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HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCMP - Diplomatic dancers circle Burmese drug
problem
Bernama - MYANMAR CLAIMS NO PROBLEM IN MEETING
"DRUG FREE" DEADLINE
The Times of India - Myanmar junta allows
resumption of higher education
The Straits Times - Asean foreign ministers move
to recover clout
The Dallas Morning News -
Myanmar lets universities reopen AFP - Asean expected to formally adopt, crisis
mediation "troika)
AFP - Poorer
ASEAN members clamour for funds to develop Mekong region
Channel NewsAsia - God's Army twins deny attack
on Thai hospital
M2 communnication - UN: ESCAP to offer intensive
management training to small- and medium-sized businesses in Myanmar
HealthAnswers - Thailand And Burma Pledge To Step Up
Cooperation On Drugs
The Straits Times - Asean foreign ministers move
to recover clout
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL
PROTEST AGAINST JAPANESE GOVERNMENT ON AUG 8.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South China Morning Post
Tuesday, July 25, 2000
ASEAN Diplomatic dancers circle Burmese drug
problem
WILLIAM BARNES Thailand's attempt to pressure Burma's military regime into cracking down on its drug-trafficking friends has become the Byzantine diplomatic dance of this week's Asean meeting. The Bangkok authorities scored a modest victory when they made sure that drug trafficking was high on the summit agenda and that of the follow-up security forum. Asean traditionally shuns issues that may involve meddling in members' internal affairs. The Thais have become increasingly concerned about what they describe as a
flood of amphetamines and other drugs pouring over the border from Burma's
northern Shan state.
Security officials on the Thai side of the border have become outspoken
over Rangoon's claims that it is physically in no position to stop well-armed
traffickers and increasingly frank in voicing their suspicions that Burmese army
officers take bribes from drug producers.
The Times of India - July 25,
2000.
Myanmar junta allows
resumption of higher education
YANGON: The ruling military allowed the full resumption of higher education Monday after nearly 3 1/2 years as nearly 60,000 university students entered classes. The country's hardline regime closed down colleges and universities in December 1996 following student demonstrations. Neither the closure nor the reopening of universities and colleges were officially announced. First, second and third year students in the arts and sciences began classes Monday, following about 20,000 fourth, and final, year students in these fields who started their courses June 27. Classes at institutions teaching medicine, computer science and engineering were reopened in stages, beginning in January 1999. Pro-democracy leaders and foreign human rights organizations have cited the closing of schools as one of many human rights abuses inflicted by the military on the population in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Students are allowed to register at educational institutions after signing a declaration that they will stay clear of political activities. Students who earlier studied at the Yangon Arts and Science University, a traditional hotbed of dissent, are not attending classes at the Yangon campus but at two suburban universities. "I am very excited to go to college but I'm very disappointed that I cannot study at Yangon University, where my elder sister and my parents got their degrees," said 21-year-old Win Win Nwe who passed her entrance examination in 1996. Yangon University and the Yangon Technical College, another seat of anti-government activity in the past, are almost empty with just small numbers of students attending postgraduate classes, special honors classes and the faculty of anthropology, which has very few students. It was not known how many 1996 high school graduates began or resumed their higher education Monday. Some had earlier enrolled in the University of Distance Education while smaller numbers are studying abroad. "I believe my patience finally paid off. Many of my friends (1996 high school graduates) who got tired of waiting for universities to reopen are now attending the University of Distance Education," said Khaing Win, a first year economics student. According to an education ministry official, graduates of high in 1997, 1998 and 1999 will attend universities four, eight and twelve months, respectively, from the present. Since the closures in 1996, about 400,000 high school graduates from 1996 to 1999 have been waiting their turns to begin university studies. (AP) Malaysian National News Agency
July 25 , 2000 15:19PM MYANMAR CLAIMS NO PROBLEM IN
MEETING "DRUG FREE" DEADLINE
BANGKOK, July 21 (Bernama-DPA) - The government of Myanmar (Burma), the
prime source of heroin and methamphetamines in Southeast Asia, foresees no
difficulty in turning its country into a "drug free" zone by the year 2015,
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung said on Tuesday.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on Monday to push
its deadline for turning their ten-country region into a "drug free zone" by the
year 2015, instead of the previous target of 2020.
ASEAN, which was holding its annual ministerial powwow in Bangkok on Monday
and Tuesday, comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
"Our drug eradication program can fit into the ASEAN program. Now we have a
comprehensive plan for total eradication of heroin," said Win Aung.
He claimed that the junta's eradication and crop substitution program had
already helped reduce Myanmar's opium cultivation area from 150,000 acres in
1998 to about 90,000 acres last year.
The minister, however, was less confident about efforts to eradicate
methamphetamine production, a relatively new drug menace to Southeast Asia.
