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BURMA RELATED NEWS - October
31, 2001.
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HEADLINES
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Asia Times - Former aide to Suu Kyi slams
sanctions, draws flak
Reuters - China's Zhu to dicuss economy,
security at ASEAN
AFP - China to urge economic cooperation, ease
WTO fears at summit
Reuters - CapitaLand forecasts full-year
loss
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Media Complain Getting Least
Foreign Aid
AFP - EU extends
sanctions on Myanmar for six more months
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Times - October 31, 2001.
Former aide to Suu Kyi slams sanctions, draws flak
By Tim Shorrock WASHINGTON - A former aide to Myanmese opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi is stirring up anger among exiled dissident groups for
calling on the US Congress and human-rights groups to end their economic
sanctions against the military regime in Yangon.
"To target innocent people makes me very, very bitter,"
Ma Thanegi, a Myanmese writer who spent three years in prison after working as
the personal assistant to Suu Kyi in the early 1990s, said of the US sanctions
against Myanmar. "This is economic terrorism. It won't bring economic change and
won't even bring any positive change. It is so unfair and so cruel."
Thanegi is a contributing editor to the Myanmar Times,
one of a handful of publications tolerated by the Myanmese government. In a
speech here to a forum this week sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, she
said economic sanctions against Myanmar do not hurt the government but instead
threaten the livelihood of "totally innocent workers", including more than
200,000 women employed in the garment industry.
A sanctions bill under consideration in the US Senate,
she said, would force 300 to 400 factories to close, putting thousands of young
women out of work and forcing many of them to become prostitutes to survive.
"Why can't there be other means than to target people without skills, and
women?" she asked.
Thanegi's comments did not draw much sympathy from the
audience, which appeared to be composed primarily of student and human-rights
activists, with a few business people and State Department officials also in
attendance. During her question-and-answer session, Thanegi was barraged with
hostile questions from the activists. They demanded to know where she got her
statistics, whom she was representing and why she refrained from asking tough
questions of Myanmar's military leaders in her capacity as a journalist.
"In 1998, we asked for democracy and a lot of people
were killed in the streets," said one activist, referring to the violent
crackdown on the opposition by the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), as the ruling junta was then called. Now called the State Peace and
Development Council, it seized power in September 1988 and refused to abide by
the results of a 1990 election, which gave Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) 392 out of 485 parliamentary seats.
With Yangon holding thousands of political prisoners
and resorting to torture and other forms of repression against dissidents, "the
only power we have is the ability to impose some economic restrictions on the
country", said a student.
As Thanegi spoke, some in the crowd passed out leaflets
calling her "the dictator's spokesperson". Thanegi replied that she spoke "as an
ordinary person who knows all levels of society". The people of Myanmar, she
asserted, "want peace and more freedom, but they also want economic prosperity".
Throughout her talk, Thanegi referred to her country as
Myanmar (as opposed to Burma), using the name adopted by the Yangon regime but
which is rejected by the United States and most dissidents. "Burma", she said,
was the name forced on the country by Britain during colonial occupation. "I
feel the name should have been changed immediately after independence," she
said.
David Steinberg, a former US diplomat in Asia who has
written a book about Myanmar, responded to Thanegi's remarks by pointing out
that military's control of the economy was "enormous". "Even if Suu Kyi came to
power, the military will have massive influence to control the markets," he
said. "It will be a quasi-market society."
US policy toward Yangon, he said, was based on the
military's refusal to honor the results of the legitimate election of 1990.
"There's no doubt about what the NLD did in that election; it devastated the
military and the military-backed parties."
The United States formally imposed sanctions on Myanmar
in 1990, and the policy has received bipartisan support from the US Congress.
The issue of human and labor rights in Burma has also become a major issue for
local governments. Over the past decade, many cities and states have passed
ordinances banning their governments from doing business with US corporations,
such as Unocal, that continue to do business with Myanmar.
These campaigns have been fueled by reports from
Amnesty International detailing the widespread use of torture by the Myanmese
military regime and reports from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and
other groups of forced labor, massive relocations of minority peoples and
numerous other human-rights abuses.
