|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS - January
04, 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Thailand to host sixth Myanmar cooperation
meeting
Reuters - Myanmar opposition demands democracy
soon
VNA - MYANMAR AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ABOUT BILATERAL
TIES
BBC - Burma's opposition breaks
silence
AFP - US pledges support for Thailand's hunt for
drug baron
AFP - Huge amphetamines seizure in Bangkok car
park
Reuters - Thai c.bank eases loan rules for
non-residents
Reuters - Bangkok police seize two million
"speed" pills
Kyodo News - Myanmar
marks Independence Day
Scotsman - Tribute to Burma railway veterans
AP - Attacks Against Journalists
Rise
Bkk Post - DEA pledges to help trace remaining
assets of warlord
Bkk Post - Progress on fishing deal is expected
The Nation - US agents to help hunt down Wei
The Nation - THAI-BURMA RELATIONS: Softer
approach to border conflicts
The Nation - Talks back on after 2-year break
The Nation - Hard talk for Thai-Burmese
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Opposition Leader Calls For
Escalation of Dialogue
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Leader Calls For
Striving For Nation-Building
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday January 3, 6:33 PM
Thailand to host sixth Myanmar cooperation meeting BANGKOK, Jan 3 (AFP) - Thailand
will host the sixth annual meeting of a joint commission aimed at strengthening
bilateral economic and security cooperation with Myanmar, the Thai foreign
ministry announced Thursday.
It said the Thailand-Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation
meeting would focus on anti-drug efforts, trade, fishing, illegal immigration,
telecommunications, energy, the environment and tourism.
The January 8-9 gathering at the resort of Phuket will be co-chaired by
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and his Myanamr courterpart Win
Aung.
Top officials from Thailand and Myanmar have exchanged several important
visits in the past year to ease relations that flared early 2001 amid
accusations over drug trafficking along their shared border.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra travelled to Myanmar last June while
the Myanmar junta's head of military intelligence, Khin Nyunt, came to Thailand
in September.
In 2000, Thailand's exports to Myanmar totalled 20.24 billion bahtmillion
dollars) while imports were worth 10.46 billion baht (238 million dollars).
Thailand's top exports to Myanmar were plastic, steel, chemicals, cement
and rubber while the kingdom imported timber, ore, coal, crude oil and frozen
shrimps from Myanmar.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 4, 8:04 PM
Myanmar opposition demands democracy soon By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's
opposition demanded a rapid transition to democracy on Friday and the release of
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, in its most strongly worded statement
since talks with the military regime began in 2000.
At a ceremony marking Myanmar's independence day, the National League for
Democracy (NLD) issued a list of seven demands, calling for the creation of a
democratic state and the unconditional release of all political prisoners,
including Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September 2000.
"We would like to urge the government to sincerely and speedily
foster...the emergence of a democratic nation through politically meaningful
talks," NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo told the gathering, reading the party's
independence day declaration.
The ceremony at the NLD's ramshackle headquarters in central Yangon,
attended by some 500 people including several foreign diplomats, marked a change
in tone by the NLD.
The military government and NLD have been observing an informal truce since
confidential talks on breaking the country's political deadlock began in October
2000.
The state-run media ceased their vitriolic attacks on Suu Kyi, while the
NLD refrained from criticising the military.
The NLD won Myanmar's last democratic elections, in 1990, by a landslide, but has never been allowed to govern. The government says that if the country tries to move towards democracy too fast it could descend into anarchy. PATIENCE RUNNING OUT
Diplomats have warned that unless the talks between Suu Kyi and the
military produce concrete results soon, pro-democracy activists and Myanmar's
many ethnic groups will lose patience.
They say the release of Suu Kyi is also a key prerequisite for further
political progress.
Some diplomats had speculated that after more than a year of tentative
bridge-building between the military and NLD, the government might mark
independence day by releasing more political prisoners, possibly including Suu
Kyi.
But government officials told journalists not to expect anything unusual on
Friday, and diplomats told Reuters that while more NLD prisoners could be freed
over the weekend, it seemed unlikely restrictions on Suu Kyi would be lifted.
"We may well see more prisoners being released and of course that would be
welcome," a Western diplomat told Reuters.
"But until Suu Kyi is freed, how seriously can we take any political
dialogue? I think they will have to lift the restrictions this year, but it
seems it won't be today."
Some 200 prisoners have already been released since the talks began. The
NLD says more than 800 of its members remain in jail.
