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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- August 23 - 24, 2002.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reuters - Rights groups condemn arrests of
Myanmar students
AP - Dissidents say 21
students arrested in Myanmar
AP - Myanmar vows to investigate al-Qaida links
AP - Myanmar to Look
For al-Qaida Links
AP - Rights groups
claims Thai police arrest Myanmar activists
AP - Myanmar says
investigation found rape allegations false
Bkk Post - Speed smuggled to Thailand in masses
Bkk Post - Reopening of border to be discussed
The Nation - Dissidents deported to 'safe areas'
The Nation - Special: Rape as a weapon of war
The Nation - Special: Shan want to take their
case to International Court
The Nation - EDITORIAL: Rights seem expendable
in national interest
DY - Refugees, asylum-seekers unaware of
welfare rights
SHAN - Burma army beefing up --
again
Mizzima - Burma teak high demand in India KNU - KNU Statement on SPDC's Demand for
Exchange of Arms for Peace
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday August 23, 1:24 PM
Rights groups condemn arrests of Myanmar students By Andrew Marshall BANGKOK (Reuters) - Eight
students have been arrested in military-ruled Myanmar for alleged subversion, a
sign the ruling junta is taking a harder line despite promises to foster
democracy, human rights groups said on Friday.
The arrests last weekend, on the eve of a visit by Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad, have dimmed hopes that the junta may soon begin substantive
political talks with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The government has freed hundreds of prisoners over the last two years,
including more than 300 members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD).
The releases began after the ruling generals started confidential talks
with Suu Kyi, which they said were aimed at eventually bringing democracy to
Myanmar, formerly called Burma.
But this month's arrests have raised concerns among rights groups that the
junta is planning a new crackdown on opponents.
Amnesty International said five university students were arrested during
the night last Saturday.
The following day another student held a peaceful protest in front of
Yangon City Hall about economic and social conditions, and was swiftly arrested.
Two other students were arrested at the same time, although it was not known
whether they had joined the protest or were onlookers, Amnesty said.
"It is not known where they are being held or if they have been charged,"
Amnesty said in a statement. "Amnesty International fears for the safety of all
eight men, who are at risk of being tortured by military intelligence."
The eight have been named as Thet Naung Soe, Thaw Thaw Myo Han, Nyunt Win,
Htoo Kyaw Win, Khin Maung Win, Thoung Htite, Kyaw Swa and Kyaw Zin Oo.
Sources close to their families confirmed the men had been arrested. The
government has made no comment.
SOLITARY PROTEST
Amnesty said the five students arrested on Saturday may have been arrested
for involvement in planning the protest -- in which Khin Maung Win stood outside
Yangon City Hall holding a banner of red cloth bearing the image of a peacock, a
symbol of student resistance in Myanmar.
But another human rights group, the Free Burma Coalition, said the students
may have been arrested for taking part in a discussion group that studies
politics and history.
Aung Din, director of policy and strategy at the Free Burma Coalition, said
the arrests suggested recent concessions by the junta were not a sign that real
political change was on the way.
"While the military regime has initiated an international diplomatic charm
offensive, the people of Burma continue to suffer under its rule," he said in a
statement.
After strong international pressure, Suu Kyi was released from 19 months of
house arrest in May. But since then she has had no meetings with senior members
of the junta.
Sporadic talks held with the junta over the last two years have yet to move
beyond "confidence building", officials say. Suu Kyi has repeatedly called for
meaningful talks to begin as soon as possible.
The 57-year old Nobel peace laureate has also said the release of all
political prisoners is a precondition for political progress in Myanmar.
The military has ruled the country for four decades. Students were at the
forefront of pro-democracy protests in 1988 that were brutally suppressed by the
authorities. Universities were closed for several years in a bid by the junta to
stifle dissent.
