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BURMA RELATED NEWS - February 13,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyodo News - Myanmar junta releases 5 more
political prisoners
AFP - Myanmar talks making progress, success
imminent: junta
AFP - Thailand to host APEC summit in
2003
Reuters - U.S. holds out sanctions carrot for
Myanmar talks
AP - Thai Police Freeze Drug Money Linked To
Myanmar Kingpin
The Star - 27 remanded over Myanmar worker?s
death
Bkk Post - KNU officer flees detention in Burma
Bkk Post - UN starts to lose patience with
slow-moving junta
The Nation - US steals fizz from Burma's Union
Day
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Opposition Says Unity Be
Achieved Through Negotiations
Xinhuanet - Thai Military Hails Myanmar's Plan
to Eliminate Drugs Production by 2003
VOA News - UN to Work Towards Release of Burmese
Political Prisoners
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar junta releases 5 more political
prisoners
YANGON, Feb. 13, Kyodo -
Myanmar's junta released five more political prisoners Wednesday, including four
members of the pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD), an official
press release said.
Hla Tun Aung, Kan Shein, Htein Lin and Myo Myint Nyein of the NLD and Kyi
Pe Kyaw of a de-registered party were released from various correctional
facilities and are in good health, the press release said.
The releases bring to 217 the total number of political prisoners released
since January 2001. According to NLD secretary U Lwin's count, 801 NLD members
remain in jail.
The NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide, but Myanmar's
generals refused to cede power and subsequently detained many NLD
politicians.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday February 13, 5:07 PM
Myanmar talks making progress, success imminent: junta (AFP) - The historic dialogue
between Myanmar's military junta and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is
progressing steadily and success is "imminent", a government spokesman
said.
The spokesman on Wednesday rejected criticism from the United States and
pro-democracy ethnic political parties in Myanmar that the pace of the talks,
which began in October 2000, is too slow.
"Myanmar's ongoing process might seem to be slow to some but it is a steady
and sure process where success is imminent. In fact, there is a saying 'slow and
steady wins the race'," he told AFP in a statement.
The military regime this week faced mounting pressure to speed up the
secret dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held under house arrest
since a month before the unprecedented contacts began.
In a report to Congress, the US government said Monday that the talks had
contributed to mutual understanding and secured the release of some 180
political prisoners, but much more needed to be done.
"The United States welcomes this confidence-building process but urges the
regime to move from confidence building to genuine political dialogue with Aung
San Suu Kyi aimed at returning the country to democracy and civilian rule," it
said.
The report, prepared by the State Department and the US embassy in Yangon,
also held out the prospect of an easing of US sanctions against Myanmar if there
was tangible progress towards democracy.
The junta spokesman said the dialogue was "progressing in the positive
direction" and characterised the current political climate in Myanmar as "more
encouraging and forthcoming" than many other troubled nations.
"There are nations in South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, Eastern
Europe, Latin America where talks have totally failed and there are no peaceful
options left," he said.
"There are even countries where talks have not only failed but the
situation has gone from bad to worse with fighting flaring up."
Pro-democracy ethnic political parties this week also urged the junta to
increase the dialogue's momentum and "take speedy measures to come to a
political agreement".
Observers hope the talks will plot a way out of the stalemate that has
beset Myanmar since the junta disregarded the National League for Democracy's
landslide victory in 1990 elections.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday February 13, 6:38 PM
Thailand to host APEC summit in 2003 BANGKOK, Feb 13 (AFP) - Thailand announced Wednesday that it would host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooporation (APEC) summit in December 2003 in the capital Bangkok. "We will host the APEC summit in December 2003, with the 19 leaders of its
member nations plus Hong Kong and Taiwan," Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai told reporters.
Surakairt said the focus of the summit would be on reducing the wealth gap
between developed and developing countries, promoting small- and medium-sized
enterprises, and building sustainable economies.
The date and venue for the 2003 summit, which was held in the southern
Chinese city of Shanghai last year, has not yet been finalised.
"The government is in the process of seeking permission from the Royal
Household Bureau to use Anandhsamakhom Palace for the official summit, while the
unofficial summit will be held at Government House," government spokesman
Yongyuth Tiyapairat told reporters.
Apart from the APEC leaders' summit, Thailand will also host the bloc's
finance ministers at a meeting in the seaside resort of Hua Hin in December
The commerce ministers will meet in Febuary at a venue to be selected, and
the industry ministers will gather in August in the northern city of Chiang
Mai.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the
Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and
Vietnam.
Mexico will host this year's meet at Los Cabos on the Pacific coast.
Other members to have hosted APEC meetings are (in order) the United
States, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand Brunei
and China.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday February 13, 7:07 PM
U.S. holds out sanctions carrot for Myanmar talks By Dan Eaton BANGKOK (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military junta on Wednesday labelled a U.S. State Department report calling for the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as "more objective compared to previous ones". But the junta, in a rare positive response, added the U.S. report still
contained some misunderstandings.
"Myanmar's ongoing process might seem slow to some, but it is a steady and
sure process where success is imminent," said a government statement sent to
Reuters in Yangon.
The United States said on Tuesday it would consider lifting sanctions on
Myanmar's military junta in return for what it called "significant progress" in
talks with democracy leader Suu Kyi, including her release from house arrest.
She has been under house arrest since September 2000.
In one of its most clearly worded statements yet, the U.S. State Department
was critical of slow progress in the long-running talks and held out the
prospect of lifting military and economic sanctions for concrete measures by the
generals.
"Our goal in applying these sanctions is to encourage a transition to
democratic rule and greater respect for human rights," said the report obtained
by Reuters in Bangkok.
"Should there be significant progress toward those goals, the United States
would look seriously at measures to support a process of constructive change."
The five-page report, submitted to the U.S. Congress this week, said
significant progress would include a move from "confidence building", in which
the talks have been mired since they began in October 2000, to a genuine
political dialogue with Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won
1990 elections by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern.
"Critical next steps include the release of over 1,000 political prisoners,
Aung San Suu Kyi's full release from house arrest (and) full and free operation
of NLD party headquarters," the five-page report said.
The United States, in coordination with the European Union and other mainly
Western countries, maintains a host of sanctions against Myanmar, one of the
world's poorest countries.
Washington accuses the military of widespread human rights abuses, the use
of forced labour and involvement in narcotics.
The sanctions include an arms embargo, investment ban, suspension of all
bilateral aid to the military government, visa restrictions on the country's top
leaders and a freeze on new lending and grant programmes by international
agencies.
PATIENCE WEARING THIN
The U.S. report cited some progress in the talks so far, including the
release of nearly 200 political prisoners from Myanmar jails since December 2000
and the halt to daily vicious attacks on Suu Kyi in speeches and by the
state-run media.
But it said "the process remains slow".
After decades of political isolation, Myanmar's military rulers have shown
few real signs in the past two years of opening up on the issues of human rights
and democracy.
The report's release comes as the junta faces growing international
impatience over its dialogue with the opposition.
Veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail, the U.N. secretary-general's
special representative to Myanmar who is brokering the secretive dialogue, said
last month the talks were progressing but too slowly.
U.N. human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has been in Myanmar this week
on his third mission in less than a year in a bid to speed up the process.
An increasingly frustrated NLD recently said dialogue would likely remain
mired at the "confidence building" stage unless more political prisoners were
freed and Suu Kyi released.
In a further sign the talks might be in trouble, Myanmar's military leader
General Than Shwe on Tuesday warned the country of internal threats to
stability.
Although he did not identify the source of the threat, such warnings are
usually taken to refer to Suu Kyi's pro-democracy opposition and its Western
supporters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday February 13, 4:40 PM
Thai Police Freeze Drug Money Linked To Myanmar Kingpin BANGKOK (AP)--Thai financial
police on Wednesday froze 5 million baht ($1=THB43.842) in cash from the sale of
stocks owned by a relative of a major drug suspect wanted in the U.S.
The cash is suspected to be the product of laundered drug money, said Col.
Peeraphan Premaphuthi, secretary general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
The money freeze is the latest measure aimed at hurting the finances of Wei
Hsueh-kang, who leads a rebel army in neighboring Myanmar. He is suspected of
running an international drug ring as well.
Wei, an ethnic Chinese, is wanted for drug trafficking by the U.S.
government, which has offered a $2 million reward for his capture. He is under
indictment in a U.S. federal court in New York for heroin trafficking.
The 49-year-old Wei is a leader of the United Wa State Army, an armed
ethnic rebel group in Myanmar that is believed to illegally smuggle heroin and
methamphetamine, a stimulant.
Wei jumped bail after at Thai court sentenced him to life imprisonment for
drug trafficking in 1987. The government revoked his Thai nationality in July
2001.
In December 2001, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and narcotic suppression
police raided the residences of Wei's relatives in Bangkok and two other
provinces, confiscating more than THB240 million worth of cash, jewelry and cars
besides several houses and plots of land.
Wei's racket was partially exposed when hundreds of kilograms of heroin
were found in a ship heading for international waters through a southern Thai
port five years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Star
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
27 remanded over Myanmar worker?s death MUAR: Police obtained remand orders yesterday against 27 foreign workers
for nine days to assist in investigations into the killing of a Myanmar national
at a construction site near Tangkak on Friday.
The foreigners ? 16 from Thailand and 11 from Myanmar, all aged between 16
and 30 ? were brought to the anti-narcotics division hall inside the police
station here, which was turned into a court, for security reasons.
Prosecuting officer Insp. K. Subramaniay made the requests for the remand
order, which was granted by magistrate Amelia Kaswati Mohd Khalid.
The foreigners, who all work at the same construction site, were arrested
after a worker from Myanmar, Bak Chang, 30, was attacked and killed late on
Friday.
A police team, headed by Muar crime chief Deputy Supt Mat Fauzi Nayan,
rushed to the site the same day and conducted a search for the attackers at a
nearby plantation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Wednesday 13 February
2002
KNU officer flees detention in Burma Tak _ A senior officer of the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union has escaped
after seven years in a Burmese jail.
Pado Mahn Yin Sein, 71, a former KNU central committee member and Pa-an
district chairman, was greeted by representatives of four Burmese pro-democracy
groups in a border area opposite Tak yesterday.
On Feb 9, 1995, he was seized by pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
guerrillas and handed over to Burmese troops at Ye Gyaw camp. He was tried in
Rangoon without legal representation and sentenced to 20 years' jail for
treason, possession of war weapons and immigration charges.
Pado Mahn Yin Sein was released on Nov 27, 1999, but remained on
probation.
He became a monk and stayed in Pa-an. He escaped to the KNU's 7th division
on Friday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Wednesday 13 February
2002
UN starts to lose patience with slow-moving junta LARRY JAGAN Burma's military junta is facing mounting international pressure to step up
its dialogue with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The US government, in its latest report to the congress, said it was time
to move from the confidence-building stage to what it called ``genuine political
dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi aimed at returning the country to democracy and
civilian rule''.
Razali Ismail, the UN envoy who brokered the secret talks between the
generals and the opposition leader more than a year ago, is also beginning to
get impatient with the lack of progress. ``It's moving,'' he said in Kuala
Lumpur earlier this week, ``but the talks are not going as fast as they
should.''
Washington's comments reflect a growing concern internationally that the
Burmese generals are dragging their feet and are not really prepared to talk
about substantive political change. Since the talks started more than 12 months
ago, more than 200 political prisoners have been released, the National League
for Democracy has been allowed to open most of its offices in Rangoon, and the
government-controlled media have stopped their vitriolic attacks on the
opposition.
But far more was expected. Human rights organisations estimate that there
are more than 1,500 political prisoners still in jail. Many of these were
expected to be released under a mass amnesty that Mr Razali had suggested to the
military junta nearly three months ago, when he was last in Burma.
``General Than Shwe [the junta number one] seems to have scotched this,''
said a senior Western diplomat in Rangoon. ``Then there's the issue of Aung San
Suu Kyi's own position, she certainly needs to be released before the dialogue
process can move to the next stage.''
After Mr Razali's last visit, expectations were raised that Burma was on
the brink of a political breakthrough. Diplomats believed it was only a matter
of time before many more political prisoners would be released, especially those
identified as the priority group _ the remaining elected MPs, and then Mrs Suu
Kyi herself.
Mr Razali has consistently said the dialogue process was a difficult one
and not to expect major events or milestones. ``It's an incremental process,''
he said. But it seems even Mr Razali is now growing impatient with the lack of
progress. His uncharacteristic outburst suggests that he hopes the Burmese junta
will use the next five weeks, before he arrives on his next visit, to move the
process forward.
``The UN envoy left the Burma's military leaders on his last visit in no
doubt that he expected them to move the reconciliation process from the
confidence-building stage to substantive dialogue,'' said a source close to Mr
Razali. ``Everyone knows what steps need to be taken, so its now in the
generals' court.''
Those steps have to include the release of many of the political prisoners,
starting with the remaining MPs, and lifting the restrictions on the opposition
leader. Diplomats in Rangoon believe these were the two main issues which were
discussed when Mrs Suu Kyi met Gen Than Shwe two weeks ago.
So far the regime hasn't made any of the concessions that have long been
expected. Nevertheless, diplomats in Rangoon remain optimistic that something is
in the pipeline. ``Aung San Suu Kyi has been upbeat since the meeting,'' said
one Rangoon-based diplomat.
The UN rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Paulo Pinheiro, arrived back
in the country on Sunday to complete his fact-finding mission, which was
interrupted by ill health six months ago.
He will certainly be focussing on the issue of political prisoners. The UN
envoy hopes to be able to encourage the junta to consider a mass amnesty for
many of them. But he is certain to urge the generals to release the remaining 17
elected MPs as soon as possible and press for Mrs Suu Kyi's immediate release
from house arrest.
UN sources said Mr Pinheiro would be pressing the Burmese junta on the
issue of political prisoners as part of the international community's efforts to
bring about democratic reform in Burma. ``Mr Pinheiro and Mr Razali are working
closely together,'' said a UN source. ``They are co-ordinating their
efforts.''
Mr Pinheiro spent several hours with Mr Razali in Kuala Lumpur en route to
Rangoon discussing their common objectives. There had been fears that the
Burmese junta may try to play one off against the other. The UN is anxious to
ensure that this is not the case. Both UN representatives are anxious to
strengthen the institutions of civil society and encourage the process of
democratic reform through a constructive dialogue.
Mr Razali still sees the issue of humanitarian assistance as a major part
of that process of encouragement. Already Australia and Japan have increased
their financial support for targetted programmes. The European Union has also
signalled its willingness to resume limited humanitarian assistance if the talks
produce significant political developments.
The US government has offered the same incentive in its latest report on
Burma. ``We are willing to ease the US sanctions if there are tangible results
from these talks,'' said a US government official who did not want to be
identified.
``Rangoon is curiously quiet at the moment,'' said a Rangoon-based
journalist. ``It may be that something is happening under the surface and we'll
find out about it later.''
There is certainly a growing feeling among the diplomats and UN officials
in Rangoon that something significant may be about to happen. This is likely to
be Mrs Suu Kyi's release from house arrest and should be before Mr Razali's next
visit on March 19.
Larry Jagan is the BBC's Southeast Asia analyst, based in Bangkok.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
US steals fizz from Burma's Union Day Supalak Ganjanakhundee Published on Feb 13, 2002 The United States marked Burma's 55th Union Day yesterday by issuing a
blunt report calling on the country's military junta to speed up dialogue with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and release more than 1,000 political
prisoners.
The report to the US Congress released yesterday said the US government
supported the ongoing confidence-building measures between Suu Kyi and the
junta, and hoped the measures would lead to "meaningful democratic
change".
At the urging of UN Special Representative Razali Ismail, Rangoon's
military government opened dialogue on national reconciliation with the
opposition leader in October 2000 but progress has been slow, said the report,
which is issued every six months to update Congress on the situation in
Burma.
The report, prepared by the US State Department and its embassy in Rangoon,
was released on the day the junta and the opposition held separate celebrations
to mark Union Day, which commemorates the signing of the Panglong
Agreement.
The pact, signed on February 12, 1947 between national hero Aung San - Suu
Kyi's father - and ethnic minority leaders, paved the way for independence from
Britain. But Burma has been rocked by guerrilla warfare waged by separatist
minority groups since the British withdrew in 1948.
The rebels claim the Panglong Agreement gives them the right to split from
the Union of Burma.
In a speech yesterday, Than Shwe, chairman of the junta, known as the State
Peace and Development Council, called for unity among the nation's various
ethnic groups and urged people to work closely with the Tatmadaw (military) for
national development.
Than Shwe said his military-ruled government had achieved national
reconciliation with some groups who have given up their armed struggle and
agreed to cooperate with the junta.
The junta is engaged in peace talks with several guerrilla groups including
the Shan State Army and the Karen National Union, which have been fighting
government troops along the border with Thailand.
The US report, however, saw no significant achievements, saying living
conditions in Burma continued to deteriorate, and that poverty was
widespread.
In areas of the country where the ethnic minorities live, "there are
continuing reports of extra-judicial killings, rapes and disappearances", it
said.
The report said US foreign policy goals in Burma call for "progress towards
democracy", full respect for human rights and a "more effective" effort to fight
drug trafficking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Opposition Says Unity Be
Achieved Through Negotiations
Xinhuanet 2002-02-12 23:51:26 YANGON, February 12 (Xinhuanet)
-- Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Tuesday stressed
that unity could be achieved through negotiations between individuals,
organizations and ethnic groups, citing the "Pinlon Agreement" signed 55 years
ago.
The Pinlon Agreement was signed on February 12, 1947 when Myanmar ethnic
leaders met at the then Pinlon Conference held in northeastern Shan state to
strive in unity for the country's independence from the British
colonialists.
Marking Myanmar's 55th Anniversary Union Day, the NLD said in a statement
that the 1947 agreement was a historical landmark that gave a valuable lesson on
the way of achieving domestic unity.
The statement was issued amid confidence-building talks between the NLD and
the government initiated in October 2000.
The statement pointed out that the ruling State Peace and Development
Council has achieved cease-fire agreements with a number of anti-government
armed ethnic groups, adding however that a political solution is necessary to
establish long-term peace and stability.
The statement also stressed that democratic rights and the rights of the
ethnic nationalities are inseparable both of which have to be worked for.
The statement called on the country's ethnic nationalities to unite firmly
in the endeavor to build a truly democratic Union.
The NLD, which was a winning party in the 1990 general election, demands
the government release Aung San Suu Kyi, the party's general secretary, and all
other political prisoners in the country and guarantee the rights of free
activities for all legal political parties.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thai Military Hails Myanmar's Plan
to Eliminate Drugs Production by 2003
Xinhuanet 2002-02-12 16:11:20 BANGKOK, February 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The Thai military has hailed
Myanmar's plan to eliminate narcotic production in the country by 2003,
according to a report of the Thai News Agency Tuesday.
Thai Army Commander-in-chief Surayud Chulanont was quoted as saying that he
saw the plan as a good move, which will help improve and smoothen relations
between Thailand and neighbouring countries in the future.
Myanmar recently announced that it would totally suppress and eliminate
drugs production over the next two years.
Asked to what extent the announcement can be relied on, Surayud said that
he could not comment on the point, as he, himself, had known the plan from local
news reports.
He said that the military had tried its best to help address drugs problems
by seeking cooperation from villagers and people in strengthening local
communities.
The continued efforts were expected to bear concrete results over the next
five to six months, noted the Army chief.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- VOA News
UN to Work Towards Release of
Burmese Political Prisoners
Ron Corben Bangkok 13 Feb 2002 11:10 UTC U.N. human rights investigator Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has promised leaders
of Burma's ethnic communities he will work for the release of political
prisoners held by the military government. Representatives from Burma's ethnic
communities fear being excluded from national reconciliation efforts.
Mr. Pinheiro, who is currently on a 10-day visit to Burma, made the pledge
in talks with leaders of Burma's Shan, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Karen ethnic
leaders in Rangoon late Tuesday.
Dr. Naing Aung, coordinator for Burma's National Reconciliation Program,
wants ethnic minorities to have a role in shaping the country's government.
"They would really like to take part in the constitution-making process, to make
a negotiated settlement for the future shape of the settlement of Burma," Dr.
Naing Aung said.
International human rights groups say there are around 1,500 political
prisoners in Burma. Mr. Pinheiro last year reported that 200 prisoners from the
main opposition National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi,
had been released. The military government said Wednesday it had released five
more political prisoners, including four NLD members.
The prisoners' release comes against a backdrop of secret reconciliation
talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government. Progress has been
slow, raising fears among observers the government is merely stalling to avoid
change.
The military government has blocked the NLD, the landslide winner of the
1990 national elections, from taking office. Aung San Suu Kyi has been kept
under house arrest for most of the past decade.
Dr. Naing says Burma's ethnic communities fear they are being excluded from
talks. He says that, in the past, minority groups have been neglected. "They
don't want to be excluded because of their being minority, or ethnic, because
they are the historical stake holders. And they should be part of the dialogue
process, in order to discuss the future union of Burma and the rights of the
ethnic people, which basically the constitutional issue," Dr. Naing said.
Mr. Pinheiro's trip includes meetings with leaders of the military
government, as well as a visit to an area largely populated by minority groups.
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