Burma Related News - Sep 25

U.N. expert: Myanmar's people suffer continuing right violations, junta must change track
Fri Sep 27,10:40 AM ET

GENEVA (AP) - Myanmar's people are suffering from severe economic hardship and continuing human rights violations that can only be solved if the government cooperates with all sectors of society, a U.N. expert said in a report Friday.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said political and economic factors in the country were leading to a humanitarian crisis.

"Poverty is widespread and the economy has continued to suffer the effects of a growing deficit, rising inflation, shortfalls in energy supplies and foreign exchange, poor education, HIV/AIDS and drug-related problems," he said.

Pinheiro, the special expert on human rights in Myanmar, will present his report to the U.N. General Assembly later in the current session. He last visited Myanmar in February.

He said the situation in the country will not improve until there is "substantive progress in the process of national reconciliation and political transition."

Pinheiro said the release from house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on May 6 was an important development and a test of confidence-building.

The atmosphere is much better than the last time Suu Kyi was released from detention, in 1995, he said, but there are still restrictions on political parties, freedom of _expression_ and the press.

Pinheiro said he could not accept government assertions in May that there are no more political prisoners, especially as a number have since been released.

Despite improvements, there are still reports of human rights violations in Myanmar, Pinheiro said.

Hundreds of villages where rebels are suspected of hiding have been emptied by government forces and the population forcibly relocated without compensation.

Asylum-seekers continue to move into a Thailand, which is "a symptom of a complex internal situation which is essentially man-made, and whose roots are as economic as they are political," Pinheiro said.

Myanmar, then called Burma, was taken over by a military junta in 1988 after soldiers massacred hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators. The military staged a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the opposition National League for Democracy.

The junta has consistently faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, most notably forced labor and imprisonment of political prisoners.

The Myanmar government has invited Pinheiro to visit the country next month to investigate allegations that government soldiers raped scores of ethnic minority Shan women to retaliate against Shan guerrillas.

Opposition leader calls for party, military to cooperate for good of country
Fri Sep 27, 8:54 AM ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday called on Myanmar's military rulers to cooperate with her pro-democracy party "without further delay" for the sake of the country and its people.

The government and the National League for Democracy must "join hands to work for the welfare of the people and the country," Suu Kyi said in a brief speech marking the 14th anniversary of the party's founding.

"With sincerity and courage, we should cooperate without further delay in the interest of the country."

But a party statement released the same day blasted Myanmar's ruling junta for failing to live up to its promise to hold meaningful dialogue. When Suu Kyi was released from 19 months of house arrest in May this year, "a government statement said the government has turned a new page.

"A new page can be turned only when a dialogue between the NLD and government is held to solve the prevailing general difficulties," said the statement, read by NLD vice chairman Tin Oo.

"There has been no dialogue until today and there is no dialogue at lower level," it said.

The NLD won a landslide victory in a 1990 general election, but Myanmar's military rulers did not recognize the result and refused to allow Parliament to convene. Instead, it harassed and detained opposition members, leading the country into a political deadlock from which it has yet to emerge.

Since late 2000, the junta has been holding closed-door reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace laureate. More than 300 of members of her party have been freed since the talks began, but little else has resulted.

The NLD's statement insisted that a meaningful dialogue is necessary to solve the country's political and economic problems. It demanded the release of political prisoners still in detention.

Human rights groups estimate as many as 1,500 are still behind bars.

A ceremony Thursday at the party's headquarters was attended by some 400 party members, diplomats from the European Union, the United States, Japan and South Korea and representatives of United Nations agencies, as well as politicians from other political parties and the media.

Myanmar Rulers Send Power Message
Fri Sep 27, 5:40 AM ET
By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar's military rulers sent a clear signal they will brook no challenge to their authority when four relatives of the country's former dictator Ne Win were sentenced to death for treason, analysts said Friday.

A special court convicted Ne Win's son-in-law Aye Zaw Win and three grandsons of plotting to overthrow the government and sentenced them to death by hanging.
Observers say the sentences will likely be commuted to life in prison since Myanmar rarely executes people.

The verdict Thursday made it clear that the junta ? which controls the media and courts in Myanmar ? has quashed all remnants of Ne Win's influence and forestalled any ambitions his family may have had of returning him to power.

"The whole episode was embarrassing to the rulers and to have given anything less than (death) would have sent a new message that the threat was not seen by them as serious," said Josef Silverstein, a Myanmar specialist at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

"All these steps confirm for me that this military is going nowhere, certainly (has) no intention of giving up power," he said in an e-mail interview.
Aye Zaw Win, 54, the husband of Ne Win's favorite daughter Sandar Win, and the couple's three sons ? Aye Ne Win, 25, Kyaw Ne Win, 23, and Zwe Ne Win, 21 ? were arrested March 7 after an army officer told authorities he had been approached by the family to mount a coup on Ne Win's behalf.

It is not clear if the ailing 91-year-old Ne Win remains interested in power, or whether the family merely wanted him as a figurehead.

The four have denied the treason charges, saying they have no interest in politics. They have until next Thursday to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court.

The government says Ne Win's family planned the coup because they were upset at losing privileges as his influence declined.

Gen. Ne Win ousted a civilian government in a 1962 coup and ruled with an iron grip for 26 years, leading Myanmar, then known as Burma, into isolation and economic ruin. He and his daughter have been under house arrest since the latest coup plot emerged.

The current crop of generals took power in September 1988 after Ne Win stepped down during pro-democracy demonstrations that were crushed by the military, killing thousands of civilians.

Ne Win was long thought to retain influence behind the scenes.

All three official newspapers reported the verdict on Friday without comment. The newspapers sold out early but there was no sign of any discontent as the family was not particularly liked because of Ne Win's past.

"The junta has exorcised the ghost of Ne Win," Sann Aung, a Thailand-based Myanmar dissident, told The Associated Press in Bangkok.

He said the junta has found in Ne Win a scapegoat for political, social and economic problems ailing the country.

Critics fear the junta will cite its preoccupation with the Ne Win episode to slow down the reconciliation process with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Since releasing her from house arrest in May, the government has held no talks with her.

"They will use every issue to postpone the dialogue. Their main aim is to prolong their grip on power," Sann Aung said.

Myanmar invites U.N. human rights official to probe rape

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's military junta said Friday it has invited a United Nations official to investigate allegations that government soldiers raped scores of ethnic minority Shan women to retaliate against Shan guerrillas.

Paulo Serge Pithier, the U.N. reporter on human rights in Myanmar, has been invited to visit from Oct. 12-22 in response to ``the allegations of human rights abuses in the Shan state,'' government spokesman Col. Hal In said in a statement.

The rape allegations, which were denied by the ruling junta, were made in a June report by the Shan Women's Action Network and the Shan Human Rights Foundation, two Thailand-based rights groups.

Their report received widespread publicity in July when the U.S. State Department said it would raise the issue with Myanmar officials. It claimed to document 173 cases of rape and sexual violence against girls and women.