Suu Kyi's NLD was the overwhelming winner of an election held in 1990, but
the military refused to hand over power.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dissidents say 21 students
arrested in Myanmar
Thu Aug 22,11:44 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar's military government has arrested 21 students over the last six days in the first major crackdown since democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed in May, opposition groups said Thursday. The human rights group Amnesty International issued an appeal for the safety of eight of them, saying they "are at risk of being tortured" by the country's military intelligence. It was unclear if the London-based group was aware of reports of other arrests. "The eight students are possible prisoners of conscience, possibly arrested in connection with plans for a peaceful political protest," said a statement from Amnesty International. "Young political activists, who have been at the forefront of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, are sometimes tortured in detention." Three students from Rangoon Technical University in the capital, Yangon, were arrested on Saturday, apparently for starting a literary group, said Min Naing, a member of All Burma Federation of Students Union, an opposition group based in Thailand. On Sunday, Thet Naung Soe, a final year law student, was arrested for distributing pro-democracy pamphlets in front of City Hall, Min Naing told The Associated Press. Two more students, Khin Maung Win and Taung Hteik, were arrested later Sunday. No details were available on the remaining 15 students. The students' whereabouts were not known, he said. Amnesty International named the eight arrested students as Thet Naung Soe, Thaw Thaw Myo Han, Nyunt Win, Htoo Kyaw Win, Khin Maung Win, Thoung Htite, Kyaw Swa and Kyaw Zin Oo, all male. The military junta was not immediately available for comment, but rarely answers specific allegations of human rights abuses except to deny them in general terms. Min Naing said Thet Naung Soe's pamphlets were demanding the release of all political prisoners and serious negotiations between the junta and Suu Kyi to restore democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The arrests were also reported by Free Burma Coalition, a Washington-based dissident group, in a statement sent to the AP in Bangkok. The junta often targets student groups to pre-empt protests, which it fears could snowball into demonstrations. Students spearheaded the 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was crushed by the military, leaving thousands dead. The current group of generals came to power during that upheaval. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party also rose to prominence after the 1988 demonstrations. The NLD won the 1990 general elections but was never allowed to take power. Instead, the government jailed hundreds of NLD members and put Suu Kyi under house arrest several times. Suu Kyi and the junta began reconciliation talks in October 2000, eventually leading to her release from her latest detainment on May 6. But not much progress has been reported beyond the release of 297 NLD members from jail. Another 261 members remain imprisoned. The Free Burma Coalition said the students' reported arrests reflect the insincerity of the regime. "While the military regime has initiated an international diplomatic charm offensive, the people of Burma continue to suffer under its rule," said Aung Din, a Free Burma Coalition director. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar vows to investigate al-Qaida links
ASSOCIATED PRESS BANGKOK, Thailand, Aug. 23 ? Myanmar said Friday it will investigate activities by the al-Qaida terrorist network on its soil in response to videotapes allegedly made by the group linking it to the Southeast Asian nation. The videotapes are part of a cache that were obtained in Afghanistan by CNN
and are being aired this week on the cable network.
A statement by Myanmar's military government said media reports indicated
some of the tapes include ''material from militant Islamic groups in other
countries such as Somalia, Myanmar and Bosnia.''
While cautioning that it had not yet seen the relevant portions, the
government said it would ''investigate this allegation with the utmost urgency''
and share the information with the United States.
The statement added that Myanmar, also known as Burma, was already actively
cooperating with the international community in the battle against terrorism.
''Islamic terrorists'' with connections to al-Qaida and Taliban are
operating along Myanmar's western border, spokesman Lt. Col. Hla Min was quoted
as saying. Some of those terrorists are being detained and questioned in Yangon,
Myanmar's capital, he said.
Earlier this month, the junta claimed to have crushed an armed Muslim
separatist group it said was trained by Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers and
in Middle Eastern terrorist camps. It gave no details on the crackdown.
