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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- September 29, 2002.
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HEADLINES
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reuters - Asian Games-List of teams at Pusan
Asian Games
AFP - Domestic Myanmar carriers to charge in
local currency: report
AFP - First internet cafes to open in
Myanmar: report
Xinhuanet - Myanmar blames western nations
for ignoring others' backgrounds
Xinhuanet - Australian FM to visit
Myanmar
Asia Times - Thailand accused of dancing to
Myanmar's tune
ICRC News - Myanmar: New ICRC office
opens in Mandalay
Bkk Post - Anti-drugs task force to
remain
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday September 29, 6:12 PM
Asian Games-List of teams at Pusan Asian Games SEOUL, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The 14th Asian Games opened in the South Korean city of Pusan on Saturday, with teams from 44 countries and territories taking part in the quadrennial event. Following is a list of delegations taking part in the September 29-October 14 Asiad: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Domestic Myanmar carriers to
charge in local currency: report
YANGON, Sept 29 (AFP) - Domestic Myanmar carriers Yangon Airways and Air Mandalay are to begin charging local passengers and paying local employees in kyat, a report here said citing airline sources. The decision is aimed at cutting domestic fares for Myanmar nationals, who must currently pay using dollar-denominated Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC), according to a report in the Monday edition of the Myanmar Times. Under the new system passengers will be able to pay in kyat where the cost of the fare is less than 10,000 kyat or more than 30,000 kyat, based on a conversion rate set by the Ministry of Transport, the report said. No reason was given for fares falling between these amounts still requiring payment in FEC. Airline sources told the English-language weekly that passengers paying in kyat would be issued open tickets, meaning they could only travel if there were enough seats available. International travellers using the two airlines will continue to pay for their fares in FECs, the report said, adding that no date for the introduction of the new system had been set. State-run Myanmar Airways already charges in local kyat only. Yangon Airways and Air Mandalay are government joint-venture companies. The sources added that a similar system of paying employees in kyat would be introduced in government joint-venture companies where staff are now paid in FEC or dollars. Myanmar's kyat has plunged in recent months, reaching an all-time low last week of 1,375 against the dollar on the black market, down from 600 to the greenback last year. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ First internet cafes to open
in Myanmar: report
YANGON, Sept 29 (AFP) - The first cyber cafes in military-ruled Myanmar are set to open from November, with five slated for the capital and another five for the northern city of Mandalay, according to a media report here. Full access to the Internet will not however be permitted, the Myanmar Times reported in its edition to be published Monday. "Cafe-goers will have access to Myanmar intranet, email services, enjoy online network games, entertainment such as MP3 music, movies and access to about 1800 websites through Bagan Net," director of sales at Bagan Cybertech, Kyaw Kyaw Moe, was quoted as saying. The local Myanmar intranet provides access to a limited number of websites. Bagan Cybertech, a semi-government organisation established last year, is to be the internet service provider (ISP) for the cafes. Prior to its establishment, Myanmar's state-owned Post and Telecommunications was the country's only ISP and provided e-mail services only. "Later, we hope to provide full internet access in the cyber cafes," Kyaw Kyaw Moe also told the English-language weekly. Currently Internet and e-mail use is strictly limited in Myanmar, where access to all forms of communication is severely restricted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Myanmar blames western nations
for ignoring others' backgrounds
Xinhuanet 2002-09-29 12:34:03 YANGON, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar leader General Khin Nyunt has blamed some western nations for ignoring the characteristics of political, economic and social backgrounds of developing countries. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, made the remarks Saturday when meeting with basic education teachers in Pyin Oo Lwin in the country's northernMandalay division, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday. "Instead of understanding and providing assistance to the developing nations that are facing historical events, the western countries are demanding continuously that those developing nationspractice their social systems and social norms and putting pressure on them," he said. He said the culture, social system and norms and values of big nations, that have superior economy and technology, are penetrating and dominating the developing countries without any hindrance due to advancement of information and communication technology. He noted that developing countries like Myanmar are making efforts to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and the other gaps in terms of technology and development among the nations of the world. He attributed the weakening of national solidarity to evil legacy of divide-and-rule policy of the imperialists, saying that time and energy for national development were wasted because therewas no peace and stability in Myanmar for about half a century. Despite internal and external hindrance, Myanmar has made some achievements with the help of united strength of its own national forces, he said. He added that in the 21st century, education plays a vital rolein national development, predicting that in the future, high technology will dominate society. He warned that only when the government builds the highly-qualified human resources, will challenges in development be overcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Australian FM to visit
