|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar regime not ready to relax
oppression: leaked Australian memo
The Age - PM warned on
Burma
The Age - Human rights plan in Burma under
fire
Asiagateway -
Myanmar Re-opens Universities in Sham to Foil Critics
The Nation - Stiff sentence for
Thai
The Nation - Bigger fund to defend Asean
currencies
SCMP -
Axe falls on outspoken minister
The Straits Times - Myanmar minister sacked for criticism
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bakatha - The Red Cross holding police baton in
Burma.
AAPP - Detention without
trial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, August 24 3:58 PM SGT
Myanmar regime not ready to relax oppression: leaked
Australian memo
SYDNEY, Aug 24 (AFP) - Continued engagement with the military regime in
Yangon would do little to improve human rights in Myanmar, Australia's
ambassador to the country told Canberra in a leaked memo, a report said
Thursday.
Despite Trevor Wilson's advice, the Melbourne Age said Australia would go
ahead with plans to conduct the second of three human rights workshops in Yangon
next month with 75 members of the Myanmar bureaucracy, hand-picked by the ruling
junta.
Wilson's confidential memo said in part that "there are clearly no grounds
for optimism" that Myanmar would ease its oppression of dissidents.
The cable, dated July 21, was sent to Prime Minister John Howard and
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, four days after the first Australian-led
human rights seminar.
"The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) shows no sign of being
interested in relinquishing power," the cable said.
"There are clearly no grounds for optimism in the SPDC's unchanging
approach to opponents of the regime.
"Rather, all the indicators point to the regime being determined to remain
in power at all cost, allowing only marginal reforms in the economy and
society."
Myanmar's leading dissident and democratically-elected leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi, had previously criticised Australia's contacts with the junta, saying last
year that it could be interpreted as de-facto recognition of the regime's
legitimacy.
Australia's Labor opposition party said Wilson's assessment destroyed the
basis of the Howard government's policy towards Myanmar.
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said the ambassador's
"political assessment demolishes the credibility of the Howard government's
engagement with Burma's military regime".
"In the absence of any movement to restore democratic processes, the human
rights training course is a deeply misguided initiative likely to only be
welcomed by the regime as an act of appeasement."
He added that the junta responsible for the "torture, rape and murder" of
its opponents was "odious".
"We're the only country in the world cosying up to these people," Brereton
said. "It's only giving legitimacy to this odious regime."
Downer though said government policies had helped persuade Yangon to
establish an independent human rights commission.
"There can be no argument about the extent of human rights abuses in
Burma," he said.
"Our approach to Burma arose from the repeated failure of other approaches
to improve the political and human rights situation there.
"Furthermore, Australia's ambassador to Burma does not oppose the
government's attempts to improve human rights in Burma," he said.
The military junta changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989
although many nations refuse to recognise the change.
The Age
PM warned on
Burma
EXCLUSIVE By PAUL DALEY
FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT CANBERRA Thursday 24 August 2000 The Howard Government has received top-level diplomatic advice questioning the value of direct engagement with the oppressive military regime in Burma. But the advice has failed to deter the government from pressing ahead with
another controversial human rights seminar for Burmese Government officials next
month.
A confidential cable from Australia's ambassador to Burma, obtained by The
Age, warns "there are clearly no grounds for optimism" that the military
leadership will moderate its approach to dissidents.
The cable from ambassador Trevor Wilson, dated July 21, came four days
after Australia conducted the first of three planned human rights workshops in
Rangoon with 75 members of the Burmese bureaucracy, all of them hand-picked by
the country's military.
The cable, sent to Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer, indicates that despite the government's guarded optimism that
engagement with Burma could advance human rights, objective diplomatic
assessments are far more pessimistic.
"The State Peace and Development Council shows no sign of being interested
in relinquishing power," the cable says. "There are clearly no grounds for
optimism in the SPDC's unchanging approach to opponents of the regime. Nor do
observers in Rangoon detect any signs that the regime is willing to bend in the
direction of political dialogue or any hints that meaningful movement towards
transition to a freely elected government is contemplated.
