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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- October 15, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Thailand and Myanmar open
border as row calms
Reuters - UN watchdog urges Myanmar
to speed rights reforms
AFP - UN human rights
rapporteur to visit Myanmar this week
AFP - Officials from ASEAN, China
discussing trade pact framework
AP - Cambodian prime minister assures
safety for ASEAN summit
AP - Myanmar reopens border with
Thailand after five months
Dow Jones - Nippon Oil To Boost
Crude, Gas Output In Vietnam, Myanmar
Bkk Post - Border trade to restart
with bang
Bkk Post - Gateways to Burma creak
open
The Nation - Vendors gear up for
today's reopening
ST - Asean showcases its best
in regional trade fair
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday October 15, 1:30 PM
Thailand and Myanmar open border as row calms By Somjit Rungjumrutrusmee MAE SOT, Thailand (Reuters) - Thailand and Myanmar opened their mutual border on Tuesday for the first time in five months, signalling a new thaw in a relationship fraught by military tension and rows over the drugs trade. Tensions between the neighbours rose in May after skirmishes between Myanmar troops and ethnic rebel militias and Yangon shut all border crossings. Myanmar's ruling generals accused Bangkok of aiding the rebels, a charge Thailand denies. But relations have gradually improved and the neighbours, enemies for centuries, agreed earlier this month to reopen the 1,800 km frontier that stretches from Laos to the Indian Ocean. Bangkok said on Tuesday the reopening showed the relationship had returned to normal and it hoped the 18 border checkpoints would never be shut down again. "The reopening of the border checkpoints illustrates that the close relationship between the two countries has returned," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters before attending a weekly cabinet meeting in Bangkok. At dawn on Tuesday, Myanmar officials removed barricades at a major checkpoint on the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge linking the Thai town of Mae Sot and Myawadee on the other side. Closure of the crossings dealt a blow to Myanmar's economy, tottering after years of neglect and strict sanctions by many Western nations, and silenced bustling Thai border towns. Boomthiem Chokewattana, head of the Mae Sot customs office, said on Tuesday Thailand had lost around five billion baht ($113.7 million) in trade since May. But the closure did little to hinder drug-running gangs along the porous, jungle-clad border, mostly carrying metamphetamines, but also heroin, from Myanmar into Thailand. Both countries have accused the other of supporting rival, drug-producing, ethnic armies. Thailand has said Myanmar's military turns a blind eye to and even profits from industrial-scale metamphetamine production by the Wa ethnic minority army, which signed a ceasefire with Yangon after years of separatist struggle. Myanmar has accused Thai soldiers and police of aiding the military and drugs operations of the separatist Shan State Army. Monday October 14, 17:58 PM
UN watchdog urges Myanmar to
speed rights reforms
By Irwin Arieff UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Myanmar remains the target of many credible allegations of human rights violations despite recent moves toward democracy, a U.N. watchdog reported on Monday, urging a faster pace of reforms for the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma. Numerous political prisoners remain in custody, national laws often conflict with international human rights principles and courts judge individuals accused of political crimes with ``a high degree of arbitrariness,'' said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a special investigator for the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. In a report to the 191-nation U.N. General Assembly, he said there was evidence that arrests of political prisoners were diminishing, and that the government was trying to root out and discipline officials who tortured such prisoners. He said he was shown documentary evidence that 3,646 police officers had been tried and imprisoned over the past seven years for abuse of power or misconduct including torture. Thousands of others have been been dismissed, demoted or otherwise punished, he said. But ``restrictions on the freedom of information, _expression_ and the press have yet to be fully lifted and the remaining political prisoners have yet to be released,'' Pinheiro said. ``In that context, the issue of reform of the system of administration of justice is crucial,'' he added. After four decades of military rule, Myanmar is one of the poorest nations on earth, its economy in tatters and its human rights record one of the world's worst. Diplomats say the country suffers from chronic bad management, and sanctions imposed by countries including the United States and the European Union have also taken a heavy toll. FORCED RELOCATION With encouragement from the United Nations, secretive reconciliation talks began in late 2000 between Myanmar's military and the National League for Democracy, the political party of 56-year-old democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Under international pressure, the government freed Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest last May. But the talks have so far yielded few concrete results beyond the release of Suu Kyi and several hundred other party members from various jails. Pinheiro said reports of rights violations in Myanmar were particularly prevalent in Shan and Karan states, where the military is conducting counterinsurgency operations and armed opposition groups are suspected of operating from bases along the border with Thailand. There, rural populations are forcibly relocated from suspected rebel areas to zones under army control. Villagers are given only a few hours or days to pack up their things and have to start their lives from scratch once relocated, without outside help or compensation, he said. ``They are prohibited from returning to their villages and if caught, are shot on sight,'' he said. His report said the United Nations and the international community needed to help ease Myanmar along the path to substantive political and constitutional reform. As for Myanmar itself, its society ``is at the threshold of great changes and is becoming more sensitive to the moral and practical need to move at a faster pace than heretofore towards a democratic, tolerant and peaceful future,'' he said. Monday October 14, 14:29 PM