According to Thai anti-narcotics authorities there are currently about 50
illegal laboratories making methamphetamines along the Thai-Myanmar border, most
of which are under the control of the Wa ethnic minority rebels with which
Yangon (Rangoon) has signed a cease fire agreement.
"Our country has a lot of places under the control of armed groups. We have
a cease-fire agreement with (the Wa) but those areas are still under their
control," said Win Aung.
That said, it was unclear how Myanmar could assure that Wa areas would be
drug-free by 2015.
"We are trying to encourage our people that these amphetamines are a menace
to mankind, and I think production in this business will also go down," said the
minister.
Thailand, which is currently flooded by Myanmar-made methamphetamines, has
been irked by Yangon's seeming reluctance to pressure the Wa to stop the illegal
activity.
"We never support them. We don't have any intention to make trouble for
Thai people," insisted Win Aung.
-- Bernama-DPA
The Dallas Morning News
Myanmar lets universities
reopen
07/25/2000 Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar – The military government allowed the full resumption of higher education Monday, more than three years after closing down colleges and universities to stop anti-government demonstrations. About 400,000 high school graduates had been waiting their turns to begin university studies since the closures in December 1996. Neither the closures nor the reopening was announced officially. Nearly 60,000 first-, second- and third-year students in the arts and sciences began classes Monday. They followed 20,000 fourth-year students in these fields who resumed courses June 27. Classes at institutions teaching medicine, computer science and engineering were reopened in stages beginning January 1999. Democracy leaders and foreign human-rights organizations have cited the closing of schools as one of many human rights abuses inflicted by the military on the population in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "Students have always been viewed as a threat to the military regime and are considered the most vocal group of opposition. Therefore, the military is sacrificing youth's future in order to prolong its tyrannical reign," the anti-government Campaign Committee for Open Schools said in a statement. Under the rules, students are allowed to register at educational institutions after signing a declaration that they will stay clear of political activities. Student unions and other student organizations have been banned. Colleges and universities in Myanmar have been open for only 30 months since 1988, the year the military brutally crushed a pro-democracy uprising, said the group, which is composed of dissident organizations in exile. But military institutes have remained open throughout this period, creating a "dangerous division" in the country, the statement said. Tuesday, July 25 1:28 PM SGT ASEAN expected to formally adopt crisis mediation "troika"BANGKOK, July 25 (AFP) - Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were expected Tuesday to formally adopt a crisis mediation "troika" to deal with regional troublespots. However, details of the proposal were still being thrashed out in closed meetings on the second and final day of the ministers' two-day annual meeting. "It has been approved -- not as a permanent entity, but as an ad hoc body," said Indonesian foreign minister Alwi Shihab. He said the ministers had agreed to give more latitude to the three-member board's chairman "to ask for the (ASEAN) members to convene any time needed, like a security council." But he said that consensus among the 10 ASEAN governments was still needed to form the troika. However, Thailand's Surin Pitsuwan said Monday that in emergencies, the body could be activated on the say-so of the chairman of the ASEAN standing committee. "He could take exploratory steps on certain issues, he would consult, he would communicate, he could activate the troika, he could ask for the convening on an emergency basis," he said. "This is to ensure that ASEAN will win the confidence of the international community, will be effective and relevant in changing the situation in our region." Thai foreign ministry spokesman Don Pramudhvinai clarified the issue, saying the ministers had given more power to the troika but that consensus could be called for in the case of a dispute. "The chairman can activate it, can explore the situation which has impetus on the region. If from this exploration the troika is convinced that it should be functional in severe situations the troika can activate itself," he said. "But if there are doubts in the minds of any troika member or there should be opinion voiced by other member countries, then the troika can call for an emergency meeting of the 10 members of ASEAN to see whether the troika should be applicable." Ministers thought there should be "greater mobility" for the troika to function, he said. Myanmar's foreign minister Win Aung said the finishing touches were still being put on the security mechanism. "The troika is no problem. It will come. We could not approve anything at the retreat (Monday) because it was informal ... we will discuss it now," he said as the ministers went into the pre-lunch session. However, the new initiative could be hamstrung by ASEAN's ban on any intervention in members' affairs. More conservative members among the group, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, have insisted the troika not challenge this long-held policy. However, that is counterbalanced by a push from more progressive members for reform within ASEAN to counter a perception that it is a dying institution with little relevance on the international diplomatic stage. Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said Tuesday the troika would "enhance engagement among ASEAN members" and help ASEAN become "more effective and efficient." It is hoped the troika will be an important measure in preventing a recurrence of last year's debacle in East Timor, where ASEAN was accused of standing by as the territory was ripped apart in the wake of a vote for independence. Australia stepped into the breach and rapidly pulled together a peace-keeping force, in a highly embarrassing episode for Indonesia's Southeast Asian neighbours. Tuesday, July 25 5:35 PM SGT Poorer ASEAN members clamour for funds to develop Mekong regionBANGKOK, July 25 (AFP) - ASEAN's comparatively poor new members are clamouring for a piece of the region's economic action and called Tuesday for funds to accelerate the Mekong Basin development. Foreign ministers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam have warned at the grouping's annual meeting here that ASEAN will not progress unless it bridges the economic gaps among its 10 members. The five Southeast Asian nations share the Mekong river with China's Yunan province. The region covers a total land area of 2.3 million square kilometres, with a combined population of nearly 240 million people. Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung said the development of the Mekong Basin has been hampered by the 1997 regional economic debacle but he urged the grouping to renew efforts to seek financing to open it up. "We need funds to implement the project," he told AFP. "We need to talk to Japan and other donor countries like the EU. We have agreed that something should be done. It is very important to close the gap with the less-developed countries within ASEAN." A senior ASEAN official said Vietnam which became a member in 1995, Cambodia and Laos in 1997 and Myanmar last year, were growing impatient with the slow pace of development in the Mekong area. "They feel that they have been given big promises when they joined ASEAN but little is being done," the official said. An ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC) committee was set up in 1996, but became dormant when the economic crisis struck. Pradap Pibulsonggram, ASEAN director-general in Thailand's foreign ministry, said the AMBDC had been reactivated and had held its second meeting in Hanoi last month. "There is now renewed determination among ASEAN members to speed up development in the area. We have a better chance to move it forward now that the region has rebounded," he told AFP. The committee is expected to gather again in Bangkok in October next year to revive talks on a proposal to construct a railway line from Singapore to Kunming, he said. There are also plans to invite representatives from China, Japan and Korea to attend the meeting as part of efforts to build up interest and attract more funds, he added. Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai on Monday said the development of the Mekong sub-region was vital to ASEAN's growth. "There is a compelling need to expedite infrastructure development and the capacity-building program so as to ensure the region's economic integration," Chuan told the ASEAN foreign ministers. "Only by closing the gap between old and new members will ASEAN be able to move ahead with the speed and direction expected of it." Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called Monday for a Mekong Basin Development Fund to be set up and said the project needed support from ASEAN's dialogue partners, particularly Japan. He also urged the grouping to allocate funds to conduct feasibility studies on possible projects in the area. "The process of regional integration will not succeed unless there is a balance of development within ASEAN ... It is essential to set up strategies and programs to eliminate or substantially reduce such a disparity within ASEAN as soon as possible," he said. He was backed by his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Dy Nien, who sought a "higher priority" in ASEAN for projects in the Mekong area. "ASEAN could hardly become a powerful economic entity if the development gap among its member countries keeps widening," Nguyen warned. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says the Mekong region has vast potential in terms of natural resources and a large labour pool, but cites environment, income gap, infrastructure development and human resources as key obstacles to growth. It projects gross domestic product in the Mekong to surge to 863 billion dollars in 2010, up from 238 billion dollars in 1996. The ADB, which formed an economic cooperation body in 1992 to promote growth in the area, estimates nearly 10 billion dollars is needed to develop its transport and energy sectors alone. Channel NewsAsia Wednesday, July 26 12:05 AM SGT God's Army twins deny attack on Thai hospitalIn a rare interview in a hideout on the Thai-Myanmar border, the 12-year-old twin leaders of the God's Army rebel group have denied responsibility for the attack on a Thai hospital earlier this year. That incident left all 10 hostage takers dead. Since then, the twins have been chased by both Thai troops and Myanmar government forces. They are the sons of a farmer live in a strange world of their own inhabited by magical characters. Luther and Johnny Htoo are just 12 but many villagers in the border area believe they have possessed supernatural wisdom since an early age. The villagers also say the twins are reincarnations of ancient heroes of their ethnic Karen community, which has been at war with the people of Myanmar for centuries. But the reality for the twins is less magical. They have been accused of masterminding the siege of a Thai hospital in January, a charge they deny. The twins say their enemy was the military government in Yangon and its soldiers who had killed and raped the Karen people. They blame a mysterious other group. "We didn't give an order to attack the hospital. We were attacked by Burmese who came from behind and the Thai army who came from the front. We had to run deeper into the jungle. I knew that they may do something to stop the fighting but I didn't know what. It was already done, we couldn't do anything," said Luther. The twins spend much of their time smoking and being carried around by devoted followers who are usually much older. They have had no formal education but claim to be in charge of 400,000 invisible soldiers. But political analysts, however, say God's Army probably has no more than 200 devoted fighters. UN: ESCAP to offer intensive management
training to small- and medium-sized businesses in Myanmar
JUL 24, 2000, M2 Communications - BANGKOK -- Improving the knowledge and skills of small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Myanmar so that they can more effectively participate in the global economy will be the focus of a management training course to be offered by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), from 24 to 29 July 2000 in Yangon, Myanmar. The six-day training course is designed to enhance business skills of
small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs by focusing on international business and
general management issues, and development of specific sectors, including
agricultural products, handicrafts, and tourism. The aim is to increase
managers` capacity in marketing, finance, international trade, strategic
management, quality control, and production technology, among others areas. An
international consortium of business schools and business practitioners will
offer the course.
