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BURMA RELATED NEWS - September
19, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - China's WTO entry escalates pressure on
other Asian economies
Dow Jones - Pertamina Revamped Oil Trade
Strategy Raises Efficiency
AP - Obituaries in the News
Reuters - U.N. Official: Opium Cuts May
Hit Afghan Capability
Channelnewsasia - Fourteen Myanmar illegals arrested in morning raids The Nation - Forced
labour 'unlikely to end'
The Nation - Political prisoners abound in Burma
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Leader on National
Achievements
Xinhuanet - Myanmar's Cotton Yarn Production Up
in First Half of 2001
NMG - SPDC troops
block the border roads in order to stop the Thai tonic
import
NMG - Tension Developed for China's reparation
of border post on Sino-Burma border
SHAN - Thai Army
source: Still no progress towards peace talks between Shans and
Rangoon
Irrawaddy - Political Prisoners Deny
Wrongdoing
Irrawaddy - Cars Become Hot Commodity in
Rangoon
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday September 19, 9:37 AM China's WTO entry escalates pressure on other Asian economies SINGAPORE, Sept 19 (AFP) - As
the global community welcomes China's entry into the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), regional policymakers are nervously assessing how they can cope with the
Asian giant's irreversible economic ascendency, analysts said.
China's WTO membership, formalised in an agreement in Geneva Monday, is
expected to escalate pressure on Asian countries to strengthen their
competitiveness if they are to cope with the might of the Chinese industrial
engine, they said.
In particular, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), already reeling from a global downturn, faces the arduous task of
working more closely than ever before, said Bob Broadfoot, managing director of
the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).
"ASEAN needs to co-operate more regionally to lower tariffs and create a
more unified market if it is to be seen as a credible alternative to the 1.2
billion (people) market of China," Hong Kong-based Broadfoot told AFP.
"Otherwise it will be known more for its talking than doing," he
said.
ASEAN, home to 500 million people, has come under fierce criticism
particularly for not doing enough in the aftermath of the 1997-98 regional
crisis to closer integrate their economies.
ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
All have already committed to a ASEAN Free Trade Area, or AFTA, that will
see the group's more developed members reduce tariffs on most goods traded
within the region to between zero and five percent by 2003.
Singapore, one of Asia's wealthiest economies, is one of the most vocal in
warning of the challenges that Chinese WTO membership will pose for the
region.
Lee Kuan Yew, the city-state's first prime minister and widely credited for
transforming the resource-poor island into an economic powerhouse, has urged
ASEAN members to forge bilateral free trade agreements to counter the growing
clout of the Chinese economy.
"If you say life is going to go on as usual and we will export and become a
roaring tiger again, I'd say no. It's a different world," Lee said in a recent
visit to Malaysia.
Lee's successor Goh Chok Tong has described the rapid ascent of the Chinese
economy as "scary" and said Singapore's "biggest challenge is therefore to
secure a niche for ourselves as China swamps the world with her high quality but
cheaper products."
But ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino is more optimistic that the
grouping can cope with the Chinese challenge.
"Southeast Asia has known that China will be entering WTO from the
beginning," he said from the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta.
It is not going to be a one-way street as China will also be expected to
lower its import tariffs in return for entry into the WTO and this should
benefit ASEAN members, said Severino.
"It's not going to be a sudden swamp of Chinese goods," the ASEAN chief
said.
"When China drops its barriers to trade, it will provide opportunities to
ASEAN countries," he said.
According to DBS Bank in Singapore, foreign direct investments in China
grew 20.4 percent in the first eight months of this year from the same period a
year ago. ASEAN members fear that China will swallow the lion's share of
investments at their expense.
But Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with Singapore's GK Goh brokerage,
said ASEAN need not worry about foreign investments drying up.
"China may be the story of the decade but investors won't want to put all
their eggs in one basket," said Song.
"There will still be investment for Asia," he said.
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Wednesday September 19, 3:35 PM
Pertamina Revamped Oil Trade Strategy Raises Efficiency By Sharon Lim Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--A
decision by Indonesia's national oil company Pertamina (P.PTM) to reorganize its
oil trading operations by establishing overseas subsidiaries is paying dividends
for the company.
The subsidiary units now operating in Singapore and Hong Kong offer more
credit and operational flexibility than was available to Pertamina in the past,
Burhanuddin Hassan, trading director in Pertamina's downstream directorate told
Dow Jones Newswires.
"Also, the tender system adopted by a state-owned company like Pertamina,
gave us little room for direct negotiations with traders," he said.
Singapore-registered Pertamina Energy Services Pte Limited, or Petral, is
not subject to similar constraints, and can bargain for lower premiums that
better reflect spot market levels, Burhanuddin said.
Petral's presence in Singapore also gives it easier access to major players
within the oil trading industry compared to its parent in Jakarta, a Petral
marketing official said. The subsidiary was set up in May.
As a result of these advantages, Petral has been given the job of buying a
substantial portion of Indonesian spot oil products requirements, and it is
onpassing the lower premiums it attracts to Indonesia.
As the trading arm of Pertamina, Petral intends to leverage on its exposure
to an active trading community and information to extend its operations beyond
merely covering Indonesia's spot import and export needs, the Petral official
said.
Trading Subsidiary Acts As Broker For
Indonesia
Petral makes a "small margin" from acting as a broker linking Pertamina and a pool of suppliers, the official added. The margins are a form of payment for Petral's ability to produce letters
of credit, or L/Cs backed by international banks, which are deemed safer than
the LCs backed by Indonesian that Pertamina issues.
As a state-owned enterprise, Pertamina can only issue letters of credit
from Indonesian banks, and this deters trading companies with low credit risk
appetites from dealing directly with the parent company, Pertamina and Petral
officials said.
"Also when Pertamina's credit limit runs low, and we have products to
dispose, we would sell the cargo via Petral instead of submitting offers
directly to Pertamina," said a senior trader at a leading trading company.
As a result, Petral has successfully drawn lower premiums, compared to
Pertamina in monthly import tenders, traders in Singapore said. The trading
subsidiary compares the cargoes offered and selects the most competitive to meet
Indonesia's requirements, the Petral official said.
Petral accordingly ensures that Pertamina gets the lowest available prices
for the oil it imports, while at the same time increasing revenues through the
trading margins it makes by broking deals for the parent company.
Pertamina's other subsidiary - Hong Kong-registered Pertamina Energy
Trading Ltd. - is responsible for issuing L/Cs backed by international banks.
The stronger credit standing the Hong Kong financing and accounting unit enjoys
complements the appeal of using Petral as a broker in doing business with the
Indonesian state-owned company.
Petral To Venture Beyond Indonesia-Linked
Trades
Petral intends to sign long term contracts on behalf of Pertamina for the import of crude and oil products, the Petral official said. Indonesia currently imports 20% of its total refined products requirement,
mostly via spot monthly buy tenders, Burhanuddin said. In September, Pertamina's
total import totals 6 million barrels including term gasoil cargoes from Kuwait
Petroleum Corp. (C.KPT).
Pertamina also tenders to buy on a monthly spot basis, approximately 50% of
its imported crude requirement. The balance is secured on a term basis from
Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Pertamina's spot crude import requirement is estimated at 160,000 barrels a
day, a Petral official said.
The proposed long-term contracts will help Petral build its network and
forge closer alliances with traders who have supplied the subsidiary unit with
crude and oil products in monthly spot tenders, the Petral official said.
Petral is also looking to secure a contract to supply gasoil to Vietnam, he
said. The gasoil would be sourced from the spot market, in the same manner that
Petral has procured oil for its parent.
The company inherited from its predecessor Perta Oil, an oil trading
company, a gasoline retail business in Myanmar. Perta Oil, which was set up by
associates of ousted Indonesian president Suharto, has ceased operating.
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Wednesday September 19 6:58 AM ET
Obituaries in the News SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Joseph B.
Slowinski, a snake expert at the California Academy of Sciences, died Sept. 12
in Myanmar after being bitten by a venomous Krait snake while conducting
research. He was 38.
Slowinski was treated with anti-venom, but heavy rain prevented helicopters
from removing him from the region and getting him medical attention. It was his
11th expedition to Myanmar.
Slowinski began his research, which was supported by the National Science
Foundation (news - web sites), in Myanmar in 1997. He created a training program
to provide biologists there with the skills needed to conduct their own surveys.
Since the project began, Slowinski had discovered 18 new species of
amphibians and reptiles.
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Wednesday September 19 9:44 AM ET
U.N. Official: Opium Cuts May Hit Afghan Capability By Sitaraman Shankar BOMBAY, India (Reuters) -
Afghanistan's military capability could be limited by the ruling Taliban's
decision to stop cultivating opium, a senior official of the United Nations
International Drug Control Program told Reuters Wednesday.
``We expect Afghan opium production to be down to less than 200 tons this
year from 3,276 tons in 2000,'' Sandeep Chawla, the UNDCP's chief of research
told Reuters in an interview from his headquarters in Vienna.
Until last year, Afghanistan was the world's largest producer of heroin,
which is made from opium. rebel-controlled north, but it's traditionally been
less than a tenth of total Afghan output,'' said Chawla.
Smuggling the drug to western markets was seen as a major source of funding
for the Taliban, currently under pressure to hand over Saudi-born dissident
Osama bin Laden, suspected in last week's attacks on New York and
Washington.
Chawla said Afghanistan began cutting back opium production in the summer
of 2000, following a Taliban view that it was unIslamic. But it also cut off a
crucial source of funding that has undermined its military capabilities.
Islam bans the use of liquor and all intoxicants.
``Opium cultivation played a pivotal role in the Afghan economy in the
nineties, and funded resistance to Soviet occupation,'' Chawla said.
``Now Afghanistan's capability (to resist attack) is limited, unless other
sources of financing like smuggling arms and other contraband, or the legitimate
economy were to pick up,'' he said.
The UNDCP, which monitors the illicit drug trade across the world and
carries out surveys in Afghanistan, believes opium production has also been hit
by a severe drought.
In 2001, land used for growing opium in Afghanistan fell by 90 percent to
around 19,768 acres, Chawla said.
The country's main opium cultivating areas are Helmand in the south and
Nangarhar in the east, he said.
The bulk of the heroin produced from opium is smuggled along the Balkan
route -- through Iran, Turkey and southern Europe to markets in the West. The
central Asian route is growing rapidly, while smuggling across the border into
Pakistan and India has been reduced, he said.
STOCKPILE?
Afghanistan's decline leaves Myanmar as the largest producer.
The UNDCP estimates that last year Myanmar made 1,087 tons of illicit
opium, roughly a third of Afghanistan's production, but valued at prices of $232
a kilogram against $28 a kilogram for Afghan opium.
Chawla said Afghan farmers were paid $91 million for their production in
2000 and less than $60 million in 2001, helped only by a ten-fold increase in
prices.
But these numbers may not tell the whole story, he cautioned.
``It's difficult to estimate exactly how much Afghanistan made from opium
and its derivatives. For example, heroin sells for as much as $500 a kg in some
markets,'' he said.
``There are certainly possibilities that Afghanistan can start growing
opium again if the situation demands it, but that's not a decision that yields
results immediately,'' Chawla said.
``Planting takes place in autumn and harvesting in spring, so there's a
long wait,'' he said.
``Now the questions center on how much of a stockpile of opium the Afghans
are sitting on,'' he said.
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Channelnewsasia
18 September 2001 1548 hrs (GMT) 2348 hrs
(SST)
Fourteen Myanmar illegals arrested in
morning raids
by Sean Au The Singapore Immigration and Registration arrested 14 Myanmar immigration
offenders in a raid at Toa Payoh on Tuesday morning.
Most of Block 79 Toa Payoh Central has been sealed off for redevelopment,
save for the shops on the ground floor and their adjoining units on the first
floor.
And it was in one of these three-room flats that the 14 immigration
offenders were found.
It is definitely not an enviable living condition in this flat with the
smell of foul air there in the living room and the stench of leftover food from
the kitchen.
But it was home for the 14 men over the past few months.
Immigration officers began staking out just after 5am and moved in when the
first man left the flat for work.
Most of the illegal immigrants were caught by surprise as they were still
asleep.
They were believed to be paying up to S$150 in monthly rental and the flat
owner is assisting in investigations.
It is believed that the men, aged between 21 and 50 years, were
construction workers.
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The Nation
Forced labour 'unlikely to end'
Published on Sep 19, 2001
It was unlikely the Burmese government could ever stop its use of forced
labour if the regime's "bankrupt situation" was taken into consideration, a
leading human rights organisation said yesterday.
In a statement released yesterday, the Network for Democracy and
Development (NDD) said the Burmese regime had been preparing for a visit by a
team from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which will hold meetings
with opposition officials and foreign diplomats in Rangoon today.
The ILO team is visiting the country to verify if the Burmese junta has
ended their practice of forced labour - an allegation Rangoon has consistently
denied.
The NDD said the Burmese government had taken several measures, including
sending out instructions to their military commanders throughout the country to
stop all forced labour.
The network, which claimed to have first-hand accounts of the much
condemned practice, said Burmese convicts were still forced to do work.
"From 6am to 6pm they are made to work without a break. Clearing jungle,
removing tree stumps, digging ditches and dams and weirs, ploughing fields,
planting and harvesting are some of the work," an NDD statement said.
The four ILO team members met with Burma's opposition members yesterday,
and is expected to meet with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi later on
their visit.
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The Nation
Political prisoners abound in
Burma
Ko Zarny - MAE SOT
Published on Sep 19, 2001
Regarding the news article "Restrained NLD Anniversary" in your September
17 issue, the reader will think that the Burmese junta is not too bad on the
opposition after reading the current Burma related news.
Most are saying that the junta has released over 100 political prisoners
after they started talks with Aung San Suu Kyi. Actually, most were released
from military camps, so called government "guest houses". (They were arrested
with Aung San Suu Kyi in the railway station in September of last year and
detained for months.) Some were released from prison as their prison periods
were completed. Very few were released before their prison periods were
completed.
The junta seems to be very soft on the opposition as ILO and UN special
representatives have been visiting Burma lately. However, only a small number of
political prisoners have been released. There are some 1,800 activists in
Burmese prisons according to Amnesty International.
You also mentioned that, "the only senior NLD member now in detention is
Suu Kyi". That's totally wrong. How about Win Tin, secretary of the NLD and a
prominent journalist? He was sentenced to three years imprisonment in 1989. He
was given another 11 years when he was about to be released. In 1996, he was
given another seven years for reporting to the UN. Moreover, there are many
prominent activists in prison now. About four dozen activists are still detained
although they have completed their prison periods.
Please, keep your eye on the whole area and don't dance according to the
song of the junta.
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Myanmar Leader on National
Achievements
Xinhuanet 2001.09.19 11:58:15 YANGON, September 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar has made some
achievements in different sectors in 13 years since the present government
came to power in late 1988, state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar quoted
the country's second leader General Maung Aye as saying Wednesday.
Addressing a graduation parade of army officers training course in Bahtoo
Tatmyo, Mandalay division, on Tuesday, Maung Aye, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of
the Myanmar Defense Services, gave an account of the achievements made in
the sectors of politics, education, health, irrigation, transport and
forestry.
On the country's political sector, he said, 17 anti-government armed
groups, which were operating after independence in 1948 under the
influence of the colonialists, have returned to the legal fold now
starting March 1989, six months after the government's take-over of power
on September 18, 1988.
"The nation now is almost free from insurgency," he claimed,
attributing the achievement made in the political front to its national
reconsolidation efforts.
Relating to the education sector, he noted that there are 42, 000 basic
education high schools now, while there were 30,000 in 13 years ago.
He added that 92.05 percent of school-going-age children are pursuing
basic education at these schools which include primary, middle and high
schools.
He told the parade ceremony that there are 129 universities, colleges
and institutes now, while there were only 32 in 1988, saying that student
population at these institutions has increased to 530,000 now, up from 130,000
in 1988.
In addition to regular education, he went on to say, multi- media
classrooms have been opened at 481 schools and 203 learning centers have
also been established to enjoy the benefit of data broadcasting,
constituting a learning society.
Concerning the health sector, he continued to say, there are 843
hospitals in the country now, up from 631 in 1988.
With regard to the irrigation sector, he said, a total of 124 new
dams have been built since 1988, irrigating 850,500 hectares of farmlands.
Meanwhile, 253 pumped-water stations have also been set up along the banks
of the country's Ayeyawaddy and Chindwin rivers.
With respect to the transport sector, he noted, there are 27, 353
kilometers (km) of motor roads and 4,827 km of railroads now, respectively
up from 20,917 km and 3,057 km in 1988.
Meanwhile, a total of 132 bridges were built in the country during
the 13-year period.
Speaking on the country's forest greening efforts, he disclosed that a
nine-district greening project was initially implemented to arrest the widening
desert-like situation in the central Myanmar, which has been expanded to
13 districts under a 30-year greening project beginning this year.
On the country's economy, he briefed that the nation was able to
reduce the inflation rate to 2.28 percent this year from 22.49 percent in
1988.
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Myanmar's Cotton Yarn Production
Up in First Half of 2001
Xinhuanet 2001.09.19 09:38:15 YANGON, September 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar produced 3,027.78 tons of
cotton yarn in the first half of this year, 26.8 percent more than the
same period of 2000 when it registered 2,387.75 tons, according to the
latest data released by the country's Central Statistical
Organization.
During the six-month period, Myanmar also yielded 11,291,556 meters
of cotton fabrics, up 10 percent from the corresponding period of 2000
which saw a production of 10,255,994 meters.
Cotton is one of the four major crops of Myanmar with the other three known
as paddy, beans and pulses, and sugar cane.
Official statistics show that in 2000, Myanmar produced 5,700 tons of
cotton yarn and 22 million meters of cotton fabrics, up 19 percent and 23.37
percent respectively from 1999.
Other statistics show that altogether 325,215 hectares of cotton were
cultivated in Myanmar in the fiscal year 2000-01 which ended in March and the
country targets to grow 348,300 hectares of the crop in 2001-02.
Meanwhile, to maintain the enthusiasm of cotton growers and to solve
their difficulties of shortage of capital used in cultivation, the
government provides annually more than 1 billion Kyats (about 2 million
U.S. dollars) of loans to the growers in the country in addition to
granting advance payment to them for the purchase of cotton.
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Network Media Group
SPDC troops block the border roads in
order to stop the Thai tonic import
Chiang Mai, September 19, 2001
A group of SPDC soldiers cut the trees and blocked the border road on
Thai-Burma border in Northern Thailand in order to stop the import of Thai tonic
drink by a cease-fired group on September 12, a source reported from the
border.
Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) discussed with the
Thai Kratingdaeng (Red Bull) tonic drink company to import the tonic drink,
which is banned by Burmese authorities, through their area. When Burmese
authorities learned the plan, a group of soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion
430 came and dug a cannel across the road near border post number 13 and cut the
trees and blocked the road near border post number 14.
NMG learned that the roads connecting the Song Hin village from Thailand to
Pasawang in Kayah state, Burma were blocked by the order of LIB 430 commander
Lt. Colonel Kyaw Min Than.
Me Se township officer from KNPLF and the director of Kratingdaeng company
met at Song Hin village on September 10 and agreed to import the drink through
KNPLF controlled area, said the source.
KNPLF is an armed group signed cease-fire with SPDC on May 9, 1994. SPDC
allows the cease-fire groups to do business freely.
Thai tonic drinks including Kratingdaeng (Red Bull) are very popular among
Burmese citizens.
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Network Media Group
Tension Developed for China's reparation of border post on Sino-Burma border Mae Sai, September 19, 2001 A tension was developed on Sino-Burma border due to China's continuation of the reparation of border post near Ruili on September 11 and 12 in spite of Burma's rejection, a source reported from Sino-Burma border. The border post is the number (50/1) situated between Loi Je in Bhamo district, Kachin State on Burma Side and Jiang Fong in Ruili region on China side. On September 11, a group of Chinese lead by border security police regiment commander Lee Wei Fong arrived to the area and started to repair the border post. They painted the post, wrote the names of two countries in red color and repaired the basement with black marble stones. The chairman of the administration committee of Loi Je and the commander of the Burmese battalion based in Loi Je immediately rejected the act of Chinese and asked the Chinese to stop. On the morning of the September 12, the Chinese group came again and do the reparation work of the border post and they finished the work on that day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
S.H.A.N - Sep 19, 2001.
Thai Army source: Still no progress
towards peace talks between Shans and Rangoon
A source close to the Thai Army confirmed this afternoon that it was still
waiting in vain for a green light from Bangkok and Rangoon to arrange a meeting
between the warring Shans and Burmese authorities, since the regional level
meeting between the two countries ended almost two weeks ago.
"So far neither Gen Chavalit (Yongchaiyudh, Defense Minister) nor Rangoon
has made any response to what had been said between generals Wantanachai
(Chaimuenwong, Third Regional Army) and Thein Sein (Triangle Regional Command)
said the source. "So you wouldn't expect him to make a move without approval
from 'above', would you?"
Bangkok Post reported on 7 September that Thein Sein had asked his Thai
counterpart to mediate for talks with the Shans as well as other groups still
fighting against the Burmese army, mainly the Karen and the Karenni.
"His request was taken very seriously by Gen Wattanachai," he added. "It
was considered not only in the interests of both nations but also unprecedented.
In the past, Thai leaders, including Gen Chavalit, had tried several times to
mediate between Rangoon and the dissidents but were consistently turned down (by
Rangoon)."
"Looking back, the Burmese have always claimed their country lagged behind
others because of the ethnic problem. Here was a chance to solve it once and for
all, and they backed off instead of taking it up in stride. How could one trust
anymore in their sincerity?"
An overseas Shan watcher summed it up, "So, all smoke and no fire,"
On the Shan side, Sao Ood Kesi, Chief Alliance Affairs Officer of the
Restoration Council of Shan State, the political wing of the Shan State Army of
Yawdserk, said Shans would not "jump" into any negotiations with Rangoon without
prior consultations with their allies.
Shan, Karens, Karennis, Chins and Arakanese signed a military pact on 14
June 1999.
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Irrawaddy
Political Prisoners Deny
Wrongdoing
By Kyaw Zwa Moe September 19, 2001—A group of political prisoners asked about their views
on military rule in Burma insisted they had done nothing wrong by opposing the
country’s ruling junta, according to prison sources. Military Intelligence (MI)
officials questioned the prisoners at Tharawaddy Prison, near Rangoon, on August
10.
Sources reported that two MI officials, Major Kyaw Nyein and Captain Ye
Yint Tun, met eight political prisoners, including one elected Member of
Parliament, separately to ascertain their views on the country’s political
situation. All of the prisoners, except for National League for Democracy (NLD)
MP-elect Dr Myo Nyunt, are being held under Article 10 (a) of the State
Protection Act. All have completed their original sentences, but remain under
detention due to unspecified security concerns.
At least 52 of Burma’s nearly 2,000 political prisoners continue to be held
long after their sentences have been fully served, according to prisoner-rights
groups. Former political prisoners close to the Tharawaddy Prison detainees say
that those still being held under Article 10 (a) have already completed ten-year
sentences.
The recently interrogated detainees include: Zaw Aung, a member of the
National League for Democracy; Zaya, leader of the Democratic Party for a New
Society; All Burma Students’ Democratic Front members Soe Moe Hlaing, Thaung
Htike and Yin Htwe; and activists U Aung May Thu and Htay Kywe.
According to sources inside Tharawaddy Prison, when asked to assess their
past political activities, each of the eight prisoners replied without
hesitation that they had done what was best for their country. After being given
several hours to reconsider their answers, all eight repeated their original
response. The sources added that it was now "extremely uncertain" when the
prisoners would be released.
Meanwhile, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has
informed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a recent letter
that a political prisoner being held in Mon State’s Moulmein Prison is in urgent
need of treatment for an eye condition. Dr Min So Lin, an NLD MP-elect, was
sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1998 for his political activities.
In a recent interview with Radio Free Asia, an AAPP spokesperson added that
Nay Lin Soe, a prisoner being held in Kale Prison, in Sagaing Division, is also
suffering from a severe eye ailment, and could soon lose his sight. Nay Lin Soe
is serving his second prison term for his political activities.
According to AAPP, at least 68 political prisoners have died of various
diseases in Burma’s prisons since the military crushed a pro-democracy uprising
in 1988.
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Irrawaddy
Cars Become Hot Commodity in Rangoon By Ko Thet September 19, 2001 –The Burmese government’s attempt to collect a tax on
used car sales coupled with high inflation has caused car prices to skyrocket at
Rangoon’s largest used car automall, the Hanta Wady market, according to a
business source in Rangoon.
"Two week ago, I bought a used car for 11 million kyat (1 USD=680 kyat) and
today someone offered me 14 million kyat. I am afraid to sell it because I can
no longer find a car in this good of shape for that price," said a car dealer
from the Hanta Wady market. He continued, " One of my friends sold a Toyota Mark
II yesterday for 15 million kyat and two hours later the dealer was selling it
for 17 million kyat and it will probably sell for that."
A Rangoon gold dealer said, "Cars have become a popular investment
alternative with inflation being so high here right now. Businessmen are
investing their money in cars instead of keeping hard cash around." Due to
Burma’s unstable economy people often invest their hard currency into real
estate, gold or luxury items. The sudden increase in price has also made it very
difficult for the ordinary consumer to purchase a vehicle, according to a sailor
who recently returned to Burma who was hoping to buy a car.
The dealers have been parking their cars inside the market but doing their
transactions outside of the market in response to the Military Intelligence
Officers who have been conducting surprise checks inside the markets, according
to Myint Than, who is also a car broker in car market. The government initiated
the crackdown in order to collect tax revenue that was not being charged by the
car dealers.
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