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BURMA RELATED NEWS - May 07,
2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Karen Rebels Attack Myanmar Army Base -
Rebel Spokesman
AP - Asean Urged To
Check Progress Of Myanmar's Labor Reforms
The Boston Globe - EDITORIAL - Burma santions'
value
TI - Musharraf fails to raise J&K issue in
Myanmar
The Nation - Army to
flush out dug-in Burmese intruders
The Nation - INTELLIGENCE REPORT: 30 drug factories
spotted
The Nation - EDITORIAL: A general with guts stands
tall
Bkk Post - Burma talks set to centre on
drugs
Bkk Post - Town flooded with smuggled
goods
Bkk Post - KNU troops kill six Burmese, wound
four in attack on outpost
Xinhuanet - Large Amount of Stimulants Seized in
Myanmar
SCMP - Six die in Karen
attack
The Hindu - Talks with
Suu Kyi may collapse
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday May 7, 11:19 AMKaren Rebels Attack Myanmar Army Base -
Rebel Spokesman
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--Karen
guerrillas have mounted an attack on a Myanmar army base, killing six defenders
and wounding four others, rebel officers said Monday.
The drive against the camp of Battalion 108, which began last Friday,
hadn't yet succeeded and fighting was expected to intensify as the defenders
called in reinforcements, Karen National Union secretary-general Pado Mahn
Sharlaphan said.
The KNU is the last major rebel group fighting the central Myanmar
government for greater autonomy. Other ethnic minorities have signed peace
agreements with the country's military rulers.
The official said 250 troops were defending the base against three Karen
battalions. The camp is located about one kilometer inside Myanmar from the Thai
border and around 70 kilometers north of this key frontier town.
One battalion can number up to 900 soldiers.
Myanmar residents arriving in Mae Sot said Myanmar troops had rounded up
local villagers to serve as porters, carrying ammunition and rations to the
camp.
This practice, common in the Mynamar military, has been condemned by
international human rights organizations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday May 7, 1:58 PM
Asean Urged To Check Progress Of
Myanmar's Labor Reforms
KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations should send a mission to Myanmar to check
on progress the country's military junta is making toward ending forced labor, a
Malaysian opposition leader said Monday.
Ahead of a meeting of labor ministers from the 10-nation grouping in Kuala
Lumpur May 10-11, Lim Kit Siang, chairman of Malaysia's Democratic Action Party,
urged Asean member countries to "pressure the Myanmese military junta to end
forced labor and repression of trade unionists" in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"The Asean labor ministers meeting should ask for a progress report by the
Myanmese Labor Minister on the decree issued by the (Myanmar junta) to abolish
forced labor, and should consider sending a fact-finding mission to Myanmar on
the forced labor question," Lim said in a statement.
Myanmar has long been assailed by the United Nations and Western countries
for suppression of democracy and its human rights record - including use of
unpaid civilian labor on infrastructure projects.
Myanmar has said civilians contribute their labor voluntarily to promote
development of the nation. Last year, the government issued a decree making
forced labor illegal.
Human rights groups claim the decree was issued to avoid international
criticism and that forced labor continues to be used.
Malaysia is developing as a broker between the reclusive Myanmar government
and the international community. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met
with senior generals when he visited Myanmar in January, and the U.N.'s special
envoy is a Malaysian diplomat.
Lim said Malaysia should rally support among Asean for an International
Labor Organization plan to apply economic sanctions against Myanmar because of
alleged forced labor practices.
Asean, which groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has a policy of
noninterference in the domestic issues of its members.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- A BOSTON GLOBE
EDITORIAL - Burma santions'
value
May 07, 2001.
WHEN IT comes to the military dictatorship ruling Burma, President Bush has
an opportunity he should welcome to demonstrate the realism his advisers commend
and, simultaneously, a firm commitment to America's democratic ideals.
The Burmese junta stands condemned by much of the world for its horrendous
abuse of human rights, its complicity in the trafficking of heroin and
methamphetamines, and its thwarting of the democratic government that was
elected with 80 percent of the seats in Parliament in Burma's last free
election, in 1990.
Currently, there are varying sanctions on the junta. The International
Labor Organization, for the first time in its 81-year history, asked its members
to sanction the regime for the continuing, brutal imposition of forced labor on
Burmese and minority ethnic groups.
There are also European Union sanctions and restrictions imposed by the
Clinton administration that prohibit new US investment in Burma and ban senior
officials in the regime from obtaining visas to enter the United States.
Although it is far from clear that the junta intends to permit a revival of
democracy, there is little doubt that it has engaged in talks with Nobel Peace
Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi - who is held under virtual house arrest in
Rangoon - in large part because of the unremitting pressure of sanctions.
As a result of sanctions, the officers in power cannot disguise their
bankrupting of what had been one of Asia's most literate and resource-rich
countries. Even the junta's principal sponsor for membership in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia, has
counseled Burma's ruling officers to ease the embarrassment of their fellow
ASEAN members by opening a dialogue with Suu Kyi.
In a letter last month to Bush, 35 senators including Edward Kennedy and
John Kerry made a strong case for maintaining sanctions, noting 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 also
said there is ''strong evidence directly linking members of the regime to'' the
trafficking of ''the heroin which plagues our communities.''
Bush should insist that the junta take measurable steps toward the
retrieval of democracy in Burma, and not merely for altruistic reasons. Next to
the regime in North Korea, the Burmese junta has been Beijing's chummiest ally,
permitting China to project its burgeoning power into the Bay of Bengal, to the
dismay of India.
Were a democratic government to replace the junta, neighboring Thailand,
which is now suffering from an influx of drugs from Burma, would join India and
the rest of the region in breathing a sigh of relief.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times of India - May 07,
2001.
Musharraf fails to raise J&K issue
in Myanmar
NEW DELHI: Myanmar's tepid response to Pakistani Chief Executive General
Pervez Musharraf's efforts to garner support over the Kashmir dispute during his
visit last week has pleased India, which has been seeking to improve ties with
Yangon.
The Kashmir issue figured in a joint communiqui issued Thursday by
Musharraf and Senior General General Than Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's ruling
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), at the end of the Pakistani military
ruler's three-day visit. Yangon, however, limited itself to calling for a "just
resolution" of the 12-year-old separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The Chief Executive (Musharraf) briefed the Senior General on the
initiatives taken by Pakistan for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute
in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people and for the commencement of
a meaningful dialogue with India for this purpose," said the joint communiqui.
"Senior General Than Shwe expressed the hope for a just resolution of this
longstanding problem," it said.
G. Parthasarathy, former Indian envoy to Myanmar, said Yangon's reaction to
Musharraf's overtures was in keeping with its policy. "It's a typical Myanmarese
reaction. It is in keeping with their policy of not getting involved in other's
bilateral disputes. They will not get involved in our dispute with China or
Pakistan," he told IANS.
Senior Indian intelligence officials said the inclusion of the Kashmir
issue in the communiqui could have been the handiwork of a section of Myanmarese
military officials, led by Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Secretary-I of the
SPDC, who favor closer ties with Islamabad.
"When former Indian Army chief, General V.P. Malik, visited Myanmar in
January last year, Khin Nyunt left the country for a visit to Pakistan," one
official here pointed out. "This was viewed as a snub to General Malik. Nyunt
has always favored better relations with Pakistan."
Musharraf's trip to Myanmar and Vietnam was aimed at reaffirming Pakistan's
close ties with them. This was the first visit by a Pakistani head of government
to Myanmar since General Zia-ul Haq visited the country way back in 1985.
In fact, New Delhi's worries about China's increasing influence in Myanmar
has led to recent efforts to upgrade ties with the military regime. India rolled
out the red carpet for General Maung Aye, Myanmar's second most powerful
official, when he visited New Delhi in November last year. Indian External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had visited Myanmar earlier this year.
Closer ties with Myanmar are part of India's "Look East" policy focusing on
Southeast Asian countries. New Delhi is also seeking Yangon's help in combating
insurgent groups operating in northeastern states bordering Myanmar and has in
recent years received good cooperation from the Myanmarese military.
(IANS)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army to flush out dug-in Burmese
intruders
Filed at 05 : 48 pm (THLD time)
CHIANG MAI, May 7 (The Nation)
-- The Third Army said it would flush out scores of Burmese/United Wah Army
forces that had taken positions in Thai territory in Fang district of this
northern province, according to the regional army's spokesman.
Spokesman Col Chucheep Meesomboon said at Pha Muang Task Force headquarter
that about 50 intruders, who had dug in about 200-400 metres inside Thailand
since May 3, ignored warning shots by Thai army troops in the area.
"We have fired warning shots, and lodged a protest with the Burmese
Township Border Committee, but there was no response from the Burmese side,"
Chucheep said. "The army is left with no other choice but to flush them out."
However, the spokesman did not say when the regional army would take
military actions against the intruders.
It is believed that the Burmese/Wah troops were using positions in Thai
territory to stage attack on ethnic Shan rebels who had been active in the areas
straddling Thai-Burmese border.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NATION - Masy 07,
2001.
INTELLIGENCE REPORT: 30 drug factories
spotted
Pongsak Bai-ngern
Narco laboratories sit just across the border in Burma, Laos As PM's office minister Thamarak Isa-rangura prepares for a high-profile
drug meeting in Rangoon, an Army intelligence officer yesterday released a
detailed list of heroin and methamphetamine labs just across Thailand's borders
with Burma and Laos.
Thamarak is expected to raise the sticky issue with Burma at the upcoming
meeting of drug tsars from China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Thai-Burmese relations are at one their lowest ebbs following cross-border
shelling over two months ago after fighting between Shan rebels and Burmese
troops spilled over onto the Thai side. The incident was followed by an exchange
of stinging accusations from the military leaders of both sides, who accused one
another of being involved in drug trafficking.
According to the report obtained by The Nation yesterday, 26 of the 32 drug
labs along the border are in Burma and the rest in Laos. At least two of the
labs in Burma are partly owned by Thai nationals, while four of the labs in Laos
have dealings with suspected Thai drug traffickers.
The vast majority of the 32 labs, including those in Laos, are run by
Chinese drug lords and members of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a
20,000-strong outfit headquartered in Panghsang in northern Shan State on
Burma's border with China. The UWSA entered Burma's "legal fold" in 1989 after
signing a cease-fire agreement with Rangoon's ruling junta. A number of the
UWSA's top leaders, including Pao Yuchang and Wei Xuekang, have been indicted by
a US federal court and have US$2 million (Bt90 million) price tags on their
heads. The report says one heroin lab in the Mae Kun area adjacent to Mae Hong
Son's Pai district receives protection from a unit of the Shan State Army (SSA).
It is uncertain if the SSA, once a faction of opium warlord Khun Sa's Mon g Tai
Army (MTA), is directly invol-ved in the business, but since breaking away from
Khun Sa, SSA leader Colonel Yawd Serk has tried to put the group's past behind
it by attacking clandestine border drug labs and handing over confiscated drugs
to Thai authorities.
One major lab known to produce some of the world's purest heroin is over
from Ban Therd Thai in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district, according to the
report. The operation is managed by a Tai-wanese, Saw Win, while about 380 armed
troops from the UWSA under the command of Yao Kweh Kuy and Ailishi provide
security.
About four drug labs, all over from Mae Hong Son, belong to Mahaja, a
former MTA commander who joined Khun Sa in surrendering to Rangoon in return for
an amnesty. Mahaja stayed in Hua Muang, the MTA's old headquarters, where he
runs a militia and has set up logging and gem-mining operations.
Narcotics officials say Burma and Laos are likely to surpass Afghanistan as
the world's leading producers of opiumfollowing an approximately 50 per cent
reduction in the latter country's production after the ruling Taliban banned
cultivation of the crop.
In its latest report, the US State Department said the UWSA and other
groups including the Myan-mar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA, known as
the "Kokang Chinese"), "remain armed and heavily involved in the heroin trade
and in the manufacturing and distribution of synthetic drugs.
"They are also largely immune from government action. To cite only one
example, under the terms of the cease-fire, Burmese troops cannot even enter Wa
territory without permission from the UWSA", the report said. Under pressure
from the government, however, the UWSA, the MNDAA and other groups that have
signed cease-fires with Rangoon have declared their intention to establish
opium-free zones in their territory by 2005.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - May 07,
2001.
EDITORIAL: A general with guts stands
tall
While politicians scramble for deals with Burma's junta, General
Wattanapong earns their respect.
The Burmese leaders have succeeded once again in dividing the Thai
leadership. Illustrating this point is the fact that Defence Minister General
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh asked Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to stop Third Army
Commander Wattanapong Chaimuenwong from doing his job - protecting national
sovereignty. The episode proved one thing: that the Burma policy is a big mess.
Chavalit has already pushed his "personal ties" with Burma to a boiling point.
The Foreign Ministry has been dumbfounded by the development. The ministry used
to be in charge of Burmese policy. Now everything is in tatters. Nobody seems to
be in control. The Foreign Ministry has tried to do one thing as the Defence
Ministry has tried others. There is no coordination.
With everybody in the Thaksin government wanting to improve relations with
Burma, apparently nobody bothers to ask if Burma really wants to improve
relations with Thailand. The Burmese leaders have a simple plan. Tell the Thais
that there are great opportunities inside Burma, if bilateral relations improve.
As a result, literally everybody jumps at the occasion.
In past weeks, aides to Thaksin and Chavalit have visited Burma to strike
deals, each of them with their own objectives. It is a case of "you scratch my
back and I'll scratch yours".
This must be the most volatile time in Thai-Burmese relations because Thai
leaders are eager to claim victory in their dealings with Burma. But the Burmese
leaders are not in a hurry; they have plenty the time, something the Thai
leaders do not have. Given the current domestic conditions, it is imperative for
the Thaksin government to achieve some tangible progress on relations with
Burma.
It will take a long time before the prime minister can claim any success
with his economic packages. The Rangoon leaders have fully understood this all
along. That explains why they have been engaging the Thai leaders to show that
they are ready to have a dialogue. But behind the smiling faces, the Burmese
leaders remain stoic and tough.
Wattanapong has done a good job in counteracting external aggression. He
could have done a better job if he had been left alone and not subjected to the
domestic politics involved in this issue. His courage and steadfastness have
been the subject of discussion in Rangoon. Burma's top man over the past several
months, General Than Shwe, even asked to see Wattanapong during the latter's
stopover in Rangoon. He did. This was something rare. The Thai general
apparently has made a big impact on the Burmese leaders. In recent memory, there
has been no Thai general with the guts to stand up to them so firmly and in such
a sustained manner as Wattanapong.
In the foreseeable future, Burma will continue to get tough with Thai
leaders. The junta generals might even want to engage in a brief war with
Thailand to drum up nationalism at home. They have spoken about war with
Thailand with visiting Thai dignitaries. Economic conditions inside Burma have
deteriorated greatly, and talks with opposition have proceeded at a snail's
pace. Therefore, fighting and squabbling with Thailand can provide a much-needed
excuse at this point for failures inside Burma. Now, the question is, should the
Thaksin government play along?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 07,
2001.
Burma talks set to centre on
drugs
Borderless business to be addressed Post Reporters
Thailand will discuss drugs with Burma tomorrow at the start of three days
of United Nations-backed talks in Rangoon, to curb what its drug agency stresses
is a borderless business.
The bilateral and regional talks, continuing till May 11, will also feature
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China and the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme.
Issues such as cross-border law enforcement co-operation, drug control
advocacy and capacity strengthening, precursor chemicals control, the massive
increase in trafficking and abuse of synthetic drugs-in particular
methamphetamines-legal co-operation, the spread of HIV/Aids through drug use, as
well as rural drug demand and poverty reduction, will be discussed.
"The timing couldn't be better," the UNDCP said in a statement.
"While countries are still divided by boundaries, political differences,
legal systems and differing national capacities, drug traffickers and their
criminal masterminds work a well-oiled machinery on a global scale, causing
serious harm beyond national borders.
"Drugs can no longer be conceived as a mere national problem and solutions
can no longer be found by single countries alone.
"The responses must be national and regional."
The six countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region signed a memorandum of
understanding on drug control in 1993, and came up with a sub-regional action
plan in May 1995, at their first ministerial meeting in Beijing.
Funding for the plan, which calls for 13 projects costing more than US$30
million (1.4 billion baht) has been provided primarily by the governments of
Japan, Britain, the European Union, the US and Scandinavian countries.
The meeting will review progress of the action plan in the fields of drug
abuse, reduction of illegal drug production and trafficking, and law enforcement
co-operation. It will also look into efforts at cross-border, bilateral,
regional and international levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 07,
2001.
Town flooded with smuggled
goods
Tourists flock to Mae Sai again Thirawat Khamthita - Chiang Rai
The border town of Mae Sai is flooded with smuggled Chinese and Burmese
goods and is again attracting tourists, but the Tachilek checkpoint remains
closed.
Vendors at the Mae Sai border marker said contraband goods on offer include
electrical appliances, fruit and wild products brought in from Burma to Mae Sai
every night.
Most arrive between 8pm and midnight, smuggled across the narrowest parts
of the Sai river, which is only 5m wide in places like Pa Daeng, Koh Sai, Muang
Daeng and Tha Kalam in tambon Mae Said.
Smugglers are said to be paying both Thai and Burmese officials to turn a
blind eye, with the going rate 500 to 5,000 baht a trip, depending on the amount
of goods.
Fuel and other "strategic items" including cars and construction materials
are in turn smuggled into Burma-despite specific bans on their export by the
Thai government. They are being stored in more than 100 warehouses along the Sai
river, vendors say.
The visible consequence is that tourist numbers are up again in Mae
Sai-with people drawn by the cheap contraband from China and Burma.
The Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing was closed following border skirmishes
between Thai and Burmese troops in March that soured relations.
Thailand reopened the Mae Sai checkpoint just before the Songkran festival,
but the ban on passage of cargoes remained.
On the Burmese side, the Tachilek checkpoint has remained closed.
Maj Domsak Khamsaengsai, chief of the Thai-Burmese co-ordination team, said
nothing has changed between the sides despite agreement at the Regional Border
Committee meeting last month that the two sides would hold a township border
committee-level meeting once a month.
Burmese authorities claim they fear for their safety because Thai people in
Mae Sai are dissatisfied over the construction of a lignite-fired power plant in
Tachilek, he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 07,
2001.
KNU troops kill six Burmese, wound
four in attack on outpost
Supamart Kasem The Karen National Union claims to have killed six Burmese soldiers and
wounded four others in an attack on an outpost opposite Tha Song Yang district.
KNU secretary-general Mahn Shar Lapan said the attack began on Friday against
the 108th Battalion camp at Maw Gwe Hloo on Hill 459, opposite Ban Mae La.
A Thai man was captured by the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
soldiers on Saturday and held for ransom. Rachen Butngamdee, 42, of Sukhothai,
was on the Burmese side of the border to buy wood.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Amount of Stimulants Seized
in Myanmar
2001.05.07 10:21:01 YANGON, May 7 (Xinhuanet) --
The Myanmar authorities seized 14,540 tablets of stimulant drug in a village in
the country's eastern Shan state last month, state-run newspaper The New
Light of Myanmar reported Monday.
The seizure was made by a combined team comprising local intelligence
unit and the police force when they searched traffic passing by at the
entrance of the Wansaung village in Kengtung in the state on April
26.
Two villagers were arrested in connection with the case, the report
said.
According to official statistics, in 2000, the Myanmar authorities
confiscated 26.6 million tablets of stimulant drug along with 1.52 tons of
opium, 158 kilos of heroin and 590 kilos of marijuana.
During the year, the authorities also exposed a total of 3,535
drug-related cases, punishing 4,881 drug offenders, the statistics
show.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- South China Morning Post
Monday, May 7, 2001
BURMA - Six die
in Karen attack
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Mae Sot, Thailand Karen guerillas have mounted an attack on a Burmese army base, killing six
defenders and wounding four others, rebel officers said on Monday.
The drive against the camp of battalion 108, which began last Friday, had not yet succeeded and fighting was expected to intensify as the defenders called in reinforcements, Karen National Union secretary-general Pado Mahn Sharlaphan said. The KNU is the last major rebel group fighting the central Burma government
for greater autonomy. Other ethnic minorities have signed peace agreements with
the country's military rulers.
The official said 250 troops were defending the base against three Karen
battalions. The camp is located about one kilometre inside Burma from the Thai
border and some 70km north of the key frontier town of Mae Sot.
Burma residents arriving in Mae Sot said government troops had rounded up
local villagers to serve as porters, carrying ammunition and rations to the
camp.
This practice, common in the Burmese military, has been condemned by
international human rights organisations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hindu
Talks with Suu Kyi may collapse
By Amit Baruah
SINGAPORE, MAY 6. The seven-month-old secret dialogue between Myanmar's
military Government and the pro-democracy leader, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, is on
the verge of breaking down, the Far Eastern Economic Review reported in its
latest issue.
``The junta has deferred numerous requests by United Nations special envoy
Razali Ismail - the main catalyst behind the talks - to revisit Burma (Myanmar).
Suu Kyi, under virtual house arrest, is said by a source close to Razali to be
increasingly frustrated with the secrecy and isolation of the talks...'' the
magazine claimed.
Another report from Yangon today stated that the secret talks between the
junta and Ms. Suu Kyi were in jeopardy as dissenting factions within the
military are wary of the prospects of far- reaching reforms.
Last week, Myanmar's Foreign Minister, Mr. U. Win Aung, told reporters in
Yangon that the talks were still on track.
``We are not playing games for the sake of the media... this is not a
public relations stunt... But we hope that this process, which is very complex
and delicate, should be left at a distance right now because the freedom of the
country depends on this,'' he was quoted as saying.
``There is no set time for the dialogue or peace process in Northern
Ireland, or in Sri Lanka or the Middle East... This is also not a process where
you can start a countdown. This is timeless,'' the Foreign Minister was quoted
as saying.
According to the Review article, the opacity surrounding the talks was
working to the military junta's advantage.
The ``cautious optimism'' with which the international community greeted
the talks is beginning to break down.
``Until April, many in the region - most significantly Japan - had tacitly
supported Western-led isolation of the junta as a concerted protest against the
regime's abysmal democratic credentials... but in early April, Japan broke ranks
with a Western-led 12-year ban on non-humanitarian assistance to Burma (Myanmar)
by quietly agreeing to provide a Yen 3.5 billions ($28 millions) aid package to
rehabilitate a hydroelectric dam as a direct reward for the talks...''
The Review claimed that the sun was setting on the talks. ``So far, Suu Kyi
has remained silent as the talks stall and her negotiating leverage slides. In
part that's because she desperately wants the release from prison of her
political supporters... with more regional support for the junta in the
pipeline, the incentive for the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) is
waning.''
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