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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - January - 22, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Suu Kyi Wins Myanmar Court
Battle to Keep Her Home
AFP - Afghanistan, Myanmar top drugs
blacklist: UN report
Reuters - Mystic Myanmar teenage twins
want their parents
AP - Myanmar court rules in favor of Suu
Kyi in property case
AFP - God's Army twins say they just want
to be like ordinary boys
AFP - Ex-wife of Myanmar drug lord
arrested on heroin charges: Thai police
AP - Legal Victory for Myanmar
Leader
The Independent(Bangladesh) - Situation
along border with Myanmar slightly improves
The Straits Times - Myanmar's junta must go beyond talks
BBC - Burma project to return sacred
bell
Monday January 22 2:01 AM ET
Suu Kyi Wins Myanmar Court Battle to Keep Her Home By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - A court in
Myanmar has dismissed a suit by the estranged brother of opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi over ownership rights to her home, in another sign the military is
easing its crackdown on the pro-democracy figurehead.
``I hereby dismiss the suit as the plaintiff side filed it in the wrong
form,'' Judge U Soe Thein said in a judgement on Monday.
Suu Kyi's brother Aung San Oo, who lives in the United States, filed a suit
last year claiming the right to half of the large lakeside house in central
Yangon, which local real estate agents have valued in the neighborhood of $2
million.
Analysts speculated the court case would give the military government the
chance to put more pressure on Suu Kyi, who has been kept confined to the house
since September with access to her tightly controlled.
But there have been recent signs of a thaw in the military's treatment of
Suu Kyi.
The United Nations (news - web sites) announced earlier this month that
senior government leaders had held secret talks with her, and cartoons and
editorials in the official media attacking Suu Kyi and her National League for
Democracy (NLD) have suddenly ceased.
Legal sources in Yangon said the case would probably now be settled out of
court.
Awaiting Instructions
Han Toe, the official agent of Suu Kyi's brother, said he would await
instructions on whether to file another suit.
``I still have to contact Aung San Oo about further action -- whether to
settle the case out of court or to file the suit again,'' he said.
The court ruled that Aung San Oo should have filed for administration
rights to the house, instead of seeking to partition it by gaining a share of
half the property.
Suu Kyi's lawyer, Kyi Win, said he was happy with the ruling.
A government source told Reuters that Myanmar's rulers had not interfered
in the case as it was purely a family affair.
Suu Kyi and Aung San Oo are children of Myanmar independence hero General
Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947 when the country was on the threshold of
independence from Britain.
The Yangon house was owned by Suu Kyi's family.
She has lived there -- much of the time under house arrest -- since
returning from Europe in 1988 to nurse her ailing mother.
The NLD won elections by a landslide in 1990 but has never been allowed to
govern.
Myanmar's government insists it is committed to building democracy. But it
says this will take time, and has frequently accused the NLD of trying to
destroy the country.
The military government has faced stinging criticism from Western nations
for its treatment of Suu Kyi and the NLD.
Myanmar's government has given permission for a European Union delegation
to visit the country later this month and meet Suu Kyi, in another sign it is
trying to offer concessions.
Monday, January 22 6:18 PM SGT
Afghanistan, Myanmar top drugs blacklist: UN report VIENNA, Jan 22 (AFP) -
Afghanistan, Myanmar and Colombia are by far the world's biggest producers of
heroin and cocaine, supplying an overall market of some 180 million people
worldwide, a UN report said Monday.
But the report, by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime
Prevention (UNDCP), welcomed crackdowns by many other countries which have cut
supplies substantially.
"Thanks to a 'get-serious' approach on the part of most major coca and
opium poppy producing countries, production is now limited to fewer countries
than ever before," said the report.
"Afghanistan and Myanmar together account for about 90 percent of global
illicit opium production, and Colombia alone is responsible for two-thirds of
global coca leaf production," it said.
But the UN report noted that production of the world's two "main problem
drugs", cocaine and heroin, was on the downturn.
