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BURMA RELATED NEWS - April 02,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Thai Army In Talks With Myanmar To Ease Border
Tensions
AP - Myanmar Says Lack
Of Development Aid Is Causing Migration
AFP - Thailand and
Myanmar begin border dispute talks
Reuters - Thailand
hopes talks with Myanmar will boost ties
Asia Pulse - China Appoints 10 New
Ambassadors
Dow Jones - Unocal:US Econ Slowdown Won't Impact Asian Energy
Ops>UCL
Asia Pulse - Indonesia Joins Forum for E Asia Latin America
Cooperation
Dow Jones - Myanmar Poised To Be A Specialty Coffee
Grower
The Daily Telegraph - PoW victim's daughter wins battle with
Burma
BBC - Drugs agenda for Thai-Burma talks
The Nation - Thai, Burma begin border talks
The Nation - UN envoy's trip caps year of change in
Burma
Bkk Post - Wattanachai keen on closer
ties
Xinhuanet - Mekong Meeting on Refugees Opens in
Myanmar
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Launches Environmental Education
Week
SCMP - Junta opens door to UN
envoy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 12:43 PMThai Army In Talks With Myanmar To Ease
Border Tensions
BANGKOK (AP)--A Thai military
commander led a 40-strong delegation to Myanmar's Shan State Monday for talks
with the ruling military in a bid to end tensions after the worst border clashes
in years between the two countries.
It will be the first meeting of the Thai-Myanmar Regional Border Committee
in three years, which is meant to convene every six months. Thai officials say
Myanmar has declined to host the meeting since it was last held at the southern
Thai resort island of Phuket in 1998.
"We hope that the border tension will cease once talks have resumed,"
spokesman Col. Pichit Laksanalamai said before the Thai delegation left by
military plane early Monday for Keng Tung, Shan State in northeastern Myanmar.
Lt. Gen. Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, commander of the Third Army and an
outspoken critic of the Myanmar regime, is leading the delegation that includes
officials from the army, the Foreign Ministry and provinces bordering Myanmar.
Myanmar's delegation is led by Maj. Gen. Thein Sein, chief of its eastern
military command.
Key checkpoints between northern Thailand and Myanmar, also known as Burma,
have been closed since the fighting in February, which killed at least five
civilians and a number of Myanmar soldiers. Thousands of forces from both
countries are still deployed at the border.
During the one-day talks, discussions will focus on the border dispute,
cooperation on drug suppression and improving overall bilateral relations,
Pichit said.
The ties have also been strained by Thai allegations that Myanmar is
allowing an ethnic Wa army, which has reached a cease-fire with the regime, to
produce hundreds of millions of methamphetamines at the border every year and
smuggle them for sale in Thailand.
Myanmar has retorted to Thai criticism by saying it should clean up its own
house and crack down on corrupt politicians who profit from the drugs trade.
After the talks in Keng Tung, the Thai delegates will travel to Yangon to
meet Tuesday with Gen. Maung Aye, the Myanmar army commander who is also deputy
chief of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council.
Pichit hoped Maung Aye would be in a position to take final decisions on
some issues under discussion so the border committee talks could yield results.
Previous talks at local level between border officials have made little
progress.
Thailand hopes the two countries can agree to withdraw troops from the
tense border region and reopen the Mae Sai-Tachilek checkpoint, which lies at
the northernmost point of Thailand. Trade is at a virtual standstill.
Two weeks ago, Thailand reopened its checkpoint at Mae Sai, but Myanmar has
kept its gate at Tachilek shut.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 5:42 PM
Myanmar Says Lack Of Development
Aid Is Causing Migration
YANGON (AP)--Myanmar's
immigration minister appealed Monday for more development assistance and
international cooperation to protect the rights of refugees and displaced
persons.
"One of the root causes of irregular migration is lack of development,
therefore relevant international assistance and collaboration are essential,"
said Saw Tun, minister for immigration and population.
He was speaking at a two-day meeting in Yangon on the problem of displaced
persons and cross-border migration. Officials from six nations of the Mekong
sub-region - Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - are
attending.
Most countries stopped giving aid to Myanmar, also known as Burma, after a
violent military crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.
"Myanmar wishes to stress the importance of international cooperation and
responsibility sharing in protecting the rights of refugees and migrants," said
Saw Tun.
He said that problems related to "irregular migration" across the world
"will not arise if all countries respect each other's sovereignty, existing laws
and international practices."
Hundreds of thousands of mostly ethnic minority villagers have fled
military-run Myanmar for Thailand, Bangladesh and other neighboring countries in
the past two decades, often claiming mistreatment by Myanmar forces.
International human rights groups say civilians have escaped fighting
between government forces and ethnic insurgents or forced relocation. Many more
have migrated illegally to find work or have been displaced inside Myanmar.
Myanmar says it is trying to develop border regions where minorities live
but is starved of development assistance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 1:06 PM
Thailand and Myanmar begin border
dispute talks
BANGKOK, April 2 (AFP) -
Thailand and Myanmar Monday began talks aimed at resolving a serious border
dispute sparked by warring ethnic armies in the drug-producing region, which
threatens to further alienate the two sides.
The high-level Regional Border Committee convened Tuesday for the first
time in two years, for a three-day meeting to be held in Kentung on the Myanmar
side of the border.
A Thai army source said the 32-member delegation led by Third Army
Commander General Lieutenant Wattanachai Chaimeunwong left on schedule early
Monday for Kentung, where they will stay for the duration of the talks.
A virtual media blackout has been imposed, and little news of the
discussions is expected to be released until the delegation returns to Thai
territory on Wednesday.
Wattanachai is expected to raise a number of issues including the drugs
crisis as well as the urgent matter of the influx of refugees and illegal
workers into Thailand.
Border demarcation disputes and perennial fighting between ethnic minority
groups in the region will also be on the agenda, the army source said.
"We expected to make some progress during the meeting. We have not talked
for two years and that is why the problems have multiplied," he said.
Wattanachai is also to travel to the Myanmar capital Yangon Wednesday, he
said, adding the army commander was expected to meet with senior officials there
but that the itinerary has yet to be finalised.
Thailand-Myanmar relations are at a low ebb since border clashes which
broke out on February 11 set off a war of words between them.
Two sessions of the lower-level Township Border Commission have failed to
ease strains sparked by the fighting that saw stray shells rain down on the
important Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing, killing several civilians.
The checkpoint has been closed since Myanmar troops pursuing ethnic rebels
strayed into Thailand, prompting retaliation by the Thai army and a tense
month-long standoff between the two sides.
Thailand tried to re-open its side of the Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing earlier
this month but Myanmar officials said they had had not been consulted over the
move and refused to follow suit.
The clashes also set off abarrage of angry allegations between the two
countries over the production of methamphetamines on Myanmar soil by
Yangon-allied ethnic militias.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Myanmar's Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin Maung Win held private talks focussing on the recent border
clashes on the sidelines of a meeting in Chile last week.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 6:07 PM
Thailand hopes talks with Myanmar will
boost ties
By Nopporn Wong-Anan BANGKOK (Reuters) - A three-day
meeting of Thai and Myanmar officials to discuss border issues began on Monday
after a two-year suspension, with Thailand saying it hopes the talks will help
soothe simmering tension along the frontier.
Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, commander of Thailand's third
army, which defends the northern border with Myanmar, told reporters the meeting
was a first step in mending relations between the two neighbours.
"I don't expect the talks to produce 100 percent tangible results, but it
is an opportunity for military personnel and national leaders of the two
countries to know each other better," Wattanachai, head of the 35-member Thai
delegation, said before departing for the meeting in Myanmar.
Relations between the two countries dived in February amid battles between
Myanmar troops, their allies in the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and
anti-government Shan rebels.
Thailand says the battles spilled over on to Thai soil, forcing a response.
Myanmar denies this.
The drugs trade has also damaged relations.
Bangkok says the UWSA is the source of hundreds of millions of
methamphetamine tablets flooding Thailand each year, and has accused Yangon of
turning a blind eye to the problem. Myanmar says the Shan rebels are the
region's main drug traffickers.
Wattanachai said he would start the Regional Border Committee meeting,
taking place in the northeastern Myanmar town of Kengtung, with a golf game with
Major General Thein Sein of the Triangle Region Command, chief of Myanmar's
delegation.
Wattanachai, whose outspoken attacks on Myanmar have fuelled speculation in
the Thai media he could be transferred to a higher but inactive post later this
year, has said he would act as an ambassador at this meeting.
The two countries, which share a 2,400 km (1,490 mile) border, have waged a
war of words since the February clashes.
Wattanachai said formal discussions would begin on Tuesday, when Thailand
hoped to raise the issues of drug trafficking, illegal immigrant workers, border
clashes and refugees.
