|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - OCT - 10, 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Herald Tribune - Rangoon Isolates
Itself
Reuters - Suu Kyi
Refusing to Meet U.N. Myanmar Envoy-Sources
AFP - Myanmar warns UN not to interfere, as UN
envoy tours country
AP - UN Envoy On Mediation Mission Meets Top
Myanmar General
AP - Apartment Block Collapses In Myanmar,
Killing 11
AP - U.N. Envoy Meets Myanmar
General
AP - Suu Kyi's Party Asked To Quit Head Office
In Yangon
Bkk Post - Editorial - Anti-drug words come to
nothing
Asia Gateway - Myanmar
Confrontation Means High Treason
Paris, Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Rangoon Isolates Itself -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Kavi Chongkittavorn International Herald Tribune -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BANGKOK - The United Nations envoy for Burma, Razali Ismail, is visiting Rangoon this week to try to break the deadlock between the military government and the opposition National League for Democracy led by the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Association of South East Asian Nations should be helping, too, but it made a recent mediation attempt that has been stymied by objections from Burma, a member of the group. Mr. Razali, a veteran Malaysian diplomat, is wearing two hats. As the UN envoy, his main responsibility is to gather information and hold talks with the regime and opposition leaders to prepare a report for Secretary-General Kofi Annan. But he also represents Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad, who helped Burma to join ASEAN in 1997. The latest internal travel restrictions imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
her colleagues have drawn international condemnation.
The European Union, a major trading partner and generous aid donor to the
ASEAN countries, is considering whether to cancel a long delayed ministerial
meeting with ASEAN scheduled to take place in Vientiane, Laos, in
December.
ASEAN is becoming uneasy about Burma's internal crackdown and the way it is
tarnishing the group's international standing. Thailand has urged Rangoon to
support Mr. Annan's proposal that an ASEAN troika, consisting of three foreign
ministers from the group, be sent to Burma for talks.
Japan and China, which both have considerable influence in Burma, should
also back moves to persuade the Burmese junta to be more flexible.
Vietnam, the current ASEAN chairman, recently approached Rangoon to express
the association's desire to send the troika in. Much to Hanoi's chagrin, Rangoon
refused, saying the mission would be interference in its internal affairs.
The veto means that ASEAN has no formal channel for mediating. Without such
a mechanism, it is hard for the group to be effectively engaged or bring in
non-ASEAN players.
So Burma should not be surprised that it is now left to face increased
pressure from the West and the United Nations to improve its behavior.
The writer, executive editor of the Bangkok newspaper The Nation,
contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.
Tuesday October 10 5:26 AM ET
Suu Kyi Refusing to Meet U.N. Myanmar Envoy-Sources By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to meet the visiting United
Nations (news - web sites)' special envoy unless the military government lifts
restrictions on her movements, diplomats said on Tuesday.
Suu Kyi was refusing to meet special envoy Razali Ismail in protest at the
restrictions, the diplomats told Reuters. She has been confined to her house
with her telephone cut and diplomatic access barred since September 21.
There was no word from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Senior NLD members are cut off from contact and are subject to similar
restrictions to the 55-year-old Nobel laureate.
There had been doubts on whether the authorities would allow Razali to
visit Suu Kyi, but the government said earlier this week it would not prevent
them from meeting.
Razali, a Malaysian national, arrived in Myanmar on Monday and is due to
leave on Thursday.
U.N. officials in Yangon declined to comment on whether Razali would meet
Suu Kyi, but said the envoy would leave Yangon on Tuesday for a trip up
country.
Myanmar officials said Razali met the powerful Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
and head of military intelligence, on Tuesday morning.
On Monday he met Foreign Minister U Win Aung and two other cabinet
ministers.
Mounting Condemnation
Myanmar has faced mounting international condemnation this year over its
treatment of Suu Kyi and the NLD, which won elections in 1990 by a landslide but
has never been allowed to govern.
Senior NLD officials are confined to their homes, and NLD Vice Chairman U
Tin Oo has been in detention since the government blocked a bid by Suu Kyi to
travel from Yangon to Mandalay by rail last month.
International anger at Myanmar has threatened to derail a planned meeting
of Southeast Asian and European Union foreign ministers in Laos in
December.
Myanmar's newspapers, regarded as mouthpieces of the military government,
launched another of their regular attacks on Suu Kyi on Tuesday, saying the
authorities were happy to hold dialogue with the NLD but not with ``illegal
members'' like Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo.
``Should the special representative of the United Nations come, it will be
explained to him that efforts are being made for the emergence of a disciplined,
flourishing democracy,'' said a commentary in the Kyemon and New Light of
Myanmar newspapers.
Razali was appointed U.N. special envoy in April and visited Myanmar from
June 29 to July 3 this year.
