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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - February - 18, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SFC - Burmese Junta, Nobelist End War of
Words
Bkk Post - Gen Chavalit stuns army with
remark
Bkk Post - Villager gunned down by Burmese
troops
Southnexus - Southeast, South Asian Ministers
stress concert
AFP - Thailand's new cabinet to be unveiled after king's
formal approval
AFP - Trans-ASEAN gas pipeline faces
formidable challenges ahead
AP - Thailand's New Cabinet Swown
in
The Nation - Burmese shoots kamnan
The Nation - Burmese, Wa troops close in on Shan
army
The Nation - Tensions remain high as border face-off
continues
San Francisco Chronicle
Burmese Junta, Nobelist End War of Words Talks may set stage for political reforms Seth Mydans, New York Times Sunday, February 18, 2001 Bangkok -- The first sign that something unusual was going on was the
disappearance in Burma of editorial cartoons pillorying the country's
pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a "democracy princess," a "political
stunt actress" and a "Satan of destruction."
Then the diatribes against her that have been a staple of the state-
controlled press became more muted and indirect. Soon after that, newspapers
stopped printing periodic announcements of forced "voluntary resignations" of
members of Suu Kyi's political party.
"The papers are even less interesting now than they were, if you can
imagine that," said a Western resident of Burma.
Over the past month, the reason has emerged -- for the first time since
1994, the military junta that runs the country has begun holding talks with Suu
Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Both sides have suspended their war of words in
a tentative period of what diplomats call "confidence building."
Most experts agree, though, that there is still a clear bottom line. The
military that has ruled Burma since 1962, and the current junta -- in power
since 1988 -- have no intention of giving away or sharing any substantive power.
"At this point, the most we can expect is some loosening up around the
edges," said Josef Silverstein, an expert on Burma who is an emeritus professor
at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
It is possible that the talks are a ploy to make the government appear more
flexible in the hope that international sanctions will be eased and foreign aid
will begin to trickle in again.
The United States and Europe have been squeezing Burma for years with
political pressure and sanctions. The United States has banned new business
deals there by U.S. companies and refuses visas to Burma government officials.
The European Union has scaled back contacts with an Asian regional grouping that
includes Burma.
The difficulties with the West were set off when the military suppressed a
peaceful democratic movement that swelled in 1988. Thousands of people were
killed in military massacres.
Two years later, in a monumental miscalculation, the military held a
parliamentary election in which Suu Kyi's party, the National League for
Democracy, won 88 percent of the seats. The junta quickly annulled the results
and instituted an even more thorough political clampdown.
Now the government seems to have changed tack sharply. In its first
substantive gesture, last month it released 85 imprisoned members of the
National League for Democracy. It is still believed to be holding as many as 1,
700 political prisoners, including 35 people who were elected to parliament in
1990.
If the talks are more than public relations, several factors may be at
play,
and economic pain appears to be chief among them. Burma's economy is a
mismanaged shambles and getting worse, with inflation rising, the currency
rapidly losing value, some of the last few foreign investors pulling out, and
economic growth slowing to a crawl.
Monopolies run by the military and its cronies have skewed and sapped the
economy. The World Bank recently described Burma as "trapped in abject poverty.
"
A parallel source of pressure has come from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, the regional economic grouping that admitted Burma as a member in
1997 and has mostly pursued a policy of economic and political engagement.
The Asian financial crisis that same year dashed hopes in Burma for a surge
in regional trade and investment. And the continuing political intransigence of
the government has soured some of its neighbors on forging closer ties.
Bangkok Post - February 18,
2001.
BURMESE BORDER Gen Chavalit stuns army with remark Doubts raised about defence suitability Sermsuk Kasitipradit, Subin Khuenkaew and Wassana Nanuam Senior army officers have questioned New Aspiration leader Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh's suitability for the defence portfolio after he blamed the lack of
a clear border line for the incursion of Burmese troops into Thailand.
Gen Chavalit, a former army commander-in-chief, said last week he was
confident the clash in Chiang Rai's Mah Fah Luang district would not have
occurred if the border had been clearly demarcated in the area.
"Burmese forces intentionally encroached on our sovereignty by seizing our
forward outpost in Mae Fah Luang, which is nearly a kilometre inside our
territory," a Third Army colonel said.
"It has nothing to do with the border line, since it was quite clearly
marked that the outpost is in Thai territory."Other senior officers were also
amazed by the remark, he said.
The Burmese military had shown its contempt and disrespect for Thai
sovereignty by using force to take the base for use as a springboard to attack
the Shan State Army.
An estimated 200 Burmese troops had seized Ban Pang Noon paramilitary
outpost on the night of Feb 8, capturing 19 paramilitary rangers.
The Burmese were forcefully evicted, leaving behind several dead, in the
early hours of Feb 10 after the rangers escaped.
Burma has denied that any such incursion occurred.
A cavalry officer who was in charge of security at Mae Sai border town said
Gen Chavalit's remark was inappropriate from a man who would soon become the
country's next defence minister.
It was totally contrary to statements made earlier by several leading armed
forces officers, including Supreme Commander Gen Sampao Chusri, army chief Gen
Surayud Chulanont and Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, who
had all condemned the incursion and said it was intentional.
Several Third Army officers said they were concerned the new defence
minister might take a compromising approach toward the Burmese military junta,
which could run against national interest.
"To deal with them [Burmese] we have to negotiate from a position of
strength and unity, not weakness," one officer said.
None of the officers who commented thought the time appropriate for Gen
Chavalit to make a trip to Rangoon.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said his first official foreign trip
will be to Burma for talks on drug trafficking and border security issues.
Gen Chavalit has also criticised the outgoing administration for its
failure to complete the demarcation of the border between the two
countries.
Bangkok Post - February 18,
2001.
Villager gunned down by Burmese troops A Thai villager was seriously wounded yesterday when Burmese troops opened
fire across the Moei river in Mae Sot district, border officials said.
Thirayuth Kakaen, 47, of Ban Mae Kokane, was shot in the hip and body and
was receiving treatment at Mae Sot hospital.
Mr Thirayuth and three other men were fishing in the Moei river near Koh
Manao when they spotted 20 Burmese soldiers and members of the pro-Rangoon
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
The soldiers opened fire with assault rifles, the border officials
said.
Thai troops from the Fourth Infantry Regiment Task Force and 346th Border
Patrol Police Company were sent to secure the area following the shooting.
Southnexus
Southeast, South Asian Ministers stress
concert
YANGON, Feb 17: Trade and Economic Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka and Thailand emphasised the importance of cooperation in the face of
globalisation at a meeting here of their BIMST-EC grouping.
In a communique released on Friday, a day after the Bangladesh, India,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic Cooperation talks wrapped up, Myanmar
Minister Brigadier-General Abel urged members to first trade among themselves,
and then with other Asian nations.
The first secretary of Myanmar's junta, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, told
delegates that the four-year-old grouping was a "crucial link" between the
nations of South and Southeast Asia.
"In these times no nation can stay aloof and in isolation.. developing
nations must learn to cooperate with each other in the most effective and
efficient way possible," he said.
The Ministers were joined in Yangon by representatives from the Asian
Development Bank and the United Nations' Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific.
The meeting, hosted by Myanmar for the first time, was attended by
delegates from the five member countries as well as Nepal, which is seeking
membership and was represented for the first time as an observer.
The Ministers agreed the fourth BIMST-EC meeting would be held in Colombo
in February 2002.
Saturday February 17, 1:50 PM
Thailand's new cabinet to be unveiled after king's formal approval BANGKOK, Feb 17 (AFP) - Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to reveal his cabinet line-up Saturday
after formally submitting the names of his nominees to King Bhumibol Adulyadej
for his approval.
The ceremony will take place at 5:00 pm (1000 GMT) at the monarch's
residence in seaside Hua Hin, about three hours drive south of the
capital.
In the wake of the scandal-plagued January 6 elections which his Thai Rak
Thai party won in a landslide, Thaksin appealed for the public and the press to
give his ministers a chance to settle in.
He vowed to investigate members of parliament charged with corruption, but
acknowledged that his government was unlikely to remain untainted by
graft.
"We should give them the opportunity to work," he told reporters as he
departed for his audience with the king.
"But it would be very hard to find people at this age who have done nothing
wrong," he said, warning that his cabinet could be reshuffled at any time in the
light of new revelations of wrongdoing.
Thaksin has been forced to include ministers with poor reputations because
of pressure from factions with his party and from his coalition partners who all
want to be represented in the cabinet.
Speculation over who will be included in the inner circle has dominated
Thailand's press and financial markets in recent weeks.
Interest has focused on who will take command of the finance ministry as
Thailand struggles to throw off the lingering effects of the 1997 financial
crisis.
Commentators who favoured Bank of Thailand governor Chatumongkol Sonakul
for the job were disappointed when it emerged Thaksin's close adviser Somkid
Chautusipitak had been given the nod.
Thaksin was forced to defend his choice against criticism that Somkid did
not have the necessary experience, saying he was confident he would eventually
win wide approval.
"He (Somkid) cannot understand why he is accused of lacking experience in
the capital and financial markets when, as matter of fact, he has been an
advisor to the stock market many times," he said.
The defence portfolio also attracted attention as it emerged that Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, a former prime minister and army chief with close ties to
neighbouring Myanmar, was almost certain to be picked.
Chavalit heads the New Aspiration party, one of the two partners in the
Thai Rak Thai-led coalition which has secured the strongest parliamentary
majority in Thailand's history.
With tension on the Myanmar border running high after clashes between the
two national armies, Thaksin said Chavalit would play a major role in soothing
bilateral relations.
"From now on his main duties will be to help me on the issues of security,
the border, and the military," he said.
And he confirmed Chavalit planned to use his personal contacts with
Myanmar's top brass to try to settle the problem.
Expected to be appointed Thailand's new foreign minister is Surakiart
Sethirathai, a relative unknown who served as finance minister for a year until
mid-1996.
The Harvard-educated lawyer, who currently serves as Thai Rak Thai's deputy
leader, is expected to follow a foreign policy agenda based on regional
cooperation and economic issues.
The cabinet is expected to travel to Hua Hin on Sunday to be sworn in,
officially marking the beginning of Thaksin's administration and ending the
caretaker role played by outgoing premier Chuan Leekpai.
The Thai stock market, which has been treading water as investors awaited
the official release of the cabinet list, is expected to pick up steam in the
week ahead.
"I think Thaksin is a man on a mission and he's going to take action
quickly," said Yuanta Securities research adviser George Huebsch.
"He's got a majority in parliament so he can push through his economic
package that I think the country needs," he said.
In an unprecedented feat by a Thai political party, Thak Rai Thai now holds
a simple majority in the 500-seat House of Representatives after absorbing a
smaller party earlier this month.
Trans-ASEAN gas pipeline faces
formidable challenges ahead
SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (AFP) - The
initial links for a natural gas pipeline network across oil-dependent Southeast
Asia are slowly being laid, but formidable challenges lie ahead, experts and
officials said.
Completion of a 656-kilometre (406-mile) pipeline that began delivering
natural gas from Indonesia's West Natuna fields to Singapore in Jaunary has
rekindled hopes that the ambitious trans-ASEAN gas network will be realised by
its target date of 2020.
Already, another high-pressure pipeline, spanning 500 kilometres (310
miles) to deliver natural gas from South Sumatra to Singapore would be completed
by 2003.
Negotiations are in the works for a major gas supply deal between Indonesia
and Malayia expected by April.
These national and bilateral links are to be integrated into a 10 country
regionwide network, which would complement a planned regional power grid,
according to the plan.
"The trans-ASEAN gas pipeline will increase the security of natural gas
supply within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)," Singapore Trade
Minister George Yeo said at a recent energy conference here.
He expressed hope that Singapore's two multi-billion dollar natural gas
deals with Indonesia "will take us a step closer towards the establishment of an
ASEAN (gas) grid."
ASEAN groups 10 countries with diverse political systems, cultures and
economies -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
With an estimated 227 trillion cubic feet of natural gas waiting to be
tappped, ASEAN is well positioned to slash its dependence on imported oil.
Volatile oil prices have been a perennial worry for key ASEAN members,
where crude cost adjustments are a politically sensitive issue.
However, challenges ranging from funding to cross border issues such as
taxation, ownership, transit rights, third party access, pricing and
harmonisation of technical standards, needed to be resolved first, experts
said.
Deregulation of national markets for gas and electricity is also a must,
although such a move could be cumbersome because it requires legislation in many
countries.
Mohamad Farid Amin, the lead coordinator of a task force for the pipeline,
said they have come up with a draft memorandum of understanding that seeks to
address these issues.
Energy ministers will review the draft before it is adopted by their
respective governments.
Edu Hassing, a senior projects officer with the Asian Development Bank,
said financing would be crucial as countries which have just emerged from a
crippling economic crisis were unlikely to have the money for the
projects.
Guillermo Balce, executive-director of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Centre for
Energy, estimates the pipeline network would need investments of at least 10
billion US dollars over the next 10 years.
Singapore's Yeo said government support "must be complemented by private
sector participation to ensure that the projects proposed are commercially
sensible and financially viable."
Conoco Indonesia Inc. of the United States, Canadian firm Gulf Resources
Ltd. and Premier Oil Natuna Sea Ltd. of Britain ploughed about 1.5 billion US
dollars for the Natuna-Singapore pipeline alone.
While the resources are abundant, Yeo said "we need to develop an efficient
market for these resources and establish a regulatory structure and a
cooperative framework which encourage private investment."
About 6,000 kilometres (3,720 miles) of pipelines are already in place
within Southeast Asia, including a network linking Thailand to gas fields in the
Gulf of Thailand. Another pipeline network allows Myanmar to deliver gas to
Thailand.
Some 7,000 kilometres (4,340 miles) of pipelines are in the planning stage
to complete the jigsaw puzzle, according to ASEAN figures.
Among them is a submarine pipeline from the Camago-Malampaya fields in the
western Philippines to land gas on the main island of Luzon currently being
built by a unit of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, and a network to bring gas from
the South China Sea to industries in southern Vietnam.
Sunday February 18 9:19 AM ET
Thailand's New Cabinet Swown in By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's new Cabinet was sworn in Sunday before Thailand's
king, who hailed it as the first government to be elected under a reformist
constitution.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej urged the 36-member Cabinet to ``do your best and
devote yourself to the Thai people.''
``If you succeed you will be the pride of the Thai people and they will
salute you. This will create respect for every one of you,'' the king said
during the ceremony at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, south of Bangkok.
``This government is a very important one because it is the first under the
new Constitution which belongs to the people. The government also belongs to the
Thai people,'' he said.
Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party won a landslide victory in the Jan. 6 general
elections, the first polls to be held under a constitution enacted in 1997 as
the foundation of Thailand's efforts at political and social reforms.
Thaksin has said he will hold his first Cabinet meeting Monday.
One of the first tasks of the new government would be to gather information
about the country's problems such as the economy and the security, Thaksin
said.
He was referring to recent tensions at Thailand's border with Myanmar,
where troops from both sides clashed last Sunday. The two neighbors have had
uneasy relations over border disputes, narcotics smuggling and separatist rebels
in Myanmar. The rebels, Myanmar charges, are being helped by Thailand, which
Bangkok denies.
On Sunday, newspaper commentaries and analysts criticized the Cabinet
lineup unveiled Saturday in which many top jobs went to Thaksin's close friends
- with the rest going to old-style politicians whom he had promised to purge.
The Nation - February - 18,
2001.
Burmese shoots kamnan A KAMNAN in Tak's Mae Sot district was shot by a Burmese soldier while
fishing on the Moei River, an eyewitness said.
Teerayutd Khamkaen, 44, the headman of Tambol Mahawan village, received a
bullet wound from shots fired by a Burmese soldier positioned on other side of
the river, said Dao Reung, who witnessed the incident.
The river is the natural boundary between the two countries.
The Burmese soldier fired eight to 10 rounds. The shots were fired without
warning, Dao said.
Meanwhile, Mae Sot's district chief issued a warning to all residents to be
careful when travelling near the border area.
The Burmese Army has mobilised its troops - together with those of its
ally, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a splinter group of the rebel Karen
National Union - in the area following last weeks' clashes between Thai and
Burmese government troops in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.
The Nation - February 18,
2001.
Burmese, Wa troops close in on Shan army BY CHAIWAT PUMPUANG MAE SAI - Burmese troops and their allies from the Wa army are closing in
on a Shan State Army camp on Doi Kaw Wan bordering Mae Fah Luang district, in
what appeared to be an all-out offensive to overrun the position, Thai Army
officials said.
About 500 Shan soldiers are based at the SSA camp, which they said was near
Ban Pang Noon, the area where Thai and Burmese troops exchanged gunfire and
shelling last Sunday.
Army chief General Surayudh has ordered Thai troops to prepare for an
influx of Shan refugees along the northern border.
Thai and Burmese soldiers last week exchanged gunfire and mortar shelling
after the latter refused to retreat from the Ban Pang Noon hill, which they had
taken from a platoon of 19 Thai Rangers the day before.
Other districts along the northern border also erupted in fighting,
including Chiang Mai's Mae Ai where a Thai army helicopter was forced to make an
emergency landing after being hit by a Burmese bullet.
The US government has issued an advisory warning its citizens to exercise
caution in the region.
"Three Thai citizens were killed when the Burmese army shelled the border
town of Mae Sai in Chiang Rai province," it said.
