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BURMA RELATED NEWS - March 29,
2002.
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HEADLINES
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FEER - Business Greed Behind Burma
Arrests
LA Times - COMMENTARY - It's Not Easy to Bring
Down a Dictator
AFP - UN rights expert says Myanmar destined for
democratic change
AFP - Thailand protests to Myanmar over border
clash that marred royal trip
Reuters - Senior China, ASEAN officials to talk
trade in May
Reuters - Thailand protests over Myanmar border
clash
AP - Myanmar regime frees 7 political prisoners
VOA News - UN Concerned About Human Rights
Violations in Burma
DS - Govt plans
Myanmar cell at EPB
Bkk Post - Wa attack an outrage, junta told
Bkk Post - Chavalit helping bring ethnic groups
and Rangoon together
Bkk Post - Top brass
celebrate Army Day but time is not on their side
The Nation - Protest
over Wa attack
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Releases Seven More
Opposition Members ----------------------------------------------------------------- Far Eastern Economic
Review
INTELLIGENCE - Business Greed Behind Burma Arrests Issue cover-dated April 04, 2002 Burma's military junta decided to come down on the family of former
dictator Ne Win after they ignored warnings from one of the country's top three
rulers to end their business shenanigans. The government officially says Ne
Win's son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, and three of the old man's grandsons were
arrested on March 7 because they had been conspiring to abduct the country's top
three leaders--ruling State Peace and Development Council Chairman Gen. Than
Shwe, army chief Gen. Maung Aye and intelligence boss Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt--and
form a new military government loyal to the 90-year-old Ne Win. But diplomats
and informed Burmese citizens in Rangoon say the coup claims were simply a
convenient excuse for getting Ne Win's cocky and unpopular relatives out of the
way. They say the triumvirate had earlier decided to clip the wings of Ne Win's
son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, and three grandsons because they were getting too big
and arrogant in the Burmese business world, threatening local competitors and
foreign investors. Khin Nyunt, a protégé of Ne Win, had been distancing himself
from the former first family for more than a year and he was charged with
admonishing them when things were getting out of control. The family ignored the
warning.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles Times
March 28, 2002 COMMENTARY - It's Not Easy to Bring Down a Dictator By ANNA HUSARSKA YANGON, Myanmar -- How encouraged we felt after watching the documentary,
"Bringing Down a Dictator," about the end of Slobodan Milosevic's rule. It was
previewed at a conference held in Virginia by the United States Institute of
Peace and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (and will premiere on
PBS on Sunday).
That meeting gathered practitioners of nonviolence, some who had already
brought down their dictators--from nations such as Chile, South Africa and my
native Poland--and some from nations that have yet to do it, such as Belarus,
Iraq and Burma, renamed Myanmar by its military rulers. By the end of the
conference I felt like a walking encyclopedia of nonviolent ideas, strategies
and tactics.
Then I traveled to Burma. As a precaution I left behind the materials from
the conference and my precious copy of "Bringing Down a Dictator." This was a
wise move. Wise, too, is to leave behind all those ideas about how nonviolence
and civil society can easily bring down a dictatorship. If every rule has an
exception to confirm it, then Burma is the ultimate exception to the rule about
the immense "power of the powerless," to paraphrase Vaclav Havel. The Burmese
are kind and gentle people, so it is hard to watch them so thoroughly subdued by
the military regime. Although dissenting ideas are easily found here, strong
civil society is not.
In 1988, students inspired a general nonviolent revolt here, but the
generals clamped down. Two years later in the parliamentary elections, 82% of
the seats went to the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Aung San
Suu Kyi, but the ruling junta prevented the victors from taking office. Thus the
Burmese believe that even if they stand up to the regime, they may be crushed.
Meanwhile, the junta learned to nip in the bud whatever the civil society may be
planning. (Or the military brass: Witness the recent sacking of three
high-ranking officials suspected of being coup plotters.) One way to do it is to
impose extremely harsh punishments for the slightest show of dissent (two actor
brothers from Mandalay got seven years behind bars for a joke, and a man got a
25-year sentence for possessing an unregistered fax machine).