UN human rights rapporteur to visit Myanmar this
week
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14 (AFP) - The United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, will start his third visit to that country this week, a UN spokeswoman said Monday. Spokeswoman Hua Jiang said Pinheiro would arrive in Yangon on Thursday, five days later than originally scheduled. She did not say how long he was expected to stay in Myanmar. Pinheiro visited Myanmar from February 11 to 19 and met officials including General Khin Nyunt, leader of the ruling junta. He also had meetings with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from 19 months of house arrest on May 6. In a report to the UN General Assembly, released Monday, Pinheiro said the "recent mellowing on the political front" was not enough to improve the human rights situation. He urged United Nations to get ready to help with the transition to democracy, saying: "The present delicate situation... needs to be handled with great care and generosity on the part of those who wish the people of Myanmar well." Tuesday October 15, 00:28 AM
Officials from ASEAN, China
discussing trade pact framework
SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (AFP) - Officials from Southeast Asia and China have begun a two-day meeting to draft a framework for comprehensive economic relations including a free trade pact, Singapore said Tuesday. Representatives from the 10-member nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were meeting with their Chinese counterparts, a Ministry of Trade and Industry spokesman said in a statement. The sixth round of talks was to discuss the framework to an agreement on ASEAN-China comprehensive economic cooperation, he said. ASEAN and China have yet to agree on a list of products to be covered by early tariff cuts under an "early harvest" element in the proposed free trade agreement, which would cover nearly two billion people and will be the world's biggest free trade zone if implemented. Under this element, China should cut tariffs on ASEAN imports as a goodwill gesture for the regional bloc which already has lower tariff rates. The cuts should be made well ahead of the full implementation of the FTA, which is expected to be worked out within the next decade. Senior officials from ASEAN and China aim to reach an agreement on the unresolved issues during the two-day meeting. Leaders of ASEAN and China are to sign the framework during a summit in Cambodia in November. ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodian prime minister
assures safety for ASEAN summit
Tue Oct 15, 2:02 AM
ET
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) _ Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged Tuesday to guarantee the safety of leaders visiting Cambodia for an upcoming Asian summit, and said his country is not a target of terrorists. Hun Sen's comments followed weekend bomb blasts on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that killed scores of foreign tourists _ attacks the prime minister called ``barbaric and despicable.'' ``I think it (Cambodia) is not a target for terrorism at all,'' he told reporters Tuesday. ``We have prepared everything to ensure safety, not just for the heads of state and heads of government but for all.'' On Nov. 3, Cambodia will host a meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion, comprised of China's Yunan province, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It then will host its biggest international meeting to date: a Nov. 4-5 summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The ASEAN leaders will also meet with leaders from China, Japan and South Korea. Cambodia, which is emerging from decades of civil war and unrest, remains one of the poorest nations in the region. Its law enforcement agencies, like most government organs, are poorly trained and equipped. Leaders have expressed hope that hosting the events will help bolster Cambodia's standing in the region. Myanmar reopens border with
Thailand after five months Tue Oct 15, 2:02 AM ET BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar on Tuesday reopened its border with Thailand, allowing vital trade to resume after a five-month shutdown due to tensions over a border skirmish, Thai officials said. The two countries announced the reopening last week following a thaw in relations that included a Thai diplomat's one-day trip to Myanmar and a visit to Bangkok by Myanmar's foreign minister last month. Myanmar closed all its border checkpoints in May after accusing the Thai army of firing shells to support an offensive against Myanmar troops by Shan ethnic rebels. Thailand said at the time it only fired warning shots when fighting spilled into its territory. The Thai diplomat who negotiated the reopening, Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Tej Bunnag, gave no details about why Myanmar had agreed to reopen its border. Thai officials have made pointed public overtures in recent weeks to mend fences with Myanmar's military junta. The two countries said last week they would