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Burma Related News - February 18,
2002.
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Headlines
----------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - U.N. Human Rights Envoy Meets Suu Kyi
Reuters - U.N. envoy meets Suu Kyi as Myanmar frees
prisoners
OneWorld - Burmese Journalists Battle the Blue Pencil
AFP- Labour row expected to dominate Malaysia-Indonesia
meeting
AP - Singapore PM On 3-Day Visit To Thailand To Discuss
Trade
AP - UN human rights envoy holds long interviews with
political prisoners
Bkk Post - Reprisal
plea
Xinhuanet - Six More People Released in Myanmar
Narinjara - Lieutenant General of
Myanmar Air Force visits site for a new Air
Defence base near the Bangladesh border
----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.N. human rights envoy meets
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
ASSOCIATED PRESS Mon 18 Feb 2002 YANGON, Myanmar, Feb. 18 ? A U.N. human rights investigator met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday after lengthy interviews with political prisoners in Yangon's main prison. A car carrying Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. rapporteur on human rights
in Myanmar, entered Suu Kyi's lakeside compound in the capital during the
afternoon, a witness said on condition of anonymity. It left about three hours
later. No details of the meeting were available.
Pinheiro arrived in Myanmar a week ago for a 10-day visit to assess civil
and political rights in the military state.
Suu Kyi leads the National League for Democracy party, which swept 1990
general elections but was barred by the ruling military from taking power.
Hundreds of NLD members have since been jailed.
Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest since September 2000 for trying
to travel outside Yangon for a political meeting. Since then, she has received
visits from a number of senior international diplomats.
On Sunday, the U.N. official spent nine hours interviewing four detainees
at Yangon's main Insein Prison.
''I am trying to demonstrate to the authorities that the release of
political prisoners is a very important gesture for the progress of national
reconciliation in Myanmar,'' Pinheiro told The Associated Press by telephone in
Yangon afterward.
Late Monday, the government announced that it released six political
prisoners: five NLD members and one person with ties to the party. Such releases
have become almost customary before and during visits by important U.N.
officials.
According to a report Pinheiro made to the U.N. General Assembly in
November, there are an estimated 1,500-1,600 political prisoners in Myanmar,
also known as Burma.
Pinheiro spoke Sunday to three detained NLD members and a retired
university professor in his seventies, Salai Tun Than, who was arrested on Nov.
29 for staging a solo protest in front of Yangon's City Hall. Salai Tun Than was
reportedly demanding political reform.
Pinheiro said all four prisoners were in good health. He said he would
report on the interviews in a speech to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights on
April 4. This is his third trip to Myanmar since his appointment last February.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday February 18, 7:47 PM
U.N. envoy meets Suu Kyi as Myanmar
frees prisoners
YANGON (Reuters) - A top United
Nations human rights envoy met with Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi on Monday, as the ruling military released six more members of her
opposition party from jail.
A Reuters reporter saw U.N. envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro drive into Nobel
peace laureate Suu Kyi's Yangon compound, where she has been under house arrest
for more than a year, at around 1530 local time (0830 GMT).
Also at the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader's Yangon home for
the meeting were NLD Chairman Aung Shwe, Vice-Chairman Tin Oo and Secretary U
Lwin.
Pinheiro has been in the country since February 10 to write a report on the
human rights situation there and try to persuade the military, engaged in
bogged-down reconciliation talks with the NLD, to release more political
prisoners.
The ruling military announced on Monday it had released six more members of
Suu Kyi's party detained at jails around the country.
The releases are the second round since Pinheiro, who is due to end his
mission on Tuesday, arrived in the country.
A positive human rights report by the U.N. envoy could lead to a softening
of the West's stance towards Yangon's military rulers, who prevented the NLD
taking power after its sweeping win in 1990 elections.
The United States and the European Union maintain aid and trade sanctions
on Myanmar, but have said they could change their policies if there is progress
towards democracy and an improvement in the country's human rights record.
About 1,500 political prisoners, many of them arrested soon after the 1990
election, languish in Myanmar's jails, according to Amnesty International.
Since U.N.-brokered talks between the NLD and the government began in late
2000 more than 200 political prisoners have been released and the NLD has been
allowed to re-open some of its offices.
In a separate development, the United Nations said a four member team from
the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which accuses the military of
failing to end forced labour, would arrive in Yangon on Tuesday.
The team from Geneva included Francis Maupain, a special adviser to the ILO
chief, a source at the U.N.'s office in Yangon told Reuters on Monday.
A high-level ILO team visited Myanmar in October 2001 for three weeks to
assess the government's measures to end forced labour.
Myanmar subsequently turned down a request from the body to set up a
permanent office in the country, but said it would cooperate with
visits. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- OneWorld.net Burmese Journalists Battle the
Blue Pencil
Fri Feb 15, 9:26 AM ET Kalyani,OneWorld South Asia Stifled by harsh government rules regulating freedom of the press,
journalists in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) work under conditions rarely
seen elsewhere in the world, according to a new report from a leading media
watchdog.
Members of Myanmar's media work under a "harsh regime of censorship,
licensing, and threats," the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its
report, 'Under Pressure: How Burmese journalism survives in one of the world's
most repressive regimes.'
The report's release Thursday coincided with a visit to the Southeast Asian
country by United Nations envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro for an assessment its
human rights record. To mark the occasion, Burma's military rulers released a
group of political prisoners February 13, including journalist Myo Myint Nyein,
who was among 12 journalists in jail for their work at the end of 2001.
"If you haven't been in jail you haven't been a reporter here," a retired
Burmese newspaper-editor told the author of the report, Asia consultant A. Lin
Neumann.
But Myint Nyein's release, said the CPJ report, would not put an end to the
severe censorship imposed by the military regime's Press Scrutiny Board, an
agency of the information ministry set up in the 1960s, which vets all
publications.
The report pointed to media coverage of the role of opposition leader and
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept 1990 elections that
were annulled by the ruling junta, and whose talks with the military have been
subjected to a news blackout.
The talks were among a wide range of topics--from details on the September
11 attacks and AIDS, to floods and even soccer-match scores--which were
considered off-limits for journalists because "Burmese censors are extremely
wary of bad news," according to the report.
In addition, the public did not have access to Internet services, fax
machines and cell phones had to be licensed, and few could afford satellite
television.
"Burma is by far the most information-starved country in Southeast Asia.
And yet the press refuses to die," said the report, which stressed that Burmese
journalists continued to struggle against the restrictions, often resorting to
long periods in exile, with clandestine news-gathering trips.
"Burma's journalists are reduced to working the margins, trying to put
meaning between the lines of what they write, and waiting for better days," said
CPJ. "Many had suffered harassment and jail time for their work. They risked
their freedom just by talking to an international human rights organization."
After independence from Britain in 1949, there was a mushrooming of
literary journals, popular dailies, and political newsletters. The situation
changed drastically after a military takeover in 1962, when newspapers were
nationalized and censorship applied.
Today, Burma's four daily newspapers are published by a division of the
country's information ministry. There are, in addition, some 50 private weekly
and monthly magazines that work under government supervision.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday February 18, 1:22 PM
Labour row expected to dominate
Malaysia-Indonesia meeting
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (AFP) - A
controversial crackdown on the hiring of Indonesian workers in Malaysia is
expected to dominate a meeting of ministers from the two countries here
Tuesday.
Senior officials who gathered Monday to prepare for the meeting were
tight-lipped over the controversy, which was sparked by two riots by Indonesian
workers in Malaysia in January.
An Indonesian official said they were "still negotiating" over the agenda
for the ministerial meeting of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission, with 12
to 14 issues expected to be proposed.
Malaysia's foreign ministry secretary-general Ahmad Fuzi Razak, who is
co-chairing the senior officials' talks, said Monday's preparatory meeting would
discuss "many issues" including labour, but did not elaborate.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda was scheduled to arrive here
late Monday for a three-day visit to attend the talks with his Malaysian
counterpart Syed Hamid Albar.
Malaysia was angered by a riot by 400 Indonesian textile workers at their
factory over police drug tests on co-workers on January 17. Three days later,
more than 70 Indonesian construction workers armed with machetes went on a
rampage in a suburb south of Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia initially announced a temporary ban on the hiring of new
Indonesian workers and said it would halve the number already in the
country.
But the government later said Indonesians would be hired only as maids and
plantation workers and it would look to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar,
Laos, the Philippines and India to fill positions in other sectors.
Indonesians make up 566,983 out of a total of 769,566 legal foreign workers
in Malaysia.
Syed Hamid was quoted by Monday's The Star as saying that he would use the
meeting to clear the air over Malaysia's new labour policy.
"We do not intend to trouble anyone and it was merely a strategic move but
at the same time, we value the good relations we have had with Indonesia all
this while," he said.
Wirayuda has said Jakarta would ask Kuala Lumpur to reconsider its plan to
cut the number of Indonesian workers in Malaysia.
The meeting would also discuss other issues including border problems,
trade and security, he added.
This would be the seventh joint-commission meeting between the neighbours,
with the last one held in Indonesia in 1997, officials said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday February 18, 12:53 PM
Singapore PM On 3-Day Visit To Thailand To Discuss Trade BANGKOK (AP)--Singapore Prime
Minister Goh Chok Tong arrived in Thailand Monday on a three-day official visit
that will include talks on free trade and tourism promotion.
Goh arrived by a special flight at Bangkok's military airport, accompanied
by an 18-member delegation that includes Singapore's foreign, industry and trade
ministers.
Goh was greeted at the airport by deputy Prime Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, an official at Thai government spokesman's office said. Later
Monday, Goh will hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin told reporters Monday that he would raise issues of bilateral
cooperation including tourism promotion, as well as implementation of a planned
free trade area among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Thai officials have said much of the discussions between the two leaders
would follow up on issues - mostly involving trade and investment - discussed
when Thaksin visited Singapore in August.
A Singaporean television network reported Sunday that Thailand was seeking
a currency swap or bilateral credit arrangement with Singapore in case of any
future financial crisis, like the one that swept Asia in 1997-98.
Officials are also expected to discuss a rice security agreement to
guarantee a supply to Singapore at a fixed price in times of crisis, according
to the Singapore-based Channel News Asia network. Thailand is world's biggest
rice exporter.
Tuesday, Goh will have an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Goh will
play golf with Thaksin in northern Chiang Rai province before leaving Thailand
Wednesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- UN human rights envoy holds long
interviews with political prisoners
Sun Feb 17,11:36 PM ET YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A United
Nations human rights investigator has spent nine hours at Yangon's main prison
in an attempt to impress on the military regime the importance of releasing
political prisoners for national reconciliation.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said
late Sunday that he spent the day interviewing four political detainees.
"I am trying to demonstrate to the authorities that the release of
political prisoners is a very important gesture for the progress of national
reconciliation in Myanmar," Pinheiro told The Associated Press by telephone in
Yangon.
Pinheiro, who arrived a week ago in Myanmar, to assess civil and political
rights, was due to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Monday.
Suu Kyi leads the National League for Democracy Party that swept the 1990
general elections but was barred by the ruling military from taking power.
Hundreds of NLD members have since been jailed.
Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest since September 2000 for trying
to travel outside Yangon for a political meeting.
According to a report Pinheiro made to the U.N. General Assembly in
November, there are an estimated 1,500-1,600 political prisoners in Myanmar,
also known as Burma.
However, the regime has released more than 200 NLD detainees during the
past year since the start of closed-door reconciliation talks with Suu
Kyi.
On Sunday, Pinheiro said he interviewed three detained NLD members and a
retired university professor in his seventies, Salai Tun Than, who was arrested
on Nov. 29 for staging a solo protest in front of Yangon's City Hall. Salai Tun
Than was reportedly demanding political reform.
The interviews were conducted in Yangon's Insein Prison.
Pinheiro said all four prisoners were in good health. He said he would
report on the interviews in a speech to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights on
April 4.
Pinheiro, who is on his third trip to Myanmar since his appointment last
April, said he received full cooperation from the prison authorities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Monday 18 February 2002
Reprisal plea
Rangoon has asked Thailand to refrain from military retaliation if mortar
shells accidentally land on Thai soil during attacks on ethnic rebels on the
Thai-Burmese border, an army officer said.
Col Surasak Boonsiri, chairman of the Township Border Committee, said the
request was made by Lt Col Tun Aung, commander of 526th rapid deployment force
in Tachilek and Burma's TBC chairman.
Col Surasak said the army would send home two Burmese soldiers captured
during border tension in February last year as a gesture of goodwill. The
soldiers, a captain and a sergeant, would be returned today. They were captured
after entering Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Six More People Released in
Myanmar
Xinhuanet 2002-02-18 20:08:37 YANGON, February 18 (Xinhuanet)
-- Six more people, including fivemembers of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) and one NLD-related individual, were released by the Myanmar
government Monday, said an official Information Sheet.
The six, released from "various correctional institutions," areidentified
as Daw Cho, U Hla Kyaw, U Maung Hla, U Maung Than, U Mya Aye and Daw Khin Aye
Aye Mar, the statement said.
It was the fourth batch of prisoners released since January 9 this year
amid confidence-building dialogue between the governmentand the NLD initiated in
October 2000.
The release has brought to 222 the total number of the NLD detainees and
NLD-related individuals freed in the country since January 2001.
The government's move is coinciding with the current third mission to
Myanmar of United Nations Human Rights Envoy to the country Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro since he was appointed as the envoy in February 2001. He arrived here
on February 10 on a 10-day trip to Myanmar to further inspect the human rights
situation in the country.
Meanwhile, the NLD, which was the winner in the 1990 general election,
demands the government release Aung San Suu Kyi, the party's general secretary,
and guarantee the rights of free activities for all legal political
parties.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Narinjara news
LIEUTENANT GENERAL OF MYANMAR AIR FORCE VISITS
SITE FOR A NEW AIR DEFENCE BASE NEAR THE BANGLDESH BORDER
Maungdaw, 18th February 02: Air Defence Chief Lieutenant
General Soe Win visited Maungdaw township on the Naf river, opposite the border
of Bangladesh, our correspondent reported.
On 9th February, the Air Defence Chief accompanied by the Western Command
Commander Brigadier Maung Oo, Tactical Brigade Commander Lieutenant
Colonel Aung Naing Tun, Nasaka (Immigration and Security forces) Commander
Lieutenant Colonel Aung Ngwe flew in a military helicopter to a 1975 foot high
hill-top which was used as a military base by the Allied troops during the
Second World War. The high powered defence group visited the spot for over
one hour in the morning and met with Lieutenant Colonel Win Myint, the commander
of the battalion 232 stationed there. Earlier a group of military
engineers made a feasibility study of the site for a probable air defence base,
it was learnt.
On making an inquiry about the visit, an unnamed source in the defence
forces said that, plans are going on for constructing a hilltop air
defence base there.
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