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.

Myanmar's government has pointed out that the groups making the rape allegations are associated with the main Shan rebel group, the Shan State Army, which has an interest in discrediting the army.

It accuses two dissidents _ including a cousin of opposition leader Aunt San Us Ky. _ of fabricating the reports.

Still, the junta, which took power in 1988 after massacring hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators, has consistently faced criticism over other alleged human rights abuses, most notably forced labor and imprisonment of political prisoners.

It was not immediately known if Pithier, who last visited Myanmar in February to see the condition of political prisoners, has accepted the invitation.

Myanmar's former ruling party criticizes junta for mismanaging economy
Tue Sep 24, 7:59 AM ET
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's former ruling party emerged from obscurity Tuesday with a sharp criticism of the military government for its handling of the economy.

The National Unity Party was established in 1988 as a new incarnation of the Burma Socialist Program Party, the vehicle for single-party rule by former dictator Gen. Ne Win from the 1960s until 1988.

Party chairman Tha Kyaw's anniversary message, read out by a party member, said that people are suffering from spiraling consumer prices and inflation due to weaknesses and loopholes in the government's economic policies and its implementation.

It called for the emergence of a constitutionally elected government to solve the country's political and economic woes.

The anniversary celebration, held at party headquarters in Yangon, was attended by more than 300 party members and guests. The press was also urged to attend, unlike previous occasions.

When Myanmar, then known as Burma, was under the rule of Ne Win, it turned from one of the most prosperous countries in Southeast Asia into one of the poorest.

Ne Win's rule was overturned in 1988 when discontent over economic issues sparked pro-democracy demonstrations. Ne Win was forced to yield the last of his power when the military took over.

The military staged a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the opposition National League for Democracy.

The NLD won 392 parliamentary seats, while the National Unity Party ? which had been seen as a strong contender acceptable to the military ? came in a poor third with 10 seats, trailing an ethnic Shan party with 23 seats.

Myanmar has been in a political deadlock since then, with the NLD seeking to have power turned over to a democratically elected government.

NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace laureate, entered into closed-door political reconciliation talks with the junta in late 2000.
Tuesday's statement from the National Unity Party said it could not support the talks as "the national reconciliation process has to be carried out by all national forces and not by a party or two."

It urged all forces to "strive for the emergence of a new constitution through the process of National Convention and to work for peaceful transition for the emergence of a democratic nation."

Myanmar has had no constitution since the military takeover in 1988. The government opened a national convention to draw up guidelines for a new constitution in 1993, but it has been inactive since 1996. The NLD had originally taken part in the convention but later withdrew, calling it undemocratic.

Thailand urged to force human rights improvement in Myanmar
Tue Sep 24, 9:12 AM ET

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A regional civil rights group on Tuesday urged Thailand to force human rights improvement in neighboring Myanmar, whose troops are accused of raping ethnic minority women and committing other atrocities.

The call by the Bangkok-based Forum-Asia was issued as Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung arrived Tuesday on a two-day visit aimed at improving bilateral relations that have hit an all-time low because of a border skirmish in May.

Win Aung is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai on Wednesday.

The Myanmar military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, has faced strong international criticism for suppressing democracy and human rights.

In July, the U.S. State Department cited allegations that Myanmar soldiers have raped scores of women from the Shan ethnic minority. The accusations were contained in reports by two Thai-based Shan groups.

"During meetings with Win Aung, Thaksin should encourage the SPDC to allow international human rights monitoring in ethnic minority areas, and to take immediate action to punish military personnel accused of rape," said Forum-Asia secretary-general Somchai Homlaor in a statement.

It said the Thai government has closed down the offices of the two organizations that issued the report about the rapes in a bid to appease the military government in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"If the Thai government is committed to promoting democratization in Burma, it will protect pro-democracy groups taking refuge in Thailand rather than persecuting them," Somchai said. "The Thai government should not bow to pressure by assisting the SPDC to silence their critics."

The Thai Foreign Ministry said Win Aung's talks with Thaksin and Surakiart are expected to focus on solving border tensions.

Myanmar has closed its border crossings with Thailand since May 20 in retaliation for the firing of Thai artillery into Myanmar territory. It has also banned the import of Thai goods, prohibited visits by officials and criticized Thailand's revered monarchy in state-owned media.

Thailand said it fired the shells when fighting between Myanmar troops and ethnic Shan rebels spilled into its territory. However, Myanmar accuses Thailand of firing the shells to help the rebels.

Win Aung will return to Yangon on Wednesday.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi Willing to Work with Junta
Fri Sep 27, 6:12 AM ET
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - In a major gesture of reconciliation, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday she was willing to work with the ruling military to better the lives of ordinary people in the impoverished country.

Speaking on the 14th anniversary of the founding of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Suu Kyi said she would not hesitate to cooperate with Yangon's generals.

"We will never hesitate to cooperate with the armed forces, based on sincere goodwill," the Nobel peace laureate told 400 party members and diplomats gathered her headquarters. "It is high time we all worked for the country holding hands together.

"There must be reconciliation and understanding between the politicians and the armed forces for the benefit of the people."

Suu Kyi's statement comes just days before Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is due to visit Myanmar for landmark talks with the government and to meet the opposition leader.

Downer's visit, on Oct. 2 and 3, will be the highest level visit by a Western politician for years.

Washington issued a statement Thursday to mark the NLD's anniversary, urging the regime to resume talks with the group and to release all political prisoners.

After strong international pressure, Suu Kyi was released from 19 months of house arrest in May, raising hopes of progress toward political change in Myanmar.

CALLS FOR TALKS

But since then she has had no meetings with senior members of the junta. She has repeatedly called for talks to begin as soon as possible and for the release of all political prisoners.

The NLD won 1990 elections in Myanmar by a landslide, but the military refused to recognize the poll result and has locked up many of her party members in repeated crackdowns on dissent.

The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, who brokered talks between the junta and Suu Kyi in 2000, has said the NLD would be willing to cooperate with the generals in some areas.

The NLD has said this means they would be willing to allow Myanmar to receive some international aid, it were closely monitored.

But the extent of possible cooperation between the military and the NLD has never been made clear and all recent overtures by the opposition to the junta have been rebuffed.

Suu Kyi's statement Friday was phrased in particularly conciliatory language, gently urging the military to have the courage to advance political dialogue without delay.
She went out of her way to praise the armed forces:

"The armed forces that protect the people and that are respected and admired by the people are very precious for the country. Similarly, a political party that always serves the people and the country is also very precious.

"If such precious organizations hold hands together to work for the people and the country, it will bring about very distinct benefits," she added.

Friday September 27, 12:42 PM
Australia's Downer to meet Myanmar ministers

CANBERRA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will meet Myanmar's military leader, Senior General Than Shwe, and pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a landmark visit, officials said on Friday.

The October 2-3 visit is the highest level Western visit in years and follows the release in May of Nobel Peace Price winner Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest, which raised hopes the military junta may be opening Myanmar to democratic reform.