Myanmar's military government is shunned by many Western nations for its
poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically
elected government. It has tried to mend fences with Washington by stressing its
willingness to combat the drug trade and take part in the war against
terrorism.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar to Look For
al-Qaida Links
Fri Aug 23, 1:11 PM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar said Friday it will investigate activities by the al-Qaida terrorist network on its soil in response to videotapes allegedly made by the group linking it to the Southeast Asian nation. The videotapes are part of a cache that were obtained in Afghanistan by CNN and are being aired this week on the cable network. A statement by Myanmar's military government said media reports indicated some of the tapes include "material from militant Islamic groups in other countries such as Somalia, Myanmar and Bosnia." While cautioning that it had not yet seen the relevant portions, the government said it would "investigate this allegation with the utmost urgency" and share the information with the United States. The statement added that Myanmar, also known as Burma, was already actively cooperating with the international community in the battle against terrorism. "Islamic terrorists" with connections to al-Qaida and Taliban are operating along Myanmar's western border, spokesman Lt. Col. Hla Min was quoted as saying. Some of those terrorists are being detained and questioned in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, he said. Earlier this month, the junta claimed to have crushed an armed Muslim separatist group it said was trained by Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers and in Middle Eastern terrorist camps. It gave no details on the crackdown. Myanmar's military government is shunned by many Western nations for its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government. It has tried to mend fences with Washington by stressing its willingness to combat the drug trade and take part in the war against terrorism ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rights groups claims Thai
police arrest Myanmar activists
Thu Aug 22, 4:43 AM ET
By GRANT PECK, Associated Press Writer
BANGKOK, Thailand - Police arrested almost three dozen Myanmar nationals on Tuesday in what they said was a routine roundup of illegal immigrants. Human rights workers claimed it was a crackdown on Myanmar pro-democracy activists. Police Capt. Anand Kitikunlasana said 31 people from Myanmar were arrested in three houses in Sangklaburi district in Ratchaburi province, 95 kilometers (59 miles) west of Bangkok. The arrests were made after a tip-off that the suspects were staying with friends and relatives while trying to find work in Thailand, he said. The Myanmar nationals were being held at Sangklaburi jail on charges of illegal entry into Thailand. Anand denied the arrests had a political motive. A Bangkok-based human rights group and a Myanmar online opposition magazine, however, both said that most, if not all, of those arrested belonged to groups opposed to Myanmar's military government. The Irrawaddy online magazine quoted Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as saying that people who have been expressing their political beliefs peacefully should not be harassed. "It is not appropriate to crackdown on dissidents and pro-democracy supporters who do not break the laws," she was quoted as saying Tuesday in reaction to the arrests from the Myanmar capital Yangon. Sunai Pasuk of Forum Asia said his organization believed the arrests were part of a crackdown meant to placate Myanmar's military government, which is angry that opposition groups operate from Thai soil. He said he believed the arrests reflected Thai government policy meant to show Myanmar's junta that Bangkok will no longer tolerate the exiles' activities. Sunai told The Associated Press he believed implementation of a crackdown had been raised by the junta with the Thai government as "a precondition for reopening of border checkpoints." Yangon ordered all border crossings closed after a May 20 incident in which it claimed the Thai army shelled its territory in support of a raid by ethnic Shan rebels. The closure has cost Thai traders heavily. Sunai said the arrests appeared to be part of a pattern which began about three weeks ago when several members of another Myanmar opposition group were arrested in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Sunai said those arrested Tuesday included at least 15 people associated with activist groups, including the Democratic Party for New Society, the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, the Mon Youth Progressive Organization People's Democratic Front and the Karen National Union. The two latter groups represent ethnic minorities. The Irrawaddy online magazine, run by Myanmar exiles with extensive opposition contacts, said 10 people were arrested while attending an English course at the Democratic Party for New Society's office and four people were arrested at the office of the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area. It reported that another 17 people, including children, were arrested in a raid on a church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar says investigation
found rape allegations false
Fri Aug 23,11:34 AM ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's military junta said Friday its own investigation into allegations that soldiers had raped ethnic minority Shan women had found the claims "groundless and malicious." Two Thai-based rights group, the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women's Action Network, in June claimed it had documented 173 cases of rape and sexual violence by Myanmar troops against girls and women from the Shan ethnic minority. The report received widespread publicity in July when the U.S. State Department said it would raise the issue with Myanmar officials. Myanmar's Foreign Ministry said in a news release Friday that the rape allegations were aimed at tarnishing the military's image and causing discord among ethnic groups. The allegations were "false and fabricated," said the statement. "Some of the villages where the incidents were supposed to take place were nonexistent; (and) the military units mentioned were not even present in the area." The Shan are one of several ethnic minorities in Myanmar, also known as Burma, who are seeking autonomy from the central government. Armed Shan guerrillas in eastern Myanmar frequently battle government troops. The junta said that the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women's Action Network were associated with the main Shan rebel group, the Shan State Army, which has an interest in discrediting government forces. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Saturday 24 August 2002
Speed smuggled to Thailand in masses Traffickers change routes after seizure Subin Khuenkaew Between 60 and 65 million speed pills are being smuggled monthly into the
north and northeast from Burma and Laos.