Suu Kyi has been confined to her lakeside Yangon residence since September
2000, after a series of high-profile confrontations with the government over her
attempts to travel outside the capital.
Her detention has been widely condemned by the international community.
The military says its talks with Suu Kyi are still at the
confidence-building stage. But U Tin Oo told the NLD gathering that the dialogue
had to be upgraded as soon as possible to "round-table talks with political
substance".
Earlier on Friday, thousands of people turned out to watch the government's
official independence day ceremony at dawn.
Against the backdrop of the Shwedagon pagoda -- a soaring golden spire that
dominates the Yangon skyline -- dancers and marching bands put on a colourful
parade before a solemn flag-raising ceremony.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vietnam News Agency
MYANMAR AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ABOUT BILATERAL TIES Ha Noi, Jan. 4 (VNA) -- Myanmar
and Viet Nam officially established diplomatic relations on May 28, 1975, but
the two countries have enjoyed genuine friendship and understanding since
ancient times, says Ambassador Khin Aung.
As the Union of Myanmar celebrates the 54th anniversary of its National
Independence Day, today, Jan. 4, Viet Nam News interviewed the country's
Ambassador to Viet Nam.
He continued "The successive leaders of both countries have frequently
exchanged visits to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship.
" Similarly, the leaders and people of both countries have never failed to
support each other whenever the time has come.
"Traditional Myanmar-Viet Nam relations, opened a new chapter in the 1990s
through high-level and multi-level visits, and Myanmar's eventual full
membership of ASEAN.
"The visit to Myanmar by Prime Minsiter Vo Van Kiet in 1994, Party General
Secretary Do Muoi in 1997 and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in 2000, and Chairman
of State Peace and Development Council and Prime Minister Senior General Than
Shwe's visits to Viet Nam in 1995 and 1998 have marked historic milestones for
the two countries.
"The increasing number of exchanges by ministerial and working level
delegations, cultural troupes and sporting events, demonstrate the acceleration
of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
"A joint commission for bilateral cooperation was established in 1994, and
there are many potential areas for cooperation and exploitation remaining.
"The Sixth ASEAN Summit, which was held in Ha Noi in December 1998, was the
first formal summit attended by Myanmar after its admission into ASEAN in 1997.
"Within ASEAN, Myanmar and Viet Nam, together with Laos and Cambodia, are
in the so-called CLMV group that is striving for full integration with the
association."
"Myanmar's people are very much impressed by the success of Viet Nam's
economic reform process and believe that in the not-too-distant future, Viet Nam
will be achieving its social and economic objectives, the Ambassador said in
conclusion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Friday, 4 January, 2002, 10:32
GMT
Burma's opposition breaks silence Burma's pro-democracy movement has issued its most strongly-worded
criticism of the military government since secret talks began between the two
sides more than a year ago.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) used the occasion of the national
Independence Day celebrations to demand a speedy transition to democracy and the
release of its leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest since September 2000
after confronting the authorities over restrictions on her movements.
Burma's military leaders marked Independence Day by staging colourful
ceremonies in Rangoon but failed to mention the pro-democracy movement or Aung
San Suu Kyi.
There had been speculation among the diplomatic community in the capital,
Rangoon, that the authorities might take the opportunity to make a conciliatory
gesture to the NLD.
Over the last 14 months there has been hope of political progress as the
two sides held a series of secret talks.
During this period they have been observing an informal truce, with the
state-run media halting their vitriolic attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi, while the
NLD refrained from criticism of the government.
The new NLD demands were made at a gathering of 500 supporters at the
party's headquarters in Rangoon.
"The country is facing political, economic and social hardship but we
believe that that political problems could be resolved through political means,"
said NLD chairman Aung Shwe.
Analysts said his comments reflected frustration over the slow progress of
the talks.
Although there have been few tangible results, about 200 political
prisoners have been released and the government has allowed greater access to
visiting United Nations envoys.
But correspondents say government officials warned them not to expect
anything unusual on Friday.
Spectacle
More than 10,000 people watched dancers and marching bands parade in the
shadow of Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda.
After a flag-raising ceremony they heard a message from the junta's leader
General Than Shwe, which stressed the themes of national unity and patriotism.
"National solidarity is important for Myanmar [Burma] which is home to
various national races," the message said.
"The main factor that forges national unity is the 'union spirit' which is
based on patriotism."
The NLD won elections held in May 1990, but the military junta failed to
hand over power.
