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BURMA RELATED NEWS - February - 07, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Pulse - India Registers Fall in
Production of Banned Drugs: Undcp
AP - Brazil Professor Named UN Expert On
Myanmar Human Rights
Xinhua - Regional Nutrition Research Meeting Held in Myanmar
IRNA - Iranian ambassador to Myanmar
appointed
Bkk Post - Police arrest 33 Burmese girls
on prostitution charges
Bkk Post- Elephants forced to seek work in
Burma
U.S state Department - U.S. Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Burma
Wednesday, February 7 3:50 PM SGT
India Registers Fall in Production of Banned Drugs: Undcp NEW DELHI, Feb 7 Asia Pulse -
India has registered a sharp fall in production of banned drugs -- opium and
cocaine -- during the last decade and it was no more a major supplier of these
contrabands, a report by UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) said here
today.
India ceased to play any major role in supply of these drugs to
international markets, the report released by UNDCP Regional Representative
Renate Ehmer said.
The "World Drug Report-2000" said cocaine production had declined by 20 per
cent and opium by 17 per cent between 1990-1993.
It said there was a considerable progress in prevention of drug trafficking
as a downward trend had been witnessed in consumption of drugs, their abuse and
deaths caused by them.
The production of cocaine and opium was now limited to fewer countries like
Afghanistan and Myanmar, which together accounted for about 90 per cent of
global illicit production and trade of these drugs. Columbia alone was
responsible for two-thirds of the global coca-leaf production, it said.
The number of countries reporting drug seizures rose from 120 to 170
between 1981-1998, which showed that more countries were taking the issue
seriously. While about 130 countries were facing the problem of drug abuse in
mid-90s, there were fewer nations reporting increase in drug related problems
now, it said.
Wednesday February 7, 3:00 AM
Brazil Professor Named UN Expert On Myanmar Human Rights GENEVA (AP)--Brazilian politics
professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro on Tuesday was appointed as the U.N. special
expert on the human-rights situation in Myanmar.
Pinheiro lectures at the university of Sao Paolo and is currently a member
of the U.N. Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. He
formerly was the expert on human rights in Burundi and a member of the
international commission on Togo.
Pinheiro said he already had made contact with the authorities of Myanmar,
also known as Burma, in Geneva.
"I am very encouraged by recent positive and constructive developments in
Myanmar, especially with regard to the progress in the field of national
reconciliation," he said in a statement.
Pinheiro replaces Rajsoomer Lallah, who resigned in November, saying he
didn't have the resources to carry out his task. He had replaced Japanese Yozo
Yokota, who resigned in 1996 giving similar reasons.
U.N. rights experts don't receive salaries, but the U.N. pays for expenses
and helps with translation and preparing reports.
In a report to the U.N. General Assembly in October, Lallah said that the
human-rights situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate with the military
government suppressing all opposition political activity and engaging in
"inhuman treatment" of opposition members and ethnic minorities.
Myanmar never allowed Lallah to visit the country.
Regional Nutrition Research
Meeting Held in Myanmar
2001.02.07 10:17:26 YANGON, February 7 (Xinhuanet)
-- The sixth meeting of South-East Asia Nutrition Research-cum-Action
Network began here Tuesday.
Attended by delegates of 10 countries in region and officials of the
World Health Organization and the U.N. Children's Fund, the meeting reviews work
done in the past five years and will draw plans to study chronic diseases
caused by food.
A work committee for nutrition research in South-East Asia region was
set up in 1990 to coordinate the research work in the region.
Iranian ambassador to Myanmar appointed Tehran, Feb 7, IRNA -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry here on Wednesday announced the appointment of Rasoul Eslami as Iran's accredited ambassador to Myanmar (Burma).
The appointment of Eslami was proposed by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi
and approved by President Mohammad Khatami. He is currently serving as
Iran's ambassador to Bangkok, Thailand.
Bangkok Post - February 07,
2001.
FLESH TRADE Police arrest 33 Burmese girls on prostitution charges Police raided a house in Phya Thai yesterday morning and arrested 33
teenage girls on charges of prostitution.
A team from the Metropolitan Patrol and Special Operations Division raided
a two-storey house on Phahon Yothin Soi 9 and found the girls, aged 15-17.
Only 12 had identification cards. Four confessed they were Burmese.
House owner Sudsai Sawatchooto was not on the premises during the raid.
Housekeeper Panna-orn Yaemma, 54, denied any knowledge about the flesh trade,
and police charged her with sheltering aliens. Police said the girls were sent
to massage parlours. One said half her earnings went to the parlour and she paid
Mrs Panna-orn 350 baht per client.
Also arrested was Sgt Wisit Chanbaek, of the Territorial Defence
Department, who said he was hired to drive the girls around at 200 baht a trip.
Police said the sergeant usually picked up 10 girls per trip at about 11.30am
and drove them home at 1.30am.
The raid on the house followed a complaint from two Shan women that they
had been lured into prostitution.
Bangkok Post - February 07,
2001.
Elephants forced to seek work in Burma Phrae-More than 10 elephants have been forced to haul logs in Burma because
of the lack of forestry or tourism work in Thailand.
Bancha Wivattanapakdi, a village chief from Long district, said mahouts
were forced to take their elephants to Burma because there were few log hauling
opportunities in Phrae forests.
Efforts to create jobs in eco-tourism also failed, he said, adding that
such tours attracted few tourists anyway.
"There are 24 elephants in our village and 10 have worked in Burmese
forests.
Others work in tourist spots in Chiang Mai and other northern
provinces."Elephants which work in Burma also run the risk of losing their lives
to landmines. One elephant had to be treated in hospital in Phrae after it
stepped on a landmine while hauling logs along the border.
U.S Department of State
U.S. Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Burma The United States condemns in the strongest terms efforts by the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), formerly known as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), to prevent the citizens of Burma from exercising
their basic political rights. The United States wants an end to human rights
abuses and the installation of a democratically elected government in Rangoon,
and supports the aspirations of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the
people of Burma, who desire what so many others around the world now take for
granted: the chance to freely express their views and to be represented by
leaders of their choosing.
Burma cannot fully rejoin the international community and gain the
assistance it needs until fundamental changes are made. The United States
maintains its position that a meaningful political dialogue between the Burmese
authorities and the democratic opposition leaders and representatives of the
ethnic groups is the only path to a solution of Burma's crisis.
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