Razali's predecessor, Alvaro De Soto, visited Myanmar several times to
mediate between the SPDC and the NLD but his visits produced no tangible
success.
(With additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok)
Tuesday, October 10 12:59 PM SGT
Myanmar warns UN not to interfere, as UN envoy tours country YANGON, Oct 10 (AFP) -
Myanmar's state press Tuesday warned the United Nations not to interfere in the
junta's affairs in a commentary timed to coincide with a visit to Yangon by UN
special envoy Razali Ismail.
A "statement has to be made at the United Nations warning them not to make
any interference, as those outside are giving troubles (and) finding fault in
domestic affairs," said the state-controlled New Light of Myanmar.
"It will be explained to (Ismail) that efforts are being made for emergence
of discipline-flourishing democracy" in Myanmar, it said.
"No outside country should need to come to negotiate or settle or give
guidance; should they send a scheme to settle, people will not accept it," the
commentary said.
Ismail arrived in Yangon Monday to try to break the deadlock between
Myanmar's military junta and the opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD).
Ismail would reportedly meet with First Secretary Khin Nyunt, head of
intelligence, Tuesday morning and then travel upcountry to the tourist
destination of Inle Lake.
With the junta, Razali will discuss "continuing violations of human rights
in Myanmar," and report back to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, UN spokesman
Fred Eckhard said previously.
The veteran Malaysian diplomat's second trip to Myanmar under UN auspices
comes against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Yangon and the
European Union and the junta's renewed crackdown on the NLD despite fierce
international criticism.
"Myanmar has requested the EU side to postpone the visit" of an EU foreign
policy troika to Yangon "as the present environment is not favourable for the
meeting to be constructive," a spokesman for the junta told AFP.
NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other party elders have remained under de
facto house arrest since they were prevented from travelling to the northern
city of Mandalay on September 22.
During his first trip in July Razali apparently made little headway in
restarting relations between the NLD and the junta.
The junta has not publicly said whether Razali would meet Aung San Suu Kyi,
but observers have said it was highly unlikely he would make the trip without
being guaranteed a meeting with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The UN special envoy is scheduled to end his visit on Wednesday.
The NLD won a landslide general election victory in 1990, but the junta has
never recognised the result and is accused by foreign critics and human rights
groups of severe repression of its opponents.
Tuesday, October 10 5:44 PM SGT
UN Envoy On Mediation Mission Meets Top Myanmar General YANGON (AP)--A U.N. special
envoy on a mission to break the political deadlock between the Myanmar junta and
the pro-democracy opposition met Tuesday with a top general then traveled
upcountry apparently without meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, officials said.
Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat who arrived Monday in Yangon on a four-day visit, held a one-hour morning meeting with Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, chief of military intelligence and the third-ranking general in the regime, officials said. Razali then left for the popular tourist destination of Inle Lake and
Taunggyi in Shan State, about 290 miles northeast of the Myanmar capital, the
officials said on the customary condition of anonymity.
Razali was expected to return to Yangon late Wednesday and is due to leave
Myanmar Thursday.
It isn't clear if he will see Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy
party was never allowed by the junta to take power after a sweeping general
election victory in 1990.
Suu Kyi has been confined to her lakeside home and denied diplomatic
contact since Sept. 22 after she was blocked from traveling outside the Myanmar
capital on party business. The restrictions were still in place Tuesday.
Observers said it was unlikely that Razali would have made his second visit
to Myanmar since his April appointment by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
without assurance he would be allowed by the regime to see Suu Kyi.
Yet, Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, might object to seeing Razali
while being under virtual house arrest for trying to exercise her political
rights, they said.
The Myanmar government and the United Nations have provided little
information about Razali's visit, which has not been reported in Myanmar's
state-controlled media.
Razali, also expected to meet with ethnic minority representatives on his
visit, is assigned to discuss issues related to a U.N. General Assembly
resolution adopted in December that urges Myanmar's government to stop
widespread human rights violations.
It also calls for Myanmar to "take all necessary steps" to restore
democracy, open a dialogue with Suu Kyi and other political leaders, and to
immediately release political prisoners.
On arrival on Monday he met with Foreign Minister Win Aung as well as
ministers of interior and health.
Hopes for a quick resolution to the long-running political stalemate in
Myanmar appear slim. Razali's predecessor as U.N. envoy to Myanmar visited the
country six times and made no headway. Razali visited Myanmar, also known as
Burma, in late June and early July.
Suu Kyi, whose movements are heavily restricted, has been repeatedly barred
from traveling out of Yangon on party work, most recently when she tried to go
to Mandalay on Sept. 21 by train and was refused a ticket.