Burma gained independence from Britain on 4 January 1948 after more than
120 years of colonial rule. The military has been in power since staging a coup
in 1962.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday January 3, 5:49 PM
US pledges support for Thailand's hunt for drug baron BANGKOK, Jan 3 (AFP) - The
United States will help Thailand crack down on drugs by sending investigators
and information on traffickers such as Myanmar kingpin Wei Xiew-kang, officials
said Thursday.
Police colonel Pirapan Premputi of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission
said after a meeting with US Drug Enforcement Agency officials that the United
States would also send a blacklist of regional drug traders.
"It includes a few Thais who are on the US blacklist for being involved
with drugs," he told reporters, adding that up to six ethnic Chinese were
believed to be working with Wei from Thailand.
Thai authorities last week seized property reportedly worth more than two
million dollars from Wei, an on-the-run Myanmar drug baron who is wanted by the
United States.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said last Friday that Wei, who is thought
to be hiding in Myanmar, would be caught dead or alive.
Wei, who leads the United Wa State Army, jumped bail in Thailand in 1990.
He is considered a major producer of the amphetamines that are now flooding
Thailand and also being sent to Western nations.
A Thai court sentenced him to life in jail in absentia in 1994 for helping
to smuggle 615 kilogrammes (1,356 pounds) of heroin out of Thailand. He also
faces drug trafficking charges in the United States.
Wei was born in China and given Thai nationality, which was cancelled in
the 1980s.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 4, 5:23 PM
Huge amphetamines seizure in Bangkok car park BANGKOK, Jan 4 (AFP) - Thai police on Friday seized 2.5 million amphetamine tablets in a car bearing fake army registration, officials said. The pills were packed in 48 orange boxes in a car parked in front of a
wholesale market.
The car had army registration and official army stickers in its window.
Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon said the registration was found to be
fake.
Purachai said he had told authorities to thoroughly check suspicious cars
even when they belong to government officials.
Thai police seized nearly one million amphetamine tablets and materials to
make another 30 million last week. Thai soldiers seized a record 7.7 million
methamphetamine tablets in April following an ambush of traffickers on the
Thai-Myanmar border.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 4, 2:14 PM
Thai c.bank eases loan rules for non-residents BANGKOK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The
Bank of Thailand (BOT) has eased restrictions on baht loans extended by Thai
banks to non-residents by allowing them to lend local currency funds to
borrowers in neighbouring countries.
BOT sent a circular to commercial banks last week permitting them to
provide baht loans to non-resident borrowers in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Vietnam, and China's southern provinces.
The central bank has closely monitored baht supply held by non-residents
and foreigners in a bid to discourage speculation.
The BOT circular said Thai banks extending baht loans to non-resident
clients in Thailand's neighbours must regularly report to the authorities
details of baht-denominated bank accounts they are required to open at creditor
banks in Thailand.
The central bank has put a five-million-baht ($113,500) cap on direct baht
loans that non-residents can borrow from Thai banks for personal spending or
non-commercial purposes.
It said foreigners seeking baht loans of over 50 million baht must produce
documentary evidence that they are for commercial or business financing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday January 4, 5:35 PM
Bangkok police seize two million "speed" pills BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police
on Friday seized more than two million methamphetamine pills, known as "speed",
with a street value of 205 million baht ($4.65 million) hidden in a truck with
military markings parked at a busy shopping mall in eastern Bangkok.
Police said they searched the vehicle, left in a parking lot overnight,
after security guards became suspicious it may contain explosives.
Police said the feared bomb turned out to be methamphetamines packed into
18 fruit boxes on the back of the pickup truck.
"In the truck we found 2.05 million tablets of methamphetamine and an army
uniform, which may or may not belong to a real officer," police Colonel Somporn
Tumsawad told Reuters.
The street value of the drug was 100 baht a tablet, he said.
Common street names for the drug, known in Thailand as Ya Ba or crazy
medicine, are speed, meth, crank, or crystal.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health said in November more than four percent
of the country's 62-million people were addicted to drugs, mostly
methamphetamines.
Manufacture of methamphetamine pills is increasingly supplanting heroin in
the infamous drug production area called the "Golden Triangle" -- where the
borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge.
Thai authorities say most of the pills are produced by the United Wa State
Army, a militia allied to the Yangon government in neighbouring Myanmar.
Thailand is expected to be flooded with over 900 million methamphetamine
pills in 2002, 200 million more than last year, due to higher demand and new
plants in Laos.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar marks Independence
Day
YANGON, Jan. 4, Kyodo - Myanmar
on Friday marked its 54th Independence Day with a simple flag-raising ceremony
in the capital attended by over 10,000 people representing the country's various
ethnic groups, nongovernment organizations and government departments.