"Rather, all the indicators point to the regime being determined to remain
in power at all cost, allowing only marginal reforms in the economy and
society."
Democratically elected Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year hit out at
Australia's decision to engage Burma on human rights.
She singled out a visit to Rangoon by human rights commissioner Chris
Sidoti, warning that it sent the wrong message to the military government.
She said Australia's engagement could be misinterpreted as an endorsement
of the regime, which has tortured, murdered and unlawfully imprisoned those
associated with her National League for Democracy.
Last August, Mr Downer told The Age he did not need Ms Suu Kyi's permission
to conduct human rights dialogue with the military regime.
His position has been privately criticised by high-level EU and American
diplomats. "We just don't understand what is in this for Australia. It is not as
if there is billions of dollars in trade at stake," an EU diplomat told The
Age.
The next Australian human rights workshop, due to begin in Rangoon next
month, will focus on the international legal aspects of human rights. Mr
Downer's spokesman yesterday said there had been no sign of any human rights
improvement in Burma for 10 years, and he did not expect "instant results" from
the Australian human rights program.
"Change in Burma will be all too slow in coming. We didn't expect once they
(training programs) started, Burma to burst into the new uplands of liberal
democracy overnight," the spokesman said.
Labor foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said ambassador Wilson's
"political assessment demolishes the credibility of the Howard Government's
engagement with Burma's military regime".
Mr Brereton said: "In the absence of any movement to restore democratic
processes, the human rights training course is a deeply misguided initiative
likely only to be welcomed by the regime as an act of appeasement."
The Age
Human rights plan in Burma under
fire
By PAUL DALEY
Thursday 24 August 2000 Prominent European countries and the United States have privately
criticised the Federal Government's decision last year to engage Burma on the
thorny issue of human rights.
Australia's many critics on the issue, who include Burmese democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, argue that engaging the military regime on any issue gives it
a legitimacy it ill-deserves and effectively cuts the National League for
Democracy - winner of the 1990 general election - out of the international
diplomatic equation.
But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who has denounced Burma's human
rights record as appalling, seems largely unfazed by such criticism. He
maintains it is better to engage Burma's military leadership on the issue than
adhere to isolationist policies that, arguably, have had little success in
bringing reform.
Whether Burma's oppressed derive any true benefit from Mr Downer's decision
to conduct human rights workshops for the Burmese bureaucracy remains to be
seen. But on the face of it, their merit seems, at best, highly
questionable.
Indeed, senior Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official John Dauth
recently told a parliamentary committee that "the likely impact of this exercise
is at the margin".
A leaked diplomatic cable published in The Age today shows just how
marginal the exercise could be.
Written by Australia's most senior diplomat in Rangoon, the cable paints an
extremely bleak picture of the chances for reform under the State Peace and
Development Council - the most inappropriately named Burmese military
regime.
Just four days after the first Australian-sponsored human rights seminar in
Rangoon, the ambassador notes that there is no ground for optimism that the SPDC
will take a more conciliatory approach to dissidents, countless thousands of
whom have been murdered, tortured or imprisoned. He also says there is no sign
that the regime is willing to engage in political dialogue.
Asiagateway
Myanmar Re-opens Universities in Sham to
Foil Critics
August 24, 2000 Myanmar government's initiative in re-opening universities after a three-year closure is a sham aimed at defusing criticism of the military regime, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday. Suu Kyi added that even though Myanmar's military rulers have reopened the universities, they are keeping students under tight control by making them pledge their loyalty to the government and barring political activity. The Nobel laureate believes that political change must be achieved before the education system is reformed because the two were inextricably linked. Norwegian Worldview Rights activist Ronny Hansen said the state of the high education system was seen as deplorable, even by ASEAN governments who had given their tacit approval to the regime. Student unions and other student organizations are banned. Student are required to pledge loyalty as a pre-conditionof their education. "Education is a conditionality, not a right in Myanmar," said Christine Weima Lager, a youth worker from Norway. Myanmar authorities insist they place a high priority on education. The education ministry has claimed the level of higher education is "on a par with the developed countries of the region". But only 0.5 per cent of Myanmar's Gross National Product is allocated to education, compared to an average of 2.7 per cent in other Southeast Asian countries. The Nation - Aug 24,
2000.