Pitthaya Jinawat, director of the northern drug suppression centre, said latest statistics showed that 45-50 million methamphetamine pills were being smuggled monthly into Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other northern provinces, and another 15 million into the northeast. The production capacity of 40-50 methamphetamine factories in Burma and between 20-30 plants in Laos would total 800 million speed pills or more this year, he said. He added that heroin production capacity would this year increase 20% to about 90 tonnes _ 72 tonnes in Burma and 18 tonnes in Laos. About six tonnes of raw opium was expected to come from Thailand this year. Mr Pitthaya said more drug traffickers had switched their usual routes along the western border to those along the eastern border after the recent seizure of 1.8 million speed pills brought into the country from Burma via Laos. An anti-drug meeting at the Third Army headquarters in Phitsanulok yesterday was told about the necessity to step up measures to combat drug smuggling along the eastern border and the Mekong river, he said. Officials also expected more Ecstasy and Ice pills on the market because these drugs could also be produced by methamphetamine factories. He said the amount of heroin smuggled via Thailand to the rest of the world was expected to rise from 30% since China's success in blocking drug routes would force traffickers to use Thailand as gateway. Intelligence officers of the northern drug suppression centre have met to prepare information for Monday's briefing for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Government House. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Saturday 24
August 2002
Reopening of border to be discussed
Bhanravee Tansubhapol Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will meet his Burmese
counterpart Win Aung here on Sept 6 to discuss the reopening of the Thai-Burmese
border, a government source said yesterday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE NATION
Dissidents deported to 'safe areas' Supalak
Ganjanakhundee
Published on Aug 24, 2002 All 31 Burmese dissidents deported from Thailand earlier this week were placed in safe areas and were not handed over to the junta, the Foreign Ministry insisted yesterday. The ministry rejected allegations by lawmakers and human-rights advocates
that the deportations were to appease Rangoon so it would reopen border
checkpoints closed since border skirmishes in May.
Police said the dissidents were arrested on Tuesday in Kanchanaburi's
Sangkhla Buri district for illegal entry.
"The arrests have nothing to do with attempts to reopen border checkpoints
and restore relations with Burma," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The National Security Council issued a guideline to clean out all illegal
migrants in Thailand, not only Burmese . . . The Immigration Department in
Sangkhla Buri deported the dissidents on Wednesday and Thursday in accordance
with normal practice for illegal migrants. The authority never considered them
political figures.''
The dissidents are members of several organisations, including the
Democratic Party for a New Society, the National League for Democracy (liberated
area), the All Burmese Students' Democratic Front and the Karen National Union.
It is believed some dissidents were arrested while learning the Bible and
taking English lessons in a church.
Human-rights groups in Thailand were worried the dissidents had been handed
over to the junta and would be subjected to severe punishment.
But border sources have backed up the government's claim, saying they were
deported to safe areas and the junta had yet to capture them.
Relations between Thailand and Burma have soured since border skirmishes on
May 20.
The ministry said in yesterday's statement that Burmese foreign minister
Win Aung had accepted an invitation to visit Thailand early next month to
discuss the reopening of border checkpoints.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai visited Rangoon on August 6 to try
and mend relations, but he did not discuss the border, saying the junta would
reopen it when relations were back to normal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Nation
Special: Rape as a weapon of war Pennapa
Hongthong
Published on Aug 23, 2002 For years, there have been reports that Burmese soldiers were sexually abusing women from minority groups such as the Shan and Karn. More recently, evidence has surfaced that these rapes were an integral part of a campaign by Rangoon to terrorise its opponents, speed ethnic cleansing and demonstrate its ?superiority?. In a remote village of Chiang Mai, a 17-year-old girl sits
in a small makeshift shelter, bowing her head in an attempt to avoid making eye
contact with visitors. The girl, identified in the report Licence to Rape by the
pseudonym Naang Hla, was gang-raped by Burmese soldiers last August when she was
seven-months pregnant.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) and the Shan
Women?s Action Network (Swan) first encountered Naang Hla six months ago after
she fled to a small village on the border between Burma and Chiang Mai province.
In Licence to Rape, the SHRF and Swan chronicle the
Burmese military?s use of sexual violence as a weapon against Shan girls and
women in the war in Shan State.
The report, released last June, has drawn immense
attention from the international community and the media. Immediately after its
launch, the BBC sent a crew to the Thai-Burmese border to investigate the cases.
The issue was raised at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations? ministerial
meeting in Brunei last month.
Naang Hla is one of 625 Shan girls and women recorded as
being victims of sexual violence by the Burmese military during the conflict.
From a global perspective, the 625 Shan girls and women
are just a small fraction of the women all around the world who, over the
centuries, have experienced rape as a weapon of war during international and
internal armed conflicts.
The first mass rape was recorded as part of the legend of
the origin of Rome. During his reign, Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, was
tainted with the story of the rape of the Sabine women during the battle with
the Latins. The Sabine was one of two tribes under the leadership of Titus
Tatius, who co-reigned with Romulus.
From the legend of the rape of the Sabine women to the
documented stories of violence against women during World War II, in Vietnam,
Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma and countless other conflicts, armies have
actively sought out women to use them in this form of warfare. The rape of women
is as much a part of war as the killing of soldiers.
In her report submitted to the UN?s commission on Human
Rights in 1997, Radhika Coomaraswamy, a UN special rapporteur on violence
against women, said rape is used as an instrument of war for many reasons
including to terrorise populations and to induce civilians to flee their homes
and villages.
During armed conflict, rape is used by both sides as a
symbolic act, she said in the paper, to, among other things, ?demonstrate
victory over the men of the other group who have failed to protect their women?.
For Nang Hseng Noung, a Shan woman who was born in
Thailand and works for Swan, sexual violence against Shan women is committed
under the same philosophy. She said rape is used by the Burmese military as a
means of eradicating all people from different races who oppose its military
regime.
?They use rape as a weapon and women?s bodies as targets
of war,? she said.
Her opinion was echoed by Betsy Apple, an American woman
who stayed in Shan State and Burma for about a decade, who said that rape is an
integral part of conflict.
In her book, School for Rape: The Burmese Military and
Sexual Violence, Apple said that since independence in 1948, Burma has been ?the
scene of thousands of incidents of rape?.
Burmese soldiers received systematic training in rape as a
tool for conducting ethnic cleansing, said Apple in the book, published in 1998.
According to School for Rape, Burmese soldiers are
convinced of their superiority. Under the former Slorc (the State Law and Order
Restoration Council) and now the State Peace and Development Council, Burma has
waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing against minorities.
?[The regime] convinces them [newly recruited soldiers]
that their enemies are ethnic minorities ? [be they] students, women, anyone who
disagrees with the government ? and that these millions of people are traitors
or infidels,? said the book.
Naang Hla and the other Shan women?s physical experience
of war is just the tip of the iceberg. Numerous reports show that Burma?s
military leaders are using rape on a wide scale as a weapon of war against the
civilian population. However, the exact scale of the atrocities is unknown.
The examples presented in School for Rape include reports
by the Karen Human Rights Group from 1994-1997, which details numerous incidents
of rape against ethnic Karen women during forced-labour campaigns and military
occupations of villages.
A report by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland in 1996
showed that women continued to be raped by Burmese soldiers even after the
cease-fire agreement between the New Mon State Party and Slorc signed on June
29, 1995.
Licence to Rape, however, is the first recorded evidence
of the long tradition of raping Shan women during wartime. It shines a light on
atrocities previously hidden by the dark clouds of the dictatorship.
Based on interviews with girls and women seeking asylum
along the border, the report says, an astounding 83 per cent of the documented
rapes of Shan women were committed by military officers from 52 different
battalions, usually in front of their own troops. The youngest victim was a
five-year-old girl and the oldest was 62.
The rapes were extremely brutal and often involved torture
such as beating, mutilation and suffocation. Twenty-five per cent of the rapes
resulted in death. Many rapes took place in relocation sites, which are supposed
to be safe havens for the villagers.
Asked why she thought the Burmese military inflicted such
brutality on her family and other Shan, Naang Hla, who now lives in peace with
her eight-month-old boy and a new husband in Thai territory, thought for a
minute before giving her answer.
?I have heard that there was a fight between the Shan army
and the Burmese military many years ago. At that time the Shan military killed
six Burmese soldiers and the Burmese wanted to take revenge,? said the
17-year-old, who is illiterate.
However, she was at a loss to explain why an ordinary
woman such as herself should be caught in the armed conflict, which is supposed
to be a fight among soldiers.
Nobody knows when the brutality against civilians in Burma
will end. The only thing the world can be sure of is that the 625 Shan girls and
women will not be the last group of civilian women to become victims of war. As
long as Burma?s State Peace and Development Council maintains its military might
through brutality, rape will continue.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Nation
Special: Shan want to take their case to International Court Pennapa Hongthong Published on Aug 23, 2002
Shan people want the violence inflicted by the brutal Burmese military against their women to be laid bare for all to see in the International Criminal Court. ?We are voiceless. Our women have been raped, tortured, and sexually
enslaved by Burmese soldiers in war for long time but the world has never heard
our cry, and the perpetrators are living free,? Naang Mo Hom, of the Shan Human
Rights Foundation, told The Nation.
The historic verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Women?s International War Crimes Tribunal 2000 on
Japan?s Military Sexual Slavery inspired her and the foundation to seek ways to
bring their case as an international criminal suit.
The Women?s International War Crimes Tribunal 2000 on Japan?s Military
Sexual Slavery considered the criminal liability of leading high-ranking
Japanese military and political officials, including Emperor Hirohito, for rape
and sexual slavery as ?crimes against humanity? arising out of Japanese military
activity in the Asia-Pacific region during World War II.
The decision marked the first time that the international tribunal found
rape and enslavement to be ?crimes against humanity?. However, none of the
accused have faced charges arising out of the incidents of sexual slavery.
The tribunal, also known as the People?s Tokyo Tribunal 2000, was set up
after the failure of the International Tribunal for the Far East (the original
Tokyo Tribunal), which only illustrated that rape is a violation of the
recognised customs and conventions of war.
The original Tokyo Tribunal, from April 1946 to November 1948, was
established by the Allied powers at the end of WWII. Despite overwhelming
evidence of the ?comfort women? system, the Allies failed to prosecute Japanese
officials for these crimes. During World War II the Japanese military forced
women in the countries it invaded, including the Philippines, China, Korea and
Taiwan, to cater to the sexual needs of its soldiers.
Meanwhile, last February the ICTY imprisoned three former commanders of the
Bosnian Serb Army found responsible for the rape and sexual enslavement of
Bosnian and Croatian women during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia in
1992.
The cases marked the first time in history that an international tribunal
brought charges solely for crimes of sexual violence against women. Naang Mo Hom
said she wants the International Criminal Court, recently established to
investigate and prosecute individuals accused of crimes against humanity,
genocide, and war crimes, to name the leaders of the Burmese military regime as
co-accused.
Besides the ICTY and the Tokyo Tribunal there are two other tribunals ? the
International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda. All four tribunals were established to deal with the issue
of individual criminal liability for war crimes cases, breaches of graves, and
crimes against humanity.
The Nurnberg Tribunal was the first to be set up. Although the offences
were divided into ?crimes against peace?, ?war crimes?, and ?crimes against
humanity?, rape was not included in any of the descriptions. No one at Nuremberg
was indicted for committing crimes of sexual violence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Nation
EDITORIAL: Rights seem expendable in national
interest
Mukdawan sakboon
Published on Aug 24, 2002 The recent arrest and deportation of 31 Burmese activists in Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district was the latest example of this government's double standards - preaching one thing and practising another. The Thaksin Shinawatra administration has said it places a high value on
democracy, a vital element of which is acceptance of different views and
tolerance of dissenting voices.
Yet, whenever the government feels it has become the subject of criticism,
regardless of the intention, its leader reacts sharply. If the critics are noted
academics or veteran politicians, a war of words begins. But if those who oppose
the government's policies or projects are ordinary villagers, or members of
ethnic groups, the reaction as well as the manner of response is usually much
harsher.
Remember the case of ethnic Akha activist Chutima Morlaeku?
Chutima, who fights for citizenship rights for hill tribe people, was
whisked from Chiang Mai airport last month by five men who claimed to be police.
They took her to search her house without a search warrant. More men joined the
search until there were 30 of them. Chutima found she had lost some of money and
valuables after the search. She continued to receive warning threats and had to
leave her hometown and lives in fear.
In Songkhla, Kittiphob Sudhisawang, who leads the locals' opposition to the
Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline project in the province, also has sleepless nights.
On Thursday, Kittiphob told a public forum at Thammasat University that
rumours were being spread that the government would get rid of him and other
leaders in order to neutralise the opposition. He said the situation was tense
and that he could feel the unspoken threat.
Professor Charuay Petcharat of Prince of Songkhla University and colleagues
at other universities in the region also feel a threat, albeit of a different
kind. The academic recently received an official letter from the prime
minister's advisory team of former senior military officers asking academics in
each institution to support the controversial gas pipeline project.
And what about human rights? Thai officials proudly reported at several
local and international meetings how Thailand was fully committed to its legal
obligations under international human rights laws.
Like neighbouring countries with rather tarnished human rights records,
Thailand is also proud to be a party to many international human rights bills.
Yet, at home, police and other law enforcement officials are among the high
number of human rights violators. And even some members of the National Human
Rights Commission and officials who work in this office are vague about the
concept of human rights, let alone working to promote this value.
