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BURMA RELATED NEWS - July 06,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Myanmar Frees Last Jailed
Lawmakers
BBC - Burma releases opposition MPs
AP - Myanmar Releases
-NLD Says Others Still In Detention
AP - Malaysia PM Urges Asean To Ask Before Signing Trade
Pacts
AFP - Myanmar's secret talks spark frustration among
dissident ranks
AFP -
Myanmar releases last political prisoners held at Yangon "guest
houses"
Reuters
- Military-ruled Myanmar frees more opposition MPs
The Nation - Letters - Filmmakers should not be
ignorant of national interest
Bkk Post - Opposing commanders put their faith in golf
diplomacy
---------------------------------------------------------------- Friday July 6 6:30 AM ET
Myanmar Frees Last Jailed Lawmakers YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar
released seven members of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party Friday, the
last of nearly 200 elected lawmakers who were detained three years ago when the
party tried to convene a parliament, an official statement said.
The releases are the latest sign that Myanmar's military junta is easing
its restrictions on Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won general
elections in 1990 but was not allowed to take power. Hundreds of other
non-elected party members remain in jail.
``Today at 1 p.m. all the remaining seven NLD MPs staying at government
guest houses in Yangon have left the guest houses to return home to their
families,'' the brief government statement said.
Senior NLD officials were not immediately available to comment. Myanmar is
also known as Burma.
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BBC - Friday, 6 July, 2001, 14:37 GMT
15:37 UK
Burma releases opposition MPs Burma's military government has released seven members of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
The politicians were released because of progress in recent talks between
the ruling military and the NLD, a military government spokesman told the
Reuters news agency.
The move brings the total number of opposition members released in recent
weeks to 29.
The seven are the last of nearly 200 MPs who were detained three years ago
when the party tried to convene a parliament, an official statement said.
However hundreds of other non-elected party members remain in prison
Analysts say the move is a sign that the authorities are easing
restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi's party, which won general elections in 1990
but was not allowed to take power.
Good health
"The remaining seven NLD MPs staying at government guesthouses in Rangoon
have left to return home to their families," said the spokesman.
The government refers to some of its places of detention as "guest houses".
The spokesman said all seven were in good health.
Burmese authorities have released 27 NLD members and two members of an
ethnic minority political party since the middle of June.
In recent weeks the government has also allowed the NLD to reopen a number
of offices, including one in the centre of the capital, Rangoon.
Opposition sources say they believe all the NLD offices throughout the
country will be operating normally by the end of the month.
Caution
Diplomats in Rangoon though are still cautious and fear that the military
is only doing enough to deflect international criticism.
The true test of whether the talks are entering a new phase, they say, will
be the release Aung San Suu Kyi and the other two members of the central
executive, Tin U and Aung Shwe, who have been held under house arrest since last
September.
This could happen in the next few weeks before the UN envoy Razali Ismail
is due to return to Rangoon to facilitate further talks between the two
sides.
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Friday July 6, 7:16 PM
Myanmar Releases -NLD Says Others Still
In Detention
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Myanmar
released seven elected representatives of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party
Friday, the last of nearly 200 who were detained three years ago when the party
unilaterally tried to convene a parliament, an official statement said.
"Today at 1 p.m. (0730 GMT) all the remaining seven NLD MPs staying at
government guest houses in Yangon have left the guest houses to return home to
their families," the brief government statement said.
The releases are the latest sign that the government is easing its
restrictions on Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won general
elections in 1990 but was not allowed to take power. Hundreds of other party
member remain in jail.
Senior NLD officials weren't immediately available to comment.
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Friday July 6, 2:06 PM
Malaysia PM Urges Asean To Ask Before
Signing Trade Pacts
KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Voicing
disappointment with Singapore, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged
Friday members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to seek each
other's opinion before considering bilateral free trade pacts with outside
countries.
"The trouble is that Singapore has entered into free trade agreements with
other countries without asking Asean," Mahathir told reporters. "Since then,
we've been facing problems. If they had asked first, it would have been easier."
Mahathir said Malaysia believed that such deals would jeopardize the
creation of a Southeast Asian free trade area, called AFTA, which aims to
eliminate most tariffs within this region by 2002.
"We feel worried that AFTA might be exploited by other people," Mahathir
said. "But it would be a problem to force any ASEAN members to cancel the
agreements they have made."
Singapore is negotiating or has signed free trade agreements with the U.S.,
Japan and New Zealand.
Thailand and Australia agreed Wednesday to start work on a possible free
trade agreement, while Australia and Singapore are expected to sign a free trade
agreement in October.
Malaysia's trade minister said earlier this year that her country has no
intention of pursuing a bilateral free trade pact with any nation.
Canberra's bid to join AFTA was blocked by Malaysia last year.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The group is struggling to meet
its target of free trade between all member countries.
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Friday July 6, 4:39 PM
Myanmar's secret talks spark frustration
among dissident ranks
BANGKOK, July 6 (AFP) - A
Myanmar rebel group Friday added its voice to the growing number of dissident
groups expressing frustration over the secrecy surrounding talks between
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta.
The Karen National Union, one of the few ethnic militias who have not
signed a ceasefire with the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
demanded to be included in the fledgling national reconciliation process.
"Though dialogue between the SPDC and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been going
on for nearly a year now, no one has a definite knowledge of the content and
development of the dialogue," it said in a statement.
"It is impossible for us to designate it as a meaningful and genuine
dialogue. It is still necessary for the dialogue to... develop into a tripartite
dialogue that will resolve all the basic political problems."
United Nations envoy Razali Ismail, who is credited with acting as a
catalyst for the talks that began last October, is believed to have pushed in
recent months for the ethnic minority groups to be drawn into the process.
However, most commentators agree that the contacts between the junta and
Aung San Suu Kyi -- the first since 1994 -- are still too fragile to be exposed
to public scrutiny or the involvement of other groups.
Confidence in the process has been boosted by the release over the last few
weeks of dozens of senior members of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD), in line with a demand from Aung San Suu Kyi.
But the Karen National Union lashed out at the junta Friday, saying that
even as it released the prisoners and allowed NLD offices around the country to
re-open it continued to commit gross human rights violations.
"There are still thousands of NLD members and political activists in jail
and their lives in prisons are said to be deteriorating," it said.
"The SPDC... still forcefully restricts the legitimate existence and
activities of the NLD. It still continues to vigorously wage war against the
ethnic nationalities and ruthlessly oppresses the people.
"All these acts are diametrically opposed to the goal of resolving the
basic political problems justly by political means."
In the last few months several other dissident groups have criticised the
pace of the talks and the failure to include ethnic minorities whose support
will be crucial in any move to end four decades of military rule.
The Thailand-based All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said last
month that the secret talks had failed to make any head way and should be
immediately opened to public scrutiny.
"The current talks are not open. People are frustrated waiting for
information while human rights abuses and forced labour are still occurring
inside the country," it said.
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Friday July 6, 7:08 PM
Myanmar releases last political
prisoners held at Yangon "guest houses"
YANGON, July 6 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling junta Friday freed the last seven opposition MPs held at government "guest houses" in Yangon since a late 1990s crackdown on Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). The release of the NLD MPs -- elected in the 1990 ballot which the military
regime refused to recognise -- brought to 33 the number of political prisoners
freed over the past few weeks.
"All the remaining NLD MPs staying at government guest houses in Yangon
have left the guest houses to return home to their families. They are all in
good health," said a spokesman for the military government.
Diplomats said another 34 NLD MPs remain in jail where they are serving
sentences for subversion, and that a handful of other senior party members could
still be detained without charge at guest houses outside the capital.
Even though they, and hundreds of other dissidents, remain in custody, the
recent releases have been welcomed as a sign of progress in talks between Aung
San Suu Kyi and the junta which began last October.
The pro-democracy leader is believed to have demanded the regime reverse
the 1998 closure of the party's branch offices and the detention of dozens of
its senior members as a condition for the talks to progress.
Last week, her cousin and closest aide Aye Win was also freed from Yangon's
notorious Insein prison where he served a five-year sentence.
The military government has said the concessions reflect "understandings"
established in the fledgling dialogue, which observers hope will pave the way
for a fully fledged national reconciliation process.
Five groups of MPs have now been released since United Nations envoy Razali
Ismail visited Yangon in early June on a mission to bring new impetus to the
talks -- the first between the two sides since 1994.
Razali is credited with acting as the catalyst for the contacts, which
appeared to have run into problems several months ago.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the releases and called on the
international community to support the dialogue process which may end four
decades of military rule.
However, opposition and dissident groups have become increasingly
frustrated with the secrecy surrounding the talks, and the fact they have so far
been excluded from the negotiation process.
The Karen National Union (KNU), one of the few ethnic militias who have not
signed a ceasefire with the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
added their voice to the chorus Friday.
"Though dialogue between the SPDC and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been going
on for nearly a year now, no one has a definite knowledge of the content and
development of the dialogue," the KNU said in a statement.
"It is impossible for us to designate it as a meaningful and genuine
dialogue. It is still necessary for the dialogue to... develop into a tripartite
dialogue that will resolve all the basic political problems."
Razali is believed to have pushed in recent months for the ethnic minority
groups to be drawn into the process.
However, most commentators agree the contacts between the junta and Aung
San Suu Kyi are still too fragile to be exposed to public scrutiny or the
potentially problematic involvement of other groups.
Despite the releases, the KNU accused the junta of hypocrisy, saying that
even as it freed the prisoners and allowed NLD offices around the country to
re-open it continued to commit gross human rights violations.
"The SPDC... still forcefully restricts the legitimate existence and
activities of the NLD. It still continues to vigorously wage war against the
ethnic nationalities and ruthlessly oppresses the people.
"All these acts are diametrically opposed to the goal of resolving the
basic political problems justly by political means."
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Friday July 6, 7:40 PM
Military-ruled Myanmar frees more
opposition MPs
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar on
Friday released seven jailed members of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD) party, bringing the number of opposition
members freed in recent weeks to 29.
A military government spokesman told Reuters the seven politicians, elected
in a 1990 general election, were released after the government and the NLD
reached an understanding in recent talks.
"The remaining seven NLD MPs staying at government guesthouses in Yangon
have left the guesthouses to return home to their families," the spokesman said.
The government refers to some of its places of detention as "guest houses".
The spokesman said the seven were in good health.
Myanmar authorities have released 27 NLD members and two members of an
ethnic minority political party since the middle of June.
Government officials have said the opposition politicians were released as
a result of understanding reached in talks with NLD leader Suu Kyi. They have
not elaborated.
The talks between the ruling military body, the State Peace and Development
Council and Suu Kyi, which were brokered by U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail,
started late last year but neither side has released details.
In recent weeks the government also has allowed the NLD to reopen 18
offices in Yangon Division, including one in the city centre.
The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but the
ruling military ignored the result and cracked down on the party's
representatives and supporters.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi was released from six years' house arrest
in 1995.
Suu Kyi, NLD chairman Aung Shwe and vice chairman Tin Oo have been
restricted to their homes since September 22 after Suu Kyi angered the
authorities by trying to visit party offices outside the capital Yangon.
Some NLD members said they were hopeful the authorities would release Suu
Kyi and her two colleagues before the July 19 Martyrs' Day anniversary of the
assassination of Suu Kyi's father, Myanmar's independence leader General Aung
San.
"We're becoming more and more optimistic about the release of our leaders
before July 19," one NLD member told Reuters on Friday.
Aung San and eight others, including several senior members of his
pre-independence cabinet, were shot dead on July 19, 1947, while the country was
preparing for independence from Britain.
The politicians released on Friday were identified as Win Myint, Thein
Nyunt, Hla Thein, Thein Myint, Thein Oo, Myo Win and Myint Thein.
Among those released earlier was Aye Win, a cousin and close aide of Suu
Kyi's. Aye Win, sentenced to five years' imprisonment in June 1996 under a
subversion law, was freed on July 2.
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The Nation - July 06,
2001.
Letters - Filmmakers should not be
ignorant of national interest
Sunee- Bangkok
The protest by Burma over the films “Bang Rachan” and “Suriyothai”, and
Laos’ demand that “Thao Suranaree” be cancelled, come awfully close to
interference in the internal affairs of Thailand.
How can a nation preserve its sovereignty if it always has to jump whenever
another country says so? However, in the age of globalisation when no country
can live alone, and any topic – no matter how insignificant – can become a
sensitive issue between two states, it is the responsibility of all to be aware
of bilateral relations, not just the governments. The media is among the most
important channels to bring about better relations.
We learn from history, but live for tomorrow. It is the film producers’
right to create and sell films. But at a time when history is a popular topic
for Thai films, it is arguable whether producers see this as the perfect time to
play on the sensitive question of Thai patriotism for the sake of making money.
Ignorance of national interest is a shame. In a sovereign democratic
nation, such films have every right to be released – with careful revision,
however. When dealing with historical incidents, filmmakers can still create a
masterpiece that can help with bilateral relations. If we are not happy about
being told what to do by others, then we should make sure we have our own house
in order first.
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Bangkok Post - July 06,
2001.
Opposing commanders put their
faith in golf diplomacy
Defence minister reschedules trip Wassana Nanuam
Opposing army commanders along the Thai-Burmese border will get to know
each other better on the golf course tomorrow, ahead of next month's official
meeting in Pattaya.
Third Army commander Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwong and Burma's regional
triangle commander Maj-Gen Thein Sein will tee-off together and then have lunch
in Tachilek, across the border from Mae Sai.
Lt-Gen Watanachai said he would give Maj-Gen Thein Sein a miniature Phra
Buddhachinnarat image and invite him for another round of golf in Chiang Rai on
July 23.
Problems between Thailand and Burma will be saved for discussion at the
19th Regional Border Committee meeting to be held in Pattaya next month, he
said. Burma was determined to continue construction of a lignite-fired power
plant in Tachilek, which it claimed would use modern technology to prevent
pollution, he said.
The military earlier stopped a truck convoy carrying the generating
equipment from crossing the border following protests from local people.
But the Third Army chief said the miltary had no authority to stop further
shipments.
- Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has rescheduled his visit to Burma
from July 28-29 to July 19-20, to fit in with the Burmese leaders' plans, a
source said.
The minister accompanied by permanent secretary Gen Thawat Ketangkul,
Supreme Commander Gen Sampao Chusri, army chief Gen Surayud Chulanont, navy
chief Adm Prasert Boonsong and air force chief ACM Pong Maneesil would visit
Vietnam from July 18-19 before flying to Rangoon.
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