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BURMA RELATED NEWS - July 13,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- Asiaweek - Waiting To Be Wired
FEER - The Burmese
Military's Last Chance
AP - Myanmar Frees 7 Political Prisoners;
Includes 3 NLD Reps
AP - Australians Conduct Human Rights Workshops
In Myanmar
AP - Thailand Allows Over 1M Illegal Workers To
Be Registered
AP - US Says 23 Nations Lax In Combatting Human
Trafficking
AP - Malaysia PM Proposes SE Asian Co-Op On
Internet Abuse
AFP - ASEAN plans information highway to boost
Internet use
Reuters - Myanmar says Suu Kyi may snub major
ceremony
Bkk Post - Chemicals flow from China into
Burma
Bkk Post - Rangoon must do even better, says
EU
Bkk Post - IOM would give priority to migrants'
health problems
Bkk Post - Chavalit's Burma visit
back-dated
Xinhuanet - 20,000 Myanmar Seafarers Serve on
Foreign Vessels
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Exposes 234 Drug-Related
Cases in May
AAPP - A Student
Activist passed away in prison
---------------------------------------------------------------- Asiaweek - JULY 20, 2001
Waiting To Be
Wired
Although all but banned in Myanmar, the Internet whips up a tempest in a tea shop By GINA CHON Aung Soe Min compares the first time he accessed the Internet to being
drunk. The 31-year-old Burmese writer and filmmaker, able to log on outside his
home country while traveling in Southeast Asia, would bounce from one website to
the next for up to seven hours, mesmerized by the abundant information. "My
friends started calling me Mr. Internet," says Aung. "I spent all my money and
time at the cyber cafés."
It's hard to fathom anyone getting worked up about the Web these days. But
in Myanmar, the country's military regime heavily censors all media and severely
restricts Internet access. Most citizens have never seen a website nor touched a
computer. Yet their I.T. appetite runs strong. Aung's bout with Netoxia made him
a popular conversational companion at the Wuthering Heights tea shop in Yangon,
where local intellectuals longing to join the digital age devour every scrap of
information that can help fill in their imperfect map of cyberspace.
With second-hand knowledge gleaned from pirated copies of books on computer
programming, artists, authors, journalists and academics gather in bookstores
and tea shops to debate philosophy, economics and the concept of instant
messaging. "We are not quite sure what the Internet is for," says Aung. "But we
are convinced it is important."
Important because information is power. For ordinary Burmese, information
is in short supply. Nay Htut, the 28-year-old editor of the New Myanmar Weekly,
was allowed last month to post his newspaper on the Web for the first time. But
he can't read it online because he does not have surfing privileges. Nay
compares the blossoming of Net fever in Yangon to "a small flower in the desert,
where the sun is too powerful." Adds a local cartoonist: "Ten years ago, the
army only had guns. Now they have the Internet. We do not. Now they know
everything."
That sense of being cut off from the information revolution is a common
tea-shop theme. But the government, keen to sprout an I.T. sector as the
country's economy decays, is easing restrictions. More than 600 citizens are now
allowed e-mail accounts, and computer courses are standard in most schools. Last
November, the government set up a task force to study e-commerce. A high-tech
center has been established at Yangon University.
To Aung and his colleagues, the most heartening development may be the
recent opening of two Yangon Internet cafés through a government/private sector
joint venture. Only members who pay a $500 annual fee can use the facilities to
surf approved sites. The cost, which includes a $65 monthly charge for 30 hours
of use, means access is mainly reserved for the elite.
Officials say the Net, like booze, is too hazardous for unlimited
availability. "Opening up is very easy," says government spokesman Lt. Col. Hia
Min. "But once there's a serious negative effect, how do we remedy it? Many
friends from [the Association of South East Asian Nations] have told us to be
careful and not do it too quickly."
Despite the virtual blackout, "the intellectual pattern of an Internet
society is already formed," says Aung. "It is based on second-hand books and
caffeinated conversations, instead of electronics." Myanmar will have to wait
before citizens can get wired on more than tea.
Far Eastern Economic
Review
Issue cover-dated July 19, 2001
The Burmese Military's Last
Chance
By Zaw Oo
The writer is coordinator of the Technical Advisory Network of Burma and a
doctoral candidate at the School of International Service of the American
University in Washington
After 12 years of rule, the Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw, has
lost its capacity to govern, particularly in managing the complex task of
economic reform. The military opened talks with Aung San Suu Kyi eight months
ago. The talks, presumably still at the "confidence-building" stage, prompt this
question: Will the military soon extricate itself from power and facilitate
wider democratization in Burma? But in truth, the question is not whether the
military has to extricate itself. Rather, it is how and when.
Meanwhile, the military has reached a stage where its role as a government
is now seriously undermining its other role as an army institution. Ten years
ago, the military government decided to expand the army to 500,000 servicemen.
This ambitious plan in effect broke the back of the economy, aided the emergence
of powerful regional commanders (and with it the rise of warlordism) and
retarded military professionalism as thousands were drafted without proper
training. Not surprisingly, desertion is rising, while most units are pushed
into living off the land. As a result, extortion, the drug trade and forced
labour have become widespread.
The military needs to address these internal problems. There is the
inequality of power and influence between military and political positions,
where political appointments determine which officers get rich. This inequality
fuels dangerous rifts within the military. Also, the military intelligence
apparatus is getting so powerful that it is making crucial political decisions.
But their power lacks proper institutional grounding.
Finally, the military's own constitutional proposal makes it very difficult
to "civilianize" the regime. It proposed five years ago that a strong
president--which it expected would be its own man--would head Burma. But the
military's constitutional experts also slipped in a clause that states that the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, rather than the president, possesses the
authority to declare state emergencies and dissolve government. It is understood
that the clause was inserted as a strategy to maintain the military's dominance.
In the process, this has made increasing civilian control more difficult by
confusing two sources of authority. Given such an unstable foundation, the
military does not have the luxury of sticking blindly to a deadly status quo. It
must move on.
Searching for a sensible way to extricate itself from its current position
as an illegitimate and hated government is a much worthier goal for the military
than trying to resuscitate a failing regime at all costs. And if the military is
serious about this, the country would be willing to help restore the military's
original role as a patriotic army of the people. Here, there are three options
to consider.
First, the military can consider transferring power to the country's
legitimate leaders, those elected in the 1990 elections. The current talks could
be the venue where the terms of power transfer are discussed or
negotiated.
Secondly, if the immediate transfer of power is too dangerous for the
military to contemplate, it could consider forming a government of national
unity with elected representatives and others, particularly from national
groups. This interim government could then establish a transition period, within
which attempts to resolve serious national problems would be jointly undertaken,
and organize new elections to renew the people's mandate.
Lastly, the military could begin serious political liberalization and put
civilians in charge of the administration. However, this gradual strategy has
the least chance of success, particularly in a situation where there is an
absence of institutions and procedures to mobilize public acceptance.
For the democratic opposition, all three options can be considered in order
of preference, but with genuine political liberalization as the bottom line. For
Burma to survive with its integrity intact, the military must agree to
democratization, but at a pace negotiated with civil-society forces and other
elements. However, such a pace has serious time constraints. Economic factors
mostly underlie the urgency of the solution, but more seriously, the Aids
epidemic poses a great time pressure on all sides. A peaceful, orderly but
timely transition through dialogue is the military's last chance to become the
true saviour of the nation. Of course, it is also the last chance for all
Burmese to unite again to save the country.
Friday July 13, 6:04 PM
Myanmar Frees 7 Political Prisoners;
Includes 3 NLD Reps
YANGON (AP)--Myanmar released
seven political detainees Friday, including the final three elected
representatives of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy held in
state guest houses.
"At 1:00 p.m. (0630 GMT) today, the last remaining 3 MPs left in the
respective guest houses are now back together with their families," said a
government statement.
The government said it has released 140 people since January, since
starting secret talks late last year with Suu Kyi, the most substantial dialogue
between the two sides in a decade.
The statement named the three NLD representatives as Tin Htut Oo, Dr. Aung
Moe Nyo and Saw Hlaing.
"State guest house" is a euphemism for detention centers that are mostly
located in military camps. The NLD said the three representatives had been held
in Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing divisions in central Myanmar.
They were the last of about 203 elected NLD representatives detained three
years ago when the party tried to convene a parliament, in accordance with the
NLD's 1990 election victory that was not honored by the military.
The government also said it released four members of a comedy and dance
troupe jailed five years ago after making satirical comments about the regime in
a performance at Suu Kyi's house in Yangon. All were arrested under the
Emergency Provision Act of 1950.
An NLD member, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pa Pa
Lay, also known as Tun Pe, and three fellow performers were released from
Myitkyina prison, in Kachin State, northern Myanmar.
The statement named the other three freed prisoners as Aung Soe, Maung Htwe
and Lu Zaw, also known as Po Aye.
They were to return to their homes in Mandalay on Saturday, the NLD member
said.
Despite the recent string of releases marking an easing of restrictions on
the NLD, the status of the talks between Suu Kyi and the government remain a
mystery nine months after they began.
Suu Kyi and her top two aides, party president Aung Shwe and vice chairman
Tin Oo, remain under house detention, enforced since Sept. 22.
According to a U.S. State Department report issued in February, Myanmar has
at least 1,800 political prisoners.
The NLD says there are still 37 of its elected representatives in
jail.
Friday July 13, 12:08 PM
Australians Conduct Human Rights
Workshops In Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Australia
hopes that the serious human rights violations being committed in Myanmar can be
lessened through its workshop for government officials, the country's ambassador
said Friday.
Ambassador Trevor Wilson said Australian experts concluded a four-day human
rights seminar in Yangon Thursday and would begin a similar one in the country's
second largest city, Mandalay, next week.
"There are serious human rights violations in Myanmar," he told reporters.
"It may take a long time for big improvements in the human rights situation but
we hope that the participants will learn things they can implement in their work
and in their human rights practices."
The Yangon workshop was attended by 25 officials from several ministries,
the Attorney General's Office and the Supreme Court as well as representatives
of non-government organizations.
The military-run regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been widely
criticized for imprisonment of political prisoners, torture and other human
rights violations. It denies these charges.
The workshops are being led by Chris Sidoti, a human rights official and
lecturer at Monash University. He visited Myanmar in 1999 to discuss the
establishment of an independent human rights commission in the country.
Participants at the seminars are taught international human rights law as
well as the charter and conventions of the U.N.
This is the third time Australia has conducted such sessions. Another will
be held in September. They're part of Australia's assistance package which also
includes community health projects and resettlement of refugees.
Friday July 13, 11:21 AM
Thailand Allows Over 1M Illegal Workers
To Be Registered
BANGKOK (AP)--After trying
unsuccessfully to expel hundreds of thousands of laborers from neighboring
countries, Thailand Friday agreed to allow official registration of more than
one million of these illegal immigrants, officials said.
The immigrants, mostly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, have been working
illegally in fishing, construction and agriculture since 1992, when the
government allowed a small number of aliens to work in certain sectors.
This sparked an influx, some 80% of it from Myanmar, and created social and
security problems. When the Asian economic crisis hit Thailand in 1997 and the
need for cheap labor plummeted, the government attempted mass repatriation.
"We rounded up and pushed back more than 460,000 illegal workers, mostly
from Myanmar, during the past three years but most of them returned," an
official of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Jirawat Chanprasert, told
reporters. He said the crackdown also spawned labor smuggling rackets.
"Accepting reality, the ministry decided to legalize those immigrants and
set rules to control them systematically and to prevent employers from
exploiting them," Jirawat said.
The ministry will allow employers to register their alien workers and
enroll them in a social welfare scheme under which they will be entitled to the
legal minimum wage, proper housing and medical care. The ministry set an Aug. 31
deadline for the registration.
"From now on there will be no cat and mouse game, and the repatriation plan
will be put on hold," Jirawat said, referring to border officials trying to
prevent expelled laborers from sneaking back into the country.
He said that after proper registration, Thailand would deal with the labor
problem directly with governments of neighboring countries.
Thursday July 12, 11:25 PM
US Says 23 Nations Lax In Combatting
Human Trafficking
WASHINGTON (AP)--A U.S. State
Department report Thursday said 23 countries aren't making significant efforts
to combat the growing problem in which an estimated 700,000 persons a year are
transported across international borders to work in sweatshops, construction
sites, brothels and fields.
Included are several democracies with close ties to the U.S., including
Israel, Greece, Turkey and South Korea.
The report was prepared in response to legislation approved in October that
calls for imposing economic sanctions in 2003 against countries that fail to
take action against traffickers or to protect victims.
The report lists 47 countries that do not meet the minimum standards set
forth in the law but are making significant efforts to comply.
"Trafficking is a problem that has reached staggering problems around the
globe," says the report. It says the research clearly demonstrates that most
governments "are in fact taking steps to curb this horrific practice."
The 23 countries found to be not complying are: Albania, Bahrain, Belarus,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia,
Israel, Kazakstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sudan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yugoslavia.
The report says many trafficking victims "are subjected to threats against
their person and family, violence, horrific living conditions and dangerous
workplaces."
"Some victims have answered advertisements believing that they will have a
good job awaiting them in a new country," it says. "Others have been sold into a
modern-day form of slavery by a relative, acquaintance or family friend."
It says the trafficking occurs across border and within countries and is
found in rich and poor countries.
"Root causes are greed, moral turpitude, economics, political instability
and transition and social factors," the report says.
Countries in the report's "second tier category" are: Angola, Bangladesh,
Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica,
Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Georgia,
Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Japan,
Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal,
Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Friday July 13, 3:54 PM
Malaysia PM Proposes SE Asian Co-Op On
Internet Abuse
KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Southeast
Asian countries should set up a security center to shield the region from
Internet abuses and rising cybercrime, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said
Friday.
In a speech to open a meeting of telecommunication ministers from the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, Mahathir said a regional
technology security center would also help member countries build
knowledge-based economies.
The speech was delivered on Mahathir's behalf by his Telecommunications
Minister Leo Moggie.
Asean telecommunications ministers met in Kuala Lumpur for the first time
Friday for talks on a wide range of cross-border issues on information
technology.
Asean groups Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand,
Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Mahathir said a regional network security center would help formulate a
comprehensive regulatory framework, especially relating to Internet commerce
related activities.
"The center can play an important role in assessing the e-security
readiness of Asean member countries and facilitate training and exchange
programs for network security enforcement," Mahathir said.
The Malaysian leader also urged Asean countries to work together to deal
with trans-border Internet abuses which couldn't be curbed due to the Internet's
global character.
"For instance, those responsible for disseminating offensive information on
the Net cannot be prosecuted in a particular country if the Web site is hosted
outside its border," Mahathir said.
Mahathir said the number of Web sites dedicated to "hate information" and
pornography was increasing and influencing young people.
In Malaysia, Mahathir's government announced plans to regulate the
Internet. Scores of Web sites sprung up in the last three years, many of them
critical of his 20 year rule.
The proposed laws could limit independent Web-based news sites' ability to
criticize the government, which have so far escaped stiff press regulation
because Mahathir promised high-tech investors his administration wouldn't try to
control Malaysian Internet content.
Mahathir urged ASEAN countries to be cautious in their drive to built an
Internet competent society.
"It is vital that ASEAN determines its own agenda," he said. "We have to
identify ... our shortcomings and together chart the course toward transforming
the region into a viable knowledge-based economy."
Friday July 13, 6:55 PM
ASEAN plans information highway to boost
Internet use
KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (AFP) - Southeast Asian telecoms ministers Friday pledged to intensify efforts to develop a regional information highway to raise Internet use in preparation for the knowledge economy. Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) ministers at their first
annual meeting here signed a cooperation pact to promote easy and affordable
access for the region's half a billion citizens.
In a joint statement, they reiterated the need for deeper cooperation to
create a "more wired and more inter-connected ASEAN" to woo foreign investments
and increase growth.
"They urged an industry-led resolution of the problems posed by the current
international charging arrangements for Internet services and called for fairer
and more sustainable arrangements, including cost-sharing," the statement
said.
Malaysian Communications Minister Leo Moggie told a joint press conference
that talks with the private sector to set up an Internet exchange within the
region would be finalised soon.
"We do need to increase the penetration of ICT (information and
communications technology) to rural areas... but a lot of funding will be
needed," Moggie said.
ASEAN secretary-general Rodolfo Severino said as much as 70 percent of
intra-ASEAN traffic on the Internet was currently routed through developed
countries, and the distance had raised costs.
The proposed ASEAN Regional Internet Exchange would increase efficiency and
cut costs, he added.
Moggie said ministers welcomed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's
proposal in his keynote address earlier Friday for a regional centre to clamp
down on rising cyber crimes and Internet abuses.
"We have tasked officials to explore further the proposal," he said.
Mahathir, citing rising "hate information and pornography" websites, urged
them to consider an "ASEAN Network Security Coordinating Centre" to ensure such
activities would not threaten national security.
Moggie said ASEAN ministers also supported a call earlier this month by
Japanese economics minister Heizo Takenaka for an Asian IT summit as it would
help bridge a digital divide in the region.
The joint statement said more advanced countries would share expertise,
training and educational resources with newer members including Cambodia,
Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to close the gap.
Ministers also sought a speedy implementation of the "mutual recognition
agreement" so that telecoms equipment certified in one country would be
recognised by another country.
Manila will host the second ministerial meeting next year, either in July
or August.
Friday July 13, 4:16 PM
Myanmar says Suu Kyi may snub
major ceremony
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Government
officials said on Friday Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will snub a
major national ceremony next week, a gesture which will dampen speculation she
may soon be released from de facto house arrest.
Diplomats said that if Suu Kyi failed to attend the Martyrs' Day ceremony
on July 19, it could be a sign her peace talks with the military government have
run into fresh problems.
Despite her rift with the ruling generals, in recent years Suu Kyi has
always attended the ceremony, which commemorates the 1947 assassination of her
father, independence hero General Aung San, and eight senior officials.
But officials say Suu Kyi will not attend this year.
A diplomatic source told Reuters Suu Kyi had refused to take part in the
ceremony, taking the military by surprise.
Suu Kyi has been kept confined to her house since September, with
diplomatic access to her strictly controlled and her telephone line cut.
But there have been some signs of a thaw in the confrontation between the
military and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) since October, when
she began confidential talks with the government.
Since then the government has released scores of opposition politicians
from detention, and allowed the NLD to re-open some of its branch offices.
The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide, but was
never allowed to govern. Many of the NLD politicians elected in 1990 were
subsequently detained, but the government has begun freeing them since the talks
began.
A government spokesman said three NLD politicians elected in 1990 had been
released from detention early on Friday, so that all elected NLD politicians
have now been released.
Four more NLD members serving prison sentences were released on Friday,
taking to 140 the number of NLD members released since talks began in October.
Opposition groups say thousands of political prisoners remain in jail in
Myanmar.
Officials have said the moves were a gesture of goodwill to bolster the
talks process.
There had been speculation the restrictions on Suu Kyi might be lifted
ahead of the Martyrs' Day ceremony.
Earlier this year, diplomatic sources said the talks appeared to have
stalled, but subsequent prisoner releases and a visit by United Nations special
envoy Razali Ismail, who helped broker the talks, stirred hopes the negotiations
were still on track.
The NLD and the government have agreed to stop open criticism of each other
during the talks.
Bangkok Post - July 13,
2001.
Precursor steps top Jia talks
Chemicals flow from China into Burma Sermsuk Kasitipradit
Stemming the flow of drug precursor chemicals to Thailand's northern border
area will be the main topic for discussion when China's public security minister
Jia Chunwang visits next week.
Gen Thammarak Isarangkul na Ayudhya, PM's Office minister, said Beijing's
co-operation was crucial.
Huge amounts of precursor chemicals were being smuggled from China for use
by methamphetamine producers.
"If we could efficiently stem the flow it would have a strong effect on the
production of yabain the northern border area," he said.
China also had a problem with methamphetamines in its southern
region.
Gen Thammarak supervises the Narcotics Control Board.
Mr Jia, who heads China's drug suppression drive, is to visit Thailand from
July 19-25. He will be taken to see the drug suppression operation in the North,
including Royal-sponsored crop substitution projects.
Gen Thammarak said he was confident the coming four-nation summit in
Kunming would be a major step toward in eliminating drug production in the
border area of Burma, Laos, China and Thailand.
"Co-operation on drugs by all countries affected is vital.
"Burma, Laos and China have their own drug problems and we have ours, so we
have to join in a common fight to root out the problem," he said.
Mr Jia will lead a nine-member delegation, including representatives from
the autonomous Guang Xi and Yunnan provinces.
He will call on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and discuss bilateral
security co-operation with ministers of the interior and foreign affairs and the
National Security Council.
Bangkok Post - July 13,
2001.
Rangoon must do even better, says
EU
Looser sanctions in return for freedoms would be the reward Anuraj Manibhandu
The European Union wants more political prisoners released and freedom of
movement for the opposition before lifting sanctions against Burma.
Speaking for the EU presidency, Belgian ambassador Pierre Vaesen said the
findings of an International Labour Organisation mission to Burma in September
would also be important to the decision.
The EU council in April resolved to keep in place its position on Burma for
another six months.
The position, which was adopted under the Swedish presidency, includes a
ban on the export to Burma of equipment that might be used for internal
repression or terrorism, a ban on visas for members and supporters of the
military regime and a freeze on their assets. The next review is set for Oct
28.
Mr Vaesen said positive signs had emerged since the EU troika went to Burma
at the end of January, including a visit by the special rapporteur for human
rights Paulo Pinheiro, and release of 136 political prisoners, including 36
opposition MPs.
But another 42 MPs of the National League for Democracy were still in
detention, with the number of political prisoners nationwide put at 1,600-1,700,
he said.
"We want more significant releases of people," he said, pointing to elderly
and sick people, as well as MPs.
"There should also be real freedom of movement for political leaders, and
freedom of action for parties." The ILO mission, expected to take three weeks,
was important to the human rights issue, he said.
But the political impasse in Burma required a dialogue, and that meant the
junta's release of politicians.
"Dialogue for us is essential. If we want some progress, you really need a
political dialogue," he said.
At the same time, the EU wanted to address the plight of Burmese people, he
said, citing a mission that went to Burma last month to look at aid.
Klauspeter Schmallenbach, head of the European Commission delegation in
Bangkok, said some action on the humanitarian side was already under way through
the efforts of NGOs. Mr Vaesen expected the EU to have enough information to
review sanctions by the end of September, following the ILO mission, as well as
follow-up trips by Razali Ismail, the United Nations special envoy, and Mr
Pinheiro. "We want to be flexible. We want to give positive signals to the
authorities of Burma but on the other hand we want to be very cautious. "Once
you have changed the system, waived some measures, it would be rather difficult
to re-establish them," he said.
A second EU troika mission to Burma, he said, could take place in late
October or November, to assess any future change to sanctions. Belgium's
six-month EU presidency ends on Dec 31.
Bangkok Post - July 13,
2001.
IOM would give priority to
migrants' health problems
Doubts over Burma's level of commitment Achara Ashayagachat
Working on migrants' health problems, including HIV/Aids, on the Burmese
side of the border was a priority for the International Organisation for
Migration, said its director-general Brunson McKinley.
Speaking after his first visit to Burma, Mr McKinley said the agency
planned to carry to the Burmese side of the border, for example the Shan state,
projects already running in Tak, Samut Sakhon and Ranong provinces.
He held talks with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the State Peace and
Development Council, as well as the immigration, foreign, home, and health
ministers. He did not meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The thaw in Thai-Burmese relations and internally between Mrs Suu Kyi and
the ruling junta had helped bring forward his visit, he said.
Thailand would benefit from the trip because it would help solve problems
with migrants.
The talks covered a range of migration issues, but not the movement of
refugees as this was a matter for the Thai and Burmese governments, he
said.
Burma was happy to receive him and work with international agencies as it
was coming out of isolation.
The talks also covered the trafficking of women and children, and organised
crime.
But health was "the single most important issue". The Burmese were worried
about HIV/Aids, outdid some other Southeast Asian states in acknowledging the
problem and devoted considerable resources into assessments and prevention
work.
Migrants were a major risk group because they resorted to prostitution,
contracted diseases easily, and spread them when they went home.
The projects in Burma would require several million dollars in funding, he
said. Work on the border could start soon, even without an official IOM presence
in Rangoon, but Burma should secure observer status with the IOM, he said. Asked
about human rights problems which had caused migration from Burma, Mr McKinley
said it was not the role of the IOM to talk about human rights and
democracy.
"But we do advocate proper treatment of migrants," he said.
The diplomatic corps was in two minds about his visit-some worried about
Burma's real level of commitment, and others were grateful for attempts to solve
its problems.
Bangkok Post - July 13,
2001.
Chavalit's Burma visit
back-dated
Rangoon agrees to the change Wassana Nanuam
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's visit to Burma has been back-dated
for the second time to July 23-24, says a Defence Ministry source.
Rangoon had agreed with the change from July 19-20 since July 19 is
Martyrs' Day, a public holiday.
The visit, originally set for July 28-29, was earlier brought forward to
July 19-20 with Burmese leaders citing a heavy workload. The visit was aimed at
strengthening ties after border skirmishes in the North.
Gen Chavalit will be accompanied by his deputy Gen Yuthasak Sasiprapa,
defence 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.
Gen Chavalit is also set to visit Vietnam on July 18-19 and attend a
Thai-Cambodian military meeting in Phnom Penh on July 27-28.
20,000 Myanmar Seafarers Serve on
Foreign Vessels
2001.07.13 10:57:26 YANGON, July 13 (Xinhuanet) --
About 20,000 Myanmar seafarers out of 50,000 are serving on foreign
ocean-going vessels of different flags and registries, the country's
Ministry of Transport disclosed Friday.
The Myanmar seafarers are enjoying trust and confidence of foreign
shipowners and employers, the sources said, adding that the Department of
Marine Administration of the ministry is making efforts to maintain and
upgrade the proficiency of these seafaring professionals through exact training
and examination procedures and has secured bilateral recognition of
competency certificates from many countries, including the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency (MCA) of the United Kingdom.
Myanmar amended its Merchant Shipping Act in 1999 and 2000 and the
country was induced into the White List of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) along with 95 other member nations at the 74th session
of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee held in May- June this year.
Myanmar Exposes 234 Drug-Related
Cases in May
2001.07.13 09:51:51 YANGON, July 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The Myanmar authorities exposed a total of 234 narcotic-drug-related cases in May, seizing 27.31 kilograms (kg) of opium and 2.25 kg of heroin, according to the Myanmar Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control Friday. The seizure, made by army units, police and the customs, also includes 48.86 kg of marijuana, over 2 million tablets of stimulant drugs, 200 kg ephedrine and 227.58 liters of phensedyl. During the month, the authorities punished 346 people -- 274 men and 72 women -- for being involved in the cases, it said. According to official statistics, during the first four months of this year, the authorities exposed a total of 1,017 drug- related cases, seizing 391.7 kg of opium and 23 kg of heroin and punishing 1,435 drug offenders. Meanwhile, the authorities also destroyed a total of 9,317.9 hectares of illegally-grown poppy fields in the country in the fiscal year 2000-2001 which ended in March. Following the declaration of its Mongla region in eastern Shan state as an opium-free zone in April 1997, Myanmar began in 1999 implementing a 15-year drug eradication plan in three five-year phases which costs 33,588.14 million Kyats (about 50 million U.S. dollars) plus 150 million dollars covering 25 townships in the first phase, 20 townships in the second phase and nine townships in the third phase. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(Burma)
A Student Activist passed away in
prison
Information Release
July 13, 2001 Name: Sithu
(a.k.a.) Ye Naing
Father: Tin Hla, Retired Captain (Army) Occupation; 2nd year student (Botany), Rangoon University Age: 35 Arrested: 1990 January Sentence: 10 Years Section: 5J, 17/1, 10A Address: Sanchaung Township, Rangoon Sithu (a.k.a.) Ye Naing, a student activist, passed away of lung cancer
yesterday in Tharawaddy prison after 11 years in prison. He was arrested in 1990
and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. His prison term ended in 1999 but the
authorities refused to release him.
As a result of torture early on in his detention and inappropriate accommodation in prison, he became ill. He was suffering not only from lung disease but also stomach and heart problems. His health condition deteriorated after he was moved from Insein Prison to Tharawaddy Prison in 1993. The authorities did not provide him with suitable treatment for his condition. Eleven days before his death, he was moved to Tharawaddy Township Hospital, which did not have adequate medical facilities to treat him. The doctors in that hospital recommended moving him to Rangoon General Hospital for better treatment but he was sent back to Tharawaddy Prison instead. The Military Intelligence personnel who arrested him have total control the health care system as it relates to political prisoners. Twice, in 1999, the family of Sithu was informed that he would be released shortly. Both times his family members hired a car and invited a local police officer to go with them to pick him up. Both times they were told by the prison authorities that he could not be released because they didn't have authorization from Military Intelligence. He was arrested with a fellow activist, Htay Kywe, and both continued to be detained after their prison terms expired in 1999. Sithu was the 53rd political prisoner to die in prison since 1988 according to the records of AAPP. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(Burma) |