Stiff sentence for
Thai
A THAI man will spend four years in a Burmese jail for entering the country
illegally.
Yuthana Phromsaroh, 35, was sentenced yesterday by a Burmese court in
Myawaddy to the maximum prison term for entering the country illegally.
The sentence prompted outrage in Yuthana's home district, Mae Sot in Tak
province, which is adjacent Myawaddy.
The punishment was harsh and unfair, Mae Sot residents said.
The decision was biased and potentially damaging to cross-border trade in
the area, they said.
Yuthana's wife, 28-year-old Kritsana Thinamart, said the court was using a
double standard.
Thousands of Burmese people work illegally in Thailand, but receive far
more lenient sentences than her husband did for crossing the border illegally,
she said.
Kritsana said she had asked every possible authority to help her husband,
including the Joint Border Committee, a bilateral forum that addresses local
disputes and problems.
Yuthana was arrested on July 20.- The Nation. Police Colonel Rachot
Serbsai-un of the Mae Sot immigration office was reportedly looking into the
matter.
The Nation - Aug 24, 2000.
Bigger fund to defend Asean currencies BY ANOMA SRISUKKASEM IN its latest attempt to battle currency speculators, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations will increase the size of the Asean Swap Arrangement
(ASA) by US$800 million (Bt32.64 billion).
The fund will increase from $200 million to $1 billion, said Bank of
Thailand deputy governor Pakorn Malakul Na Ayudhya.
"As the size of the fund is quite small, no one has ever requested to use
it since its inception," Pakorn said.
"Two hundred million dollars seems like a small amount to solve the
problem, and the situation has changed dramatically. The sum has been fixed
since ASA was established 20 years ago," Pakorn said. "Some members even think
$1 billion is too little," he said, commenting on the decision to increase the
fund made at the Asean Central Bank Forum in Brunei earlier this week.
ASA was set up as a mechanism to help member nations solve balance of
payment problems that typically occur when foreign reserves are depleted from
spending too much money to protect a currency from attacks.
In Thailand, the baht was attacked by hedge funds in the spring of 1997,
which led to the introduction of the managed float system or de facto baht
devaluation in July 1997.
These events were blamed for triggering the financial crisis that swept
through the region and emerging markets around the globe.
ASA founding members include the central banks of Singapore, Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Five other countries - Brunei, Vietnam,
Laos, Burma and Cambodia - are queuing up to join.
Once they become ASA members, the entire group will be divided to separate
members whose foreign reserves are relatively strong from those whose foreign
reserves remain weak.
"How much each member country contributes to ASA will depend on which group
Brunei will be placed in and how much money Burma and Cambodia can afford. If
Brunei wants to join the strong foreign reserves group, all members in the group
will contribute equally," said Pakorn.
Should Brunei choose to join the weaker group, member nations will have to
adhere to the current contract for contributions.
All members wish to conclude the group arrangement as soon as possible,
Pakorn said. Once the issue is settled, the central banks of member nations will
be able to sign an agreement at the International Monetary Fund meeting late
next month.
Asean central banks believe member nations may tap into the fund once it
becomes bigger, Pakorn said, adding that new criteria have been added.
"If a member wants to borrow additional money from ASA, it will have to
wait another six months in case it has already obtained financial assistance
from ASA," he said.
"ASA allows member nations to borrow from the fund twice the size of their
contributions for a six month period only. The borrowed money is in US dollars,
yen and euros."