In a message read out during the ceremony by Yangon Division Commander
Brig. Gen. Myint Swe, Myanmar junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe urged the
people to strive for the emergence of an enduring state constitution and a
modern and developed nation.
He made no mention of the ongoing dialogue between the government and
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under effective house arrest
since Sept. 22, 2000.
There have been signs of a thaw in the confrontation between the National
League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and the junta since the
two sides began confidential talks in October 2000.
The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide, but was
never allowed to govern. Many NLD politicians were subsequently detained, but
the government has begun freeing them in batches since the talks started.
Myanmar regained independence from Britain on Jan. 4, 1948, after over 120
years of colonial rule.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotsman
Tribute to Burma railway veterans January 03, 2001.
Paul Gallagher
A SECTION of the notorious Burma railway is to be brought to Britain as a
tribute to the thousands of Allied prisoners who died building it during the
Second World War.
The 90-foot long stretch of track will arrive from Thailand next week to go
on display at the National Memorial Arboretum in England. It will symbolise the
cruelty and abuse inflicted on PoWs by the Japanese army during one of the most
horrific episodes of World War Two.
Scottish veterans of the Far East campaign welcomed the move yesterday,
saying they hoped the exhibit would remind a new generation of the conditions
they faced while building the so-called "Death Railway".
It is estimated that 16,000 Allied soldiers died as the Japanese Army,
desperate to meet a strict deadline imposed by their generals, forced them to
construct the 257 mile tracks which ran through dense jungle between Burma and
Thailand.
Many of the dead were British and Australian PoWs who were either tortured
and executed by their captors or left to die from starvation, dysentery, malaria
and other diseases in jungle prison camps.
The National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, has secured a
section of the track complete with sleepers and spikes after several years of
negotiating with the government of Thailand.
Its director, David Childs, said: "It is the first time that a section of
the track will be on display to the general public.
"It will remind people of the horrors of that time and the definite need
not to get ourselves in a position where they are repeated in the 21st century."
A collection of paintings by former PoW Fred Seiker which depict his three
years of forced labour on the railway is already housed at the memorial.
Mr Seiker, an 86-year-old Dutch-born former engineer who now lives in
England, said the arrival of the track would be an emotional time for all
survivors of the conflict but also an important memorial for future generations.
"I know now that when I go there, I will be standing and looking at the
faces of my old mates," he said.
"The public ignorance is devastating. Children donâ??t know even now that
there was a war in the Far East. The atrocities carried out against us have
never been brought home.
"This place is there to remind people what can happen and they should guard
against it and learn from the past, otherwise it will happen again."
There are between 200 and 250 Scottish veterans of the Japanese prison
camps still alive nearly 60 years after they were set free on VJ Day.
A spokesman for the Scottish Far East Prisoners of War Association welcomed
the exhibition of the section of track but said survivors of the camps would
find it difficult to visit the site in Staffordshire because most are now aged
in their 80s.
"It is not so easy to go travelling around the country as it was," the
spokesman said. "But for grandchildren and other relatives who wish to learn
more about what really happened, this will be a place they can visit and be told
the facts."
In all, an estimated 68,000 Allied prisoners and 200,000 Asian labourers
worked on the project to build the Burma railway through dense jungle and
treacherous terrain.
The Japanese army wanted to complete the railway within 16 months so it
could be used for the war effort. By the time the project was finished the
combined death toll was about 96,000.
The ordeal faced by the Allied prisoners was most famously portrayed in the
1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Sir Alec Guinness and Jack
Hawkins but many survivors dismiss the movie as unrealistic.
A new film about the camps based on the memoirs of Scottish war veteran
Ernest Gordon was screened at the Cannes film festival last year. The film, To
End All Wars, stars Robert Carlyle and Kiefer Sutherland, and has received a
better reception from surviving veterans.
Mr Gordon, 86, was born in Greenock but settled in America after the war.
His book Through the Valley of the Kwai describes his experiences as a PoW in
the Chungkai camp on the Kwai.
The piece of track has been taken from the jungle in Thailand and will
arrive at Devonport on Monday on board the Royal Navy frigate HMS
Northumberland.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attacks Against Journalists
Rise
The Associated Press, Thu 3 Jan 2002 PARIS (AP) â?? Journalists around
the world faced a higher number of arrests, threats, attacks and acts of
censorship in 2001 than the previous year, media advocacy group Reporters
Without Borders said.
In a report released Wednesday, the Paris-based group said that 489
journalists were arrested in 2001, up nearly 50 percent from a year ago.
As of New Year's Day, there were 110 journalists still being held in
prisons around the world, with Iran, Myanmar, China, Eritrea and Nepal holding
the largest numbers, the report said.
There were 31 journalists killed in 2001, which was one less than a year
earlier. Asia was the most deadly continent for journalists, accounting for
nearly half of the deaths. Eight reporters died in Afghanistan while covering
the events that followed the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, the group
said.
The number of journalists attacked or threatened last year rose to 716, a
jump of nearly 40 percent from 2000. The largest numbers of attacks occurred in
Bangladesh, Colombia and Zimbabwe.
Foreign correspondents faced tight controls in several countries, including
Zimbabwe, Cuba, Liberia and China, the report said.
Another group, the Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists,
said in a report issued Dec. 17 that as many as 100 news media staff were killed
around the world in 2001.
The federation appeared to have used broader criteria for journalists,
including on its list six broadcast engineers killed in the Sept. 11 attack on
the World Trade Center and a photo editor who died of anthrax and others not
listd by Reporters Without Borders.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Jan 04,
2001.
DEA pledges to help trace remaining assets of warlord The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has pledged to help the Money
Laundering Commission trace the remaining assets of drug warlord Wei
Hsueh-kang.
The commission has frozen assets valued at 100 million baht suspected to
have been acquired by Wei with laundered drug money through his mistresses,
relatives and business partners.
William Snites, the DEA representative in Thailand, said he was ``very
satisfied'' with the commission's move against Wei, who was also wanted by the
United States.
Wei, whose Thai name is Charnchai Cheevinnitipanya, was arrested in
Thailand about a decade ago for having smuggled some 680kg of heroin into the
US.
He jumped bail and fled to Burma. The US offered a US$2 million reward for
information leading to his arrest.
Mr Snites yesterday met Pol Col Peeraphan Premputi, secretary-general of
the commission, to give information on Wei's drug network.
He offered to help the commission trace Wei's remaining assets.
A list of drug traffickers who had sent drugs from Thailand to the US over
the years would also be handed to Pol Col Peraphan next week, Mr Snites said,
but he declined to go into detail.
Mr Snites said both the US and Thailand had been trying hard to bring Wei
to justice.
However, once Wei was caught the two countries would have to decide
together where the drug warlord should be put on trial.
Pol Col Peeraphan said Thai authorities had asked their Burmese
counterparts to help arrest Wei but were told he was hiding in an area beyond
the Rangoon's reach.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Jan 04,
2001.
Progress on fishing deal is expected Joint co-operation meeting in Phuket Achara Ashayagachat Thailand and Burma were likely to make progress towards joint fishery
ventures at a ministerial meeting in Phuket next week, officials said
yesterday.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and his Burmese counterpart Win Aung
will co-chair the meeting on Wednesday of the Joint Commission for Bilateral
Co-operation. The meeting will also deal with problems of displaced people,
illegal workers, drug suppression, account trade, tourism, road networks and
energy.
But the joint commission, which has not met for two-and-a-half years, is
expected to make most headway in talks on fishery ventures.
Burma closed its waters to Thai fishermen after the Oct 1999 raid on the
Burmese embassy in Bangkok by Burmese exiles.
Rangoon apparently believed the Chuan Leekpai government's treatment of the
Burmese dissidents was too lenient.
Sticking points in the proposed fishery ventures included catch sharing,
industry sources said.
Burma initially wanted 25% of the catch, but Thailand offered 12.25%. They
were likely to agree on Burma taking 15%.
Burma is expected to drop a demand for a US$1 million bank guarantee, but
was likely to maintain a $100,000 security deposit in cash, the sources
said.
The question of displaced people and illegal immigrants has stalled on
problems of identity and places for repatriating the estimated 100,000 now
encamped in Thailand.
Rangoon insists on taking back only Burmese nationals. Many of the
displaced people were ethnic minority groups, sources said.
``Agencies on the Thai side have prepared various options. In principle, we
want to send both illegal immigrants and displaced persons back to their
homeland in safety and dignity, but the details have yet to be thrashed out with
the Burmese side,'' one source said.
Thailand also plans to propose a memorandum of understanding on
co-operation in the employment of cross-border workers.
The document would provide for the setting up of holding centres on Burmese
soil where training in agriculture and other occupations would be given while
people awaited nationality identification.
