Burma Related News - July 23, 2000.

Sunday July 23 3:18 AM ET
Southeast Asian Ministers Gather for Security Talk

By Patrick Chalmers

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian states began arriving in the Thai capital on Sunday for talks on everything from Indonesia's ethnic conflicts to cross-border trafficking in drugs and people.

Ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also due to grapple with a plan to speed the bloc's response to the array of security, economic and social problems that plague its diverse membership.

The two-day meeting from Monday precedes ASEAN talks through to July 29 with China, Japan and South Korea and wider bilaterals and regional security discussions bringing in the United States, Russia and the European Union among others.

North Korea will join the fray for the first time as a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, meaning the consultative security grouping will represent 37 countries.

Ahead of Monday's meeting, ASEAN officials took a tentative step toward protecting citizens' rights with their first look at plans for a regional human rights commission.

The proposal is for a body with powers to probe rights violations in signatory states, either on its own initiative or at the request of other signatories or recognized rights groups.

``If we have this ASEAN human rights mechanism set up, at least (people) can come and complain to us or talk to us and we can do something about it,'' said Praphan Hutasingh, chairman of the Thai working group for ASEAN human rights.

ASEAN includes Indonesia, home to a series of murderous religious and ethnic conflicts, and Myanmar, where the military government is accused of using citizens as forced labourers and abusing the rights of its political opponents.

Other members, who comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, also have issues which could come under the commission's scrutiny.

Rapid Progress Not On The Agenda

Faced with such problems, few predicted rapid progress toward a pan-ASEAN rights commission.

Over the weekend, officials concluded preparations for a meeting set to tackle globalisation issues and the effects of the region's wrenching economic crisis of recent years.

``The (foreign) ministers will devote a lot of their time to discuss the security implications of globalisation,'' said Nitya Pibulsonggram, the Thai Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary and chair of the preparatory sessions.

He said ministers would also address crime, health and environmental issues such as the smog from Indonesian forest fires that has wreathed parts of the region in the last week.

Despite ASEAN's array of problems, Thailand's proposal for a ``troika'' of decision makers to speed the bloc's often sluggish response to crises seemed to have been watered down during preparatory meetings.

The model is inspired by the European Union's practice of having the current EU president head a three-way, decision-making group to lead the way on ad hoc issues.

Nitya told reporters on Saturday any ``troika,'' comprising the immediate past and future ASEAN chairs along with the current one, would require the bloc's consensus before making any move.

That would seem to rule out any rapid reaction capability.

Southeast Asians nations have traditionally maintained a policy of non-interference in each others' affairs.