Between 1993 and 1999, the coca leaf harvests and cocaine production fell
by some 20 percent, and in the last year the production of opium, heroin's key
ingredient, has fallen by 17 percent, according to the report.
And, it added, the number of consumers picking up the finished product has
stabilized or even declined. In the late 1990s, some 4.2 percent of the world's
population over 15 -- 180 million people -- were consuming drugs.
Poverty reduction, conflict resolution and mediation must play a role in
the reduction and eradication of drug production, the report said.
The Colombian authorities' crackdown on the country's drug trade, which
would deal a major blow to rebel political forces financed by drug sales, has
some critics worried it will exacerbate a conflict that has claimed an estimated
130,000 lives since 1964.
In Afghanistan, fears are mounting that a ban on opium cultivation could
spur the exodus of refugees already fleeing drought and war.
Afghan farmers say growing other crops won't meet the rising cost of
living, and warn they will move their production to neighbouring Pakistan.
Alternative development projects are one way for countries to climb out of
this situation, and the report pointed to the "success" of such projects in
Bolivia, Pakistan and Thailand.
In the West, the report noted that the consumption of cocaine in the United
States had fallen by a large 70 percent from 1985 to 1999, with a 40 percent
reduction in overall drug use.
WIRE
Mystic Myanmar teenage twins want their parents RATCHABURI, Thailand, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The gun-toting teenage twins who led a
ragtag band of guerrillas in Myanmar"s jungles until surrendering last week said
on Monday they missed their parents and wanted to give up fighting and go to
school.
Johnny and Luther Htoo led the God"s Army ethnic Karen guerrilla group for
years in skirmishes against the Myanmar military, with scores of followers
believing the two boys had mystical powers and were impervious to bullets. The
twins, believed to be in their early teens, and 12 others surrendered to Thai
authorities last Tuesday after a crackdown by border patrols cut off their food
supplies.
The twins told a news conference in Thailand that their fighting days were
over. "We want to be reunited with our parents and to further our studies," said
Luther, the tougher-looking, chainsmoking twin. "Life here is better than in the
jungle." Luther did most of the talking at the news conference, while his
long-haired brother Johnny looked on shyly.
The twins" parents are in a refugee camp in Thailand. Speaking in the Karen
language through an interpreter, the twins denied they had magical powers, but
said God had chosen them to fight the Myanmar regime. "God sent us to be the
leaders to fight against the Burmese," said Luther, saying he was familiar with
using M-16s and AK-47 automatic rifles and had killed many Myanmar troops.
"Even though we suffered a lot of casualties, God is still with the Karen.
If God had not helped us we would all have died." Asked why he had fought
against the Myanmar military, Luther said: "Our relatives were killed and hurt
by the Burmese."
MUCKING AROUND, SHOOTING BIRDS
The twins said God"s Army was formed around four years ago with 150
members, but had given up fighting after its base was overrun by Myanmar
soldiers two years ago. Since then they had spent their time trekking up and
down the border with Thailand, mainly on the Thai side, "mucking around and
shooting at birds," Luther said. Johnny, who sports a tattoo on his left arm,
said his hair was long because he believed he would fall ill if it was cut.
The twins are also vegetarians, believing meat could harm them. Asked if he
wanted to return to being a soldier, Luther said: "No." He vowed never to give
up smoking, however. Ratchaburi Provincial Governor Gomate Daengthongdee said it
was too early to say whether the twins would get their wish of rejoining their
parents. "They cannot choose whatever they want. We will consider that
accordingly, with the national security issue in mind," he told the news
conference.
Thai authorities are investigating whether the twins were involved in
violent attacks in Thailand over recent years that have been blamed on God"s
Army. Gomate said that if the twins were found not to have been involved, they
would be treated as civilian refugees. He said he believed the twins were 15,
although they look much younger.
The two boys say they don"t know their age. Outgoing Thai Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai said earlier this month after meeting the twins that he believed
they should rejoin their parents and go to school. The Karen National Union
(KNU), the largest ethnic army fighting against the Myanmar government, says the
twins should be granted political asylum.
