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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - NOV - 29, 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - AIDS epidemic is on the move, and Asia
is next
Reuters - HIV patients keep families in the dark
-survey
Reuters - Asian lawmakers urge stronger spending
on health
AFP - Singapore's deputy PM urges ASEAN to
address credibility crisis
The Norway Post - Norwegian firms continue controversial trade with Burma
Xinhua - Thai Trade
Exhibition Opens in Myanmar
Bkk Post - What do we have here?
WIRE:11/30/2000 03:28:00 ET
AIDS epidemic is on the move, and Asia is next NEW DELHI, Nov 30 (Reuters) -
The AIDS epidemic is on the move, and heading east. Sub-Saharan Africa may still
be the worst affected by a scourge that reared its ugly head more than two
decades ago, but Asia is next in line. "We have a major challenge over the next
five years as this virus moves into the large demographic countries of Asia,"
says Gordon Alexander, senior programme adviser for UNAIDS in India, where 3.7
million people already live with HIV/AIDS.
"I still get very nervous here when people say "we are not Africa"," he
said. "It"s another barrier to action." True, the problem is still colossal in
sub-Saharan Africa. The region is home to over 70 percent of the world"s 36.1
million HIV-AIDS cases, and 3.8 million adults and children living there have
been infected with HIV this year alone.
Only three Asian countries -- Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand -- have HIV
rates over one percent among 15- to 49-year-olds. But such low rates conceal
huge numbers of affected people because of large populations. Although the
epidemic began five to 10 years later in Asia than in sub-Saharan Africa, the
region already has 6.4 million HIV cases. Alexander reckons that could double in
five years and double again by 2010 if nothing is done.
ASIA COMPLACENT
Such projections -- although far from exact because the momentum of local
epidemics is hard to determine -- appear to be falling on deaf ears in some of
Asia"s worst-affected countries. "I think by the efforts which we are now taking
the progress of the disease will be checked," Indian Health Minister C.P. Thakur
told Reuters a few days ahead of Friday"s World Aids Day.
"It will not increase in India, of that I am very certain." UNAIDS said in
a report this week that with the epidemic simmering at low levels in Asia, there
is a risk of complacency. It said that in East Asia and the Pacific, where the
number of people living with HIV or AIDS represents just 0.07 percent of the
population compared with 0.56 percent in South and Southeast Asia, there is
ample room for growth of the epidemic.
"The sex trade and the use of illicit drugs are extensive, and so are
migration and mobility within and across borders," it said. "...China in
particular is experiencing population movement that dwarfs any other in recorded
history." In addition, having almost eradicated sexually transmitted infections
by the 1960s, China is now seeing a steep rise in these rates, which could lead
to higher HIV spread down the road. Chinese experts and the U.N. estimate there
are 500,000 to 600,000 HIV positive people in China.
CHINA ON FAST TRACK TO EPIDEMIC
"China is on a fast track to having a big epidemic. The truth of the matter
is that the 600,000 cases as it is now is just the beginning," said Edwin Joseph
Judd, the United Nations Children"s Fund representative in China. "Unless
there"s really substantial action in the next three, four years, the real danger
is that we will have 10 million cases of HIV/AIDS in the year 2010, or
worse.
" In many Asian countries, the battle against HIV is a social and cultural
one against open discussion of sexual health and the social stigma attached to
the disease. But last year China broke a long-standing taboo against public
discussion of sexual health and launched a nationwide media campaign to curb the
spread of HIV through unsafe sex.
The country has also launched pilot projects, among them a drive to place
condom vending machines in bars, karaoke halls and universities, but these have
been stymied by conservative officials who believe the problem is largely a
foreign one. Experts say HIV in India is moving steadily beyond its initial
focus among commercial sex workers and their clients into the wider population.
At the same time, sub-epidemics are evolving with potentially explosive
spread among groups of injecting drug users and among men having sex with men.
Despite the health minister"s dismissive remarks about the future, Alexander
says Indian policy-makers have demonstrated increasing willingness to tackle HIV
over the last two years.
MEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
In Thailand, the World Bank says about a million people have been infected
with HIV since the epidemic took hold in 1984. The country"s efforts to tackle
the problem have been hailed. A campaign to encourage sex workers to use condoms
has brought considerable success in braking the spread of the disease in
Thailand"s infamous sex industry.
But in a report this month, the World Bank said Thailand now had to alter
its strategy to combat the changing face of the problem. It said the epidemic,
mainly confined to the sex industry when it began, was spreading to other
groups. "The country"s response -- and in particular the government"s response
-- needs to be flexible to respond quickly to the changes in the epidemic and
keep ahead of those changes," said World Bank Country Director Jayasankar
Shivakumar.
The Bank suggested three priorities for Thailand: expanding condom use
beyond commercial sex, a new initiative to prevent drug-injection transmission
and ensuring access to cost-effective prevention and treatment of opportunistic
infections. The outlook is bleakest for Myanmar. Although Yangon says only
around 25,000 people carry HIV, the World Bank estimated that over 700,000 of
its 48 million population are infected.
A growing sex trade and mounting use of intravenous drugs are expected to
worsen the problem. United Nations health officials in Bangkok say the military
government is doing little to fight the epidemic, denying that there is a
serious problem, and Myanmar"s health system is deeply underfunded and unable to
cope with the scale of the problem.
The theme of the U.N. AIDS campaign this year is "Men Make a Difference."
It"s an effort to underline that male behaviour contributes to HIV infections in
women, who often have less power to determine where, when and how sex takes
place. In Bombay -- where HIV has reached more than half of the sex workers --
80 percent of all new infections among women are those who have had only one
sexual partner, usually their husband. "Women can"t negotiate the terms on which
sex takes place. The condom in the family is a very difficult proposition," says
Alexander. "So men"s behaviour is crucial."
WIRE:11/30/2000 06:04:00 ET
HIV patients keep families in the dark -survey HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters) -
Hong Kong HIV/AIDS patients hide their conditions from their families, partners
or spouses as long as they can, a survey this week showed. The study released by
Chinese University of Hong Kong ahead of Friday"s World AIDS Day found that less
than 10 percent of HIV/AIDS sufferers disclose their status to their families.
While 55 percent of the 289 people with HIV/AIDS interviewed are sexually
active, many keep their partners in the dark. A quarter of married respondents
hide their infection or illness from their spouses while three quarters of those
who co-habit say nothing to their partners. But doctors said this does not
necessarily put others at risk.
"It is fine for them to be sexually active provided they are engaged in
protected sex," a consultant to the government"s AIDS" unit, Dr Lee Shui-shan,
told Reuters by telephone.
One hundred and thirty-two people were tested positive with HIV and 54 were
confirmed to have AIDS during the first three quarters of this year, according
to the latest government figures. HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS. HIV
prevalence in Hong Kong, with a total of 1,491 reported HIV infections and 487
confirmed AIDS cases, fares relatively well compared with the rest of Asia.
Hong Kong, with about seven million people, has more than double the
population of Singapore but has half the number of HIV/AIDS patients than the
city state. Singapore was ranked 10th by the United Nations among Asia-Pacific
countries for HIV prevalence in 1999. Cambodia came top of the list with 210,000
reported HIV/AIDS cases, followed by Thailand with 740,000 and Myanmar third
with 510,000.
In Hong Kong, discrimination remains the biggest hurdle for HIV patients to
be honest with others about their health, the latest survey showed. A noticeable
proportion felt marginalised by family members and others felt discriminated
because of the media"s negative portrayal, the report said. Universal HIV
screening is in the pipeline for pregnant women in Hong Kong. The scheme is
likely to be introduced by next year.
WIRE:11/30/2000 06:32:00 ET
Asian lawmakers urge stronger spending on health DHAKA, Nov 30 (Reuters) -
Parliamentarians from 10 Asian countries have called for public spending on
health care to be progressively raised to five percent of gross domestic product
(GDP).
