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BURMA RELATED NEWS - June 21,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Myanmar releases five more opposition
politicians
AP - Myanmar's Junta Releases Five More
Opposition Lawmakers
BBC - Burma releases more political
prisoners
The Nation - BURMA
'PEACE TALKS': PM pledges end to clashes
The Nation - TV crew
fingers junta
The Nation - US group
calls on govt to help Shan
The Nation - EDITORIAL: Thaksin cannot rush diplomacy
SCMP - Thai premier signs drug-fighting deal,
calls trip a success
ST - Thaksin's visit leads to thaw in Myanmar
ties
Kyodo News - Myanmar foreign minister to visit
Thailand on Fri., Sat.
FEER - Oh My, Oh Myanmar
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday June 21, 4:11 PM
Myanmar releases five more
opposition politicians
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government released five more pro-democracy politicians from detention on Thursday in a move it said reflected progress in landmark talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A government spokesman said all five politicians were members of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD) who had been elected at the country's last
democratic polls in 1990.
The NLD won the 1990 election by a landslide but has never been allowed to
govern.
"Five more NLD politicians were this morning permitted to return home to
join their families from the government guesthouses," the spokesman told
Reuters.
"Government guesthouses" is a euphemism for a loose form of detention, from
which detainees are sometimes allowed to return home for short spells.
Thursday's releases follow a similar move a week ago when eight political
prisoners were freed and several opposition party offices were allowed to
reopen.
Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has never
recognised the result of the 1990 election and has detained dozens of opposition
politicians since the vote.
Many were arrested in 1998 after the NLD announced it would try to convene
its Committee Representing People's Parliament of politicians elected in 1990.
TENSIONS EASE
But tension between the military and NLD has eased since the start in
October of secretive talks between Suu Kyi and the country's ruling generals.
Both sides have agreed to keep the content of their discussion confidential
and called a halt to public criticism of each other. In a further gesture,
several batches of political prisoners have been released.
Asked whether Thursday's release meant progress was being made in the
talks, the spokesman replied: "Yes, of course."
The spokesman identified the five released politicians, all men, as
57-year-old Nyan Win, Pike Chown, 54, Win Naing, 45, Aung Soe, 52, and Thein
Lwin, 50.
"Three of them were in Yangon and the remaining two in other regions
outside Yangon," he said.
The authorities are still keeping the NLD's top three leaders -- Suu Kyi,
Aung Shwe and Tin Oo -- under house arrest.
The spokesman said at least a dozen other elected NLD officials remain at
government guesthouses across the country.
An NLD official said about 20 of the party's 40 offices in and around
Yangon closed since 1998 had now been allowed to reopen.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday June 21, 3:04 PM
Myanmar's Junta Releases Five More
Opposition Lawmakers
YANGON (AP)--Myanmar's military
junta on Thursday freed five more opposition lawmakers in the latest step that
eases pressure on the country's pro-democracy movement.
The five elected representatives of the National League for Democracy party
had been kept in government guest houses under virtual house arrest since 1998,
and had infrequently been allowed to leave the facilities during weekends.
"We have heard about the releases but those people haven't reported to the
party headquarters yet," NLD secretary U Lwin told reporters.
He identified the five as Win Naing, Pike Chone, Nyan Win, Phein Lwin and
Aung Soe Myint.
The releases are apparently the outcome of the secret talks between NLD
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government, which started last October
in a bid to restart the democratic process in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi, however, has been kept confined to her lakeside residence since
Sept. 22 when she tried to defy a travel ban. Party chairman Aung Shwe and vice
chairman Tin Oo also remain under virtual house arrest.
The junta had released eight more elected NLD lawmakers last Thursday. U
Lwin said 22 more remain confined in guest houses.
The group of generals ruling Myanmar seized power in 1988 after crushing a
pro-democracy movement with a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds.
The junta called general elections in 1990 but refused to recognize the
overwhelming victory of the National League for Democracy, and never allowed a
new Parliament to convene.