"Human rights abuses and exploitation of minorities in Myanmar have forced
people to live and fight in the jungle," KNU secretary-general Pado Mhan Sar
said at his base on the Thai-Myanmar border. "The twins are just kids whose camp
was burned down by the Myanmar soldiers so they had to struggle along the
border." There are some 140,000 refugees from Myanmar in Thai camps. Most are
ethnic Karens who fled fighting between Myanmar government forces and
autonomy-seeking Karen guerrillas.
WIRE
Myanmar court rules in favor of Suu Kyi in property case YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ A court
on Monday gave pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a rare legal victory in
military-ruled Myanmar, throwing out a property dispute case filed by her
estranged brother.
Citing procedural errors, Yangon Division Court Judge Soe Thein dismissed a
petition to divide the sprawling lakeside property where she lives under virtual
house arrest. Since courts are controlled by the junta government, the case"s
dismissal appears to show that the generals are making an effort to keep the
atmosphere conducive for ongoing reconciliation talks with the Suu Kyi. The
verdict is rare good news for Suu Kyi in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
"This is a correct decision. We are very pleased," said Suu Kyi"s lawyer,
Kyi Win. On Monday, Suu Kyi completed four months of virtual house arrest. The
property where she lives was inherited by Suu Kyi and her elder brother, Aung
San Oo, from their mother, who died in December 1988.
Aung San Oo, who lives in California, is believed to disagree with Suu
Kyi"s political views. Suu Kyi is engaged in a decade-old political deadlock
with Myanmar"s military junta, which crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988
but called elections in 1990 that were won by Suu Kyi"s National League for
Democracy. The generals refused to honor the results of the elections and
imposed severe restrictions on league members.
Suu Kyi is prevented from leaving Yangon for party work in the countryside.
She has kept in her home since Sept. 22, when she last tried to travel outside
the capital. However, in light of the talks with Suu Kyi, the state-run media
have stopped their ususal vitriolic attacks on her. Official newspapers also
have stopped publishing the list of NLD members who have purportedly resigned
from the party.
The list of alleged party defections has been a daily feature in official
newspapers since November 1998. A four-member European Union delegation is
expected to meet Suu Kyi and the generals to assess the progress of the talks
during its Jan. 29-31 visit to Myanmar.
Monday, January 22 7:14 PM SGT
God's Army twins say they just want to be like ordinary boys SUAN PHUNG, Thailand, Jan 22 (AFP) - God's Army boy-leaders Johnny and Luther
Htoo Monday debunked the myths surrounding them and said they would like to
return with their parents to Myanmar and go to school like ordinary
children.
Speaking for the first time since they surrendered to Thai authorities last
week along with a rag-tag band of supporters, the boys gave shy, halting replies
to reporters' questions.
Through a Karen language interpreter they downplayed their followers'
belief that they possessed magical powers that made them and their fighters
invincible in battle against Myanmar troops.
"No," they replied when asked whether the stories that they were impervious
to gunfire were true.
But when asked whether they wanted to go back home to Myanmar where they
once lived with their parents, the more outspoken brother Luther gave an
emphatic: "Yes, if we can."
The elfin-faced pair, who say they are 13 but look years younger, also said
they would like to go to school one day.
The brothers gave themselves up to Thai troops after their mystical
anti-Myanmar rebel movement was hunted down over a bloody New Year's Eve raid on
a village in western Ratchaburi province.
Since then the twins and some dozen supporters, mostly women and children,
have been held at this border police headquarters, living together in a small
cottage where authorities have been feeding them up.
Only a week after coming in from the jungle where a Thai offensive had left
them on the brink of starvation, the painfully thin Htoo brothers already
appeared to be much healther and brighter.
Provincial governor Komes Daengthong-dee said the boys would be kept at the
Suan Phung police headquarters until experts decided their fate.
"The committee will decide whether they are illegal immigrants or refugees
and we are currently collecting together all the facts," he said.
