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BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 10,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - UN envoy heads for Burma
The Star - Myanmar worker killed in attack at
construction site
AFP - UN rights envoy to arrive for third trip
to Myanmar
AFP - Discovery of terror cells another blow to
ASEAN's investment chances
Reuters - Whip them, pay them, Asia's migrants
won't go away
NSTP - ?Living? stone of heaven
ABC online - UN envoy to press Burma on human
rights
Bkk Post - Army to
watch Burmese troop activities
Kyodo News - Myanmar
sends economic mission to Iraq
Kyodo News - U.N human
rights rapporteur arrives in Myanmar on 3rd visit
----------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Saturday, 9 February, 2002,
23:49 GMT
UN envoy heads for Burma The United Nations human rights envoy to Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, is
due in Burma later today Sunday.
It will be Mr Pinheiro's third trip to the country - his last visit was
interrupted in November when he fell ill.
He will hold talks with Burma's military leadership, and is expected to
meet the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic leaders.
A BBC regional analyst says the issue of political prisoners is likely to
be central to Mr Pinheiro's mission, but he is also expected to investigate last
year's violence between Muslims and Buddhist monks in some parts of Burma.
Mr Pinheiro will report to the UN Commission on Human Rights at its session
in Geneva next month.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Star
Sunday, February 10, 2002
Myanmar worker killed in attack at construction site TANGKAK: A Myanmar worker was killed after he was attacked by a group,
believed to be workers from Thailand, at a construction site near here at 9.30pm
on Friday.
The victim, only known as Bak Chang, 30, suffered several injuries on the head and body and died shortly after a gang of about 15 workers attacked him with pieces of wood and a hoe. Muar crime chief Deputy Supt Mat Fauzi Nayan, who rushed to the
construction site with about 30 policemen, said police had classified the case
as murder.
?We believe the attack was carried out following an argument which broke
out between two groups of foreigners working at the site earlier.
?Initial investigations showed the victim was attacked when he was alone at
a wash area within the site,? he said yesterday.
DSP Mat Fauzi said that after the attack, the assailants ran into a
plantation not far from the site and police had launched a team to look for
them.
He said no arrests had been made up to noon yesterday and urged those with
information to come forward.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday February 10, 12:29 PM
UN rights envoy to arrive for third trip
to Myanmar
(AFP) - UN human rights envoy
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was due to arrive for his third trip to Myanmar in the
past 10 months -- a mission expected to focus on the plight of political
prisoners.
The Brazilian academic is to spend 10 days in Myanmar. Although details of
his itinerary are being kept under wraps, he is widely expected to again see
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.
Last April Pinheiro became the first UN human rights envoy to be given
permission to travel to Myanmar in five years.
His second trip, in October, was cut short when he fell ill during a tour
of the northern city of Mandalay. But despite the difficulties the report he
released afterwards was endorsed by many diplomats in Yangon.
"We thought it was a very well written report as compared to previous
reports," one Western diplomat told AFP.
"Although in the little time he had here there wasn't great depth to it,
but I don't think we expected much more than that."
"It made a conscious effort to get away from what had been written
previously... and did not rely so much on hearsay and third-hand views on the
situation here," he said.
Pinheiro, like the United Nations' other envoy to Myanmar, Malaysia's
Razali Ismail, appears to have won the confidence of the military regime.
"We regard him as an honest person," it said after his first visit, in
stark contrast to the frosty language used to describe his predecessor,
Rajsoomer Lallah, who was never given permission to travel to Yangon.
The trip is expected to focus on the capital in Yangon, with visits to
jails and labour camps believed to be on the itinerary.
"The issue of political prisoners will be a focus," the diplomat
said.
Pinheiro makes his third visit to Myanmar amid increasing frustration among
opposition and dissident groups over the slow pace of a tentative dialogue
between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta which began in September 2000.
Observers were heartened by a steady stream of prisoner releases that
appeared to be supporting the talks and preparing the way for a fully fledged
reconciliation dialogue between the military and the pro-democracy camp.
Pinheiro's October visit was marked by the release of five top political
prisoners, which cemented his working relationship with the generals in Yangon.