Authorities detained hundreds of elected representatives, mostly from the
NLD, in 1998 following its announcement that it intended to unilaterally convene
a parliament. Junta leaders had said they would be released when they renounced
their intention to convene an alternative parliament.
A group of 84 NLD members were released from Insein Prison in January and
16 more were released in March. Last week, the junta also gave permission to the
NLD to reopen 18 branch offices among the 40 NLD offices in Yangon
division.
---------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 21 June, 2001, 10:59
GMT 11:59 UK
Burma releases more political prisoners By regional analyst Larry Jagan
Burma's military authorities have released another five pro-democracy MPs
from prison.
The military authorities said the five are all members of Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
More than a dozen political prisoners were freed last week. These releases
are seen as a sign that talks between Burma's military rulers and the opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which started last October, are beginning to make
progress.
The NLD convincingly won the 1990 elections but have never been allowed to
govern.
Secret talks
The talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military authorities have been
held in strict secrecy, with neither side making any public comment on the
details of the dialogue.
So analysts are always looking for signs that the talks are making
progress. The military authorities' release of political prisoners is seen as
one of those signs.
Sources in the military government have also hinted that more releases are
likely in the next few weeks.
A senior opposition source told the BBC that more than half the NLD offices
in Rangoon have also been allowed to reopen.
UN demands
These measures were high on the list of demands the UN special envoy,
Razali Ismail gave the generals earlier this month to prove that the talks were
making progress.
The issue of political prisoners has been at the heart of the dialogue
process between Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's generals for sometime now. The
opposition leader has continually asked the military authorities to release
political prisoners as a gesture of good faith.
According to opposition sources, Aung San Suu Kyi has urged the generals to
allow the NLD to function normally and wants the restrictions on her and other
senior opposition leaders removed.
She also wants other members of the NLD to be involved in the dialogue
process.
Confidence building
Diplomatic sources in Rangoon believe the release of prisoners is part of a
confidence-building process.
They will be more inclined to believe the talks are making real progress
when the restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi are lifted.
Sources in Rangoon believe this may happen next month around the time the
UN envoy is due to return to Rangoon.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - June 21,
2001.
BURMA 'PEACE TALKS': PM pledges end to
clashes
Not a single gunshot would be exchanged between Thai and Burmese forces
along the border during his tenure as leader, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
pledged yesterday.
Wrapping up a landmark two-day visit to Burma to repair the damage from a
lengthy war of words, Thaksin said he wanted to ensure their relationship would
return to the warmth of its heyday.
Thaksin said that in two days of frank discussions with the Rangoon
leadership, he had spoken "with the heart of a Buddhist". Talks with the Burmese
leaders, especially State Peace and Development Council chairman Senior General
Than Shwe had been successful in dispelling the mutual suspicion and
misunderstanding over the past months.
Burma had agreed to cooperate on every issue of mutual concern. The details
would be worked out during a two-day visit to Thailand by the Burmese foreign
minister Win Aung, beginning tomorrow, said Foreign Minister Surakairt
Sathirathai.
The two leaders signed a joint communiqué reaffirming "traditional ties of
friendship and goodwill" between the two countries which share 2,401 km of
common land border. Thaksin said the document was historic in that it implied
the damaged ties had been overcome and both sides would focus on cooperation
rather than conflicts. "Everything is about attitude," he said.
"From now on you will see the Thai-Burmese relationship back to its best
and it will continue to develop in the future," he said, adding he was greatly
impressed by the warm welcome the Burmese authorities had accorded to him which
was "beyond expectation".
During the official visit, Rangoon had put up what officials described as
"the greatest reception ever" for the Thai leader against the backdrop of the
fiery tensions of recent months.
Thaksin said his main inspiration to go against domestic odds in becoming
the first Thai leader to visit Rangoon in four years came from a speech by HM
the King last month, stressing the importance of harmony between the two
neighbouring countries.
According to the communiqué, Than Shwe conveyed "his warmest greetings and
profound regards to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, noting the central
role of the monarchy in promoting the welfare of the Thai people and in
fostering goodwill and the bonds of friendships" between the two nations.
The Burmese leader also extended an invitation to Their Majesties the King
and Queen and other members of the royal family to visit Burma. The move could
be construed as an appropriate remedy in light of a series of articles published
in the Burmese state-mouthpiece critical of past Thai monarchs, and the recent
shelling of the Royal Project at Doi Angkhang.
"Disputes bred an imagination of endless disputes and it came to a point of
getting out of control, therefore I decided to make a quick visit," Thaksin
said, adding that "face" should not come at the expense of mutual
well-being.
Deputy chief of PM's adviser, Gen Chetta Thanajaro, said the move to mend
fences started about a month ago with Thaksin's conviction that only a summit
meeting would work with a centralised state like Burma.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
on drug controls between Surakiart and Burmese Home Affairs Minister Col Tin
Hlaing. Both Thailand and Burma inked a similar bilateral MoU with China last
year.
The measures stipulated in the agreement include prevention, suppression,
rehabilitation, alternative crop schemes and information exchanges. However,
Rangoon refused to exchange permanent drug liaison officers, preferring to rely
more on existing mechanisms.
But the Burmese leader agreed to a quadrilateral drug summit in Kunming by
the end of the year between Thailand, China, Burma and Laos.
Burma also agreed that Thailand could send an envoy to inspect areas where
ethnic minorities were suspected of producing narcotics, including Mong
Yawn.
Than Shwe told the Thai leader the Wa was determined to reduce its
narcotics activities as soon as possible and he did not want to see drugs
harming future generations of Thais, said Thaksin. "Burma reaffirmed that it has
nothing to do with the Wa".
Both leaders agreed the border checkpoint at Tachilek-Mae Sai will be
opened within a week without any conditions attached. Thaksin also invited Than
Shwe to visit Thailand.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - June 21,
2001.
TV crew fingers junta
Burma's military intelligence chief and No 3 in the junta leadership, Lt
General Khin Nyunt, was playing a key role in the country's drug trade, an
Australian television current affairs programme alleged yesterday.
Burmese drug traffickers enjoyed the direct protection of Khin Nyunt who
had personal investments in the drug trade, the Australian Broadcasting Cor-
poration's "Foreign Correspon-dent" reported.
The influential programme, aired nationally last night, said the use of
military personnel was in fact pivotal to the country's massive trade in
drugs.
"In the case of many methamphetamine [yaa baa] production labs, you've got
Burmese troops actually guarding the plants, you've got military intelligence
guys providing the escorts of the trafficking caravans, you've got MI [military
intelligence] people allowing it to actually cross the border into Thailand,"
noted Australian defence strategist and Southeast Asian affairs expert Professor
Desmond Ball said.
Presenter Evan Williams said Thailand was so concerned by the increasing
flood of yaa baa into Thailand that it was discreetly assisting the Burma
guerrilla independence group Shan State Army (SSA) with training and weapons, to
help stem the flow.
SSA leader Colonel Yawd Serk had invited the "Foreign Correspondent" news
crew to witness how the former drug-runners had turned drug-fighters, Williams
said, and the guerrillas were filming their war against the junta to prove
it.
The programme aired an SSA film clip purportedly showing Thai army officers
in civilian clothes conferring with Yawd Serk at his jungle base.
Ball, attached to the Australian National University's Defence and
Strategic Studies Centre in Canberra, said of Thailand's involvement: "They're
providing training, weapons and ammunition; they're providing
intelligence.
"These are for the ethnic armies to attack Burmese government posts in
Burma, to attack those areas which are involved in the production of drugs -
some of which do have Burmese military elements collocated with them to provide
protection and support."