Dozens of NLD supporters were herded away from the Yangon railway station
and are still thought to be under investigation. NLD vice chairman Tin Oo is
detained in a state guest house.
Ignoring the strong international critics, the regime has accused Suu Kyi
of being a puppet of Western countries and the West of threatening Myanmar's
sovereignty.
Tuesday, October 10 5:44 PM SGT
Apartment Block Collapses In Myanmar, Killing 11 YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--A
three-story apartment building collapsed in an eastern suburb of Yangon last
week, killing 11 people and injuring at least five others, local officials said
Tuesday.
The tragedy, which occurred last Thursday, was not reported in official
newspapers, the main source of news in this country where information is tightly
restricted.
Rescue workers uncovered 11 bodies, including a 12-year-old boy from the
debris, said an official, who requested anonymity. One of the injured people was
seriously hurt.
About 15 families lived in the 70-year-old brick building in the capital's
Pazundaung township but not many were at home when it collapsed, apparently due
to old age, lack of maintenance and vibrations from passing container trucks, a
resident said.
Local people said residents had ignored earlier warnings by the local
authorities to evacuate the building.
Tuesday, October 10 8:39 PM SGT
U.N. Envoy Meets Myanmar General YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A U.N.
special envoy seeking to break Myanmar's political deadlock met Tuesday with a
top member of the country's military junta but apparently did not meet
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, officials said.
Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat, arrived Monday in Yangon on a four-day
mission for the United Nations. He held a one-hour morning meeting with Lt. Gen.
Khin Nyunt, chief of military intelligence and the third-ranking general in
Myanmar's junta, officials said.
Razali then left the capital for a popular tourist destination about 290
miles to the northeast, officials said. He was expected to return to Yangon late
Wednesday and is scheduled to leave Myanmar on Thursday.
It is not clear if he will see Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy
party was never allowed by the junta to take power after a sweeping general
election victory in 1990. Suu Kyi has been confined to her lakeside home and
denied diplomatic contact since Sept. 22 after she was blocked from traveling
outside the Myanmar capital on party business.
The Myanmar government and the United Nations have provided little
information about Razali's visit, which has not been reported in Myanmar's
state-controlled media.
While in Myanmar, Razali is expected to discuss issues related to a U.N.
General Assembly resolution that urges Myanmar's government to stop widespread
human rights violations. The resolution, adopted in December, also calls for
Myanmar to ``take all necessary steps'' to restore democracy, open a dialogue
with Suu Kyi and other political leaders and release political prisoners
immediately.
Hopes for a quick resolution to the long-standing political stalemate in
Myanmar appear slim. Razali's predecessor as U.N. envoy to Myanmar visited the
country six times and made no headway. Razali previously visited Myanmar, also
known as Burma, in late June and early July.
Members of Suu Kyi's NLD party said Tuesday that landlords have asked the
party to vacate the building housing its headquarters in the capital by Oct. 25.
Owners of the aging two-story brick building served the eviction notice two
weeks ago, a party member said on condition of anonymity.
It was not clear what the NLD planned to do. Suu Kyi and all other members
of its central executive committee are either in detention or kept incommunicado
under virtual house arrest.
The military junta has in recent months stepped up pressure on the NLD,
which can barely function outside Yangon with scores of its members detained or
coerced into resigning. While access to the Yangon headquarters is often
blocked, authorities usually allow party meetings to go ahead.
Ignoring strong international criticism, the junta has accused Suu Kyi of
being a puppet of Western countries and says the West is threatening Myanmar's
sovereignty.
Tuesday, October 10 7:39 PM SGT
Suu Kyi's Party Asked To Quit Head Office In Yangon YANGON (AP)--The pro-democracy
party of Aung San Suu Kyi has been asked by landlords to vacate the building
housing its headquarters in the capital, party members said Tuesday.
The owners of the aging two-story brick building, a rallying point for the
embattled National League for Democracy, served the eviction notice two weeks
ago, an NLD member said on condition of anonymity.
The party has until Oct. 25 to leave the premises, the member said.
It wasn't clear what the NLD planned to do, as Suu Kyi and all other
members of its central executive committee are currently either in detention or
kept incommunicado under virtual house arrest.
The military junta has in recent months stepped up pressure on the NLD,
which can barely function outside Yangon with scores of its members detained or
coerced into resigning. While access to the Yangon headquarters is often
blocked, authorities usually allow party meetings to go ahead.
The NLD has occupied the property on Shwegondaing Road in central Yangon
since 1989, one year after it was founded. The party won general elections in
1990 but Myanmar military refused to hand over power.
The NLD has reported that the building's owners, Khin Nu, 70, and Kyaw,
whose age wasn't known, were arrested after the NLD marked the 10th anniversary
of its victory at the polls on May 27.
