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BURMA RELATED NEWS - April 03,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - UN
human rights envoy begins landmark visit to Myanmar
Reuters - UN rights envoy
starts landmark visit to Myanmar
Reuters - Malaysia
moves Myanmar T-shirt protester to camp
Reuters - U.N. rights
envoy kicks off trip to Myanmar
AP - U.N. Human Rights Monitor Visits
Myanmar
AP
- UN Human Rights Official Meets Top Myanmar
General
Reuters - ASEAN talks to push Asian forex safety net
plan
BBC - UN rights envoy visits Burma
Bkk Post - Chavalit optimistic Kengtung talks will
help strengthen border co-operation
The Nation - Amnesty plan for
foreigners
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Achieves Favorable Economic
Foundations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 8:29 PM
UN human rights envoy begins landmark
visit to Myanmar
YANGON, April 3 (AFP) - The
United Nations' new human rights envoy met with top members of Myanmar's junta
Tuesday, which analysts say is another sign of the political shift taking place
here.
Brazilian academic Paulo Sergio Pinheiro flew into Yangon for the first
time early Tuesday after being given permission to travel to the military-run
country just weeks after his appointment.
His predecessor, Rajsoomer Lallah, quit last year after never visiting the
military-run country.
It remains unclear if Pinheiro will be allowed to see opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September, but his
packed three-day schedule appears to leave no time for such a meeting.
On his arrival aboard a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, Pinheiro was
greeted by Myanmar's former representative to the UN, Win Mra, who heads the
Department of International Organisations and Economic Relations.
After talks with Foreign Minister Win Aung, the special rapporteur went on
to see Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, who has been meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi
in historic contacts that began last October.
The secret dialogue has raised cautious hopes that the two sides may be
able to negotiate a power-sharing agreement and a transition to democracy that
would end a decade of political deadlock.
The junta's decision to allow Pinheiro in so promptly has been hailed as a
new sign of the ruling State Peace and Development Council's willingness to
begin cooperating with the outside world.
Diplomats note the move comes ahead of this month's UN general assembly on
human rights, and after last year's damning resolution by the International
Labor Organisation which caused deep concern in Yangon.
"This is a very positive sign," said one observer. "They need to normalise
their relations with the international community."
Special rapporteurs are independent experts whose mandate is to present
reports to the Geneva-based UN Commission on Human Rights which then decides
whether to take further action.
By all accounts, Pinheiro's discreet approach to the job so far has won
plaudits among Myanmar's generals who deeply resented the approach taken by the
outspoken Lallah, who filed a string of critical reports.
"This is a no-lose situation for the SPDC. It's not likely that Mr Pinheiro
will issue a report more damning than Lallah did," said Debbie Stothard from the
activist alliance Altsean-Burma.
Stothard welcomed the visit as a valuable opportunity for Mr. Pinheiro to
gain entry into Myanmar.
But she warned the junta must prove its recent gestures were more than an
cynical attempt to deflect criticism.
"The military regime has obviously gone on a big public relations exercise
and are very keen for the international community to ease off the pressure,"
Stothard said.
"They also now realise that they catch more flies with honey."
During the visit, meetings are also slated with Home Affairs Minister
Colonel Tin Hlaing and Labour Minister Major-General Tin Ngwe, as well as
Women's Association leaders and representatives of the UN agencies in
Yangon.
Discussions with representatives of the ethnic nationalities, whose
agreement will be crucial in any transition to democracy, and the business
community in Yangon are also on the agenda.
On Wednesday the special rapporteur is due to take a trip outside the
capital to a controversial gas pipeline, which the junta's critics say has been
built at the cost of gross human rights violations.
Before departing on a flight to Bangkok Thursday Pinheiro is to have a
final wrap-up meeting with Win Aung.
The Myanmar junta has been singled out as one of the world's worst human
rights offenders, responsible for political repression, torture and forced
labour within its borders.
The UN Human Rights Commission last year passed a resolution expressing
grave concern at the "systematic and increasingly severe" rights violations in
the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 4:33 PM
UN rights envoy starts landmark
visit to Myanmar
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON, April 3 (Reuters) -
U.N. Human Rights Envoy to Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, arrived in Yangon on
Tuesday for a three-day visit that suggests further easing of tension between
the military government and the pro-democracy opposition. Pinheiro, a Brazilian
who took over as U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar after the resignation of his
predecessor Rajsoomer Lallah in November, met the powerful Secretary One of the
ruling State Peace and Development Council, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and
also Foreign Minister Win Aung.
"I am here at the invitation of the government," Pinheiro told Reuters
after a busy round of morning meetings. "It is an exploratory visit and I hope I
have the privilege to (carry on my) mission in this country."
Asked if he expected to meet representatives of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, Pinheiro replied:
"I just don't know the details of the programme. It is an open visit. I
don't have any expectation but I would be delighted to have a chance (to meet
her)."
The NLD won Myanmar's most recent general election in 1990 by a landslide
but has never been allowed to govern. Suu Kyi has been held under de facto house
arrest since September with access to her severely restricted.
But relations between the military and pro-democracy opposition have
improved in recent months with a series of private meetings between Suu Kyi and
senior generals.
Diplomats see Pinheiro's visit as another sign of rapprochement between the
two sides in Myanmar.
Lalla, who resigned in November after four years in the job, was never
allowed to visit Myanmar.
Lallah's last report, in October, accused the military government of
torturing, raping and executing civilians -- particularly members of ethnic
minority groups.
The United States' annual report on global human rights, released last
month, grouped Myanmar with Cuba and North Korea as countries with the world's
worst human rights abuses.
Asked about the significance of his visit after years of poor relations
between his office and the Myanmar government, Pinheiro replied: "I don't
comment on the past."
He said he would announce the findings from his visit when he gets back to
Geneva at the end of this week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 7:06 PM
Malaysia moves Myanmar T-shirt protester
to camp
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -
Malaysia has moved closer to deporting a Myanmar man who stripped down to a
T-shirt celebrating opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a Myanmar Embassy
party, a U.N. official said on Tuesday.
Peter Hee Man and three Malaysians were arrested on Tuesday last week at a
party celebrating Myanmar's Armed Forces Day in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. The
Malaysians were freed on police bail the following day but Hee Man was held in
jail.
Shinji Kubo, protection officer with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, said on Tuesday Hee Man had been moved to a detention camp, where
illegal immigrants are usually held before deportation.
Kubo said his office had asked Malaysian authorities to let them see Hee
Man.
"We are constantly trying to meet this guy. Hopefully he won't disappear
before we meet him," Kubo told Reuters.
Malaysia had permitted such meetings before, he said, adding that some had
prevented planned deportations.
"I don't know if it (a meeting) can happen this week," Kubo said.
Police said on Monday Hee Man had not been charged.
Supporters of Hee Man, a member of Myanmar's Chin ethnic minority, say his
life would be in danger if he was returned to that country.
But Kubo told Reuters last week it was possible Hee Man could be deported
to Thailand instead of Myanmar.
Myanmar's ruling military body, the State Peace and Development Council,
has had a respite from harsh criticism in recent months after news emerged that
it was holding talks with Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi.
Her National League for Democracy (NLD) won Myanmar's last election in 1990
but has never been allowed to govern.
Malaysia has often defended Myanmar, a fellow member of the 10-country
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), against international
condemnation of its poor human rights record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 6:25 PM
U.N. rights envoy kicks off trip to
Myanmar
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - U.N. human
rights envoy to Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, arrived in Yangon on Tuesday for
a three-day visit that suggests further easing of tension between the military
government and the pro-democracy opposition. Pinheiro, a Brazilian who took over
as U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar after the resignation of his predecessor
Rajsoomer Lallah in November, met the powerful Secretary One of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and also Foreign
Minister Win Aung.
"I am here at the invitation of the government," Pinheiro told Reuters
after a busy round of morning meetings. "It is an exploratory visit and I hope I
have the privilege to (carry on my) mission in this country."
Asked if he expected to meet representatives of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, Pinheiro replied:
"I just don't know the details of the programme. It is an open visit. I
don't have any expectation but I would be delighted to have a chance (to meet
her)."
The NLD won Myanmar's most recent general election in 1990 by a landslide
but has never been allowed to govern. Suu Kyi has been held under de facto house
arrest since September with access to her severely restricted.
But relations between the military and pro-democracy opposition have
improved in recent months with a series of private meetings between Suu Kyi and
senior generals.
Diplomats see Pinheiro's visit as another sign of rapprochement between the
two sides in Myanmar.