However, in recent months the pace of releases has slowed.
In a briefing at the United Nations in November, Pinheiro urged the junta
to seize the opportunity for change, but said its critics abroad should
acknowledge a easing in its tortured political climate.
"It is a golden opportunity for both sides, Myannmar must act swiftly,
immediately," the envoy said, adding that he believed the junta and Aung San Suu
Kyi's opposition had made some progress in their talks.
"The international community must not waste this momentum to help to
support, to encourage, to acknowledge political change and human rights, even
small progress -- it must be encouraged and acknowledged," he said.
Observers in Yangon said that when planning his itinerary, the United
Nations was likely to bear in mind criticism from the opposition that he spent
too much time with military leaders in the first two visits.
"It could have been managed a bit better in terms of his program (last
time)," the diplomat said, suggesting he could see Aung San Suu Kyi during the
first few days of the new trip. "Here, perception is everything."
In his last report, Pinheiro said he had been given unfettered access to
those he wished to interview, and that the junta was "genuinely committed to the
well-being of the population."
However, he identified areas that needed substantial improvement, including
human rights violations against ethnic minorities, restrictions on the
operations of political parties, and the lack of freedom of _expression_.
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD), has been under house arrest since September 2000. The NLD won an
overwhelming election victory in 1990 that was never recognised by the
junta.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday February 10, 11:07 AM
Discovery of terror cells another blow to ASEAN's investment chances (AFP) - The discovery of
alleged terrorist cells in Southeast Asia with links to Saudi militant Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda network could damage regional efforts to recapture foreign
investors' confidence, analysts say.
The terror scare could not have come at a worse time for the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- which was already facing a stiff challenge
from China in the economic arena -- but regional security cooperation could
boost confidence, they say.
Evidence uncovered by the region's security officials allegedly showed that
suspected terrorists under detention in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines
belonged to well-organised cells plotting attacks on US and other foreign
targets.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, is now under pressure to
take a firmer position against Islamic extremists.
Defence publication Jane's Intelligence Review said the al-Qaeda network in
Southeast Asia remains largely intact even as its operations in the United
States, Europe and East Africa are unravelling under pressure from
investigations and widespread arrests.
"Certainly it will hurt ASEAN in the short term there," Bob Broadfoot,
managing director of the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC)
thinktank, told AFP.
"It just makes that trend faster when you combine it with China getting
into the WTO (World Trade Organisation)," said Broadfoot, referring to China's
rising share of the foreign direct investment (FDI) pie over the last
decade.
China, along with its territory Hong Kong, captured 80 percent of the FDI
in 2000 in the Asian region outside of Japan.
This left the 10-member grouping ASEAN with a miserable 8.6 percent, down
sharply from its 33.5-percent share of the FDI in 1996.
Since the 1997-98 financial crisis, ASEAN has been struggling to regain its
lustre in the foreign investment community, whose massive funds inflow into the
region in the 1980s played a key role in building up its industrial base and
raising living standards.
Singapore's elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew said over the weekend that the
danger of a terrorist attack persists in Southeast Asia despite arrests of
suspects.
The senior minister told CNN that some suspects were able to escape after
the city-state cracked down on alleged terrorist cells, and their leaders will
now have to start new groups and adopt more complicated methods.
"So it's a battle that goes on, but the critical thing is to clear the
nests around us. The big nest was in Afghanistan, that's not quite cleared, then
there are nests in the Philippines, there are nests in Indonesia," Lee
said.
"The Malaysians are clearing up their nests, the Philippines are getting
American help to clean up theirs. Now (once) those nests are cleared then the
(terrorist) experts can't come in so easily, they won't be there," he
added.
Malaysia, hounded by reports alleging it was a launchpad for terrorists,
has mounted a media offensive across the seas to assure investors it is a safe
haven for their money.
In a bid to reverse the negative perceptions, the Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority has mapped out an aggressive campaign of advertisements,
roadshows and invitations to foreign journalists.
ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino said cooperation and intelligence
sharing among ASEAN countries that led to the capture of the suspected
terrorists was a confidence booster to the region.
"Of course there are concerns about the kind of activities that these
people are up to," Severino said.
"The way to look at this is the arrests prove that the security and
intelligence agencies are on top of the situation and are cooperating in this in
much the same way that Spain and France are arresting terrorists," he
said.
Ultimately, a lot will depend on whether ASEAN can remove the perception
that it is incapable of working together to stamp out terrorism in the
region.
"The real issue is perception. Will the Southeast Asian governments be able
to convince foreign investors that they are working together ?" said Broadfoot
at PERC.
Jose Tongzon, a regional economist at the National University of Singapore,
said he was encouraged by the measures taken so far.
"Certainly the impression that we have shown to the world is the
governments in Southeast Asia are doing something to stamp out terrorism," he
said, citing the cooperation between the Philippines and the US military against
alleged Filipino allies of the al-Qaeda network.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday February 10, 9:49 AM
Whip them, pay them, Asia's migrants won't go away By Simon Cameron-Moore KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - From
Australia to Malaysia, from Afghanistan to Japan, Asia is struggling with
millions of migrants, some ready to risk all for the chance of a better life.
Malaysia's response, among others, is to brandish a whip. Australia is
waving money to make the problem go away.
But people dealing with refugees and migrants, pushing a mantra that is
slowly gaining acceptance in other parts of the world, say throwing them out is
shortsighted.
"By just deporting people the problem will not go away. This is not a
sustainable solution," Farooq Azam, Chief of Mission at the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), in Bangkok told Reuters.
Migrants around the world beat a path from poor to rich nations -- some of
them legally, others hidden in the holds of ships or in the undercarriage of
planes.
With the global economic downturn and a climate of suspicion following the
September 11 attacks on the United States, many find themselves far from
welcome.
Australia's refusal to accept Middle Eastern and Afghan boat people drew
brickbats from abroad, but the hard-nosed approach went down well at home.
Azam and others say migration is a fact of life in a global economy.
Governments in host countries, Azam says, need to make a clear assessment
of how many foreign workers they need to run their economies and formalise the
process.
If they fail to do this, he adds, they will create a culture of illegality
among employers, police and bureaucrats.
THAILAND AND CHINA TOO...
Australia has offered cash to refugees who return home and to poor Pacific
neighbours to take others off its hands.
Malaysia, where there are an estimated one million illegal workers, is
planning new foreign labour laws, with stricter registration. Punishments
include whipping.
But Azam says governments need to look at the bigger picture.
"One necessity is for governments to assess the need for workers and allow
legal flows to that extent, (and) to start documenting," he said.
Azam says Thailand is about to embark on a crackdown that could see more
than 300,000 migrant workers and their dependants deported over the next three
months.
There are over a million migrants in Thailand, mostly from Myanmar and
Cambodia, but about 580,000 had registered by last October as the government
tried to get a handle on the situation.
In Hong Kong, Chinese mainland migrants fighting for residency have been
told any staying illegally beyond March will be thrown out.
"I see it also as a diversion from the impact of the economic slowdown,"
says Irene Fernandez, director of Tenaganita, a Malaysian non-government
organisation (NGO) that is part of a South and Southeast Asian network looking
at AIDS and mobility.
Fernandez sees echoes of Asia's 1997 financial crisis. "For me it was not
September 11 per se, but how governments and media used September 11 to create
this fear of outsiders," she adds.
The rights of "undocumented workers", as the NGOs prefer to call migrants
without papers, should be recognised, she says.
REMITTANCES GIVE PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
Sender countries tend to stay silent on the issue, for fear of losing
valuable remittances by their workers abroad.
Indonesia expects 40 million jobless this year and needs all the $500
million its workers abroad -- toiling as maids, construction site and plantation
workers -- send home each year.
It's the same story in the Philippines.
But deportation camps in Malaysia and Australia are concentrations of human
misery.
Last year, Indonesians rioted at one Malaysian camp. In January, despairing
Afghans went on hunger strike in Australia, some sewing up their lips and others
trying to hang themselves.
Human rights groups express outrage. Governments, unwilling to give in to
human traffickers, express frustration.
Australia and Indonesia have organised a ministerial conference to counter
human smuggling, involving nations from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim, in
Bali on February 27-28.