In recent years, US business groups have challenged the
sanctions movement, saying local laws favoring sanctions violate the US
constitution's requirement that foreign policy should be conducted by the
federal government. Last year, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court agreed
with their arguments. That has inspired several bills in Congress that would
extend sanctions in Myanmar and ban US investment until Yangon releases all
political prisoners, concludes its ongoing dialogue with Suu Kyi, provides
assurances that it is not employing forced labor and makes substantial progress
in halting the flow of narcotics.
"That means we are guilty until proved innocent," said
Thanegi. "That I find very strange in a country like the United States."
During a visit to Yangon in January, Steinberg said, he
told the military "at a senior level" that the Republican Party, reflecting the
views of its business supporters, generally does not like sanctions. "But no
administration, even a Republican one, can lift those sanctions unless you do
something significant, something substantial," he told the military. "But
nothing has happened."
In any case, Steinberg said, the relationship between
market capitalism and democratic development "is not a simple matter". He
pointed out that South Korea began its export push in 1961 but did not have
political liberalization until 1987. In addition, "business wants
predictability, and in [Myanmar] you have no predictability", he said.
During her talk, Thanegi admitted some problems with
the press in Myanmar but said the situation was improving. "Censorship still
exists," she said. "But compared to [the period of] socialism, there are many
good magazines. There are very good articles about finance and economics."
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an
independent organization that monitors the media around the world, paints a very
different picture, however. In its 2000 report on the state of the press in
Myanmar, the center said "conditions for journalists ... are among the worst in
the world and showed no sign of improvement".
"All media outlets are either owned or controlled by
the [military government]. The handful of private journals allowed to publish
face strict licensing requirements, and all published material must be submitted
to the official Press Scrutiny Board for approval. Most foreign journalists are
barred from the country," it said.
Thanegi's publication, the Myanmar Times, was the first
privately owned newspaper allowed to publish by Yangon, CJP said. The
publication, "a joint venture between a local firm and an Australian
businessman, showed no evidence of independence, however, merely presenting
government propaganda more professionally than the clumsy official press", the
report said.
Asked to comment, Thanegi said the Times "does go
through censorship. I know we try to push for press freedom, but sometimes we
get censored."
(Inter Press Service)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday October 31, 2:17 PM
China's Zhu to dicuss economy, security
at ASEAN
BEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji will discuss ways of dealing with a slowing global economy as well as security issues at a summit of southeast Asian nations plus China, Japan and South Korea, officials said on Wednesday. Terrorism would be an important issue in the wake of the September 11
attacks on the United States but there were no details as yet on any
declarations that may be signed, senior Foreign Ministry official Luo Zhaohui
told reporters.
"The ASEAN plus three meeting will mainly focus on economic cooperation and
the domestic situation of countries," Luo said of next week's meeting in Brunei
with the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations.
Political and security issues -- including "non-traditional security" --
and terrorism would be important topics, Luo said without elaboration.
"China's supports the discussion and the inclusion of this topic
(terrorism) in the lunchtime discussion," said Luo, referring to a lunch meeting
scheduled for November 5.
"The ASEAN countries themselves have not come up with a decision whether
documents or text will be issued at the conference," he said.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told Reuters in an interview
on Tuesday that a declaration backing the U.S.-led war on terrorism would be
signed at the summit, but that Asian leaders would be able to qualify their
support.
China would also discuss historical issues in the meeting with Korea and
Japan, he said, referring to long-standing rifts over Japan's wartime
aggression.
Diplomatic overtures by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appear to
have reopened dialogue with the two countries, allowing them to focus on
economic cooperation and the fight against terrorism, analysts say.
Following the meetings in Brunei, Zhu will visit Indonesia, an ASEAN
member, from November 7 to 11, the first official visit by a Chinese premier to
Indonesia in 11 years.
Zhu would meet Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and other senior
officials in Jakarta before visiting the city of Yogjakarta and Bali island,
Foreign Ministry officials said.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Wednesday October 31, 4:47 PM
China to urge economic cooperation, ease
WTO fears at summit
AFP - China will seek to calm
the fears of Southeast Asian countries over its imminent entry to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) at the "ASEAN plus three" summit next week, according
to analysts.
They say Premier Zhu Rongji, who will represent China at the Brunei
meeting, will try to convince the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) that closer cooperation is needed in the face of a global
economic downturn.
"After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the world economy has seen a
slowdown, especially in the United States. If we don't cooperate, it will not be
beneficial to anyone," said political analyst Shen Jiru of the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences.
At the summit Zhu is expected to again suggest forming a free trade zone
among "ASEAN plus three" members, an idea he first raised last year.
ASEAN has formed a specialist group to study the proposal which is
scheduled to submit a report to the summit, said Hong Liang, deputy director of
the foreign ministry's Asia department.
Hong told a press briefing Wednesday that the report made positive
reading.
"In principle, they agree, but it's a very complicated issue," Hong
said.
Zhu will also discuss currency swap arrangements among central banks to
help the region's countries better withstand another financial crisis, as well
trans-Asian railway and road projects, Hong said.
Amid all this, Zhu will also have to convince ASEAN countries they can
benefit from the world's most populous country joining the WTO, analysts
say.
Southeast Asian nations, especially those with similar export and
production structures to China, fear they will become less economically
competitive as China cuts tariffs and lifts investment restrictions.
Reform in China, particularly of its state industries, has already begun,
said Chi Lo, chief Northeast Asia economist for Standard Chartered Bank in Hong
Kong.
"With WTO as an external force to keep pushing reform in China ...the
economy in China will function more efficiently, so productive force will be
more competitive which in turn will put stress on Southeast Asian exporters," Lo
said.
Zhu will argue that ASEAN countries can also benefit because a more
prosperous China will need more products from Southeast Asia and its citizens
will have the money to travel to those countries.
However, Lo said it depended on how fast Southeast Asian countries could
reinvent themselves to adjust to the pressure from China.
"China is the only country in Asia to carry out reforms steadily. With
China growing faster and drawing foreign investment, this will put pressure on
other countries to make tougher reforms."
China is also expected to temporarily set aside its longstanding
territorial dispute with several ASEAN members over the mineral-rich Spratly
Islands in the South China Sea.
"China wants to reduce fear of Southeast Asian countries economically,
politically and militarily," said Lau Siu-kai, a China expert from the Chinese
University in Hong Kong.
"If they continue to be hostile, suspicious of China, that will leave the
US in a very powerful position in this part of the world and aggravate (any
potential) territorial disputes..."
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Japan and South Korea also attend
the conference along with China.
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Wednesday October 31, 9:18 PM
CapitaLand forecasts full-year loss By Mantik Kusjanto SINGAPORE (Reuters) - CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest listed property group, on Wednesday forecast its full year performance would remain in the red after booking a profit in the third quarter. "For the full year, based on the S$268 million loss in the first half, I
wouldn't call it impossible, but it will be very difficult to catch up for the
full year," Hiew Yoon Khong, chief financial officer of CapitaLand, told a news
conference.
CapitaLand, which has about S$19 billion in assets, had warned of a full
year loss in August.
Multex Global Estimate has a consensus net loss of S$135 million for the
full year from 25 analysts.
In the three months to September, its net profit was S$82 million ($45
million) versus a S$320 million loss in the second quarter, helped by steady
income from commercial properties, divestment gains and lower interest costs.
Its nine-month net loss narrowed by 8.6 percent to S$185.94 million,
dragged down by a weak first half which was hurt by the provisions for falls in
asset values as property prices slump amid the worst recession in decades.
ASSET SALES BOOST PROFIT
Analysts had expected few surprises from CapitaLand this time after the
shock of S$588.2 million in provisions and write-downs during its half-year
results.
Winston Liew, analyst with Daiwa, said the company booked S$26.4 million in
profit from the sale of three hotels in Myanmar, Vietnam and China, which lifted
its overall bottom line.
Liew had earlier forecast third quarter net profit of between S$60 million
to S$65 million, with some S$42 million coming from the divestment of its assets
to a real estate fund.
CapitaLand's shares ended five cents lower at S$1.38 on active turnover of
5.2 million shares on Wednesday.
The broader market was down, with the Straits Times Index down 1.12 percent
and the property sector index off 1.15 percent.
CapitaLand's share price, hit by the deteriorating Singapore economy and
supply glut in the residential market, has lost about half of its value since
the start of the year and underperformed the broader market by about 34 percent.
But most analysts have kept a buy rating on the stock as CapitaLand shares
are trading at a huge discount to its book value of S$2.57 per share.
MORE PROVISIONS UNLIKELY
CapitaLand, with a market value of about S$3.7 billion, said it would
review asset values in the fourth quarter and that further provisions for
residential properties were unlikely.
For its commercial assets, Hiew said revaluation reserves of more than
S$300 million from the past year would help cushion its profit from a value
erosion.
CapitaLand said its asset light strategy remained intact after divesting
more than S$1.5 billion so far this year.
Other sales which will help boost its fourth quarter results were the S$125
million proceeds from a property sale and S$99 million from the launch of its
real estate investment trust.
The firm said the divestments of its various assets had helped reduce its
borrowings by S$1.2 billion to S$7 billion, lowering its gearing to 0.83 times
from 0.92 times.
It intended to divest further to meet its full year divestment target of
between S$1.7 billion and S$2.2 billion.
CAPITALAND TO TEST RESIDENTIAL MARKET
Hiew said it planned to relaunch its condominium project in the East Coast
of Singapore later this year to test the market.
"We have one concern...even when you slash prices, will there be liquidity
in the market? Today, if you ask me the question, the answer is that we do not
really know," he said.
But if the response was favourable, the firm would continue with its
strategy to price competitively.
Hiew said another strategy was to package the landbank it had into a
portfolio with other assets to sell to institutional investors, much the same
way as it had packaged three shopping centres into a property trust.
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Myanmar Media Complain Getting
Least Foreign Aid
Xinhuanet 2001-10-31 13:26:12 YANGON, October 31 (Xinhuanet)
-- The official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar Wednesday complained that the
country received the least amount of foreign aid coming through the United
Nations.
The paper quoted a human development report of 2001 as saying that in 1999,
Myanmar got only 73.2 million U.S. dollars or 1.6 dollars per person of foreign
aid coming through the organization, adding that it was the lowest amount
obtained as compared with 11 other neighboring countries.
"When all the travelling allowances and monthly salaries of the foreign
staff and the cost for meetings are deducted, the actual
amount of aid received by Myanmar per person would be only 0.25 dollar," the paper said in an article titled "Wishing to Share Surplus Food with Others". The paper claimed that despite the least amount of assistance it is
receiving, "the government is able to feed the people well" due to the fact,
which it said, that the government can provide surplus amount of food for its
people out of its endeavors.
The paper also quoted the report as saying in support of its claim that the
percentage of the undernourished people of Myanmar accounted for only seven
percent of its population, the lowest compared with other countries as shown in
the figures of the report.
The paper pointed out that the developed nations of the world, which are
enjoying the upper hand in the global trade, should have the responsibility to
help the developing nations, warning not to neglect them which are their
markets.
The paper reiterated that "the state never takes any assistance from any
foreign nation or organization in carrying out the endeavors, but relies
only on the internal strength".
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EU extends sanctions on Myanmar for six
more months
BRUSSELS, Oct 31 (AFP) - The
European Union has extended sanctions against Myanmar for another six months,
citing "continuing serious and systematic human rights violations," the latest
edition of the EU official journal said.
It said the extension was decided by EU foreign ministers meeting in
Luxembourg this week.
The sanctions, renewed last April and which expired on October 29, ban
members of Myanmar's ruling junta from traveling to EU member states. They also
include an embargo on EU weapons sales to Myanmar, and limit aid to the
humanitarian sector.
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