Thai authorities attempt to act or speak for values that they don't really
believe in, so it is not surprising that they often put themselves in an awkward
position, trying to find new excuses for their ever-changing stances.
When it comes to political activists from neighbouring countries, the
authorities one day say they are compelled on humanitarian grounds to give
shelter and other assistance to people fleeing fighting or persecution based on
their race, political belief or membership of particular groups. They say they
realise that the lives of these people would be in grave danger if they were not
given safe asylum in Thailand.
On another day, the very same people who were accepted for safe asylum
become illegal immigrants who must be deported. When did they cease to be asylum
seekers and no longer deserving of assistance?
What has changed with the government's humanitarian obligations? Are they
no longer concerned about the lives of these political dissidents?
Observers said Tuesday's arrest of the 31 Burmese activists was a bid to appease Rangoon and to hasten the reopening of the border. However this government and its officials do not seem to feel the need to
offer reasons for their actions. For them, is just a matter of deciding when,
not why or how, to act.
We only need to look at the government's policies on illegal migrants,
political and human rights activists and members of ethnic groups, including the
hill tribes. We also cannot forget the attitude of our interior minister and
security officials.
Ours is a conservative interior minister whose mind clings to the concepts
of "the nation" and "Thainess" (whatever that might mean). It is understandable
why he rejected hundreds of hill tribe villagers' applications for legal status.
The national security chief and his like-minded subordinates whose
definition of national security seems to be frozen in the cold-war era with
fixed perceptions or stereotypes of particular ethnic groups, are another
problem. Their policies that focus more on "national security" while ignoring
the human security were indeed the real threat to social security.
With conservative security officials and their out-dated security policies,
more crackdowns and threats are certain to follow, not just against Burmese
activists but also other groups of activists who view things differently from
the authorities.
And Prime Minister Thaksin says his party and his alliance will be in
government for 16 years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Daily Yomiuri -August
24, 2002
Refugees, asylum-seekers unaware of welfare rights About 40 percent of foreign nationals seeking refugee
status and those already recognized as such are unemployed and lack financial
security, and almost 90 percent have no idea they qualify for welfare benefits,
a survey conducted by the Japan Association for Refugees has found.
The survey was conducted between September and February
through interviews with 75 people applying for refugee status and 25 people
recognized as refugees under a U.N. convention on refugees.
Nearly 90 percent were unaware that people recognized as
refugees under the U.N. Convention Relating to Status of Refugees qualify for
welfare benefits, including child allowance, the survey found.
The Cabinet on Aug. 7 approved a proposal to provide
recognized refugees with the same level of assistance as is extended to
Indochinese refugees.
According to the survey, 39 percent of those interviewed
were unemployed. Nearly half of those applying for refugee status had no fixed
income.
Moreover, the employed were not much better off than the
unemployed, according to the survey, which found that 60 percent of those with a
job earned less than 150,000 yen a month.
More than 70 percent of those interviewed said they would
appreciate help in job-hunting.
About 70 percent of those surveyed have no health
insurance policy, with 60 percent describing their health as "bad."
As well as having extended welfare to non-Indochinese
refugees, the government is planning to provide shelter to people applying for
refugee status under the provisions of the Immigration Control and Refugee
Recognition Law while they wait for their application to be
processed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shan Herald Agency for News.
No: 08 - 12: - 24 August 2002 Burma army beefing up -- again Different border sources have agreed that Burmese forces are amassing along
the Thai-Shan frontier once again after the exercises were reportedly called off
last month.