Myanmar
Xinhuanet 2002-09-29 10:06:33 YANGON, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will pay an official visit to Myanmar in the nearfuture, an official announcement said here Sunday without disclosing the date of his visit. However, it is confirmed by the Australian side that the minister will pay a two-day visit to the country starting next Wednesday. It will be the first Australian minister to visit Myanmar sincethe Myanmar military government took over the power of state on Sept. 18, 1988. During his trip, Downer will meet Myanmar government officials and exchange views with them on bilateral relations and regional issues of common interest. In addition, Downer will also meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), resident representatives of UN organizations and non-governmental organizations. The Australian minister said in its recent statement, "My visitto Burma (Myanmar) will enable me to obtain a first-hand impression of the current situation including the humanitarian situation and to register Australia's support for political reconciliation and greater respect for human rights." Like other western countries, the Australian government has notyet lifted its sanctions against Myanmar. On May 6 this year, the Myanmar military government set ASSK free from 19-month house arrest. Australia welcomed the move, hoping that the Myanmar government would release all political prisoners and bring about the early realization of national reconciliation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asia Times - Sep 28,
2002
Thailand accused of dancing to Myanmar's tune By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK - Thailand's Thaksin administration has distanced itself from previous Thai governments' harsh rhetoric against Myanmar's generals and launched efforts to patch up relations with its neighbor through trade and cooperation. Bangkok's emphasis is to develop warmer ties between the two countries, with trade and business as the cement. As a result, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's policy on Myanmar is coming under increasing fire from critics who say Bangkok is bowing to Yangon's wishes by avoiding references to its human-rights abuses during bilateral talks this week. This attitude, they assert, continues to erode Thailand's reputation as one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that uphold human rights. Myanmar has been under military rule since a 1962 coup put the generals in government. In the intervening 40 years, the military has violated human rights, including killing and imprisoning political opponents, forcing members of ethnic communities into slave labor and suppressing free _expression_. Thailand is a leading foreign investor in Myanmar, to the tune of US$25.75 million in 2001. Official bilateral trade between the two totaled about 28 billion baht ($646 million) in the first six months of this year. And that figure only takes legitimate trade into account; the "black economy", especially narcotics exported into Thailand from Myanmar, is booming. Timber imports, both legal and otherwise, are also important to Thailand, as is a pipeline that brings natural gas from Myanmar into the kingdom. But despite the policy of engagement toward Myanmar by Thailand and its Association of Southeast Asian Nations partners - notably Malaysia, whose Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has urged the world to "be patient" as Myanmar's four-decade-old military government takes halting steps toward democracy - little progress is apparent on the issue of human rights and the brutal oppression of ethnic minorities. "The impression created is that Thailand is willing to protect the war criminals in Burma," charged Sunai Phasuk of Forum Asia, a Bangkok-based regional human-rights watchdog. (Burma was Myanmar's name before the country was officially rechristened by the military government; the capital, Rangoon, was also renamed Yangon.) "While the Burmese government is being condemned internationally for human rights abuses, including rape, the Thai government is not raising its voice," Sunai said. According to a sarcastic barb doing the rounds here among Myanmese living in exile on this side of the border, when it comes to Myanmar, "Thai foreign policy is made in Yangon, not in Bangkok." "There are increasing signs that Rangoon is dictating terms and the Thai government is willing to follow," said one Myanmese activist who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It is disturbing, this policy of appeasement." These reactions come in the wake of formal talks here on Wednesday between Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and his Myanmese counterpart, Win Aung. Human-rights groups, including Forum Asia, were hoping that Surakiart would use his meeting with Win Aung to discuss rights issues in addition to the topics the Thaksin administration is more warm to, such as trade and business opportunities. But that outcome was not to be. "The meeting was a good opportunity for Thailand to display its human-rights commitments but, as we saw, the Thaksin government has focused more on economic issues and human rights has become of less importance," said Srirak Plipat of the Thai office of Amnesty International, the global human-rights lobby. Surakiart was quoted in the Thai press on Thursday as saying the discussions had focused on drug trafficking, illegal immigration, consular services and cross-border