures were being worked out to limit Burmese monks' period of stay at temples in the North. A recent survey showed up to 70 Burmese monks had entered Thailand illegally and taken refuge at temples in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and some other northern provinces, the officer said. Their number was rising and many Burmese were believed to have disguised themselves as monks to enter Thailand illegally, he added. Immigration police were co-ordinating with other authorities to prevent Burmese monks from entering Bangkok, he said. The Nation - May 16, 2000. Bomb hoax at Burma Embassy
POLICE have increased security and patrols around the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok after a bomb threat, police said yesterday. Pol LtGen Sawake Wattanakit, deputy commissioner for Special Branch, told reporters yesterday that an ethnic Burmese in Canada had made the threat. A bomb squad combed the embassy compound for explosives late on Sunday after they were contacted by an embassy official. No explosive was found, said Pol MajGen Chakthip Kunchorn na Ayudhya, an assistant commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau. “The embassy is open as usual but police have provided more security around the embassy and are patrolling more often in the area,” he said. Chakthip said embassy officials had few details about the caller and it was not possible for authorities to trace the call. In October, five antiRangoon student rebels demanding democracy in militaryrun Burma took dozens of hostages at the embassy, including diplomats and their families who live inside the compound. The Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, as the rebels called themselves, were set free at the ThaiBurma border by Thai authorities in return for the safe release of the hostages. The incident marked an embarrassing lapse in Thai security and hurt relations with Burma. In January, the Student Warriors joined with guerrillas from the childled God’s Army in raiding a Ratchaburi provincial hospital. All ten rebels were killed by Thai commandos. The rebels’ comrades are thought to be still at large inside Burma or along the ThaiBurma border, where anti-Rangoon armed groups fight a fading war of resistance against the Burmese military. The Nation, Associated Press The Nation - May 16, 2000. Thai Army denies aiding KNU in raid
A SENIOR army officer has dismissed allegations by a Burmese military commander that Thai troops helped the Karen National Union with a recent offensive against a juntaheld position. Col Chainarong Thanarun, commander of the 4th Infantry Special Task Force in Mae Sot, said it was not in line with Army policy to interfere in Burma’s internal affairs or help foreign troops in any way. Burmese Army Lt Col Thin Ngwe was earlier reported as saying Thai troops had allowed the Karen National Union (KNU) to cross over into Thailand to use a route along the Moei River to launch an attack against a governmentheld position in Myawaddy district in Burma, adjacent to Mae Sot. Chainarong said the area in question was a long stretch and had yet to be secured. If the Burmese had any questions they could raise them with the ThaiBurmese Joint Border Committee, which addresses security issues along the border. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Banyat Bantadtan yesterday dismissed allegations that Thailand is not doing enough to ensure security along the ThaiBurmese border. He said many of the problems stemmed from Burma’s internal conflicts. The Burmese junta attacked the Thai government recently in a shortwave radio broadcast in the Mae Hong Son area for detaining six Burmese soldiers since February. The soldiers were caught by border security after crossing over into Thailand, allegedly to carry out attacks against Burmese refugees. The incident placed relations between the Thai and Burmese officials in the Mae Hong Son area at one of their lowest ebbs when Thailand refused to release the men. Banyat, on the other hand, insisted ThaiBurmese bilateral relations were solid and improving steadily. He said this was not the first time Thai security officials had detained Burmese nationals for questioning. Any request for the release of the six men would have to comply with international law. Nevertheless, the minister has ordered security to be stepped up in the Mae Hong Son area where the six men were captured. “The problems along the [ThaiBurmese] border stem from the conflict inside Burma,” Banyat said. ThaiBurmese relations had improved over the year, said Banyat, pointing to a series of meetings. Nevertheless, he said, officials had to be extremely careful, as international relations were a sensitive issue. The Nation BBC-Tuesday, 16 May, 2000, 13:00 GMT
14:00 UK
Mass labour protest in China More than 1,000 factory workers demanding unpaid wages have besieged a city
hall in north-east China after violent clashes with police.
The protesters, employees of a state-owned metal alloy factory in Liaoyang, say they have not been paid for up to 16 months. Factory officials said the crisis erupted on Monday when 600 workers
blocked the main highway to the provincial capital Shenyang.
Reports said hundreds of armed police moved in at midnight to clear the
highway and dozens of people were injured.
At least three organisers were detained, according to human rights groups.
Demands
But the protesters regrouped on Tuesday morning, besieging the city hall.
Millions of redundancies are predicted this year
At least 1,000 workers surrounded the building, calling on the mayor to listen to their demands, according to reports. Protesters hung banners on the building saying "Arrears guilty", and
demanded the immediate release of the three detained workers.
One official confirmed that around 2,000 staff had not been paid for up to
16 months, while a similar number of retired and laid-off workers had received
no benefits for up to six months.
Police have denied that dozens of workers were injured when they broke up
Monday's protest.
Losing money
The factory, one of the largest in Liaoyang province, lies in an area which
was once China's heavy industrial heartland - but is now littered with closed
and decaying state enterprises.
One official told Reuters news agency that the company had been losing
money for more than five years.
"Perhaps I will join in, too," he added. "I haven't been paid for 24 months
and I have borrowed money from relatives and friends."
Unemployment
Reuters said unemployment in the worst-hit city of Liaoning was running as
high as 90%.
China's Government has admitted that unpaid wages and benefits are a major
cause of social instability, and has promised to address the problem.
Yet many state firms are struggling to keep afloat, and at least seven
million redundancies are predicted this year.
Analysts say concerns about the impact of increased foreign competition on
ailing state industries lie behind Beijing's unwillingness to open its markets
much further, in its current talks with the European Union on China's membership
of the World Trade Organisation.
BBC-Monday, 15 May,
2000, 10:31 GMT 11:31 UK
Ban urged on child
soldiers
By Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu Delegates at an international conference have called for a worldwide ban on the use of child soldiers under the age of 18. They said that many governments and armed groups are using children in wars
and armed conflicts. The Asia-Pacific conference on banning the use of child soldiers is taking place in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. It is part of a global campaign being run by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, a London-based group of international non-government organisations. Asian problem A report by the Coalition says that at least 300,000 children are currently taking part in armed conflicts around the world, many of them in Asia. Afghanistan, Cambodia, Burma and Sri Lanka are said to be the worst affected
Asian countries.
Child rights activists have blamed both governments and insurgents for using
the children as soldiers.
They say children start out as porters and messengers, but they often end up
on the front line of battle.
They are used for suicide missions and forced to commit atrocities against
their own families and neighbours.
Action urged
A spokesperson for the Coalition, Joe Becker, said that little is being done
to stop this practice.
The Kathmandu conference is the fourth in a series of such conferences.
Officials and child rights activists from 30 countries are participating in
the four-day meeting.
Similar conferences have earlier been held in Africa, Europe and Latin
America.
The organisers said that the Kathmandu conference will try to build pressure
on banning the use of children in armed conflicts.
It will also seek to help efforts aimed at demobilising child soldiers and
rehabilitating them into society. |