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Burma Related News - February 21,
2002.
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Headlines
----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEER - Ne Win's Health Takes a Turn
FEER - Burmese Drug Lord Hit in the Pocket AFP- ASEAN foreign ministers to tackle
terrorism, economic ties
AFP - ASEAN foreign ministers pledge cooperation
against terrorism
Reuters - ASEAN ministers pledge "new era" in
war on terror
Reuters - ASEAN talks seek to improve security
and trade
BBC - US pension giant ditches Asian
countries
BBC - SE Asian neighbours in anti-terrorism
deal
Bkk Post - Region must send a signal of unity,
says Surakiart
Bkk Post - Rights record under close
watch
NSTP - UN envoy?s appeal to Myanmar
NMG - Burmese workers
expelled from work for asking their salaries
NMG - Three pages recommendation on Migrant
Workers to be sent to Thai PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Far Eastern Economic Review INTELLIGENCE
Issue cover-dated February 28, 2002
Ne Win's Health Takes a
Turn
Confounding reports that he is seriously ill, Burma's former strongman Ne
Win has written to the Thai authorities saying he would like to make an official
visit to Bangkok soon. If he did, the 90-year-old leader, considered something
of a political guru and behind-the-scenes influence for the ruling generals in
Rangoon, would doubtless have an audience with Thailand's King Bhumibol
Adulyadej as a former Burmese head of state. Such a visit would also further
enhance rapidly improving bilateral relations, which hit a low with border
skirmishing in 2001. Ne Win was last reported to be in poor health in Rangoon
last December, after receiving medical treatment in Singapore. At one stage he
was said to be in a prolonged coma while undergoing treatment for various
ailments.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Far Eastern Economic
Review
INTELLIGENCE Issue cover-dated February 28, 2002 Burmese Drug Lord Hit in the Pocket Notorious Burmese drug lord Wei Xuegang is losing a fortune in Thailand.
According to Peeraphan Prempooti, head of Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering
Office, Thai authorities seized another 20 million baht ($460,000) of his
ill-gotten assets on February 19. Since late December, Thai authorities have
nabbed more than 270 million baht worth of Wei's assets, including property and
80 million baht invested in the Thai stockmarket. Peeraphan says the United
States Drug Enforcement Agency has been instrumental in the chase, providing
both intelligence and technical assistance, including sophisticated software
that has plugged local banks, brokerages and insurance companies into the cause.
Thai authorities are monitoring the transactions of 100 people they suspect are
acting as nominees on Wei's behalf. So far, no Thai politicians have appeared on
the radar screen, according to Peeraphan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday February 21, 11:12 AM
ASEAN foreign ministers to tackle terrorism, economic ties PHUKET, Thailand, Feb 21 (AFP)
- Southeast Asian foreign ministers Thursday opened informal talks aimed at
honing their response to the terrorist threat facing the region, and fostering
economic integration.
Thailand's Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said terrorism would be a
focus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) retreat, which is
being held at his own villa in the Amanpuri resort on Phuket's west coast.
The 10-nation grouping would drive home the message "that we are working
with the world to combat terrorism," he told reporters Wednesday.
"We will discuss further the political commitment... for ASEAN countries to
work together and find areas where we can cooperate more so that we can provide
confidence to investors that Southeast Asia is a safe place," he said.
After a welcome dinner Wednesday held on Amanpuri's white sand beach on
Phuket's west coast, the ministers were due Thursday to hold a full day of talks
at Surakiart's luxurious villa which overlooks the ocean.
ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino said although the terror issue had
grabbed the headlines since the discovery of alleged terrorist cells in
Southeast Asia with links to the al-Qaeda network, economic integration remained
the block's "most pressing issue".
"The foreign ministers will be looking at this from the point of view of
the nature and direction of ASEAN, rather than economic policy as such," he told
AFP Wednesday.
Closer links would help the region steer a path out of its second downturn
since the 1997 crisis, and help address the increasing diversion of investments
to China.