Apart from ASA, Asian Development Bank members have planned to set up an
Asian Monetary Fund to be used as a last resort in helping Asian nations during
currency crises.
The regional currency swap accord should be between US$20 and $40 billion,
according to Eisuke Sakakibara, former deputy minister for international affairs
in the Japanese Finance Ministry.
South China Morning Post
Thursday, August 24, 2000 BURMA - Axe falls on outspoken minister AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Rangoon A senior minister has been dismissed after accusing the ruling junta of
trying to cover up the state of the country's economy.
In an official speech delivered on July 7, the Deputy Planning and Economy Minister, Brigadier-General Zaw Tun, said the military's policies "lacked transparency and consistency" and were aimed primarily at cementing its grip on the nation. "Carrying on with a planned economy after announcing a free-market economy
is a manifestation of no success," General Zaw Tun was quoted as saying at a
business seminar.
The junta's intelligence chief and first secretary, Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt, has said that Burma's economy grew by 10 per cent in the financial year
to March.
But General Zaw Tun said it actually stood closer to six per cent. "In
reality, the GDP [gross domestic product] growth was about six per cent if
calculated on the three basic factors of production, expenditure and income," he
said.
The Government, anxious to maintain an impression of double-digit growth,
was calculating GDP based only on production, he said.
"When military commanders were ordered to compile GDP, the data included
the value of seized goods as well as taxes at the municipal market which were
full of inaccuracies," he said.
General Zaw Tun recounted an incident where a divisional commander who had
attended a co-ordination meeting where GDP was discussed phoned up two weeks
later to report enthusiastically that GDP in his jurisdiction had risen
fivefold.
"It is a case of killing me softly with the system," he quipped in the
speech.
His criticism cost him his job on August 10. He was stripped of his home
and other benefits that came with his position and military rank of
brigadier-general, sources in Rangoon said.
The sacking has not been officially announced.
"It's a pity because what he said made a lot of sense," one resident
diplomat said, adding that the news of his dismissal was no surprise. "We always
found him to be quite candid and outspoken whenever we had occasion to meet him
and this was rather refreshing."
The opposition Democratic Voice of Burma radio, monitored in London, said
the sacking was part of an on-going purge within the State Peace and Development
Council leadership which was causing unease among the military ranks.
It said General Zaw Tun had taken his dismissal philosophically and bade
farewell with the parting shot: "I am the poorest among the generals."
The generals who rule Burma are seen as having little idea of how to run an
economy.
The result is a primitive and informal system propped up by barter and a
pervasive black market in everything from currency to gasoline.
Burma's currency, the kyat, this month spiralled to a record low against
the dollar, triggering fears of a major government anti-inflation intervention
in the economy.
On the black market, the truest indicator of the value of the currency, the
kyat is now valued at about 400 to the US dollar (50 to the Hong Kong dollar).
Signs of the decaying economy are obvious. Power cuts are a daily headache
for residents of Rangoon and other cities and prices rise and fall dramatically
throughout the year.
Foreign investment has all but dried up owing to the Asian financial crisis
and the stigma attached to investing in a country accused of serious human
rights abuses.
Burma's junta often blames its economic woes on external influences and
political enemies such as democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy.
The Straits Times - Aug 24,
2000.
Myanmar minister sacked for
criticism
He had publicly accused the ruling junta of lacking transparency and
consistency in its policies, asserting that it misrepresented GDP growth
YANGON -- Myanmar's deputy planning and economy minister has been sacked
for making a scathing public attack on the junta, accusing it of covering up the
appalling state of the nation's economy.
In an official speech delivered on July 7, the outspoken Zaw Tun said the
military's policies ""lacked transparency and consistency'', and were aimed
primarily at cementing its iron grip on the nation.
Carrying on with a planned economy after announcing a free-market economy
is a manifestation of no success,'' he said at a business seminar.
