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HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Yugoslav president meets Myanmar foreign minister Asia Pulse - Plan for Trading Agreement Among S. Asia's Bimst Ec Countries AFP - Indian army chief meets Myanmar military
leader
BKK Post - Move to bar outflow of
gamblers
The Nation - North Korea looks to
normalise Burma ties
The Nation - FROM THE EDGE: Free Burma activists laugh last BBC - Burma's diplomatic offensive
BBC - Bay of Bengal
rim to co-operate
The Nation - FROM THE EDGE: Free Burma activists laugh
last WIRE:07/06/2000 14:53:00 ET
Yugoslav president meets Myanmar foreign minister BELGRADE, July 6 (Reuters) - Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on
Thursday received Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung who is on a official
visit to Yugoslavia, state news agency Tanjug reported.
Milosevic and Win Aung agreed that Yugoslavia and Myanmar as friendly countries and members of the non-aligned movement had common interests in economic and other bilateral ties, Tanjug quoted a statement from Milosevic's cabinet as saying. In international relations, both countries were committed to respect
the principle of equality, sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom
of internal development of states and peoples, the report said.
Yugoslavia, which has been under a series of Western sanctions over
its role in the 1990s Balkans wars, has turned increasingly to other
states for support.
Western countries have tried to isolate Yangon over what they see as
a poor human rights record and for its treatment of Myanmar's
pro-democracy opposition.
The two sides said pressures and sanctions against sovereign states
represented untenable criminal behaviour by individual countries that
grossly voilated human rights.
Milosevic said Yugoslavia and Myanmar would continue to cooperate
bilaterally and also "secure closer links between states and peoples that
resist domination in the world, and especially separatism and terrorism as
a means of destabilising countries that have an independent policy."
Friday, July 7 9:47 AM SGT
Plan for Trading Agreement Among S. Asia's Bimst Ec CountriesNEW DELHI, July 7 Asia Pulse -
Foreign ministers of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand have
endorsed a proposal for creating a preferential trading agreement among the
BIMST-EC countries and agreed to further strengthen economic cooperation among
the member countries.
The third BIMST-EC(Bangladesh,India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand- Economic Cooperation) Ministerial meeting here also decided Thursday to set up an inter-governmental group to prepare a concept paper on the free trade arrangement proposal. Speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for External Affairs, Ajit Kumar Panja, who took over as chairman of BIMST-EC, said India has proposed setting up of a BIMST-EC portal to facilitate flow of information and urged special attention on developing the region's capabilities in the technology sector. "During the deliberations, India has circulated a paper and made a presentation on possibilities of technology cooperation. Guided by the inputs generated in these deliberations, we should now find ways and means of intensifying technology linkages among ourselves," Panja said. The Asian Highway and Trans Asian Railway project, being pursued under ESCAP, could be utilised for furthering economic ties between the five Bay of Bengal countries, he added. "Similarly, establishment of closer air and sea links through bilateral and multilateral exchanges would seem to be another area to focus upon," he said. Thursday, July 6 11:26 PM SGT Indian army chief meets Myanmar military leaderBANGKOK, July 6 (AFP) - Indian army chief General Ved Prakash Malik left Yangon on Thursday after meeting the leader of Myanmar's ruling military junta, Myanmar's state television reported Thursday. Malik and his delegation held talks with Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) -- the official name of the ruling regime, it said. Than Shwe is also commander in chief of the military, prime minister and defence minister. The talks at the People's Assembly in Yangon were also attended by other leading junta members and Yangon-based Indian diplomats, the report said. It gave no details of their discussions, saying only the talks had been "friendly and amicable." Malik arrived in the Myanmar capital Monday at the head of a group of high-ranking Indian military officials. He was invited by his Myanmar counterpart, General Maung Aye. Maung Aye is also the vice chairman of SPDC and deputy commander in chief of Myanmar's armed forces. During the four-day trip, General Malik and his delegation held meetings with the commanders of Myanmar's navy and air force, the report said. India and Myanmar, who share a 1,643 kilometre (1,018 mile) border, last year pledged to cooperate more closely to curb cross-border terrorism. They signed a document agreeing to "control and contain cross-border militancy in their respective territory, drug trafficking and smuggling." Bangkok Post - July 7, 2000. Move to bar outflow of gamblers Thirawat Khamthita in Chiang
Rai Border regulations have been tightened
again in a bid to cut off the flow of gamblers to a Thai-owned casino on the
Burmese side of the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle and Paradise Resort Casino, which is reportedly owned by
a cabinet minister's relative, is the target of the border beef-up under a
policy implemented by the National Security Council and the Third Army. Manas Sokanthika, Chiang Saen district chief, said the new measures were
agreed at a recent meeting, which resolved to close the border to drug and
contraband smugglers and prevent gamblers from crossing to the casino, opposite
Ban Sopruak in Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district. The Sopruak checkpoint with Burma would be more heavily policed, he said.
Those crossing into Laos, the other corner of the triangle, would also be
subject to restrictions. Crossings would be permitted only at the point in front of the Chiang Saen
district office. Leaving from other border crossings would be prohibited unless
previously authorised. Gamblers trying to get around the problem by detouring
through Laos would also be watched. Some are reportedly posing as tourists and
taking sightseeing trips along the Mekong river, but get off at the casino pier.
Operators of the boat services would be liable for punishment, Mr Manas
said. Tossapol Angkalakkana, representing the casino, said the policy was bad for
business because it would inconvenience clients. But the proprietor agreed to
abide by the rules, he said.Bangkok Post - July 7,
2000. The
Nation - July 7, 2000. BY SA-NGUAN KHUMRUNGROJ
NORTH Korea is keen to normalise relations with Burma no later than next year to put an end to a 17-year diplomatic freeze, an informed diplomatic source said. The source said the message was conveyed by the North Korean Foreign Ministry to the deputy director general of East Asian Affairs, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, who led a delegation to the socialist state early this week. Sihasak is the most senior Thai official to visit Pyongyang since the kidnapping of North Korean envoy Hong Sun-gyong and his family in Bangkok last year. Burma severed ties with North Korea on November 4, 1983, after a dramatic, but unsuccessful attempt to assassinate then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan in Rangoon by the North's secret agents. A bomb set off at the Aung San Mausoleum in Rangoon killed 21 people, including four South Korean cabinet members, and wounded 46 others. Since Burma became an Asean member in 1997, Pyongyang has launched a series of diplomatic offensives to lobby the grouping and China to help push Rangoon toward reconciliation, but to no avail. Burmese Foreign Minister U Win Aung recently stated his country's support for Pyongyang joining the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) was a separate matter and had nothing to do with the thawing of relations. A Burmese senior official told The Nation that "unless North Korea admits its terrorist act in 1983 and makes an official apology, we will not consider any of its offers at the moment". This could mean Burma might be the only Asean nation at the upcoming ARF meeting not to have diplomatic ties with North Korea. At present, the Philippines has no diplomatic ties with the Stalinist state, but next week North Korean ambassador to Bangkok Jo In-chol will travel to Manila to discuss the opening of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Meanwhile, during the four-day visit, Sihasak officially informed Pyongyang all 22 members of the ARF had agreed on its participation in the regional security forum, scheduled for July 27 in Bangkok. North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun had earlier accepted the invitation from his Thai counterpart, Surin Pitsuwan, to visit the kingdom from July 25-29. He will also take part in the ARF meeting for the first time as a guest of the host nation during which he is expected to hold several bilateral talks with representatives from Asean, Japan, South Korea and some Western countries. According to the source, North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Gil-yon told Sihasak that his country will play a constructive role in ARF and its participation will bring about peace and stability to the whole region. The two sides also discussed the exchange of visits by high-ranking officials. Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra is scheduled to visit Pyongyang sometimes this year to celebrate the silver jubilee of bilateral relationships. The Nation - July 7, 2000.
FROM THE EDGE: Free Burma activists
laugh last
BY YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK
HUNDREDS of American trade and financial firms are jubilant. The US Supreme
Court last month listened to their plea and finally struck down the
Massachusetts Burma Law that had effectively banned them from doing business
with state agencies.
So the battle has been won. But grassroots human rights and Burma activists
in North America remain defiant and warn that the war is far from over. To them,
the court's decision touches on a "very narrow issue" of the constitutionality
of the state law and leaves open the chance for campaigners to re-craft their
legal weapons to push for democracy in Burma.
Since the Massachusetts legislature passed the Burma Selective Purchasing
Law in July1996, the legislation has swiftly taken on a historic life of its
own. Domestically, it helped bring Burma to the forefront of American public and
official debate as never before. At the international level, it attracted
broader global attention when the European Union joined forces with Japan in
lodging a complaint at the World Trade Organisation against its discriminatory
power.
The law stipulated that companies which do business with Burma must add a
10 per cent surcharge on procurement contracts with the Massachusetts state
government, a clause which virtually prohibited them from winning any state
contracts. The law, which was modelled after the anti-apartheid selective
purchasing laws adopted by 25 states and 164 local governments in the 1980s,
also covered any subsidiary of a foreign parent company which engaged with the
Burmese junta.
In filing a suit against the State of Massachusetts in April 1998, the
National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), which represents 550 manufacturing,
trading and financial companies, challenged the constitutionality of the law.
The Council argued that the law intruded on the exclusive power of the national
government to regulate foreign affairs. More than 30 NFTC members were affected
by the Burma Law.
Both a US district court and a federal court of appeals ruled in favour of
the companies, prompting the state attorney-general to appeal to the Supreme
Court in Washington DC. In passing its ruling on June 19, the Supreme Court said
the Burma Law and other similar ones adopted by local governments across the US
were pre-empted when US Congress passed its own sanctions against Burma in
September 1996. The Massachusetts Law, it said, also conflicted with the
Constitution, which gives the federal government supremacy in conducting foreign
policy.
The decision invalidates ordinances enacted by 22 other municipalities and
counties across the US, including Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, which
have adopted similar "selective purchasing" restrictions targeting Burma.
Predictably, the NFTC lauded the decision, calling it a "victory for the US
Constitution" and international free trade practice. The Burmese military regime
joined the bandwagon and thanked the Supreme Court for taking "the right
decision".
Free Burma advocates quickly pointed out that the Supreme Court ruled
against the Massachusetts Law on "pre-emption grounds" alone and announced a
campaign to introduce a new generation of Burma laws that will both comply with
the court's decision and retain their objective of preventing state and local
governments from associating with companies that do business with the ruling
Burmese generals.
According to Simon Billenness, a leading Burma campaigner, state and local
purchasing restrictions can be re-crafted so that they do not specify Burma but
affect, among others, firms that do business in the Southeast Asian country.
Byron Rushing, a member of the Massachusetts Legislature and the author of
the Burma Law, announced his intention to introduce new legislation.
"The Court's decision does leave room for state and local governments to
heed moral concerns in the way they do business in the global economy," he said
shortly after the court's ruling. "I want all advocates for human rights and
democracy, especially in Burma, to be assured that the campaign for human rights
and democracy is re-directed, not blocked."
Already Free Burma activists and local legislators across the US are
talking about new legal weapons that include such options as divestment of
stocks in companies that do business in Burma, disclosure of the nature of their
business in Burma, shareholder resolutions on corporate accountability, and a
petition to Congress to authorise selective purchasing restrictions or tougher
sanctions on Burma.
Although the NFTC has successfully killed the Massachusetts Burma Law, its
members and other transnational companies still face risk in other forms of
popular boycotts and sanctions if they continue to associate with the Rangoon
regime.
As Billenness explained, other grassroots measures - consumer boycotts,
demonstrations and lobbying for state and national political and economic
sanctions - will continue as long as Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and the National League for Democracy call for sanctions against the Burmese
junta.
"It depends whether companies consider doing business in Burma to be worth
running the gauntlet of the Free Burma movement. For most companies,
particularly those that have consumer businesses in North America and Europe,
the risks far outweigh any potential reward," said the senior research analyst
at Trillium Asset Management in Boston which prides itself on "socially
responsible" investment.
Although the Supreme Court's ruling played into the corporations' favour,
the whole legal saga has, in fact, given a rare chance to increase Free Burma
publicity and attention like never before. In the end, it is Burma campaigners
and Burmese democratic activists who have had the laugh last.
BBC - Friday, 7 July, 2000, 16:21 GMT
17:21 UK
Burma's diplomatic
offensive
By regional analyst Larry Jagan
Burma's military leaders have spent the past few weeks trying to improve relations with a number of their former friends. Foreign Minister Win Aung has visited Moscow and Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia; the military intelligence chief Lt General Khin Nyunt is winding up a trip to Pakistan; and army chief General Maung Aye has been entertaining the Indian army chief in Rangoon. The primary purpose of these visits seems to be
to improve commercial and military ties with countries that Rangoon used to
enjoy close cooperation with many years ago.
There is no doubt that Burma is anxious to find new friends.
The ruling junta has begun to realise that for the economy to develop Burma
must have wider contacts with the international community.
While western governments are threatening to exert more pressure on the Burma
regarding human rights and democratic change, Rangoon is directing its charm
offensive at countries which are themselves worried about US international
influence - namely Russia, Yugoslavia, India and Pakistan.
It is significant that Yugoslavia and Pakistan are also close to Beijing,
while Russia is trying to re-establish its influence in Asia and strengthen its
ties with China.
The China factor
But some members of the Burmese government are also concerned that Burma has
become too dependent on their northern neighbour China both economically and
militarily.
Burma has been looking for new sources of military hardware. Pakistan, Russia
and Yugoslavia have been supplying the Burmese army and training military
personnel.
From Pakistan the Burmese have been getting mortars, machine-guns and
ammunition; from Belgrade light arms and land-mines.
Burma is also developing important commercial ties, particularly with India
and Pakistan.
Signs of a split?
During Win Aung's visit to Moscow earlier this week the two countries set the
seal on an agreement to increase trade and economic cooperation.
Rangoon's latest diplomatic offensive is a clear sign that the Burmese
government wants to reduce its dependence on China.
Some analysts also say the latest flurry of visits indicates a growing split
within the ruling junta, with the intelligence chief Khin Nyunt and General
Maung Aye vying for international clout.
They say that General Maung Aye is reinforcing his position as heir-apparent
to General Than Shwe, who's health is reported to be deteriorating, while Khin
Nyunt, who developed the country's close with China, has been sidelined.
However, another view is that these contacts and visits only suggest Burma's
generals have each taken responsibility for various aspects of the country's
foreign relations.
The latest diplomatic manoeuvrings do not necessarily indicate a split within
the junta. BBC - Friday, 7 July,
2000, 10:30 GMT 11:30 UK The Indian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, has called on the leaders of the
countries around the rim of the Bay of Bengal to exploit the vast potential of
the region.
At a meeting in Delhi of the three-year-old association - known as BIMST-EC -
Sri Lanka, India, Bangaldesh, Burma and Thailand pledged to turn their fledgling
organisation into a powerful economic grouping.
Mr Singh emphasised that the countries formed a natural trading group with
ancient trading links.
He said that not so long ago, traders from these lands travelled on camel,
horseback or in boats to buy and sell goods from each other.
BIMST-EC has focused on building links in transport, communications, energy
and technology between the countries.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service |