Severino said ASEAN must view China's rise as an opportunity as well as a
challenge.
"ASEAN is moving faster on the integration of its own regional economy. Of
course it will never be as integrated as China because it is one country with
one currency and one government," he said.
"And so we are starting to negotiate with China on a Free Trade Area. And
we'd like to start that as early as next month."
Severino said the two sides would have to decide what areas a free trade
area would cover, and if it would extend to agricultural goods, services and
investments as well as to trading goods.
"The basic idea is that we have to link our economies more closely together
because there are already very strong inter-linkages between some ASEAN
countries and China."
The ASEAN chief lamented the reaction to evidence that suspected terrorists
under detention in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines belong to cells
plotting attacks on US and other foreign targets.
"My problem with the world attitude to this is that when Europe does
something about these cells, people emphasise the cooperation and the law
enforcement side. When Southeast Asia does the same thing, then the emphasis is
on the infection rather than the remedy," he said.
"So the impression is there that these places are crawling with terrorists,
rather than how effective the law-enforcement has been."
AESAN would continue to stress the steps it has taken to root out terror
groups, he said.
Severino also downplayed speculation that the issue could divide members
nations at the retreat.
Analysts believe that while the Philippines is expected to promote
cooperation and support the US-led war against terrorism, Muslim-majority
Indonesia and Malaysia will be more cautious.
"In fact, this issue has the raised the level of cooperation in this
particular sector. So I don't see it dividing countries," he said.
"In fact it fuses the members together more strongly because there is a
common effort, as you have seen in the cooperation that made these arrests
possible."
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- February 21, 3:43 PM
ASEAN foreign ministers pledge cooperation against terrorism PHUKET, Thailand, Feb 21 (AFP)
- Southeast Asian ministers pledged a "new era" of cooperation against the
terrorist threat, with plans to link efforts to combat militancy and promote the
region as a safe place to visit and invest in.
The discovery of alleged terrorist cells in Southeast Asia with ties to
Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network threatens to devastate the
region's tourism industry and deter much-needed foreign investment.
At an informal retreat on this Thai resort island, the 10 Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers moved to counter a growing
impression that the region is a hotbed of terrorism.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding of ASEAN countries and what we have
done. In fact we have done a lot, but perhaps we have not done enough PR to the
world to show what we have done," said Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai.
"So we have to find a way to explain more, and we have to link the
activities in each country to each other so that cooperation in this field would
be strengthened. To me this is a new era of ASEAN foreign ministers'
cooperation."
The ministers lamented that while anti-terrorism campaigns in Europe had
been applauded, in Asia they had served only to taint the region's
reputation.
"In fact when we arrest terrorists, that should be counted as credit, not
as debit," Surakiart said.
In an unprecedented move, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are now
drafting a trilateral agreement which will allow them to arrest suspected
terrorists for crimes committed on each other's territory.
"A terrorist leader, fleeing to one of our three countries, can be detained
in the country where he flees, preventing him from doing his deeds," said
Philippines Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona.
Surakiart said Thailand was also preparing to sign up to the agreement this
week pending a final review of the draft. "We agreed to the principles from the
very beginning," he said.
However, Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar indicated his country
would stay outside the agreement, which he described as having a "special
geographical coverage".
"But in terms of the resolve of combatting terrorism, I think there's a
clear consensus among all the countries that everyone has to cooperate," he
said.
"All of us are aware that it has to be tackled at all levels."
Malaysia's Syed Hamid Albar also said ASEAN had to work harder at creating
"a correct image and perceptions" about its response to evidence that suspected
terrorists under detention in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines belong to
cells plotting attacks on US and other foreign targets.
"We don't believe it is a haven (for Muslim militants). But each individual
ASEAN country sometimes is projected as a place for terrorism," he said.
"So I think we will discuss about that, what type of corrective measures we
should take, what kind of image we should project, in order to create a correct
perception about ASEAN as a group as well as individual ASEAN countries."