Any agreements, if reached, could be signed Wednesday morning before the
Thai delegation is to pay a courtesy visit to senior Myanmar government leaders
in Yangon.
The last regional border meeting was held in Thailand's southern resort of
Phuket in March 1999.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 3:50 PM
China Appoints 10 New
Ambassadors
BEIJING, April 2 Asia Pulse -
President Jiang Zemin announced on March 30 the appointment of new ambassadors
to Myanmar and nine other countries, in accordance with a decision made by the
National Peoples Congress Standing Committee.
Li Jinjun was appointed the new ambassador to Myanmar, replacing Liang
Dong.
Ai Ping replaces Jiang Zhengyun as the new ambassador to Ethiopia.
Cui Yongqian is now the ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo,
replacing Sun Kunshan.
Xu Daijie, ambassador to Comoro, is replaced by Zhao Chunsheng.
Wang Xuexian, ambassador to South Africa, gave his position to Liu
Guijin.
Wu Hongbin, the new ambassador to Tajikistan, replaces Fu Quanzhang.
Gao Yusheng is appointed new ambassador to Turkmenistan, replacing Gong
Liefu.
Chen Wenzhao, ambassador to New Zealand and the Cook Islands, is replaced
by Chen Mingming.
Wu Zurong, new ambassador to Vanuatu, takes the position of Huang Dongbi.
Li Jinzhang, new ambassador to Mexico, replaces Shen Yun'ao.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 1:25 PM
Unocal:US Econ Slowdown Won't Impact
Asian Energy Ops>UCL
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--U.S.
Energy major Unocal Corp. (UCL) said late last week its Asian operations won't
be hit by the economic slowdown in the U.S.
Unocal is active in oil and gas exploration and development in seven
countries outside north America, including Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and
Myanmar.
Asked whether Unocal's operations in Asia could be affected by the economic
turmoil in the U.S., a U.S.-based Unocal spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires the
company's "capital plans for Asia remain the same."
He added: "Of course, we are consistently looking for more efficiencies and
lower costs."
Unocal reportedly are looking to withdraw from Brunei where it has invested
in unsuccessful exploration drilling.
The company remains active in Bangladesh's upstream gas sector, despite the
government's refusal to approve gas exports and state-owned oil and gas company
Petrobangla's outstanding debt of US$11.5 million in overdue gas and condensate
payments it owes Unocal.
Unocal also has oil and gas projects in development in Brunei, China, India
and Vietnam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 3:20 PM
Indonesia Joins Forum for E Asia Latin
America Cooperation
NEW YORK, April 2 Asia Pulse -
Indonesia has joined 29 other countries to establish the Forum for East
Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).
The decision to establish this forum was made by foreign ministers and
chief delegates of 30 countries at a meeting in Santiago, Chile on March
29-30.
A press release from the Indonesian embassy in Santiago on Saturday said
that the two-day meeting marked the beginning of an unprecendented dialogue and
cooperation between two regions to solve political, cultural, social, economic
and international issues of mutual concern.
The 30 countries listed as members of the forum are Argentina, Australia,
Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile,
China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico,
Myanmar, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.
The foreign ministers and chief delegates at the meeting said they will
strengthen the ties between the two dynamic regions to manage the challenges and
opportunities in an interdependent and globalised world.
"The meeting has provided a new opportunity to develop greater
understanding while preserving the cultural identities of each country," it
said.
Indonesia was represented by Director General for Political Affairs at the
Foreign Affairs Ministry Hassan Wirajuda.
To implement the cooperation, the ministers and chief delegates decided to
establish three working groups to promote dialogues and cooperation in the
political, cultural, economic, social, education, scientific and technological
sectors.
The meeting, co-chaired by Chilian Foreign Affairs Minister Maria Soledad
Alvear Valenzuela and her Singaporean counterpart'S Jayakumar, also decided that
the Philippines will host the next ministerial meeting in 2003, with the
assistance of Colombia.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday April 2, 7:29 PM
INTERVIEW:Myanmar Poised To Be A
Specialty Coffee Grower
By Weilyn Loo of Dow Jones News
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--In the eyes of Gregory Love, Myanmar is capable of becoming a specialty coffee producer in Southeast Asia. The Myanmar government has begun distributing land for coffee growing, as
part of its effort to promote coffee as an export crop. But more importantly,
Myanmar farmers have taken to training programs initiated by his company, Golden
Triangle Eco-Resources Ltd.
They have learnt the proper techniques of harvesting coffee, which could
yield higher incomes for their produce, Love, director of Golden Triangle, said
in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.
"Farmers are picking up all red coffee cherries. There has been a great
improvement in techniques," Love said.
In coffee harvesting, only red and ripe cherries produce the best green
beans.
Golden Triangle, established in 1996, is a coffee processor and exporter.
In the last two years, the company has established training programs for some
4,000 Myanmar farmers, devoting time to teaching them on how to increase yields
and attain the best price for their coffee.
Golden Triangle sells Myanmar coffee into markets in Japan, Europe and the
U.S.
Coffee in Myanmar has traditionally been a border trade commodity, but now
the government is aiming to promote it as an export crop, Love said.
As part of its export promotion program, the government in Myanmar has
distributed prime coffee growing land amounting to 10,000 acres since 1994.
Of this, about 3,600 acres are currently being planted, he said.
Myanmar Govt Approves Land For Coffee
Growing
More recently, it has approved plans for a further 130,000 acres of land for coffee growing, which could yield as much as 60,000 metric tons of arabica coffee in the next five years. Myanmar currently produces some 500 tons of coffee per year. The production and export of specialty coffee, mostly referring to arabica
coffee for its mild cup and better aroma, have been the privilege of the
countries in Western hemisphere and mostly of the Americas.
Asia's part barely, if at all, exceeds 10% of overall arabica production,
according to Pierre Leblache, New York-based president of ConsultAbroad Inc.
In Asia, India is the biggest arabica producer with an annual production of
about 100,000 metric tons, followed by Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Vietnam,
currently the world's biggest robusta producer, has also embarked on an arabica
cultivation program, but its arabica production is as yet very small.
Love said Myanmar's coffee isn't recognized in the world market because of
poor processing techniques and poor marketing.
But most of its arabica coffee are grown at altitudes of over 3,000 feet,
and as such rust disease isn't really a big problem, he said.
It's superior quality coffee, which some Japanese specialty coffee roasters
dubbed the "elegant coffee," commands a premium in the world market.
Japanese roasters are willing to pay a premium of 50 cents a pound to
arabica prices on the New York Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange for the
Myanmar-origin Bourbon variety, he said.
Nearby arabica coffee prices on New York's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa
Exchange are currently hovering around 62 cents a pound.
Coffee Quality Improves
With the abundance of coffee supply in the world market and low world prices, it should be apparent that producers need to pay more attention to quality, Love said. He said the vast majority of farmers in Myanmar have never drunk coffee.
Most prefer tea and as such have no concept of what makes good coffee.
He said the key to producing a superior coffee is to control the entire
process from cherry picking right
through to the production of green beans. When the company began its
training programs, almost all coffee was processed by the farmers themselves.
Then, wet cherries offered in the market were on average 70%-80% green, he said.
In areas where they've been conducting training for a few years, the
company is now receiving on average 95% red cherries.
Most of the coffee produced by the farmers themselves have also gone up
greatly in quality, he said.
Love said the company's training programs were established with the aim of
helping farmers understand and determine for themselves what is fair and
reasonable price for their coffee.
So they neither get cheated by brokers or have such unrealistic
expectations that they end up not being able to sell their coffee at the end of
the season, Love said.
In organizing the training, Love said he and his trainers work very closely
with the monks in the village monasteries as the people look up to them as
teachers and will listen to them.
"By gaining their understanding and trust, the training become more
effective as these community leaders actually encourage people to attend and
really listen to us," he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Telegraph
Monday 2 April 2001
PoW victim's daughter wins battle with Burma By David Sapsted THE ashes of the widow of a soldier who died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war
camp are to be scattered at his grave after her daughter won an eight-year
battle with the Burmese authorities.
Ida Smith, who died in 1993 aged 77, was never able to visit the grave of
her husband, Bill, a lance corporal who was captured during the fall of
Singapore and died in December 1943, working as slave labour.
After repeated attempts to obtain a visa to honour her mother's last wish
to be reunited with him, Carol Cooper, 61, has finally been granted one. She and
her husband, Ron, will make the journey to the cemetery at Thanbyuzayat, Burma,
later this month.
"My mother could never have afforded to go to the grave herself and, in any
case, the government in Burma banned visitors for many years," said Mrs Cooper,
from Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth. In 1996, Mrs Cooper reached Thailand before
being refused entry into Burma. "I was absolutely devastated," she said.
She will take with her a 104-page diary inscribed to her mother in which
her father, who served with the Royal Norfolk Regiment, recorded the horrors of
life as a PoW working on building the "Railway of Death" through Burma and
Thailand.
Entries tell of forced marches to remote jungle camps and of epidemics of
cholera, dysentery, beri-beri and malaria. In June, 1943, Lance Cpl Smith wrote:
"It has rained every day since I have been here. It's hellish, mud everywhere.
Food shortages. Two meals of half a mug of gravy and half a mug of rice."
Two weeks later, he observed: "There have been 167 deaths this month so far
and the record was 28 in one night. It is simply a case of murder . . . The poor
chaps are simply stripped and dumped eight to a grave."
The last entry, written on Dec 8, 1943, nine days before he died, says
simply: "At the present time having a bad spell with malaria."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Monday, 2 April, 2001, 08:20 GMT
09:20 UK
Drugs agenda for Thai-Burma talks High ranking officials from Thailand and Burma have begun three days of
talks in the first meeting of their Regional Border Committee for two years.
Thailand was expected to raise issues such as drug smuggling, border
clashes involving ethnic Burmese rebels, illegal Burmese workers and border
disputes.
Correspondents say the new government in Bangkok has been taking a softer
tone with Burma than its predecessor, and despite a number of heated incidents
recently, both sides are sounding more conciliatory than before.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai, Burma begin border talks
Filed at 11 : 16 am (THLD time)
BANGKOK, April 2 (The Nation)
-- Thai-Burmese Regional Border Committee, jointly chaired by regional army
commanders from both countries, convened a meeting in Burma's Chentung province
to discuss border disputes which have soured relations between the two
neighbours.
Third Army chief Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, heads the 35-member Thai
delegation to attend the three-day meeting hosted by Burma's regional army
commander.
The meeting was held at a time when the relations between the two countries
have become tense following a border clashes in early February that resulted in
closing of border checkpoints and disruption of border trade, particularly at
the Mae Sai-Thachilek border pass.
Among topics of discussion are cross-border drug trafficking and Burma's
ethnic guerrillas. Thailand has alleged that Burmese authorities tolerate
amphetamine production in its territory and smuggling of the illicit drug into
Thailand. Burma has accused Thai army of aiding ethnic rebels engaged in armed
struggle against Rangoon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - April 02,
2001.
UN envoy's trip caps year of change in
Burma
BY SA-NGUAN KHUMRUNGROJ
THE upcoming visit to Burma by newly appointed United Nations human-rights
envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro comes at a time when Rangoon is showing signs of
being willing to make some concessions to its critics.
Pinheiro was quoted by a senior Thai government official as having said he
would try his utmost not to leave Rangoon empty-handed.
The 57-year-old Brazilian political science professor, the first special UN
rapporteur to be allowed entry into Burma in nearly five years, has been in
Bangkok for the past week holding a series of quiet meetings with diplomats and
Thai and UN officials to prepare for his trip.
He will head to Rangoon today for a three-day visit to meet Burmese
generals and opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under
house arrest since September. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won
Burma's general election in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to
govern.
Pinheiro's fact-finding trip includes a visit to Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur
before returning here.
His predecessor, Rajsoomer Lallah - an Oxford-educated judge from Mauritius
who resigned in November after four years in the post -had criticised the junta
for failing to abide by its commitment to uphold democracy. Lallah was banned
from visiting the country.
His last report, in October, even accused the military government of
torturing, raping and executing civilians, particularly members of ethnic
minority groups.
Pinheiro's mission, on the other hand, comes amid a series of positive
developments in the military-ruled, trouble-plagued country.
"There appears to be a number of changes inside Burma," an informed source
quoted Pinheiro as having said.
Over the past year, the relationship between the UN and the Burmese junta
has improved gradually. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent his special envoy
Razali Ismail, a Malaysian career diplomat, to Rangoon twice last year. And in
January a delegation from the European Union's Troika was also permitted to
visit Rangoon, a month after the EU-Asean foreign ministerial meeting in
Vientiane.
Soon after Razali's visit, a senior member of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council, Lt-General Khin Nyunt, and opposition leader Suu Kyi
started what appeared to be a very significant development: They began holding
direct talks after six years of bickering and mudslinging.
But leaders of armed ethnic groups fighting for autonomy have warned
against being too optimistic, saying details of the dialogue are not known.
Moreover, they add, any real reconciliation dialogue in the ethnically diverse
country would include them.
Late last week Japan approved aid for a hospital in what appeared to be
another significant development as Tokyo had earlier followed Western countries
in imposing sanctions on Burma following the junta's bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy students in 1988.
Rangoon officials have been receiving training from Canberra on human
rights, and the military state is now looking to form a human-rights commission
of its own. The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are the only Asean members
so far with a national human-rights body.
However, Burmese human- and labour-rights activists have opposed Rangoon's
move to form the commission, accusing the junta of being deceptive.
According to a Thai government official, Pinheiro was keen to gain better
understanding of Thai-Burmese relations. "We told him that it was complicated,"
the official said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - April 02,
2001.
Wattanachai keen on closer
ties
First dialogue since recent standoff The Third Army Region commander wants to forge closer ties with Burmese
military leaders at the Regional Border Committee meeting, which begins today
after three years of postponements.
The talks, in Burma's Kengtung town, will be the first dialogue between the
two neighbours since the recent border standoff involving Thai and Burmese
troops in Chiang Rai.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuengwong, Third Army commander, emphasised efforts
to forge closer personal ties with his Burmese counterpart Lt-Gen Thein
Sein.
Informal talks will be held on the golf course during the two-day
meeting.
A source said Lt-Gen Wattanachai would seek the release of two Thai
soldiers captured by Rangoon in return for the hand-over of 40 detained Burmese
soldiers.
The committee agreements are due to be signed on Wednesday.
On the Thai agenda are four areas requiring urgent bilateral
attention:
- The introduction of demilitarised zones on the border in Chiang Rai and
Chiang Mai, pending negotiation on border demarcation.
- Joint suppression of drug production bases along the border.
- A request for Rangoon to take back Burmese refugees who fled border
fighting. Burma will also be asked to ensure illegal workers ejected from
Thailand do not re-enter the country.
- Fishery concessions, carried over from the committee meeting in Phuket in
1988, will also be tabled for further discussion.
The commander is also planning to pay a courtesy call on Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt,
secretary one of the State Peace and Development Council, and Gen Maung Aye, the
army chief. His schedule would change should he be denied an appointment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mekong Meeting on Refugees Opens
in Myanmar
2001.04.02 20:21:01 YANGON, April 2 (Xinhuanet) --
The Second Mekong Sub-Regional Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Consultations
on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants opened here Monday.
The two-day meeting is attended by delegates of China, Thailand, Laos,
Vietnam and Myanmar as well as representatives of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees.
The meeting is aimed at enhancing exchange of experiences and
information issues relating to cross-border migration.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Myanmar Minister of
Immigration and Population U Saw Tun stressed that sound and comprehensive
judicial, legislative, and executive systems play important roles in the
reconstruction of civil society relating to repatriation and
reintegration.
Information sharing is an indispensable key to developing better
understanding of the migration situation across the region, he said, adding that
economic disparity, poverty and degradation of environmental conditions
have an impact on the size and flow of irregular migration.
He noted that the issue of irregular migration is globally prevalent
and persistent, adding that consultations between countries, based on
mutual understanding, equity and goodwill, will facilitate the approach to
orderly migration.
He is convinced that further problems will not arise if all countries
respect each other's sovereignty, existing laws and international
practices, saying that inter-governmental cooperation and collaboration in
tackling this issue will bring forth tangible results.
He pointed out that one of the root causes of irregular migration is
lack of development which calls for international assistance and
collaboration for sustainable development.
He said Myanmar wishes to stress the importance of international
cooperation and responsibility sharing in protecting the rights of refugees and
migrants.
He pledged that Myanmar will have full cooperation and collaboration
with countries across the Asia-Pacific region including Mekong countries
and neighboring ones.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar Launches Environmental
Education Week
2001.04.02 13:35:37 YANGON, April 2 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar started launching its first national environmental education week
campaign Monday, aiming at promoting public awareness and participation in
environmental activities.
The five-day campaign, jointly launched by the country's National
Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) and the National Working
Committee for Women's Affairs, will cover public talks and lectures to be
given at factories and sanitation work to be carried out with public
participation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the national environmental
education week, Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung, who is also NCEA
chairman, stressed that environmental conservation is a must for every
nation and every person while the world today is beset with numerous
environmental problems.
With the growing population on the earth, there is a rising tide of
human needs for food, clothing and shelter, he noted, pointing out that in
case of using the natural resources not enough for the present needs and
polluting the environment through reckless disposal of many kinds of wastes, it
is unfair and unjust to the future generations.
He emphasized the need to carry out environmental protection by taking into
account long term perspective and benefits, warning that disregard for
environmental matters has resulted in increased environmental degradation with
damaging consequences.
The environment problems affect not only a single person or a single
nation but all mankind. Aung called for working in unison in all
environmental conservation endeavors.
In Myanmar, the minister said, environmental conservation activities
are being undertaken in the country's rural areas against environmental
degradation. Special priority is being given to the implementation of the
country's dry zone greening projects, environmental sanitation programs and
rural water supply projects for the improvement of the socio-economic
well-being of the rural population.
He said that a plan of action for sustainable development called
Myanmar Agenda 21 has been formulated and adopted in 1997.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South China Morning
Post
Monday, April 2, 2001
BURMA
Junta opens door to UN envoy Diplomats hail visit and secret talks with democracy activist as indications of major shift AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Bangkok The United Nations' new human rights envoy is to visit Burma
for the first time this week, in a new sign of the junta's willingness to begin
co-operating with the outside world.
Brazilian academic Paulo Sergio Pinheiro received the green light to fly
into Rangoon just weeks after his appointment, while his predecessor Rajsoomer
Lallah quit last year after never visiting the military-run country.
Diplomats have hailed Mr Pinheiro's visit as another indication that a
remarkable political shift is under way in Burma, where the generals have begun
meeting behind closed doors with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "This is a
very positive sign," said one observer. "They need to normalise their relations
with the international community."
They noted the junta's move came ahead of the UN General Assembly on human
rights in Geneva next month, and after last year's damning resolution by the
International Labour Organisation, which caused deep concern in Rangoon.
The talks with Ms Aung San Suu Kyi have created a sense of "cautious
optimism" that the two sides may be able to negotiate a power-sharing agreement
and a longed-for transition to democracy after a decade of political deadlock.
In a significant show of good faith, the junta has ordered the official
media to halt its personal attacks on the Nobel peace laureate and has toned
down its rhetoric against her National League for Democracy (NLD).
Fourteen opposition NLD activists were released over the weekend in an
apparent gesture to mark Mr Pinheiro's expected arrival tomorrow.
The UN special rapporteur, whose so-far discreet approach to the job has
been welcomed by the junta after the outspoken Mr Lallah, is also considered
likely to be given permission to visit Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, dissident groups warn the public relations blitz must soon yield
real results or risk dashing newly raised hopes and alienating the ethnic
minority groups that have so far been left out of the nascent dialogue.
Their frustrations have been amplified by the fact that the talks have been
held in secret, with the junta characteristically tight-lipped and Ms Aung San
Suu Kyi withholding details even from close NLD aides.
The opposition leader has been confined to her Rangoon home since
September, but by all accounts has freely chosen to comply with the
restrictions, which are designed to build much-needed confidence between the two
sides.
"Honeymoons don't last forever, eventually they will have to deliver," said
Debbie Stothard, from the activist alliance Altsean-Burma. "There's growing
concern that the military has not delivered any visible progress on the talks."
Six months into the process there was still evidence of continued arrests and
atrocities in ethnic areas.
Ms Stothard warned that dissidents in the United States, Europe and
Southeast Asia would take action soon unless the junta proved it was not merely
using the talks as a tool to shield itself from criticism.
"I would speculate that there will be an increasing wave of activism until
concrete results are made. They cannot dash these hopes by just talking and not
doing anything to help these people."
Dissidents and diplomats agree that reported leaks coming from the talks
with Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, including suggestions that she has agreed not to play
a personal role in any civilian government, are unreliable.
"I don't think anybody, either in the Burmese political world or in the
international community in Rangoon, has anything like that sort of information
about what's going on," said one diplomat. "It seems to me that it's not very
credible to suggest that either side would be giving up major concessions at
this very early point in their negotiations."
Other observers in Rangoon note that although the ethnic minority groups
must eventually be the third partner in any political settlement, their
resentment in the meantime could derail the extremely delicate process.
"The Government is feeling rather apprehensive at this stage," one said.
"These guys always react negatively if they feel they are being pushed, so
people should be handling this situation with velvet gloves."
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