trade. In sharp contrast to the Thai government's position on Myanmar's human-rights record was the message coming from the International Burma Summit, held on September 22-23 in Copenhagen. "The International Burma Summit has been organized to focus attention not only on the truth of what is happening today in Burma but what we, as an international community, must do in response," declared a statement released by a high-profile panel at the summit. The panel included Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize winner from Northern Ireland, Helle Degn, the human rights commissioner for the Baltic states and former Danish minister for development aid, and Asda Jayanama, a former Thai ambassador to the United Nations. They were unequivocal in their condemnation of Myanmar for gross human-rights violations. Particularly troubling to the panel was "compelling evidence of brutal and systematic sexual violence against women by the military throughout Burma". In May, the two bodies monitoring rights abuses among the Shan, one of Myanmar's many ethnic groups, released a chilling report about the scale of sexual violence women in the Shan areas have been subjected to. Up to 625 girls and women in the Shan areas have been raped by the Myanmese military between 1996 and 2001, the report "License to Rape" said. Under international law, such violations are deemed a war crime. The authors of the report, the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women's Action Network, accuse the Myanmese army of officially condoning rape as part of their anti-insurgency activities. Also troubling, according to participants at the Copenhagen meeting, is the 1,400 political prisoners currently languishing in Myanmese detention centers, many of whom had been incarcerated for their work as democracy and human-rights activists. The prisoners range from students, monks and activists from political parties opposed to the junta to those belonging to ethnic groups and elected members of parliament. "Political prisoners have been subjected to severe beatings, suffocation, the denial of decent food, water and rest, and other forms of torture and mistreatment," said the statement issued after the meeting. In early May, Myanmar's military rulers came in for some praise after freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest. The United Nations-brokered deal also resulted in the Nobel Peace laureate being allowed the freedom to travel across the country for her political work. The junta has also earned praise for releasing some of its political prisoners - some 400 to date. Weeks ago, Bangkok displayed how far it would go to retain its alliance with its northern neighbor, when it ordered police crackdowns on activists and victims of rights abuses from Myanmar who had sought refuge in Thailand. "Burmese dissidents feel upset and are worried by the Thai government's policies," said Min Zin, an associate editor at The Irrawaddy, a Thai-based monthly journal that focuses on Myanmese and Southeast Asian issues. (Inter Press Service) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 27-Sep-2002 ICRC
News 02/39
Myanmar: New ICRC office opens in Mandalay A new ICRC office was officially opened in Mandalay on 16
September 2002 in the presence of regional authorities, members of the Myanmar
Red Cross Society and diplomats based in the city.
The new office in Myanmar's second-largest city will allow the ICRC to step up its humanitarian activities in central and northern Myanmar and strengthen its dialogue and cooperation with the regional authorities. The ICRC's delegation in Yangon and offices in Mon, Kayin and Shan States employ 40 expatriate and 220 local staff. The ICRC first began working in Myanmar in 1986, when it started limb-fitting programmes in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. These programmes now also involve the Myanmar Red Cross and the Ministry of Defence. Since May 1999, the ICRC has been given access to persons deprived of their freedom. It is currently visiting all prisoners held under the responsibility of the Ministry for Home Affairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bangkok Post - Sunday
29 September 2002
Anti-drugs task force to remain Unit being upgraded into operation centre Wassana Nanuam Task Force 399, an elite force set up in January last year to combat drug trafficking, will not be dismantled, according to deputy army chief-designate Gen Watanachai Chaimuanwong. Gen Watanachai said he instead planned to upgrade the task force into an operation centre reporting directly to the army. ``This is to allow the unit to work flexibly and receive proper funding,'' he said. The 200-strong task force comprises two companies of infantry officers, a company of special warfare officers and a company of border patrol police. The unit, equipped with five Black Hawk helicopters, has been trained by United States soldiers to combat drug trafficking. Rumours about disbanding of the task force started circulating during the height of border tensions between Thailand and Burma. Also, Third Army Commander Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasingh refused to deploy the unit because it was too costly. Gen Watanachai said he would continue overseeing drug trafficking and borders after his promotion. ``With the new post, I can work even better,'' he said. Gen Watanachai said he deserved the promotion. ``I have the legitimate right to get this post after I lost the post of army commander. My dignity has been restored,'' he said. Col Puchong Ratchatawan, deputy director-general of the Directorate of Operations and co-founder of Task Force 399, has been promoted to major-general. He will become director of Planning and Operations at the Supreme Command's Directorate of Joint Operations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |