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BURMA RELATED NEWS - April 05,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Senators Urge Bush to Maintain
Myanmar Sanctions
AP - Human Rights
Monitor Meets Suu Kyi
BBC - Envoy meets Aung San Suu Kyi
Reuters - U.N. rights envoy meets Myanmar's Suu
Kyi
AFP - UN rights envoy meets Aung San Suu Kyi on
historic trip to Myanmar
AFP - UN right envoy wraps up historic trip to
Myanmar
AFP - Malaysia submits alternative to IMF role
in ASEAN swap plan
Reuters - Thailand says Myanmar talks
improve ties
ABC online - Thai PM
says Burma relations are on the mend after border
talks
The Natiion - Burma
offers Thai officials a tour of Mong Yawn
The Nation - Shan
State declares itself drugs-free
The Nation - Shan
State declares itself drugs-free
The Nation - 'I WILL
SHOOT THEM'
Bkk Post - Junta vows to help destroy drug
plants
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Earns More Foreign
Exchange from Gems Sales
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Builds 127
Bridges
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday April 5 12:43 AM ETSenators Urge Bush to Maintain Myanmar Sanctions WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A
bipartisan group of 35 senators is urging President Bush to maintain sanctions
against Myanmar to encourage continued dialogue between the Southeast Asian
nation's military government and the democratic opposition.
The senators said, in a letter to Bush, they are convinced that U.S.
sanctions imposed in 1997 helped prompt the Myanmar government to open talks
with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
``While it's too soon to determine if these talks will produce a plan for
national reconciliation, we believe any change in sanctions pressure could
remove the incentive for the regime to negotiate, said the letter, made public
on Wednesday.
Senior members of the ruling military in Myanmar, formerly Burma, held
secret talks with Suu Kyi raising hopes that the country's political stalemate
could be finally broken.
The National League for Democracy, which Suu Kyi leads, won elections by a
landslide in 1990 but the military never let it govern.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was released from six years of house
arrest in 1995 but has had limited movement since September after angering the
government by trying to travel outside Yangon.
U.S. sanctions against Myanmar include the suspension of assistance
programs, a ban on sales of military items, suspension of Myanmar's access to
favorable tariff rates and opposition to multilateral lending.
The United States has also banned new U.S. investment in the country and
has banned visas for senior Burmese officials.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday April 5 6:27 AM ET
Human Rights Monitor Meets Suu Kyi YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - The
first U.N. human rights inspector to visit Myanmar in five years met Thursday
with a pro-democracy leader who has been detained by the ruling junta for more
than six months.
A car carrying the U.N. official, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, was seen entering
the compound of Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside home in Yangon, the capital. He left
after 11/2 hours and did not speak to reporters gathered outside. No details of
the meeting were immediately available.
Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her democracy struggle, has
been kept under virtual house arrest in the military state since Sept. 22, when
she defied a travel ban.
By giving Pinheiro free access, the junta is apparently softening its
position toward Suu Kyi amid reports that she and the top generals recently
started reconciliation talks.
Pinheiro's meeting with Suu Kyi was closely watched in the hope that he
might obtain a firsthand account of the secretive reconciliation talks, the
first face-to-face parleys between the two sides in six years.
Pinheiro, who was due to leave Myanmar later Thursday, already met during
his three-day visit with senior figures of the country's military regime and
with central executive committee members of Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy party.
He has declined to give any details of his talks, other than to describe
his meeting with a top general as ``very pleasant.''
The current military regime took power in 1988 after crushing a 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 members have been jailed.
Pinheiro, a Brazilian politics professor, had dinner Wednesday night with
Southeast Asian and Western diplomats but divulged little about his trip, which
he described as ``exploratory,'' according to one of the diplomats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 5 April, 2001, 09:55
GMT 10:55 UK
Envoy meets Aung San Suu Kyi UN special human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has met opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital Rangoon.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy, has been kept under virtual house arrest by the military regime since September last year. A car carrying Mr Pinheiro was seen entering the compound of her home.
He stayed for just over one hour - but no details of the meeting are
available.
Mr Pinheiro's three-day visit to Burma is the first of its kind in nearly
five years and is being seen as a sign that significant changes are taking place
in Rangoon.
'Exploratory' talks
The UN envoy met a senior figure from the National League for Democracy on
Wednesday - although it was not clear at that stage if Burma's generals would
permit a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Pinheiro, who ends his visit on Thursday, has also held talks with
senior figures in the military, and visited a gas pipeline project south-east of
Rangoon.
Mr Pinheiro has given little away about his talks - except to describe them
as "exploratory".
He has already spent nearly a week in the region talking to Burma's
neighbours, including Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Slow progress
Analysts believe that the military government has permitted Mr Pinheiro to
visit Burma in the hope of deflecting criticism of the country's human rights
record.
Another hopeful sign recently has been the renewed dialogue between the
government and Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, BBC correspondent Jonathan Head says if there is movement towards
reform, it is happening very slowly.
He says it is too soon to say if Burma's generals are ready to relax their
hold on power.
The military took over in 1988 after suppressing a pro-democracy uprising.
They refused to honour the result of elections in 1990, which were won by
the National League for Democracy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday April 5, 8:22 PM
U.N. rights envoy meets Myanmar's Suu
Kyi
YANGON (Reuters) - U.N. human
rights envoy to Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, met Myanmar opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday at the end of a landmark three-day visit to the
military-ruled country.
Diplomats said the U.N. Special Rapporteur and three other U.N. officials
called on the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner at her lakeside residence in central
Yangon and had about 90 minutes of discussions with her.
Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), has
been held under de facto house arrest since September with access to her
strictly controlled.
The envoy, on the first visit by a senior U.N. human rights official to
Myanmar for five years, was not immediately available for comment.
Pinheiro, a Brazilian who took over as U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar
after the resignation of his predecessor, Rajsoomer Lallah, in November,
previously said he would comment on his findings from the trip only after he
returned to Geneva.
He was due to leave Yangon for Bangkok later on Thursday and then travel
back to Europe.
On Monday he met a powerful member of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council, military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt,
and Foreign Minister Win Aung.
The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has
never been allowed to govern. Suu Kyi was released from six years of house
arrest in 1995.
But relations between the military and the pro-democracy opposition have
improved in recent months with a series of meetings between Suu Kyi and senior
generals.
Diplomats see Pinheiro's visit as a clear sign of rapprochement between the
two sides.
Lallah, who resigned after four years in the job, was never allowed to
visit Myanmar.
His last report, in October, accused the military government of torturing,
raping and executing civilians, particularly members of ethnic minority groups.
Autonomy-seeking minority guerrillas have been battling the government for
decades.
The United States' annual report on global human rights, released in
February, grouped Myanmar with Cuba and North Korea as the world's three worst
countries for human rights abuses.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday April 5, 4:29 PM
UN rights envoy meets Aung San Suu Kyi
on historic trip to Myanmar
YANGON, April 5 (AFP) - The
United Nations's new human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday in the highlight of an historic
three-day visit to Myanmar, informed sources said.
The UN special rapporteur, whose arrival here has been hailed as a sign of
a diplomatic thaw in the military-run country, visited the Nobel peace laureate
at her Yangon home where she has been confined since September.
On Wednesday Pinheiro was also allowed to call on the opposition National
League for Democracy's headquarters for an hour-long meeting with senior members
including party elder U Lwin.
The envoy is due to leave Yangon later Thursday after a wrap-up meeting
with Foreign Minister Win Aung. He has said he will make a report on his
findings when he returns to Geneva on Friday.
The Brazilian academic is the first UN human rights envoy to be allowed
into Myanmar in five years. He replaced Rajsoomer Lallah who quit last year
after never being given permission to travel to Yangon.
Sources close to the talks said that in contrast to the outspoken Lallah,
Pinheiro had adopted a non-confrontational approach which won plaudits among the
notoriously touchy generals in Yangon.
During the three-day trip he met with top members of the junta including
its number-three Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, who over the past six months has
met several times with Aung San Suu Kyi.
The historic contacts appear to be part of a confidence-building process
that could clear the way for their first official dialogue since 1994.
The secret talks have 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.
Pinheiro's visit has been welcomed as a sign of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council's new willingness to begin cooperating with the outside
world.
Diplomats note the trip 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 here.
During his visit, Pinheiro met with Home Affairs Minister Colonel Tin
Hlaing, Labour Minister Major-General Tin Ngwe, and representatives of Yangon's
business community.
The packed agenda also included discussions with representatives of the
ethnic nationalities, whose agreement will be crucial in any transition to
democracy.
On Wednesday the envoy travelled 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 against local people.
The Myanmar regime 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.
US lawmakers have reportedly attempted to turn up the heat on the junta
this week by sending a petition to President George W. Bush urging him to
maintain sanctions despite signs of a political transition.
The Nation newspaper said it had obtained a copy of a bipartisan letter
signed by 35 legislators and prominent citizens which said sanctions should not
be lifted without consulting Aung San Suu Kyi.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday April 5, 3:07 PM
UN right envoy wraps up historic trip to
Myanmar
YANGON, April 5 (AFP) - The United Nations' new human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro Thursday wrapped up an historic visit to Myanmar where he met with junta leaders as well as senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition. Hopes that the Brazilian academic would be permitted to see the National
League for Democracy (NLD) leader faded as his packed three-day agenda drew to a
close without a visit to her Yangon home.
But on Wednesday he called on the opposition's headquarters here for an
hour-long meeting with pro-democracy figures including party elder U Lwin, a
member of the Central Executive Committee.
U Lwin is one of the few people with regular access to Aung San Suu Kyi,
who has been held under house arrest since September, and he would have been
able to brief Pinheiro on her health and wellbeing.
Questioned outside the headquarters, the special rapporteur declined to
comment on the progress made during his trip which began Tuesday, saying only
that he would make a report on his return to Geneva Friday.
Pinheiro, the first UN human rights envoy to be allowed into Myanmar in
five years, is due to leave Yangon late Thursday after a final wrap-up meeting
with Foreign Minister Win Aung.
The junta's decision to allow him to visit only weeks after he replaced
Rajsoomer Lallah, who quit last year after never being given leave to travel
here, has been welcomed as another sign of the political thaw in Myanmar.
Over the past six months Aung San Suu Kyi has held several meetings with
junta number-three Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, in historic contacts that may
lead to their first official dialogue since 1994.
The secret talks have 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.
Pinheiro's visit has been hailed as a sign of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council's new willingness to begin cooperating with the outside
world.
Diplomats note the trip 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 here.
During his visit, Pinheiro met with Home Affairs Minister Colonel Tin
Hlaing, Labour Minister Major-General Tin Ngwe, and representatives of Yangon's
business community.
Discussions were also held with representatives of the ethnic
nationalities, whose agreement will be crucial in any transition to
democracy.
On Wednesday the special rapporteur travelled 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 against local people.
The Myanmar regime 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.
US lawmakers have reportedly attempted to turn up the heat on the junta
this week by sending a petition to President George W. Bush that urged him to
maintain sanctions despite signs of a political transition.
The Nation newspaper said it had obtained a copy of a bipartisan letter
signed by 35 legislators and prominent citizens which said sanctions should not
be lifted without consulting Aung San Suu Kyi.
It said the petition was aimed at encouraging the president to stay "on
course" with the existing policy on Myanmar, which the US has condemned for its
poor human rights record and involvement in the narcotics trade.
"We are convinced that the sanctions have been partially responsible for
prompting the regime to engage in political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and
her supporters," the letter said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday April 5, 8:32 PM
Malaysia submits alternative to IMF role
in ASEAN swap plan
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (AFP) -
Malaysia on Thursday proposed an alternative mechanism to prevent any IMF
involvement in a Southeast Asian currency swap plan aimed at averting future
financial crises.