The proposal was contained in a so-called "call for action" charter drawn
up at a three day conference which ended on Wednesday. The conference was
attended by some 50 parliamentarians from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Most of these
countries spend between 1.2 and two percent of GDP in the health sector, World
Health Organisation (WHO) officials said.
"The proportion of GDP for the health sector should progressively increase
to at least 4-5 percent...," said the charter, a copy of which was obtained by
Reuters on Thursday. The meeting focused on poverty and its links with
tuberculosis and malaria, diseases which a WHO official said were once believed
to be under control but were rampant again in developing countries.
The charter also noted however, links between poverty and diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, and problems such as
unsafe pregnancies. "...These diseases cannot be tackled without addressing
their main cause, namely poverty," the charter said. It did not otherwise
address the HIV problem ahead of World Aids Day on Friday.
It also called on governments, together with non-government organisations,
community-based groups and other concerned interests to launch an education and
health promotion campaign that should curb tobacco, alcohol and narcotics
consumption.
Thursday, November 30 5:59 PM SGT
Singapore's deputy PM urges ASEAN to address credibility crisis BANGKOK, Nov 30 (AFP) -
Singapore's deputy premier Lee Hsien Loong Thursday urged ASEAN nations to put
aside their differences, boost economic cooperation and reverse the perception
their alliance was "weakened and drifting".
Lee said the 1997 regional meltdown not only devastated regional economies,
but also fractured efforts to launch agreements that would have freed up trade
and investment among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
members.
"The crisis has also raised doubts about ASEAN's credibility and relevance
as a regional organisation," he told a luncheon hosted by the central Bank of
Thailand.
"ASEAN appeared divided and slow in responding to the crisis, and even now
is seen as weakened and drifting."
Lee said the expansion of ASEAN to 10 members, while crucial for long-term
strength, had made it "harder for the organisation to maintain focus and reach
consensus."
With military-run Myanmar and communist Laos and Vietnam now in the fold,
ASEAN's policy of non-interference in members' affairs has been more sorely
tested than ever.
The deputy prime minister said that as a result of these distractions, the
world now doubted whether ASEAN would ever be able to pursue economic
cooperation, lower trade barriers and restore prosperity and confidence.
"ASEAN countries must not allow this situation to continue," he
warned.
He urged his neighbours to accept globalisation as a reality that must be
harnessed for their own benefit, and to embark on the painful process of
deregulation and liberalisation that it required.
The pre-crisis momentum that spawned major initiatives like the ASEAN Free
Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN Investment Area must also be recaptured, he
said.
"The crisis has caused some countries to hold back, in order to give
struggling domestic industries more breathing space.
"(They) should not lose sight of the wider benefits of ASEAN cooperation to
their economies as a whole."
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei -- as countries faring better than
other members -- should lead the push to put ASEAN cooperation on track again,
he said.
Singapore, ASEAN's strongest economy, has been criticised by its neighbours
for forging free-trade agreements outside the ASEAN grouping.
But it has defended its policy, saying that by entering into sub-regional
pacts, the small but prosperous island-state is helping draw attention to the
ASEAN region, whose poorer members are not prepared to forge similar
accords.
Singapore ministers have warned several times in recent months that ASEAN
risks becoming a "sunset organisation" eclipsed by its more vibrant Northeast
Asian neighbours.
"If ASEAN economies do not deliver by way of structural reforms and strong,
sustained economic recovery ... international investors will relegate us to the
sidelines, and we will be margainlised," Lee said.
The Norway Post
29. November 2000 Norwegian firms continue controversial trade with Burma - The government plans no boycott Norwegian firms continue to trade with Burma, despite an appeal by
Norwegian authorities to boycott the regime.
Norway has so far this year imported among other things, lumber and
furniture worth NOK 9 million, more than twice the value of last year's
import.
In a letter to the Government, the National Congress of Labour Unions (LO)
has asked that Norway introduce a legally binding economic boycott of
Burma.
However, Development Minister Ann Kristin Sydnes says that the Government
will not impose an economic boycott of the Burma military regime. She is of the
opinion that a unilateral boycott by Norway would have no effect.
Former prime minister Kjell Mangne Bondevik, of the Christian Peoples'
Party, who has engaged himself in Burmas's fight for democracy, says he is
disappointed over the Norwegian trade with the country.
Thai Trade Exhibition Opens in Myanmar
YANGON (Nov. 30) XINHUA - A
Thai trade exhibition, organized by the Department of Export Promotion of the
Thai Commerce Ministry, was inaugurated here Thursday.
Aimed at introducing new Thai export products to Myanmar consumers and
providing an opportunity for Thai businessmen to foster cooperation with their
Myanmar counterparts, the Thailand Exhibition 2000, the third of its kind held
in Myanmar, will last for four days.
Attending the inaugural ceremony of the exhibition were Second Secretary of
the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Tin Oo and
Commerce Minister Brigadier-General Pyi Sone.
Visiting Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Phaitoon Kaeothong said at the event
that this year's exhibition will remain as an excellent model of trade
cooperation between Thailand and Myanmar.
The exhibition features three major types of Thai export products from 144
companies covering industrial equipment and machinery, general products such as
electrical appliances, textiles and garments, food and household items and
products of the service industry.
The first and second Thai trade exhibitions were respectively held in
December 1998 and 1999.
According to official statistics, Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade in the
first eight months of this year amounted to 295.8 million U.S. dollars, of which
Myanmar's import from Thailand was valued at 234 million dollars while its
export to Thailand 61.8 million dollars. Thailand stands as Myanmar's third
largest trading partner after Singapore and China.
Bangkok Post - Nov 30,
2000.
Inside Politics - What do we have here? It wasn't quite another day at the office, but no one really expected to
find a nice Burmese officer hanging about the village looking over the speed
stash. u Dad might be in disgrace but politics has become a family tradition. So
Son of Sanan will be out there these next few weeks wai-ing the good people of
Phichit. u Sawasdi hasn't been disgraced; he's just old. But to hell with that
if his boy thinks he needs him.
The seizure last week of 100,000 methamphetamine pills from a Muser village
just inside Burma across from Chiang Rai wasn't really that newsworthy in
itself. But the capture of a Burmese army officer who had been assigned to the
village to protect the stash-now that was worth a headline. It confirmed the
general impression that those in uniform across our western border are cashing
in on the drug trade.
That raid was followed by a fierce exchange of mortar fire last Wednesday
between the forces of Thailand and Burma near the village of Ban Pasang Na Ngern
in Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang district. A Burmese soldier was killed and two Thai
rangers were wounded in the clash.
"Around 20-30 mortars were fired by our side to counter the Burmese fire,"
said one among the local security force. "The situation on that day was quite
serious."The earlier raid was the work of the Shan State Army, which attacked
the Muser Abi village inside Burma, opposite Ban Pasang Na Ngern. As well as the
stash and the Burmese officer, a number of other armed men were captured by the
SSA led by Chao Yod Suek.
"Muser Abi is a border village where the United Wa State Army keeps its
pills before moving them across the border," said a local drug-buster.
He also said it was very possible that the raid would have come up with as
many as two million to three million pills if only it had been staged a few days
later. He didn't say how he came by this information.
Thirteen people were captured in the SSA raid, including two Thai drug
traffickers, the Burmese officer and four members of the UWSA.
An officer with the 3rd army's Pha Muang Task Force, which supervises the
war on drugs along that part of the border, said he was not surprised by the
presence of the Burmese officer.
"We are all aware that Burmese military elements are directly involved in
drug trafficking along the border area by providing protection to illicit drug
transportation," he said.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, commander of the 3rd army, said this
latest development just confirmed the belief that the drug trade along the
Burmese border had the direct blessing of security forces on the other
side.
Members of the ruling junta in Rangoon have repeatedly denied that they
have anything to do with the drug trade along the border. They say
methamphetamine production is located mainly in areas controlled by the UWSA,
areas off-limit to government forces.
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