Concerns that they will use their stay in Thailand to reunite their gang,
which has been all but destroyed after being targeted by the Myanmar and Thai
security forces, "will be one factor that we will take into account."
If the boys are found to be displaced persons they will be sent to a
temporary shelter where they could live and study with other Karen refugee
children, Komes said.
Investigators are trying to determine if the boys were involved in the
seizure of a major Ratchaburi hospital last year, carried out by God's Army
fighters and rebels from another militia band.
Meanwhile local villagers in Ratchaburi are breathing a collective sigh of
relief now that God's Army -- which has caused them considerable disquiet in the
last year -- is a thing of the past.
Three men among the God's Army group of 17 who turned themselves in last
week have been charged with murder and robbery over the New Year's Eve attack
that left six Thais dead.
However, the remainder of the God's Army members being held at this border
town look set to escape punishment over the raid and previous attacks staged by
the anti-Myanmar militia.
Monday, January 22 5:10 PM SGT
Ex-wife of Myanmar drug lord arrested on heroin charges: Thai police BANGKOK, Jan 22 (AFP) - The
former wife of Myanmar drug warlord Khun Sa and five accomplices have been
arrested on charges of smuggling nearly 60 kilos of heroin into the United
States, Thai police said Monday.
Peng Hui-Lan, the 54-year-old former common law wife of the ailing drug
baron, was detained here Friday along with two other Myanmar nationals, one
Chinese and two Thais, the Narcotic Suppression Bureau (NSB) said.
NSB Commissioner Lieutenant General Preophan Dhamapong said the arrest was
a joint operation by Thai anti-narcotics police and the US Drug Enforcement
Agency.
US embassy officials said the investigation began last October when a probe
into a major heroin trafficking operation resulted in the seizure of 1.4 kilos
of Southeast Asian heroin in New York City.
Earlier this month, US agents there uncovered another haul of about 57
kilos of top-grade heroin.
The embassy officials said the probe was not related to Operation Tiger
Trap, which earlier this month netted Khun Sa's former private secretary Yang
Wan-Hsuan.
Yang, known by his alias Lao Tai, will be sent to the United States to face
trial on drug trafficking charges after being arrested in the northern province
of Chiang Rai.
Thai police said Lao Tai maintained close links to his former boss, who was
until recently the most powerful figure in the notorious golden triangle opium
producing area that straddles Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Khun Sa ostensibly withdrew from the drugs business in 1996 after the
signing of a ceasefire between Myanmar's military junta and his Mon Tai Army,
which had been waging a separatist rebellion for two decades.
Also wanted by the United States, Khun Sa, 64, now lives in Yangon,
apparently with total immunity and the protection of the secret services.
He is believed to have laundered his drug profits through Yangon hotels and
other business interests, and to still be an influential figure in the narcotics
trade despite his failing health.
Myanmar government officials do not deny that Khun Sa lives freely in
Yangon, but argue that the deal with him was necessary to restrict the
production of opium in Shan state, the biggest producer-region.
Khun Sa lives alone in Yangon but is thought at one time to have at least
one legal wife and another common law partner or "minor wife".
Monday, January 22 5:08 PM SGT
Legal Victory for Myanmar Leader YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A court
on Monday gave pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a rare legal victory in
this military-ruled Myanmar, throwing out a property dispute case filed by her
estranged brother.
Citing procedural errors, Yangon Division Court Judge Soe Thein dismissed a
petition to divide the sprawling lakeside property where she lives under virtual
house arrest.
Since courts are controlled by the junta government, the case's dismissal
appears to show that the generals are making an effort to keep the atmosphere
conducive for ongoing reconciliation talks with the Suu Kyi.
The verdict is rare good news for Suu Kyi in Myanmar, formerly known as
Burma.
``This is a correct decision. We are very pleased,'' said Suu Kyi's lawyer,
Kyi Win.
On Monday, Suu Kyi completed four months of virtual house arrest. The
property where she lives was inherited by Suu Kyi and her elder brother, Aung
San Oo, from their mother, who died in December 1988.