But senior finance ministry officials from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) said no agreement has been reached on the issue in
preparatory meetings.
Samsudin Hitam, secretary general of the Malaysian treasury who chaired the
meeting, told reporters an alternative surveillance mechanism was put forward
and debated.
He declined to give details.
Malaysia opposes any role for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the
plan known as the Chiang Mai initiative.
This aims to link the international reserves of the 10 ASEAN nations with
those from China, Japan and South Korea and Japan to provide greater resources
in future currency crises.
ASEAN finance ministry and central bank officials are holding talks
Thursday and Friday before a two-day ministerial meeting from Saturday.
Officials from China, Japan and South Korea are not taking part in the
current talks but will join their ASEAN counterparts Sunday.
Sathit Limpongpan, director general of fiscal policy in Thailand's finance
ministry, told reporters that there were various views on the IMF role but
"everyone agreed that there should be an ASEAN consensus."
"The bottom line is that we want to achieve the bilateral swap arrangement
but in any international arrangement, we need a compromise, we need to negotiate
with the other three countries," he said.
Sathit said he was "positive" that the grouping could reach agreement on
the plan. "I have a positive thinking about that."
The Thai official said the aim "is to have a clear framework for the
conclusion of the arrangement between ASEAN and those three countries, possibly
before the meeting in Honolulu."
ASEAN finance ministers will meet their counterparts from China, Japan and
South Korea in Honolulu in May on the sidelines on the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) meetings.
One Asian official who declined to be named told AFP that Myanmar supported
Malaysian objections to IMF involvement.
But a diplomat familiar with the issue said China and South Korea supported
Japan's position of an IMF role so the swap arrangement can be effective.
The Asian official said the swap plan was relevant at a time when the
global economy is heading for a slowdown. "I think this is a facility to prevent
the 1997 crisis from recurring," he added.
The July 1997 devaluation of the Thai baht sparked a regional financial
crisis as other currencies also came under speculative attack.
Southeast Asian currencies have weakened in recent weeks, dragged down by a
weak Japanese yen. The region is also nervous about the effect of the US
economic slowdown.
Earlier Thursday ASEAN officials and those from IMF, the World Bank and the
ADB debated the outlook for the world economy and policy changes in the
region.
Kunio Saito, IMF director for Asia and the Pacific, said ASEAN economies
must press ahead with corporate and financial reforms.
"The world's economy, the region's economy are still growing at a very
respectable rate but of course compared to last year, there is a slowdown," he
told reporters.
"The important thing is to move ahead with the various policy agendas and
in this part of the world, this is the restructuring of corporate and financial
sectors."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday April 5, 3:28 AM
Thailand says Myanmar talks improve
ties
By Nopporn Wong-Anan BANGKOK (Reuters) - A three-day
meeting of Thai and Myanmar officials aimed at soothing tension along their
common border ended on Wednesday with relations improved, the head of the Thai
delegation said.
Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, commander of Thailand's third
army which defends the northern border with Myanmar, told reporters the talks
had helped improve understanding between the two sides.
"The meeting was 90 percent successful," he told a news conference after
returning to Bangkok.
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 has said the battles spilled over on to Thai soil, forcing a
response. Myanmar denies this.
The drugs trade has also damaged relations.
"The talks have indeed mended the soured ties, and Myanmar has agreed to
help Thailand solve our border and drugs problems," Wattanachai said.
Bangkok has said 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, often a vocal critic of the Myanmar military, said Major
General Thein Sein of the Triangle Region Command, the chief of Myanmar's
delegation, agreed Myanmar soldiers would co-operate more closely with Thai
troops in combating drugs.
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 Myanmar officials had conceded there were methamphetamine
factories on their soil, but had said much of the drug-making equipment was
imported from Thailand while the precursor chemicals were brought in from China.
Thailand has agreed with China and Myanmar that the three countries should
work together to crack down on drug production.
After ending the meeting in the northeastern Myanmar town of Kengtung, the
Thai delegation paid a courtesy visit to senior Myanmar government generals in
Yangon before returning to Bangkok.
The border committee last met in the Thai resort of Phuket in March 1999.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said on Wednesday the two
countries would hold more regular meetings at various levels to strengthen ties.
Surakiart is due to make an official visit to Myanmar on May 1 and 2 after
an informal meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of South East
Asian Nations in Yangon on April 30.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC online - April 05,
2001.
Thai PM says Burma relations are on the mend after
border talks
Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, says ties with Burma are on
the mend after high-level talks in which the two sides agreed to join forces
against the drugs trade.
In its first meeting for two years, the Regional Border Committee, convened
on Burmese soil this week to defuse tensions caused by clashes between the two
national armies at an important border checkpoint.
The talks, which ended yesterday broke new ground over the prickly issue of
rampant drug production along the rugged border region, with Burma promising to
destroy any narcotics factories found on its territory.
Third Army Commander Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimeaunwong, who led
the Thai delegation in the talks, said Thailand was happy with the agreement
struck on drugs suppression.
The Commander said Thailand would provide Burma with information about
where the factories are and Rangoon would help destroy them.
He said the build-up of forces on either side of the border would now be
dismantled.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burma offers Thai officials a tour of
Mong Yawn
Filed at 12 : 38 pm (THLD time)
BANGKOK, April 5 (The Nation)
-- Burmese authorities have offered to open Mong Yawn, a border township in
Burma identified by the Thai government as drug-producing centre, for inspection
by Thai officials and journalists, according to Third Army Region chief
Wattanachai Chaimuenwong.
Gen Wattanachai, speaking this morning, also quoted the Burmese delegates
attending the Regional Border Committee meeting in Burma's Ken Tung province on
April 3-4 as saying that the construction of the new township was financed by
proceeds from mining concessions granted to the Wah ethnic minority group.
"The Burmese authorities said they would arrange an inspection trip to Mong
Yawn for members of Thai border committees and the press," Wattanachai said,
adding that no schedule had been set such trip.
Earlier, Thai authorities have alleged that the building of Mong Yawn was
funded by drug proceeds.
The regional army chief said the Burmese authorities had promised to
cooperate more closely with Thailand, including exchange of information on
drug-producing and trafficking activities along the Thai-Burmese border.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - April 05,
2001.
Shan State declares itself
drugs-free
REMNANTS of the disbanded Mong Tai Army seek to regroup and start new lives
under a peaceful arrangement with the Rangoon government. Don Pathan reports
from Hua Muang, Shan State.
A faded wooden sign inscribed with "Mong Tai Army" hangs besides the dusty
road leading to the heart of this small town and serves as a vivid reminder of
how this 14-kilometre stretch of valley had managed to land itself on the world
map.
It was here that world famous opium warlord Khun Sa and his 15,000-strong
Mong Tai Army (MTA) maintained their headquarters five years ago before giving
themselves up to the military government of Burma in return for a generous
amnesty. It was also from here that experts say about half of the world's heroin
was produced and then smuggled out to flood the streets of America and Europe.
During a recent two-day visit by The Nation, the new king of the valley,
Mahaja, tried desperately to shake off the ugly past and the stigma that still
haunt many of his former colleagues and other ethnic leaders in Shan State.
In early 1996, Mahaja, a feared MTA commander, joined Khun Sa in
surrendering to the Burmese but stayed behind to form the Southern Shan State
enterprise to look after various business ventures, primarily in garment
manufacturing, logging and gem mining.
Though Mahaja insisted that he no longer harboured any political ambitions
to form an independent Shan State, this hardened tiny man nevertheless looks
every bit a fighter.
Mahaja never leaves home without his bodyguards and two loaded pistols on
his belt.
"I have given up the armed struggle in return for rural development," said
the wizened 50-year-old leader who has been a soldier ever since he was 13, as
his armed bodyguards look on a few feet away.