WIRE:07/22/2000 10:03:00 ET
UPDATE 1-ASEAN takes small step towards rights body

BANGKOK, July 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian Nations took a tentative step towards protecting citizens" rights on Saturday, with foreign ministry officials taking a first look at plans for a regional human rights commission. Foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss the plans during a two-day meeting starting in Bangkok on Monday, officials said. Ministers will also tackle security issues ranging from Indonesia"s bloody ethnic conflicts to Indochina"s cross-border trafficking in drugs and people. The human rights proposal, seen by Reuters, would create a commission with powers to probe rights violations in signatory countries, either on its own initiative or at the request of other signatories or recognised human rights groups. "If we have this ASEAN human rights mechanism set up, at least (people) can come and complain to us or talk to us and we can do something about it," said Praphan Hutasingh, chairman of the Thai working group for ASEAN human rights. ASEAN includes Indonesia, home to a series of murderous religious and ethnic conflicts, and Myanmar, where the military government is accused of using citizens as forced labourers. Other members, who comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, also have problems which could come under the commission"s scrutiny. RAPID PROGRESS UNLIKELY Faced with such problems, few at Saturday"s meeting predicted rapid progress towards a pan-ASEAN commission. "Do not expect something in a year nor even in two years, the important thing is we have made a positive step forward," UN human rights rapporteur Dato" Param Cumaraswamy told reporters after the meeting with officials. Elsewhere, preparations concluded for a meeting intended to tackle globalisation issues and particularly the effects of the region"s wrenching economic crisis of the past few years. "The (foreign) ministers will devote a lot of their time to discuss the security implications of globalisation," said Nitya Pibulsonggram, the Thai Foreign Ministry"s permanent secretary and chair of the preparatory sessions. Ministers are expected to call for a peaceful resolution of the religious slaughter in Indonesia"s spice islands, where thousands are said to have died. Bangkok"s Nation newspaper said senior officials preparing the meeting would urge foreign ministers to consider a statement supporting Indonesian territorial integrity and a peaceful end to the other conflicts convulsing the country. Nitya said ministers would also look at regional crime, health and environment issues. Plumes of smoke from forest fires on Indonesia"s island of Sumatra have wreathed parts of Malaysia and Thailand in smog for the last few days, prompting fears of a re-run of the widespread health problems and disruption to tourism caused in 1997. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sulaiman Adbul Manan said his country would support ASEAN talks on the smog problem. Despite the region"s array of problems, Thailand"s proposal for a so-called "troika" model to speed the bloc"s often sluggish response to crises seemed to have been watered down during preparatory meetings. The model is inspired by the European Union"s practice of having the current EU president head a three-way, decision-making group to lead the way on ad hoc issues. Nitya told reporters on Saturday any "troika," comprising the immediate past and future ASEAN chairs along with the current one, would require the bloc"s consensus before making any move. That would seem to rule out any rapid reaction capability. Southeast Asians nations have traditionally maintained a policy of non-interference in each others" affairs.

Bangkok Post - July 23, 2000.
Forum urged to address Burma issues
Non-interference seen as impediment

Saritdet Marukatat

Drug problems in Burma should be discussed at the Asean Regional Forum which is trying to set a new direction by focusing on security issues affecting citizens, a Singaporean analyst said yesterday.

Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Asean's non-interference principle impeded the 23-member forum from addressing sensitive and controversial issues, such as violations of human rights and democracy in Burma.

He said the illicit narcotics trade from Burma was having an increasingly adverse impact on regional states.

Like the illegal cross border movements of people, it was neither an internal problem nor a conflict between states but a trans-boundary concern.

The ARF should take up all three issues as it looks for a new direction, he told a regional conference organised by the Asean-ISIS and the Institute of Security and International Studies in Thailand.

Talks on drug trafficking issues "might be brought between Burma and the affected border states, with China and Asean as interested and potentially helpful countries," he said.

Twenty-three ministers of the ARF will meet on Thursday to discuss human-related aspects of security.

Analysts showed frustration at the slow evolution of the forum, which was set up six years ago, but was still talking about building confidence among participants. Several analysts blamed it on the non-interference policy of the Asean.

Tha Ngoc Ha, an analyst at the Institute of International Relations in Vietnam, cautioned against a quicker pace for the forum, saying it remained at an early stage of confidence and trust-building among members.

Bangkok Post - July 23, 2000.
CRIME - Burma three nabbed after sea gunfight
Sailors deny police charges of piracy

Three Burmese were arrested yesterday morning on board an unidentified vessel off the Ranong coast, following an exchange of gunfire with Thai authorities.

Border patrol police said the suspects surrendered after a brief exchange of gunfire while the occupants of another vessel fled into Burmese waters.

Thai officers encountered the two vessels during a morning patrol close to Koh Sinhai. When they asked for a search, the crew members resisted and opened fire, officers said.

The police returned fire and shooting ensued for 20 minutes. Two of the suspects were wounded.

The trio, two of whom were soldiers, are being held at 415th Border Patrol Police division for questioning. A number of firearms were also seized.

The suspects denied police charges of extorting money from Thai fishing trawlers, and claimed they had entered Thai waters to pick up a passenger.

Police earlier received complaints that suspected pirates were preying on Thai fishing trawlers northwest of Koh Sinhai and west of Koh Lam.

The Washington Times

July 23, 2000

Forgotten war, forgotten country

Doug Bandow

     From a distance the jungle looks peaceful. Dense, green plant growth covers hills that march endlessly onward. Primitive villages emerge in simple clearings: wood and bamboo buildings, covered by thatched roofs, sitting on stilts, and open to rain, animals and mosquitoes.
     War is everywhere. Two million ethnic minorities have been displaced by 50 years of conflict: 243 of them lived in Law Thi Hta, located just across the Moi River from Mae Sot, Thailand.
     Underrepresented in ethnic Karen villages are young males. Many of them are serving in the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).
     War consumes their lives. One 22-year-old told me he had been fighting "for many years," perhaps 10. But Gen. Bo Mya, who also serves as vice president of the Karen National Union (KNU), joined the Karen revolution when it started in 1949. Gen. Saw Htey Maung, the 70-year-old commander of the 7th Brigade, described how he started with the Karen Rifles, then part of the British Army, in 1946.
     Gen. Ne Win seized power in Burma, now officially Myanmar, in 1962. Mass democracy protests in 1988 were crushed with martial law backed by bullets. The ruling junta foolishly called elections two years later, which were won by the National League for Democracy, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. The self-styled State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) annulled the election, put Suu Kyi under house arrest, and arrested many of her followers.
     Although international attention has focused on Suu Kyi, the more serious threat to the ruling junta comes from the Karen and other ethnic groups, which have been fighting for autonomy since Burma won independence. During the last decade several of them have come to terms with Rangoon. In areas like that populated by the Shan, the government seems to have traded acquiescence in a booming narcotics trade for a cease-fire. But the Karen, who are resolutely anti-drug, and several other ethnic groups fight on.
     In response, the SPDC has expanded its military to some 400,000. Conscripts are simply dragged off the streets. Two years ago 13-year-old Yei Shweh took a bus to Rangoon to see the big city: He was arrested by the army when he arrived. Pay is irregular, training sparse and morale low. Yei Schweh, who has defected to the KNLA, says the military "never told us why we were fighting." In fact, he says, most Burmese soldiers favor the democracy movement, but brutality and fear keep them in the ranks.
     Rangoon maintains numerous bases in eastern Burma and periodically strikes at villages suspected of harboring rebels. SPDC forces impress civilians, women as well as men, as porters for months at a time. Hungry soldiers take villagers' crops and livestock. Refugees also report frequent beatings, rapes, and murder, stories confirmed by Yei Shweh and other defectors.
     As a result, the Karen fight desperately. One 38-year-old guerrilla, whose long brown hair made him look more like a Bohemian resident of Greenwich Village than a dedicated defender of Burmese villages, figures he has killed some 200 SPDC soldiers.
     The battle remains sadly uneven, however. The KNLA fields 4,000 to 5,000 ill-equipped guerrillas. The troops I met tended to run from teens to 30s. They mix fatigues and boots with ethnic Karen wraparound skirts, flip-flops, and American-language shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps. Soldiers carry a motley assemblage of arms, ranging from antiquated M1 carbines to captured Ma rifles to AK-47s to home-made teak landmines.
     The KNLA usually inflict far more casualties than they suffer —they claim a 20-to-1 kill ratio. But they can rarely stop a determined SPDC offensive. The Karen lost their capital of Manerplaw ("victory field") four years ago and are increasingly pressed against the Thai border.
     The dry season is known as the "killing season" because steep jungle trails dry out and rushing streams run low. Military action typically ends midyear, but SPDC troops arrived at Law Thi Hta before the rain. Just six weeks after my visit earlier this year, Burmese forces advanced, burning the village, including a small hospital constructed by Christian Freedom International (CFI), a relief group based in Front Royal, Va. A second clinic to the north, along with an entire refugee camp housing 4,000 people, also was destroyed. "This happens every year," observes CFI head Jim Jacobson, but this is one of the worst years."