The MoU would also provide for Rangoon to specify a labour quota for people
it would allow to work in Thailand, the source said.
The sixth joint commission also would highlight the importance of the
coming visit to Thailand of Gen Maung Aye, vice-chairman of Burma's ruling State
Peace and Development Council and army commander-in-chief, and the visit of Her
Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to Burma in August, the sources
said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
US agents to help hunt down Wei Published on Jan 4, 2002
The United States will send officials and intelligence materials to
Thailand to assist in its efforts to hunt down fugitive drug baron Wei
Xieu-kang, following recent success in unravelling his alleged web of wealth, a
senior official said yesterday.
Pirapan Premputi, secretary general of the Office of the Anti-Money
Laundering Commission (AMLO), said the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would
send a team of US agents next week to trace Wei's drug proceeds and locate his
whereabouts; possibly a hideaway straddling the Thai-Burmese border.
The US would also send a blacklist of regional drug traders, Pirapan said
after a meeting with DEA officials.
"It includes a few Thais who are on the US blacklist for being involved
with drugs," he said, adding that up to six ethnic Chinese in Thailand were
believed to be working with Wei.
The AMLO successfully uncovered and froze Bt100 million of Wei's wealth and
was initiating legal proceedings to seize his assets, Pirapan said.
Wei, a drug warlord leading the United Wa State Army in Burma, was believed
to be hiding at a jungle base beyond the reach of Burmese authorities, who had
promised to extradite him if he was arrested, Pirapan said.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said last Friday that Wei would be taken
dead or alive.
The fugitive jumped bail in Thailand while appealing his conviction. There
is also a US$2-million (Bt88 million) reward for his capture to face trial on
drug smuggling charges in the US.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
THAI-BURMA RELATIONS: Softer approach to border conflicts Supalak Ganjanakhundee Published on Jan 4, 2002
Thailand has elected to take a softer approach to settle problems along the
border with Burma by encouraging peace talks between the military junta and
rebellious minorities, and offering assistance for crop substitution projects to
help eradicate narcotics production.
Military manoeuvres and the war of words with Rangoon employed by
hard-liners in the Thai army had never produced anything but problems for both
sides, a National Security Council official said on condition of
anonymity.
The Thaksin government, after nearly a year in power, had adopted a policy
of reconciliation with Burma rather than condoning guerrilla activity as a
buffer against vaguely perceived threats from Burma, he said.
Major ethnic guerrilla forces based along the border, including the Karen
National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (NKPP) and the Shan
State Army (SSA), are being convinced to undertake peace negotiations with the
military junta.
Thai officials quietly conveyed messages to the rebel leaders and the
generals in Rangoon offering to mediate in peace talks, the source said.
Some in the armed forces agreed with the proposal, but Burmese authorities
had remained silent, the official said.
SSA commander Yawd Serk said in a recent interview that his Shan troops
appreciated the initiative and agreed to meet with representatives from Rangoon
and hold peace talks.
''But please tell them [authorities in Rangoon] that we will never lay down
our arms to surrender,'' he said.
Yawd Serk and his 4,000 soldiers began fighting for autonomy in 1996 after
his boss at that time - Khun Sa, a notorious drug baron - surrendered to the
central government.
SSA had made several attempts to establish a truce but the junta rejected
the moves because of internal conflicts between rivals; the intelligence chief
Khin Nyunt and army commander Maung Aye, Yawd Serk said.
There remains no reaction from KNU and KNPP regarding the latest move from
Bangkok.
During its more than 50-year battle with the government, the KNU failed at
least four times to sign a peace pact with Rangoon. The NKPP resumed its arm
struggle after the junta broke a cease-fire accord in 1995.
The Thai government hopes that successful peace negotiations between
hostile parties in Burma would stem the influx of refugees fleeing from the
guerrilla wars and pave the way for the demarcation of the 2,400-kilometre
Thai-Burma border.
On the narcotics front, the military has accused the United Wa State Army
(UWSA), which signed a peace agreement with the junta in 1989, of producing
various types of illicit drugs for the Thai market.
The previous Thai administration agreed to seal all border passes to UWSA's
southern bases to block the smuggling of illicit drugs and chemicals used in
drug production.
But the Thaksin administration has dispatched anti-narcotics officials to
the Wa stronghold of Mong Yawn and offered assistance on drug substitution
projects.
Officials of the Narcotics Control Board were working on the Wa's request
for Bt20 million for a drug substitution project in Mong Toom, according to a
government source.