Lalla, who resigned in November after four years in the job, was never
allowed to visit Myanmar.
Lallah's last report, in October, accused the military government of
torturing, raping and executing civilians -- particularly members of ethnic
minority groups.
The United States' annual report on global human rights, released last
month, grouped Myanmar with Cuba and North Korea as countries with the world's
worst human rights abuses.
Asked about the significance of his visit after years of poor relations
between his office and the Myanmar government, Pinheiro replied: "I don't
comment on the past."
He said he would announce the findings from his visit when he gets back to
Geneva at the end of this week.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 1:05 PM
U.N. Human Rights Monitor Visits
Myanmar
YANGON (AP)--The first U.N.
human rights official to visit Myanmar in five years arrived Tuesday for a
groundbreaking visit that signals the governing military junta's willingness to
loosen restrictions.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian politics professor, is expected to meet
with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been kept under virtual
house arrest since Sept. 22 after defying a travel ban.
Details of Pinheiro's schedule or the length of his trip were not
immediately known, and a United Nations Development Program official would only
confirm his arrival. The government also didn't issue a statement.
The junta has in recent months showed signs that it is prepared to seek
reconciliation with Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, which
has long been a target of its repression. It was reported late last year that
junta leaders had held secret talks with Suu Kyi. The state media also has
stopped its almost-daily diatribe against Suu Kyi and the NLD.
Pinheiro was named U.N. human rights representative in February, replacing
Rajsoomer Lallah, a Mauritian judge who resigned in November, saying he didn't
have the resources to carry out his task. His predecessor, Japanese professor
Yozo Yokota, resigned for similar reasons.
Myanmar's junta never allowed Lallah, who took the job in 1996, to visit
the country, accusing him of being unfairly critical of the regime.
But the Foreign Ministry said last week that Pinheiro was being welcomed
because he seems to be "pragmatic and non-biased."
The current military regime took power in 1988 after crushing a
pro-democracy uprising. In 1990, it held national elections that were
overwhelmingly won by the NLD, but the generals refused to hand over power.
During the last decade, hundreds of NLD activists have been jailed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 7:35 PM
UN Human Rights Official Meets Top
Myanmar General
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--The first
U.N. human rights official allowed into Myanmar in five years met with a top
general Tuesday at the start of a visit that signaled the ruling junta's
increasing openness.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian politics professor, said he had a "very
pleasant" meeting with Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council. He earlier called on Foreign Minister Win Aung.
Pinheiro is due to meet with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has
been kept under virtual house arrest since Sept. 22 after defying a travel ban.
In brief comments to reporters, Pinheiro described his visit as
"exploratory." He added that the schedule for his meeting with Suu Kyi, who won
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her democracy struggle, was not yet set.
"I hope that I'll have the privilege to have missions in this country," he
said.
Further details of his trip, including its duration, were not immediately
known. Neither the government nor the United Nations Development Program in
Yangon issued statements.
Pinheiro was named U.N. human rights rapporteur in February, replacing
Rajsoomer Lallah, a Mauritian judge who resigned in November, claiming he did
not have the resources to carry out his task. His predecessor, Japanese
professor Yozo Yokota, resigned for similar reasons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday April 3, 2:59 PM
ASEAN talks to push Asian forex safety
net plan
By Sabyasachi Mitra KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Faced
with a weak yen and slowing growth, Southeast Asian finance ministers meeting
here later this week will be keen to quickly stitch together a currency safety
net to fend off future crises.
But they need the backing of their host Malaysia, which objects to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) having any role in the plan for an Asian web
of currency swaps.
Senior finance ministry and central bank officials from ASEAN will begin a
three-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur from Wednesday. The finance ministers will
meet at the weekend on April 7 and 8.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
"We are not opposed to the plan. But we see no need for IMF in the currency
swap plan," a senior Malaysian monetary source told Reuters.
Malaysia, a strong proponent of Asian monetary cooperation, has been
critical of the IMF's role and policy prescriptions during the Asian economic
crisis of 1997-98.
"I think for Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad it is a difficult
decision as his political compulsions have forced him take an anti-IMF stance,"
said Nizam Idris, regional economist at IDEAglobal.com.
The currency swap plan, also known as the Chiang Mai initiative after the
Thai city where it was hatched last year, aims to link international reserves of
the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), through bilateral
pacts, with the three other economic powerhouses of Asia - China, Japan and
South Korea.
The idea is that any country which faces speculative attack on its
currency, like the Thai baht in 1997, or shortage of funds during a balance of
payments crisis could borrow from its partners in the swap network.
But the initiative envisages tying disbursements under the swaps scheme to
reforms supervised by the IMF, a role which Malaysia staunchly opposes.
The IMF extended large bailout packages to Thailand, Indonesia and South
Korea in the wake of Asian economic crisis.
Malaysia did not turn to IMF for financial help, but instead adopted an
unorthodox approach by imposing capital controls and pegging its currency at 3.8
units to the U.S. dollar to ward off speculative attacks on the foreign exchange
and stock markets.
PRESSURE ON MALAYSIA
The current economic slowdown in industrial economies along with a weak
yen, which in turn pressures regional currencies, has put extra momentum behind
the drive for a currency swap accord.
The yen fell to 2-½-year lows of 126.82 to the U.S. dollar on Monday, and
further weakness is expected.
"We are keen to resolve the differences at this meeting," an official at
the Bank of Thailand said.
The Philippines and Singapore, whose currency hit an 11-year low on Monday,
are expected to throw their weight behind Thailand and Japan, the prime mover
behind the plan.
Japan, a key investor in the region, sent its senior financial diplomat to
Kuala Lumpur last month to try to dispel Malaysia's misgivings.
Malaysia wants its views heard. Officials here say the plan is so far
advanced that there is no chance of it falling apart, but it just might take
longer to finesse the modalities.
Potential creditor nations, especially Japan, have stressed that the swaps
would not be activated until IMF programmes are already in place or are at the
point of being finalised.
Only in cases where a member country is deemed to be suffering a passing
cash crunch could the swap deal be triggered without a link to an IMF programme.
And in such a case, a country could borrow no more than up to 10 percent of the
swap line.
"I think if you look at the potential lenders who have big forex reserves,
they will like to have some housekeeping rules in place for implementation of
the currency swaps," Kyung Tae Lee, president of the Korea Institute of
International Economic Policy, told Reuters.
UNHAPPY WITH CURBS
Malaysia is unhappy with the curbs and wants the 10 percent restriction to
be raised significantly.
Malaysian officials cite IMF's loan facility, the Contingent Credit Lines,
which allows release of one-third of the total credit line provided to a country
without any conditions.
"IMF itself is restructuring. So, we feel that there is a need to take a
new look at the restrictions," the Malaysian monetary source said.
Another issue on the ministers' agenda is the surveillance of reforms
undertaken by member economies in the swap network.
Malaysia, along with Indonesia and some other economies, say that existing
institutional arrangements within the region like the Asian Development Bank are
sufficient for monitoring reforms and capital flows in Asia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Tuesday, 3 April, 2001, 11:37
GMT 12:37 UK
UN rights envoy visits Burma The United Nations special human rights rapporteur for Burma, Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, is in Rangoon on the first such visit in nearly five years.
He will spend the next three days holding talks with Burmese military leaders and assessing the human rights situation. So far, he has met the head of military intelligence, General Khin Nyunt,
and the Foreign Minister, Win Aung.
But it is unclear whether Mr Pinheiro will also meet the pro-democracy
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September last
year.
Analysts believe the general's decision to allow Mr Pinheiro access to
Burma is another sign that significant changes are taking place in Rangoon.
Secrecy
The BBC's Southeast Asia analyst, Larry Jagan says the UN official's visit
to Burma is still shrouded in secrecy.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe the full schedule for the visit will be worked
out with the generals in Rangoon.
Analysts say the visit can only be a confidence-building mission. Unlike
his predecessors, Mr Pinheiro has avoided holding extensive discussions with
human rights activists or Burmese opposition figures.
Instead he has spent nearly a week in the region talking to some of Burma's
neighbours - Japan, Malaysia and Thailand in particular.
UN sources say this is a fresh approach to the job and one that they hope
may produce concrete results on the human rights front.
New mood
Many of these Asian governments are also expected to support a highly
critical resolution on Burma, which will be discussed at the human rights
commission in a fortnight's time.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe that the military government has permitted Mr
Pinheiro to visit in the hope of deflecting some of the more critical aspects of
the proposed resolution.
But there has been evidence of a new mood in Rangoon ever since the
generals started talking to the opposition leader late last year.
These discussions have been kept secret and no one outside the participants
knows how they are progressing.
The international community, however, hopes that the UN rapporteur may be
able to shed some light on them as a result of this visit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - April 03,
2001.
Chavalit optimistic Kengtung talks will
help strengthen border co-operation
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is hopeful that ongoing border talks
in Burma's Kengtung would help strengthen Thai-Burmese ties and border
co-operation.
One had to be optimistic over the April 2-4 Regional Border Committee
meeting, jointly chaired by Third Army chief Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong and
his Burmese counterpart Lt-Gen Thein Sein, he said yesterday.
Gen Chavalit has made it a precondition that the talks be held before he
makes an official visit to Burma.
Gen Chavalit said border disputes between Thailand and Burma were nothing
unusual, likening them to frequent clashes between a person's tongue and
teeth.
The defence minister said Thailand and Burma were still good neighbours so
one had a very good reason to be optimistic that the meeting would have some
positive result.
The Thai-Burmese border situation tensed up following clashes between
troops of both countries in early February after Burmese soldiers seized a Thai
border outpost at Ban Pang Noon in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district.
Thai security forces later recaptured the outpost and retaliated by heavily
shelling Burmese forces who were operating against ethnic Shan rebels in the
area.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai said in Chiang Mai before leaving for Kengtung that he
was optimistic the meeting would help strengthen border co-operation between the
two countries.
The Third Army chief said issues that could not be resolved during the
meeting would be left for further talks at a much higher level.
The Third Army would propose that two areas-Chiang Mai's Doi Lang and
Chiang Rai's Koo Teng Na Yong at Mae Sai border town-be made demilitarised
zones.
Co-operation against drug trafficking along the common border would also be
raised unofficially.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - April 03,
2001.
Amnesty plan for
foreigners
FOREIGN labourers should be allowed an amnesty to register for legal work
permits, a seminar suggested yesterday.
An amnesty would make the management of foreign labour more convenient
because the government would know the exact number of foreign workers in the
country and could locate them if necessary, Thai Action Committee for Democracy
in Burma (TACDB) official Adisorn Kerdmongkol said.
The registration of foreign workers would also help prevent the spread of
diseases, a Public Health Ministry officer said. Representatives from government
bodies, employers, workers, academics and non-government organisations attended
the seminar yesterday, aimed at tackling problems related to foreign labour.
They plan to submit their proposals to the government.
Besides the amnesty and legalisation of foreign labour, seminar
participants proposed the establishment of an independent body to handle foreign
labour. They also suggested abolishing a Cabinet resolution that bans foreign
workers from bringing their families into the country. Currently, illegal
workers face deportation if they become pregnant while here.
"Certain laws should be amended as well. The amendment should aim, for
example, to allow foreign workers to receive equal wages to Thais, which would
encourage employers to opt for local labourers," participants suggested.
Other key recommendations included a demand that the government campaign
for the use of local labour without creating bias against foreigners, a call for
more efficient prevention of communicable diseases and better cooperation
between government and non-government groups.
However, Adisorn said most of the ideas had already been proposed to the
government but had not been taken up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Achieves Favorable
Economic Foundations
2001.04.03 11:17:50 YANGON, April 3 (Xinhuanet) --
Official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar said Tuesday that the country has
achieved "favorable" economic foundations today, citing some success
gained in the implementation of the last two short-term economic
plans.
The average gross domestic product (GDP) during Myanmar's second short-term
five-year plan (1996-97 to 2000-01), which ended
in March, is estimated to grow over 8 percent against the targeted 6 percent, the paper said. Meanwhile, the country's first four-year plan (1992-93 to 1995- 96)
achieved 7.5 percent GDP growth against the targeted 5.1 percent, it
recalled.
While pointing out the country's achievements made in its two short-term
economic plans after the present government took over power in 1988, the paper
blamed that as there erupted armed conflicts against each other for four decades
since the regaining of independence in 1948 due to "suspicion, extreme
ideological views and instigation", the national solidarity went into a
decline and then disrupted.
It further blamed that despite the rich land and natural
resources and favorable climatic conditions, efforts for the
prosperity of the country were in vain.
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