Traders who slipped across the border into Chiangmai Province yesterday reported seeing large numbers of troops in Nakawngmu and Poongpakhem, villages in Mongton Township, opposite Chiangmai's Chiangdao District. Battalions in Nakawngmu were identified as Infantry Battalion 49 and Light Infantry Battalion 333, both from Monghsat. Further south at Poongpakhem, they ran into troops from IB 65 and LIB 519, both from Mongton. A long-time border watcher said, "What is peculiar is that the Burmese already have LIB 579 (a new battalion believed to be from Monghsat) at Nakawngmu and IB 245 of Kengtung at Poongpakhem." Another ventured that the movements might be connected to the upcoming ceremony formally designating Poongpakhem and its surrounding tracts a new township. "Some bigwigs might be presiding over the event," he said. The Shan State Army however spoke of increasing numbers of heavy gun emplacements along the border especially in the Homong area across Maehongson and Namyoom across Chiangdao. S.H.A.N. source also agreed something unusual was in the wind. "People in Poongpakhem and Maeken (a village further north) were ordered on 20 August to build fences and trenches around their villages to be completed within 4 days," he said. If Rangoon suspected that "pro-Wattanachai officers" might create border incidents in order to fill him in the vacant deputy army commander's slot, it could rest easy, assured border security officers. "Nobody can afford to start any funny business just now," said one. The outgoing Army Commander Gen Surayud Chulanont was reported to have suggested that Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, known as a tough and no-nonsense soldier, should become Deputy Army Commander. Thai Newspapers report he has been facing considerable opposition from the "pro-Rangoon" faction in the present administration. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Burma teak high demand in India
Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com ) Guwahati, Aug 23. Burma's popular teak is in high demand in India with its
traders in North East region requesting the Burmese authorities to allow the
teak trading across the Indo-Burma border. Several requests on this effect has
been made by the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Chambers of Commerce which is based at
Moreh in Manipur State of India, according to official correspondence available
with Mizzima News.
Mizzima has learnt that there has been, so far, no concrete response from the Burmese authorities in this regard although teak is being exported from Burma to India's ports by ships. Burma's Forest Ministry has a total control over the trading of teak to other countries. In India, teak is in heavy demand due to restrictions on felling of trees
imposed by the authorities concerned. The Indian Supreme Court had imposed a ban
on cutting down trees in the country. "The Supreme Court order is applicable
only in the Indian forest. So there is no justification of obstruction of
importing wood from Burma", said Indian foreign trade officials when contacted.
The wood traders of the North East India claimed the Burmese Junta is
cooperating in accelerating export of teak wood.
"The Burmese teak has a good demand in India and neighboring countries, but
the new rules (of Indian authorities) have slowed down the import growth", said
an Indian trader today. The Indian traders have appealed to the Indian
government to withdraw the restrictions.
Teak and other wood from Burma has been smuggled annually to India through
the Indo-Burma border. Ko Kant, one of the cease-fire groups with Burmese
military regime, only has the license to export other wood (except teak) to
India through border.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ KNU Statement on SPDC's Demand for Exchange of
Arms for Peace
August 22, 2002 · At the press conference held on July 30, 2002, deputy chief of the SPDC armed forces intelligence department stated that the SPDC is ready to hold talks with the KNU if it was going to exchange arms for peace. Regarding this matter, we, the KNU, would like to state our position as follows. · In 1956, during the time of the AFPFL regime, the _expression_ "Exchanging
Arms for Democracy" was used and the regime tried for the surrender of arms by
the resistance forces. With the expectation of receiving democracy, some
resistance groups surrendered their arms, but instead of democracy, many were
sent to prisons.
· During the time of the Revolutionary Council of Burma (RCB) regime in
1963, the Karen Revolutionary Council (KRC) joined hands with it with the belief
that the question of ethnic nationalities could be resolved through negotiation
with the RCB. Not long after, the KRC was abolished and some of its military
leaders were assassinated.
· During the time subsequent to September 18, 1988, some resistance
organizations entered the "legal fold" on the invitation of the SLORC with the
lure of cooperation with it for peace and development. However, those
organizations are not allowed, up to this day, to engage in any activity for
politics, peace, development and organizing work in the legal fold, and some are
disbanded and some are being corrupted with narcotic drug business.
· Now, the SPDC is using the _expression_ "Exchanging Arms for Peace". In
point of fact, this _expression_ essentially has the same meaning as "Exchanging
Arms for Democracy," "Entering the Light" and "Entering the Legal Fold" which
all mean surrendering arms. This is nothing but an attempt to hoodwink the
resistance forces with the use of different expressions. In practice, the SPDC
is simply trying to avoid, by foot-dragging, the resolution of political
problems justly by political means.
· The revolutionary resistance led by the KNU is not for gaining others'
properties and rights. Contrary to that, the resistance is for gaining the
birthrights of the Karen people and self-defense. The resistance began, because
the regime in power denied the Karen people the chance to resolve problems
peacefully and started military attacks and atrocities against the Karen
people.
· In brief, we, the KNU, will never accept the fraudulent attempt to make
us surrender with the _expression_ of "Exchanging Arms for Peace". For that
reason, we call upon the SPDC to begin meaningful dialogue, with serious purpose
and honesty, for the resolution of basic political problems justly by political
means, instead of attempting to swindle us with catchy words. Central Headquarters Karen National Union ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |