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BURMA RELATED NEWS - December 25,
2001.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------------- TI - China-Myanmar anti-drugs cooperation reaps
rewards
Kyodo News - Myanmar
seizes 1,200 kg of ephedrine powder near China border
AFP - Thai protestors call on government to kick
out Myanmar students
Independent(Bangladesh) - BIMST-EC for
redoubling efforts to offset impact of global recession
ABC online - Fire
razes at least 1,500 houses in southern Burma
Bkk Post - Friday's
closure confirmed
The Nation - Big
seizure in Chiang Rai
The Nation - Burmese
get warning
Xinhuanet - Myanmar's Copper Project Well Under Way
Xinhuanet - Thailand to Close Largest Myanmar
Refugee Camp Forever
AP - Study Finds Decline in Conflicts
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times of India
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2001 China-Myanmar anti-drugs cooperation reaps rewards YANGON: An anti-narcotics task force, aided by information from China, has
seized thousands of liters (gallons) of chemicals used in the manufacture of
metamphetamines and arrested 20 persons in the northeast over the past two
months, an official newspaper said Tuesday.
The latest seizure took place Dec. 13 when the force captured 7,500 liters
of chemicals and arrested six suspected stimulant makers in the Kokang region
which borders China, the New Light of Myanmar said.
A haul of 50,000 liters was made Nov. 6 and other raids followed in the
Kokang region.
The newspaper said some of the seizures were the result of information
exchanged between Myanmar, also known as Burma, and China under an official
agreement to stamp out the frontier drugs trade.
Myanmar is the world's largest producer of opium, from which heroin is
refined, and also floods neighboring countries, especially Thailand, with
millions of stimulant tablets.
The 20 arrested are facing possible death sentences although the death
penalty is rarely carried out in Myanmar.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar seizes 1,200 kg of ephedrine
powder near China border
YANGON, Dec. 25, Kyodo -
Myanmar has seized 1,200 kilograms of ephedrine powder, the main precursor
chemical for making stimulant drugs, several other precursor chemicals and
drug-making equipment in the Lokkai area, some 780 kilometers northeast of
Yangon near the border with China, state-run newspapers reported Tuesday.
Myanmar's antidrug squad, in cooperation with the authorities in Kokang
State and from China, raided a house near the Kokang capital Dec. 13, the papers
said.
Equipment for making tablets, 1,200 kilograms of ephedrine power and 24
other precursor chemicals, including 675 liters of acetic anhydride and 225
liters chloroform, were seized and four suspects in the house were arrested.
Search of another house in the town led to seizure of 293 liters of
sulfuric acid, 6,142 liters of ether and one M-16 automatic weapon and the
arrests of two more suspects.
The suspects are being changed under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic
Substances Law, the newspaper reports said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday December 24, 8:52 PM
Thai protestors call on government to kick out Myanmar students BANGKOK, Dec 24 (AFP) -
Hundreds of Thais protested in western Ratchaburi province Monday to call on
provincial authorities to quickly expel Myanmar dissidents living at a border
camp due to be closed this week, reports said.
Protestors carrying banners rallied in front of the Ratchaburi provincial
hall, 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Bangkok, demanding officials shut the
Maneeloy Holding Center, which they said had hurt the local economy.
"They have damaged our province's economy enough," one banner shown in a
televised report said, referring to robberies and anti-Myanmar attacks believed
to have been launched from the center.
Ratchaburi governor Komet Daengthongdee said the Maneeloy camp would be
closed by Friday as scheduled by interior ministry officials.
The Myanmar dissidents at Maneeloy earlier called on Thai officials to
delay the closing of the camp to give them time to arrange resettlement plans in
third countries.
Some students began a hunger strike last week to protest the closure of the
center, which Thai officials vowed to shut before year end.
Since 1993, the Maneeloy center has been home to thousands of student
dissidents from the Myanmar junta's 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy activists.
Many of them have since been resettled overseas by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in June that Maneeloy and refugee
camps along the Myanmar border would be gradually closed, and that he would
tackle the problem of illegal immigrants, who number about a million.
Thailand is home to more than 120,000 refugees who fled fighting between
Myanmar troops and rebel ethnic armies. Many of them are from the Karen minority
and live in camps on the Thai side of the border.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Independent-bangladesh - Dec 25,
2001.
Reaz Rahman returns from Yangon meet BIMST-EC for redoubling efforts to offset impact of global recession Five countries of South and Southeast Asia grouped in BIMST-EC stressed the
need for redoubling efforts to enhance economic, commercial and technical
cooperation to offset the impact of global recession, reports BSS.
On return from the fourth ministerial-level meeting of the forum in
Myanmar?s capital Yangon, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman told
the news agency that the member countries called for stepping up cooperation
both at the government and private sector levels.