Kyaw, who uses only one name, and Khin Nu were apparently accused of and
held responsible for causing public disturbance when the NLD used loudspeakers.
They were released from detention.
The eviction notice was served soon after the government slapped its latest
restrictions on NLD leaders on Sept. 22 after Suu Kyi was blocked from traveling
by train outside Yangon on party work.
It isn't clear if NLD will go to court to fight the eviction. Normally,
civil suits take years to resolve.
In early September, authorities for the first time raided the party office
as part of an investigation into the NLD's alleged links with anti-government
terrorists. The party denies such links.
The news of the eviction notice came as a U.N. special envoy was in Myanmar
this week in an effort to end the political deadlock between the junta and the
NLD.
Bangkok Post - Oct 10,
2000.
Editorial - Anti-drug words come to nothing The harvest has been planted for another year. High in the hills of Burma
and Afghanistan, the opium farmers are quietly tending their crops. The weather
has been good in Burma, and another large crop of opium seems likely to feed the
seemingly insatiable Golden Triangle heroin factories early next year. The
weather has been bad in the Golden Crescent, but Afghanistan will still be the
world's leading producer of illicit opium.
This is not only bad news for governments and the families of drug victims
in the region. Burma and Afghanistan are different in many ways, but they have
one thing in common. Both have promised the international community to cut down
and then to end the production of illegal drugs. Yet there are no signs in
either country that the regime has put any such plan into effect.
The actions of our neighbour Burma are well-known. The regime has openly
colluded with the United Wa State Army to set up a permanent and massive region
of drug production and marketing. Northeastern Burma is now dominated by the
political and military power of the UWSA. It is obviously backed by the Burmese
army, which protects the borders of the UWSA region.
Within the past year, Burma has launched an outside propaganda campaign. It
is clearly aimed at pacifying close neighbours Thailand, China and India, which
have been struck hard, and expensively, by the drug trafficking. Rangoon claims
it has a 15-year plan to end drug production and trafficking within the country.
Unfortunately, it has kept the details of this master plan largely secret. The
international community is to take the Burmese promises on good faith, as if
Burma actually had some of this in reserve.
On the surface, there is little similarity between Burma and Afghanistan.
But Afghanistan is providing the same type of problems and the same airy
promises to its neighbours as Burma. Tens of thousands of Russian forces have
been mobilised along the border. Each day, much like their Thai counterparts,
they try to halt the "ant army" of heroin smugglers, each carrying exactly 1kg
of heroin. The Russian rates of drug addiction and Aids are rising as they are
in China and Thailand. Iran has seized 110 tonnes of Afghan drugs so far this
year.
Like Burma, Afghanistan has touted a plan to help the growing drugs
problem. Supreme leader Mohammad Omar has officially banned poppy production.
There is much less to this than meets the eye. But even this decision took
several years. That in itself is strange, given the obvious contradiction of a
Muslim regime supporting the production of drugs by its farmers.
The ruling Taleban said at first it wanted to reduce opium production
rationally, through crop substitution. This made sense. But then came the
decision to ban opium growing. Unfortunately, the regime has hardly backed up
its ban. The massive drought throughout South Asia will cut back the record
harvest this winter. But Afghanistan has done nothing to stop heroin production
or drug trafficking.
Despite massive suspicion, there is no proof that either the Burmese or
Afghan regimes profit directly from the drug trade. There can be no doubt,
however, that both these nations profit indirectly. Investment from drug
traffickers dominates so-called foreign investment in Burma. The regimes tax
drug makers and smugglers. The drug trade also has touched off an increasing
spiral of hard feelings with neighbours-and neither Afghanistan nor Burma has
shown the slightest remorse in addicting and diverting official resources in
Iran or Thailand respectively.
In another few months, farmers will be reaping the opium crops. Agents for
the heroin makers will buy the crops and feed the drug traffickers for another
year. Fighting these drug peddlers is difficult. But the world must know where
the chief blame lies.
Asia Gateway
Myanmar Confrontation Means High Treason October 9, 2000 A confrontation with Myanmar's military government means high
treason.
This was a commentary in the Myanma Akin newspaper saying the government
will annilate any danger to national independence and sovereignty.
The harsh stance came just prior to the arrival of the United Nation's
special envoy's arrival. Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat, is due to arrive
on Monday.
He is the latest in a series of UN envoys, mandated by the Secretary
General, to press the regime on a General Assembly resolution, urging the
government to stop human rights violations and to restore democracy in
Myanmar.
The visit will also include a meeting with the National League for
Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who's been in conflict with the ruling
military over her right to free movement.
Myanmar's military junta has refused to hand over power to Suu Kyi's party,
which swept the 1990 general elections.
|