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BURMA RELATED NEWS - NOV - 2, 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - ILO focus on Burma
AFP - IV drug use fuelling Southeast Asia's
HIV-AIDS epidemic: World Bank
AFP - Thai airline bites off slice of Cambodia's
domestic market
Asia Pulse - Australia Looking Forward to Indian
PM's Visit Next Year
Asia Pulse - Indian Minister to Attend Mekong
Region Meeting in Laos
Kyodo News - Sweden to submit resolution to U.N. blasting Myanmar
junta
Xinhua - ASEAN Ends
Ministerial Meeting on Youth in Myanmar
Kyodo News - Japanese
delegation discusses helping Myanmar's small firms
The Hindustan Times - Ganga-Mekong project to boost IT sector
Bkk Post - Regional top brass to meet
without Burmese and Lao army chiefs
The Nation - Conservation group seeks
inquiry into eviction of Karen
BBC - UN human rights rapporteur
resigns
BBC - Thursday, 2 November,
2000, 20:04 GMT
ILO focus on Burma The United Nations labour organisation has opened a meeting in Geneva which
will hear a new report about allegations of forced labour in Burma.
A recent ILO mission to Burma met the intelligence chief, Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt, and the ministers of labour, and home and foreign affairs.
Last June, the ILO called for sanctions against Burma after finding that
forced labour was widespread.
But it gave the government in Rangoon five months to comply.
The mission's report will be released next week.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
Friday, November 3 4:31 PM SGT
IV drug use fuelling Southeast Asia's HIV-AIDS epidemic: World Bank BANGKOK, Nov 3 (AFP) -
Intravenous drug use is on the rise in Southeast Asia, helping fuel an explosion
in the region's HIV-AIDS epidemic, according to a World Bank study released
Friday.
Cheap heroin supplies, deepening poverty and social desperation in the wake
of the economic crisis, as well as a lack of effective law enforcement, are
responsible for the trend, officials said.
With the exception of Cambodia, "virtually all the other countries in
Southeast Asia are seeing sustained rising high rates of intravenous drug use,"
said Chris Beyrer, director of the US-based John Hopkins University AIDS
Training Program.
Beyrer, who contributed to the World Bank study on Thailand's HIV/AIDS
crisis, told AFP that "intravenous drug use is a major problem but has not been
recognized in many Southeast Asian states."
In Bangkok, HIV infection rates rose from two percent of IV drug users a
decade ago to over 40 percent today, the World Bank's study said.
In the south of Thailand, more than 50 percent of IV drug users are
infected with HIV, and that number seems likely to increase in the next year,
Beyrer said.
HIV infection rates among IV users, most of whom inject heroin, are also
rising in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Myanmar, he said.
The World Bank researchers attributed growing HIV rates among Southeast
Asian drug users to a lack of government intervention in the health crisis and
the continued practice of needle-sharing.
"Injecting drug users' HIV problem has not been addressed in most of
Southeast Asia," Beyrer said.
World Bank Senior Economist Martha Ainsworth said injecting drug users have
poor access to free heroin substitutes, clean needles or treatment for
opportunistic infections which prey on HIV-positive people.
If nothing is done, injecting drug users will remain "a reservoir for
transmission (of HIV) to the rest of the population," she said.
Southeast Asian governments, some of which have made strides towards
addressing HIV among sex workers, must undertake major new initiatives among
injecting drug users, the researchers said.
"The same pragmatic policy toward prevention of HIV among illegal
commercial sex workers needs to be extended to injecting drug users" by
providing them with clean needles, counseling and education, Ainsworth
said.
Thailand, which has had some success in decreasing HIV rates, could take
the lead on this issue, she said.
"Thailand can show the region what can be done to fight HIV among drug
users."
Beyrer said the HIV transmission cycle among IV drug users would not be
broken unless the same effort to effect change among sex workers was used on
this problem.
"HIV prevalence among IV drug users is not a hopeless problem. Strong
government action has proven successful in Sydney, Glasgow, Scotland and other
cities," he said.
Friday, November 3 4:41 PM SGT
Thai airline bites off slice of Cambodia's domestic market SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov 3 (AFP) - A new Thai-owned airline began domestic
operations in Cambodia Friday, taking advantage of efforts to liberalise the
industry and setting itself up in competition to the troubled national carrier
Royal Air Cambodge (RAC).
Siem Reap Airways International -- a subsidiary of Bangkok Airways -- began
a shuttle service between the capital and the northern town of Siem Reap,
gateway to the country's main tourist draw, the ancient temples of Angkor
Wat.
Cambodian tourism officials and airline executives said the new airline
aimed to provide options to tourists and domestic travellers who were becoming
dissatisfied with existing operators.
"The birth of this new airline connecting our capital Phnom Penh with Siem
Reap represents a major step forward in the development of our airline
infrastructure," said Thong Khon, secretary of state for tourism.
"The (tourism) ministry hopes there will be no flight delays or
cancellations like the tourists faced before."
Chairman of Siem Reap Airways International, Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth,
said the airline -- which has based itself in Siem Reap -- hoped to expand and
develop the town into an international tourist hub drawing on Angkor Wat, which
is classified as a World Heritage Site.
"For Siem Reap Airways International's part, our commitment is to develop
Siem Reap as a tourist hub connecting to various international destinations," he
said.
"Further more (we) will inevitably make a significant contribution to
developing the Cambodian airline industry to the highest international
standards, both through technology transfers and human resources
development."
The airline will begin by operating a single return flight from Siem Reap
to Phnom Penh daily.
The number of tourists visiting Siem Reap shot up 34.22 percent to 247,234
arrivals in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period of
1999, in large part due to a new open-skies policy.
"It is estimated that there will be over one million tourists visiting
Angkor in 2005," said Thong Khon.
Flights are now available direct from Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and, as
of Friday, Singapore, with SilkAir's inaugural flight due later in the
day.
Airline executives and tourism officials said many tourists were wary of
RAC due to frequent cancellations and delays.
RAC is being restructured to improve its safety and competitiveness,
according to Senior Minister Sok An, who was placed in charge of the troubled
airline in August after its chiefs were sacked.
Both Prime Minister Hun Sen and King Norodom Sihanouk began refusing to fly
the national carrier after an incident earlier this year in which an RAC plane
scheduled to fly the monarch to Beijing for medical treatment sprung a massive
fuel leak on the tarmac before takeoff.
Hun Sen sacked airline chairman and chief executive Pan Chantra as well as
deputy chairman Tep Hen.
The airline was created in 1956 and was jointly owned by Air France and the
Cambodian government.
In 1995 it was relaunched as a joint venture with Malaysia Helicopter
Service, the parent company of Malaysia Airlines.
There are two other domestic carriers operating in Cambodia -- Phnom Penh
Airways and President Airlines.
Friday, November 3 4:47 PM SGT
Australia Looking Forward to Indian PM's Visit Next Year NEW DELHI, Nov 3 Asia Pulse -
Australia is looking forward to the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
visit to that country to attend the Commonwealth Summit next year, according to
Australian High Commissioner Rob Laurie.
Laurie, who met BJP President Bangaru Laxman here on Wednesday, told him that his Government was confident that Vajpayee's visit would further strengthen Indo-Australian relations, ruling party BJP vice president Jana Krishnamurthy said. A Vietnamese delegation led by Vice Minister Duc Luong, called on Laxman
and during the hour-long meeting discussed a wide range of issues from bilateral
relations to the international situation.
Laxman said launching of Ganga-Mekong Swarnabhoomi Scheme next week in
Vietnam by Foreign Ministers of India, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and
Thailand was an important milestone in India's ties with South-East Asian
nations.
Friday, November 3 8:17 AM SGT
Indian Minister to Attend Mekong Region Meeting in Laos NEW DELHI, Nov 3 Asia Pulse -
During a week-long visit to Vietnam and Laos starting November 6, Indian
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh will meet with foreign ministers from
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
The meeting, to be held Laos' capital of Vientiane, will seek to strengthen
linkages between India and the Mekong basin countries in the fields of tourism,
education and culture to begin with.
The project was jointly announced in Bangkok during the ASEAN-Post
Ministerial Conference meeting in July this year.
A number of bilateral agreements are likely to be signed during Singh's
visit to the two countries in connection with meetings of Joint
Commissions.
The Indo-Vietnam Joint Commission, established in 1982, will meet from
November six to eight. Singh will call on the President, Prime Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam and the General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Vietnam.
Singh will also attend the India-Laos Joint Commission meeting on trade,
economic, scientific and technological cooperation. During his stay, Singh will
also hold discussions with the President and Prime Minister of Laos.
Kyodo News - NEW YORK, Oct. 31
2000
Sweden to submit resolution to U.N.
blasting Myanmar junta
Sweden will submit a resolution this week to the United Nations Millennium
General Assembly criticizing the Myanmar junta for human rights' abuses and
demanding improvements, U.N. sources said Monday.
The move reflects increasing outrage among Western nations over the Myanmar
military government's treatment of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom
it has effectively held under house arrest.
ASEAN Ends Ministerial Meeting on Youth
in Myanmar
YANGON (Nov. 2) XINHUA - The
Third Ministerial Meeting on Youth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) ended here Thursday evening ahead of schedule after issuing a Yangon
2000 Declaration on Preparing ASEAN Youth for the Challenges of
Globalization.
The ASEAN ministers expressed in the declaration their commitment to
prepare and empower the region's youth to meet the increasing opportunities and
challenges created by globalization, taking into account their capacities,
potentials and vulnerabilities.
The ministers also reiterated their commitment and determination to nurture
resilient and responsible ASEAN youth who could contribute significantly to
ASEAN's prosperity and progress in the new millennium, particularly in
addressing the challenges of rapid global and regional integration.
The ministers outlined in the declaration the future course of action in
strengthening internal capacities to inculcate a sense of ASEAN awareness and
identity among the ASEAN youth and to equip them with the necessary skills and
capabilities to meet the challenges of globalization.
To realize the strategies outlined, the ministers tasked their senior
officials to seek ways and means to implement regional activities particularly
through cost-sharing and the utilization of existing resources and capacities
available in member countries, the declaration said.
The ministers also noted that the declaration took into consideration the
youth-related priorities stated in the U.N. Millennium Summit Declaration
adopted in September.
Regarding cooperation in youth development matters with countries in East
Asia, the ministers agreed that China, Japan and the Republic of Korea could
initially participate in ASEAN activities at the project level.
The ministers asked their senior officials to review all ongoing and
pending projects and prioritize the implementation of pending ones based on
availability of resources and the priorities set out by the Yangon 2000
declaration.
The ministers welcomed the offer of the Philippines to host the next ASEAN
ministerial meeting on youth in late 2003.
The ASEAN ministerial meeting on youth, which was the first of its kind
hosted by Myanmar and followed a two-day senior officials ' meeting,was attended
by ministers of youth affairs of the member countries and officials of the ASEAN
Secretariat.
The second ASEAN ministerial meeting on youth took place in Malaysia in
1997.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Japanese delegation discusses helping
Myanmar's small firms
YANGON, Nov. 3 (Kyodo) --
Business leaders from Japan and Myanmar held a conference Friday to discuss ways
to help small businesses in the Southeast Asian country.
The two sides also looked at ways of creating a better investment
environment for small and midsize Japanese companies.
On Thursday, the Japanese delegation met with Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, the No.
3 man in the country's military junta as first secretary of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), and other government officials.
The Japanese delegation, headed by Tomoo Takahara, advisor to Itochu Corp.,
discussed with its Myanmar counterpart ways to compliment the Japanese
government's economic restructuring assistance with cooperation by the private
sector.
The delegation also asked Myanmar to further improve the technological
skills of its workforce in areas such as information technology.
It is estimated there are about 50,000 small-scale manufacturers in
Myanmar, most of which are badly organized and not competitive in international
markets.
''The negative image of the military junta does not allow some good points
of Myanmar's investment environment to be known in Japan,'' said a Yangon-based
Japanese businessman.
The Japanese delegation comprised businessmen, Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO) officials and academics, while the Myanmar delegation
comprised local businessmen and government officials, including Brig. Gen. David
Abel, minister at the office of the SPDC Chairman.
The Hindustan Times
Ganga-Mekong project to boost IT sector HT Correspondent (New Delhi, November 2, 2000) INDIAN INFORMATION technology and infrastructure development companies may
benefit from the country's joining the formation of countries on the Mekong
basin under the Ganga-Mekong Swarna Bhoomi project, which will be inaugurated
next week in Laos.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the Asian Development Bank
has shown keen interest in funding dams, bridges, roads, etc in Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The name selected for the project harks of
the common historical bonding of these nations, the civilisational contacts
centred around Buddhism.
India’s track record in developing a highly competitive IT industry led to
these countries seeking its cooperation. The matter came up for discussion on
the sidelines of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial conference held in
Bangkok in July this year. It was decided to hold another ministerial conference
in Laos in November to flag off the project.