Thailand had a plan to train villagers in Wa territory to grow fruits and
vegetables for the Thai market, he said.
The Thai market needed to open up for agricultural imports from Wa
territory in the near future, the source said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Talks back on after 2-year break Published on Jan 4, 2002 Thailand and Burma will resume normal annual engagement at the highest
level when senior representatives meet next week following a two-year hiatus
brought on by diplomatic and political turmoil that drove the bilateral
relationship to one of its lowest ebbs.
The two-day Thai-Burma Joint Commission meeting will resume on Monday in
the resort island of Phuket, where co-chairmen Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai and his Burmese counterpart Win Aung are expected to explore a wide
range of mutual issues, a source at the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
Among the possible topics are joint anti-narcotics efforts such as
crop-substitution programmes as well as infrastructure development and the
repatriation of refugees and illegal migrant workers.
The United Nations and a number of Western countries have expressed concern
over the planned repatriation of some 100,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic
Karen, who fled fighting between government troops and rebel forces in their
homeland for the border camps.
The international community does not condone forced repatriation or pushing
people back into areas where there is no guarantee of their safety.
There has also been talk of funding a Bt20-million crop-substitution
project in the territory controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a
pro-Rangoon outfit which has expanded its autonomous territory from along the
Chinese border to opposite Thailand's northern provinces.
The idea of working with the Wa has attracted some criticism from field
commanders and other senior army officers who have for years observed the
expansion of the Wa army, as well as the group's illicit drug activities, with a
great deal of uneasiness.
Thai-Burmese relations went into a tailspin early last year when troops
from both sides carried out cross-border shelling that resulted in the deaths of
dozens of people following disputes over non-demarcated territory along the
northern border.
The war of words between the field commanders of the two sides went on for
months, until Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visited Rangoon in June to patch
up matters.The Thaksin government has made improving ties with neighbouring
countries one of its top priorities but officials differ on the approach, saying
Thailand may be giving up too much in its conciliatory dealings with Burma.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Hard talk for Thai-Burmese Don Pathan Published on Jan 4, 2002 When they really needed it the most, it wasn't there. But after two years
of putting it off, the Thai-Burma Joint Commission is now back on track.
Chaired by the respective foreign ministers of the two countries, the
Thai-Burma JC is the highest level of institutionalised working relationship
between the two governments.
The meeting in Phuket from January 7-9 is expected to discuss a wide range
of issues, from the repatriation of refugees to joint anti-narcotics efforts, as
well as economic cooperation. The JC mechanism is being revived at a time when
bilateral ties between the two countries appear to be improving. But dig deeper,
say Thai army and government officials, and you will find hard feelings and
deep-rooted suspicion are still very much alive. It will take more than just a
few official visits and handshakes to close this extraordinarily complex chapter
in Thai-Burmese history, they say.
For the past eight years following a short-lived honeymoon started by a
visit by then Army chief General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to Rangoon after the
takeover by Burmese generals in 1988, Thai-Burmese relations have been
characterised by mutual criticism and violence along the border.
One of these incidents took place almost a year ago when day-long
cross-border shelling resulted in the death of scores of people from both sides.
The shelling, which brought bilateral ties to its lowest ebb, was followed by
months of stand-offs between the two armed forces, some of whom were positioned
just metres apart. The clashes broke out shortly after Thaksin Shinawatra was
sworn in as the new prime minister.
A war of words between the two sides then continued for some time, with
respective commanders accusing their counterparts of taking kickbacks from drug
dealers. The rhetoric began to die down following Thaksin's visit to Rangoon in
June. The trip was billed as a fence-mending trip during which an olive branch
was extended to the Burmese. Thus begun a cooling off period.
Today, in spite of the absence of rhetoric, Bangkok-based diplomats, Thai
government officials and army commanders insist tension remains. The same old
problems - Burmese refugees, anti-Rangoon insurgents and drug trafficking along
the border - continue to sour relations between the two countries. Nevertheless,
the Thaksin government is convinced it can make things better.
Since Thai Rak Thai first hit the campaign trail, those surrounding Thaksin
have gone to great lengths to spell out the party's philosophy in dealing with
Burma and other neighbouring countries.
Thailand's interest, they say, is best served by strengthened economic
cooperation with its neighbours. By increasing business and trade with Burma,
Bangkok will be able to move toward normalising relations with Rangoon. Other
problems such as illegal migration and drug trafficking could then be dealt with
through the proper channels.
