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BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 27,
2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Proposed ASEAN-US pact against terrorism endorsed by senior
officials
Reuters - Powell leaves on Asian counter-terrorism
tour
AP - Myanmar says it
won't derail ASEAN comment over political situation
AP - Myanmar, Thailand
downplay border tensions
TAM - Irrawaddy cruise company to sail across
Indochina
The Nation - Ambassador met Suu Kyi
BKK Post - Police arrest three, seize 400,000
pills
BKK Post - Smugglers caught with B1m in timber
The Nation - Mysterious arrest in Burma
The Nation - Asean Considers a new agenda
------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday July 26, 4:30 PM
Proposed ASEAN-US pact against
terrorism endorsed by senior officials
(AFP) - Southeast Asian senior officials endorsed a proposal to join hands with the United States to combat terrorism in the region where Islamic militant groups have emerged as key security threats. The officials, meeting in Brunei to prepare for the annual gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers, accommodated concerns raised by Indonesia and Vietnam before agreeing on the "ASEAN-US Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism," delegates said Friday. The declaration should boost the anti-terrorist war in Southeast Asia, where some governments are battling homegrown Islamic insurgencies and where certain remnants of the al-Qaeda terror network have fled after the destruction of their bases in Afghanistan. An ASEAN senior official, who asked not to be named, said a copy of the declaration would be sent to US senior officials for approval. If Washington approves it, the agreement will be submitted to the ASEAN foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Colin Powell for signing. Powell will be in Brunei for a meeting on July 31 of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia's top forum on security issues. The 10 ASEAN foreign ministers as a group will meet with Powell on August 1. America's top diplomat will also have whirlwind stops in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines during which the fight against terrorism "will be a major topic", State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. During Friday's meeting here, Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim nation, wanted the declaration to reflect greater involvement of the United Nations in anti-terrorism efforts, the source said. Delegates from communist-ruled Vietnam wanted to make sure some provisions would safeguard the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs. "We were able to accommodate the concerns by adding some motherhood statements," a second ASEAN source told AFP. The first source, however, said that the US would be more interested in the political message sent by the signing of the agreement rather than its content. "What the US wants is to show the world that ASEAN is supporting them," he said. "I think what is more important for Powell is the photo opportunity. They will accept whatever document we have," he added. The declaration is supposed to have been patterned after an accord between Malaysia and the US on fighting terrorism, but sources said the proposed ASEAN-US pact was a softer version. Aside from the anti-terrorist pact with Malaysia, Washington has deployed troops in the southern Philippines to help train its former colony's military combat Abu Sayyaf gunmen linked to suspected September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Regional security analysts have said that Southeast Asia, which is home to countries with large Muslim population, could become a key base for Islamic militants if the problem was not addressed. ASEAN sources said it was crucial to have a framework for ASEAN-US cooperation "to prevent, disrupt and combat" the global terrorism scourge. A draft of the declaration obtained by AFP said areas of cooperation would include improved sharing of military intelligence and development of policies against terror groups. The declaration also calls on all signatories to comply with UN resolutions ordering the freeze of terrorist assets and finances. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday July 27, 1:21 AM
Powell leaves on Asian
counter-terrorism tour
By Elaine Monaghan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell set off on an eight-nation Asian tour on Friday that will highlight fears of Islamic extremism -- and how September 11 has changed the face of U.S. foreign policy. From Pakistan to the Philippines, his trip will be dominated by counter-terrorism, Washington's top priority since Islamic militant suicide hijackers killed 3,000 people in three American states with passenger planes. Not since the Cold War ended have so many countries had one enemy -- although it is far harder to find or even identify. U.S. President George W. Bush responded to September 11 by dividing the world into two camps to defeat an evil he said threatens all countries, and eventually, civilisation itself. "You're either with us or you're against us," Bush said. The leaders of India and Pakistan have clearly decided they are with him -- but their shared focus did not keep the nuclear-capable rivals from the brink of war this year. "These are high-maintenance friends," observed Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute vice president and a staffer for 10 years on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations committee that deals with South Asia. Powell first goes to Pakistan and India, his third mission since September 11 to try to keep India and Pakistan from launching a war that experts fear could go nuclear. The soldier-turned-diplomat will have to convince New Delhi, where he spends the night on Saturday, that it should keep a cool head despite repeated attacks by Pakistan-based militants battling over disputed Kashmir. For the first time, Washington has solid relations with both countries, mainly due to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's policy reversal that enlisted him as the frontline state in America's war against terrorism. Powell aims to persuade Musharraf to follow through on a promise to stop militants crossing into India. Powell says such infiltration has dropped significantly. India is sceptical. In return, Powell wants India to offer more confidence-building measures and a dialogue on the status of Kashmir, a Himalayan territory that has been at the root of two of three Indian-Pakistani wars since independence from Britain in 1947. "The United States is much more circumspect in public than in private. I have every confidence that Colin Powell is not mincing his words when he's one-on-one with Musharraf. He knows just how quickly this could spiral out of control," Pletka said. "This is about saying: 'You said you would do it. Now do it," she told Reuters.