Foreign officials said they expect Downer's scheduled meetings to go ahead as planned, despite the experience of previous visitors who have had meetings cancelled at the last minute upon arrival in Myanmar, formally known as Burma.

"The government of Burma is hosting Mr Downer's visit so I think that sends a message about expectations," a senior foreign official told reporters.

During the visit Downer is scheduled to meet General Than Shwe, Foreign Minister Win Aung, Home Affairs Minister Tin Hlaing and Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council Khin Nyunt, as well as Suu Kyi.

The visit is the first by an Australian government minister to the Southeast Asian nation since 1983.

All of the meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, with the government meetings to be followed by an afternoon meeting with National League for Democracy leader Suu Kyi.

The foreign officials said Downer only considered the visit because Suu Kyi had been released from house arrest in May, and said a meeting with the democracy leader was a condition of the trip.

Senior members of the ruling junta have held sporadic meetings with Suu Kyi over the past two years, but the talks have yet to start addressing substantive political issues and the junta has held no meetings with Suu Kyi since she was freed.

Downer will depart Myanmar for a half-day stop in Thailand before travelling to Indonesia on October 4-5 to attend the inaugural South West Pacific Dialogue ministerial meeting and to Malaysia on October 6-8 for a regional World Economic Forum meeting.

Myanmar says to reopen Thai border in a few weeks
By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung held four hours of talks with his Thai counterpart aimed at restoring battered bilateral ties on Wednesday and later said Myanmar would soon reopen its border with Thailand.

``In a few weeks,'' Win Aung told reporters when asked how soon trade along the border would resume.

Win Aung held talks with Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, and also met Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Relations between Thailand and Myanmar plummeted in May after a series of clashes on their border. Myanmar shut border crossings and accused Thailand of aiding ethnic minority rebel groups fighting the Yangon junta, a charge Bangkok denied.

Thailand sought high-level talks to try to patch up ties but was rebuffed until July, when Win Aung met Surakiart at a regional security meeting in Brunei. Last month, Surakiart went to Yangon for more talks.

But the border crossings remain closed, and that has dealt a further blow to Myanmar's tottering economy and severely hurt trade in several Thai border towns.

Win Aung said there was no conflict between Thailand and Myanmar.

``Because we live in the same region, share the same culture, we don't want to see any conflict,'' he said.

He said border checkpoints would open once officials had worked out the logistical details. Surakiart said a senior Thai foreign ministry official would lead a delegation to Yangon next week to work on the details.

Other areas of talks included cooperation in fighting illegal drugs and the repatriation of 500,000 Myanmar citizens working illegally in Thailand, Surakiart said.

Thailand has been flooded in recent years with billions of methamphetamine pills, believed to be mainly produced by an ethnic minority force allied to Myanmar's military rulers that operates in the Golden Triangle drug-producing region.

But Win Aung insisted Yangon was determined to eradicate poppy plantations and methamphetamine production.

``We don't want to see our people or the Thai people suffer because of drug trafficking. We'd like to see our youth and the Thai youth free from these drugs,'' he said.

Dirty money havens may still face penalties -group
By Jonathan Nicholson

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The head of a 29-member international group spearheading the fight against money laundering said on Friday it will still ponder sanctions against dirty cash havens even as it puts its blacklisting effort at least temporarily on hold.

``The list is there. To say 'no, it doesn't exist any more,' is not fair to countries which have already been delisted,'' said Patrick Moulette, executive secretary of the Financial Action Task Force, the world's leading anti-money laundering group, in an interview with Reuters. Moulette spoke at a seminar at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank here.

This weekend, the IMF and the World Bank are expected to adopt FATF's 48 policy recommendations as a methodology to be used in a 12-month pilot program assessing countries' vulnerability to money laundering and financing of terrorists.

The FATF is then expected to agree at its upcoming Oct. 9-11 plenary meeting to suspend the addition of any new names to its ``name and shame'' blacklist of countries it deems ``noncooperative'' in the fight on money laundering.

At the insistence of the international organizations, the FATF is expected to agree to not add any new names to its blacklist for the 12-month period of pilot assessment program the IMF and World Bank are launching.

``With the countries on the list, we are still working with them. Some countries may be removed. If countries do not make sufficient progress, they may be subject to countermeasures,'' he said.

The list currently includes the Cook Islands, Dominica, Egypt, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria, Niue, Philippines, Russia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Ukraine.

Moulette said FATF and similar regional organizations will continue audits of their own members, mostly industrialized countries.

At the seminar, Eduardo Aninat, the IMF's deputy managing director, said its assessment program could begin ``in a few days or weeks.''

``Nothing will be clearly accomplished, even with this extraordinary effort, if more emphasis is not placed on cross-border international sharing of crucial information,'' Aninat said.

R. Barry Johnston, chief of the IMF's special financial supervisory issues division, said the Bank and the Fund could do about 50 assessments in the next year, and could cover the IMF's entire membership in three to four years.

But one seminar participant questioned whether the IMF and the World Bank, already busy with international development work, were the right organizations to take on the assessment job. Kwok Mun Low, an alternative IMF executive director from Singapore, said the United Nations may be a better venue.

``I really wonder if this is the right approach,'' he said.

Myanmar's democratic opposition urges junta to begin talks

YANGON, Sept 27 (AFP) - Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition on Friday called on the junta to move quickly toward political dialogue with its members, as had been expected soon after their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was released from house arrest in May.

The National League for Democracy said in a statement to mark the 14th anniversary of its founding that there had not even been any low-level discussions between the two sides since then.

"No substantial releases of political prisoners have taken place, and the NLD is only enjoying limited freedom of movement. Many of its township offices remain unopened," it said.

"It is time to take speedy steps towards politically meaningful dialogue. Needless delay can only harm the people."

In October 2000, NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi began informal contacts with the military government which she said had completed an initial "confidence-building" stage by the time of her release.

In a speech delivered to some 500 supporters attending the anniversary celebrations at NLD headquarters in Yangon, the Nobel peace laureate said it was vital there was unity between the political parties and the military.

"I've always looked upon the military with respect and have a special regard for it since it is the military which was built by my father," she said, referring to national hero General Aung San.

"So we need to cooperate with them because I know this is also the wish of the people," she said. "That is why we have been calling for a dialogue with the authorities."

"I want to say on this 14th anniversary of our party, it is time for all of us -- the military, the political parties as well as the people -- to work together."

NLD chairman Aung Shwe reiterated the call for action, saying that a meaningful dialogue to pave the way for democratic reforms in Myanmar should not be delayed.

"Nothing of this sort has happened, however, so the path leading to the solving of the political, economic and social problems of the nation is still unsighted."

The United States on Thursday congratulated the NLD on its anniversary and called on Myanmar's junta to commit itself to a substantive dialogue with the opposition.

"We commend their courage in continuing to work for dialogue despite many obstacles placed in their path," said spokesman Richard Boucher.