As a reward for entering Burma's "legal fold", Mahaja was given the reins
to a semi-autonomous region stretching from this former MTA stronghold across
the Salween River over to Taunggyi, a major commercial centre in southern Shan
State.
A tacit but cosy arrangement has the Burmese government troops providing
security along the perimeter and Mahaja and his paramilitary troops handling
their own internal administrative and economic affairs. Rangoon has dispatched
three battalions to the area as well as a military intelligence unit to look
after the rugged border crossing that links Hua Muang to Thailand's Mae Hong
Son. Rangoon also helped out with sculpting out rice paddies and other
infrastructure projects.
"In return, they asked us to stop trafficking in drugs and to stop engaging
in arms sales to other rebel groups," Mahaja said, as he blew a big puff of
smoke from his bamboo tobacco pipe. "This is the best set-up. I urge all other
armed ethnic groups to do the same," he added.
Mahaja has in mind to establish a new trade route passing through Hua Muang
and linking Mae Hong Son and Taunggyi. This would save lots of time and money
considering that the current outlet for goods from Taunggyi is the faraway
Tachilek-Mae Sai crossing, he said.
Living in the area under his control are nearly 10,000 people, mostly
ethnic Shan but also some Karen and Wa, and about 3,000 paramilitary soldiers.
The Southern Shan State, set up two years ago, looks after the community's wide
range of investments.
The main road that runs through the town is being upgraded, while Khun Sa's
old homes and other official residences are being renovated to accommodate
foreign VIPs. The spacious marketplace is as busy as usual, though locals said
it was a much more bustling place when the MTA ruled the area.
A hospital, once packed with wounded MTA soldiers, is up and running with
Burmese physicians overseeing it, while a church and two Buddhist monasteries
are well attended. Unlike in the past when the Burmese language was prohibited,
a Hua Muang school now teaches in both Shan and Burmese languages.
"When Khun Sa was here, we were taught to hate the Burmese," said an MTA
veteran who finally came to grips with reality, joined Mahaja's outfit and now
works alongside the Burmese. "It's still tough for many Tai (Shan) here. Many
are still uncomfortable with all the Burmese officials around."
Mahaja, himself half Shan and half Wa, gained a reputation as a fierce
soldier in the early 1990s when his unit successfully fended off MTA's arch
rival, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), in a series of bloody attacks on Doi
Lang - the 32-square kilometre patch of land adjacent to Chiang Mai's Mae Ai
district that is now the focus of dispute by Thailand and Burma.
During Khun Sa's time, Mahaja said, resources were plentiful. Soldiers were
paid regularly and the town, about one hour from the border crossing in Mae Hong
Son, was vibrant.
"Today, these militia join me willingly. They don't get any pay but the
Southern Shan State helps them with rice and other expenses, including health
care," Mahaja said.
Burma's old hands and Mahaja himself said he is in the best position to run
Hua Muang. Over the years the man has managed to establish dialogues with
various rebel groups, including those who have cease-fire agreements with
Rangoon, such as the UWSA, and those who are still fighting the junta for
autonomy, including his former colleague Colonel Yawd Serk, the leader of the
Shan State Army.
When asked why ethnic rebels are still fighting the junta government,
Mahaja replied: "It's partly because of foreign influences and partly because of
the selfishness of the leaders themselves."
But his dream of turning Hua Muang into a commercial centre may not be
realised any time soon. Thai and Burmese relations are currently experiencing
one of their lowest ebbs in the past decade following crossing border shelling
on the northern border over a month ago.
"They accused one another of supporting this and supporting that rebel
group. I don't think either side is blameless," Mahaja said without elaborating.
Nevertheless, Mahaja said he still has hopes that the international
community will take him seriously. He urged international anti-drug agencies,
including the US Drug Enforcement Agency, to visit his area to verify for
themselves that it is drugs-free. He also expressed interest in seeing United
Nations development assistance programmes for his people.
Rangoon's peace deals with these rebel groups vary from one to the other,
depending on the bargaining power of each group.The UWSA, for example, has
managed to keep its 20,000-strong contingent and over the year extended its
supremacy from its stronghold on the Chinese border to an area adjacent to
Thailand's Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Burmese government troops have
to disarm before entering Wa
territory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation - April 05,
2001.
'I WILL SHOOT THEM'
HUA MUANG, Shan State, Burma - Despite having laid down his weapons in return for limited self-rule, Mahaja, once a fierce military commander in Burmese drug lord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, said he would not hesitate to pick them up again if the Wa and Kokang Chinese invade his area. "I will shoot them," Mahaja said during a recent interview with The Nation from one of his homes overlooking the 14-kilometre valley that served as the stronghold of Khun Sa's army. "If these groups enter our territory we are more than ready to fight. We won't be the first to shoot but we will definitely defend our territory," Mahaja said. Mahaja said he has been somewhat heavy-hearted by the ongoing mass relocation of the ethnic Wa and Kokang Chinese into the area by another pro-Rangoon group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Mahaja, who is of mixed Wa and Shan ethnic backgrounds, followed Khun Sa five years ago in surrendering to Rangoon in return for amnesty, but remained behind to pursue business opportunities. He now controls a 3,000-member militia, and is still regarded as a fierce, battle-hardened warrior. He said the Burmese government has asked if the Wa and Kokang Chinese could move into the area under his control. "They said they want to help us develop the area. We said no because we can look after ourselves," he said. When asked why he was so opposed to sharing his territory with the Wa army, Mahaja said it was the stigma of drugs. Thai authorities have accused the UWSA of flooding the Kingdom with millions of methamphetamine pills and see the unwanted neighbours as a security threat. But Rangoon defends the relocations to Hua Muang as part of the UWSA's drug-eradication programme. "If the UWSA moves here, what will the international community think of us? They'll look at us as another drug trafficker and won't have anything to do with us," said Mahaja, adding that he is ready to let the UN and the US Drug Enforcement Agency inspect the area, once a major outlet for the world's heroin supply. "But if they don't find anything [drugs], they should help us develop the area," he added. For the past year or so, the UWSA has carried out mass relocations of ethnic Wa and Kokang Chinese from the area along the Chinese border to recently built towns adjacent to Chiang Mai's Mae Ai and Fang districts. Rangoon defended the moves as part of the Wa's anti-drug programme, saying Thailand's closure of the border checkpoint leading to Mong Yawn has hampered the UWSA's efforts to become drug free. For decades, Rangoon has come under constant condemnation from the international community over the treatment of its people, including the practice of forced labour. Mahaja asked the world to put the situation in perspective. "There are wars going on. All sides violate the rights of their own people. In the end, it's the people who suffer," he said. Mahaja also urged the general public not demonise the ethnic Wa, many of whom are living under his control, just because some armed groups call themselves Wa. "Wa is just a name. The real culprits are the Chinese drug dealers from the mainland. You can take a methamphetamine and show it to any Wa villager and he won't know what it is," Mahaja said. Mahaja also accused the international community of being biased against Burma's military junta, especially its relationship to the Wa. "Burma doesn't give permission to ethnic groups to produce drugs. But some of these groups do it anyway," he said. But convincing the international community, especially neighbouring Thailand, that he is drug free has not been easy, he said. In the past, some Thai officials have made their way here to talk about possible investments, he said. "But for the past two years, because of the tension along the border over drug trafficking, these visitors have pretty much disappeared," he said. Indeed, shaking the ghosts of the past must not be easy for a man who once worked under the notorious Khun Sa, reportedly one of the wealthiest men in Burma. Experts said no anti-drug policy in Burma will succeed unless it is linked with a real political solution that includes the armed ethnic groups fighting the government for autonomy. Bangkok Post - April 05,
2001.
Junta vows to help destroy drug
plants
Will act if tips on locations verified Wassana Nanuam
Burma has promised to destroy any drug factories identified by Thailand
inside its territory and is ready to allow verification by "unbiased" media, the
Third Army commander said on returning from talks in Burma.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, head of the Thai delegation to the Regional Border Committee meeting in Kengtung, said this and other agreements were reached with Maj-Gen Thein Sein, his counterpart, who headed the Burmese side. The Burmese military was ready to help destroy border drug factories
provided Thai authorities passed on information on their locations which could
be verified, Lt-Gen Wattanachai said.
The Third Army chief was satisfied "to a certain extent" with the outcome
of the April 2-4 meeting, saying the atmosphere was friendly and agreements
reached on several issues.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai yesterday flew to Rangoon to meet Gen Maung Aye, the
Burmese army chief, and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council.
Burma and Thailand also agreed to:- Exchange information on drug
trafficking and trade.
- Hold a Regional Border Committee meeting every six months. The next one
is scheduled to take place in Bangkok and Pattaya in August.
- Hold Township Border Committee meetings at least once a month.
- Cease making press statements critical of each other.
Sources said the Burmese side also asked that Thailand stop making movies
such as Bang Rachan, a box office hit, and Atita, a popular TV series, which
they felt had increased Thai people's hostility towards the Burmese. They also
complained the Thai mass media's attitude towards Burma was highly
negative.
The Thai side responded that the media in Thailand was free and could not
be controlled by the government or the military. However, Rangoon could ask the
Thai Foreign Ministry to help arrange press conferences in Bangkok to counter
any media reports deemed unfair by Burma.
Lt-Gen Wattanachai said Thai forces deployed in areas near the Mae
Sai-Tachilek pass would soon be pulled back.
The border pass was expected to be reopened soon since Thailand had agreed
to sell fuel oil to Burma on a government-to-government basis, and shipments
would be made through the pass. Fuel oil is on the list of strategic goods which
cannot be sold to other countries without government permission. Free trade of
oil in the Thai-Burmese border area would not be allowed for fear shipments
could end up in the hands of drug traffickers.
The border disputes at Doi Lang in Chiang Mai and Koo Teng Na Yong in
Chiang Rai remain unresolved and neither side will pull back its troops.
However, it was agreed further negotiations would be held at the higher
ministerial-level Joint Border Committee meetings.
Sources said Gen Maung Aye complained to Lt-Gen Wattanachai that Burma had
been misunderstood by the world community.
The country was wrongly believed to be a major drug producer when, in fact,
the raw material, chemicals and tools needed for such production all came from
other countries. Drug factories could also be located anywhere since it would
need only a one square-metre area to set up one such factory, he said.
Maj-Gen Thein Sein also told Lt-Gen Wattanachai that the Red Wa's Mong Yawn
town had not been developed with drug money, but with a special budget from
Rangoon because the town site is in a special administrative zone.
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Myanmar Earns More Foreign
Exchange from Gems Sales
2001.04.05 11:14:56 YANGON, April 5 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar earned 47.8 million U.S. dollars in the fiscal 2000-2001 which
ended in March from its gems sales.
According to sources at the Ministry of Mines, the country fetched
16.57 million dollars in 1998-99, while it obtained 23.46 million dollars
in 1999-2000.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar authorities are taking systematic measures to
collect more tax through proper management on gems mining and
trading.
According to official statistics, Myanmar earned over 330 million
dollars from its 38 annual and nine mid-year gems emporiums.
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Myanmar Builds 127
Bridges
2001.04.05 10:27:47 YANGON, April 5 (Xinhuanet) --
A total of 127 bridges have been built in Myanmar since 1988 when the
present government took office, according to sources at the Myanmar
Construction Ministry.
The bridges include nine river-crossing bridges -- five crossing the
Ayeyawaddy River, three crossing the Thanlwin River and one crossing the
Chindwin River.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has so far built 6,150 kilometers (km) of roads
since 1988 with its total length extending to 27,966 km, the sources said
Thursday.
Myanmar has laid down plans systematically for better transportation
in its bid to uplift socio-economic life of the people and development of
the nation.
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