GLOBAL REACH U.S. relations have picked up with many Asian countries since September 11, blamed on Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, whose tentacles extend globally. Like many international gatherings since the World Trade Center's twin towers were flattened, terrorism will be the focus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei next week, around which Powell's trip is built. The 10-member group is expected to agree to share financial and immigration intelligence with Washington, as countries vie with one another to prove themselves better allies against terrorism, in hopes of getting more aid from Washington. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. But its annual event has grown into a 23-member grouping bringing in most major powers including China and Russia. On Monday, Powell will visit Thailand, where intelligence officials were apparently so keen for an allegiance with their American counterparts that they recently suggested al Qaeda fighters were hiding in their country, much to the irritation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In Malaysia the next day, Powell will repeat praise for the country's efforts to support the U.S.-led war on terror after it locked up dozens of suspected Islamic militants and busted what it says were cells with links to al Qaeda. He squeezes in a stop in Singapore, which is still reeling from revelations of a group planning a hit on U.S. interests. A highlight of his meetings in Brunei from Wednesday until August 2 could be talks with North Korea's foreign minister, though Washington has declined to say whether any contact will occur. In Indonesia , Powell will hear calls for resuming military ties despite arguments in the U.S. Congress that the army's human rights record tolerates no such thing. In the Philippines, Powell's last stop on August 3, he will thank Manila for the joint fight against Abu Sayyaf rebels, their first real military cooperation in a decade. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar says it won't
derail ASEAN comment over political situation
Fri Jul 26, 6:06 AM ET
By JASBANT SINGH, Associated Press Writer
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei - Myanmar said Friday that it won't try to block comment on its political situation ahead of Asia's largest annual security talks next week. The military government released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in May after U.N.-backed mediation, but remains under Western pressure to move ahead more quickly to democratic rule. Senior diplomatic officials from Myanmar said they are concerned that a declaration adopted during next week's meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reflect progress made toward political reconciliation. The declaration is expected to do that, but discussions could run into trouble if Myanmar feels it is being pushed to change faster than it wants. Still, Myanmar says it won't seek significant changes in the declaration. "We have never proposed any major changes," said Thaung Tun, director-general of Myanmar's Foreign Ministry. "I don't want to jump the gun, but basically we will go along with the ASEAN consensus." "I think they will acknowledge the achievements that we have made in the past year and they will encourage us to carry on with whatever we are doing," Thaung Tun said. The ASEAN ministers will meet before hosting their Regional Forum, which brings together their counterparts from a dozen other countries with strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region, among them the United States, the European Union, China, India, Japan, both Koreas and Australia. The Southeast Asian group rejects interference in each other's internal affairs and has resisted Western pressure for sanctions on Myanmar, promoting dialogue with the ruling generals to bring about change. "We all support the Myanmar government in the national reconciliation process, which includes the release of Suu Kyi," said Tej Bunnag, permanent secretary of Thailand's Foreign Ministry. "Myanmar is already making good progress on the reconciliation process." The United States and European Union have shown wariness that the Myanmar government may stall on reforms after releasing Suu Kyi, who has been confined to her home or restricted in her movements for most of the past 14 years. Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent promotion of democracy. The military has ruled the country, also known as Burma, since 1962. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar, Thailand
downplay border tensions
Fri Jul 26, 7:07 AM ET
By JASBANT SINGH, Associated Press Writer
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei - Myanmar and Thailand on Friday played down recurring border clashes between their armies, with officials declaring close cooperation under way to ease tensions. The director-general of Myanmar's Foreign Ministry, Thaung Tun, blamed some of the tension on media coverage of the clashes at the porous border of the two countries. Tej Bunnag, permanent secretary of Thailand's Foreign Ministry, said that Myanmar was informing the Thai government of military movements at the border to avoid misunderstandings. "We are cooperating all the time," Tej told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a meeting of senior ASEAN officials. "The response from Myanmar has been good." Friction between the countries intensified May 20, when Myanmar accused the Thai military of firing artillery onto its territory to support attacks by ethnic Shan rebels on Myanmar army outposts. Thailand claimed its army fired only "warning shots" into Myanmar after stray shells from fighting there landed on Thai soil. In protest, Myanmar has shut border checkpoints with Thailand and banned official visits by Thai delegations. The conflict also touched off a war of words in the Thai and Myanmar media, with both countries banning journalists accused of writing vitriolic articles. "Both countries are trying to get back to normal," Thaung Tun told reporters. "We have a very long border with Thailand and as in all such cases, these things happen. Things are being taken care of." Thailand's tolerance of Myanmar's ethnic rebels, who have supporters among the more than 100,000 refugees from Myanmar sheltering in Thailand, is a long-standing issue of contention between the two countries. Myanmar's military government, which has been accused of human-rights abuses including rape, murder and village destruction in rebel areas, has frequently alleged that the Thai military aids the rebels. Bangkok denies it. Some of the rebel areas also overlap with heroin and amphetamine production centers, some of the controlled by rebels or former rebels. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel Asia Magazine, Jul 26,
2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
DIPLOMACY: Ambassador met Suu Kyi
Published on Jul 27, 2002 Thai and KL delegates in Rangoon held talks with pro-democracy leader
The Thai Ambassador to Rangoon Oum Maolanon held talks with the opposition
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi shortly after her release from house
arrest. Foreign Ministry spokesman Rathakit Manathat confirmed yesterday that
the meeting, the first with Suu Kyi, had taken place but gave no details.
The courtesy call in mid-May was part of Thailand's effort to promote
alternative diplomacy in Burma and occurred amid increasing tension between the
two countries.
The Nation has learned that Oum visited Suu Kyi with the Malaysian
Ambassador to Rangoon, Cheah Sam Kip. A source added that other Rangoon-based
envoys from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) have also held
meetings with Suu Kyi.
Oum met Suu Kyi on May 20, the same day he was summoned to see Burmese
deputy foreign minister Khin Maung Win to receive a protest letter over
skirmishes along the northern Thai-Burma border.
Relations between Thailand and Burma soured in late May following massive
flare-ups along the border. Burma accused the Thai Army of providing artillery
support for the rebel Shan State Army.
Thailand has maintained an open policy towards meeting the Burmese
opposition leader since the Chuan Leekpai government.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Saturday 27 July 2002
Police arrest three, seize 400,000 pills Burmese suspects held after sting operation Police seized more than 400,000 methamphetamine pills and arrested three
Burmese in a sting operation in Bangkok on Thursday night.
Undercover officers posing as buyers arrested Kyaw Kyaw Khine and Maung Kyaw Tun in possession of 4,000 pills at Ramkhamhaeng soi 53. The third suspect, Swe Min, was held during a subsequent search of an apartment at Lad Phrao soi 122, where 5,000 pills were discovered. Police found a further 410,000 pills while searching a second apartment in Kannayao district. The suspects were quoted as saying they sold the drugs mostly to students and labourers in the Hua Mark area. Also yesterday, police seized 38 methamphetamine pills from a couple who escaped arrest by driving through a checkpoint on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road. Somnuk and Long Putsorn accelerated away from the checkpoint after police decided to examine a bag found during a routine search of the couple's car. Along with the pills, the bag was also found to contain a pistol. The couple reportedly hid at a family member's flat at the nearby headquarters of the First Infantry Battalion before being seen fleeing with a plastic bag. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Saturday 27 July 2002
Smugglers caught with B1m in timber Supamart Kasem Two truck drivers were arrested yesterday while allegedly attempting to smuggle from Burma about 4,000 pieces of processed timber worth more than 1 million baht. Manit Nualhong, 35, and Sithit Thongkhao, 43, were arrested in Mae Sot district at about 3am. The suspects admitted being paid 7,000 baht to deliver a total of 3,826 pieces of processed wood, worth about 1.08 million baht, to Bangkok. Meanwhile, an investigation by Mae Sot district office cleared officials of alleged involvement in illegal logging at Phacharoen forest reserve, as claimed by local villagers. Khanop Pinthong, district assistant chief, said there were no witnesses to confirm claims officials had cut down more than 100 trees in the reserve. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Mysterious arrest in Burma
Published on Jul 27, 2002 A Thai businessman in Burma has been placed under house arrest since the middle of this month for unknown reasons, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. "We do not yet know why the Thai businessman was put in detention. Burma
has also refused to grant him bail before the case goes to court, probably next
month," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Rattakit Manathat.
"We are waiting for more information from Burma about the businessman and
the charge [against him] before deciding on our next step," he said.
"What we know so far is that the businessman, whose name is being withheld,
has been manager of a medical appliance company for some years," he said.
The Thai embassy was alerted about the arrest by a group of Thai
businessmen in Rangoon. They said the man was put under house arrest after his
business ran into some problems, the spokesman said.
Thai Ambassador to Burma Oum Maolanond has sought information from Burmese
officials about the fate of the businessman. He expressed concern over the
incident and asked Burmese authorities to look into it, Rattakit said.
"If the Thai businessman is found guilty, he should face legal action. But
if not, the Thai embassy is ready to ensure he receives fair treatment," the
spokesman said.
He said Burma had refused the Thai embassy's request for a consular
official to visit the businessman.
------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Asean Considers a new agenda
Published on Jul 27, 2002 Don Pathan
While some countries want to invigorate the regional grouping, others are dragging their feet While the Asia-Pacific's economy has begun to see some positive signs, a
number of long-term security and political challenges that still have yet to be
overcome will remind participants at the upcoming Asean Ministerial Meeting in
Brunei of the tough times ahead.
The topic of transnational crime and terrorism - recently taken up by the
Asean Regional Forum's Inter-session Group (ICG) for the first time since its
inception in 1994 - will be high on the agenda of the region's security
planners.
In the past, much of the talk over security related issues was focused on
confidence building measures. Many member countries, especially China, were
reluctant to shift the forum to a higher plane for fear that internationalising
some of the sticky issues would put them in a disadvantage.
But this time around, the ARF is looking to do away with its image of being
a mere "talk shop" that shies away from such issues as the Taiwan Straits, the
Korean Peninsula and the nuclear states of India and Pakistan.
Pakistan, which has been kept at a distance from the grouping's activities,
is likely to make another pitch for ARF membership. Islamabad's role in the
global war against terrorism is likely to enhance its chances for membership.
"ARF will never go beyond the stage that it is if it continues to keep
Pakistan out," said one Bangkok-based diplomat.
The move to shift the security body into a high plane comes at the height
of the global war against terrorism. There have also been a number of crackdowns
in recent months in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines on
members of separatist Jemaah Islamiya (JI) cells reportedly linked to terrorist
suspect Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have taken it upon themselves to
forge closer cooperation as the scope of the JI is to carve out an Islamic state
from a number of restive regions belonging to these three countries.
The topic of overlapping claims has recently been given a new twist. A
20-page confidential report by the Philippines military that was leaked to the
press said China has been fortifying its claims in potentially oil-rich areas in
the South China Sea. It described the dispute between China and five other Asian
nations as "the greatest potential flash point for conflict". Beijing said the
report was "fabricated".
Internally, Asean itself is looking to fine tune the way it has been
operating for the most part of the past three decades. Through the concept of
"minus-X", members who are unable to keep up with the activities taken up by the
regional grouping would have to sit on the sidelines until a more appropriate
time would arise.
Analysts said it would be interesting if this concept is used in the ARF
because of the implications it might have on the region's balance of power.
Powerful ARF members, through their initiatives, could inadvertently reveal the
cards they are holding, thus further alienating the weaker members who are
unable to take part in the activities for various reasons.
Singapore has been taking the leading role in pushing the regional grouping
to rejuvenate itself following the inclusion of Burma and the Indochinese
countries that effectively turned Asean into a two-tier organisation - between
the more developed members and the recently inducted poorer ones.
Asean is also likely to approve a new secretary-general who happens to be a
Singaporean. The appointment of Ong Keng Yong, a former high commissioner to
India and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's press secretary, is likely to give the
needed push to reform the organisation and make it a more efficient.
On bilateral issues, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai is likely to
use the annual gathering to push Thai-Burmese ties back on track when he meet
his Burmese counterpart, Win Aung.
Bilateral ties hit an all time low late May following flare-ups along the
border that involved Thai and Burmese soldiers, as well as Shan rebels and Wa
militias. Rangoon accused Thailand of providing military support to the Shan
State Army but Bangkok dismissed the allegation, saying the Thai troops were
merely retaliating against stray shells.
Burma will be hard-pressed to find friends following reports that the US
and the European Union were looking to bring up a recently released report by
the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women's Action Network that
extensively detailed rapes of at least 625 girls and women by Burmese army
troops in Shan State.
The report was based on interviews with refugees on the Thai-Burmese
border. It found that the rapes were committed between 1996 and 2001 by soldiers
from 52 different battalions, most by officers in front of their troops.
Following months of negative reporting about the Kingdom and the Monarchy,
Bangkok may be reluctant to stick its out neck for Rangoon. Malaysia, on the
other hand, could step in and, again, save the day. Kuala Lumpur has been
instrumental in the push for dialogue between the opposition pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling junta and is likely to show the region
that it continues to have the same kind of clout to get things done.
On the cooperation between Asean and the Northeast Asian countries,
Malaysia is likely to institutionalise the Asean Plus 3 (China, Japan and South
Korea) and push for the establishment of a secretariat to follow up on the
agreements reached between the two sides.
Thailand has suggested that it might be best to expand the existing Asean Secretariat in Jakarta to take up the work achieved by this new body. ------------------------------------------------------------------- |