reopen the frontier but would work harder to crack down on the cross-border drug trade. The smuggling of massive amounts of the illegal stimulant methamphetamine into Thailand from Myanmar is a top concern of officials in Bangkok. Yangon has long been upset with Thai officials for failing to crack down on Myanmar anti-government rebels who operate along the 2,400 kilometer-long (1,460-mile-long) border. On Tuesday, Myanmar reopened its major checkpoints. Officials removed barricades at a bridge in the northwestern Thai town of Mae Sot and unlocked gates at a checkpoint in northern Mae Sai. Ferries resumed at a busy sea crossing in southern Ranong province. "The border trade and commuting between the people of the two countries has officially resumed and we hope that this will be a sustainable contact," Capt. Vithaya Ruangmaneeya, secretary-general of the Township Border Committee, told reporters in Mae Sot. "We are confident that with the better quality of Thai products and the easy way of transportation, Thai trade will regain its place in the market soon," Boonthiem said. After the border was closed, Myanmar merchants turned to mainland Chinese and Malaysian suppliers electrical appliances and other products. In Mae Sai, 750 kilometers (470 miles) north of Bangkok, Sermchai Kittikatana, president of the Mae Sai Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites), Thai traders lost about 1.2 billion baht (US$27.9 million) a month in trade during the closure. "There were cheaper products from China and from Malaysia flooding into the border towns, but we hope to regain the markets in a matter of weeks," Sermchai told The Associated Press. At the height of the recent tensions, Myanmar also banned the import of Thai goods, prohibited most visits by Thai officials, and published a barrage of anti-Thai propaganda in its state-owned media. Tuesday October 15, 11:04 AM
Nippon Oil To Boost Crude, Gas Output In Vietnam, Myanmar TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Nippon Oil Corp. (J.NPO or 5001) said Tuesday it will boost crude oil production in Vietnam, as part of its plan to triple its oil output by fiscal 2004. The company also said it will invest more than Y10 billion to double gas production in a field offshore Myanmar. Nippon Oil, the largest Japanese oil company, and its partners in an oil field 100 to 150 kilometers offshore from the city of Vung Tau plan to raise crude output to 68,000 b/d by the end of this month from the current 50,000 b/d. Nippon Oil takes 25% of the crude oil produced from that field. In April, the Nippon Oil group said it would increase output of its own crude oil to 150,000 b/d in fiscal 2004 from the current 50,000 b/d, in order to increase its profits. Nippon President Fumiaki Watari has said the group will need another 30,000 b/d of oil production to achieve the 150,000 b/d target. He said the group's oil production will increase to 120,000 b/d when its oil fields in Malaysia and Indonesia begin production. Nippon Oil's planned investment in Myanmar will double gas production in an offshore field - about 400 kilometers south of Yangon - that currently produces 5.7 million cubic meters a day of gas. The Nippon Oil group holds a 14% stake in the field. At midday break Tuesday, shares of Nippon Oil were up Y10, or 2.1%, at Y489 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Bangkok Post -
Tuesday 15 October 2002
Border trade to restart with bang Orders worth tens of millions of baht in Supamart Kasem Theerawat Khamthita Burmese importers have placed orders worth tens of millions of baht in preparation for the reopening of the border with Thailand today. Banpot Korkiatcharoen, vice-president of the Tak Chamber of Commerce, said Burma was badly in need of consumer goods. Rangoon closed its border with Thailand in May. Mr Banpot said closing the border had done nothing to solve problems between the countries but instead created hardship for border villagers and sowed greater distrust. The kyat, Burma's currency, was worth about 0.42 baht on Sunday, up from 0.34-0.35 baht days ago. Chamber president Chawapan Chawacharoenpan believed the checkpoints would stay open for good this time. But Samruay Patan, owner of a pier on the Moei river, said the border could be closed again because several problems remained unresolved. Mr Samruay said Burma could again resort to accusing Thailand of aiding minority rebels, in the event the Karen National Union or other forces attacked Burmese troops, just as it did to justify closing the border in May. In Chiang Rai, governor Rungrit Makarapong said Burma was expected to open its Tachilek checkpoint opposite Mae Sai district today. Mr Rungrit said the provincial administration and police were looking forward to working with Burma again to fight drugs. Sermchai Kittirattanapaibun, president of the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, said local businesses had lost three billion baht since May. Mae Sai residents hoped tourists would return and that the checkpoint would stay open this time. Bangkok Post -
Tuesday 15 October 2002