Further north, human smuggling is rampant in southern China.
The IOM says migrants may pay "snakehead" smuggling gangs more than
$30,000, often by borrowing from crime syndicates.
With 1.3 billion people, China, the world's most populous nation, is the
largest source of unskilled labour in the region.
Around 400,000 Chinese migrate annually, a quarter of whom settle legally
in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Estimates of the number of Chinese smuggled into these and other countries
are as high as 200,000 a year. Few are recruited elsewhere in East Asia, but
there are spillovers.
They head for South Korea and Taiwan, where the economic attractions are
clear, and north to the desolation of Mongolia.
NOT ONLY THE RICH...
North Koreans flee poverty at home to eke out a living in northeast China
or to seek asylum in Mongolia or South Korea.
Koreans head for Japan. They make up most of the estimated 260,000 illegals
and the 1.69 million with proper papers there.
Japanese are proud of their racial homogeneity. Many worry about the
influx, despite the relatively small numbers involved, but an ageing population
may give them pause for thought.
India, the world's most populous democracy with one billion people, is both
a host for and a source of migrants.
Millions of Nepalese, squeezed by land pressure from a population explosion
and soil erosion at home, now live in India.
Census officials say more than five million Bangladeshis have settled
illegally in India's remote northeast, where ethnic violence is common.
Unofficial estimates say the total could be double that.
But even for Bangladesh, a byword in poverty, there is always someone worse
off.
Some 21,000 Burmese Muslims fled ethnic violence and religious persecution
in Myanmar for the safety of refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh. A further
100,000 or more have been living there for decades.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Straits Times Press
Sunday, 10 February 2002 Sunday Style: Cover Story ?Living? stone of heaven By SUNITA CHHABRA NO precious stone is more sought after or revered by the Chinese than yu or
jade. Called the Heavenly Stone, the story goes that it was thrown down in the
form of axes by the Storm God who took pity on humans on whom wild animals
preyed. Thus it became known as jade, the Heavenly Stone.
Legends and myths surround the stone. Confucius also praised it, writing at
length about its virtues and comparing its qualities to those of the true
gentleman. It is said that at the time of his birth, a qilin (mystical unicorn)
appeared at the door with a jade book in its mouth. This "Stone Par Excellence"
is even supposed to confer immortality if taken in the right way. Scars on the
face or body are said to disappear if constantly rubbed with a piece of white
jade. Even the Spaniards couldn't resist it and took to wearing jade when they
discovered it in the New World and they believed it would ward off kidney
ailments. The Chinese consider jade to be a product of Nature formed by the
distilled essence of the great mountains and rivers. They believe it contains
the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth. Thus, keeping jade in the house or office
will enhance the environment, attracting good luck. Jade is also called the
living stone and it is said that the closer and longer it is in contact with the
warmth of the human body, the more lustrous it becomes and that the degree of
lustre is an indicator of the wearer's health. Some also believe that the colour
of jade will change according to a person's luck. With luck, a small streak of
green in the stone will spread. Until 200 years ago, jade meant nephrite, a
tough, white to spinach-green stone that was an ideal canvas for China's stone
carvers. When a new type was discovered in northern Burma - jadeite - the people
were smitten with its emerald-green shades. Pure jade is white but the presence
of other minerals gives it different colours. Nephrite has a hardness of about 6
and specific gravity of 2.9 to 3.1 while jadeite has a hardness of about 7 and
specific gravity of 3.3. Diamond has a hardness of 10. Jadeite is more highly
prized than nephrite because of its vivid translucency, rich vibrant colours and
rarity. Imperial jade which looks like a glassy emerald fetches the highest
prices.