The grouping of BIMST-EC stands for Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka
and Thailand for Economic Cooperation.
The meeting, he said, affirmed to take optimum advantage at the
sub-regional level to enhance capacity building to overcome the adverse effect
of further globalisation. The decision was taken in the context of the impact of
global economic slowdown being felt in every corner of the world, including the
BIMST-EC countries.
The member countries, he said, entrusted the working group in Bangkok to
shortlist projects and explore possibilities for potential external funding and
place its recommendations at the next senior officials? meeting for
implementation of BIMST-EC projects.
The meeting recommended relaxation of visa facilities among member
countries, decided to study closely the lessons on how to meet the challenges
and opportunities of globalisation and establish linkages between think-tanks in
member countries to focus on long-term projects for common benefit.
It decided to upgrade to full ministerial-level meetings from the next one,
from the existing state ministerial level, to give BIMST-EC cooperation "further
momentum".
Active participation by the private sector in BIMST-EC activities, he said,
was considered crucial to the attainment of collective objectives.
The meeting called for strengthening the linkages with and among chambers
of commerce and industry through BIMST-EC Business Forum.
It described as "encouraging", he said, the progress achieved in six
sectors identified for BIMST-EC cooperation, which included trade and
investment, technology, transportation and communications, energy, tourism and
fisheries.
For each sector there is a lead country and Bangladesh is the lead country
for trade and investment as well as the sub-sector of clothing and
textiles.
BIMST-EC, a natural upshot for economic cooperation for the region, could
also be a practical bridge for SAARC and ASEAN, the State Minister said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 25/12/01 4:04:14 | ABC Radio Australia
News
Fire razes at least 1,500 houses in
southern Burma
Fire has destroyed more than 1,500 houses in a southern Burmese town,
leaving thousands of people homeless.
Residents of the coastal town of Myeik, also known as Mergui, have
confirmed an official's account of yesterday's fire.
The fire has not been reported in the state-controlled media more than a
day after it occurred.
The Associated Press news agency says town residents, contacted by
telephone, said the fire started at a tea shop, quickly spreading because of
strong winds.
They say it was brought under control about six hours later.
No information is available on whether there were any casualties.
There's also no official number of those made homeless, who are temporarily
being sheltered in Buddhist monasteries and schools.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Dec 25,
2001.
MANEELOY HOLDING CENTRE
Friday's closure
confirmed
Illegal camp dwellers will be prosecuted
Temsak Traisophon
The Maneeloy holding centre for exiled Burmese students in Ratchaburi will
definitely be closed on Friday and people staying there illegally will be
prosecuted, neighbourhood residents were told yesterday.
The assurance was given after representatives from the Interior and the
Foreign ministries, the National Security Council and human rights organisations
met at the Interior Ministry.
They confirmed the closure of Maneeloy and agreed that more than 100
Burmese people who had entered the centre without permission should be treated
as illegal immigrants and prosecuted.
About 10,000 local residents rallied in Ratchaburi yesterday to demand the
early closure of the camp.
Pairote Promsarn, deputy permanent secretary for interior, said the centre
would certainly be closed by Friday. There was opposition to the closure, but
only from a handful of people, he said.
Kachadpai Burusapatana, secretary-general of the National Security Council,
said the Maneeloy centre had served exiled Burmese students long enough.
Third-party nations had admitted 3,900 of the exiles and 200 others had
their trips endorsed.
The current dwellers are Burmese who hold United Nations Commissioner for
Refugees ``persons of concern'' status (POC) and illegal immigrants who would be
prosecuted.
Human rights representatives agreed with the closure, he said.
Ratchaburi Governor Komet Daengthongdee said the POCs would be moved to
another centre, Ban Tham Hin, about 10km from the Thai-Burmese border in Suan
Phung district.
The new centre was as good as Maneeloy, especially regarding water supply
and residential units, so the POCs could not justifiably protest against their
relocation.
Protesting Burmese students claimed earlier that facilities at the new
shelter would not be up to Maneeloy's standard.
Mr Komet also confirmed the relocation would take place and completed on
Friday.
The POCs might be admitted to third-party nations on a case-by-case basis
in the future, therefore they should behave, he said.
A small group of Burmese people were protesting against the closure of
Maneeloy, but thousands of Ratchaburi people were also rallying for the closure,
he said.
About 10,000 local residents rallied yesterday to demand the immediate
closure of Maneeloy refugee camp, accusing Burmese asylum seekers of being
behind crime and other troubles in the area.
The protesters, armed with placards and loudspeakers, gathered outside the
provincial town hall for three hours.