It also showed film of a purported SSA midnight assault on a Burmese
military post at Pakee, near the Thai border, earlier this year. After the post
is overrun, the film shows an array of weapons, ammunition . . . and a "huge
haul of methamphetamines bound for Thailand and stored at an official Burmese
army post right on the border with Thailand", Williams says on the programme.
"Such evidence is impossible for Burma's generals to dismiss."
Ball said the US State Department said drugs provided more than 50 per cent
of Burma's foreign exchange. "The scale of this activity and the sheer
dependence of the Burmese economy on that drug money, we're really talking about
it infusing the whole government in Rangoon."
Williams said Thailand had appointed "tough-talking" Third Army commander
Lt General Wattanachai Chaimuenwong "to stem the [drugs] flow" and to "challenge
Burma's military dictators directly".
Wattanachai said on the programme the amount of yaa baa coming in from
Burma had increased from 200-million tablets a year to an expected 600-700
million this year. "So it is a very serious problem, a real national threat,
especially for young Thai people," he said.
Journalist and Burma affairs authority Bertil Lintner said Khin Nyunt had
managed to broker cease-fire deals with ethnic armies fighting for independence
by simply agreeing to allow them to do whatever business they wished, including
the drugs trade.
"There is no doubt that the drug traffickers are enjoying the direct
protection of General Khin Nyunt and that is shown in the special number plates
which cars carry, the special ID cards that the leaders of the cease-fire armies
carry which gives them immunity to any kind of searches at Burmese army
checkpoints anywhere inside the country," he said.
"So Khin Nyunt is definitely involved in the movement of narcotics across
the country."
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - June 21,
2001.
US group calls on govt to help Shan
Thailand should provide temporary assistance to some 100,000 ethnic Shan
who have fled from Burma, a senior policy analyst from the United States
Committee for Refugees said yesterday.
The Shan had fled to Thailand and lived like refugees, but were not
accepted as such, USCR policy analyst Hiram Ruiz said.
Yesterday was the world's first-ever Refugee Day. Including the Shan, there
are some 217,000 refugees living in Thailand today.
Burmese Shan began pouring over the border in 1996, fleeing a forced
relocation programme in central Shan state, Ruiz said.
Because the reasons they fled their homeland and the hardships they faced
were no different to those of other refugees, the Shan needed some assistance
and access to basic human services, Ruiz said.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which faces a
funding shortfall of about US$100 million (Bt4.5 billion) this year, appealed to
countries to revive their commitment to help refugees, and to respect them and
their contributions.
High Commissioner for Refugees Rudd Lubbers urged affluent countries to do
more.
The USCR survey reported a total of 39 million displaced people worldwide,
14.5m of them refugees and 24.4m displaced in their own countries.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation _ June 21,
2001.
EDITORIAL: Thaksin cannot rush diplomacy
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has completed his trips to Laos, Cambodia
and Burma, which have taken place over the past 10 days - interrupted by his
Constitution Court appearance, of course. Despite his previous, in fact rather
limited, experience as a foreign minister, the trips must have offered him some
salutary lessons in diplomacy, especially that procedures cannot be rushed or,
if he had so wanted, achieved in a crisp, decisive CEO style. Quick results can
never be achieved given this region's delicate brand of politics. Nevertheless,
the trips were not in vain.
Thaksin's sojourn to Laos and Cambodia have strengthened bilateral ties
that have had a rough time of late. Nothing, of course, can mend broken fences
and restore relations like a high-level visit, especially when it involves a new
leader who is anxious to build up his regional stature and show he is
progressive and open-minded. Laos offers the perfect example for this: having
the Thai leader pay a visit is an 'insurance policy' showing that this
landlocked neighbour will not be bullied, and that cooperation, especially in
the economic field and the hydroelectricity industry, is very necessary. Laos'
leaders know full well that a new Thai leader wants to gain quick kudos by
visiting them and getting involved in a little chummy ramwong (traditional Thai
dance).