Aung San Oo, who lives in California, is believed to disagree with Suu
Kyi's political views.
Suu Kyi is engaged in a decade-old political deadlock with Myanmar's
military junta, which crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 but called
elections in 1990 that were won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
The generals refused to honor the results of the elections and imposed
severe restrictions on league members.
Suu Kyi is prevented from leaving Yangon for party work in the countryside.
She has kept in her home since Sept. 22, when she last tried to travel outside
the capital.
However, in light of the talks with Suu Kyi, the state-run media have
stopped their ususal vitriolic attacks on her.
Official newspapers also have stopped publishing the list of NLD members
who have purportedly resigned from the party. The list of alleged party
defections has been a daily feature in official newspapers since November 1998.
A four-member European Union delegation is expected to meet Suu Kyi and the
generals to assess the progress of the talks during its Jan. 29-31 visit to
Myanmar.
The Independent - Bangladesh
Situation along border with Myanmar slightly improves by Staff Reporter Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Director General Major General Fazlur Rahman told
The Independent yesterday that an atmosphere, conducive to solving the problems
peacefully, has been created following Saturday’s flag meeting.
The BDR chief who returned to the capital yesterday after visiting the
frontiers in Teknaf and Ukhiya, hoped that a joint survey of the controversial
dam in the Naf river would take place soon. Myanmar has proposed for the joint
inspection of the place.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has expressed its desire to resolve the
border problems with Bangladesh through peaceful means.
According to reports received here, the Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister
voiced his government’s sentiment, while briefing the heads of the diplomatic
corps in Yangon about the developments along Bangaldesh-Myanmar border over the
weekend.
The Myanmar DFM has denied the allegation that his country had amassed
regular troops in the frontier.
Following the briefing the diplomatic circles in Yangon feel Myanamar seems
to have played down the tension along its border with Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the process of the repatriation of Rohingya refugees came to a
total halt due to the tension along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar,
official sources said.
Of a quarter million Rohingyas who crossed into border early 1991 and took
shelter in the south eastern region of Bangladesh, 2,30,000 had returned
voluntarily to their homeland during the last ten years.
Now over 20,000 refugees staying at a camp in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, awaiting
repatriation.
The repatriation which began late 1991 under a tripartite agreement, was
going on at a very slow pace before it was halted in the first week of the
current month.
Bangladesh, Myanmar and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) are the signatories of the accord.
The Straits Time
Myanmar's junta must go beyond talks By Lee Kim Chew IN BANGKOK MYANMAR'S military junta, for once, got at least an approving nod when news
broke last week that it had restarted reconciliation talks with pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It was the first time after a six-year hiatus that the powerful military
intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, and Ms Suu Kyi met for secret
negotiations last October.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front, a Bangkok-based activist group,
hailed it as 'a significant and concrete step' to break the political
deadlock.
'This is a truly historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle,' said
spokesman Sonny Mahinder.
'We're very optimistic. It has been a long conflict. This is the most
positive sign we've seen since the general election held in 1990.'
True, this is a hopeful sign that there might be a political thaw to come
between the generals and Ms Suu Kyi. But what will come of it?
Whatever it was that moved the junta to change tack - it could be friendly
Malaysian mediation under United Nations auspices, or the deteriorating economic
situation, or both - is still a matter for conjecture.
What matters now is that the two protagonists are engaged in talks again to
end a political standoff that has impoverished their country. Both sides may
finally have understood the futility of seeking each other's 'utter
destruction'.
But talking alone is not good enough. It is just a first step on the long
and tortuous road towards an eventual settlement on who rules Myanmar.
To reach this goal, both sides must be prepared to go for the middle
ground, make concessions, live and let live. This is what national
reconciliation entails. Otherwise, it will be no more than a propaganda
exercise.
Gen Khin Nyunt has said the Western governments should stop putting
pressure on Myanmar and end their sanctions against his country.
This can happen only if the regime relaxes its grip on power and reaches a
modus viviendi with Ms Suu Kyi. It will give the generals the legitimacy and
support they crave for at home and abroad.