Who better to tell us about jade than Ginn-M Corporation's Lau Yin Leong, a
graduate of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in New York? His passion
for this mystical stone is obvious. He had an affinity for the stone from a
young age. According to his grandmother, his grandfather was a big jade trader
in China before the communists took over. So he came over to Malaysia. The jade
business skipped a generation as Lau's father did not deal in jade at all. Lau
recalls being fascinated as a child when visitors to the house showed some
stones. His enthusiasm to acquire these gems and learning the hard way that
there is a lot of fraud in the business, pushed him to become a gemologist. Once
he spent US$11,000 to acquire 42 pieces of rubies only to later find out that
only two were genuine. Even with jade, he has been deceived many times. He says:
"The learning curve is very steep." Previously a banker, Lau, 47, was based in
Cambodia to head the business investment of IndoChina (Cambodia, Vietnam and
Laos) for a Malaysian public listed company. In mid-1994, he worked for a
Malaysian-owned investment company in Myanmar and it was there that his "love
affair" with jade started. Due to his many contacts made during his years in
that region, Lau was invited to bid for jade and gemstones at the annual Myanmar
Jade & Gemstones Government Auction in Yangon. Bidding is by invitation
only. Lau was the first and up to today is the only Malaysian bidder of jade and
gemstones at Yangon.
It sounds easy. Just make a bid, right? But no, the trail is arduous and
can be dangerous too. Bidders go to Hpakan first, a rebel town designated by the
government as a black area where a special military permit is required to go in.
The locals call it Little Hong Kong because of its tremendous wealth of jadeite.
Here, one can find anything from opium, gum, genuine Rolex watches and authentic
Nike shoes - unlikely items in a shanty town. Rags to riches stories are regular
conversation pieces here as overnight tycoons are made if someone discovers a
small quality piece of imperial jade.
The only major source of jadeite in the world is Myanmar. Contrary to
popular belief, the stone is not found in China. If there ever was, it had long
been exhausted. The biggest producing mines are in Hpakan, alongside the Uru
river in Northern Myanmar. The jade is recovered from the mountains and alluvial
deposits. From the mountains, jade is hacked out using modern equipment. Jadeite
under the river is recovered by sinking a pit which goes some 200 metres into
the bedrock. Miners go down by hanging onto a metal bucket hoisted to a winch
with steel ropes. Foreigners are not allowed in but since Lau is a gemologist
and he expressed the wish to, he was given the chance. In his words, "It is not
for the fainthearted but for a few foolish brave." It takes about five minutes
to reach the base - a sheer drop to the bottom. To be able to examine jadeite in
a mine is an experience of a lifetime for people who study stones, like Lau.
Jade exists alongside similar-looking rocks. The miners, however, can
distinguish the real thing by listening to the sound. Jade is said to rings like
a bell when struck with a pick. Experienced drillers can tell even when using a
pneumatic drill. The stones are usually heavier than ordinary rocks, too. The
recovered boulders are graded, marked and sealed by government security officers
before being transported to Yangon for the auction.
At Yangon, bidders come from all over the world. Bidding for jade is a game
of chance, like taking a spin on the roulette wheel. What may appear to be a
valuable boulder may contain cheap jade inside. Lau interpolates: "However, find
one good stone and you'd have made your money, either for that trip or even for
a lifetime!" He shows a rock cut in half and says that he was fortunate with
that piece as he struck on high quality jade. The other half had been made into
two bangles which he has sold. How does a bidder judge the quality of something
cased in a rust-like oxidation skin (jade boulders look like big rocks) so dense
it hides all trace of colour? Lau says they will often wet the surface of a
boulder to see the colour within. Some make use of small metal plates and
penlights. The plate is placed on the surface and a penlight shone through from
the side furthest from the eye. This reveals colour in the absence of glare from
the light. What traders and miners look for is something they call pyat kyet
(show points), areas where the skin is thin enough to see through. What if there
are no show points? Well, if any trader knows that, surely you don't expect him
to share his secret with you! In the effort to get down to it, much jade is
simply sawn open but owners don't particularly like this as it may mean cutting
right through a good area. Experienced traders are said to be able to tell just
by looking at the boulder but this is not true as anyone who has seen boulders
sawn open will tell. Even for experts, much guesswork is involved, and this is
partly why the business is so thrilling. If you think this is a tough way to get
your hands on jade, it was even harder in the old days. Since jade is said to
belong to the yang (male) element, women (ying element) were employed to look
for jade. Completely naked, the maidens walked on the river bed in the middle of
the night. When one steps on a jade pebble, there would be an immediate
attraction/reaction and she would pick it up. Lau has a jade-cutting factory in
Myanmar. Some of his pieces are carved into beautiful works of art. It can take
up to one year to complete a piece. He sells the jade and rubies he brings back
at his shop in Amcorp Mall, called Ginn-M Corporation (Tel: 03-7954 6623). It is
hard to come by A-grade jade but he sells exclusively these. His shop is also
unique for you can get your hands on all kind of jade items from jade pillows,
the "Cong", jadeite eggs, jade ?paintings' and jade windchimes. Interesting jade
blocks with a "window" to see a portion of the jade in the rock are also
available. There are beautiful carvings of flowers and fruit, animals and
deities like Buddha and Guan Yin. Of course, you can also get your pendants,
rings, bangles, and earrings. Everything is of A-grade jade of varying quality
and are priced from as low as RM38 to RM30,000. The best grades are turned into
jewellery while lower grades are made into bigger items like massage bars, face
rollers and eye pads which are ideal for those who work long hours on the
computer. Most of the other jewellers buy from dealers in Hong Kong or Taiwan
and the jade used is usually "Type B". Ginn-M also carries a range of other gems
like natural rubies and sapphires.
The love of jade runs strong into the next generation too. Lau's daughter
is currently in New York City studying jewelry design at the Fashion Institute
of Technology after having completed her graduate gemologist programme.
According to Mrs Lau, she is known as "Miss Jade" there. His son has just gone
over to study gemology in New York as well. Lau is not the run-of-the-mill gem
trader. Modern and educated, with an MBA from Cranfield University, he likes to
share his knowledge of gemstones with the public and gives talks at Rotary
Clubs, other social clubs and the University of Malaya when he can spare the
time. He is also a council member of the International Executive Council of GIA
in New York City, a nominated position by virtue of a member's contribution to
GIA or the industry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Broadcasting
Corporation
Posted: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 15:09 AEDT UN envoy to press Burma on human rights The United Nations Human Rights envoy to Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro,is
due in Rangoon today to begin a further fact finding mission and meet with
members of the military regime.
The BBC reports Mr Pinheiro will be urging the generals to release several
key prisoners, including student leader MinKo Nine, who has been in jail for
more than 12 years.
UN sources say Mr Pinheiro will be pressing the Burmese Junta on the issue
of political prisoners as part of the international community's efforts to bring
about democratic reform.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is having secret talks with Burma's
generals, but there has been little progress over the past year because of the
Junta's failure to keep their promise to release many of these political
prisoners.
The UN envoy hopes to be able to encourage them to consider a mass amnesty
for many of them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - February 10,
2002.
Army to watch Burmese troop activities
The army is keeping a close eye on Burmese troop movements in Tachilek in
the wake of the ongoing suppression drive by Rangoon soldiers against the Shan
State Army.
Col Surasak Boonsiri, commander of the 4th Cavalry Task Force, said Gen
Surayud Chulanont inspected Mae Fa Luang district on Friday and ordered all
border units to be alert and watch out for stray shells that might land on the
Thai side during the suppression drive.
Col Surasak said the situation was generally normal and Burma showed no
signs of wanting to close the border checkpoint at Tachilek, opposite Mae
Sai.
Gen Surayud insisted the army would not support rebel groups, including the
SSA, and would not allow the conflicting sides to use Thai soil to attack one
another.
A source said Gen Surayud ordered soldiers to concentrate their attention
on Mae Mo village in Mae Fa Luang district, Kuteng Nayong area in Mae Sai
district and Pang Noon base in Mae Fa Luang district, Chiang Rai.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar sends economic mission to Iraq
YANGON, Feb. 10 Kyodo - Myanmar
on Saturday sent an economic mission to Iraq apparently to start a barter trade
for low-priced crude oil in exchange for farm products, diplomatic sources in
the country said Sunday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.N human rights rapporteur arrives in
Myanmar on 3rd visit
YANGON, Feb. 10 Kyodo - The U.N
Human Rights Rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro arrived in Yangon on Sunday
evening on his third human rights investigation tour of Myanmar, to run until
Feb. 19.
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