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BURMA RELATED NEWS - May 20,
2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - China PM Pledges To Help In Golden Triangle
War On Drugs
The Nation - China says yes to drug meet, trade
The Nation - Letters to the Editor - Photos of rescued|women disturbing
Bkk Post - Four PMs to meet on
drugs
Bkk Post - Former policeman held with 1.1
million amphetamine pills
Bkk Post - Illegal logging and drugs worry
border people most
Bkk Post - Dangerous escalations
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Able to Face World Economic
Changes: Leader
Kyodo - Laos, Myanmar to be invited to join
antidrug dialogue
Kyodo - Over 3 mil. people engaged in forced
labor in Myanmar
ST - Myanmar allows domestic Intranet access
Chicago Tribune - U.S., China take sides in
border skirmish
MSNBC - Tourists face tough times is
Myanmar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday May 20, 12:51 PMChina PM Pledges To Help In Golden
Triangle War On Drugs
BANGKOK (AP)--Chinese Prime
Minister Zhu Rongji pledged China's support for a war on drugs in the so-called
Golden Triangle and offered help to Thailand's vital agricultural sector, Thai
officials said Saturday night.
Zhu is on a four-day visit to Thailand, intent on strengthening already
close economic and political bilateral ties and boosting regional cooperation.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters that Zhu offered
to host a drug summit for leaders of Thailand, China, Myanmar and Laos.
During talks with his Thai counterpart, Thaksin Shinawatra, Zhu also said
China would buy at least 200,000 tons of rice and up to 600,000 tons of rubber
from Thailand this year, the foreign minister said.
The first drug conference by the four prime ministers will be held in
Kunming, capital of China's southern province of Yunnan. A date wasn't
immediately announced.
The countries are on the frontlines of a war against narcotics trafficking
out of the Golden Triangle, one of the world's largest sources of illicit
narcotics.
China also plans to support Thailand's attempts at Asian cooperation to
stabilize international agricultural prices. Thailand is the world's largest
exporter of rice and rubber, and any significant drop in prices of these
commodities can have a devastating effect on Thai farmers.
The Chinese side reiterated plans to invest $1 billion to produce paper
from eucalyptus plantations in Thailand that will be exported to China.
The project has drawn fire from Thai environmentalists, who cite
degradation of soil and a history of clearing often more biodiverse land for
forest plantations.
Zhu was scheduled to travel to the seaside resort of Hua Hin on Monday to
meet Thailand's constitutional monarch Bhumibol Adjulaydej, whose family has
forged strong links with China.
Queen Sirikit and two of her daughters have visited China in the recent
past. Crown Princess Sirindhorn is a keen Mandarin linguist and student of
Chinese culture.
Relations between Thailand and China have strengthened in recent years,
especially in the economics area.
China is now Thailand's fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral
trade in 2000 soaring 51% above the previous year.
Investment and tourism between the two countries have also increased.
However, Thai economists warn of possible problems. Cheap Chinese goods are
flowing into the country in greater volumes, knocking out local competition.
China's export machine also could harm Thailand in key markets for Thai
exports such as the U.S. and the European Community, while foreign investors may
well opt for China rather than Thailand when deciding where to park their
funds.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - May 20,
2001.
ZHU'S VISIT: China says yes to
drug meet, trade
Sa-nguan Khumrungroj
In a series of moves revealing new heights in Sino-Thai relations, Chinese
premier Zhu Rongji yesterday gave Thailand's war on drugs a huge boost by
offering to host the first regional anti-drug summit meeting and made several
preferential economic pledges.
The idea of a "quadrangle drug summit" was raised by Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra during his discussion with Zhu, who is on his first official visit to
Thailand as the Chinese premier.
Zhu greeted the idea with enthusiasm and offered to play host to the
meeting, which is expected to unite Thailand, China, Burma and Laos - the
countries sharing the drug-rich Golden Triangle region - in a common political
front. A date for the meeting has yet to be set.
Upon his arrival, Zhu was greeted with a red-carpet reception and reviewed
a guard of honour with his Thai counterpart. He is scheduled to stay in Thailand
for four days on the last leg of his Asian tour.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the ministers from Thailand,
China and Burma had already agreed to the initiative.
Surakiart said Thaksin wished the meeting would be held as soon as possible
and that the four nations would take the problems seriously.
Zhu promised that China would send an anti-drug liaison group to its
embassy in Bangkok next month. Both countries signed an MoU on drug cooperation
last year.
On the economic front, Zhu agreed in principle to Thaksin's idea of a
"preferential taxation" pact between northern Thailand and China's Yunnan
province to promote trade, transportation and tourism.
Both regions are currently linked under the Greater Mekong Sub-regional
cooperation scheme.
China also supported Thailand's attempt to forge Asian cooperation in a bid
to stabilise agricultural prices in the international market so as to help Thai
farmers.
To show his sincerity, Zhu agreed to continue importing Thai products on at
least this year's level of 200,000 tonnes of rice and 580,000 tonnes of rubber
this year with an instant purchase of 50,000 tonnes for rubber as a "gift" to
the new government.
Thaksin accepted Zhu's invitation to visit China, but he said he would
undertake the visit at the appropriate time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - May 20,
2001.
Letters to the Editor -
Photos of rescued|women
disturbing
A foreign reader -VIA INTERNET
I am a regular subscriber of The Nation. My nationality is not Thai, and I
have lived in Chiang Mai more than a year.
Although I enjoy reading The Nation, one thing which bothers me is the fact
that it prints photos of women in sexual services, especially Burmese women who
are rescued by the Thai authorities from the slave-like conditions at brothels
[Page 1A, May 18].
They are not criminals and have basic human rights like all of us.
Please be more thoughtful and careful when you print this type of news on
your front page. |I know that you aim to add sensational spice to your stories,
but it is very insensitive to these |people and degrades the quality of your
newspaper.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 20,
2001.
Four PMs to meet on
drugs
China wants paper but offers tariff cuts Bhanravee Tansubhapol and Yuwadee Tunyasiri
Thailand and China yesterday agreed to involve prime ministers in talks to
curb drugs and to draw Laos and Burma into the effort, said Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai.
China offered to host the first conference of the four prime ministers in
Kunming which would take place after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visits
Laos, he said.
Mr Surakiart was speaking after two hours of talks between prime ministers
Thaksin and Zhu Rongji.
Mr Thaksin cited minorities, smuggling of chemical precursors, and
proliferation of production plants as problems that obstructed efforts to curb
drugs.
He believed getting prime ministers involved would speed up solutions.
Normally such talks are carried out at foreign minister level.
Mr Zhu asked about Burma's position and was told that Rangoon supported the
idea of extending co-operation beyond bilateral limits.
Mr Thaksin asked China to consider special privileges to ease trade and
communications between northern Thailand and southwestern China.
In what Mr Surakiart described as a gift, China agreed to send trade
officials to discuss cutting tariffs on dried lamyai, which face stiff
competition.
China allows special tariffs on imports of such goods from Burma and
Laos.
But China reiterated its plan to invest in a US$1 billion project to
produce paper from eucalyptus trees in Thailand that would be sold exclusively
in China.
Mr Thaksin said he would ask Pitak Intharawithayanunt, Prime Minister's
Office minister, to work out the details.
Sticking points for Thailand are provision of 200,000 rai of land for
planting the trees and environmental concerns, Mr Surakiart said.
China said the concerns would be tackled as part of the project.
Agreeing with Mr Thaksin that Asian countries should co-operate in the face
of globalisation, Mr Zhu said he would send officials to explore closer ties in
agriculture.
He offered to buy 200,000 tonnes of rice, or the same amount as last year,
even though China had produced a surplus.
He would help stabilise rubber prices by sustaining imports, and.offered to
buy 50,000 tonnes immediately. China bought 5.8 million tonnes of Thai rubber
last year. Mr Zhu agreed to send officials to discuss ways of helping relieve
Thailand's shipping problems. Mr Thaksin had asked to borrow large Chinese ships
to carry Thai goods to Europe.
Feeder vessels are carrying the goods to Singapore where they are
transferred to bigger ships, which takes time and costs money.
The pair did not discuss joint investment in the Denchai-Chiang Rai rail
link that would eventually extend to Kunming, but officials are believed to have
taken up the issue.
Before the talks, Mr Thaksin was optimistic. "Besides the normal
strengthening of relations, I believe the countries will enjoy deeper ties in
economic matters," he said. China's imminent entry to the World Trade
Organisation would provide more competition but also more occasions to
co-operate.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 20,
2001.
Former policeman held with 1.1
million amphetamine pills
Suspect hired by Red Wa to make delivery Theerawat Khamthita
A former police sergeant-major was arrested in Mae Chan district yesterday
for allegedly trafficking in 1.1 million methamphetamine pills.
The drugs were found in a Honda car driven by Pol Sgt-Maj Banleng or
Thanapol Inthakhan, 42, along with 40kg of ephedrine which could be used to
produce 1.6 million methamphetamine pills.
Pol Sgt-Maj Banleng told Mae Chan police, who stopped him at a checkpoint,
that the Red Wa, an ethnic minority force across the Thai-Burmese border, would
pay four million baht for his freedom.
The police took the offer as they hoped to make more arrests.
Pol Sgt-Maj Banleng led a police team to a point on the Sai river in Mae
Sai district, opposite Burma, where he phoned the Red Wa and asked them to bring
him four million baht.
They waited for three hours but no one came.
The police then took Pol Sgt-Maj Banleng back to Mae Chan and charged him
with possessing illicit drugs with intent to sell.
The suspect confessed he had been hired by the Red Wa, a major drug
producer, to deliver the tablets to a customer in Chiang Rai for 400,000
baht.
He claimed it was the first time he had acted as a courier, but police were
not convinced.
Background checks revealed Pol Sgt-Maj Banleng was transferred from Mae Sai
to Mae Hong Son in 1997 on suspicion that he was involved in drug
trafficking.
He resigned from the police force after he was moved to Payao province in
1999.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 20,
2001.
Illegal logging and drugs worry border
people most
Supamart Kasem Illegal logging and drug trafficking are the major causes of concern for
residents along the Burmese border, Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong said
yesterday.
The Third Army commander said illegal wood was being supplied to more than
100 sawmills along the border.
Some 60% of the sawmills were foreign-owned.
Those benefiting from the illegal businesses were mostly military personnel
on the Burmese side of the border.
"When these people have a conflict of interest, they fight, thus affecting
people's livelihoods," he said.
Pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army soldiers attacked a government
outpost at Ban Muen Ruechai, Phop Phra district, early this month because their
methamphetamine deliveries were blocked by Thai soldiers, Lt-Gen Wattanachai
said. Three civilians were killed in the crossfire.
Thai troops earlier seized more than 10 million speed pills smuggled into
the area by DKBA soldiers.
The Third Army commander yesterday accompanied Gen Surayud Chulanont, the
army chief, on a tour of military and police units in Mae Sot, Mae Ramat, Phop
Phra and Tha Song Yang districts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - May 20,
2001.
Dangerous escalations
BORDER TENSIONS: Thai-Burmese border
tensions have already spilled over into sporadic shelling resulting in deaths on
both sides. But if Burma still won't clean up its drugs act and stick to its own
territory, all that may soon seem like child's play compared with what's to
come
Surath Jinakul 'I can say for certain that whoever has any intention of intruding directly
into Wa territory or violating Myanmar (Burma) soil will find us fighting
side-by-side." The blunt statement, delivered by a senior Burmese government
spokesman on Thursday, reflects the depth of bad feeling that lies under the
ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Burma.
It apparently is prompted by the start of the annual Thai-US military
exercises, codenamed Cobra Gold. Normally the exercises are held in coastal
areas, but this year they are being held against the backdrop of drug
suppression activities of the Thai Third Army, which is based near the Burmese
border.
The strongly worded statement from Brigadier-General Kyaw Win, Burma's
deputy military intelligence chief, comes on the heels of a prior escalation in
the war of words coming out of Rangoon. Last Sunday, May 13, Thai Army
Commander-in-Chief Surayud Chulanond delivered a shocked protest after reading a
statement by the Rangoon military junta, which said that Thai troops must be
withdrawn from the rugged terrain of Doi Lang in the northern Thai province of
Chiang Mai.
Part of the letter reads, "If the Thais won't withdraw, they will be forced
to retreat by Burmese forces."The Burmese assertion surprised Thai army top
brass. Third Army Regional Commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong had
recently returned from Burma with an overall favourable impression of his
meetings. But some analysts are not surprised by the unpredictable Burmese
attitude, "because drug money is involved and because, like Thailand, the
Burmese see national sovereignty as the No.1 priority."Another analyst expressed
grave concerns about the situation, fearing that northern Thailand could be the
stage for a confrontation of global proportions, with America backing the Thais
and China backing the Burmese.
RELATIONS TURN SOUR
The sporadic exchange of mortar fire these days on the border is a vivid
testimony to souring relations, in the midst of what were generally improving
relations.
Less than two months ago, on April 2-4, Lt-Gen Wattanachai, in his capacity
as head of the Thai delegation to the Regional Border Committee meeting in the
Burmese town of Kengtung, talked about Burma with a big smile on his face,
because of the attitude of cooperation he found from the Burmese side. The
three-day meeting was designed to enrich relations and drug suppression efforts
between the two countries.
By the time the Thai delegation departed Kengtung, they had secured an
agreement that Thai and Burmese military representatives would meet regularly
and Burma would help to annihilate drug factories in its territory along the
border. Lt-Gen Wattanachai was quoted at that time as saying: "They (the Burmese
military leaders) say that they are ready to help Thailand destroy border drug
factories." Rangoon has lately been preoccupied in an effort to convince the
world that it is not involved in drug producing and trafficking in its own
backyard. "Unbiased reporters" were invited to inspect the Wa border township of
Mong Yawn, to confirm that its construction and development was not funded by
drug money from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), but with a special budget from
Rangoon.
DRUG COUNTRY
But, in the eyes of the world, and particularly the United States, the
Burmese authorities need to do much more to be convincing when they talk about
drug suppression operations along the border.
An annual US State Department report issued on March 1 has continued to
brand Burma as the world's second-largest source of opium, the raw material for
heroin, after Afghanistan. The UWSA is also considered by US narcotic
authorities to be the biggest drug trafficker in the Golden Triangle.
For decades, Burmese drugs, including heroin and methamphetamines, have
flooded markets in neighbouring countries, threatening their stability.
The Thai Farmers Bank Research Centre reported that up to 400 million
methamphetamine pills manufactured in Burma ended up on the streets of Thailand
last year.
Thai drug suppression authorities say that the UWSA runs an estimated 55
illegal laboratories along the northern border, which are capable of producing
600 million pills a year.
Because of the scale of the drug influx over the Burmese border, and the
devastating effect on some segments of the population, anti-drug operations have
become a national security issue in Thailand.
And, if the Burmese government is not actually supporting and controlling
drug production, it is widely believed that they are sanctioning and profitting
from it. According to a senior US anti-drug official, drug traffickers and their
families are among the leading investors in major infrastructure projects in
Burma. "They are allowed to launder money with impunity through banks controlled
by the military junta," the official claimed.
Ending the drug trade in Burma will never be easy because of the role it
plays in internal politics and economic development. The Burmese military is
known to have used drug warlords as a counterweight to anti-government ethnic
insurgents. In exchange, they are allowed to carry out the drug business as they
please.
Rangoon has succeeded in securing alliances with minority groups, including
the UWSA, considered by Thailand to be the major methamphetamine producer along
the border. The partnership has allegedly filled government coffers with money
and provided manpower and weapons. The Wa, who have long waged war in the
jungle, are familiar with the rugged areas which are the strongholds of
insurgent groups.
RING LEADERS
The UWSA was formed in 1989 shortly after the fall of the Communist Party
of Burma (CPB). The Burmese regime quickly signed a ceasefire agreement with
them for fear they would arm other rebel groups. The Wa's weapons are supplied
by China, according to Thai and foreign military sources.
Soon afterwards, the Wa expanded its drug network from their main
stronghold in Panghsang, on the Sino-Burmese border, to areas adjacent to the
northern Thai provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. In fact, it was the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), successor to the Burmese State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC), that encouraged the UWSA to move from their
homelands on the Sino-Burmese border, and head south to eastern Shan state,
opposite Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Thai authorities are convinced that the Wa's Mong Yawn community, close to
the Thai border opposite Chiang Mai, was developed with drug money. Drugs are
moved south and goods are moved north.
USEFUL TOOLS
Apart from a source of income and military assistance, the Wa have proved
useful to Rangoon in their campaign to eradicate ethnic Shan. The Wa were
encouraged to move their civilians south as well, in so doing encroaching on
Shan territory.
The Burmese military junta and Wa have joined hands in fighting against
Shan ethnic rebels led by Col Yawd Serk, once a partner in crime of notorious
drug warlord Khun Sa.
Yawd Serk currently commands the Shan State Army (SSA), after having split
with Khun Sa in 1995.
The conflict recently spilled into Thailand when Burmese troops, in pursuit
of SSA forces, crossed the Thai border in Chiang Rai and occupied Ban Pang Noon
camp in Mae Fah Luang district.
The mountain ridge base offered clear visibility for Burma to shell the
rival Shan army.
After Bangkok's demand for the withdrawal of Burmese troops fell on deaf
ears, the fighting erupted two days later, on February 11, at Ban Pang Noon. Two
Thai troops were killed and five injured, while sources reported that Burma
sustained many casualties.
At one point during the clash, Burma opened fire on Thai villages in Chiang
Rai's Mae Sai district, killing two civilians and damaging several houses.
Thai military forces responded by shelling Phuteng Nayong, killing several
Burmese troops.
Col Yawd Serk's base at Doi Tai Liang, which has been occupied by the SSA
for more than half a decade, is a strategic defensive position as well as
potentially an area for major drug trafficking.
Drug barons, including Wei Hseuh Kang of the UWSA, have long wanted to take
control of the area to develop this potential.
Wei, the most notorious drug trafficker in the Golden Triangle, is one of
three brothers who have dealt in narcotics for decades.
Despite their vast network that stretches beyond Mong Yawn to Mong Toom,
Mong Mon, and Mong Sad, the Wa fear that the Shan will block their routes to the
south and prevent access into the Thai checkpoint towns of Mai Sai and Mae Fah
Luang in Chiang Rai, and San Ma Khet and San Ton Du in Chiang Mai. Taking
control of Col Yawd Serk's Shan stronghold would enable the Wa to expand its
trafficking route to the South.
DRUG LORD
Wei Hseuh Kang was born in Yunnan province in southern China. His family
fled to the Shan State of Burma after the communist victory in 1949. They later
settled in Vingngun in the Wa region.
When the Chinese nationalist Kuomintang's power faded in Burma, the
brothers allied themselves with Khun Sa, leader of the Shan United Army (SUA) in
1975, though Khun Sa was still in jail.
Soon they became well-versed in the drug trade and politics of the Shan
State, and advanced to powerful positions in the SUA. However, after Khun Sa was
released from jail by the Burmese government, he had Wei Hsueh Kang arrested and
fired his two brothers from their positions.
Convinced that it was time to switch alliances, Wei Hsueh Kang soon escaped
and later began to work with the Wa along the Thai border to develop their drug
network. When the CPB was defeated, ethnic groups in the area formed their own
political groups. The Wa formed the United Wa State Party (UWSP) and United Wa
State Army (UWSA), in which the Wei brothers took an active role.
The Wa agreed to cooperate with the Burmese military to defeat Khun Sa, in
exchange for autonomy. After Khun Sa surrendered in 1996, Wei Hsueh Kang became
a member of the administration committee of the UWSP.
In addition, the Wei family is in control of Mong Yawn. Under their
supervision, it is estimated that several billion baht has been spent on
projects to build up the town, including a dam to supply water and electricity,
a new hospital, housing units and comfortable hotels.
Intelligence reports reveal that Rangoon and Wei Hseuh Kang have a secret
agreement that allows the latter to continue freely with its drug production and
trafficking until 2007.
The contract also permits the Wa warlord to retain control over the drug
businesses of other minority groups, provided that they share profits and pay
taxes to the Burmese military regime, say the reports. The secret deal between
Rangoon and the Wa has upset a certain faction within the ruling SPDC who feared
the agreement would tarnish its country's image even further. Against the
backdrop of uncertainty in Rangoon, fighting erupted on the Thai-Burmese
border.
Reacting to the Burmese demand that Thai troops vacate Doi Lang, Lt-Gen
Wattanachai of the Third Thai Army said simply, in his normal tone of voice, "If
Burma insists that Doi Lang belongs to them and attempts to use force to push
our troops back....then this could mean war."He made it clear that the Thai army
will never retreat from the disputed area.
Thailand and Burma have long contested ownership of the 32 square
kilometres of land on Doi (mountain) Lang. Thailand claims it is a part of
Chiang Rai's Mae Ai district. The Burmese military junta say that it is deep
inside Burma.
Earlier this month, a unit of pro-Rangoon Wa soldiers captured Hua Lone
Hill, about 400 metres into Thai soil. The Third Army knew that the outlaw
fighters had taken the hill only to protect their large drug production plants
and trafficking routes within the area. Several days of counter-attacks by the
Third Army drove the jungle fighters away.
Since then the sporadic shelling from Burmese Army mortars has broken out
over the disputed areas of Doi Lang. The mortar shells sometimes land in
villages and cause damage.
Doi Lang was once a military base for drug warlord Khun Sa, whose Muang Tai
Army was defeated by the UWSA in 1981. Burma subsequently reinforced its troops
stationed on the mountain, drawing strong protests from the Thai army, which has
traditionally also deployed its troops there. In some areas Thai army outposts
are located just a few hundred metres from Burmese stations. In last week's
letter of protest, Burma claimed that 26 Thai positions on Doi Lang were
encroaching on Burmese territory.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had been expected to sign a memorandum of
understanding on drug suppression on a scheduled trip to Rangoon some time next
month.
Amid the recent confusion, a source simply says the premier's schedule has
yet to be finalised.
As the mortar rounds fly from both sides, it seems that everyone has
forgotten the friendly talks held in Kengtung last month. And the tension can
only be expected to mount during the ongoing Cobra Gold exercises, which began
last Tuesday and last until May 29.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Able to Face World
Economic Changes: Leader
2001.05.20 11:28:17 YANGON, May 20 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar will be able to face challenges in the light of many changes in
the world economy after the 1997 Asian economic crisis, Myanmar leader
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt said Saturday evening.
Speaking at a ceremony here of presentation of master certificates in
business administration to the graduates, Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of
the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, expressed the belief that
"being rich in national resources and highly-qualified human resources,
Myanmar will be able to face any kind of challenges."
According to The New Light of Myanmar on Sunday, Khin Nyunt also
expected that this year, difficulties can be overcome in Asian nations due
to their strong economic infrastructures and favorable economic
foundations, although the world economy shows a trend of slowing down.
He pointed out that in the international trade sector and
establishment of industries, comparative advantage, which was previously
regarded as important, has been replaced by the amount of benefits gained
and the condition of the market. He called for observation of the flow of
international monetary investment.
Khin Nyunt stressed the need to take into account the long-term economic
benefits and the interest of the nation although priority should be given to
benefits in doing business. If those, who pay priority only to short-term
interests, are greater in number, the entire economic system can be
affected, the Myanmar leader warned.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Laos, Myanmar to be invited to join
antidrug dialogue
BANGKOK, May 19 Kyodo -
Thailand and China agreed Saturday to invite leaders from Laos and Myanmar to
join their dialogue on combating narcotics in an effort to curb regional drug
trafficking, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over 3 mil. people engaged in forced
labor in Myanmar
TOKYO, May 20 Kyodo - The
leader of an outlawed Myanmar labor organization said Sunday so far more than
three million people have been engaged in forced labor under the military
government in Myanmar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - May 20,
2001.
Myanmar allows domestic Intranet access
YANGON - Myanmar's deprived Internet users - 2,000 government-approved
people who have been limited to using e-mail and barred from the World Wide Web
- came a step closer to joining the cyber bandwagon when they were permitted
access to a domestic Intranet.
Myanmar has one of the most restrictive Internet policies in Asia, with
more restrictions than such tightly-controlled communist nations as Vietnam and
Laos.
The government's Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications is the country's only Internet Service Provider. Aside from some government ministries and 11 information technology companies, no one in Myanmar has had anything more than e-mail. However, a notice mailed on Friday to e-mail subscribers said they would be
able to access 'Myanmar Intranet services' operated by a local private company
at a cost of US$3 (S$5.40) per hour.
The websites operated by Bagan Cybertech are local commercial websites.
There are six websites under the category e-shopping, one under e-banking, four
under e-reservation and one under e-media.
'There are very few web pages to visit, but for Myanmar users who have no
Internet access, it is a start,' said Mr Kyaw Thura, a 27-year-old computer
enthusiast.
The country's military government is sensitive to the large number of
websites and news groups operated overseas by exiled dissidents and foreign
supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In January last year, regulations were issued forbidding the posting of
political writings on the Internet.
Prohibitions included publishing anything that is 'detrimental' to Myanmar
or 'directly or indirectly detrimental to the current policies and secret
security affairs of the government'.
In the most draconian measure, unauthorised ownership of a fax modem or
setting up a computer network without the telecom ministry's approval could
result in a jail term of seven to 15 years and a fine.--AP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago Tribune
U.S., China take sides in border
skirmish
Thais, Myanmar feud over region used by traffickers By Uli Schmetzer - Tribune foreign correspondent
May 19, 2001 BANGKOK -- Some 5,000 American troops are moving into northern Thailand not
far from the Chinese border this weekend as part of long-scheduled Cobra Gold
2001 military exercises being staged at a time when Thailand and Myanmar are
trading angry diplomatic missives and live artillery shells.
Among the troops are about 20 instructors from the U.S. 1st Special Forces
Group who will stay behind after the maneuvers to train Thai commandos in
anti-guerrilla warfare.
Thailand and Myanmar, formerly Burma, have been at loggerheads for weeks
over the disputed Doi Lang border area, a longtime stronghold of drug warlords
whose heroin refineries and amphetamine laboratories have flourished for years
with the knowledge of key military officers and officials on both sides of the
border.
Periodic hostilities over control of drug trafficking are no novelty. But
this time the United States and China are playing key roles on opposite sides,
just weeks after the U.S. spy plane incident strained relations.
Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, confirmed this
week at a press briefing that Washington has sent Special Forces guerrilla
warfare specialists to act as "instructors" for a Thai commando unit known as
Task Force 399. Thai military officials said there initially would be 20 U.S.
instructors but more could arrive.
The same Thai sources said Task Force 399 and the U.S. instructors will be
stationed at Mae Rim Village just north of Chiang Mai, a garrison town on the
edge of the infamous Golden Triangle, the poppy-growing zone on the Myanmar,
Laos and Thailand borders.
The highly mobile unit of about 100 men will use two U.S.-donated Black
Hawk assault helicopters to chase and neutralize drug smugglers along the Golden
Triangle, operating less than 100 miles from Chinese border troops.
Their main enemy on the other side of the border will be the United Wa
State Army, an ethnic force loyal to the Myanmar military junta. The U.S. State
Department has identified the Wa as major drug producers.
Western intelligence sources say China is the principal supplier of arms
and expertise for the Wa and the Myanmar armed forces.
Tribe moves south
More than a year ago the Chinese persuaded the ethnic Wa, the most powerful
and most militant of the hillside tribes, to move their people, their army and
their drug laboratories from the Myanmar-China border in the north to Myanmar's
border with Thailand at Doi Lang in the south.
"It was a cunning move. By sending the Wa away from their own border, the
Chinese dramatically reduced drug trafficking into China, which had become a
major problem for their own population. Sending the Wa to the Thai border meant
dumping the problem on the Thais and their Western allies," said a narcotics
expert who requested anonymity.
Asian intelligence sources said Beijing supplied the Wa with sophisticated
weapons and money in exchange for Wa help in constructing a network of roads
through Myanmar from China.
The road system would give Beijing access to seaports and naval bases on
the Myanmar coast, an access the Chinese have coveted for years.
In a blunt warning, Myanmar's ruling military junta announced this weekend
it was ready "to fight side by side" with the Wa.
"If intrusions at the border become direct threats to either Wa territory
or Burmese soil, we are ready to counter them," said Brig. Gen. Kyan Win, deputy
director of Myanmar's military intelligence.
At the same time, Win praised China for "offering material and technology
to develop the border area."
Thai intelligence sources say the Wa have been given sophisticated
Chinese-made HN-5N surface-to-air missiles capable of knocking out low-flying
airplanes and helicopters. On the other side, the U.S. has supplied Thai forces
with the latest night-vision, radar and digital mapping equipment.
A warrior tribe, the Wa are known for their do-or-die fighting spirit. With
an estimated 15,000 armed members, the Wa are no pushover for any conventional
army in the rough terrain of their native habitat.
As U.S. forces prepared this week for the annual two-week Cobra Gold
Thai-U.S. exercises, the largest in Asia this year, the Pentagon left no doubt
which side it supports in the looming Thailand-Myanmar drug war.
"As a military man, I support Thailand," Adm. Blair said. Blair was in
Thailand to oversee the maneuvers, which also include Singaporean officers this
year. Both China and Vietnam declined to attend as observers this year.
Warning for Thailand
Myanmar has warned the Thais that calling in American "specialists" over
the escalating border dispute is perilous to regional peace.
In a blunt diplomatic note this week, the junta demanded the Thai military
withdraw from 35 border outposts that Yangon claims are within its own
territory. Bangkok has ignored the demand.
Blair said the U.S. Special Forces instructors and two U.S. Black Hawk
helicopters had joined Thai Special Forces in the troubled north to "teach
skills needed to patrol the border."
The Americans are working closely with Thailand's 3rd Army, a force largely
untainted by military involvement in the narcotics trade.
Although the maneuvers are publicized as an anti-narcotics campaign, some
Western diplomats say the extensive military mobilization and American
participation also are aimed at containing growing Chinese influence in the
region.
Narcotics experts blame Beijing for precipitating the current tension by
urging the Wa to go south.
These observers fear the escalating border incidents, with casualties on
both sides, have the potential to explode into a conflict drawing China and the
U.S. into a confrontation.
The military government in Yangon, formerly the Burmese capital of Rangoon,
made a deal with the Wa in 1989. Diplomats say that in return for allowing their
poppy-growing and heroin refineries, the Wa would have autonomy in their region
and police tracts of border areas against armed incursions by the Shan people,
an ethnic group allied with Thailand.
The Shan have been fighting Myanmar troops for years.
The Shan also control parts of the border on behalf of their Thai
neighbors. Myanmar claims the Thais, who long have shown a preference for making
deals rather than fighting, are allowing the Shan to run their own narcotics
trade along the border.
The focus of the current trouble is a 20-square-mile border region known as
Doi Lang near Thailand's northern city, Chiang Mai. Doi Lang virtually straddles
the border. This makes it a perfect smuggling post for drug trafficking.
Narcotics laboratories on the Myanmar side import chemicals and export
heroin and amphetamines through Thailand.
In yet another attempt to crack down on drug peddling, especially in
schools where up to 35 percent of students have tested positive for
amphetamines, the Thais on April 18 executed four narcotics dealers by firing
squad in Bangkok and televised their final hour.
The Thais say the Wa settlement of Mong Yawn, which has schools, hospitals,
stores and bars, has only one industry--laboratories that refine opium into
heroin or fabricate amphetamines with imported chemicals.
The settlement is just 15 miles inside Myanmar, opposite the booming Thai
border town of Chiang Mai and less than an hour by road from the headquarters of
Task Force 399.
Drug lord
The man who founded Mong Yawn was Wei Xue-Gang, a Chinese-born drug lord.
He was indicted by a New York court in 1993 for drug trafficking and is on a
State Department list of the most wanted drug lords.
Soon after Wei changed from producing drugs to laundering drug money, the
Wa negotiated a contract with the United Nations. In exchange for giving up
growing poppies, the Wa would receive UN financing for alternative crops.
Drug experts say the irresistible lure of vast profits from drugs makes any
such deal shaky and difficult to police.
Aware the UN would check to see if the poppy crop had been replaced, the Wa
thought of a lucrative alternative: The mass production of amphetamines, known
as Yaa Baa in Thailand and "Ice" in its crystalline form in the West.
The amphetamine industry, based at clandestine Wa laboratories that produce
the designer drug with imported chemicals, flooded Asia with an estimated 800
million pills last year. Revenue from this new narcotic windfall provides an
estimated $250 million annual profit, far more than what the UN could
offer.
Unlike opium, which is refined into heroin, the pills have rarely found
their way to the United States, one reason why the sudden military crackdown
with U.S. help is believed to be more a strategic rather than a narcotics-based
decision.
Tour of rice warehouses
The current trouble started after the UN suspended its alternate crop aid
to the Wa, who then began a campaign to prove they had reformed and were no
longer the scourge of the Golden Triangle.
This week, in one of those many guided tours by which drug lords
periodically try to prove they are bona fide tribal leaders with no interest in
drugs, the Wa invited media and UN officials to visit Mong Yawn.
Their visit was to ascertain that the amphetamine laboratories identified
by the Thai military were in fact rice storage warehouses.
As expected, the visitors saw plenty of rice and no amphetamines in the
warehouses.
"Come back anytime," a beaming tour guide told the visitors, without
mentioning that laboratories can be relocated rapidly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSNBC online
Tourists face tough times is
Myanmar
Chronic political instability, poor infrastructure create barriers Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar remains one of the less discovered travel destinations in Asia. Pro-democracy leaders call for a tourism boycott, claiming travel dollars line the pockets of the ruling generals. By Angela Takats YANGON, May 20 — Shimmering golden above the city of Yangon is the
Shwedagon Pagoda, the most popular tourist attraction in Myanmar. Monks draped
in red robes chant in front of Buddha statues, worshippers light incense, and
tourists stand awed by the majesty of the main stupa shrine, which towers 325
feet and is said to be plated in almost nine tons of gold.
BUT DESPITE the beauty of this and other sites, Myanmar is one of Asia’s
least-known travel destinations.
The military government has tried hard to promote Myanmar but tourists are
not flocking in, partly because of chronic political instability and partly
because the country just doesn’t have the infrastructure.
Pro-democracy opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, who opposes the government and has been kept under house arrest in the
capital Yangon on and off for more than six of the past 12 years, says tourists
should not visit.
She says tourist dollars bolster the military, who have ruled the country
formerly known as Burma since 1962, and help keep the generals in
power.
Tourists, Suu Kyi says, should wait until Myanmar is a democracy before
they come.
‘TOURISM SHOULD BE DISCOURAGED’ Most pro-democracy activists agree, saying just as foreign companies should
be discouraged from investing in the country, so too should tourism.
Two British-based groups, Tourism Concern and the Burma Campaign UK, have
even called for a boycott of the popular Lonely Planet travel guides, because
Lonely Planet has refused to bow to calls to stop printing its book on
Myanmar.
Lonely Planet’s founders say they believe tourism to the country will
improve the situation there, while a boycott will simply prolong its isolation,
making it easier for the military to hold on to power.
Some budget travelers, visiting despite the boycott calls, say their money
doesn’t help the government.
“When you are on really big group tourism then it’s...organized by
state-owned companies and the money ends up in the state,” said Thomas Bosch
from the Netherlands.
“If you spend your money really locally and you are coming here as a
backpacker and you use local transport and hire locals then the money is really
being spent locally — and not going to the government.”
“If you come as a backpacker, you can (exchange) ideas with the
people...and that’s always a good thing,” Bosch said.
While the government’s coffers would certainly benefit from increased
tourism, many ordinary people in Myanmar, where the average annual per capita
income is less than $300 U.S. dollars, say they too would stand to gain if more
people visited.
Sam Kokweng, from Malaysia, said the lack of development was an essential
part of Myanmar’s charm.
‘ABOUT TO DEVELOP’ “What appeals to me is actually going to parts of Asia that are going to be
developed really soon, and to catch it as it’s about to develop, and to see the
people as they really are, before commercialism sets in,” he said. “That’s
really it I think.”
But the lack of development that so charms adventure-hungry backpackers
hampers a more mainstream tourist industry.
Some hotels have been built to international standards in recent years in
Yangon and the second city Mandalay, but facilities elsewhere are woefully
inadequate.
Myanmar’s domestic air system has a bad safety record, its roads are poor
and its rail system is rickety. Other hassles are odd foreign exchange
procedures for tourists and the need to get a visa in advance.
Tourist arrivals in Myanmar are falling far short of the government’s
target of 500,000 a year. Official figures show 234,900 visited last year, a
drop of 9.3 percent from 1999.
By contrast neighboring Thailand, a country with culture and geography
similar to Myanmar, got 9.5 million tourists last year and billions of tourist
dollars.
PLAYING DOWN POLITICS Myanmar’s director general of tourism, Khin Maung Latt, plays down the
impact of the anti-government campaign in discouraging tourists. Infrastructure
is the problem, he says.
He also blames a shortage of direct flights into the country and the
difficulty in getting visas.
“I don’t believe (it’s) because of that campaign,” he said.
“It’s because of the lack of infrastructure and some of the airlines,” he
told reporters during a recent conference in Yangon. “We don’t have many direct
... long-haul flights —that’s the constraint for us.”
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