The NLD won an overwhelming general election victory in 1990 which was never recognised by the military.

It has since endured a campaign of intimidation and seen hundreds of members imprisoned and offices closed. Aung San Suu Kyi has faced several periods of house arrest, the latest of which ended earlier this year.

"In May 2002, (Aung San Suu Kyi) was released, and the National League for Democracy has reopened some of its offices across the country," said Boucher.

"We hoped these positive steps would signal a new move toward reconciliation on the part of the regime, but have been disappointed by lack of progress."

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung said during a visit to Thailand this week, however, that reconciliation talks with Aung San Suu Kyi were moving "on the right track".

"There are people who are meeting with her. I am not the one who is meeting her but they are our people," he told reporters.

Death sentences mark the end of Myanmar's Ne Win dynasty

YANGON, Sept 27 (AFP) - Death sentences handed to former Myanmar dictator Ne Win's relatives for plotting to overthrow the military regime come as dramatic confirmation that his era of domination is over, analysts said Friday.

The arrests of the four men in March transformed Myanmar's political landscape by dispelling the notion that Ne Win continued to wield significant influence despite standing down in 1988 after leading the country for 26 years.

On Thursday, a tribunal delivered the final humiliation to the once rich and powerful dynasty by sending Ne Win's son-in-law Aye Zaw Win and three grandsons Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win to the gallows.

Few analysts believe the men were seriously attempting to mount a coup, but suspect the junta took the opportunity to sideline them after their behaviour became increasingly unruly and troublesome.

They also note that the high-profile case has reaped many benefits for the ruling generals, serving as a useful diversionary tactic as well as a public exhibition of their power.

"They were anxious to get public attention away from the myriad of problems facing the nation," one long-time Yangon analyst said, pointing out that they had effectively killed "three birds with one stone".

"Not only did they manage to convince the world that Ne Win no longer wields power over them -- in one single stroke they got rid of a perpetual nuisance posed by some of the family members while at the same time sending out a clear warning to doubting members of the military to stay in line -- or else."

Diplomats in Yangon said the dramatic downfall has been overwhelmingly welcomed by a population that grew to detest the Ne Win clan.

"(The government) put up with a lot from the family in terms of bad behaviour and usurping their position of influence," said one diplomat. "People are very pleased that they've been finally brought to account."

However, the four accused appeared nonchalant as the sentence was read out, bolstering speculation that Myanmar's former "First Family" had cut some kind of deal to spare their lives.

"Not only were they not surprised but they seemed to take it in their stride, even chatting away with each other while the judge reeled out the incriminating testimonies," said one political observer.

Judge Aung Ngwe left the door open to an appeal, saying the Supreme Court would have to confirm the sentences before they could be carried out.

Legal experts say there are several options that could save the four from the gallows, including a pardon from Myanmar's leader Senior General Than Shwe.

They could also be freed in a general amnesty like the one declared in 1980 by the Ne Win regime which spared the lives of famous drug baron Lo Hsing Han and communist leader Thakin Soe who spent just five years in jail.

The government also faces the question of what to do with Ne Win and his daughter Sandar Win who have been under house arrest since May and who analysts believe could face many more years of confinement.

"At some point (Sandar Win) might be released in an amnesty but everybody regards her as the brains behind it all, they regard her as too clever by half. To the government she's still a bit of a danger," the diplomat said.

Ne Win, in extremely frail health at the age of 92, is unlikely ever to leave the walls of the family compound, he added.

There had been hopes that democratic reform was in the offing for Myanmar with the start of a dialogue between the junta and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) since October 2000.

But observers say the junta's new-found confidence, bolstered by the global focus on security and away from human rights issues in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, could act as a brake to reform.

"This does not bode well for the supposedly on-going political dialogue between the ruling junta and the leading political party (NLD) as the military leaders may be lulled into thinking that there is no need to hurry the process," one analyst said.

US fetes Myanmar democracy party, calls on junta to open talks

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (AFP) - The United States on Thursday called on Myanmar's junta to reopen a substantive dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition, and congratulated the Nobel peace laureate on her party's 14th anniversary.

"September 27 is the 14th anniversary of the establishment of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher in a statement using the country's former name outlawed by its ruling military.

"We commend their courage in continuing to work for dialogue despite many obstacles placed in their path.

"We once again call for the regime to resume substantive talks with the League and to release all political prisoners unconditionally."

The NLD won an overwhelming general election victory in 1990 which was never recognised by the military.

It has since endured a campaign of intimidation and seen hundreds of members imprisoned and offices closed. Aung San Suu Kyi has faced several periods of house arrest, the latest of which ended earlier this year.

"In May 2002, (Aung San Suu Kyi) was released, and the National League for Democracy has reopened some of its offices across the country.

"We hoped these positive steps would signal a new move toward reconciliation on the part of the regime, but have been disappointed by lack of progress."

Boucher's statement came amid renewed speculation in the political and dissident communities here that a landmark dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta, brokered by UN envoy Razali Ismail may be going nowhere.

Myanmar, which is treated as a pariah state by Washington and its Western allies, has recently made attempts to improve its standing in the US capital, hiring a lobbying firm and making major policy announcements here rather than in Yangon.

In July, the junta claimed it was victim of a vicious "smear" campaign designed to frustrate its goal of improving poisoned relations with the United States.

The tirade followed allegations that Myanmar troops had systematically raped women and girls in Shan state.

The United States has warned junta that a bevy of sanctions and investment restrictions will be lifted only when substantial progress is made towards democratic reform.

Washington also accuses Yangon of doing too little to crack down on the trade in illegal narcotics.

Ne Win relatives sentenced to death for Myanmar coup plot

YANGON, Sept 26 (AFP) - Former Myanmar dictator Ne Win's son-in-law and three grandsons were sentenced Thursday to death by hanging for conspiring to overthrow the military government.

"I hereby sentence Aye Zaw Win, Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win to death by hanging for having been found guilty of conspiring against the state," said Judge Ngwe Aung.

"And I also sentence them to life in jail for trying to lure military personnel to help them in the coup plot," he said at a special tribunal set up in the notorious Insein jail complex on the outskirts of Yangon.

Ne Win's son-in-law Aye Zaw Win, 54, and three grandsons all aged in their 20s were arrested in March in a move that shocked a country which had long believed the wealthy and powerful family to be untouchable.

Most observers consider it unlikely that the clan had the ability to mount a successful coup, but believe the current regime installed 14 years ago wanted to demonstrate that it, and not Ne Win, was now in charge.

Ngwe Aung said the death sentences must be confirmed by the Supreme Court before they can be carried out and that the four have seven days to lodge an appeal.

The sentence is surprisingly harsh as observers had expected any death penalty to be immediately commuted to life imprisonment.

Ngwe Aung said the evidence presented to the court of the men's involvement in a plot to overthrow the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was irrefutable.

"My decisions have been based on the evidence provided by the two prime prosecution witnesses... as well as the letter sent by Aye Zaw Win to Senior General Than Shwe in which he admitted having planned the plot," he said.

"This was very incriminating evidence that they had been plotting a coup."

After the death sentence was handed down, the eldest grandson Aye Ne Win called out defiantly "We are not going to appeal".

However, his lawyer Tun Sein said later that he was speaking in the heat of the moment. "We will try to convince them to appeal," he said.

The defiant mood continued as the four were being led away from the court, with Aye Ne Win challenging his lawyers and accusing them of being lackeys of the junta.

"I have not been able to see my mother since we were arrested. What are you doing about it? Since you have been hired by the authorities you may as well do their bidding," he said.

During their two-and-a-half-hour court appearance the four appeared unconcerned about their fate, and were seen whispering, smiling and joking to each other.

Earlier, a separate tribunal found 23-hear-old Kyaw Ne Win -- the head of the family's extensive business empire -- guilty of a string of economic offences and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on each.

Three of his young accomplices, all well-connected cronies who had grown rich thanks to their association with the once-mighty family, were found guilty on several of the charges.

The shock arrest of the four relatives, and the placing of Ne Win and favourite daughter Sandar Win under house arrest where they remain to this day, caused a sensation in Myanmar.

Despite having stepped down as leader in 1988, Ne Win's influence was believed to have lingered long beyond his official tenure.

The SPDC'S move was hailed by analysts and ordinary citizens alike who had grown to detest the family's thuggish and greedy behaviour.

The four were supposedly going to enlist the help of friendly elements within the family's security detail, but were betrayed by an unidentified former military commander.

Major Thet Myo Aung, the commander of the security unit who was one of the main prosecution witnesses, has been sentenced to life imprisonment while his commanding officer received 20 years.

The rest of the unit -- more than 80 soldiers -- were handed 15-year sentences, family sources told AFP.

Myanmar's kyat sinks to new all-time low

YANGON, Sept 26 (AFP) - Myanmar's currency sank to a new all-time low of 1,375 against the dollar on the black market this week, continuing its alarming decline from levels of about 600 to the greenback last year.

The kyat's previous low was set early this month when it traded at 1,150 to the dollar.

After sinking to 1,375 in morning trade Wednesday, the embattled currency rallied slightly to 1,310 by the close, observers said. An opening price was not yet available Thursday.

The latest sharp decline confounded analysts who are now at a loss to conclusively explain the currency's persistent weakness.

A range of factors are putting pressure on the currency, including the closure of the Thai-Myanmar border since May, a new money-laundering law and the military regime's efforts to put illegal currency traders out of business.

Theories for this week's decline include a major gem sale planned for mid-October which will soak up piles of hard currency, and dollar-hoarding by government organisations.

Myanmar has a multi-tiered monetary exchange system, with the official rate set at 6.5 kyat to the dollar, but with most trade occurring at the fluctuating black market rate.

The kyat first dropped substantially this year in March, when news broke that four family members of former dictator Ne Win had been arrested for attempting to mount a military coup.

A court is due Thursday to announce its verdict in the case.

Myanmar minority women take leadership role in embattled villages

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Sep 26 (AFP) - In the tradition-bound villages of eastern Myanmar, dozens of women have been thrust into leadership roles to take the place of menfolk killed or persecuted by the ruling military.

Of some 100 settlements dotted through a vast swathe of jungle running along Thailand's western flank, more than 60 are now headed by women, refugees from the troubled region say.

Until now the prospect of a woman being elected to take responsibility for the safety and development of villages which are each home to between 200 and 800 people was unheard of.

But for many male elders, it has become just too dangerous to identify themselves as leaders to the army commanders who patrol the region in search of ethnic minority rebels like the Karen National Union (KNU).

And they say women have proved themselves skilled at handling delicate and dangerous negotiations with the military who come demanding porters, food and money from the impoverished communities.

"For a minority man living in the villages, life is not safe," says Saw Kawe-lu, a 31-year-old Karen from Kya-In district who fled to Thailand to escape the regime.

"We are afraid that soldiers will take us off to be used as porters, and we are often accused of being agents of the KNU. So we don't want to stay any more," he told AFP.

He and other refugees say that many headmen have been killed by "out-of-control" military officers who shoot them as punishment for failing to warn of attacks by rebel armies like the Karen National Union (KNU).

"To avoid this kind of of incident and to save the lives of good fathers, husbands and brothers we have selected women aged between 40 to 50 years to lead the villages," he said.

Young women are not chosen for fear they would be targets for sexual assault. A report prepared by Shan minority groups made world headlines recently by alleging the military uses rape as a systematic weapon of war.

So far the leadership gamble has been working, refugees say, explaining that Myanmar army officers are generally reluctant to mete out the beatings and humiliations exacted on male leaders.

Karen elder Saw Maw Htoo, who now lives in a Thai-Myanmar border town of Mae Sot, says the women have turned out to be instinctively talented negotiators and communicators.

"I think women speak softly and are much cleverer than men. They consult with the soldiers better," he says, adding that the unsophisticated village men were often unsuited to the task.

"The women are being treated better by the army. Sometimes they are abused but not to the extent the men were," he adds.

However, there have already been casualties. The KNU said last month that the 40-year-old female village head of Hpapya village in Kya-In district was killed by Myanmar troops during a clash with the separatist forces.

The rebels said the junta suspected the woman was relaying details of their front-line positions to the ethnic militia.

Exiled villagers say these sorts of killings are commonplace, as are beatings with the butt of a rifle or steel-capped boots if village leaders fail to provide the goods and services that are demanded of them.

"I think all village headmen had been experience of physical abuse by soldiers because they doesn't comply the orders perfectly every time," says Saw Maw Htoo who is aged in his 50s.

Myanmar's government insists that it has cracked down on the practice of forced labour, which has drawn condemnation from the international community and the International Labor Organisation (ILO).

But refugees say that one of the hardest parts of the women leaders' jobs is to decide which of the poor families living in their districts should give up their menfolk or their livestock to assist and feed the army.

They are also responsible for deciding when to order the evacuation of children, the elderly and young women who typically take cover in the jungle when a column of soldiers passes through the villages.

Three villages were torched in Karen state last week, in an action typically carried out when soldiers suspect local people have links to the anti-government insurgents.

For many, the grinding poverty and constant danger is too much to bear. Saw Kawe-lu says he and a group of friends made the long walk to the border in November 2000 to find work in Thailand.

Now he works 60-hour weeks in a garment factory and lives six-to-a-room with other illegal migrants. It's a difficult life, he says, but at least he has enough money to buy food.

Senior KNU spokesman Mahn Nyein Maung, whose force is one of the few militias not to have signed ceasefires with the Yangon junta, says the government troops are indifferent to the people's fate.

"One of them told me: 'You people are like water and the rebels are fishes, so we don't care if we have to pump out all the water from the pond to catch the fish, we don't care at all'."

International Crisis Group
Myanmar: The Future of the Armed Forces

OVERVIEW
The release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest on 6 May 2002 has generated some optimism about political progress in Myanmar. It remains to be seen, however, whether all political actors will be able to translate the new cooperative atmosphere into actual compromises in key policy areas.

This briefing focuses on some of the most critical issues that will have to be dealt with in a political transition ? the composition, management and responsibilities of the Myanmar armed forces (the Tatmadaw) as a military institution. First, it reviews the ongoing expansion and modernisation of the Tatmadaw, and lays out the visions of respectively the State, Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the National League for Democracy (NLD) for the armed forces of the future.

Secondly, it considers the prospects for a compromise between the two protagonists that satisfies core values on both sides; it outlines the possible contours of such a compromise, and it identifies key problem areas.

Since 1988, the military government has carried out an ambitious expansion and modernisation of the armed forces. As a result, the Tatmadaw today is an entirely different organisation from that of a decade ago. It is now able not only to crush civil disturbances in the cities and respond to periodic guerrilla attacks in the countryside, but also to conduct much larger and more effective counter-insurgency operations. For the first time in its history, it also has the means to carry out extended conventional operations in defence of Myanmar?s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

While the military government faces pressing concerns from both within and outside the country, including serious economic problems, the SPDC has given clear signs that it is determined to continue its comprehensive defence improvement program. Whatever differences members of the military hierarchy may have over other policy questions, they share a vision of the Tatmadaw being the envy of its regional neighbours, and capable of defending Myanmar against even the most sophisticated and well-equipped adversaries. There also seems to be a shared conviction that ? regardless of any changes that might need to be made in the way the country is governed ? the armed forces should remain the ultimate arbiters of power in Myanmar and have all the means necessary to impose their will on the country.

The NLD, which has operated under enormous restrictions including the imprisonment of most of its leadership, was slow to formulate and articulate its views on defence issues. Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders, however, have made repeated references to the place of the armed forces in Myanmar society, and in 1999 these views were incorporated into a formal defence policy platform, which clearly set out a broad vision for the Tatmadaw under a democratic government. In some key respects, this vision is not too different from that of the military hierarchy. Yet, given the profound differences between the two sides in their approach to governing and defending Myanmar, there is also a considerable divergence of views. The NLD, for example, favours smaller, more professional armed forces under full civilian, political control. Particularly contentious issues would likely include the role of the powerful intelligence apparatus, the question of amnesty for members of the armed forces guilty of human rights violations, and the ideological foundations and indoctrination of future members of the armed forces.

The NLD has made it clear that it is ready to discuss the position of the armed forces under a democratic government. The military leaders, however, remain convinced that they alone have the right and the ability to decide such core issues as the size, shape and management of the armed forces, which not only constitute their main power base, but also are central to their self-image and world view. Thus, they have dismissed the NLD?s attempts to devise and promulgate an alternative defence policy not only as having little worth but, more importantly, as having no legitimacy. Indications are that advice from foreign governments and independent groups on this subject is accorded much the same treatment.

On the amnesty issue, even though Aung San Suu Kyi has already made it clear that a NLD government would not engage in a campaign of reprisals against serving or retired members of the Tatmadaw, these assurances have so far failed to meet the concerns of the officers most likely to be affected.

To outside observers, it would seem to be in the long-term interest of the Tatmadaw itself to reach an accommodation with the NLD and other political forces that would reduce the opprobrium it currently faces both domestically and internationally. Yet the military hierarchy appears to feel that it is already capable of defending its own policies and ? despite the costs to the wider community ? sees continuing high levels of defence expenditure as both necessary and justifiable. It believes that the armed forces are behaving honourably, holding the Union together, maintaining internal peace and stability, and defending the country against diverse external threats. The senior ranks of the armed forces thus do not share the sense of urgency felt by the international community over the need for a compromise with the democratic opposition, at least not in the critical area of national security.

Bangkok/Brussels, 27 September 2002

Recent court decision could further isolate Burma
by Robert Lebowitz, Digital Freedom Network

(September 26, 2002) For over a decade, great debate has surrounded the question of whether the United States should try to influence the anti-democratic regime of Burma through policies of constructive engagement or through containment and isolation. A recent groundbreaking U.S. state court decision, however, seems to shift the balance toward isolating the country economically as the way of bringing it toward democracy.

On September 18, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the California-based oil giant UNOCAL could be sued for egregious abuses of Burmese villagers committed by government soldiers in charge of security for a pipeline construction project. The ruling overturned a previous decision in 2000 which stated that UNOCAL could not be sued unless plaintiffs provided evidence that UNOCAL actually participated in or influenced the military's conduct or that it knowingly conspired with the military to commit the abuses.

"The district court [in 2000] stated that it was necessary to show that UNOCAL had control over the military in order to sue," said Richard Hertz, senior attorney for EarthRights International, the organization that initiated the suit. "However, the court of appeals now said all we had to show was that UNOCAL gave substantial assistance to the military. And the court ruled that we had sufficiently done that.

"This is a historic ruling; it sets the standard for suing a corporation for human rights violations." The new trial is set for February.

UNOCAL's argument

UNOCAL has for years defended its practice of doing business with Burma. On its Web, UNOCAL praises the position of constructive engagement, stating that "it is by far the more effective way to strengthen emerging economies and promote more open societies."

While UNOCAL says it does not defend the actions of the Burma government, the company states that its Yardana pipeline project will help the country "develop a vital, democratic society built on a strong economy." The Yadana project, UNOCAL claims, has brought "significant benefits in health care, education, and economic opportunity to more than 45,000 people living in the pipeline area."

However, the Burmese villagers who initiated the legal action against UNOCAL paint a far different picture. The suit claims that the gas and oil exploration and production company was partly responsible for forced labor, forced relocation, rape, torture, and murder committed against Burmese by Burma's military junta during the construction of the Yadana pipeline.

The plaintiffs also allege that UNOCAL was aware that forced labor was used in Burma before they agreed to build the pipeline, but went ahead with the project anyway. The pipeline, in fact, had been commissioned by UNOCAL and its joint venture partner, the Burmese government.

For its part, UNOCAL has consistently denied any part in the abuse of villagers and has defended the position that working in Burma and engaging in business with the ruling junta is more effective towards bringing about change than economically isolating the antidemocratic government.

Aung San Suu Kyi's position

UNOCAL's staunch defense of constructive engagement is matched by the equally strong endorsement of isolation and containment espoused by Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the Burmese pro-democracy movement, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Suu Kyi has consistently spearheaded efforts to halt UNOCAL's investment in Burma, claiming that profits from such business enterprises "merely go toward enriching a small, already privileged elite."

In a recent interview with the Digital Freedom Network, Suu Kyi reiterated her position. "My stance on UNOCAL has not changed since my release on May 6," said Aung San Suu Kyi. "I don't think that more open trade will benefit the people; it has to be accompanied by political changes."

