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BURMA RELATED NEWS - May 18,
2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Myanmar Opposition Grp Urges Sanctions On
Military Junta
AP - Myanmar Responds To Thai Threat With Strong
Words
AP - Thai PM Thaksin Fighting For Political
Survival
IRNA - India, Myanmar carrying out joint
operations
TI - 'Myanmar will fight to defend ally's
territory'
The Guardian - Burma
protest
Bkk Post - Women kept under
guard and in chains
Bkk Post - Demarcation row delays pact on
drugs
Bkk Post - Officials
alerted for influx of drugs, illegal migrants
The Nation - Girl, 20, shackled for trying to
escape
Xinhuanet - Japan to Help Improve Myanmar's
Water Supply System
Xinhuanet - Myanmar, Laos to Promote Border
Trade Cooperation
SCMP - Last Mogul emperor's grave evokes new
passions
ST - Myanmar's 'lost generation'
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Friday May 18, 2:56 PM Myanmar Opposition Grp Urges Sanctions On Military
Junta
BANGKOK (AP)--A Myanmar
opposition group called on governments Friday to stop giving help to Myanmar's
military junta, and praised the U.S. for focusing attention on human rights
violations in that country.
The appeal by the National Council of the Union of Burma was in response to
a recent announcement that Japan was considering giving a $24 million aid
package to Myanmar to help repair a hydroelectric dam and power project.
The Washington-based council is a coalition of exiled political and ethnic minority groups opposed to the military government of Myanmar, also known as Burma. It claims to be Myanmar's government-in-exile. The Japanese "aid is not going to alleviate the suffering of the people of
Burma, who have lost all their human rights under the repressive rule of the
Burmese military authorities," the NCUB said in a statement received here.
"On the other hand, it would be like an incentive for the military regime
to heap more repression on the people of Burma," it said.
The statement also welcomed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's
comments, criticizing the Japanese aid package offer.
In his testimony at a Senate hearing Tuesday, Powell said it was
inappropriate for the Japanese government to deal with the military rulers of
Myanmar, and that the aid package was "not a proper investment...at this time."
Describing Powell's comments as "most far-sighted and correct," the NCUB
statement said "we would like to call upon all governments in the world to cease
the giving of assistance" to the junta."
It also urged the governments "to maintain sanctions against the...military
clique."
Myanmar's military government has been harshly criticized by human rights
groups and Western countries for its refusal to hand over power to the National
League for Democracy party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi after it won
general elections in 1990.
Japan says the aid package offer was to encourage the regime to continue
talks with Suu Kyi that began in secret in October and remain shrouded in
mystery.
A final decision on the aid is expected by the end of the year, after a
team of Japanese experts evaluate the extent of repairs needed at the Baluchaung
power plant, which supplies the capital Yangon and the second-largest city
Mandalay.
If it comes through, the aid would be the most significant foreign grant to
Myanmar since the regime took power in 1988 after a bloody crackdown against a
democracy uprising. Since then, donors have only allowed a trickle of
humanitarian assistance.
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Thursday May 17, 2:34 PM
Myanmar Responds To Thai Threat With
Strong Words
YANGON (AP)--In a clear warning
to Thailand, Myanmar said Thursday its troops will join an ethnic army, accused
of producing drugs, in defending its homeland from external attacks.
The remarks by Maj. Gen. Kyaw Win, deputy director of the military
intelligence, are the latest salvo in a war of words between Myanmar and
Thailand, whose relations have sunk to their lowest point in years.
The main bone of contention is Thailand's accusations that the ethnic United Wa State Army is freely producing drugs in factories along the Thai border in Myanmar's eastern Shan state and smuggling them to Thailand. It says Myanmar's military junta turns a blind eye to the activities of the
Wa, which signed a cease-fire with the government in 1989 in exchange for
virtual autonomy in the Wa area.
"Currently, there are some minor attacks by aggressors on Wa region," Kyaw
Win told a news conference.
"Instructions have been given to the Wa troops to be prepared...in case
serious skirmishes break out. Myanmar army will defend its territory and will
join with ethnic Wa troops against any aggressor who launches aggression against
the Wa region," he said.
Wa has been named by the U.S. State Department as a major drug producer in
the area. But Myanmar's junta defends the Wa, saying the group has stopped
producing drugs since the 1989 cease-fire and is now sincerely developing its
homeland, just as other former rebel groups are doing in other border areas
after giving up their armed struggles.
"Development of border regions depends largely on honest cooperation and
friendly neighbors," Kyaw Win said, citing the Kokang region bordering China.
"Kokang developed fast with material and technology assisted by friendly
China. In case of Thailand, they even prevented and put restrictions on import
to Myanmar of material for development projects," he said.
Thai-Myanmar relations have historically been uneasy, but they become
severely strained since February when fighting between Myanmar troops and
anti-government rebels spilled into Thailand. Since then regular skirmishes have
been fought along the border.
Thailand accuses Myanmar troops of crossing the border in their fight
against the rebels. Tensions escalated recently when Thai fighter jets flew
sorties over the border. Myanmar said the jet dropped bombs, but this was never
independently established.
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Thursday May 17, 12:50 PM
Thai PM Thaksin Fighting For Political
Survival
BANGKOK (AP)--As Thaksin
Shinawatra, Thailand's tycoon-turned-prime minister, prepares to complete his
first 100 days in office, he has learned one lesson for sure: running a country
can be tougher than running a company.
When Thaksin, 51, took office Feb. 9 with a big election victory, he was
hailed as a harbinger of change. The former telecommunications tycoon vowed to
"take charge" of the country like the chief executive that he was. He promised
to revitalize the economy and re-energize government.
Three months later, the euphoria has begun to evaporate as the economy
remains stagnant and Thaksin's image as a savvy manager has been battered by a
series of political missteps.
Thaksin insists that the rules of running a company and a country are not
that different.
"It's the same management principle. But the difference is that (in)
politics...there is a lot of confusion and a lot of suspicion," he said
recently.
"You have to have an art of explaining to the public," he added.
Corruption Case Biggest Threat To Political Survival
For now, the Constitutional Court trying him in a corruption case is
demanding explanations, posing the biggest threat to his political survival.
The court is expected to rule in the next few months on an indictment
against Thaksin by the state National Counter Corruption Commission that he
illegally concealed assets while serving in a previous government.
If the court upholds the ruling, Thaksin would be barred from holding
public office for five years. Thaksin denies any wrongdoing.
"I think the chance of Thaksin surviving the court's ruling is very slim,"
said Thongbai Tongpao, a prominent lawyer and senator.
Thaksin's indictment was handed down in December, before the Jan. 6
elections. But since the hearings began April 3, his legal team has struggled to
mount a credible defense. It claimed that the indictment was politically
motivated.
Before the election, Thaksin's advisers had dismissed the case as a legal
inconvenience that would fade in the face of his popular mandate.
Popularity With Poor Remains High
In fact, today his popularity still remains high, but only with one section of Thailand: the poor who hope to benefit from his populist polices. During his first 100 days, Thaksin did move to rapidly fulfill his campaign
policies.
A national asset management company has been established to take over the
bad debts in the banking sectors; a low-cost medical care scheme has been
launched; and the structure is being readied to deliver 1 million baht
(US$1=THB45.275) in development funds to each of the country's more than 70,000
villages.
"This is the government that we poor people long for," said Chusri
Maleehom, 21, a Bangkok food vendor. "I beg the press to give him some more
time. Do not rush to crush him and his government like they had done to previous
governments."
However, these days, Thaksin seems resigned to his possible ouster.
In a recent interview with CNN, Thaksin said he is "ready to serve the
country in other ways." On other occasions, he has told reporters that even if
he steps down, his Thai Rak Thai party will remain in power, implying that he
will continue to work behind the scenes.
The front-runner to replace him is Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon,
51, a close friend.
Needs To Win Confidence Of Foreign Investors
Should Thaksin overcome his legal problems, he still needs to win the confidence of foreign investors, who were puzzled by mixed signals from the prime minister about whether he favors protectionism or the free market. In a speech last month at a United Nations event, he said Asian countries
should "look inward" because the U.S. and Japanese economic models had failed.
Faced with an uproar, he said in another speech in Hong Kong that he was
committed to free-market reforms.
Getting a grip on the economy has proved trickier than expected.
In March, the government predicted a budget deficit of THB150 billion for
the next fiscal year. Tuesday, the government predicted the deficit would be
THB200 billion, saying it didn't know back then that the economy was so bad.
Officials are forecasting economic growth this year of 3%, down from 5%-7%
that party officials had promised during the election campaign.
Thaksin's initiative to improve relations with neighboring Myanmar has been
undercut by his own army, which in almost open defiance has maintained an
aggressive posture in its zeal to curb the flow of drugs from across the border.
Thaksin's tendency to make hasty remarks also has hurt him.
During his third week as prime minister, a Thai Airways jet exploded on the
tarmac at Bangkok airport shortly before he was due to board it. Thaksin said
unidentified saboteurs had planted a bomb, but since then, professional
investigators have concluded it was an accident.
He also was ridiculed when he backed a treasure hunt by an eccentric
senator for World War II booty in a remote cave. The "treasure" turned out to be
a scam involving fake U.S. Treasury bonds that ended with the arrest of five
people.
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India-Myanmar-Games
/WRD/
India, Myanmar carrying out joint operations New Delhi, May 18,IRNA --
Indian and Myanmarese security forces are carrying out joint
operations against some rebel groups in
NE border.
According to PTI, informed sources said last night that these operations along areas in the Indian northeastern (N-E) border were not targeted against any major militant faction. India and Myanmar have an agreement to cooperate in
combating militancy in the region.
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The Times of India - May 18,
2001.
'Myanmar will fight to defend ally's
territory'
YANGON: The Myanmar junta said on Thursday its forces would fight
side-by-side with an ethnic Wa army accused by Thailand and the United States of
involvement in the international drugs trade.
A senior junta spokesman said government forces would use their fire-power
to defend Wa territory along the border and accused Thailand of raising tensions
with "deliberate intrusions".
"If these deliberate intrusions at the border become direct threats to
either the Wa territory or Myanmar soil, we are ready to counter them," said
deputy military intelligence chief Brigadier-General Kyaw Win.
"I can say for certain that whoever has any intention of intruding directly
into Wa territory or violate Myanmar soil will find us fighting
side-by-side."
The strongly worded statement came at the start of annual Thai-US military
exercises focusing on the law enforcement and drugs interdiction tasks of
Thailand's Third Army, based on the Myanmar border.
The exercise, codenamed Cobra Gold, involves Thai and US troops as well as
Singaporean officers.
It also follows efforts by Thailand to downplay recent border tensions
ahead of a planned visit to Yangon by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra aimed at
normalising relations.
Accusations over illicit drugs and skirmishing among ethnic militias along
the rugged border earlier this year touched off a bitter row between the
countries, which are historical enemies.
In February, fighting between the United Wa State Army with close ties to
Yangon and the rival Shan State Army, which reputedly has the backing of the
Thai military, prompted the first clash in years between the two national
armies.
Since then, the uneasy neighbors have traded barbs over who is responsible
for heroin and methamphetamine factories that flourish along the ill-defined
mountainous border.
Much of Thailand's ire is directed at the Myanmar town of Mong Yawn, in Wa
territory near the border, which officials say is home to a multitude of drugs
factories flooding Thailand with cheap methamphetamines.
"To say that Mong Yawn was built on drug money is totally wrong," said the
Myanmar spokesman on Thursday.
He said the Wa made their money from legitimate gem, jade and ore mining
ventures.
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The Guardian - Thursday May 17,
2001
Burma protest
Premier Oil in troubled waters
Special report: the petrol crisis
Terry Macalister
Management at Premier Oil yesterday was put on the rack by both institutional and private shareholders angry about the scale of company debt and its refusal to withdraw from Burma. More than 20 hostile questions were raised from the floor at the annual
meeting in London where protesters demonstrated outside (pictured) before
chairman Sir David John suggested they move on to other business. He had earlier
apologised for seeming downbeat and said he would look into human rights issues
raised over Burma.
Sir David said last year had been "a [financial] turning point for Premier
after two difficult years", adding that debt would be reduced by asset sales and
unveiled an "unprecedented" social and environ mental report. Premier produced
operating profits of £35.2m last year compared with a £6.3m loss last time, but
its share price has remained low.
Leading the insitutional investors was Morley Fund Management, a branch of
insurer CGNU for whom spokeswoman Jo Johnston raised questions about the wisdom
of plans to drill in a Pakistan national park.
Shareholders seemed unimpressed by management reassurances on this but the
bulk of attacks centred on Premier's decision to ignore UK government calls to
withdraw from Burma.
Individuals berated the company for "compromising itself" by cooperating
with a repressive military government.
Speakers said Premier's pipeline system there was only being constructed
alongside a range of crimes and abuses by the local military including rape,
violence and torture.
This, say critics, makes a mockery of claims to be taking corporate social
responsibility seriously but Sir David explained: "We believe that constructive
engagement, as opposed to continued isolation and lack of development, is more
likely to bring about lasting change in that country."
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Bangkok Post - May 18,
2001.
SEX SLAVES
Women kept under guard and in
chains
Thirty women forced into the flesh trade were freed when police raided two
houses in Lat Phrao yesterday, and also found the iron shackles which enslaved
them.
Crime Suppression Division police stormed the two buildings, in the same
compound on Soi Chokchai 4.
In the first house they found 18 women and four male guards. Twelve other
women were in the second house, which was guarded by two men.
The women, aged 20-25, were mostly tribespeople from the North. Some were
Burmese.
Police said they were forced into prostitution by Kitti
Torchaicharoenporn.
Mr Kitti, who was not on the property, had lent the girls' parents
20,000-30,000 baht each on the condition they sent their daughters to work for
him.
The girls were forced to perform sexual services at massage parlours,
brothels and motels.
They were accompanied by Mr Kitti's men when customers asked them to
provide sex at motels.
Among the women was a Burmese girl, identified only as Lhong, 20, who was
found chained to the staircase rail of the first house. She said she was
shackled because she tried to escape.
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Bangkok Post - May 18,
2001.
Demarcation row delays pact on
drugs
Soldiers still on alert at troubled frontiers Wassana Nanuam
The agreement that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is supposed to sign
with Burma on the border and drugs has hit a snag.
Officials are trying to draw up a memorandum of understanding on
Thai-Burmese co-operation. A dispute over demarcation of border posts is holding
it up, said Supreme Commander Sampao Chusri.
The MoU is to be signed by either Mr Thaksin or Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai with his Burmese counterpart on a yet-to-be-fixed date.
Gen Sampao said Burma wanted the MoU to define the border in detail, but
the Thai side disagreed.
Burma wanted to adhere to its map, which would put Thailand at a
disadvantage, while the Thai side wanted to use satellite and aerial photos and
modern techniques in demarcation, he said.
The border dispute at Doi Lang in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district should be
settled first through government-level talks, he said.
The Thai military had proposed that Thailand and Burma jointly survey the
area.
Burma has not replied to the proposal although Burmese ambassador Win Aung
has met Mr Surakiart.
Gen Sampao said he had also proposed Thai and Burmese troops jointly patrol
Doi Lang.
He once raised the idea with Gen Maung Aye, the Burmese army chief, who
disagreed, he said.
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh had agreed to work with the Foreign
Ministry and Burmese leaders on demarcation talks, he said.
Meanwhile, Thai soldiers along the border in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai have
been told to stay on alert, especially on Doi Lang, as tensions mount. "Thai and
Burmese soldiers who used to stay together on Doi Lang in a friendly atmosphere
have become hostile towards each other. We have to be very careful with every
move," said Col Narongchai Kaewkla, commander of the 121st Cavalry
Battalion.
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Bangkok Post - May 18,
2001.
Officials alerted for influx of drugs,
illegal migrants
Tak-Border officials have been told to prepare for an influx of illicit
drugs and illegal workers from neighbouring countries.
Pol Maj-Gen Sombat Amornvivat, assistant police chief, gave the warning
during an inspection tour of Mae Sot yesterday.
He said drugs and illegal immigration posed a threat to national
security.
More than three million young Thais were addicted to drugs, particularly
methamphetamines.
A Tak police officer said 15,587,460 speed pills and 4.5kg of heroin had
been seized in the first four months of this year. Most had been smuggled across
the northern border.
Pol Maj-Gen Sombat said traffickers hoped to smuggle at least 40 million
speed pills into Thailand this year.
He also attributed rising crime rates to the presence of illegal
workers.
More than 1.7 million illegal migrants, mostly from Burma, Cambodia and
Laos, were in the country, and about 100,000 new refugees.
The government was spending billions of baht to suppress drug trafficking
and illegal workers, he pointed out.
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The Nation - May 18,
2001.
SEX SLAVES: Girl, 20, shackled for
trying to escape
Police yesterday rescued 30 hilltribe and Burmese women who were being held
as sex slaves at two houses in Lat Phrao district.
The Crime Suppression Division’s (CSD) 20member commando unit searched the
isolated houses after receiving tipoffs from local residents.
In addition to the women aged between 20 and 25, police also found six
hilltribe men, allegedly hired by Kitti Tochaicharoenporn, the owner of the
houses, to guard the captives.
Police found Lhong, a 20 year old Burmese girl, chained to a staircase when
they raided the house. She told the officers that she was chainedup because she
once attempted to escape.
Her right ankle was bruised and swollen from being shackled.
According to the findings of the initial investigation, Kitti allegedly
paid the parents between Bt20,000 and Bt30,000 for each girl. They were then
taken to the houses where they were forced to provide sexual services.
Most of the women had been captives inside the homes for several months.
Local residents contacted police after becoming suspicious of all the visitors
the houses attracted.
Colonel Sopon Pisutiwong, who headed the police team, said Kitti had not
been caught. But he said based on the interrogation of the other men, the
suspect would be charged with illegally detaining people, procuring prostitutes,
and sheltering illegal foreigners.
“After questioning, we will send the women home,” he said.
An informed source said Kitti ran a front company dealing in timber, and
was on his way to buy wood from Chiang Rai when the police raided the houses.
They expected an early arrest. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan to Help Improve Myanmar's
Water Supply System
2001.05.18 12:16:53 YANGON, May 18 (Xinhuanet) --
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to help
improve the water supply system in two cities and other dry areas of
Myanmar.
According to the Yangon City Development Committee (CDC) Friday, the
Japanese organization will implement the projects of improving water supply
system in Yangon and Mandalay, and the dry regions in central Myanmar.
The minutes of discussion on the projects were signed here Thursday
between the JICA and the Yangon CDC, Mandalay CDC and Myanmar's
Development Affairs Department (DAD) under the Ministry of Progress of
Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.
Meanwhile, the JICA has also started in April implementing a rural
water supply project in the country's eastern Shan state in cooperation
with the DAD, covering 250 villages and using heavy equipment of the JICA,
according to an earlier official report.
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Myanmar, Laos to Promote Border
Trade Cooperation
2001.05.18 11:02:28 YANGON, May 18 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar and Laos have held a ministerial meeting in Kengtung, Myanmar's
eastern Shan state, on the promotion of cooperation in the two countries'
border trade, the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce disclosed Friday.
The meeting, held on Tuesday, was attended by Myanmar delegation, led
by Minister of Commerce Brigadier-General Pyi Sone, and Lao delegation, headed
by Minister of Commerce and Tourism Phoumy Thipphavone.
The meeting also discussed exhibition of bilateral trade fairs and
designation of border trade sites.
It was the first ministerial meeting held under a memorandum of
understanding on border trade pursuant to the trade agreement signed
between the two countries in Vientiane in December 2000 when General Maung
Aye, Vice-Chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, visited
Laos.
The 15-member Lao delegation arrived in Kengtung on Tuesday for the meeting
at the invitation of Pyi Sone.
Laos is one of Myanmar's five neighboring countries. However, there
are few economic and trade links between the two countries, while Myanmar
has nine border trade points with China, four with Thailand and one each
with India and Bangladesh.
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South China Morning Post
Friday, May 18, 2001
BURMA - Last Mogul emperor's grave
evokes new passions
Associated Press in Rangoon After he died in exile in British captivity, the last Mogul emperor of India was buried and forgotten as a footnote in history. Nearly 140 years later, Bahadur Shah Zafar is stirring new passions. Since the discovery of his grave in 1991 in a quiet, leafy part of Rangoon,
the foreign king has been worshipped as a "pir," or saint, by Burma's Muslims as
well as people of other faiths.
The tomb has also become the focus of a diplomatic tussle between India and
Pakistan, with both trying to assert themselves as the rightful inheritors of
the emperor's legacy.
Pakistan, carved out of India as a homeland for Muslims when British
colonial rule ended in 1947, maintains Zafar was a Muslim emperor rather than an
Indian emperor.
"Who was this man called Zafar? He was a Mogul Muslim king who ruled
India," Pakistan Embassy diplomat Sahebzada Khan said.
But to the caretakers of Zafar's mausoleum, he was simply a saint, a
poet-scholar and a symbol of communal harmony.
"He was not only a king but also a saint. Even Buddhists, Hindus and
Christians come here to seek his blessings," said Abdul Rahim, a member of the
committee that manages the mausoleum.
He said 20 to 25 people visit his tomb every day and sit at its foot to
meditate, believing that wishes made there are fulfilled.
Zafar's aura of holiness is due to his reputation as a scholar of Sufism,
an ascetic movement within Islam. The folklore and the mystery surrounding his
long-lost grave has added to the mysticism.
During his time, Zafar was one of the foremost poets of the Urdu language
and an accomplished calligrapher. His poems, or ghazals, are still popular in
India and Pakistan, the two countries that together formed the Mogul empire that
was established in 1526. It ended when Zafar was dethroned by the British in
1858.
He died four years later at age 87 after penning his own epitaph in the
form of a "ghazal," a bitter lament against the British for leaving him to die
in a foreign land:
How unlucky Zafar is!
For his burial, he couldn't get even two yards of earth in my beloved country. Born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, Zafar succeeded to the throne
in 1837 but only as a figurehead. India was really controlled by the British
East India Company.
When Muslim and Hindu soldiers of the East India Company revolted in May
1857, Zafar became a rallying point for what some now call India's first
independence war.
The mutineers proclaimed Zafar the true emperor of India. But the rebellion
was crushed and Zafar was exiled for life to Myanmar, or Burma as it was known.
In Rangoon, Zafar was kept in a shed attached to the bungalow of a junior
British officer. He died on Nov. 7, 1862, and his grave was deliberately
concealed to prevent it from becoming a focus of nationalist sentiments.
According to a 19th century account of the burial, Zafar's jailer wrote
this about the grave: "By the time the fence is worn out, the grass will have
again covered the spot and no vestige will remain to distinguish where the last
of great Mughals [sic] rests."
Later, Zafar's wife Zeenat Mahal and granddaughter Raunaq Zamani Begum were
buried at the site; by then no sign of Zafar's grave remained. Eventually,
mausoleums were built at the site for Zafar and his family. But the emperor's
grave was not found until 1991 during the digging for the foundation of a
memorial hall paid for by India.
Today, the mausoleum includes the hall and a room containing the tombs of
the wife and granddaughter. A stairway leads to an underground chamber
containing Zafar's tomb covered by a green satin cloth.
As part of tradition, every visiting dignitary from secular India has paid
respects at Zafar's tomb - including former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and
Rajiv Gandhi - and India has succeeded in lobbying the Burmese government to
prevent Pakistan from playing a role in the upkeep of the mausoleum.
Earlier this month, when General Pervez Musharraf became the first
Pakistani head of state to visit Burma in 16 years, he also paid his respects at
Zafar's mausoleum and promised to donate US$50,000 for building another hall.
Mr Khan, the Pakistani diplomat, pointedly said that General Musharraf's
visit had been to the tomb of a great Muslim ruler, not an Indian ruler.
"If our Indian friends perceive it as going to an Indian emperor's grave,
it is their shortsightedness," he said.
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The Straits Times - May 18,
2001.
Myanmar's 'lost generation'
Frequent university closures have left students with dented dreams,a low motivation for learning and an attraction for nothing but the good life By Edward Tang
THAILAND CORRESPONDENT MORE than a decade of disrupted education services in Myanmar has given
rise to a generation of young people who have lost the desire to learn and who
seek instant gratification.
Until recently, nearly all universities and some high schools in the
country were closed after major student protests against the government in 1996.
Before then, universities had been shut for extended periods after another major
student uprising in 1988.
The enforced school holidays has dented the dreams of many young
people.
The most severely affected in this 'lost generation' are those in their
early 30s. Many of them were undergraduates when military troops cracked down on
the student democracy movement in 1988.
Last year, the government reopened most of the universities but restricted
the student population at Yangon University - the hotbed of dissent - to those
studying for honours and masters degrees.
All other undergraduates have to travel about 40 km to the nearest
universities on the outskirts of the capital, an apparent move by the government
to prevent students from networking.
Since the reopening of universities, a number of older students have
returned to the classroom to make up for lost time, but others have stayed out,
either feeling too old or having lost the capacity to learn.
According to a local journalist, the major impact of the closure of
universities is that the value of education has been diminished in the eyes of
Myanmar's younger generations.
'Many young people now dream of making money, doing business, but they do
not have the educational grounding to understand what it involves,' he
said.
'They have lost the desire to learn. All they want is a good life.'
One manifestation of this penchant for instant gratification is the
explosion of nightlife in Yangon, a recent phenomenon in this tightly-controlled
city.
There are at least a dozen pubs and discos that cater to foreign and local
clientele.
At the basement disco of the five-star Hotel Equatorial, girls as young as
15 years dance in the crowd.
Before the night is over, they will have been picked up by a client looking
for paid sex. The price for a night - 10,000 kyat (S$27).
Prostitution is illegal in Myanmar. The police carry out regular raids on
establishments that flout the law, but this has not deterred the night
entertainment business from expanding.
The longer-term implication of the 13-year educational hiatus is a shortage
of skilled manpower in the country such as engineers and doctors.
A crumbling economy adds to the problem. Few families can afford to send
their children to local universities, not to mention an overseas
education.
According to a study, only one-third of one million children who enter
primary schools annually will finish four years of education.
Employers here also have difficulties in hiring competent staff.
With all these problems, analysts warn that Myanmar could be headed for an
educational crisis.
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