After a welcome dinner Wednesday held on the white-sand beach next to the
venue of the retreat, the luxurious Amanpuri resort, the ministers held a full
day of talks Thursday at Surakiart's own Amanpuri villa which overlooks the
ocean.
ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino said that although the terror
issue had grabbed the headlines, economic integration remained the group's "most
pressing issue".
"The foreign ministers will be looking at this from the point of view of
the nature and direction of ASEAN, rather than economic policy as such," he told
AFP Wednesday.
Closer links would help the region steer a path out of its second downturn
since the 1997 crisis, and help address the increasing diversion of investments
to China.
Severino said ASEAN must view China's rise as an opportunity as well as a
challenge.
"And so we are starting to negotiate with China on a Free Trade Area. And
we'd like to start that as early as next month."
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday February 21, 3:25 PM
ASEAN ministers pledge "new era" in war on terror By Dan Eaton PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) -
Southeast Asia announced plans on Thursday for tough new laws to crack down on
terrorism and cooperate across borders to protect its citizens from
international gangs.
Foreign ministers from the 10 Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) emerged from talks on the Thai resort island of Phuket pledging "a new
era" in regional cooperation in a bid to end a growing perception of the region
as a haven for militancy.
"This is a new era of ASEAN foreign ministers' cooperation. It's the era of
close cooperation on anti-terrorism," Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai told reporters.
"We are very concerned there is a lot of misunderstanding of ASEAN
countries, on what we have done. But perhaps we haven't done enough PR."
Philippines Foreign Minister Teofisto Guingona said his country, Indonesia
and Malaysia had drafted an extra-territoriality agreement to allow the arrest
of suspected terrorists accused of violating each other's laws.
"It is in general, with Indonesia and Malaysia only (to) exchange
information, intelligence and cooperation," he said.
"It is also to take positive steps to curb terrorism. A terrorist leader
fleeing to one of our three countries can be detained in the country where he
flees."
Surakiart said all 10 ASEAN members had acknowledged the importance of the
agreement and that Thailand was planning to join later.
"We agreed in principle, so it is just a matter of looking at some of the
wording so we will become the fourth country of the agreement," he said.
ASEAN, with its tiger cub economies, has been seen as a cornerstone of
regional stability over the past two decades.
But that image crumbled during the 1997 to 1998 economic crisis and its
focus was blurred by a rush to absorb communist Vietnam and Laos, military-ruled
Myanmar and autocratic Cambodia.
CRACKDOWN ON SUSPECTED MILITANTS
Foreign investment in ASEAN has declined in recent years with investors
wary of higher political risk in a region riven by religious and political
tensions.
Ethnic and separatist strife in Indonesia, as well as kidnappings and
insurrection by Muslim rebels in the Philippines, have tarred the whole region,
analysts say.
Singapore and Malaysia have recently rounded up suspected Muslim militants,
while some of the hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks on the
United States are believed to have passed through Thailand and Malaysia last
year.
The Phuket meeting is also the first by the regional bloc's top ministers
since America opened a new front in its "war on terror" in the Philippines, with
the arrival of U.S. special forces to help combat militants there.
"We don't believe it is a haven (for Muslim militants), but each individual
ASEAN country is sometimes projected as a haven for terrorism," said Malaysian
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
"We discussed about what type of corrective measures we should take, what
image we should project."
Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar said there was "a clear
political resolve" in ASEAN to fight terrorism.
"All of us are aware that it has to be tackled at all levels," he said,
adding that the informal dialogue in Phuket, at which no official statement will
be made and no agreements signed, would be followed up on at a summit in April.
He gave no further details.
Beneath the surface solidarity, ASEAN is divided, analysts say, with many
members such as Vietnam and Myanmar vehemently opposed to further action of the
type the United States took in Afghanistan.
U.S. President George W. Bush's reference to North Korea as part of an
"axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran has unnerved many in the grouping.
But with the United States the dominant economy affecting the recovery of
the region, most countries are biding their time.
"I think it is the right of the U.S. to take whatever action the U.S. feels
is appropriate, but I think there should be a lot of international cooperation,"
said Syed Hamid.
"This should not be the acts of individual countries, but (all) acting
together because this is a global problem."
ASEAN ministers will meet again in the afternoon, before wrapping up their
talks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday February 21, 12:22 PM
ASEAN talks seek to improve security and trade By Dan Eaton PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian foreign ministers began closed-door meetings in Thailand on
Thursday, discussing measures to combat terrorism, free up regional trade and
breath new life into their regional bloc.
The day-long informal retreat got under way at 8.30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on the
southern resort island of Phuket, attended by the 10 ministers of the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said late on Wednesday the
ministers would discuss ways to cooperate with the U.S.-led war on terror and a
raft of proposals for speeding up free trade and supporting poorer members of
the grouping.
ASEAN, with its tiger cub economies, has been seen as a cornerstone of
regional stability over the past two decades.
But that image crumbled during the 1997 to 1998 economic crisis and its
focus was blurred by a rush to absorb communist Vietnam and Laos, military-ruled
Myanmar and autocratic Cambodia.
Foreign investment in ASEAN has been on the decline in recent years with
investors wary of higher political risk in a region riven by religious and
political tensions.
Ethnic and separatist strife in Indonesia, as well as kidnappings and
insurrection by Muslim rebels in the Philippines, have tarred the whole region,
analysts say.
Singapore and Malaysia have recently rounded up suspected Muslim militants,
while some of the hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks on the
United States are believed to have passed through Thailand and Malaysia last
year.
The Phuket meeting is the first by the regional bloc's top ministers since
America opened a new front in its "war on terror" in the Philippines, with the
arrival of U.S. special forces to help combat militants there.
DIVISIONS EXPOSED
ASEAN is going to be divided, analysts say, with many members such as
Vietnam and Myanmar vehemently opposed to further action of the type the United
States took in Afghanistan.
Bush's reference to North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" along with
Iraq and Iran is likely to unnerve many in the grouping.
Pyongyang was welcomed into the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 2000 by
Southeast Asian countries eager to bring the isolated communist country out of
the cold and into a multilateral security framework designed to temper U.S. and
Chinese power.
But with the United States the dominant economy affecting the recovery of
the region, most countries are going to be unwilling to express openly any
concerns over U.S. foreign policy.
In Phuket, the grouping will try to remain united.
On the agenda will be an Initiative for ASEAN Integration -- aimed at
developing and integrating the group's newer members.
To boost investment between members, Singapore this week suggested the bloc
take a staggered approach to setting up an ASEAN Investment Area (AIA), starting
with the stronger economies of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in the first
wave.
The AIA would see countries granting the same investment rights to firms
from fellow ASEAN members as their own companies. It had been due to come into
effect in 2003 but most countries say they will not be ready.
Also on the agenda are discussion on building ties with ASEAN's dialogue
partners, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as India and South Asia.
Officials said foreign ministers would discuss granting the region's newest
country, East Timor, observer status within ASEAN, as well as Thailand's
proposal for an Asia Cooperation Dialogue, and collective moves against drugs
production and smuggling.
The ministers were scheduled to hold a joint news conference at 11.00 a.m.
(0500 GMT).
ASEAN groups Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 21 February, 2002,
11:18 GMT
US pension giant ditches Asian countries The largest pension fund in the United States has pulled out of investments
in four South East Asian countries, partly because of the social policies of the
governments concerned.
Calpers, the California Public Employees Retirement System, has said it is
selling investments in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia after
conducting a review.
It said Malaysia and Indonesia had scored poorly on the human rights front,
the Philippines failed mostly on financial criteria, but Thailand did badly for
a mixture of reasons.
Asian financial markets reacted badly to the news.
The BBC business reporter says some analysts were puzzled by the Calpers
decision to move money out of countries which have been the best financial
performers in Asia.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 21 February, 2002,
09:32 GMT
SE Asian neighbours in anti-terrorism deal Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have drafted an agreement to allow
the arrest of suspected terrorists in each others' countries.
Publicising the accord during a meeting of South East Asian foreign
ministers, the Philippine Foreign Minister, Teofisto Guingona, said the
agreement also sets up a system of intelligence-sharing.
The Thai Foreign Minister, Surakiart Sathirathai, said Thailand had agreed
in principle to join the pact, but wanted to tweak the wording.
Although the other six Asean members have not said they will sign the
agreement, Mr Surakiart spoke of a new era in co-operation for Asean ministers.
Analysts say differences over how to deal with Islamic militancy divide the
group, which is also deeply split over its support for the US campaign in
Afghanistan.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post
Thursday 21 February 2002 Region must send a signal of unity, says Surakiart World is watching group's every move Anuraj Manibhandu Asean has to show that it is safe, united and has ``strong and clear''
political will, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said yesterday.
Speaking on the eve of the informal meeting of Asean foreign ministers, he
said likely topics were terrorism and its impact on investment in the region,
and the projection of Asean as a single economic entity.
It would require reviews of Asean's internal business, such as the free
trade area (Afta), investment area (Aia) and an initiative to reduce the gap
between latecomers and original members.
``The world is watching to see how strong and clear is Asean's political
will. When the political will is clear, mechanisms will function and results
will be visible,'' he added. ``We have to make sure that Asean is relevant, that
we all can reinvigorate it,'' he said.
Hence the so-called retreat had to look into Asean's external as well as
internal projects. Externally, Asean was making headway towards enhanced
relations with China and India.
As a ``concrete'' project towards internal integration, Thailand would
pursue Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's proposal for two or three member
states to undertake the construction of the Poipet-Si Sophon railway. The Asian
Development Bank has already agreed to provide US$40 million in loans. Another
$15 million would be needed.
The link forms part of the Singapore-Kunming rail link through Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam.
The gap issue was taken up by foreign ministers of Burma, Cambodia, Laos
and Vietnam at a meeting yesterday. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand are the other six Asean members.
East Timor's status with Asean was another topic on the agenda.
Mr Surakiart would also report on the consultations he had held on the
Asian Co-operation Dialogue since he raised the matter with Asean foreign
ministers last July.
South Korea supported the idea, he said, adding that India was ``very
much'' for it and had offered to take part in any core group that might be set
up.
Pakistan thought it was a ``good path,'' according to the minister.
Mr Surakiart said he discussed the proposal with China ``several times.''
``In principle,'' Chinese leaders thought it ``coincided'' with world
developments, he added.
The venue of the meeting, the Amanpuri Resort, was surrounded with heavy
security with police and military personnel making their presence felt.
Sharpshooters have also been deployed in the area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post
Thursday 21 February 2002 Rights record under close watch LARRY JAGAN Burma is playing host this month to two international missions. The UN has
been in to look at the conditions of imprisoned opposition politicians and now
forced labour is the focus of attention.
Burma's human rights record is coming under increasing international
scrutiny. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the United Nations human rights rapporteur, has
just completed his third investigative mission in less than a year to the
country.
Mr Pinheiro used his visit to meet government ministers, ethnic leaders and
members of the opposition, including the leader of the National League for
Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for the past 15
months.
UN sources said the rapporteur had focused on the issues of political
prisoners, their conditions in jail, child soldiers and forced labour. He is due
to report back to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva next month.
The Commission will hold its annual meeting at the same time as the
International Labour Organisation is meeting to discuss what progress, if any,
Burma has made in stamping out the use of forced labour. A delegation from the
organisation has just arrived in Rangoon for discussions with the Burmese junta.
One of its first meetings was with the UN rapporteur, before he left Rangoon, to
exchange information on the state of forced labour in the country.
``Forced labour is an issue the UN envoy has been seriously looking at,
especially in Kachin state,'' said a Western diplomat who did not want to be
named.
The primary purpose of the visit by the ILO team is to discuss how the
organisation can establish a permanent presence in Rangoon.
Ideally, the ILO would like to open an office in Burma manned by one of its
own staff. But the Burmese generals have scotched that idea. Now the ILO is
canvassing the regime's attitude to the possible establishment of an ombudsman
for forced labour. This would be a Burmese national.
``This may not be as bad as it seems,'' a Geneva-based human rights
activist said. ``While they would be subject to immense pressure from the
government, they would, however, be very much in the international spotlight and
this might give them some protection; and one must remember there are many brave
people in Burma.''
For the xenophobic generals, this may be a more palatable alternative than
opening another international officestaffed with interfering foreigners. The ILO
is certainly optimistic that the Burmese regime will accept this proposal.
``The ILO delegation will certainly be telling the Burmese junta that
Rangoon must make some concession to avoid the ILO governing body ratchetting up
the measures against Burma in June,'' said an ILO official in Geneva who spoke
on condition of anonymity.
The ILO team will also be trying to assess what progress the regime has
made in the past six months in curbing the use of forced labour. Four senior
international legal experts spent three weeks in Burma in September, and a
further two along the Thai-Burmese border, investigating Burma's use of forced
labour.
They published their findings in November with the conclusion that the use
of force labour was still endemic, especially in border areas.
``Forced labour is no longer a problem in urban areas like Rangoon,'' the
opposition spokesman U Lwin said, ``but there are reports of forced labour in
the ethnic areas like Arakan and the Chin hills.''
International human rights groups like the Asian Forum for Human Rights and
Development, or Forum Asia, say forced labour is still used extensively in most
border areas where there is a heavy military presence. They have documented the
increased use of forced labour in Arakan in the past few months.
The ILO team will also be investigating the reports that many witnesses who
gave evidence to the experts mission when it was in Burma have been subjected to
forced labour themselves or imprisoned. Forum Asia has documented several
cases.
The ILO will also be following up the allegation that seven Shan villagers
were killed for complaining about forced labour to the army in September. The
case was included in the experts' report. But the Burmese government says it has
investigated this case and found it to be groundless. Sources in Geneva say
Rangoon has given the ILO a 400-page report on the incident and the ILO team
will be discussing this further during its stay in Rangoon.
Meanwhile, Mr Pinheiro has left Burma saying the visit was extremely
successful. ``I saw everyone I wanted to and I am satisfied with the
government's co-operation,'' he said.
During the trip, he concentrated on the issue of political prisoners,
visiting Burma's notorious Insein prison in Rangoon as well as a jail in Kachin
state earlier in the week. He spoke extensively with political prisoners from
the opposition NLD party at both prisons.
He spent more than nine hours at Insein jail interviewing four prisoners.
On his last day in Rangoon, Mr Pinheiro visited the top NLD political prisoner,
Win Tin, a renown journalist and writer who has been in prison for more than 13
years and is now in hospital where he is receiving treatment for major medical
problems.
``I am trying to demonstrate that the release of political prisoners is a
very important gesture,'' said Mr Pinheiro.
The Burmese military authorities released 11 political prisoners during the
nine days that Mr Pinheiro was in Burma. This was far more than they have been
releasing _ around 10 a month. But diplomats and UN officials do not believe
this reflects the government's commitment to speeding up the release of the
remaining political prisoners _ of which there are still more than 1,500.
But as the NLD spokesman said: ``He's doing everything he can, and we hope
to see more political prisoners released soon, including Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi.''
Larry Jagan is the BBC's Southeast Asia analyst, based in
Bangkok.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Straits Times
Press
Thursday, 21 February 2002 UN envoy?s appeal to Myanmar GENEVA, Wed. ? A UN human rights envoy has urged the military government in
Myanmar to take bolder steps towards political change by involving the
prodemocracy movement in managing humanitarian assistance to the country.
In an advance version of his report to the UN Human Rights Commission
released yesterday Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur for human
rights in Myanmar, said the junta must speed up the process of political
change.
"It is time for the government to start a substantive dialogue with the
leaders of the (opposition) National League for Democracy (NLD) and all other
political parties and ethnic nationalities if the government is serious about
achieving national reconciliation and the restoration of democracy," Pinheiro
said.
The report is due to be presented to the annual session of the Commission
beginning here on March 18. It was compiled before Pinheiro's latest 10-day
visit to Myanmar, which ended last Tuesday. ? AFP
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Network Media Group
Burmese workers expelled from work for
asking their salaries
Mae Sod, February 20.
Five workers from a lead melting factory in Mae Sod were expelled from work
and many workers were taken by police after an argument between workers and
employer for asking salaries around 7 PM tonight.
The five workers who were alleged to initiate the problem were expelled
from work and other 30 workers were taken by police after breaking out an
argument with the owner of the factory when the owner gave 100 Baht each to the
workers although they asked for 500 baht each for their general expenses.
"Some workers are working with monthly salary of 600-700 while others get
1200 baht. They were not paid for 7 months and the owner owed them to pay 5000
to 8000 baht each. The problem started when the owner paid them only 100 baht
although they asked for 500 baht each for general expenses. We don't know where
the police will send the other 30 workers," said a spoke-person from "Aurora"
workers group on telephone interview.
The owner explained to the police that the salary list was not with him as
the manager went back to Burma.
The majority of workers are ethnic Karen and Pa-O nationals and they had to
handle lead without any protection resulting in skin diseases and stomach
ulcers, explained a worker from the factory.
The factory is situated at 68/30 Soi Ban Tu in Mae Tao quarters in Mae Sod.
There were about 80 workers working there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Network Media Group
Three pages recommendation on
Migrant Workers to be sent to Thai PM
Chiang Mai, February 21, 2002 Three pages recommendation concerning with the treatment to migrant
workers, drafted in a seminar held in Chiang Mai on February 14-15, will be sent
to Thai Prime Minster Taksin Shinawatra from Thai NGOs and Labor unions, said a
Thai NGO worker who is working on migrant worker and refugee issue.
The seminar, held on February 14 and 15 at Chiang Mai Holiday Garden Hotel,
was attended by altogether 65 people including 35 representatives of 18 Thai
NGOs and Churches, 6 representatives from six different Thai Labor Unions, 4
academics, 6 migrant workers, 2 employers and 10 Thai government officials, she
said.
"Negative attitude of some of the (Thai) government authorities, policy
makers and Thai public has resulted in the discrimination and violations of
human rights of migrant workers. Furthermore, it contributes to the failure of
the management of migrant workers that does not respond to the actual problems,"
will be mentioned in the recommendation.
The recommendation will also include, "the Cabinet resolution dated August
29, 2000, which ordered the repatriation of pregnant women, is a serious
violation of human rights??The migrant workers who have registered and hold work
permits cannot get access to their basic human rights and labor rights."
The seminar was entitled as " Cooperation For Finding Solutions to Problems
Concerning the Registration of Migrant Workers 2001". There were panel
discussions and group discussions on the issues such as repatriation of migrant
workers, decision making in every level, Labor management, Labor rights, human
smuggling, Thai attitudes on the migrant workers and Corruption.
"In the seminar, we got the cooperation and active participation of labor
union representatives in many issues," one Thai NGO worker said.
The seminar was organized by the Network of Northern Thai NGOs working on
displaced people from Burma issue, which includes Mae Khong Sub-regional Program
(MSP), Migrant Action Program (MAP) and Friends Without Borders (FWB).
All the intelligent units from different branches also attended and
observed the seminar, one of the participant said.
Thai government is launching an operation plan to send back more than
300,000 illegal Burmese workers started from February 10.
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