"Americans should exercise caution when travelling close to the Burmese
border within Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son provinces," it said.
Burma denied responsibility for the attack on Mae Sai. The junta accused
the rebel SSA of shelling the town.
However, Thai Army officials who witnessed the shelling dismissed the claim
and pointed to the unexploded Burmese rocket dug up from a residential area as
evidence to back up their claims.
Burma's state-run media lashed out at the Thai Army's role in the affair,
accusing it of being in league with drug traffickers along the rugged border
region.
"It is obvious that the units of the Thai [Third Army] giving protection to
the drug-trafficking insurgents are involved in the drug trade," the New Light
of Myanmar claimed.
The paper said the Thai Army was in the throes of reviving the World War
II-era "Greater Thailand Policy," aimed at annexing parts of Laos, China and
Burma.
"The Thai Army is found to have taken steps in an attempt to invade the
area of Tachilek with the use of force ... It is thus suspected that the Royal
Thai Army is attempting to implement again the Greater Thailand Policy," it
said.
Tensions along the northern border area remained high as Thai and Burmese
troops showed no sign of pulling back. Border checkpoints remained closed and
many residents are afraid new fighting could break out at any time.
The Nation - February 18,
2001.
Tensions remain high as border face-off continues BY DON PATHAN (This is the first part of a two-part series.) MAE SAI - For a brief moment there was peace. The 200 Thai and Burmese
people living around this border crossing, which over the past week has become
heavily militarised, huddled around the iron gate that separates the two
countries. Their hearts and minds were on one thing, peace, as they knelt to
receive a blessing from the revered monk Phra Khroo Ba Boonchum Yannsangwaro, an
abbot from Tachilek on the Burmese side.
Moments later the two groups, which included several cross-border
friendships, parted ways, and the Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing returned to
what it has been for the past week, a heavily militarised zone.
Since last Sunday, battalions of troops from both sides have been deployed
to the area, turning what was an economically vibrant trading centre into a
virtual war zone.
It seems neither side is willing to pull back its troops. Instead, both
have their weapons locked and loaded. So far no one has stepped out of line.
Nevertheless tension remains high, with both Thai and Burmese generals showing
no sign of giving in.
"We have been too accommodating in the past," said Maj-General Chamlong
Phothong, deputy commander of the Third Army region, "but this is a matter of
security."
Thai-Burmese diplomatic and military relations have been on a
roller-coaster ride for five years. The Thai army lost one of its most important
buffers, the heavily armed Mong Tai Army, after its leader, notorious opium
warlord Khun Sa, surrendered to Rangoon in return for a generous amnesty.
Previous governments under Banharn Silapa-archa and General Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh employed friendly tactics to improve ties, while the Chuan Leekpai
administration took a firm position in dealing with its uneasy neighbour.
Nothing seems to work. Border and diplomatic relations remain tense.
And last Sunday it all went up in smoke. The sides exchanged fire, shelling
one another's positions along with residential areas. The fighting lasted just a
day, but with both sides playing hardball it will be years before the moral
damage is repaired.
The incident started when a battalion of Burmese soldiers forcibly took a
strategic hill near Ban Pang Noon in Chiang Rai province from a group of 19 Thai
Rangers.
They wanted it to mount an artillery attack on the rebel Shan State Army,
which Rangoon accuses of working with the Thai army against the Burmese army.
A whole day went by, and the negotiations for Burmese withdrawal went
nowhere. Soon afterwards Thai soldiers began to shell the area, forcing a
Burmese retreat. But it did not stop there. Fighting broke out in other places
along Thailand's northern border, with both sides trading rockets, mortars and
gunfire in and around Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district. In nearby Mae Ai district a
Thai helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing after it was hit by a
sniper's bullet from nearby Doi Lang, 32 square kilometres of disputed hills
once occupied by Khun Sa's troops.
To prevent the situation from getting out of hand, both sides rushed to
sign a ceasefire late on Sunday night. But when the agreement's contents were
made public, a war of words erupted between Bangkok and Rangoon over
interpretation, as the three copies were in three different languages.
For the time being, the northern border remains sealed. Even in other
sectors of the border where trade continues, the army has prohibited food and
fuel from being taken across for fear that supplies will reach Burmese troops.
Burma's state-run press has accused the Thai army of interference, saying
that it is supporting the Shan army by allowing the rebels, whom they accuse of
being major drug traffickers, to operate freely along the border.
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