Contradicting an official statement that the economy grew by 10 per cent in
the last financial year to March, Mr Zaw Tun said the figure actually stood
closer to 6 per cent.
In reality, the GDP growth was around 6 per cent if calculated on the three
basic factors of production, expenditure and income,'' he said.
But the government, anxious to maintain the impression of double-digit
growth, were calculating GDP based only on production, he alleged.
When military commanders were ordered to compile GDP, the data included the
value of seized goods as well as taxes at the municipal market, which were full
of inaccuracies,'' he explained.
He recounted an incident where a divisional commander called two weeks
after attending a coordination meeting where GDP was discussed to
enthusiastically report that GDP in his jurisdiction had shot up five-fold.
It is a case of killing me softly with the system,'' said Mr Zaw Tun.
His criticism cost him his job on Aug 10.
He was also stripped of his home and other benefits that came with his job
and military rank of Brig-General.
The sacking has not been officially announced.
It's a pity because what he said made a lot of sense,'' one resident
diplomat said.
The opposition Democratic Voice of Burma radio, monitored in London, said
the sacking was part of an ongoing purge within the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) leadership which was causing unease among the military ranks.
It said Mr Zaw Tun had taken his sacking philosophically, saying farewell
with the parting shot: ""I am the poorest among the generals.'' --AFP
##################################################
Bakatha (
Burmese Students' Union )Release ( 16 / 2000 ) or
The Red Cross holding police baton in Burma. According to a group of Ahkatha ( Basic Education Student Union ) based
inside Burma, we have known that in the police station , State High School and
State Middle School of some townships including Thakayta , South Okkalar , North
Okkalar , Thingunkyun , Dawpon , Latha , Lammadaw of Rangoon division (
Burma ) , MIS from MI ( 6 ) and other sponsored to train so call Union
Solidarity and development training and they trained their trainee with the
methods to suppress riots . The training were trained in weekdays and there were two times , ( 8 ) AM to ( 12 ) noon and ( 1 ) PM to ( 4 ) PM. The trainee were from Red Cross, Fire Brigade , Union Solidarity and Development Association and police force of Rangoon mayor . The training have been started secretly since the middle of this year and some of them have completed their course recently. In the military machinery of SPDC ( State Peace and Development Council ), there are power straggles and strong conflicts . In fact , Vice-Adm Nyunt Thein, navy commander in chief, was given retirement and SPDC Deputy Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Brig-Gen Zaw Tun was dismissed because of the power straggles and strong conflicts among them . Meantime , the military government is afraid to be a general strike as 8888 democracy movement in Burma .Therefore , SPDC ( State Peace and Development Council ) trained the voluntary teams such as Red Cross , Fire Brigade and Union Solidarity and Development Association to suppress the riots. People living in Rangoon are wondering whether or not ICRC ( International Committee of Red Cross ) has already known about this training in which Burmese Red Cross were trained to suppress the riots with police baton . Foreign Affairs' Committee All Burma federation of Student Unions . 25August 2000. For more information , contact the FAC office. P. O . Box ( 122 ) Mae Sod Tak Province , 631100 . Thailand . Tel : 66 55 542 724 . Fax: 66 55 542 724 . E-mail : bakatha @ cscoms.com . Detention without
trial info:
11/2000No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following nine people have been held under detention without charge or trial in Mergui(Southern Burma) prison by the Light Infantry Division 432 of the Burmese military since 1992. The reason for their arrest is as follows: During 1988, they actively participated in the popular democracy movement in the southern part of Burma (Tensserim Division). After the military took state power, they joined the Mergui-Tavoy Union, an opposition group, which is located along the Thai Burma border. They then re-entered the interior of Burma to organize the people and to collect information. On November 12,1992, their group reached Kyeini Taung village in Boukpyin Township in Tensserim Division. When they arrived there, U Harlawart, the chairperson of the Village Law and Order Restoration Council, who was recorded