Gateways to Burma creak open The border with Burma reopens today, much to the relief of traders and the government. It is not known exactly if the issues which led to the closure have been settled but it is enough that things are allowed to return to normal. ANURAJ MANIBHANDU, SARITDET MARUKATAT and WASSANA NANUAM The Thai-Burmese border opens again today after a five-month closure that seems to have produced most of the results sought by the generals in Rangoon. Border traders, angered by the loss of business and the need to find new routes, heaped more and more pressure on the government as the months passed by. Damrong Kachornmasbut, of the provincial chamber of commerce in Ranong, told this newspaper at the weekend that border traders had been losing about 10 million baht a day. Consumers had to pay more because traders slapped on extra charges for having to work harder for their money. The government worked overtime to persuade the generals in Rangoon to change their minds over the closure. The army chief who refused to comply with the government's accommodation of Burma lost his job, and the foreign minister used every possible occasion since May to raise the border issue with his Burmese counterpart. The junta shut down trade routes opposite Chiang Rai, Tak and Ranong on May 20 to protest against Thailand's allegedly secret support of ethnic rebels resisting Rangoon's rule from border areas. The closure followed one of the most tense stand-offs between Thai and Burmese forces on the ground in recent years. The three checkpoints are opportunity gates for Thai traders and lifelines for Burmese consumers. The one in Tak's Mae Sot district is probably the biggest conduit in both respects, enabling staple foods to make their way to Burmese living near the border, and on the overland route to Rangoon. Trading activities at checkpoints have figured prominently in the conduct of Thai-Burmese relations for decades. But while the past Democrat-led government was a participant in this exchange, by closing the door on Rangoon and reopening it when politically expedient, the present Thai Rak Thai-led administration has not. Over the past five months, Thailand has kept the door open at all three checkpoints, observers said. Moreover, two other events have struck a chord with impartial observers and critics, although the government has tried hard to delink them from its bid to change Rangoon's mind. One was the transfer of Gen Surayud Chulanont, a staunch critic of Rangoon, from the vitally important position of army commander to the less powerful position of supreme commander of the armed forces. The other was the marching orders given to some 14 Burmese dissident students and political activists operating from the western border district of Sangkhla Buri in Kanchanaburi to cross back into Burma. Security watchers and human rights advocates are convinced the two events, in part because of their timing, were linked to the government's bid to bring an end to the border closure. The reshuffle of the top brass results in a more Rangoon-friendly army. Gen Somdhat Attanand, the new army chief, has promised to follow the government line closely. Unlike Gen Surayud, he has no direct field experience close to Burma. Gen Somdhat also has let it be known that the army would not allow Burmese ethnic groups to disrupt ties with Rangoon. ``We may not see soldiers round up dissident armed groups from Burma but we can expect them to closely monitor and probably restrict their movements,'' a military watcher said. ``The army with Gen Somdhat at the helm has a softer policy towards Burma and will listen to government direction.'' Time and again, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his ministers have tried to convince the public that the government does not consider the reopening of the border as the only means to improving ties between the two countries. But, as most observers have seen, the reality on the ground is totally different. The government has been under pressure from border traders, and diplomacy specialists. In a bid to remedy the situation, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai held four rounds of talks on the issue with his Burmese counterpart, Win Aung, over four months. The ministers first met in Brunei in late July on the sidelines of the annual meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, before holding follow-up discussions in Rangoon a week later. The pair met again in Johannesburg in September while attending a United Nations conference on the environment, and in Bangkok three weeks ago, when Win Aung visited the country officially and was given the privileged treatment accorded to Foreign Ministry guests. These meetings however brought no clear answer from Rangoon on its timetable for reopening the border. It took a visit to Rangoon last Tuesday by Tej Bunnag, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, for the Burmese government to come out with a date for the reopening. That this level of meeting was chosen for the delivery of such an important message is significant. Was it a bid to save the faces of the higher-ups should the border be closed again? Or are observers to understand that there is more goodwill, and less politics of interest, between Thailand and Burma at the sub-ministerial level? Whatever the case, the fact that the date was announced in Rangoon underlines the junta's determination to have the last word in a long, drawn-out battle. The generals probably wanted to insist that they were justified in closing the border in the first place. While Thailand would dispute any such claim, there has been no satisfactory explanation as to why Thai reporters selected for the trip to Rangoon last Tuesday were prevented from boarding the plane at the last minute. But that is history. Since the trip, the government has again been talking about long-term cooperation with Burma, with drug-busting high on the agenda, followed by the investigation into the killing of school children in Ratchaburi, and the repatriation of Burmese working illegally in Thailand. Suspects in the Ratchaburi killing are believed to be at large across the border in Burma. Even in the expected honeymoon period following the reopening of the border, efforts to settle these sticky issues will test bilateral relations and the skill of the present government in handling the leadership in Burma. The Nation
BURMESE BORDER: Vendors gear
up for today's reopening