In a petition handed to Thira Rojpornphan, the deputy provincial governor,
the protesters demanded the provincial authorities come up with a definite date
to close the camp. They said residents had had enough of the refugees, who
refused to respect and obey the camp's rules and regulations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Big seizure in Chiang Rai
Published on Dec 26, 2001
Police yesterday arrested suspected drug peddlers in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai
district while they were allegedly on the way to deliver more than one million
methamphetamine tablets to clients in Bangkok.
It was the second biggest methamphetamine seizure since May this year, when
police seized about 1.3 million tablets of the drug.
Having been tipped off that a group of peddlers would use the Chiang Rai -
Mae Sai road to deliver the pills, a checkpoint was set up on Phaholyothin Road
in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district, police said.
Officers decided yesterday that passengers of a minivan heading to Bangkok
were acting suspiciously. After a thorough search, they found about 1.1 million
tablets hidden in a secret compartment covered with a wooden board and plastic
mat inside the van.
The minivan driver was identified as Sanom Chueamit, 37. There were five
other passengers in the vehicle, identified as Pranom Jaimano, 40; Assadawut
Jaimano, 17; Narongsak Rodmee, 17; Ong-art Thammasen, 17; and Bunrat Jaipinta,
17. Sanom and Pranom admitted that they were paid Bt200,000 to deliver the pills
to an influential drug dealer in Bangkok. They identified their employer as
Saman Phromna, 35.
Police rushed to Saman's residence in Mae Sai District, but the man had
reportedly fled in a car. Police found the car in front of a temple in a
Thai-Burmese border area. They assume the suspect had already crossed into
Burma.
Pol Gen Amnuay Phetsiri, deputy police commissioner general, said Saman's
group was a crime syndicate with a nationwide network. Sanom and Pranom, who
were husband and wife, were known to be methamphetamine distributors for a Red
Wa gang in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.
Meanwhile, Kyodo quoted state-run newspapers as reporting yesterday that
Burmese (Myanmar) officials had seized 1.2 tonnes of ephedrine powder, the main
precursor chemical for making stimulant drugs, along with several other
precursor chemicals and drug-making equipment in the Lokkai area, some 780
kilometres northeast of Rangoon near the border with China.
Burma's anti-drug squad, in cooperation with the authorities in Kokang
state and from China, raided a house near the Kokang capital on December 13, the
papers said.
Equipment for making tablets, 1.2 tonnes of ephedrine powder and 24 other
chemicals, including 675 litres of acetic anhydride and 225 litres chloroform,
were seized and four suspects arrested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Burmese get warning
Published on Dec 26, 2001
Thailand may refuse to accommodate any more displaced Burmese unless the
ones already in a holding centre in Ratchaburi province accept the government's
decision to close the centre, Interior Minister Purachai Piumsombun said
yesterday.
"Thailand has taken care of Burmese on humanitarian grounds for decades.
The camp inmates must be grateful for our mercy. If chaos erupts from the
protest, we may consider not allowing any more Burmese to [stay in] our
country," he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar's Copper Project Well Under Way
Xinhuanet 2001-12-25 12:43:38
YANGON, December 25 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar's copper mining projectof Lepadaung in Monywa, the country's
northwestern Sagaing division, is well under way and endeavors are being made
for the copper mined there to receive "A" grade quality certification fromthe
London Metal Exchange, the local weekly journal The Myanmar Times reported in
its latest issue.
Quoting sources at the Myanmar Ivanhoe Copper Company of Canada investing
in the project, the journal said the Lepadaung deposit is one of the three being
developed at Monywa as one of the nation's largest copper mining operations.
The other two deposits, Sabetaung and Kyisintaung, have been inoperation
since 1998, producing nearly 80,000 tons of "A"-grade copper which has been
exported to Japan and Europe.
"When the three deposits go into full production in 2004, Myanmar will
become one of the world's largest copper producers," the company predicts.
The Lepadaung is about five times bigger than the other two deposits, which
involved a 150-million-U.S.-dollar investment by the Ivanhoe under a joint
venture contract with the state-run Myanma Mining Enterprise.
The Lepadaung totaled one billion tons of ore with a copper content of 0.4
percent, according to the company.
Official statistics show that about a dozen foreign firms including those
from Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the
United States are engaged in prospecting and exploration of mineral resources as
well as feasibility study in Myanmar since the country enacted the New Mining
Law in 1994.
The statistics also show that foreign investment in Myanmar's mining sector
so far amounted to 522.5 million dollars since the country opened to foreign
investment in late 1988, standing as the5th largest sectorally.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thailand to Close Largest Myanmar
Refugee Camp Forever
Xinhuanet 2001-12-25 01:14:16 BANGKOK, December 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The Thai government on Monday
decided to definitely and permanently close the Maneeloy Holding Center, the
country's largest camp for Myanmar refugees on Friday, the state-owned radio
reported.
Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon told reporters that the final
decision was made at a joint meeting among the ministries of interior and
foreign Affairs, the Office of the National Security Council (NSC), the U.N.
Human Rights Commission and the local government of Ratchaburi province where
the refugee camp is located.
He said the closure of the camp, situated 220 kilometers west of Bangkok,
will go smoothly as all parties concerned, including the office of U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had prepared for the move for eight
months.
Refugees in the camp, now totaled at less than 300, will be moved further
westward to a new shelter along the Thai-Myanmar border in the same
province.
Despite the fact that refugees in the camp had staged a hunger strike
against the closure, Thai officials said that it was the time to shut down the
shelter forever, as nearly 4,000 refugees who used to be there had already been
repatriated to third countries.
Refugees in the camp had been involved in two serious hostage crises that
happened early last year in the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand and a local
hospital, which aroused growing security concerns from Thai citizens and
government officials.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Study Finds Decline in Conflicts
By Carolyn Skorneck Associated Press Writer Monday, December 24, 2001; 7:51 AM WASHINGTON ?? The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks rank as the "most dangerous
conflict" of the year in a new report that found nine fewer conflicts around the
world than in 2000.
Of 193 countries evaluated by the National Defense Council Foundation, 59
have had serious conflicts this year, from separatist-ethnic violence and
political fighting to drug trafficking, religious turmoil and a mutiny by
soldiers in Papua New Guinea over army downsizing.
The figure is nine fewer than last year's 68 countries, but still far more
than the Cold War average of 35 countries, when the U.S-Soviet standoff brought
the world some stability.
The annual report by the Washington-area think tank found no
"high-intensity conflicts pitching one state army versus another." Instead, most
conflicts were "low-medium intensity and were normally fought between the state
and one or more sub-state actors such as a rebel force or a terrorist
organization."
The United States gained an unwanted membership on the list after the
attacks, the "most dangerous conflict" of the year, due to the possibility of
further attacks on American soil.
"There are multiple terrorist groups out there beyond Osama bin Laden," the
report says of the man believed responsible for the Sept. 11 airliner
hijackings. It noted that terrorists could take advantage of U.S.
vulnerabilities by staging, for example, "a catastrophic attack against one of
our nation's ports."
F. Andy Messing Jr., executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based
foundation, said the reports are done to call attention to dangerous situations
worldwide and to help U.S. officials determine how to shape any military
response.
"If you don't identify the problem, you can't develop a strategy to address
the problem," he said.
Messing, a former Army Special Forces officer, said America's military was
ill-prepared for the battle against terrorism because it hasn't been reorganized
to reflect the end of the Cold War. America should have led with special
operations forces, not conventional forces, he said.
Not everyone agrees with the foundation's list, which is based on a
country's level of disruption to its socioeconomic, political and security
fabric by internal and external conflicts.
For example, the CIA's list counts conflicts, not countries, so one
conflict can involve several nations, said spokesman Mark Mansfield. The
agency's number for the year is 30, down one from last year. The specifics are
classified, Mansfield said.
The Washington-based Center for Defense Information, which has issued
reports skeptical of increased military spending, counts major conflicts that
have caused at least 1,000 casualties, and separately counts potential hotspots,
said chief researcher Daniel Smith, a retired Army colonel.
Major conflicts in 2001 total 38, one down from last year, and more than
one-fourth involve Indonesia, India and the Philippines, by Smith's count.
"I usually restrict it to military operations involving a government versus
a force, rebels or some movement that is seeking a political or economic goal,"
Smith said in an interview. He also counted 23 conflicts in suspension or areas
to watch, the same as last year.
The National Defense Council Foundation also named 10 countries considered
most likely to be conflict areas next year.
Topping the list is Somalia, a possible terrorist haven where warlords have
been undermining transitional government, the study found. Also on that list are
Iraq, Burma, Congo-Kinshasa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burundi, Sudan, Comoros and
Sierra Leone.
Separatist movements, often along religious lines, was a recurrent theme
this year, with Islamic groups wanting to form their own states in Myanmar, the
Philippines, Indonesia and China.
"It does seem to indicate there are a lot of disgruntled Muslim groups in
the world, frequently using Islam as an excuse for violence," the foundation
said.
Demonstrating a certain prescience, the organization last year named
Afghanistan the "most dangerous conflict" of 2000, given its ongoing civil war,
sponsorship of international terrorism and multiple terrorist bombings, among
other things.
Eleven countries, including the United States, were added this year; 20
were removed.
Ghana snagged the dubious honor of "stupidest conflict," where the
foundation found "what should have been a quarrel between two young men over an
act of vandalism escalated into a renewed fight between two ethnic groups," the
Mamprusi and Kusasi.
The United States was on the list in 1996 because of drug-related violence
and high crime rates. It was removed in 1997 as crime rates fell.
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