Approximately 120 participants are expected to attend.
According to ESCAP, one of the main constraints to the development of the
business sector in Myanmar is the availability of adequately trained human
resources: managers, financial experts, technical experts, marketing experts,
etc. Through strengthening the human resource base, the Myanmar business sector
itself can play a more effective role both in expanding the Myanmar economy and
in positioning itself for the global marketplace in the twenty-first century.
The ESCAP Management Training Course in Myanmar will serve as a pilot
project for a broader human resources development project under ESCAP`s
programme for private sector development for Greater Mekong subregion countries
through human resource development, institutional capacity building, trade
facilitation and investment.
The course is being offered with financial assistance from the Government
of Japan, and in collaboration with the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Institute
of Economics, Myanmar, and the Mahidol University, Thailand. The training course
will be held at the International Business Centre, Yangon.
Monday, July 24 2:03 PM SGT
------------------------------------Thailand And Burma Pledge To Step Up Cooperation On DrugsTHAILAND, Jul 24 (HealthAnswers) - Thailand and Burma pledge to increase cooperation against drug-trafficking yesterday as Asean foreign ministers get set to meet annually today.This issue is high on the agenda in talks between Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and his Burmese counterpart Win Aung. Surin told The Bangkok Post that the two sides will activate all existing mechanisms to end drug trafficking and other cross-border problems and to accelerate exchanges. "From now on there will be quicker movement to resolve existing common problems between our countries," he said. Thai-Burmese relations have been strained since Burmese dissidents stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok last October, and raided a hospital in Ratchburi last January. In a separate report, Thailand and China may enter into talks with the United Wa State Army in the Golden Triangle area to control drug smuggling without the participation of Rangoon, The Bangkok Post reports. There is a possibility that Wa leaders might hold policy talks with the Thais after they had approached Beijing. Apparently Beijing is shocked by the lack of a sense of urgency and the lack of cooperation from Rangoon. Southern China has been hit as hard as Thailand by the massive drug movements, and the crime and drug addiction problems it entails. Beijing has been caught by surprise, having had to execute hundreds of drug dealers in recent years. Diplomatic sources said that when China offered "significant" aid to fund crop substitution schemes in northern Burma, the military dictatorship reportedly accepted the aid without a guarantee in the output of heroin or opium. Apparently, said a foreign source, Beijing wanted to keep this deal quiet, but that military junta refused to cooperate. The Straits Times - July 25,
2000.
Asean foreign ministers move to recover clout The 10-member states agree to take various measures to enhance their
collective profile and to step up cooperation with key partners
By LEE KIM CHEW
IN BANGKOK ASEAN Foreign Ministers yesterday agreed to take urgent steps to shape up
the regional grouping and make it more effective so that it can recover the
clout it had lost since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, who chaired the ministerial meeting
here, told reporters that the Asean countries would take various measures to
enhance their collective profile and step up cooperation with key dialogue
partners.
Within Asean, the 10 member-states would establish a ""full-circle
hotline'' to increase their contacts with each other.
The ministers would meet more regularly to find ways to resolve their
problems. ""Communication among Asean countries will be increased and be more
intense,'' he added.
Dr Surin said the proposed Asean troika, an ad hoc body that will be set up
to deal with emergencies in South-east Asia, would be given ""latitude and
room'' so that it could be more creative in seeking solutions to pressing
problems.
With all these measures, he said, Asean would regain the confidence of the
international community.
These steps would enhance Asean's image and make it more effective and
relevant to changes in the region, he added.
The ministers also supported Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's proposal
that the member countries organise a trade fair every three years to showcase
their products to the rest of the world and attract more investments to the
region.
To accelerate economic development in the newer Asean states, they agreed
to increase the involvement of the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank in
the Mekong River Basin projects, and there will be more coordination among Asean
countries.
The ministers agreed to move forward the deadline to make Asean a drug-free
region by 2015 instead of 2020.
Dr Surin, who was speaking on behalf of the other Asean ministers, said
they had a ""splendid'' discussion.
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INTERNATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST JAPANESE GOVERNMENT ON AUG 8. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) Burmese Association in Japan Burma Youth Volunteer Association - Japan Burmese Women Union - Japan Branch Students' Organisation for Liberation of
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 on Aug 8.) |