     Gen. Htey offers a positive spin: Since the Karen rely on "guerrilla tactics, hit-and-run," it looks "to the outside world that we are losing. But every month we can see that the casualties of the SPDC are more than before."
     In fact, the Burmese government's victories are usually costly and often temporary. The SPDC cannot garrison the rugged and isolated jungles. But it doesn't have to. All it has to do is terrorize and displace the Karen. As Gen. Htey acknowledges, "the SPDC try to fight the grass roots, our backbone, the villages," so the people "don't have the morale to support us with food or anything else."
     The plight of the Karen is only likely to worsen. Thailand recently announced that with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees it hopes to move 100,000 refugees back into Burma within three years. Khachadpai Burusapatana, secretary general of the Thai National Security Council, claims "the current situation in Myanmar is favorable for repatriation."
     Yet fighting continues to rage. Karen National Union (KNU) President Saw Ba Thin says "only a political settlement can make peace last." Karen representatives have met with the central government several times, most recently in 1996. But "on all of these occasions it told the KNU to lay down its arms instead of trying to reach an understanding through political discussion."
     Earlier this year Rangoon rejected an offer from the KNU to negotiate at neutral location outside of Burma transmitted by Jim Jacobson to Tin Winn, Burma's ambassador to the U.S. Mr. Winn suggested instead the KNU send representatives to Rangoon. But there is no evidence the SPDC is prepared to end its murderous depredations, let alone offer the autonomy for which the Karen have been fighting for a half-century.
     Which leaves Suu Kyi and the Karen alike hoping for outside support. In a video smuggled out of Burma earlier this year, Suu Kyi called for greater international. Gen. Htey says "If we had a chance we would request that the American people help us to get our freedom state."
     But what can be done about a repressive and isolated regime like the SPDC? It is supported by China, which covets naval access to Burma's long coastline and began arming and financing Rangoon in 1990. U.S. and European Union sanctions inconvenience the SPDC, but have not shaken its hold on power. Unfortunately, though, warns Robert Manning of the Council on Foreign Relations, as a result of sanctions Rangoon "has drifted toward Beijing." Economic restrictions also impoverish those who languish under SPDC jackboots.
     KNU President Saw Ba Thin says "we'd like to see the U.S. government increase pressure like trade sanctions and diplomatic sanctions, and other pressures." But most countries believe sanctions have failed and are moving in the opposite direction. At meetings in Seoul earlier this year Asian, European and U.S. officials met to consider new approaches to Burma.
     Some Karen pine for Western military intervention. Last year a top KNU official told Rich Miniter, a journalist colleague of mine: "Do like you did in Kosovo." Saw Ba Thin concurs: "If the American government could do it, it would be helpful." Similarly, Gen. Htey says "You are from the U.S. You can come and help us." However, America's interest in the Karen's struggle is humanitarian, not strategic, and does not justify risking U.S. lives.
     A better alternative to current policy is probably a mix of diplomatic pressure, which can most effectively be applied by Japan, India and the ASEAN states, and economic engagement, primarily by private individuals and organizations. Over time, broader contact with the West might strengthen internal democratic forces. But this will be an uncertain and long-term process at best.
     The West's most important role may be to help the Karen and other ethnic peoples cope with the SPDC's brutality. That largely means private assistance, such as that provided by CFI, since neither the U.N. nor Western governments will work in Burma against Rangoon's express wishes.
     Scores of wars dot the globe. Occasionally one captures newspaper headlines — Kosovo last year, for instance. Most languish in obscurity, like Burma.
     "Remember the Karen people. Don't abandon us like the British did," Saw Ba Thin pleads. But most of the world doesn't know enough about the Karen to abandon them. The Karen's only hope seems to lie in groups like CFI, which are helping oppressed peoples survive until the so far illusive political solution is found.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Reagan. This column was adapted from a recent article in the American Spectator..

The Nation - July 23, 2000.
Asean rights commission mulled
BY YINDEE LERTCHAROENCHOK

AN Asean human rights commission is likely to be created, but it will take time, the Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary said yesterday.

Nitya Pibulsonggram said he does not "envisage the establishment [of a human rights commission] at any time in the near future", even though some Asean members have already made progress toward the goal by setting up national human rights bodies.

Nitya had earlier chaired a meeting with senior Asean officials and representatives of a regional working group on human rights. At the meeting, the working group submitted a draft agreement on the establishment of an Asean human rights commission.

Several Asean officials said the proposed agreement will not be discussed at the ministerial meeting, adding that Asean countries need time to study it in detail and hold more talks with the proponents of the draft.

The draft document came as a surprise to several Asean members, especially those tending to view human rights concerns as an excuse for the West to interfere in their domestic affairs.

Asean countries had earlier stated that the establishment of a national human rights commission in each Asean country would be a prerequisite to the creation of a regional one.

Nitya said the Asean grouping has since 1993 expressed its political will to form a regional human rights commission. But the creation of national human rights bodies, he said, is "an internal matter" of the member countries that depends on their "level of comfort" and "readiness".

So far only Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia have national human rights bodies in place, while Thailand is in the process of creating one. The remaining countries in the 10-member grouping are either opposed to the idea or have not made it a priority.

There is some concern that Asean will not be able to reach a consensus on the draft agreement, as some Asean members may ultimately oppose the idea of creating a regional human rights mechanism.

"There is the potential for delay" if countries like Burma, which has been the target of intense international criticism for widespread human rights abuses, are opposed to the document, said Wigberto Tanada, a member of the working group.

But Somchai Homla-or, secretary-general of Forum Asia and also a working group member, said his group has suggested that Asean's 'x minus y' formula be applied to the draft document. Under the formula, signing and ratification by only three Asean members would enable the agreement to go into effect. Other countries could sign on to the agreement at a later date.

Asean has applied the formula with several of its documents, including the Asean Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. Somchai said the working group will raise the issue when they meet this afternoon with Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, the host of the Asean Ministerial Meeting.

During the talks yesterday, the human rights advocates urged Asean foreign ministers to mention the draft agreement in the Asean joint communiqué which will be issued after the ministerial meeting.

Asahi Evening News
July 23, 2000

Quality new goal of ODA strategy
Japan grapples with the dilemma of how it should help indebted nations in the future.

Figuring out how to deal with poor countries' debts gives Japan, the world's largest provider of official development assistance (ODA), an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership at the G-8 Okinawa summit that concludes today.

Japan has been a generous benefactor to cash-strapped nations. In 1998, it extended $10.68 billion (1.17 trillion yen) in ODA to more than 150 countries. In comparison, the United States doled out $8.13 billion in assistance and $5.89 billion came from France.

Japan's bilateral ODA claims to the 40 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) account for 44 percent of the total claims held by the other Group of Seven industrialized countries for loans extended to HIPCs. France is second with a 25 percent share of total G-7 claims, followed by 15 percent from Germany and 11 percent by the United States.

Japan holds such a huge amount of claims because a large part of its ODA is in the form of government loans, instead of grants, which do not carry repayment obligations. Japan's government loans account for more than 50 percent of its outstanding ODA debt for fiscal 1998.

Japan's ODA has long been under international fire for providing only financial support. Its ODA policy was also blamed for being a convenient tool to bring profits to major Japanese contractors that carry out ODA projects overseas.

The sluggish economy and the massive government deficit, however, forced Tokyo to adjust its policy to focus more on quality, rather than fiscal volume, of its overseas assistance.

The latest five-year ``medium-term'' ODA policy statement, released last August, said Japan should help recipient countries more in areas such as medical care, basic education services and vocational training rather than improving a nation's infrastructure.

The policy paper also referred to cooperating with non-governmental organizations operating in those selected fields.

The policy statement also suggested that ODA should be a collaborative effort with Japan's diplomacy and other significant policies, indirectly indicating that Japan's ODA should be redirected to aid national interests.

In October 1998, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa announced the government's commitment to help Asian economies that were hit by the 1997 currency crisis. Under the New Miyazawa Initiative, the government set up a $15 billion fund for short-term loans and a $30 billion fund for mid- and long-term loans to rescue the Asian countries.

Of the $8.60 billion bilateral ODA that Japan provided in 1998, $5.37 billion, or 62.4 percent, went to Asian countries, up from 46.5 percent in 1997, according to the Foreign Ministry.

A total of $950 million, or 11 percent of bilateral ODA, went to African countries that year, 6.4 percent was allocated to Latin America and 4.6 percent to the Middle East.

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INTERNATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST JAPANESE GOVERNMENT ON AUG 8.

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We call on the international community to Condemn Japan for Its Burma Policy this August 8 and to hold protests in front of Japanese embassies throughout the world for the following reasons:

Defying international objections, the Japanese government is overtly trying to resume help to Burma’s ruling military junta. Time and again in her speeches, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has pleaded with the Japanese government to help restore democracy in Burma. She has repeatedly asked Japan to pressure the military to sit down at the negotiation table with the National League for Democracy, the party that overwhelmingly won the 1990 general elections. Japan has turned a deaf ear to Burma’s champion of democracy and instead has helped prolong the rule of the State Peace and Development Council, the illegal military government.

Though it promptly cut off official development aid (ODA) to Burma following the brutal military crackdown on democracy protesters on August 8, 1988 (known as 8888) and in the weeks following, Japan now plans to provide so-called humanitarian aid worth US$10 million to Burma each year, according to a June 10 Asahi Shinbun report. This is clear evidence that Japan is supporting the junta.

The military government of Burma is among the world's worst drug offenders. It gives safe haven to drug kingpins like Khun Sa and is one of the main sources opium, the raw material for deadly drugs such as heroin. Yet while other countries are taking drastic action against the junta, Japan is helping the narco-dictators through the back door by giving money ostensibly to cultivate buckwheat. Japan cannot verify that this money will go to crop substitution, Japan’s action may merely pour fuel on the fire.

For the upcoming G-8 summit in Okinawa July 21-23, Japan is publicly advocating the preservation of rainforests, yet at the same time it is helping the Electric Power Corporation of Japan to dam the Salween River in Burma, a project that will submerge vast tracts of rainforest and displace ethnic minority communities. Thus Japan shows one face for its fellow industrialized nations and a very different one to developing nations like Burma.

The International Labor Organizaton recently condemned the junta for using forced labor and warned it to stop its human rights abuses or face worldwide punishment by year-end. Japan’s reaction was to shamelessly criticise the ILO for its decision and admonition. While we understand Japan's fear of pointing a finger at a nation which uses forced labor in light of its widespread use of the practice during the World War II (including in Burma), Japan’s request that a compromise should be found between the ILO and Burma amounts to aiding the unlawful activities of Burma’s junta.

Japan, which is trying very hard to become a member of the UN Security Council, is arresting democracy activists seeking refugee in Japan and sending them back to Burma, where they face persecution. Japan refuses to accept as refugees even those so recognised by the UNHCR. How can a Japan, which cannot even give refuge to a few "persons of concern" within its own borders, be trusted to provide security to the rest of the world?

During a junta-sponsored concert on May 24, 1999, in Tokyo, two Burmese democracy activists were beaten by agroup of the military junta’s people. There is evidence enough of photographs, videotapes, and eyewitness. It has recently come to light, however, that the prosecutor conceded that the case cannot be tried due to insufficient evidence. We think the real reason is pressure from the Japanese government. The outcome in this case, where a court is not allowed to punish the wrongdoers, is an insult not only to the actual victims but also to human rights and last but not least to all Burmese democracy activists. It shows that administration of justice in Japan has a long way to go.

Keeping its own economic gains in mind, Japan invited junta Brigadier General Kyaw Win to Japan at January 1999. More recently, Japan invited hated junta leader Khin Nyunt, who is responsible for the killings of democracy activists during 8888, to attend Prime Minister Obuchi’s funeral last month. It has used such occasions to help legalise the ruling junta which has not transferred governmental powers to the elected parliamentarians of the 1990 elections.

For all of the above reasons, and because Japan historically has been more responsive to outside pressure, we call on our friends around the world to take a stand against Japan's policy toward Burma.

(Send your protest letter to Japanese Government and Japanese Bussiness Companies before August 8. Stage demonstration in front of Japanese Embassies around the world.)