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BURMA RELATED NEWS - November
22, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar sends condolences over death of
Malaysian king
AFP - China's rise beneficial to Asia in long
term: Standard Chartered
Oneworld - Burma Rebuffs UN Move on Forced
Labor
UN wire - 200 Refugees To Be
Resettled
AP - God's Army Twins Reluctant to
Move
NZH - Government ears deaf to Burmese pleas
Guardian - Behind the Burmese curtain
Bkk Post - Shipment ban may be lifted
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Reviews Maternal, Childhood
Illness Management
SHAN - Lack of Education the greater
enemy, says Shan elder
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday November 21, 11:32 PM
Myanmar sends condolences over death of Malaysian king BANGKOK, Nov 21 (AFP) -
Myanmar's military leader on Wednesday sent his condolences to Malaysia
following the death of its king, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, state-run
media said.
Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) -- the official name of the ruling military regime -- sent a
message of condolence to his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad, TV Myanmar
said in a dispatch monitored here.
Sultan Salahuddin died after heart operation in a Kuala Lumpur hospital on
Wednesday at the age of 75.
Thursday November 22, 12:43 PM
China's rise beneficial to Asia in long term: Standard Chartered AFP - The growing economic
clout of China will add to the woes faced by Asia's struggling economies but
this is expected to favor the region in the long term, Standard Chartered Bank
said.
In its weekly report on the region's economic outlook, the British-based
bank said it was best to view the challenge from the world's most populous
nation as "the Chinese magnet."
"This factor will eventually be very positive for Asia," the bank
said.
"But, unfortunately, in the very near term, it too may be negative, adding
to competitive pressures across the region."
The low wage levels of Chinese workers "could be negative for economies and
currencies across Asia," the report said.
At the same time, however, it will also force the region's policymakers to
craft an appropriate response which will ultimately allow Asians to ride on the
Chinese economic powerhouse, now on the verge of formal entry into the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
"China's WTO entry will open up the Chinese economy. This is the China
magnet," said Standard Chartered.
"The skill and the challenge for each country across Asia is to re-invent
itself to be able to take advantage of this new market and trading environment,"
it said.
Joining the body of international commerce will accelerate income levels
across China and this will translate into greater demand for imports.
"Eventually it will boost intra-regional trade within Asia. Foreign inward
investment into China and the rest of Asia is likely to rise," said the bank,
which does most of its business in the region.
The onus is on neighbouring countries to reshape their economic policies to
boost their competitiveness and the agreement between Southeast Asia and Beijing
to create a free trade area in 10 years' time is a good start, said the
bank.
"Such a free trade area reinforces the importance of the Chinese magnet
effect as well as highlighting the existing competitive pressures across the
region."
The ASEAN-China trading bloc, announced at a summit in Brunei early this
month, is forecast to cover two billion consumers, have a combined economic
output of two trillion dollars, and two-way trade of 1.23 trillion dollars by
the time it is established.
ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Deflation and debt are the threats facing Asia now, said Standard
Chartered.
Recession-hit Singapore, still Southeast Asia's wealthiest economy, faces
deflationary pressures.
Both Hong Kong and Malaysia are affected by deflation and the Chinese
magnet, said the bank. The two economies are likely to maintain their currency
pegs to the United States dollar "to push and force through further economic
restructuring," it said.
In contrast, Thailand is hurt by deflation and debt.
"This points to continued low interest rates for some considerable time,
and increased emphasis by the authorities on addressing the debt and
non-performing loan problem," said Standard Chartered, adding the Thai baht was
also expected to remain weak.
Indonesia, still struggling to recover from the 1997-98 crisis, is faced
with debt problems.
But the giant Southeast Asian economy is expected to benefit tremendously
from the Chinese magnet because of its huge potential as an exporter of energy,
crude oil and natural gas to fuel the Chinese economic engine.
Wednesday November 21 11:56 AM EST
Burma Rebuffs UN Move on Forced Labor By Daniel Nelson, OneWorld UK Myanmar yesterday brushed aside a proposal by the International Labour
Organization (ILO) to swiftly set up a permanent presence in the country to
monitor efforts to end forced labor.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the southeast Asian country (formerly
known as Burma) described the proposal for an ILO representative as "a delicate
matter involving Myanmar's sovereignty" that could not be accepted "at this
juncture."
A spokesman for the United Nations (news - web sites) agency, who declined
to be named, said Tuesday's proposal and rejection were part of an ongoing
tussle that began with an ILO call last year for measures against the junta
which seized power in 1988.
"It's a case of two steps forward, one step back", he said. "There's been a
limited reduction in child labor, there's been progress - but not as much as
campaigners want."
The Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has
warned that "despite the Generals' alleged willingness to tackle forced labor"
the UN should be realistic about the impact of international monitoring "given
the total absence of civil liberties in the country."
The trade union grouping wants the 250 foreign companies with links to
Myanmar to pull out while the military dictatorship remains in power.
"It is impossible to conduct any business relationship with Burma without
directly or indirectly supporting the military dictatorship," said general
secretary Bill Jordan. "Any international business involvement is an
accommodation with tyranny."
John Jackson of the Burma Campaign U.K., which coordinates anti-junta
activities in Britain with the Free Burma Coalition in the United States, said
yesterday that the Burmese government's response was "predictable".
"The regime has been doing a number of things recently which look
progressive," said Jackson, "but [they] really make no difference at all." "Its
aim is to reduce international pressure by making critics think there is a
glimmer of hope."
Forced labor was still "widespread and pervasive", according to Jackson,
because it was needed to underpin the cost of maintaining an army of 500,000.
The numbers involved in any one year in Myanmar's "modern-day slavery" were less
than the late 1990s UN estimate of 8-10 million people, but the figure was still
"literally millions."
Earlier this month, two major U.S. clothing outlets--Tommy Hilfiger and
Jones Apparel Group--promised to cut links with Myanmar. "By announcing it will
not source or sell goods from Burma, Tommy Hilfiger is exhibiting the 'Tommy
Spirit'," said Free Burma Coalition director Jeremy Woodrum, referring to the
company's slogan.
Further pressure will be applied next week when the Burma Campaign U.K.
unveils plans for new protests against companies still doing business in the
country.
UN Wire, Thu 22 Nov 2001
200 Refugees To Be Resettled Indrika Ratwatte, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees liaison officer for
Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, told Reuters today that the last 200 Myanmar
students taking refuge in a Thai border camp will be relocated before the end of
the year.
"We have 200 people and think we can send them all to third countries by
the end of this year," Ratwatte said. "These people have been accepted by third
countries and are waiting to be processed before they can actually leave
Thailand."
The Maneeloy camp, which was set up in 1992 for pro-democracy students
fleeing military persecution in Myanmar, will then be closed, he said
(Reuters/MSNBC.com, Nov. 20).
God's Army Twins Reluctant to
Move
The Associated Press, Thu 22 Nov 2001 BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — The
mystical teen twins who led a three-year jungle rebellion against Myanmar's
military regime prefer to stay in Thailand as refugees, rather than migrate to
the United States, people who met them recently say.
U.S. Embassy officials visited Johnny and Luther Htoo at least twice since
May after the Thai government asked the United States to consider accepting the
twins and their family for resettlement. Thai officials are keen to complete the
process by the year's end.
A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said no decision has yet been made about the
twins' future.
Johnny and the chain-smoking Luther, believed to be aged 15, surrendered to
Thai authorities in January after the ragtag God's Army they led for more than
three years broke up under assault from the army of neighboring Myanmar, also
known as Burma.
The twins — once fabled by comrades as invulnerable to bullets and land
mines — have since been confined to a secure Thai border police base with their
mother, father, two sisters and about 20 mostly young followers.
Toby Bryce, a New York-based writer who visited the twins twice in August
to research a novel based on God's Army, said they ``were adamant in their
desire to be with their people,'' which would probably mean staying in a refugee
camp.
Initially, the twins were excited at the prospect of ``going to the land of
Hollywood and Rambo'' but that feeling had waned, Bryce said in a telephone
interview Wednesday from the United States.
``Ultimately they want to return to Burma, but they realize it's not safe
for them now,'' he said.
He said a peaceful environment at the police base had mellowed the twins,
who only speak the Karen language. If resettled in the United States, they could
join one of a couple of Karen communities in New York state and California, he
said.
``When I met Luther I expected a brat, but he was the sweetest kid you
could imagine, no craziness and 1,000-yard stare,'' Bryce said.
According to international practice, refugee resettlement must be
voluntary.
Two other people who saw the twins in recent weeks confirmed their
reluctance to leave Thailand and their eagerness to get on with their lives.
Both sources requested anonymity to safeguard the work they do with Karen
refugees in Thailand.
Thai authorities rejected requests to interview the twins this week.
The twins, who are Christian, acquired mystical status after Myanmar troops
entered their village during a 1997 sweep of areas inhabited by the country's
Karen minority. Johnny and Luther reputedly rallied some locals and directed a
successful counterattack.
The God's Army was mostly comprised of child guerrillas but emerged as a
significant splinter group of a larger ethnic Karen rebellion that has endured
for five decades.
The death knell for God's Army came in early 2000 when it fell out of favor
with Thailand. Its border camp was shelled by the Thai army, prompting a handful
of its fighters and allied student radicals to take hostages at a Thai hospital.
Thai commandos shot dead all 10 hostage takers to release the captives.
Soon after, God's Army scattered into the forest at the Thai-Myanmar border
as it came under attack from Myanmar forces. After nearly a year on the run, the
twins surrendered.
Aid workers said Thailand remains reluctant to put the boys in one of its
border camps where more than 100,000 mostly Karen refugees from Myanmar are
sheltered, fearing the twins could become a rallying point for discontent with
poor camp conditions.
They could also pose a security risk, as Myanmar-backed armed groups have
previously launched cross-border raids on refugee camps in Thailand. The Myanmar
regime says the camps are used to shelter anti-government insurgents.
New Zealand
Herald
Government ears deaf to Burmese pleas 22.11.2001 By TIM WATKIN The Government's refusal to accept 39 Burmese families from a Thai refugee
camp just weeks after rescuing Afghan refugees off the MV Tampa is being
criticised as inconsistent by refugee workers.
Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel yesterday rejected pleas from Burmese
in New Zealand to allow friends and family "in danger of their lives" to come
here as refugees.
She said she had to rely on recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees when deciding the make-up of the refugee quota.
Burmese refugees in NZ and volunteers who support them wrote to the
Government last month when they learned that Thai authorities intend to close
the Maneeloy refugee camp before the end of the year and send the remaining
refugees to camps on the Thai-Burmese border.
The letters warned that the lives of relatives and friends of NZ-based
refugees would be in danger if they were sent to the notorious camps.
The NZ-based refugees want the Government to accept a further 39 families
from Karen state - 72 adults and 53 children - whose situation, they say, is
"absolutely desperate".
Lianne Dalziel replied that the Government had to rely on UNHCR
assessments. If it got involved it would be seen as political interference.
David Goold, from the Rawene Centre in Birkenhead, which runs a refugee
resettlement programme supporting the Karen refugees, said Ms Dalziel's stance
was an inconsistent, knee-jerk reaction.
"They intervened for the Tampa boat people and as far as I know none of
them had been given refugee status by the UNHCR.
"It's totally inconsistent and is just following the world spotlight."
The Government won praise for its compassionate response to the boat
people, but was treating the Karen appeal differently because "the eyes of the
world are not on them".
"They're sinking in a camp rather than a boat," Mr Goold said, but were
also in desperate need.
The refugees' failure to get UNHCR resettlement status was not because
their plight wasn't serious, he said. It was due to the "complicated political
situation" where Thai authorities wanted to wash their hands of the refugees.
New Zealand took in 207 Burmese refugees from Maneeloy this year and Mr
Goold said there was an established, active community here willing to support
new arrivals.
The Thai Government plans to close Maneeloy, the camp where refugees
fleeing the regime in Burma have been held before being resettled in third
countries.
Aung Htay Nyan, leader of NZ's Karen community, said around 50 refugees
were due to leave for the US but more than 300 others who had been refused
resettlement status by the UNHCR would be sent to camps on the Thai-Burmese
border.
The Herald visited Maneeloy in February and this week received a letter
from Moses Zan, a refugee in the camp, pleading for help.
Mr Zan wrote: "It is an irresponsible act of the UNHCR to classify [those
remaining] as border-case refugees. They are genuine refugees under the mandate
of the UN convention on refugees."
A recent US Committee for Refugees report reached similar conclusions,
saying: "Many convention refugees may have been left unprotected".
Mr Nyan said life in the border camps was extremely dangerous and the
refugees, who had fought the Burmese authorities, were in danger of being pushed
back into the country.
That had happened before and refugees had "disappeared".
Guardian Unlimited (UK)
Behind the Burmese curtain A reshuffle of the country's ruling military junta offers little hope for the people of Burma, whose lives continue to deteriorate, writes John Aglionby Thursday November 22, 2001 The latest round of musical chairs involving Burma's ruling military junta,
the inappropriately named State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has just
been completed and it offers little reason to expect any meaningful change in
what is, alongside North Korea, probably the world's most closed country.
Two important junta members, the fourth-ranking Lieutenant General, Win
Myint, and the deputy prime minister and minister for military affairs,
Lieutenant General Tin Hla, were sacked. Ten of the 12 regional military
commanders were "promoted" to positions in the top-heavy defence ministry,
several old generals and admirals were "permitted" to retire and five junior
ministers were also fired.
It was the biggest reshuffle since November 1997 when the core of the then
ruling posse of generals realised the government was too corrupt, incompetent,
old and evil-sounding (it was then called the State Law and Order Restoration
Council) even for them to stomach, so they regrouped as the equally Orwellian
SPDC.
What is most apparent is that the latest purge has undoubtedly strengthened
the position of the three men at the top of the tree: Senior General Than Shwe,
army chief General Maung Aye and military intelligence chief Lieutenant General
Khin Nyunt.
Significantly, neither Win Myint's position as Secretary Four in the junta,
nor Lieutenant General Tin Oo's Secretary Two post were filled. (Tin Oo died in
a helicopter crash earlier this year and it was thought he might have been
replaced.)
It's hard to know exactly why such a large cleanout happened now because
nothing is what it seems in this regime of total double-speak, where the country
is officially called Myanmar and the capital Yangon instead of Rangoon.
The official reason, given by the deputy intelligence chief, Major General
Kyaw Win, at a rare press conference, was that the two senior generals had
"violated state policy" - don't ask what that really means in a world where
everyone is on the take - and it was felt there was a need to "inject young
blood into the ministry of defence and to improve efficiency".
Of much more concern to the big three is likely to be the need to appear to
be sprucing up their image in the face of a rapidly collapsing economy, stalled
talks with the opposition (and rightful government) National League for
Democracy under Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and a very critical
report by the International Labour Organisation on continuing forced labour
across the country.
The talks with Ms Suu Kyi have just passed their first anniversary - with
surprisingly little fanfare for a country that loves to mark dates - and little
of substance has been achieved except that the two sides are not quite so
publicly critical of each other.
Diplomats say it is positive that the talks are still ongoing, but the
ultimate goal of a transition to democracy and civilian government are still a
long way off and Ms Suu Kyi is still under effective house arrest.
The junta, which seized power most recently in 1988 and then refused to
accept the league's landslide election victory in 1990, points to the fact that
25 of the league's 40 original branch offices have been allowed to reopen in the
capital Rangoon along with a handful of others elsewhere. The authorities don't
say that the offices are not really allowed to function and are under constant
surveillance.
Generals also say they have released almost 200 political prisoners since
January, but more than 800 remain behind bars, including 17 of the winners from
the 1990 poll. The deputy foreign minister, Khin Maung Win, said recently that
the international community should not be too impatient for change. "There has
been a confrontation between the two sides for the last 10 years, so to make a
180-degree turn needs of course a certain amount of time."
Government critics counter that the junta is only keeping the talks alive
in the hope that they will generate desperately needed economic aid, despite
sanctions from countries like the United States and Britain.
Rice is about the only commodity that has not at least doubled in price in
the last few months, and that's only because it is closely regulated to prevent
food riots. Inflation is skyrocketing, the currency, the kyat, is crumbling,
exports have slumped and there is no good news in sight.
The forced labour issue is equally sensitive. Several foreign firms,
including British companies such as Premier Oil, are caught up in it and while
the government claims it is being phased out, the ILO has just had its request
of a permanent presence rejected.
As one diplomat said: "The big three have shuffled the pack immediately
below them but for the masses this will have no impact. Their lives are
continuing to deteriorate."
Bangkok Post - November 22,
2001.
Shipment ban may be lifted Chavalit backs bid to send generator parts via Mae Sai Wassana Nanuam Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has backed China's request for
Thailand to allow the shipment of power generators through Mae Sai district to
Burma.
The generator parts were intended for a lignite-powered electricity
generating plant in the Burmese border town of Tachilek. Local people in Mae Sai
district, which is across the border from Tachilek, blocked a convoy of 14
trailer trucks carrying the parts from crossing into Burma on April 20. They
feared the power plant would be detrimental to the environment on the Thai side
of the border.
Gen Chavalit, also deputy prime minister, yesterday allayed fears about
potential adverse impacts, saying the power plant used new technology.
China and Burma had made several requests for the shipment of parts via the
Mae Sai border checkpoint, said Gen Chavalit, adding he had delayed his approval
as he wanted to make sure the power plant would have no environmental impact on
the Thai side.
``Both Burma and China confirmed that the power plant would not cause any
adverse environmental impact on the Thai border.
``I had sent officials to inspect the plant and they found that old
technologies were already replaced with new ones,'' Gen Chavalit said.
He admitted Thailand had no right to protest against the Burmese project.
He said it was difficult to block the shipment from crossing the border since
the Mae Sai checkpoint had been reopened.
The National Security Council would today call a meeting with relevant
agencies to discuss China's request.
Myanmar Reviews Maternal,
Childhood Illness Management
Xinhuanet 2001-11-22 12:13:20 YANGON, November 22 (Xinhuanet)
-- A meeting to review the status of implementation of Integrated Management of
Maternal and Childhood Illness (IMMCI) in Myanmar is underway here, aimed at
reducing the maternal and childhood mortality in the country.
The three-day meeting, which began on Wednesday, is jointly sponsored by
the Myanmar Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) and U.N.
Children's Fund (UNICEF), and participated by 65 representatives from the WHO
Southeast Asian Regional Director's Office, UNICEF and the Myanmar
ministry.
At the meeting, strengths and weakness will be identified and appropriate
solutions be sought to improve the health status of mother and children in the
country.
Speaking at the opening session of the meeting, Myanmar Deputy Minister of
Health Dr. Kyaw Myint said illness and deaths of under-five children, caused by
acute respiratory tract infections mostly pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, malaria
in combination with malnutrition, are observed in Myanmar like in other
developing countries.
He told the meeting that the reduction of maternal and childhood illness
and deaths has been one of the priorities that the ministry is undertaking to
enhance the status of the people.
The integrated approach to management of childhood illness was initiated by
the WHO and the UNICEF in 1994 as Integrated Management of Childhood Illness
(IMCI).
Following the initiative, Myanmar decided to adopt the IMCI strategy and
started the integrated approach in the country in 1996, which was modified later
by incorporating the maternal health care component.
Now, the IMMCI has reportedly covered almost the entire country and it is
now in the transition period of IMMCI to WCHD (Women and Child Health
Developments) program.
Shan Herald Agency for News
22 November 2001 No: 11 - 15: Lack of Education the greater
enemy, says Shan elder
English course for Shan youth concluded He found ignorance or lack of education as the worse enemy than the present
military oppressors, a Shan elder told the graduates of the first batch of
English and computer training course for Shan State youth this morning (22
November).
"There's a Shan saying: Tiger dies, tiger succeeds; Varanus succumbs,
varanus replaces.
If we pay less effort to education, we'll find ourselves soon with a new saying: Tiger dies, kitty succeeds; Varanus succumbs, tree lizard replaces," added Saeng Khaohaeng, 50, a well-known singer who was one of the 20-invited guests at the occasion. He was speaking in support of other speakers who said Shan State's human
resources were draining alarmingly faster than its rich natural resources and
that Shans were lagging far behind other nationalities such as Chins, Kachins
and Karens. "For them, it's not a problem at all to find an eligible candidate
for any undertaking, be it for further studies abroad or for participating in an
international meeting," said Puenkham Payakwong, Chairman of the exiled Shan
Education Committee. "But for Shans, it has increasingly become a matter of life
and death."
Hsengnoung Lintner from Shan Women's Action Network and Sao Ternsarng,
Secretary General of the Restoration Council were among the other invited
speakers.
The School for English and Computer Training for Shan State Youth, managed
by Nang Charmtong and Nang Kham Awng, began 6 months ago on 21 May, with 22
students (male 15 and female 7), two months after Shan candidates for advanced
English course that was launched by the Open Society Institute were turned down.
Many of the graduates expressed hope to pass the next entrance exam to be held
early next year.
The Shan school's management told S.H.A.N. applications for the next year
would be accepted until 15 December.
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