In a similar vein, Suu Kyi discouraged tourists from visiting Burma in order to put economic pressure on the government to change their policies. In Suu Kyi's view, any dialogue with the government by businesses or organizations would not prove helpful to the cause of democracy. "I am against unbalanced negotiations of any kind. If organizations are willing to dialogue with the government, then they must also dialogue with the NLD," she said.

The effect on Burma

The newly granted ability for those abused in a foreign country to sue U.S.-based corporations in the U.S. will likely give pause to businesses considering investing in Burma, encouraging isolation over constructive engagement. "The decision will have an indirect effect on Myanmar," Paul Hoffman, the lead counsel in the case against UNOCAL, told DFN. "It will now make it much harder for projects to go forward."

(The military junta that seized control of Burma in 1989 changed the country's name to Myanmar in 1991. Many activists do not recognize the name change.)
Interestingly enough, the Burmese government has of late demonstrated a move toward increasing tolerance. On September 23, eighteen prisoners were freed, including 10 members of the NLD. The government also granted permission to open up offices throughout the country. Hoffman suggested that the new vulnerabiltiy of corporations in Burma will make the government even more solicitious of the favor of the free world.

"The government will feel pressured to curb human rights violations in order to get foreign currency and foreign capital or it will lose them," Hoffman said. "When a company like UNOCAL gets involved in a pipeline project like this, it has to make sure that Burma will respect human rights projects."

News Telegraph U.K
Suu Kyi's olive branch for junta generals
By Alex Spillius, South East Asia Correspondent
(Filed: 28/09/2002)

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday called on the ruling junta to re-open talks with her, a day after four relatives of Ne Win, the former dictator, were sentenced to death for treason.

Forty-four years to the day after Ne Win first took power, his son-in-law and three of his grandsons were condemned to the gallows for plotting a coup against the current junta.

The verdicts signalled the determination of the troika of generals who lead the military regime, all proteges of Ne Win, to distance themselves from their mentor, now 92, who has dominated Burma's post-war history.

Observers said reformist elements in the dictatorship could be clearing the way for some sort of deal with Ms Suu Kyi. Alternatively the verdicts could show the regime was in no mood to compromise with any threat to its authority.

Ms Suu Kyi's comments yesterday, on the 14th anniversary of the founding of her National League for Democracy, were her most conciliatory since her release from nearly two years of house arrest in May.

"I've always looked upon the military with respect and have a special regard for it since it is the military which was built by my father," she said, referring to Gen Aung San, a national hero.

"So we need to co-operate with them because I know this is also the wish of the people. That is why we have been calling for a dialogue with the authorities.

"It is time for all of us - the military, the political parties as well as the people - to work together. Needless delay can only harm the people."

It was the brutal crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations by Ne Win in 1988 that led to his stepping down, 26 years after he took power in a coup. His "Burmese Way to Socialism" and rigid militarism led one of south-east Asia's richest and most advanced countries to international isolation and poverty.

Earlier this week a special court at Rangoon's Insein Prison found Aye Zaw Win, 56, the husband of his favourite daughter, Sandar Win, and the couple's three sons - Aye Ne Win, 25, Kyaw Ne Win, 23, and Zwe Ne Win, 21 - guilty of high treason.

The four have seven days to appeal against their death sentences. The sentences may yet be commuted to life imprisonment.

Some diplomats are sceptical that a coup was ever seriously planned by Ne Win's family but it seems clear that Sandar Win and the family were aggrieved at losing economic and political privileges as Ne Win was gradually eased out of the political picture.

During the trial, which lasted three and a half months, the prosecution built a strong circumstantial case against the four men but produced little hard evidence.
Lawyers claimed the plotters resorted to voodoo and displayed miniature dolls of the junta's top three leaders apparently used in black magic rituals.

Ne Win is renowned as profoundly superstitious and once cancelled all existing banknotes to re-issue them in multiples of nine, his favourite number, with devastating effects on the economy.

The plotters were arrested in March after they were betrayed by an army colonel.

Ne Win and his daughter, Sandar, are under house arrest at their lakeside mansion in Rangoon and dozens of his aides are already being punished for their role in the alleged coup plot.

Earlier this month a military tribunal sentenced more than 80 soldiers from his security detail to 15 years in prison.

Bangkok Post - Saturday 28 September 2002
Senator airs concern over MiG fighters
Jet acquisition hands military edge to junta

Burma has acquired MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters, which could fly beyond the western border where air defence systems are still lagging, said Trang senator ACM Kant Surakul yesterday.

During a floor debate on the 2003 budget, ACM Kant said Burma now possessed the Russian-made combat aircraft, reputed to have better manoeuvrability than the air force's US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon jets.

``MiG-29s are deadlier than F-16s, and could fly beyond Bangkok to reach Prachin Buri province in the East,'' ACM Kant said. ``We can't negotiate anything with a country whose military power ranks above ours.''

The air force's proposed fund of 2.1 billion baht to install mountain-top radars and other military equipment on the western border over a three-year period had been slashed by the current government, as well as the previous administration.

Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima senator Kraisak Choonhavan called on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to revise foreign policy toward Burma in line with international bids to boycott the country over recent reports of major human rights abuses by its military regime.

Citing a resolution adopted by the US Congress to boycott Rangoon, Mr Kriangsak said authorities would be in violation of the international principles of human rights if they arrested and repatriated members of a Shan Women's Network operating on the border.

People forcibly repatriated to the country faced serious retribution, he said.

In reaction to the reported abuses and Rangoon's closure of the common border, Mr Thaksin should take a tougher stand in dealing with the junta, Mr Kraisak said.

``The Burmese have never applied international trade standards and have threatened to close down all foreign firms in their country, except IP Star,'' he said, referring to a telecommunications firm affiliated to Shin Corp, which was founded by Mr Thaksin.

Bangkok Post - Saturday 28 September 2002
Burmese villagers face Unocal in US court
The energy giant is alleged to have been complicit in human rights abuses by the Rangoon regime.
KENNY BRUNO and JOHN CHEVERIE

Human rights campaigners in the United States and Thailand are jubilant over a US court's decision on Sept 18, in a landmark human rights case.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in California, has set a remarkable precedent with its recent decision to give a go-ahead to the Doe vs Unocal case, in which the energy giant was alleged as being complicit in human rights abuses by the Rangoon regime.

The case, which revolves around events during the construction of the Yadana natural gas pipeline in southern Burma and the security arrangements for that pipeline, is remarkable for several reasons.

The defendant, Unocal, is based in the US, while the events in question took place in Burma. Because of US legal doctrine, it has been very difficult to bring cases from other countries to US courts, even when US defendants are central to the case. The Doe vs Unocal decision has overcome this obstacle.

The allegations include human rights abuses in violation of international law, including forced labour, rape and murder. Until recently, only nation-states were considered potential perpetrators of human rights crimes. An earlier decision in the case recognised that corporations are potentially responsible for grave human rights violations. The recent decision is critically important because it recognised that Unocal can be held liable for aiding and abettng abuses committed by the Burmese military.

The recent decision has built on the earlier decision by further expanding the reach of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) over corporate defendants.

The ATCA allows non-US residents to sue in US courts for violations of international law.

Eleven anonymous Burmese villagers, members of ethnic minorities such as the Karen, are the plaintiffs against a powerful US oil corporation, Unocal. These plaintiffs, for whom it is too dangerous to reveal their names, now live as anonymous refugees in Thailand. These victims are as distant from the trappings of power as any citizens on the planet, yet they will now get a chance to face wealthy oil executives in federal court alleging human rights abuses in violation of international law.

Until Sept 18, it looked like that would never happen. Two years ago, a Federal District Court judge dismissed the case, saying that while ``Unocal knew or should have known'' that the Burmese military ``did commit, was committing and would continue to commit'' gross human rights abuses, the company could not be held liable because it did not control or direct the Burmese military in committing those acts.

That decision left the official position of the US judiciary awkwardly out of alignment with traditional concepts of law and with common ethical sense. The lower court ruling held that even though Unocal knew of, and benefitted from, the brutal and illegal acts of its business partner, the Burmese army, Unocal could not be held liable under the ATCA for international law violations.

The Appeals Court decision of Sept 18 was the right one under legal and common sense ethical reasoning.

The facts presented in the pre-trial phases include overwhelming evidence that the Burmese military forced villagers to work during construction of the pipeline and for militarisation of the area.

The evidence shows that Unocal knew the reputation of the military, knew these abuses were likely to occur, and knowingly benefitted from the actions of the military.

The decision of the Appeals Court comports with what most people believe: a company that knows of abhorrent and illegal practices and provides assistance to the perpetrators while reaping economic benefits, is culpable.

The Appeals Court made a logical decision in overturning the lower court's dismissal of Doe vs Unocal. The Sept 18 decision stands for the proposition that US companies operating abroad can be held accountable, under international law and in US courts, for aiding and abetting human rights crimes.

Although two years have been added to the victims' long wait for a trial in this case, there is a silver lining. After the dismissal of the case in Federal District Court two years ago, lawyers for the plaintiffs filed a parallel case in California state court, based on allegations that Unocal violated California law (for the same actions of rape, murder and forced labour in the federal case.) That case is scheduled to go to trial in February 2003, giving the plaintiffs two potential venues to fight against an adversary whose power and wealth is almost overwhelming. The federal court's recent decision could help the plaintiffs in both cases, federal and state.

In a globalising world, where corporations have ever-increasing power, it is only fair that they have increased responsibility as well. For 11 Burmese villagers whose lives have been disfigured by the grotesque behaviour of the Burmese military and Western multinational oil companies, the US courts now hold their best hope for a modicum of justice.

- Kenny Bruno is Campaigners Coordinator and John Cheverie is Shapiro Public Service Fellow for EarthRights International, which is co-counsel for the plaintiffs in Doe vs Unocal.

The Straits Times - SEPT 28, 2002 SAT
Downfall of Ne Win's kin marks new era for Myanmar
Its ruling generals have finally shaken off legacy of former dictator, say analysts, but political reforms are still unlikely
By Edward Tang
THAILAND CORRESPONDENT

BANGKOK - The death penalty handed down on Thursday to family members of Myanmar's former dictator Ne Win for treason marked a clean break from the past for the country's current group of ruling generals.

But the verdict was unlikely to have a significant impact on political reforms in Myanmar because those in charge now were not expected to loosen their grip on the opposition, said analysts.

'This is the final break from the Ne Win era,' a Bangkok-based diplomat told The Straits Times.
'General Than Shwe is now calling the shots.'

Gen Than Shwe is chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the name of the Myanmar government.

Along with Vice-Chairman Maung Aye and First Secretary Khin Nyunt, he forms the top leadership of the country.

Last month, General Maung Aye, who is also the army chief, was promoted to Deputy Senior General. Lt-General Khin Nyunt, who is also military intelligence chief, was
made a full general.

The power-sharing arrangement was expected to keep Gen Khin Nyunt, who is General Ne Win's protege, happy, said the diplomat.

For a long time, the trio were said to have been operating under Gen Ne Win's shadow.

The 92-year-old general was perceived to be still wielding power despite having stepped down in 1988.

Ms Sandar Win, his daughter, and her husband Aye Zaw Win, both civilians, benefited from major business contracts from the military government even after the former president, who seized power in a 1962 coup, had retired.

The family business empire includes mobile-phone concessions, hotels, import-export companies and contracts to supply the military.

Their three sons - Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win, all in their 20s - were reportedly notorious bullies who used their family reputation to extort money from local companies and were involved in a number of shady business deals.

Allegations of corruption and nepotism began building up against the family.

The government was cast in a bad light because it was perceived to be shielding them.

About a year ago, relations between the leaders and the Ne Win clan soured.

The leaders were apparently upset with the boorish behaviour of the family's members and began cutting back on their business contracts.

But the final straw was the plot uncovered in March by the government, which claimed that Gen Ne Win's son-in-law and three grandsons were planning to seize power through a coup.

Four senior military officers, including two regional commanders, were sacked for their involvement.

At least 80 police and military officers from Gen Ne Win's personal security detail were arrested last month.

On Thursday, the court found the four ringleaders guilty of high treason and imposed the highest penalty of the death sentence on them.

The prosecutor had claimed they employed voodoo magic to topple the government, presenting as evidence three toy dolls with needle marks that resemble the top three generals.

This is a serious offence in a superstitious country such as Myanmar.

The four have said they will not appeal.

Ms Sandar Win, who has not been charged and is under house arrest, is expected to be put on trial.

Analysts, who doubt the coup claims were real, believe the death sentences would be commuted to life jail terms as Myanmar, for all the human-rights violation charges levelled at it, rarely carries out public executions.

'The government just wants to send a message that it will not tolerate dissent,' said Mr Soe Aung, director of Network for Democracy and Development, a Bangkok-based non-government organisation.

The currently exiled former student rebel does not expect Myanmar leaders to deepen political dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released in May after being under house arrest for 19 months.

Like many, he believed the coup charges were trumped up to deflect attention from the state's economic woes.

Foreign aid and investment have yet to materialise following the release of Ms Suu Kyi.

'It's disappointing. The leaders have not been engaging the opposition,' said Mr Soe Aung.

Yangon's powerful triumvirate

Senior General Than Shwe
The State Peace and Develop- ment Council (SPDC) chairman of 10 years was born in 1933.

He ruled out the transfer of power to Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy but freed political prisoners to improve Myanmar's international image.

Deputy Senior General Maung Aye
The vice-chairman of the SPDC is in his early 60s.

The concurrent army chief is said to be an inward-looking hardliner who bears enmity to former

General Khin Nyunt
The First Secretary of the SPDC is in his early 60s.

Also the military intelligence chief, the former protege of Gen Ne Win is said to be keen on increasing Myanmar's contacts with the outside world and is regarded as Gen Maung Aye's rival.

Burma Related News - Sep 25 - 28, 2002.