Cambodia is a somewhat different kettle of fish, however. Unlike the other
two countries, it's a fledging democracy with foreign investment flowing in
despite some infrastructural problems. Before Thaksin's arrival in Phnom Penh,
there was a demonstration in front of the Thai Embassy. That was to be expected,
as it has become a permanent fixture of relations between the two countries that
they always quarrel over some part of their disputed border. The friendship
between Thailand and Cambodia has improved in recent years, especially since the
last Cambodian refugees returned home and the simmering political situation in
Phnom Penh began to ease, but it has yet to reach a level that could be
described as cosy. That will not occur until the interminable disputes over
overlapping land and maritime borders are resolved.
The most significant of trips, though, was the highly controversial two-day
visit to Burma, which ended yesterday. Thaksin was quick to declare that the
visit was a triumph for him, not the least because it fulfilled a long pledge to
go there. But the outcome really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The
agreement on drugs cooperation and enforcement measures had been on the drawing
board for some time. Exchanges of information on drugs between narcotics
officials, among others, have been discussed repeatedly but never agreed on.
For a long time Burma had not been in a mood to cooperate, despite the
platitudes it often mouthed. It is now, and the junta leaders chose the right
moment - when the Thai leader made his long-promised visit to Rangoon. The
previous prime minister, Chuan Leekpai, was not keen on breaking bread with the
generals. But Thaksin is a different kind of leader, and so Burma responded in
kind. It should not be too long before we find out if all the trumpeted
agreements over drugs and other things hold up and produce the results that the
world so desperately wants.
During the past four months, the Thaksin government has showed an eagerness
to improve ties with our neighbours. It must keep in mind, though, that as with
all previous governments, policies need thorough thought, perseverance and
firmness. With business and economic objectives in mind, it seems this
government is determined to move ties ahead. But Thaksin can only claim his
visits are successful if Thailand's integrity and national interests are well
served. We will know soon enough.
---------------------------------------------------------------- South China Morning Post
Thursday, June 21, 2001
Thai premier signs drug-fighting deal,
calls trip a success
Burma and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on drug suppression
yesterday during a visit by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra aimed at
strengthening fragile bilateral relations.
Mr Thaksin and General Than Shwe, leader of the Burmese military regime,
witnessed the signing after talks at the parliament building in Rangoon.
"It was a successful and historic meeting and we both reached an
understanding that we will move towards closer relations for peace and
prosperity," Mr Thaksin said. "I am confident that my visit will improve
bilateral relations."
Mr Thaksin's visit is the first by a Thai prime minister to the
diplomatically isolated military state since 1997.
Thailand has accused Burma of turning a blind eye to the production and
trafficking of the illegal stimulant, methamphetamine, which is smuggled into
Thailand in huge quantities and has become a widespread social and criminal
problem.
But Burma accuses Thailand of failing to tackle the drug problem within its
own borders, and of supporting Burmese anti-government guerillas.
According to a draft copy of the agreement, it calls for co-operation in
law enforcement, narcotic crop control and control of legal precursor chemicals
used in the production of illicit drugs.
Both countries will assign a drug liaison officer to their embassy and
strengthen contacts between counter-narcotics officers at the Thai-Burma border,
which lies at the heart of Southeast Asia's main drug production region, the
Golden Triangle.
Relations between Thailand and Burma, already frayed by the drugs issue,
deteriorated sharply after several small border clashes between their militaries
in February. Thailand's free media and Burma's state-controlled press have
carried harsh criticism of each other's governments.
But in the run-up to Mr Thaksin's visit, seen as an attempt to mend ties
with Rangoon, the official Burmese press assumed a kinder tone and referred to
the "tradition" of the two countries working together to fight the "common
enemy" of hard drugs.
Mr Thaksin yesterday visited the Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma's most revered
Buddhist monument. He was to meet members of the Thai business community before
departing later yesterday.
His visit was seen as a positive sign by many business people in Rangoon.
Prices of goods imported from Thailand have decreased in anticipation that
border trade will soon resume as normal with the reopening of a key border
checkpoint.
Burma was widely expected to reopen the crossing between the eastern town
of Tachilek and the northern Thai town of Mae Sai which has been closed since
the clashes in February.
According to Burmese government figures, Thailand is the third-biggest
investor in the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - June 21,
2001.
Thaksin's visit leads to thaw in
Myanmar ties
The two nations agree to work jointly to tackle the cross-border drug trade. Yangon also agrees to reopen a key checkpoint for traders and tourists By Edward Tang
THAILAND CORRESPONDENT BANGKOK - Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned home
yesterday from a fence-mending mission to Myanmar, with promising signs of a
thaw in the strained relations between the two neighbouring countries.
A major agreement to coordinate efforts for tackling the drug problem at
the Thai-Myanmar border was reached by Mr Thaksin and Myanmar leader Senior
General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council.
The key measures included posting narcotics officials at their respective
embassies and setting up coordination posts at major checkpoints on the border
where most of the drugs, namely amphetamine, are produced.
Cross-border drug trafficking is a major problem in Thailand's hostile
relations with its neighbour.
In March, Mr Thaksin upset the Myanmar government with accusations that it
was providing clandestine support to the ethnic Wa tribe in producing the
illegal drug and smuggling it into Thailand.
About 700 million amphetamine tablets are expected to be smuggled into the
country this year.
Some of the pills have found their way into other parts of the region,
including Singapore.
Myanmar has denied links to the drug lords. To signal its willingness to
cooperate, Gen Than Shwe has agreed to join the leaders of China, Thailand and
Laos at an anti-drug summit to be held in Kunming this year.
Thai-Myanmar relations are also bedevilled by frequent border disputes and
Myanmar's recent media attacks on the Thai monarchy.
On both counts, Mr Thaksin - who also met Lt-General Khin Nyunt, the
powerful number two in the Myanmar leadership, during the two-day visit - has
got the results he set out to achieve.
Myanmar has agreed to reopen the border checkpoint at Tachilek, opposite
Mae Sai, the northern Thai city that was shelled by Myanmar troops in
February.
No firm date has been fixed, but it is expected that the border crossing
will be opened soon for traders and tourists.
This will be a major breakthrough for relations as Thai exports to Myanmar,
which make up 40 per cent of the bilateral trade, had ground to a halt since the
checkpoint was closed.
In a symbolic but thoughtful gesture, Myanmar leaders have extended an
invitation to the Thai king and queen to visit the country.
An analyst said: 'Even if the visit does not take place as the king seldom
travels, it is a nice gesture to make up for the recent criticisms.'
Bilateral ties soured after Myanmar released a textbook recently that
portrayed Thais as lazy and servile.
The state-owned New Light of Myanmar also published several articles which
criticised Thai kings.
The media attacks have since stopped.
Instead, Mr Thaksin was given a warm reception in Yangon, and the visit had
been described by Thai officials as a 'huge success'.
'We don't want any misunderstanding and mistrust to persist any more. It's
time both countries looked forward,' said the Thai leader.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar foreign minister to visit
Thailand on Fri., Sat.
BANGKOK, June 21 Kyodo -
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung will pay a two-day visit to Thailand from
Friday to help newly ameliorated bilateral ties between Thailand and Myanmar
after months of border conflicts, the Thai foreign minister said Thursday.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Far Eastern Economic
Review
INREVIEW: BOOKS Oh My, Oh Myanmar By Bertil Lintner Issue cover-dated June 28, 2001 WHY IS BURMA in such a political and economic mess? And what, if anything,
can be done about it? Three books--Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule by
Christina Fink, Burma: Political Economy under Military Rule, edited by Robert
Taylor, and The Making of Modern Burma by Thant Myint-U--address those issues,
but from fundamentally different perspectives.
Fink, who helped exiled Burmese dissidents edit an on-line newspaper called
The BurmaNet News from 1995 to 1997, points out that while most other nations in
the region have prospered economically and some have liberalized their
traditionally authoritarian systems, Burma for the past four decades has been
ruled by repressive military regimes that have done little to develop the
country. Only the drug trade seems to be booming in this sad nation. A whole
generation of young students, artists, singers and activists have become
refugees for no other reason than wanting Burma to become open and democratic.
Many others have ended up spending the best years of their lives in
prison.
Fink argues that for a political transition to occur, there would have to
be a convergence of three factors: unified domestic political pressure,
international pressure, and a powerful group in the military that throws in its
lot with the democratic movement. The last factor is no doubt the most decisive
but, as Fink asks, where is Burma's Fidel Ramos? No such officer has been
spotted in the 430,000-strong, omnipotent Burmese army.
More questions, most of them unanswered, are posed in the rather eclectic
collection of essays by eight writers edited by Robert Taylor, formerly of the
School of Oriental and African Studies in London. One writer argues that the
"next step" (after what is not clear) "is to achieve real dialogue between
representatives from all groups and sides"--without suggesting how such a
remarkable step would be taken. Visits to Burma by United Nations special envoy
Razali Ismail have produced no tangible results, and a dialogue even between the
main protagonists in the country--the ruling military and the opposition
National League for Democracy--seems as remote as ever. The same essay glosses
over the dramatic increase in Burma's drug production, saying that Burma's
military leaders deny such an accusation--as if they would have been likely to
admit it. Only two of the essays, which deal with Burma's foreign relations,
provide insights into the thinking of Burma's military leaders and how they
perceive their place in the region and the world.
Thant Myint-U's volume, however, stands out as a sophisticated account of
Burma's political culture. The writer, who is a grandson of the late Burmese UN
Secretary-General U Thant, analyses economic development before and under
British rule, and reaches the conclusion that Burma has failed to develop into a
modern state because of two important colonial legacies. The first is
institutional weakness. Feeble attempts by the last Burmese kings to modernize
their country were thwarted by British occupation and superimposed colonial
institutions. Independent Burma was faced with an institutional vacuum which, in
the end, only the army was able to fill.
The other colonial legacy is the lack of any real sense of nationhood. The
British amalgamated a number of areas inhabited by various hill peoples with the
Burman-dominated heartland, and the outcome was a hodgepodge of a country with a
severe identity crisis. The question whether it should be called "Burma" or
"Myanmar" reflects that confusion. Does one of the names include more ethnic
groups than the other? The answer is no. Burma with its present boundaries is a
colonial creation that did not exist before the arrival of the British. Thant's
frequent use of Burmese-language sources is another asset that makes his study
the most important contribution in recent years to the understanding of why,
yes, Burma is in such a
mess.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMESE WAYS By Bertil Lintner If there ever was a prize for the politically most incorrect book of the
year, this one would win it. Not a word about torture of political prisoners,
forced mass relocations of ethnic minorities, officially condoned drug
trafficking, or military abuse of power. But if you want an answer to the
question "what does an international businessman do when he has accidentally
killed a pedestrian?" it's all here: Pay off the family so they don't press
charges, or pay a Burmese citizen "to take the blame by declaring that he was
the driver in the fatal accident. He will then go to jail on behalf of the
businessman."
The author also gives advice on everything from how to procure "ladies of
the night" and bribe customs officials to setting up an overseas "shell company"
to hide your foreign-exchange earnings. Or, if you want to buy property, that
can be done through a "sleeping partner," or an "unofficial wife." A bit risky
perhaps, but not impossible.
Many readers, especially Western ones, would gasp at Sim's suggestions, and
perhaps even more so when they discover that he served as commercial first
secretary at Singapore's embassy in Burma from 1995 to 1997.
But he should be commended for telling the truth. Isn't this the way it
really works in Burma's murky business world?
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