as a hero by the State Law and Order Restoration Council, served them a meal. However, he put some sleeping pills(opiate) in the curry. Therefore they fell asleep for a while. After that he informed Major Tun Aung Kyaw , a chief commander of Light Infantry Division 432, that nine members of Mergui-Tavoy were asleep at his house. Major Tun Aung Kyaw then followed him and arrested the Union members, after which he took them to his military base. After that Major Tun Aung Kyaw, and some of his subordinates, tortured the detainees with various methods at the military base, then sent them to Mergui prison. While they were in prison, they were locked in a tiny cell for two years with a 1.5 - 2 meter long iron rod placed horizontally between their shackled legs, forcing them to stand permanently with legs astride. At present, they are still denied to contact with their families. Therefore, they suffer from psychological misery and lack important support from their families. As a result their health, both physical and mental, is deteriorating day by day. The most indefensible aspect of this case is that they have been denied a trial until now, although they have been detained in prison for nearly eight years. 1) Name : Ko Khin Maung Cho Age : 39 Father's name : U Ba Tun Mother's name : Daw Kyi Ko Khin Maung Cho is the leader of the group. Currently he is in Mergui prison. 2) Name : Ko Shwe Baw Age : 35 Father's name : U Nyan Linn Mother's name : Daw Than kyi Address : Kinshaeyart in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division
Address : Chaungwapyin village in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division Ko Tin San reached the Thai-Burma border in 1989. He also was a junior leader. Currently he is in Mergui prison. 4) Name : Ko Naing Oo Age : 31 Father's name : U Saw Than Mother's name : Daw Po Thar Address : Paewa village in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division Ko Naing Oo reached the Thai-Burma border in 1989. He is an ethnic Karean . Currently he is in Mergui prison. 5) Name : Ko Kyaw Naing Age : 29 Father's name : U Chit Aye Mother's name : Daw Hla Thein Address : Peinnaltaw village in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division Ko Kyaw Naing was a high school student in 1988 and arrived at the Thai-Burma border in 1990. 6) Name : Ko Than Zaw Age : 26 Father's name : U Kyar Shwe Mother's name : - - Address : Goan nyin seik village in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division Ko Than Zaw was a middle school student in 1988 and arrived at the Thai-Burma border in 1991. 7) Name : Ko Po Zaw Age : 25 Father's name : U Than Hla Mother's name : Daw Me Address : Paewa village in Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division Ko Po Zaw is currently held in Mergui prison. Details of his history are not known. 8) Name : Ko Kyaw Win Age : 37 Father's name : U Shew Thar Mother's name : Daw Tin Than Address : Tavoy township, in Tenasserim Division In 1988 Ko Kyaw Win was pursuing his education at a monastery and he was not a member of Mergui -Tavoy Union. However, he was arrested because he was suspected by the army. According to our reliable sources, he was taken from the prison to the interrogation center by the military intelligence personnel on August 12, 2000, but his exact whereabouts at the moment are not known. 9) Name : Ko Tun Shein Age : 38 Father's name : U Tow Aung Mother's name : Daw Myint Address : Kana Thiri village in Tavoy town, in Tenasserim Division Ko Tun Shein also was not a member of Mergui - Tavoy Union. However he was arrested because he was suspected by the army. According to the our reliable sources, he was taken from the prison to the interrogation center by military intelligence personnel on August 12,.2000. Again, his current whereabouts are not known. Two of the nine, Ko Kyaw Win and Ko Tun Shein, were taken out of prison by the MI. but no one knows exactly where they are kept or whether they are still alive or not. We, the AAPP, are deeply concerned about their situation especially their lives and want to know why they have been kept in prison for such a long time without being charged or facing trial. Therefore we urge the International Community such as Amnesty International, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch and similar organizations to urgently look into this case. AAPP Assistance Association For Political Prisoners (Burma) August 24, 2000 =========================================
AAPP
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(Burma)
e.mail: aappb@xxxxxxxxxx =========================================
|