Having a strong and unquestioned leader in Suu Kyi is a mixed blessing,
because she eclipses others in the movement. Civil society in Burma is not
sufficiently unified, organized, focused or powerful enough to bring down a
dictatorship or even diminish its power.
So if there were any chance of this regime leaving the stage in a peaceful
way, it would not happen because of inside pressure. But it may happen from a
mixture of outside pressure and inside negotiations.
Since October 2000, this has been the reason for hope among the Burmese and
Burma-watchers. During 14 months of talks between the generals and Suu Kyi, it
has been them versus her, a far cry from the round table of negotiators that
spelled the end of communist rule in Poland, but talk they do.
The Burmese talks are negotiated by United Nations special envoy Razali
Ismail, but there's no word about progress other than it's "going well." This is
frustrating for the Burmese. Those inside the country, more docile, cannot
affect the outcome. Those outside call for transparency, but that's doubtful. It
is equally doubtful that if any result is obtained, it will satisfy the Burmese
or the regime, for that matter.
In Poland, where before the round-table process began, secret talks were
held between recently released political prisoners and the hated generals who
put them behind bars. The result was a less than satisfactory agreement, but it
was the only one on the table. It led to unfree and unfair elections, but that
ultimately proved to be a more than satisfactory beginning to the peaceful end
of communist military dictatorship.
We can hope for the same in Burma. There are many ways to bring down a
dictator.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday March 29, 2:06 PM
UN rights expert says Myanmar destined for democratic change (AFP) - The UN special
rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said he believed the country could embrace
democracy and he called on the international community to support efforts to
bring about change.
"I think that Myanmar is destined to change," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told
Thursday the 53-member UN Human Rights Commission, which is currently holding
its annual session in Geneva.
"In spite of the slowness of the process and the limited political results
that are so far apparent, I continue to believe that there is a will within the
State Peace and Development Council to pursue a transition from political
exclusion to cooperation with the National League for Democracy and other
components of society," he said.
Pinheiro said if the international community wanted to see political and
human rights progress, it should support the "efforts underway in a spirit of
principled engagement".
The UN expert called on the military junta in Myanmar to free some 1,600
political prisoners, following the 263 released over the last 15 months.
The Brazilian rapporteur visited Myanmar in April and October 2001, and
last month, during which he was able to talk individually with 25 political
prisoners who he said had not complained of bad treatment.
But he lamented that many countries were being let off the hook for human
rights violations because they were instrumental in the fight against
terrorism.
"Some countries have received the permission to continue -- 'Go on, you
will not be bothered because you are fighting the evil'," he said during a press
conference.
He complained that the authorities in Myanmar could watch television news
and see other countries receiving different treatment to them.
He said as a special rapporteur he was especially angry about the
inconsistency of treatment.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday March 28, 7:52 PM
Thailand protests to Myanmar over border clash that marred royal trip BANGKOK, March 28 (AFP) -
Thailand Thursday made an official protest to Myanmar over a border clash
involving a Thai army unit which was carrying out a security sweep hours ahead
of the planned arrival of Queen Sirikit.
In an aide memoire, it said the unit assigned as the advance security team
for the royal visit was attacked by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an ethnic
militia allied with Yangon.
The incident, which left one Thai soldier dead and another injured, forced
the queen's planned visit to a royal-sponsored demonstration farm north of
Chiang Mai to be cancelled.
"Such an attack on the advance team, especially just two hours prior to a
most important royal visit, was a serious incident which constituted a grave
affront to the Thai public," the aide memoire said.
"The Thai government condemns in the strongest terms the attack by the
United Wa State Army," said the document which was handed to Myanmar's
ambassador in Bangok.
Thailand said in view of the "excellent" relations between the two
countries, it expected Yangon to "ensure that there will be no recurrence of a
similar incident in the future."
An earlier protest over the incident was sent Tuesday via the two
countries' border committees.
Thailand has sealed off part of its northern border with Myanmar and sent
in several hundred troop reinforcements after a series of clashes with the UWSA,
also known as the Red Wa.
On Friday, a fierce firefight between a Thai border patrol and a drug
caravan also linked with the Red Wa left 12 alleged drug runners and a Thai
soldier dead.
Heroin and amphetamine trafficking is rife along the Thai-Myanmar border,
and clashes between narcotics-financed ethnic armies are common during the dry
season.
Myanmar's junta insists the UWSA is trying to stamp out narcotics, but
western governments accuse Yangon of turning a blind eye to the group's
activities in return for a ceasefire agreement.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday March 29, 9:59 AM
Senior China, ASEAN officials to talk trade in May BEIJING, March 29 (Reuters) -
Senior officials from China and the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) will meet in May to prepare for talks on establishing a free trade zone,
the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Long Yongtu, Chin'a vice-minister of foreign trade and economic
cooperation, said the officials would discuss preparatory work for talks in
Beijing "as soon as possible", the agency reported late on Thursday.
"Working level consultations between China and ASEAN have been going on for
some time as preparations are being made for launching the talks," Xinhua quoted
Long as saying.
China and ASEAN agreed last November to establish a free trade zone within
the coming decade. The proposed zone would be the world's largest, with a
population of 1.7 billion.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday March 28, 8:04 PM
Thailand protests over Myanmar border clash BANGKOK, March 28 (Reuters) -
Thailand issued a formal protest to Myanmar on Thursday saying armed men loyal
to Yangon attacked Thai troops providing advance security for a planned royal
visit to a border village this week.
Monday's clash, which left one Thai soldier dead and another badly wounded,
caused Queen Sirikit to cancel her visit.
Myanmar's ambassador to Thailand was summoned to receive a protest letter
fromThai Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Tej Bunnag on Thursday.
"Such an attack on the advance team, especially just two hours prior to a
most important royal visit, was a serious incident which constituted a grave
affront to the Thai public," the letter said.
Thai authorities said the attack about 700 km (435 miles) north of Bangkok
was carried out by members of the Yangon-allied United Wa State Army.
The ethnic Wa army is accused by Thailand and the United States of
producing and trafficking narcotics.
"In view of the current excellent state of relations between Thailand and
Myanmar, the Royal Thai Government expects the Myanmar authorities to exert
their utmost to ensure that there will be no recurrence of a similar incident in
the future," the letter to Myanmar's military government said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar regime frees 7 political
prisoners
Fri Mar 29, 3:13 AM ET YANGON, Myanmar (AP)- The
military government freed seven members of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's
party on Friday, bringing to 253 the number of political prisoners it has
released since starting reconciliation talks with her 1 years ago.
Seven men belonging to the National League for Democracy party were released from various jails and all are in good health, a government statement said. It identified the men by their names but gave no details about their
incarceration.
Apart from the prisoner releases there has been little apparent progress in
the reconciliation talks, which started in October 2000 after mediation by
United Nations (news - web sites) envoy Razali Ismail.
Razali is expected to visit Myanmar again in late April in a bid to give
the talks more momentum.
The talks are aimed at ending the political deadlock in the country, which
has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current group of generals came to
power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising in which hundreds were
killed.
The ruling junta refused to hand over power in 1990 to Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Suu Kyi, whose pro-democracy party swept general elections. Instead it
jailed or put under house arrest hundreds of NLD members, including Suu Kyi,
triggering an international outcry.
More than 1,500 political prisoners remain in the junta's custody,
according to human rights groups. Suu Kyi remains under virtual house
arrest.
----------------------------------------------------------------- VOA News
UN Concerned About Human Rights Violations in Burma Lisa Schlein Geneva 28 Mar 2002 15:17 UTC A U.N. special investigator says Burma is in the process of becoming a more
open society and he says the international community should encourage these
efforts. But, in a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, the
investigator says the process of change in Burma is fragile and gross violations
of human rights persist.
The human rights investigator, Brazilian Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, is calling
for the release of all political prisoners in Burma, also known as Myanmar.
He says he does not agree with the Burmese government's contention that an
estimated 1,600 political prisoners are criminal offenders. He says many people
are detained simply for having peacefully exercised their political opinions.
"A case in point is Dr. Salai Tun Than, a brilliant PhD and a senior
academic in the field of agricultural research, who was arrested in November
2001 and is now serving a seven-year sentence in Insein prison where I met him
during my last mission," says Mr. Pinheiro. "Being myself a university professor
and an academic, I felt depressed and distressed for this. There are persons who
have never been charged nor tried and have been in prison for several years.
There are persons who are old and sick and should be released on humanitarian
grounds."
Mr. Pinheiro said he held lengthy, private meetings with 25 prisoners
during a visit to Burma last month. He said prison conditions have improved, but
they are not good. He also said he did not find any instances of beatings or
torture.
The U.N. investigator said he met Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and says
she does not seem hopeless about the future of her country. Mr. Pinheiro said he
told Burma's military leaders she should be released from house arrest.
During his visit, the investigator said he collected first hand information
relating to serious human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by military
personnel in areas where armed opposition groups are active.
"Fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, personal security,
physical integrity, freedom of movement, ability to make a living appear to be
routinely violated by the army in the areas of suspected armed opposition
groups," Mr. Pinheiro said.
Mr. Pinheiro did not investigate the issue of forced labor in Burma, he
said. However, from discussions with human rights groups, Mr. Pinheiro said he
is convinced that forced labor continues in areas of fighting.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Star - Fri. March 29, 2002
Govt plans Myanmar cell at
EPB
M Shamsur Rahman from Yangon
The government is planning to set up a Myanmar cell at the Export Promotion
Bureau (EPB) for fostering trade with the neighbouring country.
The cell will deal with business activities between Bangladesh and Myanmar,
Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told The Daily Star prior to
leaving for Bangladesh, ending his four-day official visit to Myanmar on
Wednesday.
During his visit, Khosru met senior ministers of Myanmar and held bilateral
talks. He also jointly inaugurated a weeklong Bangladesh trade fair in
Yangon.
The cell will be set up by next month to help resolve the problems
especially those relating to border trade, the minister said. "It will also
facilitate business with Myanmar and help narrow trade gap which is now largely
in favour of Myanmar".
The minister also said purpose of his visit was to explore new markets for
Bangladeshi products and improve its export scenario, which is now heading
southwards with little sign of improvements in near future.
"So we have decided to give special emphasis on our next door market and
for this we have decided to open a cell that will solely deal with the business
activities with Myanmar," the minister said.
The minister quoting figures from the Central Statistical Office of Myanmar
and EPB of Bangladesh said in 1995-96, Bangladesh imported goods amounting to US
$ 8.76 million and the export from the country was US $ 3.3 million. "In
1996-97, our export stood at US $7.89 million while import was US $ 16.68
million from Myanmar."
"In 1997-98, the export came down to only US $ 3.58 million, which was only
two per cent of the imports of US $ 68.73 million. In 1998-99, our exports
dwindled almost to nil with US $ 0.58 million against a staggering figure of
import of US $172.76 million," the minister said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 29 March 2002
Wa attack an outrage, junta told Troops confront border outposts Post reporters The government protested strongly to the Burmese government over an attack
by Wa soldiers on an army patrol which caused the cancellation of Her Majesty
the Queen's visit to a border village in Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng district on
Monday.
Burmese ambassador Myo Myint was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to
receive an aide memoire from permanent secretary Tej Bunnag, a move directed by
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.
``The Royal Thai Government condemns in the strongest terms the attack by
the United Wa State Army,'' the protest letter said.
UWSA soldiers intruded into Wiang Haeng district and attacked a patrol
which was clearing the way for the scheduled royal visit two hours later.
The visit by HM the Queen was cancelled on safety grounds.
Due to the timing of the attack, the government considered it ``a serious
incident which constituted a grave affront to the Thai public'', the letter
said.
It expressed ``deepest concern'' and demanded a guarantee there would be no
recurrence.
Spokesman for the ministry Ratthakit Manathat said the Burmese ambassador
pledged to convey Thailand's concern to the government in Rangoon.
The Foreign Ministry's action came amid reports of continued build-up of
UWSA forces across Wiang Haeng district yesterday.
Local military sources insisted the Burmese military junta was behind the
presence of the Wa soldiers in the area.
``UWSA would not dare posing a military challenge without backing from the
Burmese military junta,'' said a senior officer of Pha Mueng Task Force. The
force is in charge of border security in the upper North area of Chiang Mai and
Chiang Rai provinces.
The UWSA's attack on the calvary division patrol on Monday, which left one
soldier dead, was intentional and in apparent retaliation for the death of Wa
soldiers in an ambush last week in the same area, the officer said.
Thirteen UWSA troops were killed and 1.6 million methamphetamine tablets
seized when Wa smugglers clashed with a Pha Muang Task Force unit on March 22.
One Thai soldier was killed.
The source said the seized methamphetamine pills belonged to Wei
Hsueh-kang, a leading UWSA member, and the commander of UWSA's 171th rapid
deployment division.
UWSA's reinforcements opposite Wiang Haeng belong to the same unit.
``They suffered heavily from the Third Army's ambush on the drug caravan
last week,'' said a senior cavalry officer.
It was quite unusual for the UWSA to open fire on Thai soldiers. Three UWSA
soldiers were killed and several injured during the clash on Monday.
Pha Muang Task Force troops were last night positioned only about 300
metres from UWSA outposts opposite Ban Paek Saem.
``The situation is quite tense and anything could happen at anytime,'' said
Col Chavalit Sirikij, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said Rangoon would need to put an
end to the problems caused by UWSA.
``We have brought order to our side of the border and Burma should do
likewise,'' Gen Chavalit said. ``But I do not think the Burmese leaders have the
time right now, as they are still trying to settle internal political turmoil.
In a few days I will send a man to meet them.''
A source said he planned to send Gen Vichit Yathip, an army adviser.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 29 March 2002
Chavalit helping bring ethnic
groups and Rangoon together
Talking best way to ensure harmony
Wassana Nanuam
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has been mediating truce talks between Rangoon and
ethnic rebel groups, the Karen National Union and Shan State Army.
The KNU and SSA are the Burmese junta's main opponents.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister said he had taken up the
mediator's role because he knew many Burmese military leaders, including Gen Saw
Maung. Burma wanted the country to be democratic and to hold elections, he
said.
The junta wanted to see proper power-sharing but were unable to reach that
goal because the KNU and SSA wanted their own territory, armed forces and
economic system.
``Senior Burmese military leaders could not contact the KNU and SSA, so I
volunteered to be a mediator.
``We want peace in the region. With Burma still troubled, we would continue
to face problems from illegal labour and drugs,'' Gen Chavalit said.
He was speaking during a lecture on security at Chulalongkorn University's
faculty of political science.
Gen Chavalit said the best way to maintain security was to make friends
with neighbouring countries.
``Early last year Thai-Burmese relations were poor because we were not
seeing each other for talks.
``We solved the problem by starting them up again. As a result, the
situation in the country has remained quiet. Even after the Sept 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States, the situation in the South stayed calm,'' Gen
Chavalit said.
He said he had not pressured the SSA to ally with the United Wa State
Army.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 29 March 2002
Top brass celebrate Army Day but time is
not on their side
Pressure is mounting on the junta to conclude the
reconciliation process as the international community calls for substantial
progress. If this is not forthcoming, trade sanctions loom.
BY LARRY JAGAN, BBC
On Wednesday, amid unprecedented security, Burma's military leaders
celebrated one of the most important dates in the Burmese military calendar _
Armed Forces Day or Resistance Day.
This is the anniversary of the day when General Aung San, opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's father, declared war against the occupying Japanese forces 57
years ago. And as the country's military brass oversaw the celebrations, the
country's top three generals, Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt, were
desperately trying to create an image of unprecedented unity. But as the junta
stressed unity and the army's unique role in ensuring national security and
stability, time seems to be running out for the generals, and they must know
it.
The international community, and even United Nations special envoy Razali
Ismail, have warned the junta in recent weeks that they are growing impatient
with the lack of progress in the dialogue process. Eighteen months of secret
talks between the generals and the opposition leader have produced very little
in the way of concrete results.
More than 250 political prisoners have been released, the opposition
National League for Democracy has been allowed to open most of its offices in
Rangoon, and it hopes to open its divisional headquarters throughout the country
soon. But opposition activists cannot travel relatively freely. ``And most
importantly NLD activists are no longer harassed by the military,'' said U Lwin,
the opposition spokesman.
But more than 1,300 political prisoners remain in jail, according to
international human rights groups, including the Red Cross. There are still more
than 600 NLD activists in jail, and of course Ms Suu Kyi is also still under
house arrest.
There are fears that the foiled coup plot is going to continue to be used
as an excuse to delay the dialogue process further. That is the reason the
military gave for the postponement of the UN envoy's scheduled trip to Burma
last week. This decision has disappointed even Rangoon's supporters, such as the
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, who is reported to have written to
Gen Than Shwe urging him to reschedule Ambassador Razali's visit as soon as
possible, before the water festival in the middle of April.
The clean-up of the alleged coup plot by the Ne Win family against the
government also appears to be causing the military far more problems than was
originally expected. Many diplomats in Rangoon remain convinced that there is a
power struggle within the upper echelons of the military between the liberals
around Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and the hardliners, led by Gen Maung Aye, who are
opposed to the talks with the opposition leader Ms Suu Kyi. But the constant
show of unity _ even the almost unprecedented photograph of Gen Maung Aye and
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt inspecting the troops together in preparation for the Army Day
rehearsal, in the Burmese-run newspapers seems to suggest that there is no power
struggle.
So far the generals have only confirmed the sacking of four top soldiers,
including two regional commanders, and these seem to be linked to business
operations involving members of the Ne Win family. There have been other
sackings too, according to military sources in Rangoon, including the head of
the military's medical services because he sanctioned the provision of nursing
support for the ailing Gen Ne Win.
The question of soldiers, police and civilians is still going on. It could
be as many as a thousand have been picked up and questioned, according to
military sources in Rangoon.
This massive investigation is now beginning to sew mistrust and suspicion
within the ranks of the army. For the first time since 1988, the army seems to
be turning against itself.
Until now, the army has in fact remained extremely cohesive and unified,
despite constant rumours of internal power struggles. ``It's been a monolithic
organisation, running on unquestioning loyalty within the ranks,'' said an Asian
diplomat in Rangoon. The process of cleaning up the coup plotters is now
endangering the very fabric of the army which enabled it to wield power so
effectively till now. ``There is a very real danger of the army imploding on
itself if these investigations continue for much longer,'' said diplomats in
Rangoon.
While there is no power struggle within the triumvirate, Gen Than Shwe, Gen
Maung Aye and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the future of the intelligence chief must now
be in doubt. He owes his meteoric rise with army to Gen Ne Win's patronage. He's
also been very close to Sandar Ne Win, although he has distanced himself from
her and family's business dealings over the last 18 months. And now that the
junta has moved against the first family, his position is likely to become
increasingly untenable.
Gen Than Shwe has now emerged as the unchallenged power in the military
government. Some analysts believe this will favour the dialogue process in the
long-run. Gen Ne Win's influence, if indeed he still had any, has been
dramatically ended and the junta have proven they can accommodate the unexpected
and the unthinkable if they feel they need to.
But UN officials fear that the process of rooting out the coup plot will be
Gen Than Shwe's priority and he's likely to concentrate on that to the exclusion
of everything else. They draw comparisons with the situation last year when
Secretary Two Lt-Gen Tin Oo was killed in a helicopter crash, and the military's
pre-occupation with internal matters stalled the talks, and almost caused them
to collapse altogether.
The hope is that this time the talks won't suffer in the same way. Mr
Razali hasn't minced his words when telling the junta he needed to return to
Rangoon as soon as possible in the interests of the process. ``I hope the events
surrounding the coup plot don't derail the reconciliation process,'' he said.
``It's too important to the Burmese people for the government to allow this to
happen.''
In fact the junta is running out of time, as the international community
are anxious to see significant progress in the talks before the end of April.
``They've dragged out the secret talks with the opposition leader Ms Suu Kyi as
long as they could without giving any significant concessions to the democracy
movement,'' said a Rangoon-based diplomat. ``Now they will have to show their
commitment to the process or risk the international community increasing
Rangoon's isolation.''
Already the United States is openly threatening the regime with stiffening
economic sanctions. ``If there's no progress soon,'' said senior US officials,
``the US will come down on them like a ton of bricks.'' That's likely to mean
trade sanctions. Currently the US imports nearly four million dollars of goods
from Burma, mainly textiles. That will be a significant dint to the already
crippled economy.
Nothing less than Ms Suu Kyi's release will satisfy their impatience. ``We
are going through a crucial and delicate stage,'' said U Lwin, the NLD
spokesman. And there also hints that the opposition leader herself is getting
frustrated by the lack of progress and may even decide to break her self-imposed
silence if the generals don't move the dialogue process onto substantive
political talks soon.
- Larry Jagan is the BBC's Southeast Asia analyst, based in Bangkok
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Protest over Wa attack
Published on Mar 29, 2002
The Foreign Ministry yesterday lodged a protest with Burma over a clash
along the border between Burma's United Wa State Army (UWSA) and a Thai army
unit that was conducting security sweep hours ahead of the scheduled visit of HM
the Queen.
The protest note, called an aide-memoire, was handed over to Burmese
Ambassador Myo Myint in Bangkok.
The clash last Saturday, in which a Thai soldier was killed, resulted in
the cancellation of the Queen's visit to a royal project in Chiang Mai
province.
In the aide-memoire, the ministry said the unit assigned as an advance
security team for the royal visit was attacked by the UWSA, the major source of
drug production and trafficking.
"Such an attack on the advance team, especially just two hours prior to a
most important royal visit, was a serious incident which constituted a grave
affront to the Thai public," the note said.
"The Thai government condemns in the strongest terms the attack by the
UWSA."
Thailand said in view of the "excellent" relations between the two
countries, it expected Rangoon to "ensure that there will be no recurrence of a
similar incident in the future."
An earlier protest over the incident was sent on Tuesday via the two
countries' border committees.
Part of the northern border was sealed off as both Burmese government and
Wa forces deployed more troops and weapons in the area.
The UWSA is a major source of illicit drugs entering Thailand.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Releases Seven More
Opposition Members
Xinhuanet 2002-03-29 19:44:10 YANGON, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Myanmar government set free seven more
members of the opposition National League for Democracy(NLD) here Friday, an
official Information Sheet said.
The seven men, released from various "correctional institutions", are
identified as U Thein Zaw, U Than Swe, U Tin Myaing, U KhinMaung Lin, U Win Ni
Oo, U Thein Htay and U Aung Kyi Myint.
The release has brought to 244 the total number of freed NLD members and
its activists since January 2001.
Meanwhile, the government has also been releasing criminal offenders on
humanitarian grounds since February 22 this year, after United Nations Human
Rights Envoy to Myanmar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro paid a visit to the country to
inspect its human rights situation.
The total number of such freed female detainees, who are eitherpregnant or
with young children, has come to 318.
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