Published on Oct 15, 2002 Local traders and tourists are preparing to resume access to Burma today following Rangoon's decision to reopen all border checkpoints after a fiscally debilitating five-month closure. The Thai Foreign Ministry has announced that authorities in Rangoon would today open all permanent border checkpoints at Mae Sai-Tachilek, Mae Sot-Myawaddy and Ranong-Kawthaung. Burma sealed its Thai frontier checkpoints in May after accusing Thai troops of firing artillery across the border in support of the Shan State Army. Thailand denied the allegation and spent months negotiating to have the border crossings reopened. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the official reopening would proceed smoothly because relations with the Burmese government had normalised and his administration now understands all aspects of the Burmese border problems. Decha Sathapol, chief of Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, said the Burmese Border Township Committee has agreed to open its border gates at 6.30am, allowing all frontier activity to return to normal. He added, though, that time constraints would preclude any formal opening ceremonies. Burmese officials yesterday removed all of the gateways at the Tachilek access point, which had been installed following the May border skirmishes. Burmese residents there could be seen making their preparations to resume trade. Boontham Tipprasong, a member of the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, predicted that the border reopening would immediately bring in Bt100 million a day as Burmese snap up Thai consumer goods. Chiang Rai lost an estimated Bt30 million every day during the five months that the border was closed, he added. In Tak province's Mae Sot, preparations were also underway for the border opening to Myawaddy. Truck and bus drivers on both sides of the frontier were polishing their vehicles to ready them for the cross-border transit of goods and passengers. Colonel Withaya Ruangmaneeya, the chief border coordinator in Mae Sot, said the frontier gates would open at the same time as the other crossings in Mae Sai and Ranong. Suchart Triratwattana, vice chairman of the Tak Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the border reopening, saying his province and Mae Sot district had lost about Bt2 billion worth of business during the five-month border closure. The Straits Times -
OCT 15, 2002 TUE Asean showcases its best in regional trade fair Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Thai cuisine, Singapore's modern finance centre - are showcased at the trade show in Bangkok By Edward Tang BANGKOK - From Bruneian handicrafts to Thai cuisine, Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat to Singapore's modern financial centre, the largest exhibition of Asean products and services got underway in the Thai capital yesterday. The Asean Trade Fair, which attracted more than 500 companies from the 10 member countries of the grouping, underscores the massive potential of this region, which will become a free trade area from next year. The week-long trade showcase has more than 800 exhibition booths spread over 20,000 sq m at the Impact Convention Centre in Bangkok. The core industries represented in the fair are food-processing, automotive, electronics, garment, and home decoration. Each country is represented by a pavilion, which is designed to reflect the nation's outstanding feature. The Cambodian pavilion - a replica of the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province - was clearly the crowd's favourite. Singapore and Malaysia promoted themselves as high-tech, modern financial centres and services hubs. Newcomers Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar showcased their garment, furniture, and tourism industries. Thailand used the theme Kitchen of the World to reflect its position as a leading food producer and exporter. The last time the Asean Trade Fair was held was also in Thailand 11 years ago. It was revived by Asean leaders who believed it would be timely to boost the region's move towards free trade status. From next year, tariffs on most products will be reduced to 0 to 5 per cent within the Asean Free Trade Area. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who officiated at the Fair's opening which was attended by Asean trade ministers, said: 'Increased trade among ourselves will not only raise the living standards of people in the Asean region but will also create a closer community of nations.' A strong advocate of self-reliance, he urged Asean members to take tough measures to rebuild their economies and reduce economic rivalry. 'We must create one region, and challenge the world together,' he said. Regional cooperation was also the theme of the speech of Singapore Trade Minister George Yeo, a keynote speaker at the Asean Business Forum in the afternoon. He cited Singapore's economic partnership with Thailand, which has grown in recent years, as an example. The ties have been further strengthened by the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship, a bilateral programme to deepen cooperation in areas such as agriculture, car-manufacturing, finance, and tourism. The two countries were also working on ways to simplify customs procedures, promote investments, share resources and improve the regulatory environment for businessmen. Brig-Gen Yeo urged Asean to forge economic linkages like free trade agreements with countries such as India, Japan, and China, which are outside the regional group. 'Our strategy in Asean must be to move closer to all the major economic regions in the world,' he said. 'Our common objective is to make Asean a single economic space for trade and investment.' Significantly, Thailand and Singapore shared the same goal for Asean, said the minister. He also urged countries to strengthen the protection of intellectual property, which was a major consideration of foreign investors. |