It sounded good, especially to those waiting to cash in on short-term gains
from improved Thai-Burmese relations. But for others, particularly drug
officials and military personnel on the frontlines, it was wishful
thinking.
During the Chuan Leekpai administration, Thai-Burmese relations experienced
a number of hiccups. Thailand took up issues that annoyed not only Burma, but
other Asean members as well. But for a regional grouping with no political will
to tackle sensitive issues, Asean tends to react testily to any mention of
subjects such as human rights or transnational security problems. That is
exacerbated when a member is singled out as the source of the problems.
And so when Thailand broke ranks with Asean by not voting against a
resolution from the International Labour Organisation to condemn Burma's
practice of forced labour, things began to get nasty.
Regarding drugs, the previous administration also made it clear Rangoon
must be accountable for the illicit activities of the United Wa State Army,
which over the years has expanded its operations and control along the Chinese
border to areas adjacent to Thailand's northern provinces. Thousands of ethnic
Wa and Chinese have been transported in flatbed trucks to Burma's border with
China and relocated to UWSA-controlled areas adjacent to Chiang Mai and Chiang
Rai.
For the Thai security apparatus, the UWSA, which operates somewhat
independently of Rangoon, has essentially became a scapegoat. But at the same
time, the 20,000-strong Wa army has became a pawn in Rangoon's dealings with
Thailand.
Border checkpoints leading to UWSA-controlled areas just kilometres away
from the border were shut, and over 1,000 Thai nationals working in construction
were ordered back home. But with this increased security along the Golden
Triangle area, methamphetamines from the UWSA's labs trickled in elsewhere -
along the banks of the Mekong River in Northeast Thailand and at various spots
stretching from Tak province all the way down to the coastal town of
Ranong.
However, the Thaksin government has decided to engaged the Wa through a
tripartite dialogue with Rangoon. There is talk of a Bt20 million
crop-substitution project financed by Thai taxpayers in Wa-controlled areas near
the border.
But the move has irked Thailand's frontline commanders who, according to
military sources, have a plan of their own - to penetrate the UWSA and plant a
disruptive seed inside the organisation. It is a long shot but worth a try, they
say.
But with the talks with the Wa off the ground, Thailand has effectively
freed Rangoon of any burden for the illicit activities of the UWSA. "They can
just say it's between you and the Wa now," said one senior officer who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Opposition Leader Calls
For Escalation of Dialogue
XINHUANET 2002-01-04 17:28:38 YANGON, January 4 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar opposition leader U Aung Shwe Friday called on the ruling State Peace
and Development Council for escalating the dialogue between the two sides from
theconfidence-building stage to a completely meaningful one at the table to
settle the country's internal political crisis. ã??ã??
A confidence-building dialogue between the two sides started inOctober
2000. ã??ã??
U Aung Shwe, chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD), a winning
political party in the 1990 general election, made thecall at a ceremony marking
Myanmar's 54th Anniversary IndependenceDay with the absence of the party's
general secretary Aung San SuuKyi who is still under house arrest by the
government since September 2000. ã??ã??
"Instead of prolonged meeting at a confidence-building between the two
sides, a meaningful dialogue at the table should be prompted," he said. ã??ã??
At the ceremony, NLD Vice-Chairman U Tin Oo also called for early
face-to-face talks at the table, saying that "One day earlier the dialogue is
realized, the earlier the benefit will be brought to the nation". ã??ã??
The meeting adopted some resolutions including demand of release of Aung
San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in the country and of rights of free
activities of all legal political parties. ã??ã??
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has, since January 2001, released 202 NLD
political prisoners including parliament members elected in the 1990 general
election.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Leader Calls For Striving
For Nation-Building
XINHUANET 2002-01-04 11:31:11 YANGON, January 4 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe Friday called on his people to
strive for building a new, modern and developed nation, while collectively
safeguarding the national independence and perpetuation of sovereignty. ã??ã??
In his message on the occasion of the country's 54th Anniversary
Independence Day, Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development
Council, also urged his people to be united to ensure non-disintegration of the
union and non-disintegration of sovereignty, and to strive for the emergence of
an enduring state constitution. ã??ã??
He stressed the importance of national solidarity, saying that the main
factor that forges national unity is "union spirit" which is based on
patriotism. ã??ã??
Citing achievements made by Myanmar during the 54 years since independence,
Than Shwe spoke highly of a 30-year long-term national education promotion plan,
which was launched both in the basic education and higher education sectors.
ã??ã??
Myanmar regained its independence from the British colonialist on January
4, 1948.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- |