Indian participation in the growth of infrastructure in this region is
expected to lead to the bagging of lucrative offshore projects by Indian public
and private corporations. India's experience in these areas is recognised in all
these countries, sources said.
India is already implementing a number of railway, power and road contracts
in Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. India is viewed as a country offering
international standards of project exports at prices lower than that offered by
the western countries.
The Ganga-Mekong project is also expected to cement India’s strategic
interests in the ASEAN region. In the ARF India is seen widely as a
counter-weight to Chinese domination. The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant
Singh, will be holding bilateral talks with his Vietnamese counterpart before
reaching Laos. This will be the second ministerial visit to Vietnam this year --
Defence Minister George Fernandes having been there in May.
Bangkok Post - Nov 3,
2000.
Regional top brass to meet Burmese, Lao army chiefs will stay away Wassana Nanuam The army is hosting a meeting of Southeast Asian army chiefs this month but
with the absence of Burmese and Laotian representatives.
An army source said drifting defence relations between Burma and Thailand
were behind Gen Maung Aye's decision to snub the meeting. The Lao army chief has
also turned down the invitation, citing an engagement in celebration of Lao
National Day.
The absences leave the meeting-the first of its kind, to be held between
Nov 21-23 at the Prachuap Khiri Khan infantry centre-to eight army chiefs from
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam and
Thailand.
The source said the US army commander would be invited as guest speaker.
Delegates would compete in the Asean Armies Rifle Meet.
Gen Maung Aye's refusal to take part had disappointed army chief Gen
Surayud Chulanont, the source said.
There has been no exchange of top-level defence visits since the retirement
of Gen Chetha Thanacharo, Gen Surayud's predecessor.
Gen Surayud prefers to leave all co-ordination efforts with Burma in the
hands of the Foreign Ministry.
The Nation - Nov 3,
2000.
Conservation group seeks inquiry into eviction of Karen BY PENNAPA HONGTHONG A CONSERVATION group yesterday submitted an open letter to the chairman of
the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Pramote Maiklad, asking it to investigate
the process under which the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) evicted Karen
villagers from the Tung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary.
Surapong Kongjantuk, director of the Karen Study and Development Centre,
said that there was an informal agreement among the RFD, the 9th Infantry
Division and the villagers that a verification process should be held and that
only people who are unable to prove their identity should be evicted.
However, he said, the RFD had ordered the relocation of the Baan
Takienthong villagers in Kanchanaburi province before the verification process
had begun.
According to Surapong, on October 20 the Baan Pong Regional Forest
authorities issued a written order to 21 families from the Baan Takienthong
village to leave the area by tomorrow.
Moreover, Surapong claims that reliable sources from the RFD have informed
him that on November 10, the director general of the RFD, Plodprasop Suraswadi,
will go to the site along with forestry troops to evict villagers who insisted
on staying there.
"I wanted him [Pramote Maiklad], as a chairman of Agriculture Committee, to
ask the RFD to stop the eviction and to investigate information the RFD has on
Karen verification and eviction," Surapong said.
Surapong said the RFD had accused villagers of encroaching on the Tung Yai
Wildlife Sanctuary and the Pa Khao Chang Peauk Forest Reserve even when 78
villagers from 16 families have IDs and hill-tribe registration cards.
"Those cards prove that these villagers have occupied the land since before
the RFD announced that it was a protected area," he said. "If the RFD can find
people who have encroached on the forest illegally they can arrest and evict
them, but not these villagers, who can prove who they are."
Plodprasop was not available for comment yesterday.
The RFD and the military have tried to evict Karen people from the
sanctuary for many years. The last time was in March, when military officers
used invaded Baan Takienthong and destroyed the shelters of 18 families who
failed to show their identity cards.
BBC - Friday, 3 November, 2000, 15:35
GMT
UN human rights rapporteur resigns The United Nation's special human rights rapporteur on Burma, Rajsoomer
Lallah, has resigned.
Mr Lallah told the French news agency that he lacked the logistical and
administrative support that he needed from the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson.
He also said that funding difficulties may have been the reason for the
lack of support.
Mr Lallah said he was disappointed at the lack of progress during his
mandate.
He has been in the post for four years, but has never been allowed by
Burma's military regime to visit the country.
Correspondents say Mr Lallah's resignation will be particularly
embarrassing for the United Nations because it highlights internal difficulties.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service.
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