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BURMA RELATED NEWS - October
27, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - 6 Nations Cited in Religion
Report
Bkk Post - Chiang Rai
included in new four-nation economic zone
The Nation - Unregistered labour faces tough action
Reuters - U.S. Adds North Korea to Its Religious
Blacklist
Mizzima - Bomb exploded in Indo-Bangla
border
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday October 26 5:12 PM ET
6 Nations Cited in Religion Report By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The State
Department singled out six countries and the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan for
widespread denial of religious freedoms.
In an annual report, China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar and Sudan were cited as
repeat offenders and North Korea was added.
Spokesman Richard Boucher acknowledged that many other countries, including
Saudi Arabia, also sharply limit freedom to practice a religion of choice.
He said the countries named in the report had become significantly more
repressive since last year's report was issued.
``We think there is no justification whatsoever for persecution of
believers or discrimination against people because of their faith,'' Boucher
said.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent
commission set up by Congress to monitor religious freedom worldwide, had urged
the State Department to add Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Laos and Turkmenistan to
the list of countries of ``particular concern.'' Human rights groups supported
the effort.
In the end, only North Korea was added.
Lawrence H. Goodrich, spokesman for the commission, said Friday that it was
very pleased that Pyongyang had been added.
``North Korea has been a country of particular concern. The violations
there are just awful,'' Goodrich told The Associated Press.
But he said Saudi Arabia should have been listed as well.
The 1998 law that required annual reports allows the president to waive a
range of sanctions, including severe economic penalties, for national security
reasons.
Goodrich said the State Department took those interests into consideration
in judging various country but they should have been considered only after Saudi
Arabia had been listed.
Boucher said the report made clear ``there is essentially no religious
freedom in Saudi Arabia,'' that the government requires all citizens to be
Muslims and it prohibits the open practice of any religion other than Islam.
Uzbekistan, he said, only partially respects the rights to religion that
are set out in the country's constitution, while Turkmenistan harasses
unregistered religious groups. The majority of people in both countries are
Muslims.
In North Korea, Boucher said, there are many reports of a crackdown on
unregistered groups and unconfirmed reports that members of underground
Christian churches had been killed.
The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan were ``a particularly severe violator of
religious freedom,'' Boucher said.
The Afghan Shi'a minority is abused, women have been beaten by religious
police for not wearing what the militia consider to be proper attire and Buddha
statues were destroyed in February despite appeals from religious leaders around
the world, he said.
The Bush administration leads an alliance trying to oust the Taliban from
power for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist network.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - October 27,
2001.
Chiang Rai included in new four-nation
economic zone
A special economic zone will be established to include Chiang Rai, Burma,
Laos and southern China.
The plan, to be up and running by 2003, was suggested yesterday at a
brainstorming session in Chiang Rai.
It was based on a study which found Chiang Rai to be the most suitable
linking point to neighbouring countries.
The province was considered the most suitable because of its geographical
and transport infrastructural advantages.
Chiang Rai airport was being developed to receive international traffic
connecting with Rangoon, Kunming, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Hanoi.
The communication and transport infrastructures were also adequate and
efficient, the seminar found.
Chiang Rai, with a population of 1.1 million, reported an average annual
growth of just 0.39% in the last six years.
Chiang Saen district was thought to be the ideal centre for economic trade.
The province was preparing to build piers to facilitate water transport
along the Mekong river and would construct industrial estates and
shipyards.
Such development will require comprehensive city zoning to keep the
commercial activities away from local historical areas.
Pornchai Rujiprapa, deputy secretary-general of the National Economic and
Social Development Board, said the country should trade more with neighbours
instead of focusing on markets in Europe and the US, reeling from the economic
setbacks triggered by the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Unregistered labour faces tough action
Published on Oct 27, 2001
Almost 560,000 people, the greatest number of them from Burma, registered
recently with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare under its month-long
amnesty period for illegal foreign workers.
But as from yesterday - when the registration period expired - law
enforcement officers will take strong action against unregistered illegal
foreign workers as well as their employers, said permanent secretary for labour
Elawat Chandraprasert.
Elawat said that from now on officials at the Ministry of Labour, the Army,
Navy and Police would work together on arresting any foreign workers that have
illegally entered and worked in the Kingdom. Those arrested will receive the
maximum sentences permissible under the Foreign Labour and Immigration
Acts.
The maximum sentence as stated in the Foreign Labour Act is three years'
imprisonment or a Bt60,000 fine, while the maximum sentence under the
Immigration Act is three years' in prison or a Bt50,000 fine.
Employers caught illegally employing foreign workers would have to shoulder
the expenses of deporting those employees.
On August 28, the Cabinet assigned the Ministry of Labour to register
foreigners who had illegally entered and worked in Thailand. The ministry then
announced an amnesty period between September 24 and October 25, to allow those
foreign workers to register with the ministry to work legally in the
country.
Of the 560,000 newly registered workers, around 447,000 are from Burma,
58,000 are from Laos, and 54,000 are from Cambodia. Most of the workers that
registered during the past month are in the agricultural sector - about 103,000
are farm workers while around 99,000 are in the fishery industry.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Adds North Korea to Its
Religious Blacklist
October 26, 2001 3:41 pm EST By Jonathan Wright WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States has added North Korea to its blacklist of countries of "particular
concern" because of what it says are restrictions on religious freedom, State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Friday.
The five countries designated last year -- China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar and
Sudan -- remain on the list, an annual requirement under the Religious Freedom
Act of 1998.
The State Department made the designations in an annual report which
singles out the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan for particularly severe violations
of religious freedom.
However, the Taliban do not qualify for inclusion on the formal list
because the United States does not recognize them as the legitimate government
of Afghanistan.
U.S. forces are bombing Taliban positions in an attempt to make them
abandon their protection of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, prime suspect
for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Under the act, the U.S. administration can choose from a menu of 15 policy
responses -- eight diplomatic and seven economic -- but in practice it has never
imposed any.
Boucher said the State Department added Marxist North Korea this year
because of reports indicating the government has cracked down on unauthorized
groups in recent years.
NO HIGH-LEVEL CONTACTS
"There have also been unconfirmed reports of the killing of members of
underground Christian churches. In addition, people who proselytize or who have
ties overseas appear to have been arrested, subjected to harsh penalties,
according again to unconfirmed reports," he said.
The United States and North Korea have not had high-level contacts since
President Bush took office in January. After several months of hesitation, Bush
offered to resume the dialogue opened by former President Bill Clinton but the
North Koreans have not yet responded.
Critics of the designation system say the administration chooses countries
with which it already has poor relations, rather than antagonize countries with
which it is friends.
Four of the designated countries, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Sudan, are
already on the State Department's list of "state sponsors of terrorism."
Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran, Baghdad or
Pyongyang.
But the report is also critical of the governments of Saudi Arabia,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which have cooperated to greater or lesser extents
with the U.S. campaign against bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"The report does make clear ... that is that there is essentially no
religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. The government requires all citizens to be
Muslim, continues to prohibit any public manifestation of non-Muslim religion.
So that situation is stable. The designation has not changed," Boucher
said.
He said the Uzbek government only partially respects the rights to religion
that are given in its constitution.
"Uzbekistan does not provide the respect to Islamic groups and mosques that
we think is necessary or required under customary international law," he
said.
"In Turkmenistan, same kind of thing. The harassment of unregistered
religious groups has continued, and, in fact, some say intensified there, but we
didn't feel that they met the standard to be designated this year."
But Boucher was most critical of the Taliban.
"The Taliban has severely restricted freedom of religion in the territory
that's under its control. Due to the absence of a constitution, religious
freedom is not protected and is subject to the arbitrary action of Taliban
officials," he said.
"Atheism and conversion from Islam are both considered apostasy and are
punishable by death. The Afghan Shi'a minority ... are victims of abuse. In
January 2001 there were a large number of civilian Hazaras, that's a Shi'a
ethnic group, that were reportedly killed by the Taliban."
He also cited the Taliban's treatment of women, who are subject to severe
restrictions on their attire, their movements and their employment.
"These prohibitions have severely affected the availability of medical and
educational services, since women doctors, nurses and teachers made up a large
part of the work force in these two areas," he added.
The full report should be available later on Friday on the State Department
Web site www.state.gov
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bomb exploded in Indo-Bangla
border
Guwahati, October 27, 2001 Mizzima News Security has been tightened along the Indo-Bangla border following a
powerful bomb blast at Gauripur in Assam on Friday last. The bomb planted by the
Muslim fundamentalist at a Durga Puja Pandal exploded in the wee hours killing
seven persons of a particular community and injuring 30 others. The area
bordered by Bangladesh has witnessed a series of violence in the after math of
the US attack on Afghanistan for
which an elaborate security arrangements were made. Moreover, recently hundreds of people of the locality took out a huge procession in support of Osama Bin Laden . Meanwhile Teh security forces have stepped up vigilance in the area so that
anti-social elements do not take advantage of the situation.
Official sources informed this correspondent that the militants used
Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to in a bid to impact more on the area." the
entire Indo-Bangla border is sensitive in view of ongoing war in Afghanistan and
hence elaborate security arrangements have been made to prevent such a incident
"the sources said. They, however, said that considering the gravity of the
situation more forces are required along the Indo-Bangla border to contain the
activities of the Muslim fundamentalist.
The area falls under lower Assam is dominated by the Muslim United
Liberation Tigers Association (MULTA), which has intensified activities with
active support of Bangladesh government. "After the new Bangladesh Government
assume office several muslin militant groups are now active in lower Assam
districts which has become a major problem" sources observed. It may be
mentioned that in view of ongoing war in Afghanistan, the entire international
border was kept under strict vigilance to foil the possible attack of foreign
mercenaries. After the blast panic gripped the people and they allege that the
state government has failed to provide adequate security despite repeated
request.
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