A delegation from the European Union is due to visit Yangon on Jan 29. The
regime can make a goodwill gesture by releasing political prisoners and stop
harassing supporters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), now that it has
stopped attacking Ms Suu Kyi herself.
All this could improve the atmospherics and pave the way for a relaxation
of the political and economic sanctions against Myanmar.
It is not clear yet whether the new Bush administration in Washington will
be driven by human-rights concerns, as was President Bill Clinton's.
But Thailand's activist foreign policy under the Democrats to promote
democracy and human rights is likely to be replaced by the new Thai government's
desire to improve ties with Myanmar.
Unlike Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra's priority is to
promote Thailand's economic interests and solve the problems of drugs and
illegal immigrants at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Ironically, Yangon's change of tack takes place at a time when the incoming
Bangkok government under Mr Thaksin is going to be less pushy than the Democrats
on human rights and democracy.
Now that Myanmar's generals have taken the first important step to engage
Ms Suu Kyi, they need to show that this is a serious bid at
reconciliation.
There are thorny issues on power-sharing and the constitutional provisions
to enshrine the military's role in politics. These are matters for
negotiation.
The junta's efforts to convene a constitutional convention to draw up a new
charter are in limbo because they cannot succeed without the participation of Ms
Suu Kyi's party, whose legitimacy comes from its sweeping election victory in
1990.
Without the NLD's involvement, the convention is a farce, as it had been.
But it is also unrealistic for Ms Suu Kyi to demand at this juncture that the
military stand down completely to make way for civilian rule.
Unless the top brass acquiesces voluntarily - an unlikely prospect -
Myanmar could be rendered ungovernable by soldiers who do not want to relinquish
political power.
It is hardly a comforting thought if Myanmar goes the way of Indonesia,
with rogue military leaders working surreptitiously to undermine a fledgling
democracy.
The fact is that Myanmar's military and Ms Suu Kyi cannot wish each other
away.
If the resumption of talks is just a ploy by the generals to buy time for
the regime, it will be another wasted opportunity for Myanmar.
On the other hand, whatever they do to end the 12-year-old impasse and
reconcile with the pro-democracy movement should be welcome.
For too long, Myanmar politics has been a zero-sum game. Ms Suu Kyi had
told the world to deny the junta trade, aid and moral support.
In turn, the generals cracked down harder on her and the NLD. The
uncompromising standoff had done both sides no good, and their stubbornness had
contributed to the country's parlous state.
Thus, the sooner the deadlock is broken, the sooner will Myanmar's
long-suffering people emerge from the darkness. There will be an immediate
payoff for the generals in a political compromise.
Beyond Asean, the junta is habitually censured and pilloried for its
human-rights abuses, forced labour and oppressive policies.
It is known as a ruthless regime which uses draconian laws to put down its
political opponents. So tight is its grip on power that any relaxation is not
going to cause a breakdown in law and order.
Instead it will lower tension, improve the junta's standing and make it
more acceptable. It should try this option.
(The writer is Chief Regional Correspondent of The Straits
Times.)
BBC - Monday, 22 January, 2001, 10:25
GMT
Burma project to return sacred bell An English marine archaeologist is reported to have agreed to recover one
of Burma's most sacred religious relics from the bed of the Irrawaddy river,
where it has lain for nearly 400 years.
The relic is the Dhammazedi bell, which is said to weigh 300 tons, and
believed to the the biggest ever made.
The bell, made of gold, silver and bronze and encrusted with emeralds and
sapphires, once stood in Burma's holiest shrine, the Shwedagon Pagoda in
Rangoon.
It was looted from the pagoda by the Portuguese nearly four-hundred years
ago, but sank into the river when an attempt to ship it away went wrong.
The archaeologist, Mike Hatcher, says he will begin work on the project in
March. It is estimated that the operation will cost some six-million dollars,
the funds being provided privately.
Mr Hatcher, who has several successful salvage operations to his credit,
says he hopes the return of the bell will prove a positive catalyst for change
in Burma.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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